Top administrators reflect on protests at first USG meeting, Calhoun makes rare appearance
The Undergraduate Student Government (USG) Senate convened for its first meeting of the fall semester, which centered on the appearance of two top administrators — Vice President for Campus Life W. Rochelle Calhoun and Dean of Undergraduate Students Reagan Crotty ’00. Calhoun and Crotty fielded questions in the second half of the meeting with a focus on protest policies and student advocacy.
This public showing follows a
STUDENT LIFE
semester where administrators faced intense backlash for their response to pro-Palestine protesters from the University community. Calhoun, in particular, was met with calls to resign from her faculty colleagues, and students, due to her characterization of protesters.
“We demand the immediate resignation of VP Calhoun, in whose leadership we have lost all faith following her untruthful and, in our opinion, deliberately misleading representation of student protesters, that has proven to be the real threat to the Princeton University com-
munity,” read a faculty letter published in May, which over 120 faculty signed. Calhoun and Crotty’s appearance reflected an attempt to enter dialogue with students following the events of the spring semester and their handling of the “Gaza Solidarity Encampment.” At the beginning of their portion of the meeting, Calhoun and Crotty thanked the students present for their leadership in advancing a handful of key issues, such as the reduction of copays for consultations and the continuation of the free Lyft
The PROSPECT
Graduate students seek to carve their own space in NCW ceramics studio
By Isabella Dail | Head Prospect Editor
On a given weeknight, the New College West (NCW) Ceramics Studio is alive with artistic creation. Spinning a pot dotted with flowers or crafting a handmade handle for a coffee mug, the space allows undergraduates to tap into their creativity and take a break from academic demands. Equipped with eight pottery wheels, stoneware clay, multicolored glazes and slips, molds, and other tools, there’s just one thing missing: graduate students — and they want in.
According to their website, the studio “offer[s] basic instruction in functional and sculptural ceramics” through “self-directed work in clay,” “instructional workshops on topics like coil-building, pinch pots, slab building and wheel-throwing,” and “study breaks on a selection of topics.” Limited by a 10-person capacity, the NCW studio does not currently permit graduate
students to use the space. The studio opened in the spring of 2023, replacing the University’s former ceramics studio, which was located in the now-demolished First College and closed in 2022. Graduate students were permitted to use the former studio.
This exclusion of the 3,212 graduate students from the chance to use the studio prompted a group of graduate students to form the Graduate Ceramics Association (GCA). The organization is composed of passionate graduate-level ceramicists lobbying for access to the studio.
In an interview with The Daily Princetonian, Rias Reed GS, co-president of GCA, described the origins of the group.
“It was really out of a couple grad students trying to access that space and being denied that we decided that creating
See CERAMICS page 11
Fall bicker sees significantly lower acceptance rates to first-choice clubs
By Justus Wilhoit & Justin Tam Senior & Staff News Writers
2024 Fall Street Week concluded with 203 students in the Classes of 2025 and 2026 being offered spots in eating clubs. 46 students were offered spots in four of the six Bicker Clubs — neither Tiger Inn nor Cottage Club held Street Week events. Fall Street Week took place between Sept. 3 and Sept. 10, as undergraduates flocked to the eating clubs on Prospect Avenue for multiple nights of one-onones, group conversations, and games.
Two of the five sign-in clubs, Terrace Club and Charter Club, also did not hold Fall Street Week events. Three did participate in Fall Street Week: Quadrangle Club, Colonial Club, and Clois-
ter Inn. Each hosted a variety of events for juniors and seniors each afternoon, ranging from karaoke nights to ice cream socials.
With 80 percent of the Class of 2026 — Princeton’s largest undergraduate class in history — taking part in Street Week last spring, the effects are still felt months later. A press release from the Interclub Council (ICC) shared with The Daily Princetonian revealed that 36 seniors (2.68 percent of the Class of 2025) and 167 juniors (11.13 percent of the Class of 2026) participated in Fall 2024 Street Week.
The ICC wrote that “the Street as a whole is continuing to adapt to the larger size of the Class of 2026 and beyond and that is reflected in our increasing numbers with many clubs reaching physical capacity.”
BOWEN ADDRESSES ISSUES OF ‘ACADEMIC FREEDOM’
SEPTEMBER 17, 1985
In a sponsored content article created by the Graduate Interclub Council (GICC) and published in the ‘Prince’ back in May, GICC Chairman Hap Cooper ’82 warned students of the limited spots remaining and encouraged those who were not yet placed to not remain committed to a particular eating club following the conclusion of 2024 Spring Street Week.
“We [GICC] wanted to communicate now that if fall bicker is held at all during the 2024–25 school year, spaces will be EXTREMELY limited and a majority of selective clubs will not participate. Their physical capacity limitations won’t allow it,” he wrote at the time.
Cooper encouraged individuals to join clubs that have room, and stated there will be more opportunities in the future for clubs to collaborate.
“The GICC is committed to ensuring ALL eleven clubs are viable and robust … indefinitely. We are also materially stepping up our percentage of joint parties and activities — starting immediately. So no matter what club you join, you will be mixing with virtually everyone on the Street,” Cooper added.
Students had until Thursday, Sept. 12 at 8 p.m. to rank their club preferences, and decisions were released on Friday, Sept. 13 at 10 a.m. 44 percent of seniors were placed into their first-choice club, but just 20 percent of juniors were placed into their first-choice club.
The ICC’s computer system was able to place 100 percent of students into an eating club. Earlier this year, the computer system failed to place a small number
of students in an eating club due to Class of 2026’s unprecedented class size.
Tower Club
Tower accepted the most new members among the Bicker clubs this fall. Tower accepted half of 44 bickerees, welcoming 22 new members, including 9 seniors and 13 juniors. Tower’s new members add to the 165 bickerees previously accepted in the spring, marking Tower’s largest incoming class since 2001.
Cap
and Gown
Cap and Gown was the most bickered eating club, with 90 bickerees discussed and accepting four seniors and eight juniors, 13 percent of their bickerees. Assistant Audience Editor and
This Week In History
In September 1985, President William Bowen GS ’58 addressed the student body at Opening Exercises on the topic of institutional restraint. Throughout the years, this idea has guided the University’s approach to issues in our world and the management of its endowment. Institutional restraint has often been challenged in issues on divestment, but the University has only rarely chosen this course of action throughout its history.
By Alena Zhang Staff News Writer
CALVIN GROVER / THE DAILY PRINCETONIAN
VP Calhoun and Dean Crotty address the USG Meeting.
Calhoun: “Our
goal is to provide the safety of everyone in our community ...”
hibiting protest on the grass in front of Nassau Hall, but the University walked back this restriction in the first week of classes.
ride program for medical appointments.
“I’m always happy when administration makes an effort to reach out proactively to students,” U-Councilor Roberto Lachner ’26 told the ‘Prince.’ “I have no doubt that their intentions with all their work is to make Princeton’s campus and community more inclusive and just a better place overall.”
Sustainability Chair Quentin Colón Roosevelt ’27, who was active in advocating for the USG to support pro-Palestine activities, also noted that “it seemed like they were willing to have constructive dialogue,” adding that he was glad to see higher than usual engagement at today’s meeting from students who are not USG representatives.
Colón Roosevelt is a contributing Opinion writer for the ‘Prince.’
While the USG greeted their administrator guests warmly, their visit was met with a demonstration. A small group of protesters sat in on the meeting, holding up posters with messages such as “there is no back to school in Gaza,” and “Princeton funds genocide,” with some voicing concerns during the public comments portion of the meeting.
With their presentation, the administrators aimed to clarify the University’s new protest guidelines website, which Crotty introduced in the meeting. This site includes regulations on amplified sound, camping, and poster placements.
Notably, areas like Cannon Green and the Prospect House lawn, which previously were not addressed in protest policies, are now explicitly banned as sites for demonstrations. When the website first launched, it also included a new rule pro -
In addition to questions seeking clarifications on the new protest rules, some members of the USG expressed skepticism towards the University’s enforcement procedures, with attendees inquiring about the potential impacts of these policies on different marginalized student groups.
“Our goal is to provide the safety of everyone in our community, but as you say, without that being, you know, sort of overly, or oppressively, a presence in our community,” Calhoun responded, noting that she was not aware of any over-policing or monitoring on campus.
Campus and Community Affairs Chair Geneveive Schutt ’26, who led the charge on this line of questioning, said the answer left her unsatisfied.
“This theme of over-policing that we kept getting to [in the meeting] is what’s happening on our campus,” Shutt said in a post-meeting interview. “There’s so much evidence to prove that individuals of color that are already marginalized on our campus are negatively impacted by over policing,” she argued.
Treasurer Uma Fox ’26 took to the mic to note her concern that over-cautioning students and placing limits on free expression would hamper dialogue in the campus community. Colón Roosevelt framed it as a potential “culture of fear on campus.”
“I think they should really be looking more into that, because I think it is really creating a culture where people might be more afraid of speaking out, or less willing to,” he said.
“I actually think our hope is that it will help clarity, and we hope will be useful so
that individuals have sort of the awareness of the kinds of things that could potentially cause them to be in violation of University policy,” Calhoun responded, “[and] support our ability to be a community together.”
One student participating in the proPalestine demonstration in the Robertson Bowl, Noura Shoukfeh ’25, expressed concerns along similar lines to Fox.
“I was really concerned about what this could mean for all different types of communities around campus and how these restrictions would inhibit their activism or their attempts to make their voices heard by the administration,” Shoukfeh said.
Shoukfeh noted that while she felt some of the responses from Calhoun and Crotty provided useful explanations, other answers remained unclear. She said she appreciated that the University was planning follow-up discussions to address specific concerns, particularly about verbal and physical harassment related to Palestinian and Arab-Muslim students, recalling a moment when they decried inflammatory flyers found near Spelman targeting Palestinians.
“To me, I still feel like things are very ambiguous or confusing or certain changes are made, and maybe those uncertainties will be flushed out with time, but they still answered everything”, she added. “I still have a few questions and so I’m looking forward to [meeting] with [them at] a later date.” Crotty notably hinted at the start of the meeting that she expected to return to the USG’s forum again.
Beyond the discussion of protest policies, Crotty also detailed notable changes in University disciplinary policies, including the introduction of a new disciplinary action known as “suspension (not served).” The new policy allows serious
infractions to be recorded on a student’s transcript without immediate separation from the University.
“I think having more flexibility there, and having situations where, since it was previously suspended, where now [students] can have this other option, I think that’s hopefully going to be really beneficial to students,” said Crotty.
If a student commits a subsequent serious infraction, the student would then have to serve penalties depending on the magnitude of the violation.
While the second half of the meeting allowed the USG to represent student’s concerns on the events of last semester, the USG considered and executed their first administrative moves of the semester in the first half of the meeting.
The Senate unanimously confirmed the core committee members for the year. Fox also presented USG’s budget for the semester, which totals $603,536.61. The budget remains largely consistent with the previous year’s allocations, with a few key adjustments.
This year’s budget includes $10,000 reserved for the Athletics Engagement Bonfire Initiative — which would fund a bonfire event, should Princeton’s football team beat Yale and Harvard this fall. It also allocates $140,000 to student-led projects, and $280,000 for Lawnparties, with ongoing reviews to monitor expenditures against this amount.
USG meetings are open for all students to attend and are held on Sundays from 5–6 p.m. in Robertson Hall 016.
Alena Zhang is a staff News writer for the ‘Prince.’
Assistant News Editor Christopher Bao and Head News Editor Annie Rupertus contributed reporting.
GICC: “Spaces will be EXTREMELY limited...”
BICKER
Continued from page 1
Senior News Writer Justus Wilhoit ’26 is a member of the Cap and Gown Club and has recused himself from reporting on the club.
Cannon Dial Elm
Cannon Dial Elm Club had 26 bickerees and only accepted six new members, yielding a 23.1 percent acceptance rate. The ‘Prince’ was unable to attain class year information.
Ivy Club
Ivy Club accepted 6 of its 35 bickerees this fall. Fall acceptance rate was at 17.1 percent, whereas spring was 26.8 percent.
Higher demand from the Class of 2026’s large size combined with limited available spots resulted in decreasing acceptance rates for most clubs. Tower’s fall Bicker had an acceptance rate of 50 percent, lower than its 59.35 percent acceptance rate in the spring. Cap and Gown fall Bicker had an acceptance rate of 13.3 percent, lower than its acceptance rate of 27.8 percent in the spring.
As Princeton continues to expand its class sizes, it is unclear whether eating clubs will adjust to accommodate more members, or if membership will simply become more competitive.
Justus Wilhoit is a senior News writer and an assistant Audience editor for the ‘Prince.’
