October 3, 2018

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Wednesday October 3, 2018 vol. CXLII no. 78

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STUDENT LIFE

ON CAMPUS

U. students circulate letter on Kavanaugh

Nassau Hall undergoes renovations

By Zachary Shevin Contributor

On Oct. 1, a letter involving the confirmation process of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh began circulating among University students. It was directed at the U.S. Senate and President Donald Trump.

“We do not oppose the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh based on ideological grounds,” the letter, written by Jaren McKinnie ’21, states. “Instead, we oppose the current expeditious nomination of a man uncleared of breaches of morality of the most severe degree. We refuse to support appointing an individual who has possibly participated in such illicit acts as he has been accused.”

The confirmation hearings have ignited campus protests at several of the University’s peer institutions, including Yale, where Kavanaugh graduated in 1987, and Harvard, where he has lectured since 2008. Until this week, although the topic had been widely discussed, there had been no formal protest of Kavanaugh’s confirmation on campus.

McKinnie said that he “became very fed up with the entire situation” and chose to act. Feeling a sense of discontent among many of his peers, he wanted to find a way for this message to directly reach representatives in Washington. He composed a letter that was publicized online through Facebook and various campus listservs.

McKinnie explained that the circulating letter is not an attack against Brett Kavanaugh himself, but rather against the partisanship in the U.S. government and U.S. society’s lack of seriousness when it comes to sexual assault allegations.

“I think the initial opposition from Democrats was unwarranted. I think a lot of them intended to oppose the nomination because it was President Trump’s

nomination and because it was from the opposition party,” McKinnie said. “I think it was handled very poorly when the allegations came out against Brett Kavanaugh, and it seems people are still following along those strictly partisan lines for the most part, as far as their votes go.”

The letter states that the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings about allegations of sexual misconduct have further perpetuated the partisan divide by “turning this highly sensitive, national issue into a political spectacle. The members of the committee should have strive[n] to be and do better, for they let down Dr. Blasey Ford, victims of sexual assault, and women across our nation.”

As the FBI looks into the allegations, McKinnie said he hopes that the investigation will impact how U.S. residents think about sexual assault.

“At this point, I just hope the issue will be taken seriously,” he said.

The investigation, to McKinnie, is a good starting place, but he said he still worries about possible limits on the time frame and scope of the investigation.

“They were only given a week, and I think these matters should have no time limit,” he said. “I think they should take as long as they take to investigate thoroughly and do it the right way, so that we have the most conclusive evidence.”

If the FBI investigation finds Kavanaugh to be innocent, McKinnie said he hopes that Senate Democrats will end their holdout and confirm Kavanaugh, whom he calls “extremely qualified.” If the allegations of assault prove true, he hopes that Senate Republicans will refuse the nomination.

Of course, there are some on campus who disagree with the substance of the letter. Sebastian Quiroga ’22 said that while recognizing the sincerity of the letter’s See KAVANAUGH page 3

MARCIA BROWN :: PRINCETONIAN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

At the highest levels of Nassau Hall’s scaffolding, the cupola’s new copper gleams. Nassau Hall’s roof and tower, which houses the bell, are undergoing historic renovations, which are slated to finish before graduation. Turn to page 5 for a ‘Prince’ photo essay, and stay tuned for more video and print coverage.

ON CAMPUS

Historians discuss elections, suburbs

By Hannah Baynesan Contributor

“Revolt of the Suburbs in the 1968 & 2018 Elections,” an Oct. 2 panel of three award-winning historians, deconstructed the shift of the U.S. suburban population over time and their current influence.

Kevin Kruse, the Princeton history professor who co-edited “The New Suburban History,” moderated the panel between Lily Geismer, professor at Claremont McKenna College, and Matthew Lassiter, assistant professor at the University of Michigan.

The panel first examined Richard Nixon’s success in the 1968 presidential election.

According to Lassiter, “1968 was the key time for suburban strategy driving

the two parties, and this is still shown now.”

Although Nixon’s campaign is commonly addressed as his “Southern strategy,” Lassiter argued that he actually targeted a mix of suburbs and new Southern states.

There was a “Republican shift in the South towards [those involved with] investments and in the suburbs,” which contained an overall aff luent populace, Lassiter stated.

This strategy also appealed to the rest of the country, as Nixon ultimately won 49 states.

