October 26, 2018

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Friday October 26, 2018 vol. CXLII no. 93

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U . A F FA I R S

COURTESY OF TODD KENT

Front, from left: Natalie Tung ‘18, Anna Maritz ‘18, Sophia Alvarez ‘18, Chris Sosa GS’17. Back, from left: Joselle Lamoutte ‘01, Elisa Steele ‘17, Kristin Hauge ‘18, David Luo ‘18.

Teacher Prep Program celebrates 50th anniversary

Contributor

When Nolis Arkoulakis ’88 was in a car accident during his semester student-teaching, his first thought was, “What time is it? I can still get there, I can still teach!”

Fellow graduates of the University’s Program in Teacher Preparation show the same amount of dedication to their careers.

Graduates go into international educational development and higher education, and have gone on to found schools, become superintendents, and become recipients of the National Teacher of the Year award.

Students can enter the program as undergraduates,

graduates, or alumni.

Now, the program is celebrating its 50th anniversary.

Over the past 50 years, 1,042 students have graduated from the program, which earns them a Princeton certificate and leads to New Jersey teaching certification.

Students in the Teacher Prep Program take eight courses in the content area of their certification, an educational psychology course, two seminars, and an introductory methods course. They also spend a semester student-teaching.

90 percent of students student-teach during a ninth semester.

Dr. Todd Kent ’83, director of the Teacher Prep Pro-

OBITUARY

gram, said that each year there are 10-12 students who complete the program. The purest aspect of the program is pedagogy, according to Kent.

“We have to remember the purpose of the program is classroom teaching.”

Computer science major Karen Zhang ’19 is obtaining the teaching certification as an undergraduate and plans to teach math after graduating this spring.

Zhang said the Teacher Prep Program is meeting her expectations.

“Being in this class is solidifying a lot of the reasons I wanted to go into teaching,” Zhang said about the introductory methods class taught by Kent.

She explained that one

COURTESY OF PRINCETON.EDU

Remembering Wen Fong, pioneer in Chinese art

By Oliver Effron Contributor

Professor of Art History Emeritus Wen Fong, one of the world’s most renowned scholars in Chinese art history, left an indelible legacy both within the University and beyond.

He died of leukemia on Oct. 3, at the age of 88.

Many of Fong’s former students and colleagues professed that it is difficult to overstate the impact Fong left in his

field. During his time as a professor in the Department of Art and Archaeology from 1954 to 1999, and as department chair from 1970 to 1973, Wong helped establish the nation’s first Ph.D. program in Chinese art, personally advising more than 30 doctoral candidates.

“When he began, there may have been only two or three Ph.D.s in the field,” said art history professor Jerome Silbergeld, one of Fong’s mentees.

See FONG page 2

See TEACHER PREP page 2

ON CAMPUS

Chinese STEM students increasingly experience restrictions on US visas

McKibben discusses art, activism

By Rose Gilbert

By Oliver Effron

Over the past year, the Trump administration has placed increasing scrutiny on Chinese nationals studying at U.S. universities, particularly those in scientific and technological fields.

The White House’s new focus on Chinese students is a reaction to allegations that China has violated U.S. intellectual property laws and pressured U.S. companies based in China to share their technology. The initiative to restrict granting student visas to Chinese nationals was in part intended to punish the Chinese government for these alleged infractions, which came as the White House was already wrangling with China over tariffs, trade, and North Korea.

Although the White House had not enacted any kind of blanket ban on student visas, the State Department began restricting visas for Chinese graduate students in sensitive research fields from five years to one year on June 11, 2018.

Increased scrutiny regarding Chinese students could lead to a crackdown on visas that would impact the over 350,000 Chinese students cur-

rently studying at U.S. universities, including the 601 Chinese nationals that were attending the University as of the 2017–18 school year, according to the Davis International Center.

“Starting from this summer, things got worse,” said Mengya “Mia” Hu, a graduate student in the mechanical and aerospace engineering department and the vice president of the Princeton Graduate Society of Engineers.

Although Hu’s research is not sensitive, she said that the name of the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering department “sounds sensitive for the visa officer.” Hu also said that some of her friends at other universities have been unable to re-enter the United States after returning home to China for summer break.

“This seriously influences students’ work and life! After knowing [my friends’] story, I decided not to go home before graduation, and even after. I am so upset about this,” she said. “We are emotionally hurt.”

Hu emphasized that most Chinese students studying abroad are just normal, hardworking students and warned See CHINESE page 3

In Opinion

Today on Campus

Contributing columnist Arman Badrei celebrates his Iranian heritage and contributing columnist Jae-Kyung Sim endorses closing Princeton libraries by 2 a.m.

3:30 p.m.: The Department of Physics will host its 2nd annual “Physics Pumpkin Toss” competition.

PAGE 4

her student teaching a “full-time job,” but said she found great success through student-teaching, which positively impacted the start of her career.

“I was able to find success as a student-teacher, and that leads to confidence,” VanLandingham said, adding that “confidence carried me through my first year of actual teaching.”

VanLandingham now teaches English at Millburn High School in New Jersey.

She said she aspires to be like the teachers she had as a child who pushed her beyond what she thought that she could do.

“The teachers who really inf luenced me were tough and fair,” VanLandingham

STUDENT LIFE

Senior Writer

Wen Fong, Professor of Art History Emeritus, died on Oct. 3.

He was a well-regarded scholar in Chinese art history.

of the biggest reasons she wants to be a teacher is “to be a part of someone else’s process of growing up and maturing.”

Similarly, anthropology major Angela Kim ’19 knew she wanted to work with children, and said the program helped her understand how to unite her love for working with kids and her passion for a career in education.

“I want [students] to find the joy and rigor that I think people find here at Princeton,” Kim said. “People are inspired by their teachers and become great teachers themselves.”

Mariel VanLandingham ’16 also obtained her teaching certification as an undergraduate. She called

Jadwin Hall Plaza

Contributor

Art has become one of the most important ways to combat climate change, according to world-renowned environmental activist Bill McKibben.

On Thursday, Oct. 25, McKibben discussed the role of art within the anticlimate change movement as a part of the series that promotes the “Nature’s Nation: American Art and Environment” exhibit at the University Art Museum.

The lecture was jointly hosted by the University Art Museum and Princeton Environmental Institute.

