Princeton enrollment untouched by affirmative action ban
By Olivia Sanchez Associate News Editor
The first Princeton class admitted following the Supreme Court decision banning race-conscious affirmative action has experienced little change in racial diversity, according to enrollment statistics released by the University on Wednesday.
The University’s admission numbers are in stark contrast to its peer institution, MIT, which saw a dramatic drop in Black and Hispanic/Latine enrollment following the ban. Hispanic/Latine enrollment at Princeton experienced a one point drop, from 10 percent to nine percent, while Black enrollment shifted by less than one percent.
Asian American enrollment, however, experienced a 2.2 percent decrease from 26 percent to 23.8 percent — an outcome shared by Yale University, which saw a six percent decline. The share of Asian American students
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enrolled, notably, is not an outlier for the University, with the population making up 20.5 percent of the Class of 2025, and 25 percent of the Class of 2026.
University President Christopher Eisgruber ’83 announced his intention to maintain diversity at the University in spite of an affirmative action ban during a January 2023 interview with The Philadelphia Inquirer.
“We’re going to be as creative as we can within the boundaries of the law,” he said ahead of the Supreme Court ruling.
In an emailed statement to The Daily Princetonian regarding how the numbers managed to stay stable, University spokesperson Jennifer Morrill wrote, “We can’t speak to the admissions processes of other institutions, either before or after the Court’s ruling. At Princeton, we are adhering to the limits set by the ruling and continuing to use a holistic admission process that involves a highly individualized assessment of the applicant’s
talents, achievements and his or her potential to contribute to learning at Princeton.”
“It’s important to note that our admissions team continues to broaden its outreach to potential applicants to encourage the most talented students from across society to consider Princeton,” she added.
Alongside the release of enrollment statistics, the University has included a new note explaining that its admission cycle was in line with the court’s ruling.
“Princeton’s holistic admissions process carefully adheres to the limits set out by the Supreme Court in the Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard College and University of North Carolina cases,” the announcement reads.
Other groups also experienced drops in enrollment. The class has no Native Hawaiian American or Pacific Islander students, while in previous years the number floated
The student health plan needs a revamp Opinion
Davis Hobley Columnist
Whether for routine checkups or “frosh flu” treatment, many Princeton students will visit University Health Services (UHS) at the McCosh Health Center at least once. By contrast, far fewer people will visit Princeton Medical Center (PMC), but those who do are often in for a nasty surprise — a much higher medical bill.
This is not an unfortunate inevitability, but rather a direct result of the University’s policy decisions. Princeton’s Student Health Plan (SHP) was foundationally designed around covering coinsurance (a percentage of healthcare costs) rather than copays (a fixed amount) and includes comparatively lower reimbursement on out-ofnetwork care. The University should switch from a coinsurance plan to a copay to reduce undue financial burdens on students and bolster existing emergency funds.
The SHP is by far the most common health insurance plan on campus. All current graduate students are automatically enrolled, and undergraduates who do not have a health care plan that is deemed satisfactory by the University’s rigorous standards are required to enroll. Many students do not qualify and are consequently forced to enroll in the SHP — even Medicaid is not
considered a satisfactory plan despite being the second-most popular form of medical insurance in America (behind only employment-based coverage). In total, the SHP covers 46 percent of undergraduates on campus, according to the Office of Communications.
For the majority of Princeton students, the SHP provides exceptional coverage if you stay within UHS. As of the 2024–25 academic year, it costs $3,510 to receive coverage — this is incredibly affordable considering that the national monthly average premium cost is $1,178, which adds up to over $14,000 annually. Although this new cost represents a $360 increase from last year, the University adjusts financial aid in order to ensure that the cost does not inhibit a student’s ability to enroll at Princeton. Students who receive full financial aid do not incur any additional costs through SHP. The plan, accessed through Aetna’s student insurance, is fairly comprehensive and covers the majority of various student expenses such as checkups, laboratory tests, some prescription drug costs, and vaccination. When these services are accessed through the McCosh Health Center, many are even free. However, the SHP isn’t perfect — prioritizing coinsurance, rather than a copay presents a challenge outside of standard services. Copays are fixed out-
See SHP page 9
Please send any corrections requests to corrections@dailyprincetonian.com.
not getting pushed out’: Indigenous students advocate for a place at Princeton
By Raphaela Gold & Mira Eashwaran
Before 2021, Indigenous students did not have an affinity space at Princeton. Natives at Princeton (NAP), in their search for a space, first requested a room in the Carl A. Fields Center, the renovated eating club on Prospect Ave. home to many of the campus’s affinity spaces. However, their request was denied due to a lack of room.
“[That] kind of feels ironic because the University was built on stolen Lenape land,” said Ella Weber ’25, a tribal citizen of MHA Nation (Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara) and current member of NAP.