Lassiter noted there has been a growing shift in the types of voters in suburban areas. Voters are more diverse in economic status, race, and immigration status than the stereotypical notion of suburbs as pri-

marily white and affluent would suggest.

Democratic gains in wealthy suburbs and shifts in presidential elections suggest rising liberalism, Lassiter continued. Those in the suburbs generally do not vote in response to partisan beliefs but have similar views on issues which affect them, such as exclusionary zoning, police brutality, income inequality, and homeowner privileges.

However, Democrats have not prioritized these needs until recently. Thus, Geismer argued the conversation needs to be re-centered to political consequences and not political affiliation.

Geismer argued that when Democrats focus on suburbs “turning blue,” the policy cost is higher inequality due to housing segSee SUBURBS page 3

ON CAMPUS

Panel debates free speech, Rosen course Contributor

COURTESY OF CARL FIELDS CENTER

The panelists generally agreed that most pundits do not understand their purpose.

In Opinion

Columnist Kaveh Badrei argues that the Texas Congressional is a precursor for a Democratic blue wave this November.

PAGE 4

A five-person panel at the Carl A. Fields Center for Equality and Cultural Understanding turned fiery on Tuesday night, as a discussion on campus free speech transformed into an appraisal of anthropology Professor Emeritus Lawrence Rosen’s cancelled course on cultural freedoms.

The panel — composed of sociology department chair Mitch Duneier, African American studies chair Eddie Glaude GS ’97, politics professor Amaney Jamal, anthropology department chair Carolyn Rouse, and Senior Associate Director of the McGraw Center Katherine Stanton — continued the discourse surrounding the university-wide pre-read, politics professor Keith Whittington’s “Speak Freely.”

After a brief introduction from Fields Center director Tennille Haynes, the panelists began with scripted remarks critiquing Whittington’s book and highlighting the flaws in his argument.

Some speakers, notably Jamal, a Muslim woman, criticized Whittington for not sufficiently addressing the perspectives of minorities, arguing that “free speech does not privilege [her] as an individual” or minorities in general, as they are not part of the “dominant hierarchy.” In practice, free speech merely enables

those in power to say what they want and be protected from the consequences.

Others, such as Rouse, who spoke in a panel alongside Whittington earlier this year, said they do not believe that true free speech exists at all.

“Societies cannot maintain themselves if people can just say whatever is on their mind at any time,” she said. Still, we should strive for a society in which free speech from all perspectives — especially minorities — is tolerated.

As for university safe spaces, the panelists agreed that most pundits fundamentally do not understand their purpose, which is for minority students to “feel protected and understood” in an academic context that puts them at a disadvantage, as Jamal phrased it.

Glaude agreed, arguing that figures like Ann Coulter or Milo Yiannopoulos are hypocritical in their bashing of university safe spaces.

“They want to exact judgement without being judged,” Glaude said.

“And when students reasonably call them ‘racist’ or ‘sexist’ or ‘homophobic,’ they cry foul.” With a smile, he asked the audience who “the real snowflakes” were.

The conversation soon shifted into a heated discussion about Rosen and his course, ANT 212: Cultural Freedoms — Hate Speech, Blasphemy, and Pornography. Rosen repeat-

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edly used the N-word during a class exercise — a pedagogical decision with which Rouse, his superior in the department, generally disagreed — which caused such an outcry from the students that he canceled the course. Yet, Rouse also expressed sympathy for Rosen, who she believed was not accustomed to receiving backlash from his students. This drew criticism not only from some members of the audience, but also from one of her colleagues onstage.

“I’m pushing back on assigning blame to the victims, because that is a form of silencing,” Jamal said.

The disputes did not end there. A student challenged members of the panel about protecting conservative speech, which he believed was also under attack because of a perceived bias towards liberal speech at the University. In response, Glaude, a frequent guest on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” detailed his experiences disagreeing with his conservative colleagues on the show, and suggested that the real issue is disagreeing with certain arguments while still respecting them.

The event ran more than 30 minutes over time, as impassioned students took the microphone to respond not only to the panelists, but also to each other. The event was held at the Fields Center, beginning at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

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Wednesday October 3, 2018

Democrats focused on suburbs ‘turning blue’

The Daily Princetonian

Hearings have ignited campus protests

COURTESY OF U.S. COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

The letter states that the Senate judiciary committee hearings have further perpetuated the partisan divide.