Citing the great works of socially conscious art inspired by the AIDS epidemic, McKibben argued that art has been a vital means for promoting social change. Yet it seems to have only recently translated to the anti-climate change movement.

Now, however, art seems to be the most effective mode of protest against environmental pollution.

“We don’t have the money to fight the fossil fuel See MCKIBBEN page 2

WEATHER

By Naomi Hess

HIGH

53˚

LOW

45˚

Cloudy chance of rain:

20 percent

The Daily Princetonian

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Friday October 26, 2018

Hearn: Fong believed that Chinese McKibben: Why hasn’t U. , art was both unique and universal rich institution, seen fit to FONG divest from fossil fuels?

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Today, graduates of the program and their students account for almost three-quarters of the country’s faculty in East Asian art, according to the Department of Art and Archaeology website.

Moreover, while faculty curator of Asian art at the University Art Museum, Fong assembled one of the greatest collections of Chinese calligraphy outside of China itself, and helped build the museum’s Asian art collection into one of the most comprehensive in any university in the world.

Fong’s contributions, however, extend further than the University.

A prolific writer, Fong published numerous dissertations concerning the evolution and practice of Chinese art, and his papers are still widely cited among scholars today.

Additionally, as the first consultative chairman of the Department of Asian Art at the Metropolitan Museum — a position he held from 1971 to 2000 alongside his professorship — he was credited with resurrecting the museum’s collection when “most people thought it was too late,” according to Silbergeld.

Under Fong’s leadership, the museum’s department grew from a single permanent gallery to over 50. He even oversaw the construction of the Astor Chinese Garden Court at the Met, one of the museum’s most visited and beloved attractions.

“Underlying all of his work

was the conviction that Chinese art was at once unique and universal and that, with the right words of explanation, it could be made accessible to us all,” wrote Fong’s former student Maxwell Hearn GS ’90 in an email to The Daily Princetonian.

Hearn now serves as the Douglas Dillon Chairman of the Department of Asian Art at the Met. Teaching at the University while simultaneously consulting at the Met provided Fong’s students with numerous opportunities to view masterpieces of Chinese art hands-on.

“He would come in with a brown paper shopping bag, and inside would be a painting that we’d never seen before,” said art history professor Andrew Watsky. “A year later, it would be on display at the Met.” Watsky is now the director of the P.Y. and Kinmay W. Tang Center for East Asian Art, a position he took over from Silbergeld.

The Tang Center, which began in 2001, seeks to continue Fong’s vision by supporting scholarship in the field of East Asian Art through lectures, publications, museum exhibitions, and more.

In many ways, the Tang Center “institutionalized something [Fong] had been doing for decades,” said Dora Ching, a former student of Fong and associate director of the Tang Center.

Inside the classroom, Fong — standing at over six feet tall — was an imposing, yet animated presence. Ching and

Watsky remember lectures that would extend hours after they were scheduled to end. Classes that began at 2 p.m. could easily continue until dinnertime, sometimes later.

“If we weren’t done, we’d go out for dinner, and then come back,” Watsky remembers.

Student said the knowledge Wong imparted upon them during those long lectures may have ultimately been the most consequential part of his expansive legacy.

Students said they will always remember his piece of advice: “The object is always right; we simply have to hear what it is telling us.”

Ching recalled that Fong would tell his students to dismiss preconceived notions about the object. She said that sometimes, she would have to stare at a single work for hours on end to decrypt its meaning.

“He really trained all of his students to relate to objects as unique individuals,” Silbergeld said.

This pedagogical tool influenced the way in which Fong’s mentees would teach their own students for years to come — though Fong would be the first to admit that there was no single correct way to understand art.

“I can only teach you how I look at art,” Ching remembered Fong saying. “I hope you find your own way.”

The Department of Art and Archaeology will hold a memorial service in the University Chapel at 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 13.

VanLandingham: The teachers who really influenced me were tough, fair TEACHER PREP Continued from page 1

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said. “The teachers that were nice … those were the not the teachers I remember.”

Other graduates of the Teacher Prep Program realized they wanted to teach after having already started a different career.

Barbara Fortunato ’98 concentrated in electrical engineering and later worked in the World Trade Center. After Sept. 11, 2001, she realized she wanted a more rewarding career.

“It was a tribute to the friends of mine that I lost, that I decided to do something that I enjoyed every single day,” she said.

Now a physics teacher at West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South, Fortunato said the Teacher Prep Program was monumental in helping her achieve her goals as an educator.

“In a lot of ways, I feel most connected to Princeton through Teacher Prep,” she said.

Some parents ask Fortunato, “You went to Princ-

eton — why are you teaching? ” Fortunato thinks, “Why wouldn’t you want a Princeton graduate to be teaching your child?”

For Fortunato, teaching physics is the easy part.

“It’s all the other stuff that comes along with being a teacher that keeps me going and keeps me ... proud to be a teacher,” she said.

“I’m also teaching my students to be good citizens of the world,” she said.

Arkoulakis worked in medicine for 20 years. He found out about the Teacher Prep program at his 25th reunion.

Arkoulakis asked himself, “Why don’t you do something that really makes you happy?”

He now teaches Latin at Princeton High School.

“It’s still just a privilege that people let you into their lives and you get to help them,” said Arkoulakis about both teaching and medicine.

Katie Zaeh ’10 worked as an architect before returning to the Teacher Prep Program. “You spend a lot of time behind a computer and not impacting people,”

she said. “Especially after the 2016 election, I felt like I needed to do more.”

As a student teacher, Zaeh taught art. She said, “There was a lot of convincing these students that art was not study hall. Getting them to believe that, and to see that art impacted them, was both challenging and rewarding.” Zaeh is now forming an architecture class in the Trenton school district.

When asked about the importance of teachers, Zaeh said, “I believe very strongly that education is the vehicle to advance yourself.”

“We need more people willing to work with young people, willing to show them things they might not have been exposed to or had the opportunity to learn otherwise,” remarked Zaeh.

The Teacher Prep program is hosting its main anniversary event at a conference April 12-13, 2019.

There will be several panels and a keynote speaker. According to Kent, the April anniversary events will be a celebration of all the people who have been involved with the program.

OLIVER EFFRON :: THE DAILY PRINCETONIAN

Moderator Michael Oppenheimer (l.) introduces activist Bill McKibben.