“For us to gather,” said Keely Toledo ’22, former co-president of
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NAP and a member of the Navajo Nation, “we needed a place for us to have that was ours.”
Ultimately, after persistent student advocacy and organizing, the University granted Indigenous students an affinity space in Green Hall in 2021. Green was no CAF, which offered colorful, freshly renovated rooms with plenty of daylight. Instead NAP was relegated to a small space, in a stuffy building otherwise designated for academic classrooms for the linguistics department.
In 2020, Princeton was reported to have the fewest academic, institutional, and social resources for Indigenous students of all Ivies. While peer institutions such as Stanford, Dartmouth, and Brown reported academic programs, designated staff members for student
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support, admissions officers for Indigenous student recruitment, affinity spaces, and more, Princeton had none.
Four years later, although Princeton remains without an official academic program in Native American and Indigenous Studies, offerings in Indigenous studies have significantly expanded and many Indigenous professors have joined the faculty.
Indigeneity at Princeton, however, extends far beyond academics, affecting the personal lives and identity of Indigenous students and staff. The Daily Princetonian spoke to Indigenous students and alumni about their experiences advocating for acknowledgement, support, and space at Princeton outside of the academic sphere, as well as their hopes for the future.
Going further than “scraps and pennies”: establishing a permanent Indigenous affinity space
The NAP affinity space consists of two small rooms in Green Hall, a building near Nassau Street that is often used for smaller programs and studies.
Though students were disappointed they were denied a space in CAF, they quickly took on the Green Hall space as a community project.
The space has since been decorated with fairy lights and meaningful traditional objects, brought by Princeton students from their home communities.
Ixtle Montuffar ’27, Vice President of Natives at Princeton, described the affinity space as a “safe haven, where we’re able to just enter through that doorway and relax a little bit more.”
“The students have put so much care and love and time into making it a beautiful community space, bringing things from their communities, and reaching out to tribal leaders in order to have really meaningful objects there too, which is really wonderful,” noted Sydney Eck ’24, a former leader of NAP and economics major of Cherokee nation descent.
While the space has morphed into a community home, Noah Collins GS — an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation and is White Mountain Apache — has concerns that Green Hall will no longer accommodate a growing NAP.
“We’ve already outgrown the space,” he said. NAP now comprises more than 50 members.
This Week In History
On September 6, 1974, University President William Bowen ’58 addressed the Class of 1978, which comprised around 1,100 students and was the first to be admitted under the equal access admissions policy for men and women. In his speech, Bowen focused on both social life and academics at Princeton, drawing a connection between these two facets of University life. President Christopher Eisgruber ’83 shared a different yet related message to the Class of 2028, arguing that the term “liberal arts” is too narrow to encompass the breadth of civic and academic education that Princeton has to offer.
6,
LOUISA GHEORGHITA / THE DAILY PRINCETONIAN
U.:
“It’s important to note that our admissions team continues to broaden its outreach to potential applicants
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at less than one percent. International student representation saw a two point drop as well, falling from 14 percent of the Class of 2027 to 12 percent in this year’s first-year class.
For the first time, the University has also disclosed the proportion of white students enrolled, making up 31.3 percent of the student
body. 7.7 percent of the student body’s racial identity is unknown.
Following the court’s decision, the University updated its application process and invited applicants to reflect on their “lived experiences” through their application essays.
The enrollment statistics also reveal other expansions in the University’s efforts to diversify the student body.
71.5 percent of the class qualifies for finan-
cial aid, a 5.5 percent climb from the Class of 2027. 36 transfer students were admitted alongside 2028, marking the largest transfer student cohort since the program’s reinstatement in 2018. 23 of the transfers are U.S. veterans.
Less first-years in the Class of 2028 are firstgeneration college students than in the Class of 2027, falling from 17 percent to 16.3 percent. 11.2 percent are children of alumni, compared
to 13 percent in the Class of 2027.
The percentage of students who are Pell Grant-eligible remained stable, however, with 21.7 percent of the Class of 2028 being eligible.
In total, there are 1,411 first-time, first-year students, which marks a slight increase from the Class of 2027. The Class of 2026 remains the largest with 1,500 students — the first class admitted under the University’s student body expansion.
The Class of 2028 represents 48 states, Washington, D.C., and 56 countries.
Correction: A previous version of the piece incorrectly stated that Asian American enrollment dropped by 4.2 percent. In reality, it dropped by 2.2 percent.
departments.
Admin. tightens protest regulations as students return to campus
By Annie Rupertus Head News Editor
Nassau Hall has long been an iconic location for campus protests.
Princeton’s website on systemic racism uses an archival photo of a student protester in front of Nassau Hall as the cover image for its page celebrating campus activism. The building has served as the site of numerous protests that successfully spurred change at the University on issues such as racism, ethnic studies, the Vietnam War, Title IX reform, and more.
This fall, protesting is now officially prohibited on the lawn in front of Nassau Hall.
