November 21, 2017

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Tuesday November 21, 2017 vol. CXLI no. 106

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U. to create new Asian American Studies program

By Rebecca Ngu staff writer

University faculty are working to create an Asian American Studies certificate program by September 2018.

The creation of the program will be the culmination of the work of University students, alumni, and faculty who have researched, petitioned, protested, negotiated, and advocated for the creation of an Asian American Studies program for nearly 30 years.

This fall, an Asian American Studies tab appeared on the Spring 2018 course offerings page, featuring the first three classes: “Introduction to Asian American Studies,” “Multiethnic American Short Stories,” and “South Asian American Literature and Film.” All are cross-listed under the official course designation Asian American Studies.

“I am quite optimistic about the current moment for Asian American Studies at Princeton,” Judith Ferszt, Program Manager of American Studies, said.

She has worked as program manager for 30 years and has witnessed the struggle to develop Asian American Studies within the American Studies program since the beginning in the mid1990s. “I know that our faculty is working hard on developing the curriculum for a certificate, and that the administration is very supportive. Everyone’s goal is to have a certificate in place by September 2018.”

This excitement is tempered by uncertainty over whether the program will come to fruition by the anticipated deadline.

“It depends on a number of factors including fundraising and the success of some faculty searches which are ongoing. But that is the goal,” Ferstzt said. “If it doesn’t happen by September, it will happen a bit later.”

The need to find faculty and resources for the program is especially urgent given that the University is losing its Asian American Studies postdoctoral faculty.

Laurel Mei-Singh, a Postdoctoral Research Associate in American Studies, is taking a tenure-track position at University of Hawaii next fall. History Professor Beth Lew-Williams, who teaches Asian American History, will be going on leave this

year. American Studies has put out a search for a tenuretrack assistant professor in Asian American literature and culture starting September 2018.

“It’s a battle. It’s a constant battle. Everything is a battle,” said English Professor Anne Cheng, who has spearheaded the effort to develop Asian American Studies ever since she arrived in 2007.

“When I get tired, I think about my students. And it sounds so corny…but you know, one of the most important things that all of us faculty do is to teach,” she said.

“It’s really about the students,” Cheng added. “The thing is, I don’t need Asian American Studies here. I can do my own work. But it’s an obligation that we have to our students to provide the opportunity.”

The development of Asian American Studies is part of the larger transformation of American Studies into a fullfledged department. In 2015, Cheng and History Professor Hendrik Hartog co-chaired a task force on American Studies that produced a report — aided by background research conducted by students from AASA — recommending the transformation of American Studies into a collaborative center that would house Asian American Studies and Latino Studies. The report also recommended that the program be allowed to hire and house faculty within the center, a key provision that had barred them from creating a stable, long-term program.

According to Hartog, the creation of an American Studies concentration is farther off into the future and will heavily depend on fundraising efforts to hire the necessary faculty. In the interim, several intermediary changes will be enacted to have American Studies function like a concentration without the official title.

“One of the intermediary steps is that Latino studies has been folded into American Studies,” Hartog said. “[The] second part of that is the creation of Asian American Studies as a kind of parallel program to Latino studies within American Studies.”

The third change, currently being planned by the AMS curriculum committee, entails structuring the See ASIAN page 2

Book Review: Kathryn Watterson’s “I Hear My People Singing” contributor

During the course of the Princeton Slavery Project, several important works about African Americans were examined and discussed. In one of these works, “I Hear My People Singing”, former University Professor Kathryn Watterson writes about the lives and experiences of the African American community just outside FitzRan-

Leslie GS ’07 named new Dean of Graduate School

COURTESY OF PRINCETON.EDU

Sarah-Jane Leslie, professor of philosophy, was appointed new dean of graduate school.

By Benjamin Ball contributor

Professor Sarah-Jane Leslie GS ‘07 has been named the University’s new Dean of the Graduate School.

The Class of 1943 Professor of Philosophy and alum of the graduate college herself, Leslie was appointed by President Christopher Eisgruber ’83 and the Board of Trustees at their Nov. 17 meeting. A search committee composed of faculty members and graduate students proposed her selection.

Leslie received her undergraduate degree in philosophy, mathematics, and cognitive science at Rutgers before coming to the University’s graduate program. She earned her Ph.D. in 2007 at the University, where

dolph Gate.

Watterson, a writer and professor of Creative Writing at the University of Pennsylvania, collaborated with residents of the Witherspoon-Jackson neighborhood, as well as several former University undergraduates, to create the book outlining the oral history of the community.

“Our intention for this book was to bring the historic Witherspoon neighborhood into view See WATTERSON page 3

she had begun teaching a year earlier. She was promoted to full professor in 2013 before being named to the endowed professorship in 2014.