Justin Tam is a staff News writer for the ‘Prince’ from Edison, New Jersey.
TigerTransit changes routes for the new school year
By Michelle Miao News Contributor
As the new semester begins, TigerTransit, which connects University buildings, parking, and public transit, has implemented route and schedule changes that ensure more frequent and direct late-night service, more service on weekends, and better access for students living in residential colleges furthest from classrooms and athletic facilities.
TigerTransit’s design is meant to provide quick transportation between major locations with a walking distance of over 10 minutes, such as the commute from Forbes College to the E-Quad or Poe Field to Witherspoon. During the day on weekdays, four routes are in operation. While locations remain similar to the 2023 routes, the updated Route 1 will make all-day stops at Friend Center on the way to Stadium Drive Garage, and Route 4 will connect the Meadows Neighborhood to Princeton Junction via Princeton Station. The Fisher Hall stop has also been moved closer to Washington Road.
Additional updates were also made to the night route, where one circulating bus has been replaced by two evening routes that now operate daily from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. The weekend routes, which transport students between housing complexes, campus destinations, and local shopping centers, will now have shopping stops “less than 3 minutes” from Wegmans, Whole Foods, and Trader Joe’s.
These changes are part
of the annual updates that the University’s Transportation and Parking Services (TPS) implements before each academic year. Community members are able to give feedback on TigerTransit year-round through the “Tell us how TigerTransit is doing” page on the TPS website. This year, changes have been made based on feedback from over 300 survey responses from students, faculty and staff.
In a statement to the ‘Prince,’ TPS wrote that “since 2022, TPS, Facilities, and other University partners have conducted campus-wide intercept surveys, including tabling during Frist late meal” and stopping people on campus.
The TPS website notes that “not every request or suggestion from the community could be accommodated in this year’s service plan,” and that the needs of the University community will continue to influence future improvements.
Since the current TigerTransit network launch about three weeks ago, TPS documents that services have seen about 3,500 boardings per day on weekdays and 1,100 boardings per day on weekends. During the first week of September, two of the routes that were updated were among those with the highest average daily boardings, with 1,118 riders on Route 4 and 885 riders on Route 1.
A complete guide to TigerTransit routes and updates can be found on the TPS website.
Michelle Miao is a News contributor for the ‘Prince.’
By Wade Bednar Associate
In controversial move, Princeton Town Council moves to acquire former home of Westminster Choir College
By Abby Leibowitz Senior News Writer
At the heart of recent contention between Princeton municipality and community members is the proposed purchasing of a property of historic relevance — the location of the Westminster Choir College.
Despite years of lawsuits aiming to return the College to its original property, two ordinances proposed at the Princeton Town Council meeting on Sept. 9 reveal the town’s plan to buy the space from Rider University for public use. The property has remained empty since 2020 after Rider University’s decision to move the Choir College programs to Rider’s Lawrenceville campus.
The Choir College came to Princeton in 1935, when presbyterian philanthropist Sophia Strong Taylor gifted the land to Westminster for “training ministers of music for evangelical churches” and that “the Bible is to be taught to the whole school at least one hour per week.” She expressed that should the college no longer serve these purposes, the title should be forfeited by Westminster and passed to Princeton Theological Seminary.
Westminster operated independently until 1991, but due to severe financial constraints, merged with Rider University because the Seminary could not commit to administering the College, according to court records. The merger, though in violation of Taylor’s stipulations, obliged Rider to uphold Westminster’s original programs and purpose.
However, in 2016, Rider announced that its “significant financial needs” and “very significant deficit” led to plans to: (1) sell Westminster’s Princeton campus to another institution
that would operate the Choir College; (2) transfer Westminster’s programs to another institution; (3) close the Choir College altogether; or (4) move its programs to Rider’s Lawrenceville campus.
In response, students, faculty, and alumni formed the Westminster Foundation “dedicated to preserving the legacy and ensuring the future of Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey, and to opposing efforts by Rider University to sell or close Westminster Choir College.”
In September 2018, members of the Westminster Foundation, along with tenured faculty from both campuses, filed a suit in the New Jersey Superior Court Chancery Division, which successfully blocked Rider’s attempted sale of the Choir College to Beijing Kaiwen Education Technology Company.
At the same time, the Theological Seminary filed a suit against Rider in 2018, claiming it agreed to the 1991 WestminsterRider merger “with the express understanding that Westminster, including any successor, would operate and perpetuate Westminster Choir College at [its Princeton] campus.” The suit is still pending.
Despite legal retaliation, in May 2019, Rider officially decided to move activities of Westminster Choir College to its main campus in Lawrenceville, angering community members. In October 2019, 70 students, faculty, and alumni filed a lawsuit alleging they had enrolled at Westminster “because of its unique facilities and the exclusivity of its conservatory environment.” They maintained Rider’s Lawrenceville campus ruined the ambiance needed to attract elite voice, choral and opera students.
The Chancery Division dis-
missed their case, claiming they did not have standing. However, in 2023, a N.J. Appellate Court reversed this decision, allowing the Vazquez suits to go forward, because they “easily demonstrated their stake in Westminster’s fate and the harm they would suffer should they be deprived of access to the Choir College’s conservatory campus in Princeton.”
In the midst of these legal battles, an ordinance proposed at Monday’s Town Council Meeting outlines appropriating $50 million for the acquiring of a property. This would include a $500,000 down payment and authorize the issuance of bonds of $49.5 million pursuant to the Local Bond Law in order to finance the acquisition. A second ordinance names the location of the property as the previous location of the Choir College.
According to a statement by the Mayor and Council, the Governing Body is “committed to working with community stakeholders to determine the best public purposes for this centrally-located site.” Working with community members is easier said than done, however, considering the College’s history of quarrelsome ownership transfers and lawsuits.
Some community members are not happy with this proposed acquisition however. Attorney Bruce Afran, who represents the Westminster Foundation and advises the Seminary in their respective suits in response to the recent town ordinances, told Planet Princeton that “the property is absolutely not available for anyone to buy” and that “the town will not avoid heavy litigation.”
Public hearings for these two ordinances are scheduled for Sept. 23.
Abby Leibowitz is a senior News writer for the ‘Prince.’
8 "Attack on Titan"
Murray-Dodge Café access hindered as construction closes pathways across campus
By Vitus Larrieu Senior News Writer
The University campus is undergoing unprecedented growth and with it, unprecedented construction — a reality that is impossible to forget for anyone attempting to navigate its pathways. Pathway closures are a necessary impact of campus construction as work continues to fulfill the University’s 2026 Capital Plan, which includes the construction of Hobson College, the new Environmental Studies & School of Engineering and Applied Science (ES & SEAS) complex, Frist Health Center, and other campus improvements.
Pathways currently closed on campus include the walkway behind Murray-Dodge Hall, between the Hobson College construction zone and Jones Hall, the passageway that runs from the Center for Jewish Life to
Prospect Ave, and the pathway through the parking lot between the Engineering Quad and Von Neumann Hall.
The pathway closure behind Murray-Dodge Hall, new this semester, is particularly impactful to the Murray-Dodge Café, whose typical entrance next to the Princeton University Art Museum site is completely blocked by construction. Potential patrons must now enter through the first floor of Murray-Dodge Hall and navigate to the basement through the internal staircase. The instructions to access the temporary café entrance were posted on Murray-Dodge Café’s Instagram.
“I think it’s kind of inconvenient because that was a path I often took to (a) go to MurrayDodge and (b) go to Whig Hall,” Michelle Miao ’26 noted.
Miao is a News contributor for The Daily Princetonian.
Pathways will begin reopening as construction projects finish. According to University Spokesperson Jennifer Morrill, pathway closures in the area surrounding Princeton Stadium will be resolved prior to the first home football game of the season, currently scheduled for Sept. 28. More paths around the Art Museum and Frist Health Center will open this fall as exterior construction on both projects is completed.
The facilities construction web page provides students with various resources for remaining up to date with campus construction projects. While it promises to be updated regularly, it does occasionally fail to be updated with the latest closures. Several students cited the seemingly sudden closures as an obstacle to make it on time to classes and other commitments.
“Since I no longer live close to
[the path], it’s been less inconvenient, but I would still appreciate having that path open since it’s a quicker way to get to class,” Miao said.
“I think it’s very annoying, because there’s a lot of foot traffic that could go there and [the path is] not [there]. It makes the walk much longer from the dorms to the other part of campus like the E-Quad,” Henry Baquerizo ’26 told the ‘Prince.’
“We recognize that construction impacts the entire community and can be frustrating as [students] navigate campus,” Morrill wrote to the ‘Prince.’ “Facilities works with colleagues across campus to coordinate upcoming work in consideration of the academic calendar. We will continue to inform the surrounding dorms and communicate construction impacts to the campus community.”
The website features a static
construction pathways map which highlights construction impacts, closed pathways, suggested bike lanes, and steep slopes. However, other routes not featured on the Facilities website may also be closed, according to the University.
Students who seek more immediate updates can also reference the “campus impacts” layer of the interactive facilities map, which contains frequently updated construction impact information, among other information relevant to pathfinding. In addition to the mapping resources, community members can sign up for construction impact notifications via email or text by using the TigerSafe app, or by texting “Updates” to 67283.
Labyrinth Books sees friction between employees and owners as union discussions stall
By Isabella Dail Staff News Writer
Months after unionization, negotiations between the Labyrinth Books Union employees and the store’s owners continue to stall as disagreements over terms have prevented a finalized contract. A meeting set for Tuesday was unexpectedly canceled by the union‘s bargaining committee due to “unforeseen personal circumstances,” after a previous round of negotiations over the summer left them unsatisfied with the results. With no date set, negotiations will be in flux for the foreseeable future.
Labyrinth workers officially unionized on Jan. 10, 2024, when the employees, store owners, and the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union (RWDSU) all signed a voluntary recognition agreement. Although negotiations seemed ready to start, on Aug. 8, the Labyrinth Books Union filed an Unfair Labor Practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board. Employees wrote that the owners were not bargaining in good faith.
“Our Employer’s unwillingness to meet at the bargaining table on a regular basis — lately delaying for months at a time — has needlessly drawn out the contract negotiation process,” said a signed statement posted to the union’s Instagram account.
“The issue at hand is that we unionized in December, we were voluntarily recognized by the employer in January, and in the eight months since then, we have only met at the table twice to negotiate,” Labyrinth employee Theo Jame told The Daily Princetonian in an interview. “Both of those times … for two hours or less.”
The owners of Labyrinth, Dorothea von Moltke and Cliff Simms, disagreed with this characterization.
“The owners of Labyrinth have been meeting regularly with the union’s bargaining committee,” they wrote in a statement to the ‘Prince.’
“While owner Cliff Simms did request to postpone one meeting on July 2 due to an eye injury and subsequent operation, negotiations are ongoing. Given that the parties were aware of Cliff’s health issue, the accusation of bad faith negotiations are hard to understand. We remain eager to come to an agreement,” they added. The discussion was rescheduled to Aug. 29.
While previous union negotiation sessions were made open to the public at Princeton Public Library, the Aug. 29 meeting initially held a virtual option. However, the virtual meeting was closed a few minutes into the session. Jame noted that the party including management and the mediator also had concerns about filming the negotiations.
After their negotiations concluded, von Moltke wrote to the ‘Prince’ that “we are hopeful that we are making progress toward a competitive and sustainable contract. In order to expedite the process, we invited a federal mediator which we believe was instrumental in the progress we made.”
Von Moltke also provided an update on the status of negotiations, writing to the ‘Prince,’ “We have offered a starting wage of $17 an hour and yearly raises for the next 3 years. In addition, we are offering health and vision insurance, vacation and sick pay, and overtime pay as well as a 401(k) personal retirement benefit.”
After the most recent discussion, Labyrinth employees still feel that progress needs to be made.
“There were still many points of our contract that they had not acknowledged, and in their counter proposals that they presented with us that day, they did not concede any points,” Jame told the ‘Prince.’ “We felt that we arrived at 10:00 a.m. ready for a full day of negotiations, and we only had two hours at the table where pretty minimal movement was made, and there was still a lot of resistance from them.”
Elise Agnor, another employee, also said she would like to see changes within the negotiation process in the future. “The biggest frustration that we have going forward is their unwillingness to hold open bargaining sessions as we had in the past,” she said.
Both Agnor and Jame noted that they would like to see future discussions held as open bargaining sessions available to the public at the Princeton Public Library.
Yet management had a different view about open bargaining. Simms wrote, “We have always agreed to open bargaining sessions in which any employee from Labyrinth can attend. What we have never agreed to is public bargaining where anybody is permitted to attend.”