Princeton rolled out a new “Protests and Free Expression” website on Tuesday, Aug. 29, which included updated guidelines for free speech on campus. The amended policies further restrict the locations where protests can be held, as well as the forms of protest that are permissible on campus.
As students return to Princeton, the University has not shied away from acknowledging this policy. During an orientation event, University President Christopher Eisgruber ’83 hinted that the University will pull back on issuing statements commenting on events outside of the University community.
“I have rarely issued statements in the past, and I expect to do so even less frequently in the future,” he told first-years on Tuesday.
During orientation programming, some first-years were handed flyers, distributed by the Princeton Progressive Coalition, which read, “Eisgruber may praise free speech, but he has a long history of silencing it.”
The efforts to restrain protest activities and clarify rules followed a weeks-long period of sustained protest in the spring, which included 15 arrests related to the “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” in McCosh Courtyard, and later on Cannon Green. Uni-
versities across the country are implementing new restrictions on political protest as students return to campuses for the fall semester.
While much of the updated guidelines reflect and clarify pre-existing policies, such as restrictions on amplified sound, there are noteworthy changes on the site. The FAQ section of the site notes that the lawn in front of Nassau Hall, Cannon Green, and Prospect House grounds are not permissible protest locations. Last year’s regulations neither explicitly allowed nor restricted demonstrations at these locations.
While protesters are still permitted to use the concrete walkways in front of Nassau Hall, the grass is off limits, which would make it challenging to assemble large groups for demonstrations.
Aditi Rao GS, one of the 13 people arrested on April 29 during a pro-Palestine protest at Clio Hall, found it hard to picture how a protest could feasibly be held at Nassau Hall under the new restrictions.
“Making it difficult to protest in front of Nassau Hall is crazy … where else does one protest the institution than the home of the institution itself?” she said in an interview with The Daily Princetonian.
On Cannon Green, the main site of the spring’s protest, the University has placed new signage that reads, “This space is reserved for officially sanctioned University events and may not be used for other organized activities without permission. Informal recreation is permitted.”
The amended guidelines for “protest and dissent activities” clarify a stricter timeline for registering demonstrations that bleed into the town. They also include further restrictions on encampments, although camping and sleeping outside was already banned prior to the “Gaza Solidarity Encampment.”
Rao linked the updated policy to disciplinary actions over protests in the spring.
“I think what the university is quite evi-
dently attempting to do right now is to, for the 16 or so students that it knows are still viable organizers in the movements, create an easy reason for further disciplining,” she said. All of the students arrested at Clio have since been given disciplinary probation, she noted, making them more vulnerable to additional discipline.
On Tuesday, the same day the updated protest guidelines were released, Eisgruber addressed new students at a mandatory “Academic Freedom and Free Expression” event. This is the third year that Eisgruber has held such an event as part of orientation.
Eisgruber’s talk was originally slated to be in conversation with Amaney Jamal, Dean of the Princeton School for Public and International Affairs, but Jamal was sick the day of the event. The talk was moderated by Vice President for Campus Life Rochelle Calhoun, who faced calls to resign from faculty in April for her characterization of the protesters who occupied Clio Hall.
Eisgruber’s commitment to free expression has long been a hallmark of his 11-year tenure as University president. When the “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” began in April, Eisgruber embraced “time, place, and manner” limitations on campus activities, which affirmed the University’s ability to regulate protests, writing that these rules are “viewpoint-neutral and content-neutral.” He reiterated the University’s stance at the Tuesday event.
He also addressed the question of institutional statements on international events, noting that he planned to issue them less frequently going forward — a marked shift in his previous stance.
“It’s not the job of a university or a university president to validate your opinions or to tell students or faculty members what to think about the issues of the day. On the contrary, it’s my job to ensure that people on this campus, including all of you, have the freedom to say what they think,” he said.
Eisgruber published a statement in October 2023 condemning Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel, and one in 2022 regarding the war in Ukraine. The University has a long-standing tradition of institutional restraint. Eisgruber has previously said that he would avoid making statements unless he wanted “to reaffirm or elaborate values that are fundamental to our community or mission.”
This heightened hesitancy around issuing statements mirrors the recent actions of his Ivy president colleagues. Both Harvard and Cornell have adopted a policy of institutional neutrality within the last few months, vowing to forgo statements that comment on events outside of their universities.
While several university presidents have suffered major blows following inquiries about campus antisemitism and political speech about the war in Gaza, Eisgruber has escaped public backlash for student conduct on Princeton’s campus. Pressure following congressional testimonies have led to the resignations of multiple Ivy League presidents, most recently Columbia President Minouche Shafik.
Universities continue to face pressure to contain student protests, and are implementing restrictions on free expression ahead of the fall semester. In June, the University of Pennsylvania released new temporary guidelines for campus demonstrations banning actions such as camping and using spray chalk on university property.