MCKIBBEN Continued from page 1

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industry,” he said, referring to anti-fossil fuel organization 350.org, which he leads, “but we do have a vision. Art is one of the most important ways of getting that vision across.”

However, there may not be enough time: The recent United Nations Intergovernmental Report on Climate Change predicts that, without dramatic changes to the global economy within the next 12 years, the effects of climate change will be irreversible.

McKibben saw the effects of climate change himself this summer, when he witnessed the collapse of a glacier in Greenland.

During the expedition, he accompanied a poet from the Marshall Islands, a lowlying Pacific archipelago that may be destroyed by rising sea levels in the near future.

Among the most powerful works of performance art he had seen was from the Australian city, New-

castle, one of the largest oil tanker ports in the world.

A group of kayakers — or “kayaktivists” — formed a blockade around boats leaving the port. McKibben compared it to the Rebel Alliance against the Death Star.

With that example in mind, he asked the audience “why Princeton University, one of the richest universities on Earth, hasn’t seen [it] fit to divest from fossil fuels.”

During the Q&A session, the 11-year old daughter of Denise Mauzerall, a professor of environmental engineering and international affairs, asked about the individual ways that a person at home can help address the issue.

McKibben was reluctant to say that individuals’ lifestyles have any impact on the climate. Rather, he reemphasized that the greatest impact comes from those who use their platforms, such as art, to raise awareness.

The lecture was held at 5:30 p.m. in Richardson Auditorium.

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Chinese student Wu debates attending meeting in France

COURTESY OF ACSSPU

Students cooking at an event with Princeton’s Association of Chinese Students and Scholars.

CHINESE Continued from page 1

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that more Chinese nationals may start attending universities in other countries.

According to an anonymous attendee at a dinner President Donald Trump hosted this August at his private golf club in Bedminster, N.J., Trump said in reference to Chinese students that “almost every student that

comes over to this country is a spy,” Politico reported.

University spokesperson Ben Chang said that the University will not comment on news reported by media organizations like Politico and The New York Times.

“The University maintains its commitment to building a diverse student body, both undergraduate and graduate, that draws on a wide range of talent, experiences, and backgrounds

from home and abroad,” he said.

In contrast, a report released this June from the White House Office of Trade and Manufacturing called Chinese nationals studying in the United States “non-traditional information collectors” who posed a risk to U.S. intellectual property.

The report accuses the Chinese government of using Chinese students and intellectuals to engage in corporate espionage,

sometimes against their will.

One part of the reports reads, “The national and economic security risks are that the Chinese State may seek to manipulate or pressure even unwitting or unwilling Chinese nationals into becoming non-traditional information collectors that serve Beijing’s military and strategic ambitions.”

During a February 2018 Senate Intelligence Committee hearing FBI Director Christopher Wray warned that the FBI observed “the use of nontraditional collectors, especially in the academic setting, whether it’s professors, scientists, students,” in all academic disciplines nationwide.

Wray said that “the level of naivete on the part of the academic sector” had helped create this issue.

Although Wray characterized Chinese students studying any discipline in the United States as a potential threat, Peng Wang, a graduate student in the economics department, asserted that the bulk of the scrutiny has fallen on students in technology and the sciences.

“This new visa policy doesn’t affect us much,” Wang said about economics students.

“Based on what I know, students in engineering schools doing ‘hard sciences’ are facing a lot more difficulty with respect to visas, and you know, we are the ‘soft’ ones,” he added.

Sunny Qin ’19 said that getting a visa has become more difficult for undergraduates since she applied for her student visa in 2015.

“I remember when I applied for a U.S. study visa back in 2015, it was not that hard, in the sense that I showed them my admission letter, along with financial information from my parents, and I just got the visa really quickly,” Qin explained.

She noted that her experience might be different from students who were admitted to the University recently, noting that they “had a much bigger problem getting a student visa, in the sense that they required way more documents.”

Jiarong Wu, a graduate student in the MAE department, said that his visa was “checked” for three weeks because the technical-sounding name of his program. Wu said that while he was upset, he had heard of worse cases and didn’t complain. But he said he’s worried about how this change will impact his plans for the year ahead.

“The immediate problem is that I plan to go to a meeting in France next summer, which means after that I have to go back to China to update my visa before I can re-enter the United States,” Wu explained.

“I have no idea how things will be like at that time. Maybe I will give up going to that meeting if it gets worse,” he said.

Wu said he and his fellow Chinese students are concerned about the uncertainty this new restriction introduces into their plans for the academic and professional futures.

“I do hope things don’t get worse,” he said.

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midterms really do be like that Christine Lu ’21

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Friday October 26, 2018

Opinion

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{ www.dailyprincetonian.com }

Food for thoughts Ethan Thai Columnist

L

ast week, my f leece jacket moved from the depths of my closet to the back of my desk chair, where its warm linings welcomed the crisp New Jersey fall. The new season has not only confined warm, humid summer to the wisps of steam lingering above hot coffees, but also it has ushered in a new atmosphere on campus. I can’t quite pin down when my lazy Netf lix searches turned into frantic keystrokes spitting out an essay, nor when nightly conversations with roommates became groans amid practice exams, accented with the occasional existential howl at a particularly stumping problem set.

While we often decry the stress culture at Princeton, we fail to recognize that every complaint we spew and

close-cut deadline we protest compounds the pressure of academic work. The overwhelming presence of over-caffeinated and under-rested minds made me initially wonder why Princeton Christian Fellowship thought it would be a good time to run Questions for Quesadillas — an event seeking to answer students’ deepest questions about religion by delivering warm quesadillas to their rooms.

After hearing two PCF representatives tackle the seemingly impossible task of explaining an omnipotent good God in a world of suffering, however, I realized it is during the periods of mental exhaustion and insurmountable work that we most need a small dose of healthy conversation. We can decompress by talking about the greater things in life.

During midterms, it is difficult to justify stepping outside study carrels and all too easy to sacrifice a normal social life. We see the few minutes of productivity lost to a mealtime conversa-

tion or the precious thought wasted on an intellectual discussion that won’t be transcribed into another research paper as the first casualties of the testing season. They are replaced by an unyielding and stresscontorted desperation to be productive.

As I was sifting through textbook pages full of equations that seemed to melt together, the philosophical dialogue wafted through my open door. Call it being easily distracted, but having listened, I soon realized a few things completely aside from learning more about my friend’s opinions and the Christian faith.