Leslie later became a vice dean for faculty development.

She is the founding director of the Program in Cognitive Science and director of the Program in Linguistics. In addition to these two programs, she is an affiliated faculty member with the Department of Psychology, the Program in Gender and Sexuality Studies, the University Center for Human Values, and the KahnemanTreisman Center for Behavioral Science and Public Policy.

Leslie has also been involved in residential college life. She was a faculty fellow at Rock-

efeller College, and is currently a faculty fellow at Butler College.

In her academic work, Leslie has furthered her advocacy for both diversity and gender equality while focusing on the intersections of language, philosophy, and psychology. She is the author or co-author of some 40 articles, and her books “Current Controversies in the Philosophy of Science” and “Generics and Generalization” are under contract to be published.

Leslie received the Stanton Award from the Society for Philosophy and Psychology in 2015. She was a Behrman Faculty Fellow at Princeton and a 250th Anniversary Fellow at Rutgers University.

U . A F FA I R S

ELE students, staff hold meeting to discuss sexual harassment

By Rose Gilbert, Linh Nguyen, and Ivy Truong staff writer and contributors

BEYOND THE BUBBLE

By Benjamin Ball

U . A F FA I R S

Dozens of graduate students, undergraduates, and faculty members gathered on Monday, Nov. 20 in Maeder Hall to discuss a petition demanding that the University elevate its disciplinary action against Sergio Verdú, a Eugene Higgins Professor of Electrical Engineering, who was found guilty of sexual harassment in a Title IX investigation earlier this summer. Over 650 undergraduates, graduate students, and alumni have signed the petition.

Verdú had invited one of his graduate students, Yeohee Im, to watch The Handmaiden, a sexually explicit film, with him in February 2017. During the

movie, he touched her upper thigh and stomach.

Im said to The Huffington Post on Nov. 9 that Verdú was only required to take an eight-hour training session. Verdú is still a salaried professor at the University.

Students at the town hall, which was organized by graduate students in electrical engineering, criticized this punishment as a slap on the wrist, noting that the penalties for less heinous offenses like academic dishonesty are usually far more severe.

Students also said that training and education were not enough to correct his behavior, since Verdú, like all faculty members, had already taken sexual harassment prevention training.

Nearly everyone at the

In Opinion

Today on Campus

Contributing columnist Aisha Tahir responds to a New York Times opinion piece, and over 750 individuals sign on to a petition regarding the handling of the Verdú case.

PAGE 4-5

7 p.m.: Men’s basketball takes on Lafayette at 7 p.m. in Jadwin Gym.

meeting seemed frustrated. Many students were unaware of the mechanisms of a Title IX investigation and unsure who exactly held the authority to change University policy on disciplinary action against faculty. Sympathetic faculty members assured students that Verdú had lost their respect, but couldn’t promise any change to the University’s decision. Half-joking requests for faculty members to convey students’ stern messages to Verdú in person elicited ripples of tense laughter.

“It is very painful and emotional,” Claire Gmachl, another Eugene Higgins Professor of Electrical Engineering, said of the University’s decision in an interview. Gmachl noted that See GRADUATE page 2

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U . A F FA I R S

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Tuesday November 21, 2017

Cheng: I had to create this field for myself. I had to teach myself.

ASIAN

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certificates to enhance interdisciplinary dialogue. All certificate-holders would start with AMS 101, the core class for American Studies, and then move out to three tracks — American Studies, Asian American Studies, or Latino Studies — before reuniting senior year in a series of capstone seminars.

“People would join together and talk across ethnic groups and identities about problems in American Studies,” Hartog said.

There is a long and rich history of student, alumni, and faculty advocacy for Asian American Studies program. The agitation for the study of marginalized people on college campuses nation-wide has burgeoned since the 1970s. A program in African American Studies was created at the University in 1970 and a Women’s Studies program emerged in 1982, both prompted by student activism and demand.

In 1988, members of the Asian American Students Association met with newlyinstated President Shapiro requesting permanent Asian American Studies courses.

Lacking institutional support, students eventually formed a task force in 1992 and issued recommendations to create a tenuretrack position for a scholar in Asian American Studies.

However, progress stagnated in a series of meetings, reports, and recommendations that amounted to death by committee.

In response to mounting urgency, on April 20, 1996 — the weekend prospective

students were visiting campus — a multi-racial coalition of 17 students stormed Nassau Hall and held a 35hour sit-in. They circulated a petition demanding the inclusion of Asian American and Latino Studies courses in the curriculum, which accumulated over 500 signatures.

Then-President Harold Shapiro condemned the sit-in as an “inexcusable occupation” and “deeply offensive.”