KAVANAUGH Continued from page 1

.............

COURTESY OF KEVIN KRUSE

Kruse moderated the panel on the shift of the U.S. suburban population.

SUBURBS Continued from page 1

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regation.

Geismer said the “transition of liberals and Democratic party in 1968 … [caused a] larger transition away from [the] union toward suburban knowledge workers.”

Lassiter reiterated that the U.S. public focuses too much on election outcomes and not on policy formation, as the latter is more informative of public opinion.

Geismer and Lassiter primarily argue that the politically polarized environment is not as polarized as it appears, and that voters should not overanalyze past and present outcomes. “[There is a] tendency to predesignate outcomes as liberal or conservative,” Geismer said. This can cause voters to ignore real policy issues that both sides may compromise on. President Donald Trump’s current immigration policies are very similar to Obama-era regulations, and the War on Drug policies came from “Republican think-tanks.”

Geismer stated that a recent Pew survey depicts that

the majority of voters are not polarized, that they are moderates, and that they are not voting. She said there was a large movement socially toward the end of the Obama era to address housing issues and toward having progressive movements at the local level in particular issues.

Regarding the upcoming midterm election, Geismer said, “Michigan’s very gerrymandered so even if the Democrats win the Senate and the Governor’s elections, they’re probably not going to be able to win Congress and the state legislature…. They’re going to have to really organize at the grassroots, they’re going to have to get rid of gerrymandering, if possible. There’s a referendum on that on the ballot and that’s probably the best thing that could happen for the Democrats [this upcoming election].”

Geismer left the audience with a cautionary note against reacting quickly after elections and to instead think: “How are you going to assess this in 30 or 40 years?”

The panel was held in McCormick 101 on Tuesday, Oct. 2, at 4:30 p.m.

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anti-partisan sentiments, he feels that the fault lies mostly with the Democrats. He attributed much of the perceived rushed process to Senator Dianne Feinstein’s withholding knowledge of Ford’s allegation for over a month and coming forward just before a vote was to take place.

Quiroga said he does not expect a finite verdict to come out of the FBI investigation. He noted the “he said, she said” nature of the issue, and said he considers the investigation itself to be merely another partisan delay tactic. While he found Ford’s testimony extremely moving and compelling, he considered Kavanaugh’s testimony to be equally credible.

“When you have a scenario like this with no corroborating evidence, with no witness corroboration, it is just an accusation,” Quiroga said. “The burden of proof lies on the accuser to show that the accusee did something. If it happens where, with no proof, Judge Kavanaugh doesn’t make it onto the court, the precedent we

set is dangerous.”

Masha Miura ’21, who signed McKinnie’s letter, disagreed with Quiroga’s sentiment. In her opinion, if the FBI investigation comes back inconclusive, the Republicans should still consider another nominee.

“There are a number of qualified candidates who fit Kavanaugh’s ideological profile, and it is not that hard to nominate someone who hasn’t been accused of a sexual assault crime,” Miura said.

However, she does expect the FBI to reach a conclusion if it were unobstructed by constraints on time and scope.

Though on-campus opinions differ, the letter attempts to bridge the gap. One major point of the letter is that whether Kavanaugh is confirmed or denied, the vote should not strictly follow partisan lines.

To keep any of his own political views out of the document, McKinnie had Grace Collins ’21 and Claire McCarriher ’21, two students who consider themselves to be on opposite sides of the political spectrum, proofread the letter.

“I don’t agree with Jaren on ev-

erything. I wouldn’t agree with Claire on everything either,” Collins noted. “I think it’s really powerful to have all three of us working on this because it makes sure we’re keeping each others’ ideas in check.”

Collins, who credits McKinnie with writing the majority of the document, said she appreciates his efforts to incorporate different perspectives. She considers the bipartisan nature the “most special piece” of the letter.

“It’s been really cool to see how much we can agree upon,” she added.

As to why this is the first display of activism on campus, considering the numerous protests of Kavanaugh on other campuses, Miura explained her view that the University is not as much of “an activist campus” as she would like.