The two PCF representatives and my two roommates had the same number of assignments and exams as I did. Unlike me, however, they weren’t trapped between textbook pages.

Rather, they were engaged in a stimulating discussion, unhindered by any midterm study guide.

Sure, I could have gotten through a couple more pages of reading, or another frac-

vol. cxlii

tion of a part of a problem set, but I gained something a little more valuable by setting my work aside. I left the conversation pleasantly refreshed and returned to what had been monotonous work with a clearer and less tired mind. Regardless of how inundated with work I am, and that finding these pockets of reprieve is exactly what makes the work manageable.

As students here, we are unified through the strain of ceaseless academic pressure, each bound by a desire to achieve and fastened to an unhealthy addiction to glorifying work. I can’t say the small act of partaking in a midnight conversation on the mysteries of life will break that harmful chain.

It does, however, help distinguish true intellectual stimulation from ruthless mental exertion, actions we often and unfortunately confuse.

Ethan Thai is a sophomore

from Chandler, Ariz. He can be reached at ehthai@princeton. edu.

Am I a tonal token?

editor-in-chief

Marcia Brown ’19 business manager

Ryan Gizzie ’19

BOARD OF TRUSTEES president Thomas E. Weber ’89 vice president Craig Bloom ’88 secretary Betsy L. Minkin ’77 treasurer Douglas J. Widmann ’90 trustees Kathleen Crown Stephen Fuzesi ’00 Zachary A. Goldfarb ’05 John Horan ’74 Joshua Katz Rick Klein ’98 James T. MacGregor ’66 Alexia Quadrani Marcelo Rochabrun ’15 Richard W. Thaler, Jr. ’73 Lisa Belkin ‘82 Francesca Barber David Baumgarten ’06 Gabriel Debenedetti ’12 Michael Grabell ’03 Kavita Saini ’09 Abigail Williams ’14 trustees emeriti Gregory L. Diskant ’70 Jerry Raymond ’73 Michael E. Seger ’71 Annalyn Swan ’73 William R. Elfers ’71 Kathleen Kiely ’77

142ND MANAGING BOARD managing editors Isabel Hsu ’19 Sam Parsons ’19 head news editor Claire Thornton ’19 associate news editors Allie Spensley ’20 Audrey Spensley ’20 Ariel Chen ’20 Ivy Truong ’21 associate news and film editor Sarah Warman Hirschfield ’20 head opinion editor Emily Erdos ’19 associate opinion editors Jon Ort ’21 Cy Watsky ’21 head sports editors David Xin ’19 Chris Murphy ’20 associate sports editors Miranda Hasty ’19 Jack Graham ’20 MARCIA BROWN :: PRINCETONIAN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Kirsten Keels

Contributing Columnist

I

remember walking into Richardson Auditorium during my Princeton Preview visit, my heart brimming with excitement and a pen in my hand to star every group I planned on auditioning for.

As the show was about to start, the sound of heels and dress shoes clicking on the wooden stage filled the microphones. A single note was given. Each person took a deep breath, in unison of course, and out came the most beautiful harmony.

The smiles never left their faces.

Another group entered in the same way, but something caught my eye that I hadn’t noticed before. I thought it was just a f luke, but as the night progressed, group after group came out with few people of color in their ranks. Looking up at the groups passed, I could no longer see myself singing and swaying with them as I had wanted to just 30 minutes before. I was crestfallen in a way I couldn’t articulate. When fall came, I still very much wanted to sing on campus. After not making Glee, I decided

to reopen my mind to the possibility of a cappella. I now regard this as one of the best decisions I’ve made during my time at Princeton, as my a cappella group has become my family.

However, I remain hyperaware that I am the only Black person in the group.

And I’m not alone.

There is a lack of diversity on Princeton’s music scene (i.e., a cappella, Glee Club, theatre, the music department, etc.) that results in the voices of certain minority groups not being heard, as well as the continuation of talented Black and Brown performers turning away from these groups, feeling as though they don’t belong. As a Black woman and a music major heavily involved in multiple facets of music, I felt the same.

For those not familiar with the term “token,” it’s someone of a given identity who is the only person of their identity in each group, there being the sole representation, caricature or otherwise, of the group they identify with.

When participating in music on Princeton’s campus as a person of color, you become a token. We are the representation of our identities, good or bad.

When first-years interested in music come here, we are who they see.

If this was one group, I would understand. The problem lies in the eight groups in Acaprez — the governing body of a cappella made up of the eight oldest groups — having only a handful of Black and Brown bodies. The music department? The same. Glee and Chapel Choir? Homogenous. The most diverse musical space on campus is the theatre department, which still struggles to make ends meet when Black and Brown characters are needed. Many are turned off from music on campus because they, like me, don’t see a space for themselves in these groups. This has come from many conversations with other Black and Brown performers who feel the same.

Crucial voices are lost in music on campus. There have been many times I have had to stand against microaggressive alumni asking if I’m really a Princeton student despite confirming those around me were Princeton students.

I’ve sat through an auditionee singing a song with heavily negative racial connotations, feeling like I’m

the only one who’s immediately angered by it. I’ve stood against comments regarding harmful stereotypes of certain groups made by members of other groups because they lack that voice. I defend people of color because if I don’t say something, I’m not sure anything would be said.

If my being there makes the groups I’m in a better, more inclusive, and thoughtful space, I am successful. Other groups cannot have this opportunity if they lack diverse voices and will continue to suffer under the same racially ignorant pretenses that plague most other parts of the University.

Now, this can be a commentary on either the University’s demographics or on the groups who choose who to let in because of implicit biases. Regardless of which it may be, something needs to be done to fix these spaces.

The uniqueness of music allows it to be appreciated by all identities. It simply cannot continue to belong to one or two.

Kirsten Keels is a sophomore from West Fork, Ark. She can be reached at kkeels@ princeton.edu.

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Opinion

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Jae-Kyung Sim

Let’s shut down all libraries by 2 a.m.

Contributing Columnist

A

s I was standing in line to get brunch at Wilcox Hall the other day, I saw my friend from Mathey College come through the door. I asked him why he had come all the way to Wilcox just for Sunday brunch. Wearing the exact same clothes he had worn yesterday, he told me that he had fallen asleep at the Julian Street Library while doing his assignments.