Like at Princeton, there are new notices posted at various locations on University of Pennsylvania’s campus alerting students that “overnight occupations” and non-approved protests are not permitted.
Last week, the University of California implemented a ban on masking “to conceal identity,” and the chairs of two U.S. House committees sent letters to several universities to ask what administrators had done “to prepare for unauthorized encampments,
protests, and other disruptions.”
On some campuses, protests and their resulting administrative crackdowns seem to have picked up where they left off. Four non-students were arrested on Thursday, August 29 at a pro-Palestinian “die-in” demonstration at the University of Michigan. Princeton Israeli Apartheid Divest, a coalition advocating for University divestment from Israel, has announced plans for a rally in McCosh Courtyard on Tuesday, Sept. 3 — the first day of classes for the fall 2024 semester.
Correction: This piece has been edited since publication to reflect that restrictions on the use of chalk and tape on campus existed prior to the creation of the new protest website. Furthermore, the article was updated to clarify that the University website outlines new procedures for registering protests that go into town with the municipality, but did not change its own protest registration timeline.
Annie Rupertus is a head News editor for the ‘Prince’ from Philadelphia, Pa. who often covers activism and campus governance.
Princeton’s Latine community reckons with political future following ICE arrest
By Christopher Bao Assistant News Editor IN TOWN
A month after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested an undocumented immigrant in Princeton, concerned community members are still seeking answers — and are organizing to find them.
On the morning of July 10, ICE arrested a Princeton resident in what they described as “targeted operations.” Authorities identified the arrested person as a “29-year-old Guatemalan national who had been removed twice from the United States.” According to ICE, they made the arrest because the individual failed to show up for a hearing before the Princeton Municipal Court in a case where he was charged with simple assault, aggravated assault, and robbery. He is currently being held at a detention facility in Louisiana.
The arrest and the events leading up to it have prompted concerns among the Latine immigrant community in town, with community members and immigrant rights’ activists voicing discontent with ICE’s presence in Princeton, viewing the agency as an intimidating presence in a town normally welcoming of immigrants. They also took issue with
tactics used during the arrest, alleging that agents were driving at unsafe speeds and racially profiling people on the streets.
Reverend Erich Kussman, a pastor at St. Bartholomew Lutheran Church and a faith leader with Faith in New Jersey, told the ‘Prince’ that he and others observed ICE agents stopping and questioning multiple individuals.
“Talking with the other organizers that were there, more stories came to light. How they were literally running up to like 15 different folks asking them for credentials, IDs” he said. “If you got a target, why are you harassing 15 [people]?”
Kussman, whose church is in Trenton, traveled to Princeton that morning after hearing about the arrest from other activists in the area. Fatima Mughal — a founding member of Princeton Mutual Aid, an organization established during the COVID-19 pandemic to help meet residents’ needs, also traveled when she heard the news.
“As soon as I found out, I came over,” Mughal told The Daily Princetonian. “We wanted to make sure that anyone they did go up to understood what their rights were, so we were just keeping an eye out.”
“At that point, we weren’t aware of any more ICE agents walking on foot, asking people questions,” she noted. She then speculated that because “enough people had recorded what they were doing, they stopped going up to people and profiling, and instead, they were in their cars surveilling.”
In the days following the arrest, community members’ frustration spurred them into constructive action. In the following days, various local organizations and people came together to organize a response, led by Resistencia en Acción NJ, a local immigrant rights nonprofit formerly known as Unidad Latina en Acción. They hosted “Know Your Rights” workshops and other outreach events.
On July 16, a new coalition of organizations held a press conference in front of the Princeton Public Library. It was here that, for the first time, various local and national organizations involved — Resistencia, National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON), and Faith in NJ, among others — officially united under a new name: ICE Out of Princeton.
At the press conference, Lauren Wilfong, a lawyer with NDLON, said, “We will stand by this community as it unites to ensure the safety of all members of this community,
including immigrant workers. Regardless of how polarized or vitriolic the national immigration debate becomes, NDLON will not stand by as day laborers’ federal and civil rights are under threat.”
Mughal and others were also frustrated at the local government and police, who they said inadequately responded.
“There are limitations in what [local government and police] can do,” Mughal said. “But we were seeing nothing. We were seeing no effort. We were seeing no support and no help.”
Local officials have repeatedly emphasized that local government actions are limited.
“We cannot tell ICE what they can and can’t do. So if ICE decides to come to Princeton, we cannot stop them,” Mayor Mark Freda told the ‘Prince.’
“One of the most important things to me is that people in our community need to understand that they can trust us, they can trust the town and [government] departments if they need help. That’s the big critical message,” he added.
Activists and community members have nonetheless been wary of the city’s response.
“I think that trust is something that is not just given. It is something that is earned and that goes both ways,” Mughal said.