“As a more conservative school, Princeton encourages more legalistic forms of activism,” she said, citing a presence of petitions and calls to legislators but an absence of protests, sit-ins, strikes, and other forms of civil disobedience. Though she would prefer an increase in less subtle forms of activism on campus, Miura still signed the letter.

“What the letter does well is state clearly that the allegations need to be taken seriously, whether or not you believe him ideologically, and I think that’s a valuable point,” Miura said.

As of 8:35 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 2, the letter has 51 signatures. McKinnie has also reached out to students at over 60 other universities nationally. Students at Oregon University have signed on to grow the initiative at their school, and students at University of North Carolina, UC Davis, University of Vermont, Virginia Tech, and University of Connecticut have agreed to take the letter to their student governments or other student-run organizations.

McKinnie said he plans to send the letter to a number of elected representatives, including all of the Senate, at some point later in the week, depending on how many signatures the letter accumulates within that time frame.

Opinion

Wednesday October 3, 2018

page 4

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Texas and the politics of the possible Kaveh Badrei

Senior Columnist

T

he last time a Democrat won any statewide election in Texas was 1994 — the longest stretch for Democrats to go without winning an election than in any other state. For 24 years, longer than I’ve been alive, my home state of Texas has been under a sea of red. While the metropolises of Houston, Austin, San Antonio, and Dallas consistently support Democratic mayors and candidates for president, the tides of the state of Texas rush to the right and continue to support Republican congressmen, elect Republican senators, and electorally back Republican candidates for president. For over two decades, the Democratic Party in the state of Texas has been a powerless straw man, one that falls time after time at the hands of its conservative counterpart. But this political cementation crumbles today because of one man.

Congressman Beto O’Rourke is campaigning for the U.S. Senate against the incumbent Senator Ted Cruz ’92. His movement is one of progressive ideals and policies that aims to embrace hope, community, inclusion, and positive steps forward in a time so rife by cynicism, hatred, and bigotry. His campaign stands starkly opposed to Cruz’s and offers a more hopeful look to the future of Texas and the country.

O’Rourke proudly envisions a nation where Texas can lead the way for-

ward on some of the most salient issues to divide the United States. Cruz, on the other hand, surrenders his politics and his own moral compass to President Donald Trump’s unethical, unprincipled presidency and aligns himself with a man who has repeatedly maligned his father, his wife, and himself. O’Rourke represents the politics of the possible and embodies the nature of what politics means in our times.

While many will claim that such policies in the deep red state of Texas are only going to hurt O’Rourke among voters, I would respond with the Congressman’s continued and growing popularity in polls pitting him against Cruz. An average of polls gathered between the two candidates carried out by Real Clear Politics holds Cruz at 47 percent while O’Rourke maintains a deathly close 42.5 percent. Additionally, whereas Cruz relies upon political action committees and corporate donors for millions of dollars of contributions, O’Rourke has embodied a campaign finance strategy much in the light of Senator Bernie Sanders’s presidential bid in 2016. Through his rejection of corporate PAC money, O’Rourke has continued to match and outraise Cruz in each quarter of the election, making over $23 million so far in the campaign from individual donors and groups.

In a time when the speculated “Democratic wave” is talked about constantly on news outlets, O’Rourke’s campaign in Texas has already demonstrated the existence and dominance of such a wave.

Through this belief in the possible, in the investment in hope and progress

over surrender and conservatism, O’Rourke has soared and defied convention. The politics of the possible have empowered O’Rourke and millions in the state to once again believe in politics and to hope for progress after 24 years of surrendering to convention.

O’Rourke’s campaign embraces progressive policies that many would deem unsupportable among the Texas electorate. The congressman demands the renewed protection of DREAMers under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, the creation of immigration policy that continues to welcome immigrants from all countries rather than construct barriers to entry, the legalization and decriminalization of marijuana, and the comprehensive reformation of the criminal justice system to put an end to the systemic injustices levied against black and brown Americans.

O’Rourke does not hide his opposition to Trump and makes no concessions to appease those who voted for Trump. Instead, O’Rourke emphasizes the essence of community that must be realized in politics, continuously repeating his desire to work with everyone regardless of party.

Texas has one of the lowest rates of voter turnout in the country. Arguably, this idea of the possible has been dead in Texas for over a quarter of a century. But with O’Rourke, we as Texans not only have someone to believe in but also something — a movement that is sweeping across the Lone Star state.