Although I laughed it off, such examples of extreme all-nighters are not uncommon at the University. All the major libraries may dim their lights at an earlier time. The residential college libraries, however, are often open 24/7. Walking past Wilcox, it’s easy to see students still working at four or five in the morning, even on a Saturday “night.”

And so, I declare: We should close all libraries by 2 a.m.

This may seem like a radical proposal, but it is a necessary one. There may be some exceptions, such as during midterms or finals season, when there should be granted extensions of the closing time — but generally, all libraries should shut down by 2 a.m.

This idea comes from a sense of concern for the amount of sleep that students are getting at Princeton. Although some start their days off with an 11 a.m. or even a 12:30 p.m. class, the vast majority of us have at least a couple days in a week in which we have early-morning classes. That

means even sleeping at 2 a.m. barely guarantees seven or eight hours of sleep; going to bed at an even later time, then, is bound to cause health issues in the long-run. The common saying that “once you get sick at Princeton, you never get better” is grounded in some level of truth — and that truth is rooted in the fact that people just don’t get enough rest to heal from even a minor sickness.

Having the option of going to the library after 2 a.m. only encourages this self-destructive behavior.

The number of students who pull all-nights is sizable. If we limit the options for these students to engage in late-night studying to begin with, they will inevitably have to go to sleep at an earlier time and not risk being deprived of sleep.

Those who disagree may argue that students will stay up late in their dorms anyway. This is a fair point, and indeed, some students will do so. However, it is also true that many students would be less likely to study if their only option was studying in their dorm room, as people tend to view it as more of a place to sleep. More importantly, however, the bigger reason for this proposal comes from the perceptual effect of this policy, not just the policy itself.

In other words, an earlier closing time would simultaneously encourage more efficient time management and less procrastination.

I will not deny that Princeton’s workload is heavy, and that is a separate issue all together. Regardless,

the perception that “the day ends at 2 a.m.,” or even if it’s not to that extent, that “all the libraries close at 2 a.m.,” will motivate students to set specific time limits and to focus and study harder during the day. It may even further incentivize students to develop efficient work habits, such as waking up earlier in the morning to study with a fresh brain, rather than spending all night doing problem sets with the help of a Red Bull to fight drowsiness.

It is essential to highlight that the nature of this policy isn’t a coercive one — I am not dictating that we should force students to turn all their lights off at 2 a.m. or that the University should enforce a strict curfew. Rather, the policy

is simply an incentive for students to better manage their time during the day and to prioritize sleep and self-care at night. The status quo simply neglects various health issues that students face under the guise of student agency; this policy would sacrifice very little of that to ensure something that is much more important yet incredibly undervalued.

Moreover, this proposal is a recognition that academic engagement during the day is just as important, if not more important, than doing problem sets and readings late at night. A temporary lack of sleep means there is poor cognitive performance and memory consolidation during the day; even worse, chronic lack of sleep, which

dominates the culture at the University, means the condition permanently impacts learning and memory.

Considering classes take place during the day, this negative cycle decreases the amount of course content a student can absorb throughout the day.

While grades are important, they should never come at the expense of sacrificing our health. If we can’t do it ourselves, then University policies must incentivize students to sleep earlier — and a minor change like changing the library closing times would be a tremendous start.

Jae-Kyung Sim is a freshman from Sejong City, South Korea.

He can be reached at j.sim@ princeton.edu.

JON ORT :: PRINCETONIAN ASSOCIATE OPINION EDITOR

The Hate We Give Avner Goldstein

Contributing Columnist

L

ast week, I went with friends to see the premiere of “The Hate U Give,” the film adaptation of a book

by Angie Thomas. The film centers on the life of Starr, a young African-American girl who is caught between her two worlds: her lowincome, black life at home in fictional Garden Heights and her mostly white private school in Williamson. Starr is constantly having to codeswitch between being her unapologetic self at home and what she calls “Starr, Version 2,” her quiet, nonthreatening alter ego.

Starr is able to maintain this uneasy balance until she witnesses the murder of her friend Khalid, unarmed, by a white police officer. Now, Starr must choose to either continue living in her two worlds or pursue what she ultimately sees as standing up as for Khalil and her home community.

Yet Starr’s reality is not confined to fiction. Whether it be Williamson’s pseudosupport of black lives or its overt racism, the lessons learned in “The Hate U Give” translate to our own campus and beyond and force us to ask ourselves how well we are actually standing against racism and in solidarity with students of color.

After Khalil’s death, Starr begins to open her two worlds, taking pride in her blackness even when she is at her predominantly white school. The murder compels her to speak out against racism and police brutality. Her white classmates, who were comfortable with a quiet Starr, now casually offer racist comments, with one white girl telling Starr that Khalil’s murderer was just “doing his job.”

For me, one of the most striking scenes is when white students organize a “protest” as an excuse to skip class.

“What? It’s a good cause, and do you really want to see our math teacher’s face this morning?” the same white girl asks to Starr.

This kind of empty support of black lives is also common at Princeton. Too many times, I have heard white friends say that black lives matter and then never give tangible support to black communities when it was needed. We (including me) reblog Tumblr posts and like Instagram pictures memorializing unarmed black men like Khalil, yet we must seriously ask ourselves how often we have actually stood up in material ways for black lives.

Rather than just standing against racism in the abstract, we need to challenge that racism when it persists in our own communities.

We do not ask black students what they actually need, but rather we assume we know best. Still, we need to also remember it is not the responsibility of black communi-

ties alone to teach us how to act; rather, we should be taking steps in our own circles that challenge racism.

Starr’s boyfriend, a white classmate named Chris, initially tells Starr that he does not see color. I have heard this line from many of my peers, claiming a false reality of a post-racist world in which they are somehow able to shed their white privilege and see everything as equal when, in reality, it is not.

“If you don’t see my blackness, you don’t see me,” Starr replies. She teaches that blackness — and any oppressed or minority identity — should not be overlooked but instead but celebrated.

This erasure of cultural differences by insisting nonexistent equality also makes it seemingly easier to ignore the systemic injustices that perpetuate that very inequality.