Ana Paola Pazmiño, director of Resistencia en Acción, told the ‘Prince’ that the man facing deportation is not looking to fight his case upon returning to Guatemala.
“He wants to go home … And so, there’s nothing more we can do, right? We can’t force him to want to do this.”
Still, she is leading the organizing efforts in the months to come, and does not see the ICE Out of Princeton movement as going away anytime soon.
“[ICE Out of Princeton] is going to go above and beyond to understand and talk about anti-immigrant policies that are going to come up, and because of our political season and the political elections that are coming up, we foresee that we might have more of these, not only in Princeton. So we need to be vigilant too of how these anti-immigrant policies are going to affect us,” Pazmiño said.
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.
Olivia Sanchez is an associate News editor for the ‘Prince.’ She is from New Jersey and often covers the graduate school and academic
OLIVIA SANCHEZ / THE DAILY PRINCETONIAN
One of several new signs posted around the perimeter of Cannon Green, which prohibits students from using the lawn as a protest venue.
Daya and NLE Choppa to headline Fall 2024 Lawnparties
By Alena Zhang Staff News Writer
Pop star Daya and rapper
NLE Choppa will headline Fall 2024 Lawnparties, which follows the first week of classes on Sunday, Sept. 8. The Undergraduate Student Government (USG) made the announcement via Instagram on Friday, Aug. 23.
The main stage festivities will kick off at 2 p.m. on Frist North Lawn, with a yet-to-be announced student opener playing until 2:25 p.m. Daya will take the stage at 2:45 p.m. for a 30-minute performance, and NLE Choppa will then conclude the show from 3:30 p.m. to 4:15 p.m.
The early announcement caught the student body by surprise, bypassing the typical season of intense speculation among students of who will headline the event.
“We’re striving to stay on top of things,” said Aum Dhruv ’27, a social committee member, “making it easier for people to plan for Lawnparties so working to release info earlier will hopefully help with that.”
Dhruv is a staff Audience creator for the Daily Princetonian.
This year’s Lawnparties will embrace a “fall festival” theme, reflecting the season of transition as students begin a new academic year, with an autumnal aesthetic. This is the second time Lawnparties has been accompanied by a theme, following the 2024 Spring Lawnparties’ “Tropic Like It’s Hot.”
“We wanted it to signify a calm yet exciting year ahead,” USG Social Committee Chair Enzo Kho ’26 explained.
This fall’s event will follow a Lawnparties last semester that was marked by turbulence on campus, when the concerts coincided with the beginnings of weeks long “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” protests.
The selection of both artists was intended to provide
Dillon Gym opens new fitness areas amidst ongoing renovations
By Hallie Graham Staff News Writer
Princeton Campus Recreation turned the page on a new chapter in the multi-phase restoration of Dillon Gym on Monday, unveiling a double-decker wellness facility that boasts state of the art fitness studios and equipment. The completion of the second phase of construction also brought a new entrance and lobby to Dillon through the Class of 1986 Fitness and Wellness Pavilion.
levels — fitness, pool, and the upper gym. We have been able to increase the accessible spaces to 80 percent from the previous 20 percent,” McCoy said.
Kevin Meharry, a Campus Rec staff member who mans the desk just inside the newly-opened entrance to Dillon, told the ‘Prince’ he finds the update to be “fresh and new.” Meharry described the new spaces as “cool places for students to just come and hang out.”
students a diverse musical lineup while staying within this year’s budget, according to Kho. Specifics of the setlists are not yet finalized.
Daya is a Grammy awardwinning pop artist renowned for her chart-topping 2016 hits like “Hide Away” and “Don’t Let Me Down.” She performed at the University of Pennsylvania’s Spring Fling concert in March and at Duke University’s spring festival in 2022.
NLE Choppa, whose full name is Bryson LaShun Potts, is known for energetic rap tracks such as “SLUT ME OUT” and “Shotta Flow.”
Like Lil Tecca, who headlined Lawnparties in the spring, Potts ascended to rap stardom as a teenager and is now 21 years old. In fall of 2023, Potts announced and completed a college tour that included 13 shows at universities across the country. This past spring, he continued the college circuit, performing at other schools, such as the University of Cincinnati and Indiana University. College is a prevalent theme in Potts’ music and branding, including in his 2023 single “College Girls,” and merch emblazoned with “NLE University.”
Alongside the performances, Campus Club will feature a variety of inflatable and lawn games for student enjoyment throughout the day.
Food offerings will include a mix of favorite items from previous Lawnparties, with the addition of new carnivalthemed snacks to match the fall festival theme. Students can look forward to a selection of grab-and-go options and food trucks.
“Our goal is to always provide the students the best experience, going beyond what we’ve already done last semester,” Kho told the ‘Prince.’ “We wanted this first big event of the year [to be] memorable for the students.”
Alena Zhang is a staff News writer for the ‘Prince.’