The students were put on probation, but the gears of change had been set in motion. In a ‘Prince’ article published two days later, the administration promised to invest $6 million to hire four to seven faculty members to teach Asian American and Latino studies. The sit-in was highly publicized, attracting coverage from The New York Times, partly because it was occurring in tandem with other ethnic studies student protests. (That same month, Northwestern undergraduates held a hunger strike demanding permanent Asian American Studies courses.)

After the sit-in, American Studies was asked to organize faculty searches for Asian American scholars, but the hired professors eventually left after a few short years, according to Ferszt. Little progress was made in the mid-2000’s to advance a program for Asian American Studies. It appeared to Professor Hartog that the central administration was reluctant to create another program devoted to race after it had upgraded African American Studies from a program to a center.

“The central administration at that time did not want to more programs. It did not

want to increase the size of American Studies,” Hartog said. “Part of the premise for the center was that it would have a strong comparative race component. That fell by the wayside for reasons that I’m not entirely certain of.” American Studies was limited to offering one or two Asian American Studies courses every year taught by visiting professors.

In 2006, the program’s development started anew when Anne Cheng ‘85 was hired as a senior faculty member in the English department with the understanding that she would help build Asian American Studies, according to Ferszt.

Through today, Cheng is the only senior professor who specializes in Asian American Studies. Despite being the sole scholar in the field at Princeton, Cheng began to build support for the program almost immediately.

“She started doing a lot of work,” Ferszt said. “She has boundless energy.”

Cheng and Hartog organized a workshop for faculty and administrators in 2008 on how the University should change with the presence of faculty of color, Hartog said. Out of that workshop, the current course “AMS 101: America Then and Now”was born.

“Its working title was ‘What Every Princeton Student Should Know About America,’” Hartog said.

Students and alumni remained persistent and vocal about their demand for Asian American Studies to become a certificate program. In 2008, Asian American alumni gathered over 600 signatures for a petition urging the administration

to create an Asian American Studies program. The Asian American Studies Committee within AASA has worked consistently with administrators, particularly Professor Cheng, for years.

On the twentieth anniversary of the first 1993 task force report , the committee issued a report that included a proposal for Asian American Studies certificate program that could support at least eight courses per year by 2015.

In 2013, the committee created Unfound, an undergraduate journal for Asian American Studies — the first of its kind in the nation. Ethan Krazter ’15, one of the founders of the journal, talked how its creators wanted to not only to demonstrate student interest in Asian American studies, but to illustrate the breadth and depth of intellectual engagement in the field happening in other universities by undergraduates.

Kratzer also saw the journal as way for students to educate themselves outside of the classroom.

“Courses were not sufficient, so if we wanted to learn something, we had to do it on our own somehow,” Kratzer said.

Hartog and Cheng decided to organize a second conference in 2013, bringing the heads of ethnic studies from many peer institutions to campus to learn what did and did not work elsewhere.

Ferszt noted that the conference reaffirmed the decision to house ethnic studies, such as Asian Americans and Latino Studies, within a comparative American context.

“There was a very, very strong consensus among all of them that the comparative unified approach was the way to go,” she said.

“It was an eye-opening ex-

perience,” said Hartog. “One of the things that we learned was that it was always student activism, wherever you looked.”

“Administrations respond to student activism,” Hartog said. “I would say the rise of the Black Lives Matter stuff into 2014 and 2015 gives credence to that insight because suddenly the central administration was much more willing to do things with American studies than it was willing to beforehand.”

The 2015 American Studies task force report, approved last year, has led to the current vision of American Studies as a collaborative center with three possible certificate tracks, one of them being Asian American Studies. The hard work of fundraising, developing a curriculum, and finding a physical space to house the center remains in progress.

The realization of a certificate program, while a muchwelcomed change, will come too late for generations of students who have already passed through the University’s gates. “[Students] have been coming to me and saying, ‘How come we don’t have Asian American Studies?’”

Cheng said. “I saw myself in them. I had to go and basically create this field for myself.

I had to teach myself.”

The University’s institutional neglect of ethnic studies is one of Cheng’s greatest grievances about attending the University as an undergraduate.

“I didn’t even hear, I didn’t even know that there was such a thing as Asian American Studies or literature. If I had even heard about it I might have wanted to study it, I might not have, but it needs to be available,” she said. “You need to build it for them to come.”

Engineering professors condemn Verdú’s actions GRADUATE Continued from page 1

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many students felt outraged at how fast and how lenient the decision was, adding that their “frustration with what happened, and their pain, is very real.”

Several Electrical Engineering faculty members present at the meeting condemned Verdú’s actions, and said that they would not work with him in the future. Professor Andrew Houck, who recently submitted a Letter to the Editor to the ‘Prince’, emphasized that no graduate student should feel like they can’t report incidents of sexual misconduct without risking their funding or visa, and offered personal assistance to students from any departments who had such concerns.