Discussions between management and the union coincide with other notable changes for the bookstore. As of this semester, Labyrinth is no longer the main provider of course books for Princeton students. Students now purchase their books through an online retailer called eCampus. The change in provider ends a 17-year partnership between Labyrinth and the University.
However, employees haven’t seen a significant change in business so far.
“I don’t think we can speak to exact numbers. Based on my own personal experience in the store, I think that it has still been quite busy with the start of the semester and the influx of students coming into town,” Jame said.
At the same time, the store has seen recent staff turnover. According to Jame and another Labyrinth employee, Elise Agnor, approximately five to seven employees have left the bookstore out the 20 who initially filed the NLRB complaint, but Labyrinth has only hired one new employee since the recognition of the union.
“Without [Labyrinth employees], the store would not function. It would not be as special as it is. So we just wanted to be recognized for that and treated accordingly,” said Jame.
Isabella Dail is a staff News writer and head editor for The Prospect for the ‘Prince.’
Vitus Larrieu is a senior News writer and head Podcast editor for the ‘Prince.’
The years-long fight for mental health copay reduction, and the students behind it
By Ava Fonss Staff News Writer
As Noah Luch ’24 neared the end of his time at Princeton, he knew he “wanted to make sure [he] did something that was really lasting and impactful.” As the chair of the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) Mental Health Committee at the time, he thought back to an issue that had been bugging him since he started: mental health copays.
On July 12, University Health Services (UHS) announced several changes to coverage through the Student Health Plan (SHP). These include a reduction in the copay for mental health visits with providers in the Exclusive Provider Network (EPN) from $20 to $10, as well as complete coverage of the cost of EPN initial therapist consultations.
These changes to mental health coverage come after several years of student advocacy, particularly from members of the USG Mental Health Committee, including Luch.
“When I came to Princeton, I was always really interested in mental health advocacy,” Luch said in an interview with The Daily Princetonian. “I was looking for points of concern from the Princeton population, and the biggest thing that I heard was the issue of copays.”
According to Luch, after copays were highlighted as an issue of particular concern around December 2023, a meeting
was arranged between the Mental Health Committee, Student Health Advisory Committee, Priorities Committee, and Student Health Plan Advisory Committee. In this meeting, the topic of lowering or eliminating copays was proposed.
“I mentioned that a lot of students think that the $20 copay is kind of excessive, hard to pay, and, for undergrads, it involves parental involvement. A lot of students skip out on therapy because they know their parents have to be involved because they see a charge on their credit card,” Luch said.
In addition to lowering copays, covering the cost of initial consultations was another priority. “Especially in the Princeton area, therapists are very, very booked, so it’s actually extraordinarily hard to find a therapist that’ll take you,” Luch said.
Luch initially suggested raising the overall price of the Student Health Plan in order to cover the cost of copays. The Student Health Plan Committee, however, was not receptive to this idea.
“The main worry was if you raise premiums too much, students who are paying that premium are going to just go to private insurance instead of the school’s insurance, so you would lose money at the end of the day,” Luch said.
USG also met with the Graduate Student Government (GSG), and, according to now-Mental Health Committee Chair Meera Kochhar ’25, GSG had already independently identified similar concerns.
“It was very interesting to see that both USG and GSG brought this up as an issue at that same meeting without prior discussion,” Kochhar told the ‘Prince.’ Collaboration between USG and GSG was a significant part of the initiative.
“It’s really refreshing to see that [undergraduate and graduate students] can collaborate, as this collaboration is really effective in actually getting things done,” Kochhar said. “We can amplify our voices together, and it feels a lot stronger going to administration [when] both undergrads and grad students are united.”
“We found that a lot of our peer institutions have more comprehensive coverage for mental healthcare. Some of our peer institutions, for example, cover the first 52 visits with no copay,” GSG Vice President Christopher Catalano told the ‘Prince’ in August.
USG and GSG then prepared a 28-page memo which would be presented to the University administration in April 2024. The memo included student testimonials, financing options, and other relevant data. According to the student memo, the SHP at the time was operating at a ten million dollar deficit.
Student testimonials were collected from both undergraduate and graduate students.
“We ran two focus groups, did individual interviews, and also put out an anonymous form in case somebody wanted to say something very confidential,” Koch-
University reduces frequency of residential trash pickup
By Christopher Bao Assistant News Editor
Starting at the beginning of the fall semester, trash pickup in certain residential halls has changed from Monday through Friday to just Monday and Thursday. Now, trash should be placed outside on those two days before 8 a.m. for disposal.
This change affects select halls in Forbes, Mathey, Rockefeller, and upperclassmen housing which were previously served by Monday through Friday pickup. In other halls, students independently empty their trash at a trash chute or trash station on their floor.
University Spokesperson Jennifer Morrill wrote in an email to The Daily Princetonian that the adjustment comes after a year of discussions and was finalized “over the summer prior to first-year move in.”
According to Morrill, this change came about “[b]ased on responses to
a student survey,” and that “Building Services looked for ways to increase overall cleaning services to the dorms, especially in showers and restrooms.”
The goal of the new policy is to allow custodial staff to “dedicate more time to servicing other areas.”
Benjamin Lemkin ’26, who is living in Henry Hall this year after previously residing in Whitman Hall, told the ‘Prince’ that he doesn’t think the change will affect him much. “Generally, since I need to take my trash out less than once a week, probably, if they’re doing it Monday [and] Thursday, it works for me.”
Jaylee Witcher ’27, who lived in Holder last year and is now in Witherspoon, told the ‘Prince’ that everyday pick-up ”was really nice” because she was in a quad, which houses four students, and “always had friends over.”
“We had a lot of trash, so even though we had four trash cans, they would fill up quickly,” Witcher said.
When asked about the possibility of cleaning being focused on other areas, Lemkin said “that would be nice because I don’t need trash picked up every day … and it’s always nice to have everything a little cleaner.”
Witcher, on the other hand, is more skeptical, claiming that a bathroom in Witherspoon Hall did not have soap for a week. “If [the increased cleaning] happens, I think it’d be a benefit to everybody, but I think at least for the time being, that’s not happening, so it’s just a net negative, temporarily.”
While the new trash pickup schedule is designed to improve cleanliness in other areas, it remains to be seen whether students see tangible improvements in their dormitories following the change.
Christopher Bao is an assistant News editor and the accessibility director for the ‘Prince.’ He is from Princeton, N.J. and typically covers town politics and life.
har said. “Our approach was seeing how the issue would come up organically in focus groups, and that way we could also collect more data about other things that [we] want to work on.”
Financing options included in the memo outlined how much it would cost the University to adjust the price of copays as well as provide various numbers of free visits.
“Some people might not be willing to fully commit to the idea of therapy, but if you make a few visits free at the beginning, you’re a lot more motivated to continue it, rather than being indecisive about starting it in the first place,” Kochhar explained.
This memo was shared with Vice President for Campus Life W. Rochelle Calhoun, and Provost Jennifer Rexford, following their December meeting. Rexford initially responded by declining another meeting with the students, in emails reviewed by the ‘Prince.’ Yet, after the students pushed back, they were ultimately able to schedule another meeting with Calhoun present.
The ‘Prince’ did not reach out to the University for comment prior to publication.
According to Kochhar, communication with administration following the meeting concerning the memo — where adminstrators noted they were interested in reducing copays — was limited. In July, however, changes to copay pricing were
included among the Student Health Plan (SHP) 2024–25 updates to benefits.
“We got no communication, and then, randomly in the summertime when the Student Health Plan information for the coming school year came out, we saw that copays were reduced to $10. Since then, we haven’t been in contact with them,” Kochhar said.
Kochhar believes that the impacts of this change on the student body will be far-reaching. “It’s reducing the mental burden that students have about finances, and allows them to be more present as a student and just as a person on this campus,” she said. “I also think that it makes students more willing to start therapeutic services if they feel that’s what they need, because the cost of entry is a lot lower now. There’s a greater chance of parents being on board because the cost is less.”
“Reducing [copays] by half is an extraordinary load taken off of these students with chronic long-term mental health issues,” Luch noted separately. However, he hopes that copays will eventually be eliminated entirely, making mental health care even more accessible.
“Our goal from the beginning was to eliminate copays entirely, and to some extent, that’s still my hope. This is just a stepping stone to get the larger goal of eliminating them,” Luch concluded.
Ava Fonss is a staff News writer for the ‘Prince.’
Fall 2024 HireTigers Career Fair sees highest employer number in five semesters
By Shivansh Bansal Contributing Data Writer
On Friday, Sept. 13, 107 employers from 14 U.S. states and two countries are scheduled to attend the Fall 2024 HireTigers Career Fair. Students will have the opportunity to connect with a range of employers, from Bain & Company to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to Scholastic. The Daily Princetonian broke down the employers represented at the Career Fair — the most at the fair since 2022 — and which employers have opportunities available to underclass students.
The industry most represented in this career fair is Investment and Portfolio Management with 15 employers. This was followed by Management Consulting, with 14 firms taking to Dillon to meet with students.
In an interview with the ‘Prince,’ Kyle Page ’27 shared that he noticed this phenomenon.
“There appear to be a lot of finance companies coming this Friday, compared to companies from other industries.”
This contrasts with last spring, when the most represented industry was “Non-Profit - Other” with 10 employers, while “Higher Education,”
“Management Consulting,” and “Investment / Portfolio Management” all tied with eight employers each. While some opportunities may seem more geared towards certain students, others say that may not be the case. According to Felicia Sanders ’25, a Peer Career Advisor, students should try and seek out opportunities whether or not they directly relate to their major. In a statement to the ‘Prince,’ Sanders wrote that “I’ve had productive conversations with both employers directly related to my STEM coursework, but also have learned a lot from employers in the social impact and business industries.”
An additional dataset provided by the Center for Career Development split companies at the career fair into larger sectors. Although last spring, the “Engineering, Health, Science, & Technology” sector hosted the greatest number of employers, this fall, “Business, Finance” has come back to take the number one spot. The Fall 2024 HireTigers fair is hosting the most employers of any fair since the virtual Spring 2022 HireTigers fair.
Similar to previous years, a ma-
jority of the employers attending are headquartered in New York and New Jersey, with some being affiliated with the University. This fall, 39 companies are based in New York and 29 in New Jersey. This is a difference compared to last spring when numbers were reversed, with 38 employers headquartered in New Jersey and 27 in New York.
Looking at eligibility by year for undergraduate opportunities, while 90 percent of representatives are hiring juniors — and all are open to seniors — only 51.4 percent are open to sophomores and 34.3 percent are open to first-years.
Despite the comparatively low number of positions open to underclass students, Sanders encourages them to engage with the fair, writing that “while some employers may also only have open positions for upperclass [students], you can learn something from every conversation you have!”
The Center for Career Development emphasizes that both undergraduate and post-graduate students have unique opportunities at the fair, with many organizations seeking candidates for internships and entry-level
positions. As students prepare to engage with employers, some who have attended before have insights on how to get the most out of the fair.
“I didn’t know what to expect last year, but it turned into a great learning experience,” Page said. He advises newcomers to research companies ahead of time and to approach conversations with curiosity.
“Ask questions and be personable.” Sanders encourages students, especially first-years, to remember that “you do have many transferable skills (communication, time management, etc.) that would be valuable to an employer.” She also wrote that students should remember to “keep an open mind and to put [themselves] out there!”
Employers will be meeting with students in Dillon Gym from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 13. Next week, the Science and Technology Job Fair will take place on Friday, Sept. 20, giving students the chance to connect with employers in STEM fields.
Shivansh Bansal is a contributing Data writer for the ‘Prince.’
“Word H unt ”
By Ryan Hunstein Staff Constructor
1 Simile words 4 Getaway for children 8 Men's basketball enthusiast
14 Fruit center
15 Length x width, for a rectangle
16 Baltimore baseball bird
17 *I once was a tree who had roots, but I traded them in for new routes 19 Desert-like
20 Gospel adjournment
21 Rodeo ropes
23 Text file in many software packages
26 *There's one lone direction I show, but I'll lead you wherever you go
30 Corner key
31 Beginning, for short
34 "Sex and the City" actress ___ Jessica Parker
35 "To Kill a Mockingbird" author Harper
36 Without a trace (of)
38 Radio ___ Music Hall
39 *On faraway lands I can spy, but you have to use only one eye
41 Supersonic unit
44 "Well, shoot!"
