November 12, 2018

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Founded 1876 daily since 1892 online since 1998

Monday November 12, 2018 vol. CXLII no. 99

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U . A F FA I R S

Five hospitalized after bus crashes en route to Bulldogs football game By Linh Nguyen Senior Writer

At around 10 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 10, a Coach USA bus transporting University students to the Princeton versus Yale football game crashed into a building in West Haven, Conn., approximately 10 minutes from New Haven. At least six ambulances were requested and a total of five individuals, including the driver, were transported to the hospital directly from the scene of the accident. The driver was the last to be extricated from the bus. Leonela Serrano ’22, one of the four students hospitalized immediately, recounted her experience upon the bus’s collision with the building. “I remember that things got bumpy and we were continuing to go,” Serrano said. “And I remember the impact and feeling glass rain over me.” Serrano noted that she was discharged from the Yale New Haven Hospital “within the next hour, hour and a half.” Deputy Dean of Undergraduate Students Thomas Dunne confirmed in an email to The Daily Princetonian that the driver was discharged on the same day.

A University statement affirmed that the four students suffered minor injuries that were identified immediately on the scene. However, at least two other students sought medical care upon returning to campus. Chris Gliwa ’21 recalled the medical inspections of each student immediately after being evacuated from the bus. “Everyone formed a line and doctors from Yale Medical checked us out,” Gliwa said. “Initially, I felt fine, but it was definitely because of the adrenaline rush.” According to the medical practitioner whom Gliwa visited at InFocus Urgent Care in West Windsor Township, Gliwa developed spasmodic torticollis, a neurological movement disorder, as a result of the accident. Daisy Torres ’22 said that when a “wooden ledge crashed through the window,” she immediately put her hand up to protect her face, causing her hands to be “covered in glass.” “I was a bit reluctant to go to the hospital during my time at West Haven because I just wasn’t feeling that bad, but McCosh wanted to make sure I was good,” said Torres, who also hit her head

TOWN

COURTESY OF CHRIS GLIWA ’21

The Coach USA bus crashed into an Anderson Glass Company building in West Haven, CT.

on the ceiling of the bus. Torres went to Princeton Medical Center Saturday night at 11 p.m. and was discharged two hours later. Fox 61 reported that the accident was believed to be a result of brake failure. Every student interviewed by the ‘Prince’ reported the same “bumpy” sensation as the bus hurtled down the side road. “The bus was moving up and

down really fast and I heard people screaming,” said Karen Gan ’22. According to @ctnewsalert on Twitter, the bus crashed “in the vicinity of the Campbell Ave. offramp to I-95.” WTNH reported that the bus crashed into a building belonging to the Anderson Glass Company, an auto glass company in West Haven. Gliwa said that the employees

in the adjacent building, which was unscathed, ran out to help despite the fact that “there were live wires everywhere.” The commercial buses were arranged by the Undergraduate Student Government to provide transportation for students to the football game at 12:30 p.m. After the bus accident, some students opted to take the train back to the University instead of riding another Coach USA bus. “My friends and I took a train back,” Gan said. “We just didn’t feel safe getting on the bus.” Torres, who rode back with Gan, echoed her sentiments and noted her newfound discomfort with Coach USA. “I don’t think I’m scarred for life,” Torres said. “But in the near future, I don’t see myself getting on a Coach USA bus again.” During the weekly USG meeting that took place on Sunday at 8 p.m., Dunne stated that the University would continue to use Coach USA buses, at the very least for the USG-sponsored Thanksgiving buses. “From a safety perspective, I think that it’s important not to take one isolated incident and extrapolate it out that somehow it’s not a safe option,” Dunne said.

ON CAMPUS

Report: Fatal Panera Columbia professor Hirsch discusses shooting was justified drinking culture, toxic masculinity By David Veldran and Sarah Warman Hirschfield Contributor and Associate News and Video Editor