The petition states that because of the nature of the sexual harassment, and the “f lagrant abuse of power, and the irreparable emotional and professional damage he has inf licted upon his student,” these disciplinary actions taken by the University are “grossly inadequate.”

Yunhui Lin, a graduate student in the electrical engineering department, has had an active role in the push for a reform of the sexual harassment procedures currently in place.

“The students have been working really hard to force the entire department to take some sort of action, so it’s disappointing that we might not be able to affect actual changes on this specific case and that we can only make changes in the future,” Lin said. “There’s

reasons for that, but it’s really disappointing to see someone who’s been hurt so much by this and not be able to tell them that we can do something about their situation.”

David Logan, a doctoral student in the Woodrow Wilson School, said that he signed the petition because, although the University has made necessary progress in promoting awareness of sexual assault and harassment issues, it is still insufficient.

“If you really want these [sexual harassment and assault cases] to stop, there has to be consequences,” Logan said. “The more you talk to students here, I think the more obvious it is that these are not isolated instances.

In addition to graduate students and faculty, members of the undergraduate community also attended the meeting in an attempt to comprehend the University’s actions regarding Verdú.

“Although it was informative to learn more about the Title IX procedure, I feel like their inability to give any specific details about the case or any concrete action that they are going to be taking was very dissatisfying and gave no closure,” said Sreela Komali ‘18, an undergraduate in electrical engineering.

“This is very unsettling as a young female in STEM who wants to be in academia.”

Another three meetings will take place after Thanksgiving break for members of the community to continue to make recommendations and voice their concerns.

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Tuesday November 21, 2017

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Watterson: I love seeing students tearing off their blinders WATTERSON Continued from page 1

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Personality Survey:

COURTESY OF BENJAMIN BALL

Former U. professor Watterson published “I Hear my People Singing” about the lives and experiences of the African American community outside FitzRandolph Gate.

and to share the sweep of its rich history,” Watterson writes in her introduction. “An unplanned result of the process is that the wealth of individuals’ life stories has provided a fresh lens for illuminating the persistence of racism’s harsh realities.”

The majority of the book consists of excerpts from the interviews done in the early 2000s, with Witherspoon residents telling their stories and the stories of their families. Although Watterson herself conducted many interviews, most were conducted by University undergraduate students and members of the Classes of 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004, allowing them a better view of the world directly outside of the “Orange Bubble.”

“I felt exhilarated as I watched my students discover for themselves the humanity I’d been experiencing from my black friends and mentors since the 1960s and 70s,” Watterson added in her introduction. “I loved seeing the students tearing off the blinders, and moment by moment being given unexpected insight into the false notions of race and racial superiority.”

Watterson focuses on specific issues, challenges, and aspects of residents’ lives from chapter to chapter, ranging from integration of schools to how the

University itself affected them.

In writing the book, she seeks not only to tell the community’s history, but also to celebrate their humanity.

“Kathryn Watterson…has performed a monumental service in laying bare the rich humanity of black Princetonians in this magnificent and marvelous book,” University professor emeritus Cornel West GS ‘80 writes in his foreword to the book. “We all owe her an enormous debt for her courage, vision, and love.”

Within their respective interviews, the older residents of the Witherspoon community tell the stories of their fathers and grandfathers moving from the South and slavery, as well as their own stories living in what Watterson consistently calls, “The North’s Most Southern Town.” For a long time in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, African American community members could only sit in the back of the movie theater, could not go to certain restaurants, and could not shop at the stores on Nassau Street.

“It was the same story all over New Jersey, in bars, bowling alleys, diners, places to live” novelist James Baldwin wrote in his essay collection Notes of a Native Son, which Watterson cites in her book. “I was always being forced to leave, silently, or with mutual imprecations.” Baldwin worked at a defense plant near Princeton in the 1940s.

Despite the prolific racism and segregation of the time, the stories of the Witherspoon community are also stories of hope.

Residents remember their childhoods with fondness, constantly talking about how “everybody knew everybody”, and sharing the love of the place they called, and many still call, home.

“The children all played together, white and black” Floyd Campbell, Princeton resident and World War II veteran, described in the book. “We had our fights and problems, but we had them as children would be [when] confronted with problems. They were not about race.

Those problems were between our parents.”

Ultimately, I Hear My People Singing presents the deep-rooted racism that did and still does exist in America. The focus, however, is always on the people.

Watterson presents the Witherspoon community and its residents as vital to Princeton’s past history and present story today.

“I told you, you got to read our history. They had to make the jobs. We had to work – any kind of work you could find. We built this country! We built it!”

Johnnie Dennis said in the book.