With a number of ongoing construction projects on campus in the works, the completion of this next phase in Dillon’s overhaul project is the first big unveiling of the 2024–25 academic year. Phase two comes roughly seven months after the completion of phase one at the end of January.
Both phases brought joint progress on two long-standing projects on which construction began back in May of 2022: the new fitness center and the Meadows Campus Fitness Center. Phase one, which took 18 months to complete, also brought the reopening of the Rec Pool. Phase two added a two-story pavilion onto the inprogress fitness center project.
The Class of 1986 Center includes newly renovated central fitness areas, a two-story addition, an accessible entrance and lounge, elevator access to all levels from the main gym floor to the Rec Pool, the “Power Studio” (a space with powerlifting and Olympic-grade equipment), upgrades to the cycle studio, and a completely resurfaced outdoor recreational court.
According to University architect Ron McCoy, accessibility was a main priority for this most recent phase. McCoy particularly highlighted the fitness center’s new accessible features in a statement to the Daily Princetonian.
“The design provides a new, fully accessible entry at the level of the locker rooms. A new elevator has been added to connect all
To Meharry, who sees students and faculty alike come and go from Dillon at all hours, the new spaces are not just places for students to work on their physique, but also multi-purpose spaces for Princetonians to “relax, recover, workout, de-stress, and just stabilize themselves, whether it be mentally, physically, or emotionally.” In Meharry’s view, “wherever [they are] in their day, they can just come in here. There’s a nice, friendly atmosphere in here.”
In January, Campus Rec’s senior associate Director of Athletics Jessica Ward told the ‘Prince’ that new developments to the gym were intended to promote a more inclusive and welcoming environment — expanding from traditional conceptions of a gym to a space with more of a “community center feel.”
From a student perspective, Keith Zhang ’24, who is now a graduate student in the School of Architecture, agrees that the expansion is a step in the right direction. After many years of planning, Zhang said he is “happy about the expansion that [he] knew was coming soon as an incoming [first-year].” But, he also noted the new space “has its ups and downs.”
He told the ‘Prince’ that as a gym-goer, he laments the lack of mirrors. “Sure, it can be attributed to some people’s ego,” he said, “but for others, it’s about making sure your form is correct. The lack of mirrors is a bit annoying to me.”
As far as architectural integrity goes, Zhang said he felt this phase of the gym improvement “turned the gym into a more commercialized space rather than one that you may find at an Ivy League University.” As a student of architecture, Zhang has some criticisms of the style chosen in the design and decoration of the fitness center. He said, “[The pavilion has] a completely new mood, tone, and space. It is nothing like Stephens or Dillon in style, design, or layout.”
Though Zhang could not identify many design elements that cohere the new gym spaces with the surrounding campus architecture, he said he appreciates “the nice details such as the preservation of the Dillon windows through a cutout into the walkway, as well as the shading panels that are around the upper edge of the pavilion.”
Besides the fitness center project, Campus Rec also has big changes in the works in the Meadows Neighborhood with the upcoming Racquet and Recreation Center. The Meadows rec center will include a new extensive fitness center, gender-inclusive showers, restrooms, lockers, and a group fitness room — all in the same building with the new tennis and squash courts.
Meadows also promises a location adjacent to the new parking garage and graduate housing. The area, which is located down Washington Road on the other side of Lake Carnegie and was formerly known as Lake Campus, also houses a number of athletic fields.
According to McCoy, Campus Rec will also add an outdoor basketball court this fall on the south-facing side of Dillon. He also reported that Stephens Fitness Center, which is located on the west side of Dillon, is set to open in the spring of 2025.
Hallie Graham is a staff News writer for the ‘Prince.’
“DAYA SINGING SF” BY NGAGETHESOUL / CC BY-SA 4.0
Pop artist Daya, pictured, is set to perform alongside NLE Choppa during the Fall 2024 Lawnparties.
‘Total effervescence’: Princeton community remembers Minh-Thi Nguyen ’21
By Olivia Sanchez & Annie Rupertus Associate News Editor & Head News Editor
Minh-Thi Nguyen ’21, a gifted physicist and cherished friend, passed away on June 21 after being struck by a box truck while cycling in Cambridge, Mass. She was 24 years old.
Friends and mentors remember her ability to bring people together and her generosity towards everyone she encountered.
“How I remember her is as a friend who had a positive impact on my life, and the lives of so many people at Princeton, but with this total effervescence … making everyone who is a part of it feel special and cared for,” Alex Kaplan ’21 told The Daily Princetonian.
Nguyen was born in Hanoi, Vietnam on Oct. 28, 1999, later moving with her family to Amsterdam, Troy, N.Y., and Orange County, Calif. She attended Los Alamitos High School, where she founded a science mentorship program called Growing Up STEM, and graduated as valedictorian of her senior class.