45 Fast-paced standardized assessment: Abbr.
48 Coffee shops
50 Where a couple may walk at a wedding
51 ___ Chang (Harry Potter's first kiss)
52 *We help you make holes for dirt cheap, but to use us you'll have to dig deep
54 Tea plate or UFO
56 "Cha Cha Slide" instruction
59 Haiku or sonnet, for example
60 Issuance from an American embassy
63 With tools from the starred clues I'm found, but you'll have to look far underground 66 Lighthouse light
67 Common outdoor furniture wood
68 Author Anaïs
Consumers 70 Cajun cooking vegetable 71 Small child
1 Clothes, formally 2 Cat breed with a black face 3 Placid 4 Lincoln or Ford, but not Washington
5 Location of the humerus and radius
6 Breakfast, lunch, or dinner
7 Pope or potato: Sp.
8 "That's wrong!"
9 Firebolt and Nimbus 2000 10 It's often restricted in military areas
In favor of
"Aladdin" prince 13 "Game of Thrones" patriarch Stark
WWII bomber ___ Gay
The Minis
By Wade Bednar Associate Puzzles Editor
For undocumented students, choosing to protest is a privilege
Jorge Reyes Contributing Opinion Writer
As Gaza solidarity encampments sprung up across university campuses last spring, students faced severe institutional repercussions for their activism. At Princeton, at least two students had their diplomas withheld and 15 were arrested. Across the country, over 3,000 students were arrested for participation in Gaza solidarity protests.
For some, these consequences are disproportionately dire. Undocumented and international students run the risk of being deported if arrested and are limited in their ability to protest, especially with politicians like Donald Trump threatening to infringe on their freedom of assembly. The protests are crucial in raising awareness of the crisis in Gaza and pressuring complicit institutions to divest from genocide. But when we talk about these protests, we need to consider different risks people face: rhetoric that encourages the entire student body to take action or condemns apathy from student cultural groups fails to consider these students’ circumstances.
I am a part of a community of immigrant and undocumented students with strong political beliefs. Some of my friends and I feel conflicted about this issue: should we engage more directly in political activism for causes we believe in and run risks unique to our socioeconomic situation or do we choose not to join and feel called out for our “apathy?”
Students who participate in certain actions run risks of deportation, loss of financial aid, and severe disciplinary action. For those of us who choose not to act, our principles and convictions can be questioned. Because I choose not to participate in protests, I am constantly asked whether I truly care about showing solidarity with Palestine; “silence is complicity,” my friends who are involved tell me.
There are indeed different ways in
which a student who feels limited in their ability to protest — an undocumented, international, or low-income student — could express support for the pro-Palestinian movement, some of which do not put students at risk of facing harsh consequences. Students can promote educational content on social media, correct misinformation, or donate to charities and fundraisers. However, the powerful presence of the protests combined with the pressure put on student groups to show strong support for the cause, get involved, or make a statement on the protests can contribute to a pressuring atmosphere that may make students feel they are never doing enough.
The same conflict can then arise out of being a member of one of the many cultural and affinity groups on campus. While the importance of these affinity groups in protecting student’s rights is undeniable, it must be acknowledged that a group’s participation and showing support of a cause can place all of its members at risk. This was seen firsthand when the information of students belonging to several affinity groups at Harvard that posted an open letter condemning Israel was doxxed. Similarly, chat logs from the Black Princeton group chat was leaked after a student asked for footage of the Clio Hall occupation. Expecting support from those groups — even indirectly — comes at a cost. When this cost involves doxxing or leaking information, undocumented and international students are put at heightened risk. As such, we cannot expect them all to show public support for the cause or be involved — or at the very least, we must allow them to do it at their discretion, in their own chosen approach.
Assuming that a lack of demonstrated public support is synonymous with apathy is misguided. We cannot assume that everyone who is not participating in pro-Palestinian protests or showing their outright support for the cause is doing so because they simply do not
care. While concern for Princeton’s relative lack of activism is well-meaning, attempting to increase campus activism should not come with a harmfully pressuring atmosphere. It should also not push students to make decisions that could impact their future permanently — and it should be especially mindful of how the consequences of activism can disproportionately affect students from marginalized groups.
It is up to students to stand in solidarity with protesters while being aware that those only showing their support from the sidelines may be doing so out of concern for their safety. As students, we must increase our focus on the barriers for students who want to protest but cannot out of fear of their rights being infringed upon. For now, students facing these barriers should show their solidarity within the bounds of their circumstances — simply being educated on the
issue is already progress. Before we can call on everyone to show their solidarity, we must ensure everyone can show it.
The ideal solution to this problem would be for the University to safeguard protest as not a privilege that can be revoked at will but rather a right. The language that “the University reserves the right to determine the time, place, and manner of all [activism]” has allowed the University to arbitrarily restrict student speech, which can dissuade students from protesting. Someone facing possible deportation or the loss of their financial aid is unlikely to risk running afoul of the University’s caprices. If such changes are not made, the opinions and experiences of students who face these higher consequences will continue to be undermined.
As we begin a new academic year, we must reconsider our rhetoric aimed at encouraging students to act. We must
recognize that participating in the protests and encampments poses a higher risk for some than others. At the same time, the Princeton community must pressure the administration to protect the rights of students to protest and freedom of expression. International and undocumented students should not have to be afraid to denouncing genocide. Until everyone can express themselves without fear of undue consequences based on their identity, Princeton cannot claim to be an institution aspiring to “encourage all members of the University community to learn from the robust expression of diverse perspectives.”
Jorge Reyes is a first-year opinion contributor for the ‘Prince.’ He intends to major in Molecular Biology and is from Louisville (Loo-uh-vul), Ky. He can be reached at jr7982@princeton.edu.
Turning the tide on “human fracking”
& Peter Schmidt Guest Contributors
Welcome back to campus! Got your classes sorted out? It’s time to gear up for another semester of school — a place to teach and learn and play and think and change.
In her 1942 essay reflecting on “the right use of school,” the French philosopher and activist Simone Weil laid out her vision for the ultimate purpose of education: not learning some “subject” or “skill,” but rather training attention itself, the actual mental activity that makes all learning possible — the capacity to open the mind, senses, and heart to an object.
So what would Weil make of the “attention economy” — a multi-trillion-dollar industry that has arisen in the last twenty years, the unholy alliance of big tech and consumer capitalism? It is safe to say she would be appalled.
Just about every human being in the modern world has become a lab rat in an uncontrolled and largely unregulated experiment in “human fracking.” Just as petroleum frackers pump high-volume, high-pressure detergent deep into the earth to bring to the surface a monetizable slurry of oil and gas, human frackers
extract the money-value of our eyeballs using a similar operation: look at your little brother on TikTok, and see a pumpderrick sucking advertising wealth out of his face. We regulate the petroleum industry, because we see the dangers of fracking the earth. Human fracking, however, is mostly a free-for-all — a Wild-West gold rush into our brainstems.
The attention frackers would have us believe that this is how things have to be. But our ability to give attention is, ultimately, our ability to assess the world with others — and that includes the power to make it otherwise. There is no single fix to this problem, no hack. But as a first step, Princeton students must push for a change in the paradigm surrounding the attention crisis and for a broad coalition to mobilize around the freedom of attention in the name of human flourishing.
This summer we were part of a weeklong non-profit workshop “The Politics of Attention,” led by Princeton’s own Mihir Kshirsagar. One moment from the workshop showed how the battle begins with precise language: one of the activists from the Strother School of Radical Attention in Brooklyn, Amalia Mayorga, replaced the phrase “I spend too much time on my phone” with “my behavior is being modified!” and observed how profoundly the matter changed.
Because that is the truth, of course. Your brother’s trance-like state — gaze glued to the screen, swiping — is no accident. A billion dollars in startup capital, a dozen petaflops of computational power, and a lot of very bright programmers have succeeded in making it pretty much impossible to escape the slipstream of addictive feeds.
This isn’t good for us. Indeed, it can be catastrophic. If we let the stuff of our very minds and senses be sold to the highest bidder, there is little we can do to deal with anything else, from climate change to that looming orgo midterm.
The first step in pushing back against the attention frackers is understanding what it is that we are working to protect. The conventional notion of attention — as a function primarily concerned with time-on-task and productivity — does not serve the multi-faceted demands of our present crisis. Indeed, plenty of historical research demonstrates that this kind of attention has emerged in the past century from the very laboratories where the attention frackers’ coercive tools were forged.
What is needed (as we recently argued), is a movement, a broad coalition of communities who understand the relation of freely given attention to a world of human flourishing. The good news is that such a movement is happening. We have
found it churning at the Strother School, where both of us work with a community of committed Attention Activists to reimagine the ways that people might flourish in a transformed world. You can find it there too, or in places of worship, in dance troupe rehearsals, and among the folks fishing along the tow-path.
Anywhere that people gather to offer their minds and senses to their surroundings and each other, attention activists can be found. This means that you, too, are positioned to be an attention activist — if you want to be. Whether you are a scientist or a humanist or an engineer or an artist, you are immersed in a lineage of liberal arts attentional practices that reach back across centuries.
What should Princeton students do?
Do what you do already. As you go about your studies, attend to the kinds of attention that emerge in the lecture, the laboratory, and the library. Lend attention to your own attention, then share what you find with others. To attend, and to share with those around you, is the blueprint of collective study and the foundational act of worldbuilding upon which the University stands. This includes: reading, in all its forms (immersive, extensive, close, distant, critical, oneiric), observing (from the eagle-eye of the field naturalist to the participatory sensitivity of the ethnographer,
to the slow-looking of the art historian), and studying itself, in all its glory, alone and with others.
The more you come to know this thing called attention and the more you share it with your peers, the more acutely you will see, as a student and a student body, the nature of the challenge we face. This work of training attention, together, is the work of forming shared values. And shared values are the beginning of political action — as well as any meaningful fight against injustice.
So, as you begin the semester, consider Simone Weil’s insight that a geometry problem is more than a geometry problem. A close reading is more than a close reading. A careful titration can enrich the soul. Because, deep down, these are exercises of our ability to care. The work of study can be the work of justice. When we learn together, we build our attention. And with our attention, we build the world.
Graham Burnett ’93 is the Henry Charles Lea Professor of History and History of Science at Princeton University, and the founder of the non-profit Institute for Sustained Attention.
D.
Peter Schmidt ’20 is a writer and organizer from Clayton, Miss. He serves as the founding Program Director of the Strother School of Radical Attention in Brooklyn, NY.
RYAN KONARSKA / THE DAILY PRINCETONIAN Protesters gathered outside Nassau Hall at the “All out for Rafah” protest on May 7.
D. Graham Burnett
vol. cxlviii
editor-in-chief
Eden Teshome ’25
business manager Aidan Phillips ’25
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
president Thomas E. Weber ’89
vice president
David Baumgarten ’06
secretary Chanakya A. Sethi ’07
treasurer Douglas Widmann ’90
assistant treasurer
Kavita Saini ’09
trustees Francesca Barber
Kathleen Crown
Suzanne Dance ’96
Gabriel Debenedetti ’12
Stephen Fuzesi ’00
Zachary A. Goldfarb ’05
Michael Grabell ’03
Danielle Ivory ’05
Rick Klein ’98
James T. MacGregor ’66
Julianne Escobedo Shepherd
Abigail Williams ’14 Tyler Woulfe ’07
trustees ex officio
Eden Teshome ’25 Aidan Phillips ’25
148TH MANAGING BOARD
Ryan Konarska ’25
Naisha Sylvestre ’25
upper management
Tess Weinreich ’25
Lucia Wetherill ’25
director of outreach
Lia Opperman ’25
strategic initiative directors
Accessibility
Christopher Bao ’27
Education
Charlie Roth ’25
head
creative director Mary Ma ’26
Financial Stipend Elaine Huang ’25
Sections listed in alphabetical order. public editor Abigail Rabieh ’25
Associate Archives editor
Elizabeth Clarke ’27
head audience editor
Paige Walworth ’26
associate audience editors
Zach Lee ’26
Amparo Sanchez ’27
head copy editors
Nathan Beck ’25
Bryan Zhang ’26
associate head copy editors
Lindsay Padaguan ’26
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head data editors Andrew Bosworth ’26
Suthi Navaratnam-Tomayko ’26
head features editors
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associate features editor
Raphaela Gold ’26
head graphics editors
Luiza Chevres ’26
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head humor editors
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associate humor editors
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head news editors
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associate news editors
Olivia Sanchez ’26
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head newsletter editor
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associate newsletter editors
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assistant business manager
head opinion editor Eleanor Clemans-Cope ’26
community opinion editor Christofer Robles ’25
associate opinion editors Thomas Buckley ’26 Wynne Conger ’27
head photo editors Louisa Gheorghita ’26 Jean Shin ’26
associate photo editor Calvin Grover ’27
head podcast editor Vitus Larrieu ’26
associate podcast editors Senna Aldoubosh ’25
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head print design editors Avi Chesler ’25
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head prospect editor Isabella Dail ’26
associate prospect editors Russell Fan ’26
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head puzzles editors
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associate puzzles editors
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head sports editors Cole Keller ’26
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associate sports editors Tate Hutchins ’27
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business directors
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chief technology officer
TIGER
Liberal students debate, you’re just not listening
In a recent feature in The Atlantic, Princeton Lecturer Lauren Wright charges that conservative students on elite liberal college campuses like Princeton’s are constantly challenged and thus better prepared for real-world discourse, while liberal students are coddled and unwilling to engage. She backs this up with interviews from 43 college students — 28 conservatives and 15 liberals at “competitive schools.” But her framing reflects a misunderstanding of what truly constitutes meaningful intellectual and community dialogue on campus.