The very fact that O’Rourke has been able to galvanize the people of Texas in such a way to

achieve statewide and national recognition demonstrates the power of this moment. When our President sings a tune of authoritarian, chaotic, and toxic conservatism towards an unknown destination of “greatness,” the campaign of O’Rourke shows that politics is the arena of the possible against the probable. Politics is a test of humanity’s hope rather than a reminder of what we have to fear.

In our current nation, politics is not merely the outcome of electoral decisions or the ranking of polls and statistics. Politics is the struggle of the possible against the waves of the probable. It is the fight, struggle, debate, and battle for the achievement of a hope, a dream, and a better imagination of what humans can create in communion with one another against the status quo. O’Rourke embodies this ideal of politics as the fighting spirit of what can be achieved in Texas despite the odds of tradition and partisanship against him.

There is a chance that O’Rourke might not win, despite my deepest beliefs and hopes for the people of Texas, the place I call home. His campaign has shown me hope, progress, and success that I never believed imaginable. The politics of the possible is alive in Texas, fueled by the people who have come together to realize it. I only hope that this movement surges in Texas and restores a faith in politics for Texans and Americans alike.

Kaveh Badrei is a junior Wilson School concentrator from Houston, Texas. He can be reached at kbadrei@ princeton.edu.

Welcome to Princeton Adam Wickham ’22 ..................................................

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editor-in-chief

Marcia Brown ’19 business manager

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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 associate street editors Danielle Hoffman ’20 Lyric Perot ’20 digital operations manager Sarah Bowen ’20 chief copy editors Marina Latif ’19 Arthur Mateos ’19 Catherine Benedict ’20 head design editor Rachel Brill ’19 cartoons editor Tashi Treadway ’19 head photo editor Risa Gelles-Watnick ’21

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Nassau Hall Under Construction

MARCIA BROWN :: PRINCETONIAN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Above, construction equipment clutters the base of Nassau Hall’s facade near the Class of 1961’s stone. The building, constructed in 1756, is the oldest building on campus and formerly served as the nation’s capitol. Left, the building’s roof and cupola, which houses the bell, is undergoing historic renovations. The cupola, topped by a sheaf of wheat and a weather vane, has all new copper. Below, a trades craftman removes the bell’s cover.

Counter-clockwise from above, a trades craftman works with mortar on the facade of Nassau Hall’s tower flanked by the silhouettes of some of Princeton’s historical architecture: Firestone Library and the Chapel. A pile of used cupola copper sits on the scaffolding surrounding the tower before being removed.

Left, an aerial view of the Chapel and East Pyne taken from the top of Nassau Hall’s scaffolding.

Sports

Wednesday October 3, 2018

page 6

{ www.dailyprincetonian.com } MEN’S SOCCER

Men’s soccer comes from behind to tie Dartmouth in Ivy League opener

By Tom Salotti Staff Writer

Men’s soccer tied Dartmouth 2–2 after two overtime periods Saturday at home in its first game of the Ivy League season. The team is fresh off a 4–4 preseason with wins against University of Delaware, Temple University, Boston University, and Rider University, and losses against Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Bradley University, Monmouth University, and Loyola University Maryland.

The game against the Big Green, taking place at the Class of 1952 Stadium instead of the team’s usual Roberts Stadium, drew an attendance of more than 700 people.

Dartmouth got on the board first, with midfielder Dawson McCartney scoring off a headed ball in the 19th minute.

Then, in the 34th minute, Dartmouth defender Matt Pickering converted on a set piece, bringing the score to 2–0.

Less than a minute later, however, Dartmouth keeper Henry Stusnick was shown a red card for an illegal tackle on Princeton senior defender Sean McSherry. Dartmouth played the remaining 75 minutes with 10 men, and Princeton took advantage of its nu-

COURTESY OF GOPRINCETONTIGERS.COM

Kevin O’Toole notched a goal and an assist in Saturday’s draw against Dartmouth.

merical advantage.

In the 39th minute, only a few moments after coming on, Princeton junior forward Sean McGowan capitalized on a header from sophomore defender Kevin O’Toole, hitting top right corner to score the Tigers’ first goal of the 2018 Ivy League season.

Right before the half, O’Toole took advantage of a lob from senior midfielder Bryan Prudil, hitting net and bringing the game to a tie.