As an undergraduate, Nguyen studied physics, with certificates in Applied and Computational Mathematics, Statistics and Machine Learning, and Applications of Computing. After graduating, she worked at a quantum computing startup before entering a Ph.D. program at MIT, where she worked as part of a quantum engineering group.
“We are hosting a dinner to celebrate one Ms. Minh-Thi Nguyen for her tireless contributions to our well-being in Math 204 and Physics 106 this semester,” read an email sent to a classmate of hers sent in May 2018.
“I can personally attest to the fact that without her problem sets, I would have probably had to drop both classes and fail out of this institution. And I know that while I’m perhaps an extreme case, I am not alone. All of you have been touched in some way by Minh-Thi’s hard work and selflessness, and thus we are honoring her.”
According to Kaplan, thirteen students showed up to the dinner, all there for Nguyen.
‘Always put her friends first’
Many of Nguyen’s friends, including Hudson Loughlin ’19, remember that she “always put her friends first.”
“Minh-Thi was most proud of all of her friends and really of bringing people together,” said Loughlin, who got to know Nguyen during graduate school at MIT. Nguyen was the type of friend who wanted to introduce people to each other across friend groups.
“She loved to host a dinner party,” he recalled. “Her apartment had this great rooftop — it probably could comfortably fit eight people, and there were never fewer than probably a dozen and a half people over at the dinner parties.”
Catherine Benedict ’20, who became close friends with Nguyen while living in Boston, remembered her going out of her way to build their friendship.
“Minh-Thi was exceptionally kind and thoughtful to everyone, not just her friends,” Benedict wrote to the ‘Prince.’ “Before she and I even became close, she brought me a crochet hook and yarn one day — totally out of the blue — because she remembered me casually mentioning that I wanted to learn how to crochet.”
At Nguyen’s funeral, Kaplan noted, in a speech shared with the ‘Prince,’ that this commitment to cultivating friendships was apparent from the beginning of her undergraduate years.
“Minh-Thi, ever the socialite,” he said, “typically had between two and four different pregames to attend and at least 10 people she needed to see before making it to the street” on a night out.
Another friend in her undergraduate years, Aryan Bhasin ’22, told the ‘Prince’ that although Nguyen enjoyed social groups, she was really “an introvert, in a positive way,” who greatly valued connecting with others one-on-one.
“She was incredibly funny in sort of a
subtle way,” Loughlin said.
“She had a loud, distinctive, and infectious laugh that would often come out when she was trying to tell her own stories,” Benedict noted.
‘She was involved in everything’ President of E-Club — the largest student-run activity on campus — an Outdoor Action leader, rugby player, member of Cap & Gown Club, and actress in the Vagina Monologues, Nguyen was incredibly involved in the pursuit of hobbies on and off campus.
“Minh-Thi was an amazing chef who would make french fries and mochi from scratch — which I didn’t even know was possible,” Benedict wrote to the ‘Prince.’ “She had amazing taste in music; she knew every obscure band and would spend hours making playlists.”
“She weightlifted every day and could bench 135 lbs,” Benedict continued. “She loved to run, ski, and hike, and relished waking up early on weekends to drive out to Vermont or New Hampshire and get outside. She loved to read.”
“She was involved in everything,” Kaplan said. “She was all over campus. She touched so many people during her time at Princeton … like a million different organizations, and in each one of those, everyone felt like she was their best friend, because she was so thoughtful.”
Bhasin met Nguyen in his first year on campus, when she was a sophomore. He was a member of IgniteSTEM, a subteam of E-Club, when Nguyen was director. In that role, he said, “she was also unofficially kind of like a secret social chair.”
Nguyen pushed him to run to succeed her as president, and she made efforts to mentor him after he took over, even while she was finishing her thesis.
“She cared about whatever she was a part of a lot, even after she wasn’t a part of it [anymore],” he said.
‘A tremendous loss for the scientific community’
A dear friend to many, Nguyen is also
remembered fondly by Princeton peers and mentors alike for her academic prowess. Dr. Andrew Sifain, who worked closely with Nguyen on her senior thesis while he was a postdoctoral research assistant, wrote to the ‘Prince’ that she was “such a brilliant person and had all the potential to be a difference maker in this world.”
“She made [an] extraordinary effort to learn a completely new topic in quantum physics in mere months,” he said of her thesis. “She was so excited to start her journey at MIT. It’s truly so sad to see the life of someone with so much talent and zest for life to end so early.”
At a June 24 vigil hosted by Cambridge Bicycle Safety, a cycling advocacy group, Loughlin quipped, in a speech shared with the ‘Prince,’ that Nguyen “was so successful that she was once rejected from a national fellowship for the country’s top Ph.D. students because they thought her resume had to be fake.”
As a Ph.D. student at MIT, Nguyen worked under Professor Paola Cappellaro, who wrote to the ‘Prince’ that her passing was “a tremendous loss for the scientific community.”