Dennis moved to Princeton on his own when he was thirteen and became a permanent Witherspoon resident. “It just wasn’t built by white men. It was built up by everybody.”

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a) asking the professor questions. b) doodling all over your notes. c) correcting grammar mistakes. d) watching videos on YouTube e) calculating the opportunity cost of sitting in lecture.

a) getting the scoop on your roommate’s relationships. b) stalking people’s Facebook pictures. c) finding dangling modifiers in your readings. d) managing your blog. e) lurking outside 48 University Place.

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If you answered mostly “a,” you are a reporter in the making!

If you answered mostly “b,” you are a design connoisseur, with unlimited photography talents!

If you answered mostly “c,” you are anal enough to be a copy editor!

If you answered mostly “d,” you are a multimedia and web designing whiz!

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Opinion

Tuesday November 21, 2017

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Mr. Yankah, I respectfully disagree Aisha Tahir

contributing columnist

A

couple of days ago, the New York Times Sunday review featured an op-ed: “Can My Children Be Friends With White People,” written by Ekow Yankah. Yankah argues in his piece that he will teach his children “suspicion,” “distrust,” and caution with respect to white people. His main argument rests upon the assertion that white people and black people cannot achieve “true” friendship because their friendship lacks the “ability” of trust.

I find this article to be extremely problematic and disheartening. It is highly cynical — in a world where we find ourselves divided now more than ever, the conclusions Yankah draws would only create more hostility and resentment. Moreover, the generalizations he draws about white and black friendships could potentially be very damaging.

As a child, I would not want to be taught paranoia — not whom or what to be cautious of. Instead, I would want to be instilled

D

with morality and values that allow us to make our own decisions about friendships.

Yankah argues in his article that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s famous dream of black and white children holding hands was a “dream” precisely because King realized that “real friendship” between white and black people was “impossible.” With all due respect to Mr. Yankah, that is a highly manipulative interpretation of King’s dream. While too much black blood has been shed at the hands of white, King’s dream of black and white children holding hands is our reality now.

We’ve come so far from where King stood and fought for and where we stand today. All we need is more people dreaming, and more people fighting for that dream to come true. We should not be giving up, because that is not what King did. He fought when people believed that white people were superior than black, when equality seemed nowhere in sight.

But most of all, we should remember to fight with the same dignity that King fought with.

Pew research states that eight in 10 white Democrats believe that America needs to continue making changes to achieve racial equality between whites and blacks. It also states that young white adults are more enthusiastic about Black Lives Matter than middle-aged and older whites. Six in 10 young white adults support the Black Lives Matter movement. More than four in 10 blacks (48 percent) and whites (46 percent) say that working with community members to solve problems in their community would be a very effective tactic for groups striving to help blacks achieve equality.

Yankah projects President Trump’s untrustworthy values onto all whites, regardless of their support for Trump’s economic and social messages. I recognize that it is excruciatingly difficult for a black man to live in Trump’s America, and constant hateful and racist rhetoric fosters hopelessness. But we, as children, need to be reminded that this is not Trump’s America — it is ours. We should not be taught that

separation is the answer.

We cannot be taught that distrust is the answer.

And Yankah’s submission to division only further divulges into the darkness we feel ourselves surrounded by.

Taking Yankah’s route, where does it stop? Do we respond to hatred with hatred? Do we not teach kids that compassion wins?

And where does the division stop? Will Yankah suggest next that black people, too, should live in gated communities? That our country just needs to be divided based upon the color of skin? Then I ask, what about those kids that are made of both White and black parents? Should they be cautioned against their white parent and their other white half self?

I remind you, Mr. Yankah, that it is also Dr. King who said “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

Aisha Tahir is a first-year from Alexandria, Va. She can be reached at atahir@ princeton.edu.

and research advising roles without interruption.

Given the nature of the sexual harassment for which Professor Verdú was found responsible, his flagrant abuse of power, and the irreparable emotional and professional damage he has inflicted upon his student, we find the punishment determined by the University in his case to be grossly inadequate, and the process by which this punishment was determined to be intentionally opaque.

Our peer institutions have taken two approaches to penalizing faculty found guilty of sexual misconduct. In some cases, faculty members have been punished severely with suspension or termination — significantly, one of these instances corresponds to the suspension of a Princeton faculty member in 1989. In other cases, faculty members — more accurately described as sex offenders — are gently reprimanded and allowed to continue on in their esteemed positions.

It is clear that in this case, Princeton has chosen the latter path. We trust our alma mater to act in accordance with the highest ethical standards and to unwaveringly support and defend survivors of sexual misconduct. The University’s decision in Professor Verdú’s case, combined with the knowledge that as recently as 2014, the U.S. Department of Education concluded that Princeton “failed to provide a[n]... equitable response to complaints of sexual harassment,” profoundly erodes this trust.