I have often noticed white individuals offering their own oppression to somehow relate to racism, claiming “I am gay and oppressed and therefore understand your oppression.” Yet this equation seemingly allows white people to make ourselves exempt from our privilege, when we really should be taking responsibility for our communities as a whole and our own ways in which we might unintentionally perpetuate racial injustice. “It is not our differences that divide us,” wrote Audre Lorde, a feminist and civil rights author. “It is our inability to recognize, accept and celebrate those differences.”

“The Hate U Give” also

teaches an important lesson about our perception of young black girls, who must internalize their own pain while still striving to care and be present for everyone around them. Starr attempts to repress the trauma of witnessing her friend being killed while still being a dutiful student for her parents and being a non-threatening figure for her white classmates, allowing them to indulge in black culture — speaking slang and blasting trap music — while not carrying the burden of blackness in America. When Starr decides to educate her white friends about this problematic display, she is shut down as angry and defensive.

Starr stands in for so many young black girls who carry this burden and responsibility every day. But it should not have to be their responsibility. We need to do better at understanding black girls’ experiences so that we can be better friends and allies to them when needed. We should stop policing black girls in their tone and language and instead listen to what they have to say and accept how they wish to communicate it. When we listen to black voices, we need to end our desire for “respectful conversations”; this demand is outright tone policing — something that only reinforces racial stereotypes.

In our conversations with black communities, we should remember that any conversation on oppression with someone who benefits from that oppression and holds beliefs that might

maintain the power structure is inherently imbalanced. This means that when we engage in these conversations as allies, while they are absolutely necessary, we are not engaging in an act of justice; rather, we are participating in the status quo.

I cannot say I have the answers, and in the past, I have not educated myself to the extent I should. A twohour blockbuster should not have had to serve as a wake-up call for me — the 798 people killed by the police in 2018 alone should have been enough. Like those 798, Khalil’s story (regardless of its fictionality) is “the same story, just with a different name.”

The hardest reality of “The Hate U Give” is that those who need to see it most probably will not. I encourage Princeton students to see and engage with “The Hate U Give.” It is time white people actually stood in real solidarity and take responsibility for the hate we give. Simply having conversations on racism is not the only part of the fight; for immediate action, we must learn when to talk and when to listen, believe, and follow suit. “People like us in situations like this become hashtags, but they rarely get justice,” Starr ref lects. “I think we all wait for that one time though, that one time when it ends right.”

Avner Goldstein is a sophomore from Greenville, S.C. He can be reached at amkg@princeton.edu.

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Friday October 26, 2018

Opinion

page 6

{ www.dailyprincetonian.com }

Procrastination can be productive Ethan Li

Contributing Columnist

I

n the midst of midterms here at Princeton, you have likely heard the word “procrastination” casually strewn throughout conversation with ever-increasing frequency.

Although procrastination is typically cast in a negative light, I believe its poor reputation is largely undeserved. In truth, the muddy connotation derives from an oversimplification of the term. Indeed, contrary to common belief, procrastination can act as the unsung catalyst for other outlets of productivity.

So-called “structured procrastination” could be going to the gym instead of finishing a math problem set, cleaning your room rather than studying for that COS exam, or simply taking a power nap before tackling your writing seminar essay. Whatever the case, you remain productive. And procrastination is the driving force behind that work ethic.

At its core, procrastination means delaying highpriority tasks. “Productive procrastination,” however, means not squandering time. For example, you may complete an assignment that is not particularly urgent before moving on to whatever is due tomorrow.

This is a critical distinction. The term “productive

procrastination” was first coined by psychologist Piers Steel, who studied productive procrastination through the lens of behavioral psychology at the University of Calgary. In his book “The Procrastination Equation,” Steel details how “anyone can do any amount of work, provided it isn’t the work he is supposed to be doing at that moment.”

Why is this true?

We suffer from a relativistic frame of mind. The metaphorical hill of work appears insurmountable only until we place it in the context of a more daunting incline. For instance, a challenging statistics problem set becomes a desirable task in comparison to studying for that big physics midterm. Other tasks — perhaps not initially as appealing — appear more actionable in comparison to more gargantuan projects. I try to consciously engage this practice: I save all my COS lecture videos for times when I am inevitably bamboozled by some idiosyncratic math problem. Setting aside simpler tasks for times like that allows me to take “productive breaks” from more difficult assignments.

This is an easily understood concept. Behavioral psychology tells us that there is a rousing dichotomy between not wanting to do work and not wanting to feel lousy. At Princeton, between 10-page papers and obtuse math proofs, students are all too familiar with this simultaneous polar existence.

The mind compromises by doing work that is not directly impending, and

SYDNEY PENG

this is not necessarily a bad thing. People love having choice (or at least the facade of choice). As Dr. Susan Weinschenk observes, choices are linked to control which are — in turn — linked biologically to survival. Hard deadlines and due dates run directly opposite to that; they dictate when assignments must be completed and when course material must be studied.

Therefore, in a fallacious yet noble effort to escape dictation, we complete other less urgent assignments first, so that we may retain some semblance of free will.

In other words, if an assignment is due in two weeks, we can “choose” any moment during the next 14

days to complete it. However, if the work is due the following day, we are forced to complete it immediately. Behavioral psychology theories posit that we compulsively avoid such urgent tasks. Instead, we favor those less acute assignments which we feel we have more control over.

It is a savvy, self-imposed Tom Sawyering of the mind.

Professor Emeritus John Perry of Stanford University also studied this “structured procrastination.” He noted that “procrastinators seldom do absolutely nothing.” By pitting one difficult task against another, it is possible to procrastinate between them, and emerge triumphantly industrious.

Thus, procrastination is not the traditional nemesis of productivity that people paint it to be.

We ought to disabuse ourselves of this antiquated and colloquial definition. By understanding the psychology that underpins procrastination, we can transmute our procrastinatory tendencies into directed diligence. In any case, that’s why you’ll find me doing laundry at 3 a.m. the night before my math midterm.

Ethan Li is a first-year from Stony Brook, N.Y. He can be reached at ethanl@princeton. edu.

As an Iranian-American, it’s not as terrible as you think Arman Badrei

Contributing Columnist

I

’ve never been shy about my heritage. I am, loudly and proudly, a first-generation Iranian American, one of anywhere between 500,000 to 1 million passionate people born in this great land after our parents escaped danger.