On Nov. 9, the two members of the New Jersey State Police SWAT unit who fatally shot Scott L. Mielentz at the Nassau Street Panera Bread last March were cleared of wrongdoing. The New Jersey Attorney General’s office released a report on Friday justifying the use of deadly force. The office analyzed video captured on the restaurant’s surveillance system, some of which has been released to the public, and it interviewed the parties involved. It detailed the four-hour standoff between Mielentz and authorities and concluded that the officers were not at fault in their decision to shoot Mielentz. “An officer may use deadly force in New Jersey when the officer reasonably believes it is immediately necessary to protect the officer or another person from imminent danger of death or serious bodily harm,” the report said. According to the report, the officers believed that Mielentz was armed with a real gun, although it was later found that Mielentz had only a BB gun. After repeatedly ignoring requests that he drop his weapon, Mielentz told officers

to, “Shoot me, just shoot me.” The SWAT team “offered him food and spoke sympathetically about his problems in order to establish a rapport” according to the report. After asking if they could help him in any way, he responded, “Yes, shoot me.” Officers described Mielentz’s behavior as “erratic” and “irrational.” Several times throughout the encounter, Mielentz pointed his gun at the officers and at himself. Mielentz refused to give up the weapon, even as crisis negotiators attempted to diffuse the situation, and instead, according to the officers involved, he became “increasingly agitated.” Trooper William Kerstetter and Trooper Joseph Trogani of the New Jersey State Police SWAT unit eventually fired at Mielentz, after he pointed his gun at them and began counting down from five. This caused the officers to believe they were in imminent danger. The report was prompted by the Attorney General’s Independent Prosecutor Directive, which requires the Attorney General to investigate incidents that involve the use of deadly force. Because of its conclusion, the case will not be presented to a grand jury for further review.

By Marie-Rose Sheinerman Staff Writer

“Drinking is a big part of heterosexual students’ strategies to accrue sexual experiences,” said Dr. Jennifer Hirsch ’88, professor of sociomedical sciences at Columbia University. In a talk hosted by the Global Health Colloquium on Friday, Hirsch spoke about the sociological implications of college drinking culture on the pervasiveness of whiteness and toxic masculinity. Hirsch is the co-director of the Columbia Population Research Center and the deputy chair of doctoral studies for the Department of Sociomedical Studies. Her talk centered on her most recent research project, the Sexual Health Initiative to Foster Transformation (SHIFT). She worked with a sample size of 144 undergraduates at Columbia, conducting in-depth interviews. The focus of Hirsch’s research was freshman fall, a time in a young adult’s life that she characterized as both “very exciting and socially painful.”

MARIE-ROSE SHEINERMAN :: THE DAILY PRINCETONIAN

Dr. Jennifer Hirsch discussed the role of drinking and the pervasiveness of toxic masculinity on college campuses.

“Drinking plays an important role in settling in,” she said. “Alcohol acts as a social lubricant, helping to manage anxiety about making friends and creating shared experiences.” According to Hirsch, drunken encounters between students often result in enduring and profound

connections. “Students form deep bonds or even find true love while holding back the hair of a vomiting friend or arguing over whether a friend needs an ambulance or just some water and a ride home.” What Hirsch finds troubling, however, is the exSee HIRSCH page 2

S T U D E N T A F FA I R S

USG considers Campbell Hall additional bathroom referendum Contributor

Undergraduate Student Government discussed a referendum on Campbell Hall bathrooms, the upcoming bonfire, and the Thanksgiving buses in its weekly meeting on Nov. 11. Parliamentarian Jonah

Hyman ’20 introduced a referendum that would call upon the administration to consider the installation of an additional bathroom on the upper f loors of the Campbell Hall, following the multiple sanitary issues in the last few years. Currently, residents of the third f loor must walk down

four f loors to get to a bathroom. The referendum would be put to vote in the Winter 2018 elections, as long as the Senate approves the ballot language and sponsor Alex Cavoli ’20 gathers signatures from 10 percent of the student body. “I would argue that these

are some of the worst sanitary conditions on campus,” Cavoli said. “These bathrooms are severely overused, and they’re really far away which encourages gross habits on the upper f loors.” “Not that it’s necessarily specific to this case, but I think that a lot of unsani-

In Opinion

Today on Campus

Columnist Morgan Lucey argues the federal government should be held responsible for environmental issues, and senior columnist Jessica Nyquist recommends changes to Princeton’s mentorship process PAGE 4

8:30 a.m.: A Veterans Day observance will be held, with guest speakers, an invocation, and music to commemorate the holiday. University Chapel

tary conditions on campus are only existent because people are acting like animals,” Social Committee Chair Liam Glass ’19 added. U-Councilor Rachel Hazan ’21 also noted that the conversion of Whitman College rooms in the former Writing Center into See USG page 3

WEATHER

By Jacob Gerrish

HIGH

51˚

LOW

28˚

Partly Cloudy chance of rain:

10 percent


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