In addition to reevaluation of the penalties in Professor Verdú’s misconduct case, increased transparency regarding the Title IX disciplinary process is essential to restoring confidence in the University’s handling of sexual misconduct cases. In particular, we note that Title IX infractions committed by faculty members are particularly egregious, as the influence that faculty wield over students and their future careers — par-

Sarah Sakha ’18

editor-in-chief

Matthew McKinlay ’18 business manager

BOARD OF TRUSTEES president Thomas E. Weber ’89 vice president Craig Bloom ’88 secretary Betsy L. Minkin ’77 treasurer Douglas J. Widmann ’90 Kathleen Crown William R. Elfers ’71 Stephen Fuzesi ’00 Zachary A. Goldfarb ’05 John Horan ’74 Joshua Katz Kathleen Kiely ’77 Rick Klein ’98 James T. MacGregor ’66 Alexia Quadrani Marcelo Rochabrun ’15 Richard W. Thaler, Jr. ’73 Lisa Belkin ‘82 Francesca Barber trustees emeriti Gregory L. Diskant ’70 Jerry Raymond ’73 Michael E. Seger ’71 Annalyn Swan ’73

141ST MANAGING BOARD

Petition to Princeton University administration regarding the Verdú sexual harassment case

ear President Eisgruber, Dean Kulkarni, Dean Crittenden, Dean Carter, and Chairwoman Gmachl: As proud students, alumni, faculty and staff of Princeton University, we the undersigned write to express our deep concerns regarding the University’s handling of the recent sexual harassment case against electrical engineering professor Sergio Verdú. We ask that the University elevate its disciplinary actions against Professor Verdú and firmly establish that sexual harassment will not be tolerated in our community.

It is our understanding that while Professor Verdú was found unequivocally to be in violation of Princeton University’s policy on Sex Discrimination and Sexual Misconduct, he has remained a salaried employee of the University, maintaining his prestigious position as Eugene Higgins Professor of Electrical Engineering and continuing in his teaching

vol. cxli

ticularly students within their own departments — further discourages reporting of violations, and makes sexual advances more challenging to combat. Disciplinary actions resulting from Title IX investigations must account for this extreme power imbalance.

There has never been a more important time for Princeton to categorically condemn sexual harassment and abuse, particularly when these acts are committed by exceptionally powerful men. We strongly urge you to reconsider the University’s decision in this matter, and to deliver a punishment that is proportionate to the damage Professor Verdú’s victim has endured.

This is an active petition. Princeton affiliates, please sign the online petition. As of the time of publishing, there are over 750 signees.

For the full list of signatories, please see the online version of this article.

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Tuesday November 21, 2017

Opinion

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We owe ourselves more sleep

Samuel Aftel columnist

W

hile walking to Firestone in the late hours of a recent November night, I was interrupted by a friend who remarked that I looked incredibly fatigued. My friend tried to persuade me to get a good night’s sleep and start fresh the next morning, in lieu of a late night in the bookstands. After some hesitation, I agreed, and returned to my dorm for a rarely satisfying sleep. The next day I found myself feeling incredibly wellrested and able to tackle my work more efficiently.

This whole experience got me thinking: in the pursuit of success at Princeton, is it really necessary to incessantly deprioritize sleep, as countless Princetonians claim to do? I argue that sleep deprivation absolutely does not have to be the norm on campus.

To begin with, sleep deprivation is profoundly horrible for your emotional well-being and ability to academically perform. Yet getting sufficient sleep

has a profoundly positive impact on your overall health and on your ability to learn. In other words, sleep deprivation is actually counterproductive to being academically successful and, more important, a physically and mentally healthy human being. So why do we thoroughly and destructively deprioritize something our bodies and minds so desperately need for basic functioning?

Perhaps it’s because Princeton is demanding and never really stops being demanding. It is way too easy to get into a brutal sleep-deprivation cycle while trying to keep up with these demands.

Club meetings, athletic practices, social commitments, procrastination, and more can easily prevent Princeton students from starting their work at a reasonable hour, and there is undoubtedly a lot of work to get done. Consequently, we often start at a time when we should be going to bed and work till 1 or 2 AM, if not much later, and then wake up early for class. The rest of the day we are tired and so

we might take a nap in the afternoon or work slowly, both of which mean we’ll have to stay up later to finish the remaining work, fuelling a vicious cycle.

Further, I believe the cause of sleep deprivation is multifaceted, based on both Princeton’s selfdestructive burnout culture and the institution’s academic intensity. Last March, Prince Opinion writer Leora Eisenberg penned an important article about how there is an unhealthy stigma against the notion of getting sufficient sleep at Princeton.