I’ve heard the story a thousand times: In 1979, my parents, at separate times, fled their homes, their way of life, and everything they knew because of the Iranian Revolution ­­— and emigrated to the United States. My parents’ decisions afforded me the life my brother and I, alongside thousands more with similar stories, live and

cherish today.

That’s why Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-S.C.) comment on “Fox & Friends” on Tuesday frustrated me on a personal level.

While on the show, Graham discussed immigration, the upcoming midterm elections, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s (D-Mass.) DNA test results. On the last point, Graham announced he would also take a DNA test to ascertain whether he “beat” Warren in this idiotic, imaginary competition.

Aside from the numerous, inherent problems with that announcement, Graham concluded his remarks on the subject and said, “I’d probably be Iranian. That’d be, like, terrible.”

Oh, boy.

I understand the context of the remark. I understand it was a very distasteful and poor attempt at a joke made in a lighthearted manner.

But that far from excuses the

comment. And while I do appreciate “Fox & Friends” host Brian Kilmeade’s immediate follow-up asserting Iranians are “great people” with “bad leaders,” Graham’s opinion disturbed me on a personal level, and it only reinforced the animosity circulating in our culture and the current political climate.

My heritage has been nothing but a source of pride for me throughout my life.

And, fortunately, Iranians have not been the targets of routine hatred or discrimination in the United States.

Sure, like any other Middle Eastern ethnicity, we have been the targets of derogatory remarks about being terrorists, which is by no means excusable, but with regard to broader societal or systemic treatment, we have not suffered much.

Likewise, criticizing Graham’s comment is not a matter of political correctness or cultural sensitivity; no

one was called by the wrong term, per se. However, what such criticism comes down to is a matter of respect. If our politicians, who are in theory supposed to exemplify and represent the values, beliefs, and ideas of all U.S. citizens in their constituencies, are unable to demonstrate deference to other people and cultures distinct from their own identities, are they really qualified to serve in public office?

Interestingly enough, Graham said earlier on “Fox and Friends” that this upcoming midterm election “is down to simple things,” among which he asked voters to consider “what kind of country do you want, and who you want to run it?”

While I am not a part of the constituency Graham represents, I would want a representative who, among other things, understands the value of common decency and respect. One who knows

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the line between humor and careless offense.

I hope this remark from Graham, which he claims “was a joke” about being “the Ayatollah’s ancestor,” acts as an impetus for all voters to consider both the policy and the character of their possible representatives.

But the more I think about it, he’s right: It would be “terrible” for Graham to find out he’s Iranian so late in his life.

To find out he could be a member of a such an ancient and rich culture and history.

To discover that he is part of a fiercely resilient group of people, especially in modern times, who do not back down.

To realize that he could taste so many delicious foods and dishes, like ghormeh sabzi and chelo kabab and tahdig.

His loss, I guess.

Arman Badrei is a first-year student from Houston, Texas.

He can be reached at abadrei@ princeton.edu.

Friday October 26, 2018

The Daily Princetonian

page 7

MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY

Men’s cross country looks to build off success, repeat as Heps champs

By Sam Shapiro Staff Writer

After a tough workout, long run, or stellar race, men’s cross country head coach Jason Vigilante often repeats a phrase to his team: “We’re right where we want to be.” Going into the Heptagonal Championship, this sentiment holds up.

So far in the season, the Tigers have taken care of business. Princeton is in a solid place to capture a repeat Heps title this Saturday. The NCAA nationally ranks the Tigers at No. 28; no other Ivy League team has made its way into the rankings.

Two weekends ago, the team captured a first-place finish at the Princeton Invitational. Junior Conor Lundy blew away the competition, winning the race and demolishing in the home stretch with an eight second lead. Junior Gannon Willcutts and sophomore Matt Grossman also had strong performances, finishing fifth and sixth overall.

On the Princeton Invitational, senior Jeremy Spiezio commented, “We were happy with the performance. It was the first race where [Vigilante] let us go and let us race.

We’d been running pretty controlled up until that point, try-

ing to run together and get a group mentality going in races. Obviously, Conor ran exceptionally well, and Gannon ran exceptionally well. But the most encouraging part was we have three or four guys who on any given day could be a scorer for us.” These runners are sophomore Ed Trippas, junior Perrin Hagge, junior Viraj Deokar and Spiezio himself.

Spiezio spoke highly of his teammates’ work ethic and improvement: “[They] have made the biggest steps, and they have really transformed themselves into some of the best runners in the league….

They give us depth that many

of the teams in the league and region don’t have,” said Spiezio, “It’s very encouraging going into Heps and regionals.”

Going into Saturday, the team will try to use the group mentality that it has fostered all fall to carry it to success.

“Usually, most teams try to stay together as much as they can throughout the 5K. As the race develops, the top guys make their moves and start pushing the pace … the race tends to string out,” said Spiezio. With several mid-distance runners competing for the Tigers at Heps, the Tigers are hoping to start the race

with “as many orange jerseys as we can near the front, [for] as long as we can.”

Spiezio was certain to not overlook the Tiger’s ambitious but attainable goals for later this season. “What matters is still weeks down the road. We want to take care of business at Heps, get through regionals, and get to nationals. That’s where the big money is at. This year, we’ve got the talent to be right up there. I think top 15 would be awesome.”

Leading into the postseason, if the Tigers can seize the Heps title this weekend, they’ll be right where they want to be.

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Men’s cross country says it feels that it is “right where it wants to be.”

The Orange Bubble Vincent Deluca ’22 ..................................................

Sports

Friday October 26, 2018

page 8

{ www.dailyprincetonian.com } FOOTBALL

Football looks for first 7–0 start since 1995

By Molly Milligan Staff Writer

The undefeated football team (6–0, 3–0 Ivy) will face Cornell (3–3, 2–1) in its return to Powers Field at Princeton Stadium tomorrow afternoon. The Tigers are coming off a 29–21 win over Harvard (3–3, 1–2 Ivy) in which senior quarterback John Lovett threw for 207 yards and senior running back Charlie Volker recorded two rushing touchdowns.

The victory was Princeton’s first real test in a season that includes five blowout wins.

In an interview for the “Original Eleven” podcast, sophomore cornerback Delan Stallworth said that playing in a game where “you really have to fight” will benefit the Tigers as the season continues.

“Coming out on top, I think that gives you a little bit of confidence, just knowing that you’re not going to break down in the end of games,” he said of the team’s mindset following the Harvard win. The team knows they’ve got “to punch back to be in a position to win.”