I should know — I was one of her interviewees.
Wright misunderstands a critical aspect of campus dialogue. Liberals do interact with opinions that challenge their own, but they do so on issues that are typically grounded in productive, forward-looking dialogue, like criminal legal system reform, geo-engineered climate solutions, diplomatic engagement between the United States and China, and the morality of consulting jobs. These are debates that are intended to further understanding and make a change in peoples’ thoughts and actions, rather than simply debate for the sake of debate. “How can you have a good argument against an argument you’ve never heard before?”
Wright quotes Princeton conservative Danielle Shapiro as saying. But why should the end point of dialogue be producing arguments for your side?
of the Federalist Society. An event with famous anti-trans activist Riley Gaines about “Protecting Women’s Sports,” hosted by the Princeton Open Campus Coalition, a group that promotes conservative ideology under the guise of free speech. A discussion on whether “a strict ‘separation of church and state’ [is] necessary in a liberal state,” hosted by the Veritas Forum.
But to insist on the importance of liberals engaging with these debates is insisting on an ideological project that launders harmful, fringe opinions back into mainstream society.
And this isn’t limited to the debates that are most obviously fought directly about the human rights of some group. The conservative strategy often involves seizing on “wedge issues” like lateterm abortion — specific, emotionally charged scenarios that seem straightforward enough to ignite debate, but that serve as entry points for broader, more damaging efforts to undermine reproductive rights entirely. For instance, on abortion, although the CDC reports that late-term abortions almost never happen (less than one percent of abortions), focusing on them is a right-wing tactical maneuver to turn a widely popular pro-choice position (88 percent of Americans think abortion should be legal in some circumstances) into a “contested” one.
These debates were a gateway to more aggressive restrictions, dragging us back into battles to turn back the clock on individual rights and bodily autonomy.
When conservatives relentlessly invoke the necessity of “viewpoint diversity” on college campuses, they are often looking for more debates that engage with regressive, generally discredited, and often dehumanizing perspectives. But this misses the real importance of viewpoint diversity, which really should be focused on serving a well-known goal of the University: truth-seeking.
Rather than getting bogged down in debates over outdated, intellectually small questions — debates that often serve to recycle outdated and harmful perspectives under the guise of intellectual rigor — we should spend our time and energy on campus dialogue that aims higher, focusing on the pressing, complex issues of our time that genuinely push our understanding forward.
The essential point is that viewpoint diversity is not about ensuring that every fringe idea has a platform; it’s about cultivating an environment where meaningful, respectful exchanges can occur across a spectrum of perspectives. Robbie George, the famous conservative politics professor at Princeton, wrote that in order to facilitate truth-seeking, institutions should be neutral about “matters on which reasonable people of goodwill in our community disagree.” I agree with him that there are matters that qualify for this.
Robert Mohan ’26 Kok Wei Pua ’25 My Ky Tran ’26
project managers Jason Ding ’25 Kaustuv Mukherjee ’26
148TH TECHNOLOGY BOARD
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lead software engineer
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software engineers
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Li ’26
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Malia
Because it typically explores issues without trying to tally these kinds of points, Princeton’s most robust discourse is within the left. For example, indigenous botanist and author Robin Wall Kimmerer’s lecture at Princeton challenged hundreds of attendees to think critically of Western scientific approaches as a reductionist, mechanistic view of nature and to question anthropocentric worldviews. The Alliance for Jewish Progressives screened the film Israelism and hosted a conversation with its producer, providing a space for complex discussions about how American Jews learn about and process what many human rights groups have found to be Israeli apartheid.
But many conservatives still say that liberals and progressives don’t engage with challenging ideas — and that’s because they’re demanding that we fight on their turf. Here are a few examples of events that Wright and others would count as “engaging with other opinions”: a panel about “The Transgender Movement and Its Assault on Biology,” hosted by Princeton’s chapter
Another popular conservative “wedge issue,” and one that is more visible at Princeton, is trans women in sports, which serves as an entry point for broad insidious attacks on the rights and dignity of all trans people. It’s a tactical sleight of hand, where what appears to some to be a conversation about fairness in athletics quickly becomes a vehicle for amplifying fear of and discrimination against the entire trans community. And this is the crux of the problem: it’s not inherently wrong to have a thoughtful, compassionate discussion about how to include trans athletes in elite sports. But in a landscape already rife with overwhelming hatred and systemic discrimination against trans people, the debates over trans participation are set up so that they do not remain contained nor respectful, but instead stoke fear.
I have no quarrel with debating important matters. But Wright and others’ argument falls short because it demands that liberals and progressives engage on conservatives’ terms, a ploy to launder harmful, fringe opinions back into polite society. Wright’s article supports this broader effort to normalize reactionary opinions, regardless of whether this was her intention.
True dialogue on campus should not require marginalized students to validate attacks on their existence or justify their rights. Instead, it should encourage meaningful exchanges. The question isn’t whether we’re willing to debate — it’s whether we’re willing to move forward.
Eleanor Clemans-Cope (she/her) is a junior from Rockville, Md. studying economics. She can be reached on Twitter at @eleanorjcc or by email at eleanor.cc@princeton.edu. Her column, “Eyes on the Tiger,” runs every two weeks on Tuesday.
LOUISA GHEORGHITA
Eleanor Clemens-Cope Head Opinion Editor
EYES ON THE
THE NEW NASSAU
Princetonians can fight fake news: on online disinformation and our political responsibility
Ava Johnson Columnist
When Presidential candidate Donald Trump said “they’re eating the dogs” on a national debate stage last week, my friends were so baffled at the absurdity of the falsehood that our initial reaction was simply to laugh. However, I found it far less amusing after spending more time on X and TikTok, where I was watching online post-debate discourse, and I learned that these outlandish claims were taken to heart by many. While gross falsehoods like these often feel far removed from the Orange Bubble, Princetonians cannot neglect the very tangible impact of disinformation on this election cycle.
There has been a renaissance of political activity at Princeton in recent months: Students, faculty, and alumni are engaged in and excited about geopolitical and national political discourse. Speaking out for what you believe in and casting your ballot, imperative parts of democratic involvement, are sufficiently discussed, but the Princeton community disregards our responsibility to fight mis/disinformation. As the election approaches, we must each do more. Misinformation and disinformation campaigns have always been a part of political discourse, and as technology evolves and our world becomes more interconnected, the threat of misinformation is growing. We live in an information environment more contaminated by fake news than any previous generation — it is many times more likely to be reshared on social media than factual information.
From individual accounts to cable news networks, it has become common practice to present known falsehoods as fact to spread political disinformation. AI-generated images, bot accounts, and the rapid circulation of false claims in algorithmic echo chambers are all elements of contemporary social media that can extrapolate the impact of misinformation on the American electorate — and digital natives are going to the polls more than ever this fall. However, as Gen-Zers, we are uniquely equipped to com-
bat digital misinformation campaigns. We can identify bot accounts and AI-generated content with more ease than older generations.
Princeton urges us to go forth and serve the nation, which includes fighting for and upholding our democracy. The intentional spread of misinformation by political figures directly undermines the democratic process, and we all have the opportunity to help fight it. Reporting and blocking accounts that post intentionally misleading information or disinformation, or having difficult conversations with friends, peers, and family members helps fight misinformation and strengthen our democracy.
We have the responsibility to do more than ignore absurd disinformation campaigns, and arrive at the ballot box informed. We need to engage with and combat falsehoods or stereotypes, even though it is scary and uncomfortable. Taking the time to report an account, explain why a stereotype is untrue, or to find and share an article that could expand someone’s point of view is an often overlooked part of our democratic responsibility.
In addition to the element of personal responsibility, Princeton’s diverse and active political action groups bear the burden of this element of democratic participation. Princeton College Democrats and Republicans, The Princeton Progressive and Tory, Sunrise Princeton, Princeton Students for Justice in Palestine, and Vote100 all seek to foster change and make a difference in campus and national politics, but none have had a concerted effort to combat online mis/disinformation. Groups that want to impact American discourse share the democratic responsibility to work against the mis/disinformation plaguing our politics — because engaging with active and informed voters is just the beginning.
Misinformation spreads like wildfire on the internet, but it often starts with well meaning individuals who believe something that they are told without thinking critically. Everyone is susceptible to misinformation, but the privilege of exposure, education, and the practice with difficult conversations that we have as Princetonians can make a difference. In contemporary American politics, our democratic duty goes beyond voting or protest — we can and must combat the intentional spread of political misinformation.
Ava Johnson is a sophomore Opinion columnist and prospective politics major from Washington, D.C. She can be reached by email at aj9432@princeton.edu. Johnson’s column, The New Nassau, runs every three weeks on Sundays.
OPENING THE GATES
It’s not too late to choose the right
side of history
Last week, fliers promoting Palestinian hate and the ongoing genocide in Gaza were found on campus near Spelman Hall. In light of this, and the rise in antiMuslim and anti-Palestinian hate in New Jersey in 2024, it’s imperative for Princeton students to stand on the right side of history. Of course, it is the responsibility of students who are already active in the cause to continue to affirm their commitment to the proPalestine, anti-genocide movement. However, now more than ever, it is paramount that students who have previously been unsure of their stance make the choice to oppose genocide and support Palestinian rights. All students should choose to support the pro-Palestine movement and to encourage the University’s divestment from Israel as a form of financial pressure on the Israeli economy, even if they haven’t previously.
Some students might be unsure of whether they will be welcomed into the pro-Palestinian movement at Princeton. They may feel dissuaded by national media coverage or alarmist emails from University administrators that mischaracterize Gaza encampment protestors as violent, antisemitic agitators. But my personal experience at the encampment completely contradicts this fabrication.
Last semester, Princeton students erected the “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” on April 25, initially in McCosh Courtyard and later on Cannon Green. Over the weeks that followed, the encampment grew in size and became a model of community care, teaching students about the importance of showing up for one another and welcoming community members into the Princeton campus. Students — myself included — stayed at the encampment all night in cold temperatures, participated in hunger strikes, organized rallies and teach-ins. We formed groups that worked on various aspects of the pro-Palestine movement on campus, including a bargaining committee that met with administrators. Most importantly, we collectively advocated for justice for Palestinians and an end to the genocide.
When I reflect on my time at the encampment, I think back fondly on the community members who brought food for protesters everyday, the children who found joy playing with each other, or the town halls that encouraged democratic voting and decision-making. Of my time at the encampment, what I remember the most is the overwhelming sense of love, the welcoming atmosphere, and the conviction that I was using my privilege as a Princeton student to fight for Palestinian liberation. There’s still time for all students to make the right choice, regardless of — and perhaps especially if — they have previously been on the fence.
The start of a new school year is the perfect op-
portunity to get involved with activist movements of global significance. We owe it not only to ourselves and the past, present, and future generations of University activists, but also to Palestinians and to people’s human rights everywhere.