I thoroughly concur with this sentiment. Many Princeton students feel erroneously inadequate if they admit to needing sleep, as if the idea of craving one of the most fundamental biological needs is a sign of weakness rather than good health. Therefore, I am unconvinced that sleep deprivation is solely the product of a heavy workload; of course, workloads are insane here, but we deprive ourselves of sleep not only because we are so busy but also because we feel like we should in or-

der to prove our grit, diligence, and commitment to success.

This irrational and destructive stigma against normal sleeping must be combatted through a combination of individual decision-making and institutional intervention.

First, we should all try to make active choices that enhance the quality and consistency of our sleep.

We should reevaluate the efficacy of staying up late to finish an assignment versus going to bed and completing the work in the morning, with a good night’s sleep achieved.

Sometimes by just deciding to go to bed at 11 PM one night, despite a massive workload that awaits the next day, sleep-deprived students can start to get back on track and establish a healthier sleep routine.

Princeton, as an institution, also has an obligation to help its student body make more responsible decisions when it comes to sleep. Exposure to light has an adverse impact on our ability to achieve a healthy sleep routine. Hence, the Uni-

versity should seek to dim lighting in study spaces and dormitory hallways after midnight so that students are better able to fall asleep when they head back to their bedrooms. The University should also try to promote decaf beverage options to students as caffeine, too, has an adverse effect on sleep. For instance, Witherspoon’s should provide free decaf coffee after 8 PM to dissuade students from drinking caffeinated coffee too late.

All in all, consistently getting a good night’s sleep at Princeton takes discipline, creativity, and commitment. Likewise, the vicious cycle of sleep deprivation can be extraordinarily consuming. Nevertheless, we deserve better sleep, and we should not be afraid to achieve such a thing as good sleep is a sign of healthful strength and self-care, and never a sign of weakness.

Samuel Aftel is a sophomore from East Northport, New York. He can be reached saftel@princeton.edu.

Thankful tashi treadway ’19 ..................................................

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The Daily Princetonian is published daily except Saturday and Sunday from September through May and three times a week during January and May by The Daily Princetonian Publishing Company, Inc., 48 University Place, Princeton, N.J. 08540. Mailing address: P.O. Box 469, Princeton, N.J. 08542. Subscription rates: Mailed in the United States $175.00 per year, $90.00 per semester. Office hours: Sunday through Friday, 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Telephones: Business: 609-375-8553; News and Editorial: 609-258-3632. For tips, email news@dailyprincetonian.com. Reproduction of any material in this newspaper without expressed permission of The Daily Princetonian Publishing Company, Inc., is strictly prohibited. Copyright 2014, The Daily Princetonian Publishing Company, Inc. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Daily Princetonian, P.O. Box 469, Princeton, N.J. 08542.

Sports

Tuesday November 21, 2017

page 6

{ www.dailyprincetonian.com } WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Alarie’s hot start good sign for Tigers

By Christopher Murray associate sports editor

While the Princeton women’s basketball team did not get the win on Sunday, Nov. 19 — they lost to undefeated Georgia Tech 67-56 at Jadwin Gymnasium — many positive things stood out that show long term signs of success for the team. One of the biggest signs is the play of sophomore power forward Bella Alarie, who continued her hot start with her second straight double double.

Building upon a tremendous rookie season last year, Alarie’s continued growth in all aspects of the game will pay dividends for the Tigers throughout this season and beyond.

Alarie had one of the best rookie seasons in memory for a Princeton player. It seemed that almost every week she was winning accolades from the Ivy League, whether it be rookie of the week or most valuable player of the week. In fact, Alarie broke almost every rookie school record that the University has, leading her to be named the Ivy League’s rookie of the year in 2017.

Posting seven double doubles last season, Alarie boasts stat lines evocative of those of some of the great Tiger players over the last few decades, including some that are currently in the WNBA. Alarie’s impressive performance didn’t stop when the Tigers’ season came to an end last year. Last sum-

mer, she was a part of USA Basketball and the U-19 squad that played in the FIBA World Cup. She started every game, averaged over 7 points and 8 rebounds for the team, and helped earn a silver medal for Team USA. Now an Ivy Tournament Veteran and World Cup medalist, Alarie comes back looking to be a key playmaker for this Tiger team.

Beyond just the stats that fill up the page, Alarie’s performance brings up the play of the entire team. Her playmaking abilities down low, her tireless work ethic to nab rebounds on both sides of the court, and her relentless defense all contribute to a Princeton squad that can beat you in so many ways.