Princeton has thrown plenty of punches this season, earning the 17th spot in the FCS Coaches’ Poll. The team leads the FCS in both total offense (556.8 yards per game) and scoring offense (48.2 points per game). But before the Tigers can keep moving up the board, they will square off against another serious challenger in the Big Red. Cornell sits behind Princeton and Dartmouth, the only other undefeated team in the Ivy League, with a 2–1 league record. The Big

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A loss by either Princeton or Cornell on Saturday wouldn’t prevent either from winning the Ivy League trophy.

Red’s 3–3 overall record is deceptive — two of its three losses came against Colgate and Delaware, both ranked teams, and the third came in a close game against Yale.

Last year, Cornell proved to be the party crashers for a Princeton squad that had routed Harvard and was sitting pretty at 5–1, looking for a share of the Ivy League title. The game ended with a nail-biting 29–28 score for the Big Red, and Princeton would not win another game all season.

This year’s Tigers will no doubt have this on their mind as they take the field

Saturday.

Getting to 7–0 would likely require another stellar performance from Lovett and Volker. The running back only needs 132 more yards to reach the 2,000-yard career rushing mark. Volker’s method of tuning everything out when the ball in is his hands has been instrumental.

“The only thing I think about is, here is the line, there are a bunch of other guys on the other side trying to stop me from getting to the line, and with my teammates, we need to make sure we get across it. That’s the

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL

only thing that gets in my mind. I’m so certain of my job at that point,” Volker says of gaining yards and scoring touchdowns.

It’s not just the offense that’s worth watching, though. Princeton’s defense ranks fourth in the FCS in scoring defense, allowing just 10.7 points per game. The unit is anchored by a pair of senior captains, linebackers Mark Fossati and Tom Johnson, who have each recorded 10-tackle games this season.

Both Princeton and Cornell control their own destiny in the path to the Ivy League Championship. A Ti-

ger win would set up a probable showdown between two undefeated teams next week against Dartmouth, who will host Harvard in its homecoming game this weekend. A loss by either team on Saturday would not prevent either from winning a share of the title. Cornell may also claim a share of the Ivy League trophy — the Big Red has only one league loss and could win its remaining games against Princeton and Dartmouth.

The game will be streamed live on ESPN+. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.

WOMN’S CROSS COUNTRY

Women’s volleyball beats Women’s XC to host Penn, faces Yale for top Heps this weekend spot in the Ivy League

By Sam Shapiro Staff Writer

By Alissa Selover Staff Writer

This past weekend, the women’s volleyball team (14–5, 7–1) remained undefeated at home. The Tigers faced Penn (5–14, 2–6) for the second time this season in a 3–0 (25–16, 25–16, 26–19) win. During this match, the Tigers had three players reach double-digit kills.

Juniors Devon Peterkin and Maggie O’Connell each had 11 kills while sophomore Alexa Underwood also played a strong role for the offense with 10 kills. Defensively, the Tigers didn’t give in to the Quakers, with Peterkin leading the way with nine digs, while freshman Cameron Dames added eight. Junior Jessie Harris continued to set up the offense with 40 assists in this match, keeping her spot as the Ivy League leader in assists.

Peterkin not only led her team this past weekend; she’s also leading the Ivy League, having been

named Ivy League Player of the Week three times this season. She currently sits in the top 10 for kills, digs, and points, taking into account all eight conference games that have been played.

Head coach Sabrina King has previously commented on Peterkin, stating, “Devon has once again shown that she is one the of the most well-rounded players in the Ivy League.” Peterkin finished last season with All-Ivy League honors after recording 146 kills and 164 digs. She has already passed both these numbers with 198 kills and 188 digs leading into the second half of Ivy League play. Peterkin continues paving the way for the Tigers on their trek to the championship.

This Friday Princeton will play Yale (13–4, 7–1) in New Haven, which will be nationally broadcasted on ESPNU, in a matchup that will undoubtedly play a large role in the Ivy League standings.

The win against Penn allowed Princeton to remain tied for first place with Yale. The Tigers are preparing for a recap of their 2017 season, in which they shared the Ivy League championship with Yale.

During the 2017 season, the Tigers beat Yale in New Haven for the first time since 2007. This season, the goal has always been to be the sole champion within the league.

The match between Yale and Princeton could plausibly go either way. The Tigers finished the 2017 season 2–1 against Yale. They are currently sitting at 1–0, after beating the Bulldogs back in September in their first match since the Ivy League championship.

On Saturday, Princeton will face a significantly less demanding challenge, as the team travels to Providence to play Brown (8–10, 1–7), a team currently stuck at the bottom of the Ivy League standings.

Capturing the 2018 Heptagonal Championships title on Oct. 27 is not farfetched for this year’s women’s cross country roster. The team has worked its way into the national NCAA rankings, currently standing at No. 30. The only other Ivy League team nationally ranked is No. 20 Columbia; Yale and Dartmouth received votes, but are not ranked. “[The Penn State Invitational] gives us confidence going into Heps. We finished with one of the smallest spreads in the field,” said senior Allie Klimkiewicz. The Tigers also had a stellar showing at the Lakefront Invitational in Chicago, capturing first. Klimkiewicz described the Chicago win as an “unexpected confidence boost.”

Princeton’s advantage over its league competitors lies in its unbelievable depth. Most recently, at the Penn State Invitational, the team finished fourth, one spot ahead of

Dartmouth. Impressively, the top five finished with a 24-second spread; the top 10 runners finished with a minute spread.

In order for the Tigers to capture the Ivy League title, the Tigers must maintain this small spread.

“The pack is an important entity,” said Klimkiewicz. Many contributors are key to the team’s success: Sophomore Melia Chittenden led the team at Penn State and has been having an outstanding season. Freshman Gillian Wagner did not race at Penn State, but finished in first for the team at Lakefront; freshman Page Lester had her first collegiate race at Penn State and was the fifth scorer for the Tigers. A quartet of four seniors — Maddie Offstein, Alie Fordyce, Klimkiewicz and Brighie Leach — have shined throughout the season.

“Heps is my favorite race of the year. It’s anyone’s race,” said Klimkiewicz, “As a senior, to have it on the home course is very nostalgic and wonderful.

We’re extremely excited.”

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