Princeton Israeli Apartheid Divest’s (PIAD) divestment proposal outlines various criteria for divestment which include 129 companies in which Princeton presently invests, whose work, either directly or indirectly, contributes in some way to the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Although several categories are broader, to the extent of urging that Princeton divest from any company operating in or contributing to the Israeli economy, PIAD also identifies multiple categories which are directly related to the genocide. One of these, for example, relates to the construction of walls, settlements, and checkpoints, the surveillance and discrimination of Palestinian citizens, and most importantly weapons manufacturing and supplying. Students at the encampment recognized the global platform that we have as Princeton students, and the power that our collective voice holds in shaping a global narrative and the course of history. In line with both Princeton’s historical tradition and the precedent set by fellow universities such as Columbia and UPenn, we too are responsible for changing the course of history. We must continue to strive to bring an end to the genocide, to accelerate Princeton’s divestment, and to keep the spark of campus activism alive. As such, we must stand together and use our voices and our platform to effectuate social good. Based on the University’s divestment guidelines, established in 1997, all students must stand together and display “sustained campus interest” and “consensus,” which we can demonstrate through a referendum on divestment. Now more than ever, it’s important for us all to pressure administrators for the right to vote on a referendum and to make clear our demand for divestment. For those students who have previously been unsure about Princeton’s role in the genocide, unsure of how safe it may be for them to protest, or felt that they weren’t sufficiently educated to take a stance on the issue — this is the time to act. There are many ways to get involved, if only by demanding a referendum and voting in favor of divestment. It’s never too late to act, or to choose to condemn genocide. We must stand on the side that opposes violence and genocide, and we must demand that Princeton also be on the right side of history. For our goals — of ending the genocide and implementing the necessary sanctions, including financial pressure, that accompany the breaching of human rights and international law — to be successful, we need every voice working together. As noted in a tweet reposted by American activist Adam Eli: “You are allowed to say, at any point, I can’t support this. Even if you did. Even if you were unsure. You can at any point say “this has gone too far.” And while the best time to say this was earlier, the second best time is now.” It’s not too late to commit to fighting for Palestinian rights, and this begins by reevaluating the financial role that Princeton plays in the genocide.
Asa Santos is a senior anthropology major from London and São Paulo, minoring in Gender & Sexuality Studies and Global Health & Health Policy. Santos’ column, “Opening the Gates,” runs every two weeks on Mondays.
Asa Santos Columnist
the PROSPECT. ARTS & CULTURE
NCW: “We have not yet met the needs of the undergraduate community we are meant to serve.”
CERAMICS
Continued from page 1
a group was … one of the first steps into going through the process of advocating for grad students to be allowed into the studio at New College West,” he said in an interview with the ‘Prince.’
The GCA recently released a 16-page pilot report explaining their goals. According to the report, “The formation of the Graduate Ceramics Association was inspired by a vision to extend the profound benefits of ceramics — a powerful tool for creative expression, mental wellness, and community building — to all members of the university.”
On Apr. 30 and May 7, the group helped coordinate two pilot workshops in the
anxiety, while 73 percent reported increased joy following the workshops.
However, logistical concerns still stand in the way of regular studio access for graduate students.
Debbie Reichard, NCW Ceramics Studio Manager, AnneMarie Luijendijk, Head of New College West, and Johanna Rossi Wagner, Dean of New College West wrote to the ‘Prince’ regarding some potential limitations.
“We are very pleased that [the studio] is in high demand by the undergraduate students. We also know of the many graduate students, staff, and faculty who would love to be involved in this studio,” they wrote in an email to the ‘Prince.’ “Unfortunately, due to current space, budget, and staffing constraints, we have not yet met the needs of the un
concerns. The group recommends hiring graduate students as student studio managers as well as reserving a select number of spots for graduate students in scheduling. The GCA has stated that the Graduate Student Government Event Board can supply the group with some funding as a recognized student organization. In their report, the group also wrote that “TigerWell has indicated a willingness to fund this initiative over a longer term, recognizing the substantial mental wellness benefits it offers.”
TigerWell is a group dedicated to promoting wellbeing on campus beyond traditional healthcare. The group did not respond to a request for comment from the ‘Prince’ at the time of publication.
“The Graduate School is working
of the Graduate School, wrote to the ‘Prince.’
Reed also believes that integrating undergraduate and graduate students would benefit both parties.
“When a graduate student is the person underneath your professor who is grading your work, or who is leading a precept … those power dynamics don’t allow for a more genuine, more authentic, more enriching cultural or meaningful or personal relationship to occur,” he told the ‘Prince.’
According to Reed, sharing the NCW space could serve as a place “where undergraduate and graduate students can learn from each other … that only really serves to benefit both populations and essentially elevate the entirety of the university.”
Conversations between GCA, the uate student access to the studio will
Isabella Dail is the head editor of The
Coffee Club switches pastry provider
By Natalia Diaz | Staff Prospect Writer
Noticed a different taste and look in your go-to pastry from Coffee Club? It’s not just you. At the start of the fall semester, Coffee Club changed their pastry provider to Delizioso, a pastry shop in Princeton, due to supply issues with their previous vendor, The Gingered Peach, which recently halted its deliveries to the student-run coffee shop.
“We’ve been working with The Gingered Peach pretty much since the beginning of Coffee Club’s history,” Amalia Haile-Manas ’25, the Executive Director of Coffee Club told The Daily Princetonian. According to Haile-Manas, the Lawrence Township-based business needed to focus its Trenton location, the capacity to shipments of to Coffee Club for the time be-
Though they had to search for a new pastry vendor, to fill the temporary gap, Haile-Manas described the switch as fairly easy, despite a short period at the beginning of the semester where the shop was left without pastries.
“We were pastry-less for about two days of school,” HaileManas explained. While she expected the entire transition to take a couple of weeks, all it took was a quick phone call and their new provider was able to begin supplying new pastries soon enough.
Delizioso, located at 205 Witherspoon Street, is the new pastry provider for Coffee Club. Due to the switch, Coffee Club will offer new baked goods, including donuts and a spinach-feta croissant.
“I haven’t personally gotten to try all the pastries yet,” Haile-Manas admitted, “but I’ve liked the ones I’ve tried, and people have been saying good things, so I think it’s been a success so far.”
She describes the club’s experience thus far with their new supplier favorably and has noticed a positive response from customers to the new products. However, if you are ever missing the taste of their old pastries, worry not — The Gingered Peach still supplies Small World Coffee’s pastries.
The new pastries from Delizioso seem to be flying off the shelves as almost all of them were sold out when I stopped by their Campus Club location. However, I managed to try two of their new pastries: a raspberry lemon scone and a puff pastry cinnamon roll.
The scone had the perfect amount of tanginess from the lemon, the right amount of crisp on the outside, and a nice soft texture on the inside, with the pleasant addition of dried raspberries and poppy seeds. Although the scone was quite delicious, I especially enjoyed the cinnamon roll. Upon the first bite, the layers of golden, flaky puff pastry offered the perfect texture for the rich buttery swirl of cinnamon. The
glaze drizzled on top added the perfect balance of sweetness to contrast with the light spiciness of the cinnamon. If you want to try something new to accompany your afternoon pick-me-up beverage, be sure to swing by Coffee Club in the coming weeks. No matter the vendor, there will always be an abundance of sweet treats available at both of their locations if you are ever in need of a boost of energy or satiating a sweet tooth. Hopefully, students will no longer have to suffer any more pastry-less days.
Natalia Diaz is a member of the Class of 2027 and a staff writer for The Prospect and a staff Audience creator at the ‘Prince.’
Firestone debuts Monsters & Machines: Caricature, Visual Satire, and the Twentieth Century Bestiary exhibit
By Connor Romberg |Assistant Prospect Editor
For students seeking a study break without leaving Firestone Library, the Princeton University Library (PUL) is opening a new exhibit titled “Monsters & Machines: Caricature, Visual Satire, and the Twentieth Century Bestiary.” The exhibit examines bestiary, the use of animal motifs to represent human categories, in visual satire between World War I and the end of the Cold War.
The new exhibit, which has been in the works for over four years, is slated to open on Thursday, Sept. 12 in the Milberg Gallery.
Thomas Keenan, a Slavic, Eastern European, and Eurasian Studies Librarian is one of the exhibit’s curators. He wrote in informational material for the exhibit that this period “was a time of ideologically-fueled hostilities of unprecedented scale and destructive consequences that eventually brought humanity to the brink of self-annihilation.”
Bestiary is often associated with the medieval period. Artists would often present images of real and mythical animals as embodiments of moral degradation. Whether used on magazine covers, political advertisement, or newspapers, the intricate craft of ostracizing the other through bestiary iconography is seen across the globe.
The exhibit explores how the use of monsters and machines in art are expressions of fear toward dictators, authoritarian rulers, and aggressive nations. The pieces include visual humor and satire projected at adversary cultures and ideologies.
“Monsters & Machines” draws from PUL’s rich collection of 20th century posters, illustrated periodicals, and artifacts from North America, Europe, Asia, Eurasia, and the Middle East. The exhibit decodes the iconographies ranging from those of Greco-Roman antiquity to biblical to modernity.
The exhibit begins with an illustration from Dante’s “Divine Comedy.” The illustration is displayed alongside other works of visual satire from the 20th century that include human-beast hybrids and reimaginations of figures from the work.
Other galleries include themed installations of titans and tyrants, beasts, bugs, reptiles, and war machines. There are also illustrations of dogs, pigs, snakes, and octopuses.
According to Thomas Keenan, the exhibit is topical today because of “the overall sensation that the world feels polarized in a lot of ways.” Keenan remarked that the team started with the very broad idea of 20th century visual satire, spending years examining thousands upon thousands of images. They soon narrowed down the angle to what the exhibition is today.
“A lot of the images used today have a long history and a very rich history being used for centuries, such as the snake being deceitful goes back to biblical times,” Alain St. Pierre, the Librarian for History, History of Science, and African Studies, said in an interview with the
‘Prince.’
Within the exhibition, it is clear how these images have been repeated and reiterated for centuries by different countries for distinct purposes. These images, dating back to biblical times, have been adapted by different entities for a variety of pointed uses. Many works tie back into the gallery’s unifying motif of a universal desire to outcast and dehumanize the other.
Keenan stated that there is a special quality in “standing physically, in close proximity” to these things and seeing the images of this art in person. He remarks that although the “digitization efforts make the art more accessible beyond the walls of an institution”, the process “abstracts the images in a way that makes them lose their materiality.”
The location of the exhibit inside of a prominent node of campus activity, Fire-
stone, offers more opportunities for students and community members to visit the works housed inside.
“Students can come in here on their breaks and see something that sparks their imagination, giving them an idea for a thesis or a research paper,” St. Pierre said.
Members of the public can visit the exhibition between 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. on weekdays and 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. The exhibition will be open from Sept. 12 through Dec. 8, 2024. For more information on the exhibition, public tours, and related programming, please visit the PUL website.
Connor Romberg is an assistant editor for The Prospect from Winneconne, Wis.
The Prospect
Weekly Event Roundup
By Amanda Hugas, Contributing Prospect Writer
1
Seuls en Scène 2024 presents “Radio Live”
by Aurélie Charon & Amélie Bonnin
Sept. 20–21 at 8 p.m.
Wallace Theater, Lewis Arts complex
Cinematographer Mila Turajlić brings to life
Aurélie Charon and Amélie Bonnin’s newest rendition of “Radio Live - La relève.” The show deals with a dialogue surrounding political engagement through images, sounds, and words. Performances are free and open to the public; advance tickets are required.
2
Seuls en Scène 2024 presents “Euphrate”
by Nil Bosca
Sept. 20 at 6 p.m.; Sept. 21 at 5 p.m.
Class of 1970 Theater at Whitman College
Discover Nil Bosca’s “Euphrate,” which follows the 17-year-old daughter of a Turkish father and a Norman mother as she finds herself beyond the pressure of her parents and explores her Turkish origins. Performances are free and open to the public; advance tickets are required.
3
Workshop: Blood and Gore and So Much More
Sept. 23 at 6–8 p.m.
Costume Shop, Mezzanine level of Wallace Dance Building, Lewis Arts complex
To get in the Halloween spirit, drop in for an exploration of the art of special effects makeup led by LCA Costume Shop Manager Miriam Patterson. No experience needed.
4
Michael
Feinstein in Because of
You
5 Reading of “Love You Forever, Molley”: A new play by Kaelani Rae Burja ’23
Sept. 25 at 8 p.m.
Donald G. Drapkin Studio, Lewis Arts complex
Written by Princeton alumna Kaelani Rae Burja ’23 during her time spent on a Martin A. Dale ’53 Fellowship, this play follows the discovery of her mother’s past and the questions that follow. Reading is free and open to the public; tickets are required. Limited seating is available.
Sept. 20 at 7:30 p.m.
Matthews Theatre
Come celebrate the “unparalleled legacy” of Tony Bennett with five-time Grammy-nominated artist and Bennett’s long time friend, Michael Feinstein. Purchase tickets online at mccarter.org.
6
Hip-Hop Techniques and Foundations: Locking with The Hoodlockers
Sept. 21 at 1:30–3 p.m.
Ellie’s Studio, Lewis Arts complex
Led by dance program alum Liam Lynch ’21 and guest artists, observe and learn the basic club and street dance technique. Alumni interested should reach out to Cindy Rosenfeld at cr17@princeton. edu; no advance registration is required, just drop in!
7
Opening and Curator Talk: The Head that Wears the Crown: Black Women’s Headwear from Slavery to Freedom
Sept. 20 at 6–8 p.m.
Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum Explore the past, present, and future of African American women’s headwear, which has historically carried messages of “symbolized freedom,” “commitment to spiritual life,” and the love for fashion shared among enslaved and free women. RSVP in advance; tickets are pay-what-you-can.
8
Design & Production for Theater Cocurricular Classes: How to Write a Light Cue
Sept. 24 at 6–8 p.m.
Light Lab, 2nd floor of Wallace Dance Building, Lewis Arts complex
Come learn how to write lighting cues and use design tools available at the LCA from a hands-on lesson led by Lecturer in Theater Tess James. Free admission; just drop in!
10
Campus Collections Outdoor Walking Tours: Main Campus
Neighborhood
Sept. 22 at 2 p.m.
Nassau Hall
Connect with a variety of artworks by modern and contemporary sculptors such as Henry Moore to Louise Nevelson on a guided tour of campus collections. Free; no reservations required.
Ai Weiwei’s Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads behind The Dinky Bar, 94 University Pl, Princeton
Connect with a variety of artworks by modern and contemporary artists such as Sol LeWitt to Maya Lin on a guided tour of campus collections. Free; no reservations required.
11
Nathan Jackson Totem Pole Demonstration
Sept. 24 at 9 a.m.–12 p.m.
ACP’s Paul Robeson Center for the Arts
Join us for a new totem pole demonstration and question and answer discussion with Tlingit totem pole Master Carver Nathan Jackson. Free admission; just drop in.
FOOTBALL
‘Not an accomplishment, but a responsibility’: Princeton Football names captains
By Alex Beverton-Smith Assistant Sports Editor
Following weeks of fall practice. Princeton Football announced their captains for the 2024 football season. With an opening game against Lehigh University less than one week away on Sept. 21, these players will lead the team into the 2024 season.
The Tigers selected five seniors as captains, representing both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball: offensive linemen Tommy Matheson and Nick Hilliard, running back John Volker, defensive lineman Collin Taylor, and defensive back Mason Armstead.
Their appointments as captain came as little surprise, as all five saw significant playing time last season and claim experience leading on the field. These players will take over from Class of 2024 graduates Ozzie Nicholas, Liam Johnson, Blake Stenstrom, and Jalen Travis, who guided the team as captains in the 2023 season.
FIELD HOCKEY
In addition to bringing honor, being awarded the Princeton Football captaincy can be an indicator of big things to come. Three of last year’s captains (Nicholas, Johnson, and Travis) are playing out their fifth years in Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) schools, for Duke, Cal, and Iowa State respectively. The captains for the 2022 season included Andrei Iosivas, a wide receiver selected by the Bengals in the 6th round of the 2023 draft who operates as the team’s WR3 currently, and Henry Byrd, a guard on the Vikings’ practice squad. For Iosivas, he’s an essential cog in the Bengals offense, scoring two touchdowns in Sunday's matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Two starters on the offensive line, left guard Matheson and right guard Hilliard have been instrumental for Princeton at the guard position. Heading into their third season together as starting guards, the two linemen haven’t missed a game since the 2021 season when they were both firstyears.
Last season, Hilliard received an Honorable Mention All-Ivy along with several of his teammates. Despite being a surprise omission from last season’s All-Ivy Awards, Matheson received Preseason First-Team All-Ivy honors.
The Tigers have been reliant on this pair for the last two seasons and will continue to be, both on and off the field, as these two head into their final season playing for the Tigers.
Volker, another offensive starter, was selected to be a captain for the season. Volker led the team in rushing yards last season, including a breakout game against Bryant where he rushed for 149 yards.
“I am honored that I have been elected captain by my teammates and am looking forward to lead this team to a championship,” Volker told The Daily Princetonian. “Being selected captain is not an accomplishment, but a responsibility to my teammates to foster a positive team culture.”
He will be crucial in the huddle,
‘She would run through
alongside Matheson and Hilliard, in pushing the team forward under the helm of a new quarterback following the end of Stenstrom’s time on the football team.
The other two Tigers selected to be captains for the season operate on the defense. Taylor is a defensive lineman for the Tigers and over the course of the last season became a starter for the Orange and Black, ending the season with 30 tackles.
“Myself and the other captains are extremely honored to represent our team this year,” Taylor said to the ‘Prince’ about his selection. “We’ve had the invaluable opportunity to learn from some great leaders that have come before us during our time here and we are hoping to continue their legacy by representing Princeton football to the best of our ability.”
Taylor will be leading the D-Line as a captain for the rest of the Tigers’ season and his time here, but he was also sure to credit those around him now for his current success.
“Personally, I’ve been fortunate enough to have my fellow defensive linemen Ryan Ives and Jack Delgarbino with me throughout every step of the college football process,” Taylor continued. “They have been a huge part of our success as a team, and I can’t wait to share the field again with them this year.”
Armstead, a defensive back, rounds out Princeton’s captains for the year. Armstead has seen action since his first-year and has been a regular player ever since — he ended last season with a career high 30 tackles including an interception and a forced fumble.
Having selected these five players as captains, the Tigers are ready for the season to get underway. These players will be crucial not only in their first matchup against Lehigh University but also in each of the nine games following that, as they hope to win the Ivy League title once again.
Alex Beverton-Smith is an assistant Sports editor for the ‘Prince.’
a brick wall’: The journey of Beth Yeager to Olympic field hockey
By Cole Keller & Max Hines Head Sports Editor & Senior Sports Writer
Now a veteran on the national team set to earn her 54th cap, rising junior Beth Yeager will be representing USA Field Hockey in her first Olympics. Team USA, ranked No. 24 in the world and the lowest in their preliminary pool of six nations, is riding high off of a somewhat surprising qualification to the Olympic Games.
Yeager’s style of play on the field is tough and uncompromising, gaining her the admiration of her teammates — some of whom once saw her as a target in their high school careers. From picking up the sport on a whim to qualifying for the biggest stage in the world, Yeager has turned her inauspicious start in her standout sport into a platform for her to play at the pinnacle of the game and represent the red, white, and blue.
Yeager wasn’t a natural field hockey player — she picked up the sport on the recommendation of one of her cousins.
“I played a lot of sports growing up, and I needed a fall sport,” Yeager told The Daily Princetonian. “I wasn’t a huge fan of soccer, so my mom signed me up for a field hockey camp at my middle school, and then I just stuck with it.”
While her skills took a few years to develop and catch the eyes of recruiters, Yeager quickly fell in love with the sport.
“I just had a lot of fun, like learning and pushing myself in the sport,” Yeager said. “Out of all the sports I played, I think it was the one that [I] never dreaded going to practice.”
With a love of the sport firmly established, Yeager invested time and energy in order to take her skills to the next level.
“In the eighth grade, I started playing for a club team called WC Eagles
in Pennsylvania,” Yeager added. “I’m from Connecticut, so I started commuting there a couple times a week … and each year [I] had a new goal for what I wanted to achieve. At first it was like, maybe I can play this in college.”
The countless trips across the Hudson and her growing E-Z Pass balance would soon pay off. Yeager began to appear on the radar of Princeton’s recruiters through her standout performance with the WC Eagles, a Pennsylvania field hockey club that is well known for churning out Olympic athletes, including four Americans in the 2024 Games. While with the Eagles, Yeager helped her team to a U-14 National Club Championship, while earning junior national team invites along the way.
“We knew of her because of the talent level she was at, and she was playing for the club team the WC Eagles, and we knew she was going to be a star,” Associate Head Coach Dina Rizzo told the ‘Prince.’
Due to the recruiting rules at the time, which allowed contact between athletes and recruiters at any age, Yeager and Princeton were able to meet early on in Yeager’s high school journey.
“[Her freshman year,] she came to campus to visit and meet with us, and she basically had said she only really wanted to look at a couple schools, and Princeton was one of them,” Rizzo added. “Obviously we were super excited about it, and we gave her an offer and she accepted it right then and there.”
Yeager concurred about the ease of the process, and said that “when I came, the environment and the atmosphere that I experienced really reaffirmed that it was the place for me. I really loved the campus and the feel of the team, the camaraderie that the team had, and it was just something that I really wanted to be a part of.”
Although she had a commitment to Princeton locked up, Yeager didn’t take her foot off the gas in high school.
“After [getting into college], it was trying to get on junior national teams, and then once I was on junior national teams, trying to get on senior teams,” Yeager said. “It was a progression throughout my career of modifying my goals as I went.”
Aside from the national team, Yeager was a force to be reckoned with in high school, playing at the Sacred Heart School in Greenwich, Conn. Yeager’s performance on the high school circuit is still talked about on the team today.
“I grew up playing against her throughout high school, and [Sacred Heart] were our biggest rivals,” Princeton senior forward and co-captain Grace Schulze, also from Greenwich, recounted to the ‘Prince.’ “We [always needed] to just man-mark her, to shut her down, because she was just like that — a competitor.”
Following her arrival on Princeton’s campus, Yeager had any and all opportunity to be blinded by the bright lights of joining a team whose last competitive season ended in the national championship game, but she quickly focused on becoming a leader on the Tiger squad.
“It was very easy to come into the team, because our team has a great culture,” Yeager recalled. “My job [of adjusting] was actually pretty simple because of the amount of talent that was around me.”
Rizzo praised Yeager for her work ethic, and said that Yeager put in the work necessary in order to succeed at the college level.
“The kid worked so hard; she would run through a brick wall,” Rizzo said. “We were very lucky to get her [with] the skill, but also the desire to just compete … [she] competes every second, every minute that we have, so that’s where the difference was with
her compared to a lot of kids at her age.”
Yeager’s work yielded results that were nothing short of outstanding, culminating in the first Tiger to earn a first-team field hockey All-American in her first year. For Yeager, she gradually overcame the challenges presented by new opponents, quickly turning the corner to become a star.
“Everything in college happens a lot faster than in high school or in club field hockey, so the biggest challenge is just being able to anticipate things quickly and be able to read the next play faster than your opponents,” Yeager said. “Around our UConn game, towards the end of September, was when I started to feel more comfortable and confident, like I was starting to get the hang of it.”
Along with being a first-team AllAmerican, Yeager was also the second-ever first-year to win Ivy Field Hockey Player of the Year and finished second in Division I in points per game and third in goals per game.
Progressing into her sophomore campaign, Yeager made the superb look normal, once again collecting first-team All-American honors in addition to being the unanimous Ivy League Offensive Player of the Year. Yeager knew a break would be coming the following year, though, as she joined the U.S. senior national team to attempt to qualify for the Olympics.
For Yeager and the rest of the U.S. team, the path to Paris began with a matchup against a familiar foe — No. 6 ranked India — the same team that dashed the United States’ qualifying hopes in 2020. This time around, though, Team USA emerged with a 1–0 victory against India in the first qualifying round, and while there was lots of work to be done to qualify, Yeager and the national team were off to the races.
“It was a pretty big moment from
that standpoint, because we had to climb a mountain that had … a shadow over our program for the past four years,” Yeager said about the win over India. “We always believed that we could get that kind of result, but then seeing it come to fruition just gave us a lot more confidence. So, I think it was actually at that moment that we truly believed that we would qualify and that we didn’t just have potential to do it.”
The Americans did just that, qualifying for the Olympics through a semifinal victory over No. 9 Japan, officially punching their ticket to Paris. Yeager, after being named to the team in the beginning of the year, is looking forward to representing her country on the biggest stage.
“Just thinking about walking out onto the field is really, really special. I think it’s something that, like, hasn’t completely hit me yet,” Yeager said. “One of the great things about playing for the national team is that you get to represent your country as well.”
The United States will begin their pursuit of a gold medal with five group stage matchups, starting with current world No. 6 Argentina on July 27. As the lowest-ranked team in a tough group, Yeager and the United States will have their work cut out for them in order to advance to the next round.
“Right now, there's just a lot more focus, but also, more emphasis on joy and having fun and appreciating the moment we're in,” Yeager continued. “So, I think at the moment, it's definitely like a relentless and disciplined attitude. We're training very hard, probably harder than we have all year, but it's also a really fun atmosphere.”
Max Hines is a senior Sports writer for the ‘Prince.’
Cole Keller is a head Sports editor for the ‘Prince.’
BY THE NUMBERS
By the Numbers: Women’s Soccer starts strong as women’s Ivy championships enter their 50th season
By Harrison Blank & Andrew Bosworth
Each week, Sports and Data writers analyze recent athletic competitions to provide analysis and insight on the happenings of Princeton athletics and individual players across the 38 intercollegiate teams at Princeton. Whether they are record-breaking or day-to-day, statistics deliver information in concise ways and help inform fans who might have missed the action. Read past By the Numbers coverage here.