Consider one scenario early in the Georgia Tech game; after a missed three by freshman Carlie Littlefield, Alarie went up high against multiple Yellow Jacket defenders, snagged the board, and passed it out to senior Kenya Holland, who immediately connected beyond the arc. Moments later, Alarie swiped the ball from a Yellow Jacket dribbler and started a fast break opportunity for Princeton, which was converted off the jumper by senior Tia Weledji. In one swift series of events, Alarie turned a missed shot into a 5-0 swing on the scoreboard.

It is because of plays like this that Alarie was named to the Katrina Mcclain Award watch list. The award — given to the best power

COURTESY OF ALEX ROGERS

The Tigers showed potential for a strong season in weekend game against Georgia.

forward in the NCAA — honors a player who not only contributes to her team individually, but brings about the best performance of her teammates as well. Alarie is one of 20 names on the nationwide watch list, and is the only player from the Ivy League on the list. With her fantastic start to the season, her early season odds for the award are sure to improve.

But beyond the individual accolades that she may receive, Alarie’s continuance of dominating play will be a huge boost for the Tigers this season as they look towards lofty goals. Sure, there will times where things aren’t going perfectly; every shooter sometimes gets into a funk or faces a matchup they just cannot get the best of. But it’s Alarie’s consis-

tent sustained success that has many Tiger fans excited; in the last 18 games the Tigers have played, Alarie has scored double-digit points in 16 of them. While certainly a small sample size, if Alarie continues to play this season like she has in the first three games, the Tigers will be well on their way to a possible Ivy League title and NCAA berth.

MEN’S AND WOMEN’S HOCKEY

Tough weekend for Princeton hockey

By Claire Coughlin associate sports editor

The Princeton men’s and women’s hockey teams faced tough losses this past weekend in games that both ended in complete shutouts. The women matched up against Clarkson University and the men’s team faced off against the Brown Bears at home.

On Friday, the Princeton women’s hockey team (2-5-3 overall, 2-5-1 ECAC) travelled to Cheel Arena in Potsdam, N.Y. to face off against the Golden Knights (12-3-1, 4-20) at Clarkson University.

Clarkson is currently ranked No. 4 in the nation and is the defending national champion, so the Tigers knew from the get-go that this game would not be easy. Right off the bat, the Golden Knights put themselves on the board in the first period, taking advantage of a bouncing puck that resulted from a breakout in the middle of the ice that Princeton was unable to block. With 27 seconds left in the period, Clarkson struck again, scoring off a cross-ice rebound pass that had been initially blocked by the Princeton defense.

Defensively, the Tigers played pretty well in goal, with sophomore goalie Stephanie Neatby making 22 saves in the first 43:15. She was later substituted out for senior goalie Alysia DaSilva, who blocked four shots in

the remaining minutes of the game. On the other end, the Golden Knights’ goalie Shea Tiley made 29 for the home team. Clarkson’s last goals came at the beginning and end of the third period from players Meaghan Hector and Savannah Harmon.

The Tigers lost 0-4.

Offensively, the Tigers outshot Clarkson 29-26 but still went 0 for 5 on the power-play and remained scoreless. Clarkson now improves to 12-3-1 overall and 4-2 in

goal was scored by Brown’s Tommy Marchin two minutes into the second period off an assist from teammate Chris Berger. The next goal came off a face-off in the third period from Brent Beaudoin, and Marchin scored his second of the night to bring the final score to 3-0.

One of Princeton’s hardest obstacles in Saturday’s game was Brown’s netminder, Gavin Nieto. The sophomore goaltender made a career-high 47 saves against

the Tigers, making it almost impossible for Princeton to get on the scoreboard. The Orange and Black was 0 for 7 on the power play and 4 for 4 on the penalty kill.

The men’s team will remain home on Wednesday, Nov. 22 and Friday, Nov. 24 for a two-game set with Bemidji State. The women’s team will be on the road again next weekend to play a two-game set at Merrimack on Friday, Nov. 24 and Saturday, Nov. 25.

COURTESY OF GOPRINCETONTIGERS.COM

Brown shut out Princeton men’s hockey at Hobey Baker for the first time this past weekend since the 1956-57 season.

Tweet of the Day “Happy 20th anniversary to the 1998 @puhockey team that captured the ECAC Championship #TAGD #TigerUp” Princeton Tigers (@PUTigers)

league play while the Orange and Black advance to 2-5-3 overall and 2-5-1 in league play.

The Princeton men’s hockey team (3-3-1, 2-3-1) also faced a tough loss to an Ivy League rival this past weekend at Hobey Baker Rink, as Brown (3-5, 2-5) achieved its first shutout at Princeton since 1956.

The first period was filled with lots of back and forth play on the ice, but no shots were scored. The game’s first

Stat of the Day

9th tiger

Junior Gabi Forrest is the ninth Tiger in Cross Country program history to earn All-America honors after her race at the NCAA Championship this past weekend.

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