Princeton finished the half with eight shots, one save, and six fouls. Dartmouth finished with eight shots as well, four saves (two by relief keeper

Christopher Palacios), one corner kick, and 11 fouls.

The Tigers dominated play in the second half, with attempts on goal by freshman midfielder Moulay Hamza Kanzi Belghiti and sophomore forward Gaby Paniagua. They outshot Dartmouth 10–2. The Tigers had two corners in the

second half while Dartmouth had one.

Overtime saw eight shots from Princeton and seven from Dartmouth. Junior keeper Jacob Schachner had four saves versus Palacios’s one in extra time.

In the 107th minute, Princeton junior forward Cole Morokhovich hit right post, bringing the Tigers within inches of victory. Despite efforts from both sides, neither could break the tie in the overtime periods.

The game was physical with over 35 fouls in total, with 14 from Princeton and 23 from Dartmouth. Princeton received five yellow cards and Dartmouth, three (and a red card).

This is the second year in a row that the Tiger-Big Green match has gone into two extra periods, although last year Dartmouth won on a last-minute goal.

Princeton takes on Brown University at home this coming weekend, their first conference game this season played in Roberts Stadium. The Tigers lost to Brown 0–1 last year in Providence. The following weekend the team will head to Columbia University in New York.

F E AT U R E

Study shows decline in concussions following Ivy League rule change

By Jack Graham

Associate Sports Editor

A 2016 rule change in the Ivy League led to a significant reduction in concussions, a study published Monday in the Journal of the American Medical Association concluded.

“We are proud to see results from our study published in such an esteemed journal as JAMA, and even more gratified to know that policies we put in place have directly led to a decrease in concussions,” said Robin Harris, Ivy League Council of Presidents executive director and coauthor of the study, in a statement Monday.

The article investigated the impact of a new policy instituted in Ivy League conference games beginning in 2016 to limit the number of kickoff returns. Kickoffs are widely considered the most dangerous play in football.

In 2015, kickoffs accounted for 6 percent of plays but 21 percent of concussions. The 2016 policy change sought to increase touchbacks, in which the kickoff returner doesn’t take the ball out of the endzone, by moving the kickoff line to the 40yard line from the 35 and the touchback line to the 20 from the 25.

The authors of the study found that the policy change, which only impacted Ivy League conference games,

COURTESY OF FLICKR

Co-author of JAMA paper Dr. Margot Putukian praised the results of the rule change.

seems to have accomplished its goal. 48 percent of kickoffs resulted in touchbacks after the rule change, compared to 17.9 percent before.

Meanwhile, the mean annual concussion rate on kickoffs dropped to 2.04 concussions per 1000 kickoff plays in 2016–17 from 10.93 per 1000 kickoff plays in 2013–15. In total, three concussions oc-

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curred on kickoff plays in 2016–17, compared to 26 in 2013–15. The researchers found that the concussion rate for non-kickoff plays declined as well, from 2.56 per 1000 plays in the 2013–15 period to 1.18 per 1000 plays in the 2016–17 period.

“The research that the Ivy League is participating in to evaluate the mechanism and

natural history of concussion in all sports is critically important,” said Dr. Margot Putukian, director of athletic medicine at Princeton University Health Services and coauthor of the study, in a statement. “I am thrilled that this research demonstrates that a rule change can make a meaningful difference in the health and

safety of student-athletes.”

Significant controversy has emerged in recent years regarding the links between football, head trauma, and negative health outcomes later in life. A 2017 study, also published in JAMA, found evidence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a neurodegenerative disease thought to be caused by repeated head trauma, in the brains of 110 of 111 former National Football League players and 48 of 53 former college players. Some have argued, however, that the study suffers from selection bias.

Motivated by this research, the Ivy League has pursued several policies to limit brain injuries. In addition to the kickoff rule, the eight Ivy League head coaches voted unanimously in 2016 to ban full-contact hitting during regular season practices.

The NCAA also moved to limit kickoff returns with a rule change prior to the 2018 season, allowing the returner to call for a fair catch inside the 25-yard line and receive an automatic touchback. The Ivy League has also adopted this rule for the 2018 season.

While the debate regarding head trauma in football will continue, the Ivy League seems to have made progress through policy changes intended to limit concussions.

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