Princeton Tigers: Aug. 24–Sept. 10 19 games and matches were played across eight sports and five U.S. states so far this season. The Tigers’ first game of the semester came on Aug. 24 when women’s soccer beat Miami at home 1–0.
Of the 16 games and matches with a clear winner, the Tigers won 63 percent of matches. Multipleday meets and tournaments are counted individually for each day of the competition. Competitions with more than one event or individual results such as golf and cross country are not included in The Daily Princetonian’s win percentage analysis.
The Tigers performed better on the road than at home, winning 73 percent of matches outside of the Bubble and emerging victorious 40 percent of the time back at Old Nassau.
In the last By The Numbers
analysis, the Tigers emerged victorious in 72 percent of games and matchups, suggesting that the Tigers will need to find their form and earn their stripes for the remainder of the fall season.
Golden Jubilee for Ivy Women’s Athletics
Beyond the Tigers hot start in non-conference play, the 2024–25 athletic season has greater significance for Princeton and the Ivy League. This season marks the 50th year of Ivy League Championships for women’s athletics, from which the Tigers have taken home over 200 titles, more than any other Ivy.
The Ivy League was the first athletic conference to begin championships in women’s sports and is thus the first athletic conference to hit this milestone. From rowing to basketball, women’s sports at Princeton have established a long history of excellence and are now entering the second half of their inaugural century.
Deep-water Domination
Men’s water polo started their season strong with three wins in Annapolis, Md, against Biola University, Occidental College, and George Washington University. Since 1996, the Tigers have won their first three water polo games 15 times.
The Tigers scored 73 points across these three games and only let up 12 points.
When the Tigers start the season with three wins, they historically have higher win percentages,
showing the importance of a strong beginning to long-term success. With a long, grueling, and physical season to come, a good first weekend is good omen for men’s water polo, as the data shows.
“We are a really veteran team,” men’s water polo Head Coach Dustin Litvak told the ‘Prince.’ “We have 10 seniors, so we have guys that are really familiar with our system, so we’re able to move a little faster in our preseason segment than in years past, where we had to really break things down and re-teach stuff.”
While the seniors had a successful start to their final season, first-year Tas Palcza also scored 11 goals in his first three games as a Tiger.
“When we’re recruiting someone, it’s the expectation that they contribute right away,” Litvak said. “Both Tas and Gavin Appeldorn have had an incredible preseason and are a huge part of what we are going to do this year.”
Appledorn, also a firstyear, scored nine goals in his first three games.
Secretary of Defense
In women’s soccer, senior goalkeeper Tyler McCamey took home her second Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week after two recent stalwart performances. The Atlanta native recorded a shutout in the team’s 2–0 victory over the William & Mary Tribe on Sunday and made nine saves against the
No. 8 Nittany Lions of Penn State in a 1–0 loss on Thursday.
Born to Run
Men’s cross country received a preseason No. 1 ranking in the USTFCCCA Preseason Regional Rankings for the mid-Atlantic prior to their race victory at the Jersey Jam on Friday. In that race, the Tigers took four of the top five places, with sophomore Collin Boler pacing the field.
A Torrent of Tordin Junior star forward Pietra Tordin scored a hat trick for the USA under-20 women’s national team in the under-20 Women’s World Cup on Saturday. She became only the fifth American woman to score a hat trick in the under-20 Women’s World Cup.
In a 7–0 group stage vic-
tory over Paraguay, Tordin opened the scoring with two goals in three minutes at the tenth and twelfth minute, before capping off the spectacular performance with a third goal in the 67th minute, nudging the ball with an outstretched right foot past the keeper. All in all, it has been a fast start to the semester for Tiger athletics, especially for men’s and women’s cross country. As classes get underway, fall sports will continue non-conference play. Check back next week to stay updated on all things Princeton athletics — by the numbers.
Harrison Blank is an assistant Sports editor at the ‘Prince.’
Andrew Bosworth is a staff Sports writer and head Data editor for the ‘Prince.’
Shining Moments in Princeton Olympic History
By Harrison Blank Assistant Sports Editor
The Modern Olympics began almost thirteen decades ago in the spiritual home of the Games — Athens, Greece. Since then, 53 Olympic games have been held, with Princetonians representing both their home countries and the Orange and Black from the very first games through this summer in Paris.
The ‘Prince’ looked at several standout moments in Princeton’s legacy of wins at the Games, revealing unlikely Olympic heroes, trailblazing pioneers, and many who would go on to achieve greatness outside of the sporting world.
King of Greece dons the first Princeton Olympian with olive wreath
At the inaugural games in 1896, four Princeton athletes took the long boat ride across the Atlantic and Mediterranean as part of the firstever Olympic delegation from the United States, taking home seven medals in total.
Robert Garrett Jr. Class of 1897 was only a rising senior at Princeton when he took the Greek crowd by storm in the inaugural 1896 Games. Garrett dominated the track and field competitions, finishing first in the discus and shot put categories and second in the high jump and long jump. After only a day’s practice, Garrett set the world record in the discus.
Garrett was never awarded a gold medal — those were not introduced until 1904 in St. Louis. Instead, he was adorned with silver and bronze medals and given, as The Daily Princetonian described, “from the hands of the King a wreath of wild olive from the trees at Olympia, according to the ancient custom,” in its reporting of the closing ceremonies.
According to the Princetoniana Museum, the University was initially apprehensive about allowing four students to leave in the middle of the spring semester — not a far cry from how the administration may react today. The University ul-
timately gave way; however, the four Tigers had to practice off-campus for their events. The Daily Princetonian similarly voiced concern regarding the condition of the athletes upon return, fearing loses among Ivy counterparts.
“The chief objection, however, is that the trip may affect our in the coming contests with Yale and Columbia. Such a result would be most deplorable,” wrote the ‘Prince’ at the time.
Garrett would go on to serve as a member of the Board of Trustees and class president during his time at Princeton.
Future NRA President claims first gold medal for Princeton
After Robert Garrett’s outstanding performance representing Old Nassau in Athens, it was 24 years before another Tiger would win multiple gold medals. In the 1920 Games in Antwerp, Karl Frederick Class of 1903 shot his way to three gold medals, all in pistol competitions.
Frederick earned the top prize in men’s 50m free pistol and two team pistol events, all of which have since been discontinued at the Games.
Frederick, in line with his pistol proficiency, later became the chairman of the National Rifle Association.
Jersey native achieves swim success despite humble roots
The old Dillon Pool is over 6,700 miles away from Tokyo, Japan, where Jed Graef ’64 wrote his name in swimming world record books. Months after graduating — the 1964 Tokyo Games were held in October — Graef set a world record in his preliminary heat race in the 200m backstroke.
Just a day later, Graef sliced more than two seconds off his time to set a new record of 2:10.3 seconds as he touched the wall just before his two team USA teammates, who claimed silver and bronze.
Graef, captain of the Tiger team, hailed from northern New Jersey and went to Verona High School, where he managed to set state records despite the school not having a swim team.
Rebel finds a cause in the pool, winning Team USA two gold medals Alcohol, cigarettes, and fights. Nelson Diebel ’96 had come a long way from his rebelious teenage streak by the time he arrived at Princeton’s campus as a swimmer and soon-to-be 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympian.
After being kicked out of two schools, according to his hometown paper, it was his love of the sport that helped him corrected course — joining the swim team at a private school in New Jersey, which led him to Princeton as a recruit.
Just a few months before the 1992 Olympics, Diebel shattered the 100m American breaststroke record, securing his spot on the Barcelona team as a rising sophomore.
Diebel proved that tigers are indeed the best swimmers of all the big cats, flying off the blocks to win two gold medals up in Catalonia in the 100m breaststroke and the 4x100m medley relay. The 100m breaststroke was Diebel’s coup d’état, blazing his way to an Olympic record and beating the topranked breaststroker in the world in the medal round.
Diebel’s Olympic success boasted him to national fame — he graced the cover of Sports Illustrated shortly after the Games began under a title “Spanish Gold.” The formerlyexpelled high school student had risen to the pinnacle of his sport.
The ‘Prince’ interviewed Diebel, upon his return to campus, and poked a little fun at his newfound celebrity.
“Would his face grace the cover of a box of Wheaties? Maybe he would appear on television eating steaks at Sizzler with a gold medal draped around his neck. Or, perhaps, he would wear Speedo bathing suits every day to class,” the ‘Prince’ Sports section wrote at the time.
The double-gold medalist Diebel, like any good Princeton student, decided to return to school, explaining, “I finally decided that it would take too much time to do all of the commercial things, and it’d take time away from studying.”
“Not that I’m the most studious guy,” he added. Diebel did not respond to a request for comment.
First female Tiger gold medalist rows to victory in Beijing Caroline Lind ’06 made Princeton
history at the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympic Games as part of the American women’s eight rowing team. Lind became the first female Tiger to stand wreathed in gold atop an Olympic podium, over a century after Garrett established himself as the first alumnus.
Lind, representing the everdominant Tiger rowing program, and her boat mates ended a 24year gold medal drought for the American women’s eight program and earned the first of three consecutive golds for the squad.
Lind did not respond to a request for comment.
In all, Old Nassau has sent 154 athletes off to the Olympic Games, making a combined 217 appearances and collecting 90 medals. Tigers have thrown, ran, shot, rowed, swam, fenced, sailed, skated, snowboarded, and more on their way to Olympic glory.
With all the Tiger success on the international stage, perhaps it is time that the Olympic Committee turns one of the five Olympic Rings orange.
Harrison Blank is an assistant Sports editor at the ‘Prince.’
Why Princeton won’t take ideological stances: three decades of “institutional restraint”
By Ifeoluwa Aigbiniode Staff Archivist
Princeton has a longstanding tradition of “institutional restraint,” tending not to comment on social, moral, or political topics, issues, and events. This policy dates back to 1985, when William G. Bowen GS ’58, University president at the time, officially commenced Princeton’s 240th year with a speech at the Opening Exercises about the role of the University in the modern age of student activism.
On Sept. 17 of that year, The Daily Princetonian reported that President Bowen informed students, both freshmen and returning, that “the reluctance of universities to take institutional stands on issues … has been viewed as a positive thing: a direct demonstration of the institutions’ openness to all points of view.”
The ‘Prince’ article noted that in his initial address, Bowen did not cite any specific sources of ideological disagreement. A
later interview clarified, however, that his choice for the speech topic was influenced by three separate events, chief among them the South African divestiture issue.
Today, institutional restraint has reentered the conversation as the University reckons with a controversial foreign conflict — the Israel-Hamas war. The 20th University President, Christopher Eisgruber ’83, has long admired Princeton presidents for holding this position amid changing times, writing in the Princeton Alumni Weekly that the “notion of the University as simultaneously value-laden and committed to institutional restraint, captures the balance that Bob Goheen achieved as he led Princeton through the 1960s.”
Long before this conversation, President Bowen publicly reckoned with the University’s role in voicing views on matters outside of the Orange Bubble.
“Princeton is unquestionably opposed to any system of apartheid,” Bowen told the University community at the time, before
introducing “‘institutional restraint’ by refusing to take a stance of the best way to bring about change in South Africa.” Bowen believed that promoting institutional restraint would allow for the “maximum degree of freedom.”
The CPUC guidelines for the Resources Committee on Divestment, adopted by the Board of Trustees in 1997, recognized that there may be “very unusual situations in which the University simply does not wish to be associated with a particular company …” When the statement was published, the only circumstance that had met this requirement in the University’s history was the South African apartheid. More recently, in 2022, the University announced it would begin divesting from all publicly traded fossil-fuel companies.
President Eisgruber continues to pursue this policy of institutional restraint today. Still, he acknowledges universities are valueladen institutions that can take positions in rare cases where the core values of the
university are being threatened. President Eisgruber has issued statements regarding the Buffalo Shooting and war in Ukraine in 2022, and the war in the Middle East in 2023. During this fall’s orientation, he hinted that he would be making fewer statements going forward.
Since encampments arrived on college campuses in the Spring of 2024, several universities changed their policies to reflect “institutional neutrality” — a commitment to maintaining silence on all issues outside campus life.
While Princeton has not made a change to this University policy since protests swept campuses, the policy may be changed in the future.
“I have rarely issued statements in the past, and I expect to do so even less frequently in the future,” Eisgruber said in August of 2024.
Ifeoluwa Aigbiniode
is a staff Archivist and contributing Features writer for the ‘Prince.’
THE DAILY PRINCETONIAN
Jed Graef ’64 (center) set a new record at the 1964 Games in the 200 meter backstroke, bringing home a gold medal in the process.