“She was not only super-smart, but also fearless in tackling new projects and chal-
lenges and always inventive. She was working on multiple projects at the same time, from theory, to bio-sensing, to the most complex many-body quantum dynamics, and bringing her physics intuition and experimental grit,” Cappellaro wrote. “And even more importantly, she was an overall amazing person, always a joy to interact with, generous with her friendship and mentorship. She made us all better.”
“It feels unimaginable that someone so young and full of life could be killed so tragically,” Loughlin reflected at the June 24 vigil. “For all of us, I hope Minh-Thi can continue to be an inspiration to live life to the fullest and to always seek out the next adventure.”
Nguyen is survived by her younger sister Julia Nguyen, her parents, Hoa Tran and Hieu Nguyen, her boyfriend Nick Krasnow, and her pet dog Cooper.
Annie Rupertus is a head News editor for the ‘Prince’ from Philadelphia, Pa. who often covers activism and campus governance.
Olivia Sanchez is an associate News editor for the ‘Prince.’ She is from New Jersey and often covers the graduate school and academic departments.
COURTESY OF ALEX KAPLAN
Nguyen, who passed away on June 21, is remembered for her impact on the Princeton community as both a talented student and a devoted friend.
COURTESY OF CATHERINE BENEDICT Nguyen with friends at one of her signature dinner parties in Boston.
COURTESY OF ALEX KAPLAN
Friends support Nguyen at the Around Cape Ann Half Marathon in Gloucester, Mass.
COURTESY OF ALEX KAPLAN
Friends remember the joy and personality that Nguyen brought to academic settings as much as to extracurricular ones — like when she routinely delivered teas from Frist to friends in a sophomore year physics class.
COURTESY OF ARYAN BHASIN
Nguyen and friends at her eating club, Cap & Gown.
Nader Al-Naji ’14 charged with fraud over crypto startup, BitClout
By Bridget O’Neill Head News Editor
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) charged Nader Al-Naji ’14, the founder of crypto social media platform BitClout, with wire fraud and the sale of unregistered offerings of crypto asset securities on July 30.
BitClout, advertised as a decentralized social media platform and “The First Crypto Social Network,” was launched in 2021. The platform functioned as a token-based marketplace for shares in a celebrity’s popularity.
An SEC announcement July 30 alleges Al-Naji, using the pseudonym “DiamondHands,” raised over $257 million from unregistered offers and sales of BitClout’s token, BTCLT, while telling investors the money would not be used to pay himself nor employees. However, the SEC alleged that the founder spent over $7 million on personal expenditures such as a Beverly Hills mansion and cash gifts to family.
Al-Naji was unable to provide comment on the charges at time of publication to the Daily Princetonian. BitClout is a spinoff of another company Al-Naji founded called Decentralized Social (DeSo).
“We understand there’s been significant concern regarding recent events. We want to let
you know that @nader is safe and at home,” DeSo posted in a statement to Diamond, another social network built off of the company’s platform. “He’s currently preparing a comprehensive public update to address the situation. In the meantime, we can share that this experience has only reinforced Nader’s commitment to DeSo.”
“He views this as another challenge to overcome on our path to success. His enthusiasm for our mission remains unwavering, if not stronger than ever,” the statement added.
BitClout’s investors include some high profile Silicon Valley groups, like a16z, Sequoia, Chamath Palihapitiya’s Social Capital, Coinbase Ventures and Winklevoss Capital — some of which participated in the $7-million seed round that initially funded the company.
Prior to the founding of BitClout, Al-Naji had garnered a positive reputation in the crypto sphere after raising $140 million in 2018 to create a “stablecoin,” a type of crypto-currency whose value is attached to a real-world commodity. While Al-Naji ultimately returned the money after failing to launch, his reputation drew investors in when he pitched BitClout.
The announcement further alleges that Al-Naji portrayed BitClout as a decentralized platform with no companies behind it, “just coins and code.” He used a pseudonym to further this im-
age when the charges allege, in reality, Al-Naji was behind the entire project.
Al-Naji allegedly confided to some investors that he was attempting to bypass legal requirements, while filing misleading descriptions of BTCLT, so it would not be considered a security under federal law.
“Al-Naji attempted to evade the federal securities laws and defraud the investing public, mistakenly believing that ‘being fake decentralized generally confuses regulators and deters
them from going after you,’” said Gurbir S. Grewal, director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement in the announcement. “He is obviously wrong.”
This is not the first time BitClout has found itself in legal trouble. When the company was first launched in 2021, the platform was criticized for scraping 15,000 profiles from Twitter to attach the value of crypto tokens to celebrities’ popularity.
In response, Brandon Curtis, cofounder of crypto company Rio Network, presented a cease-
and-desist letter to Al-Naj for using his image and likeness and former Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong publicly asked for his account to be removed.
Al-Naji was arrested Saturday, July 27 and faces a maximum sentencing of 20 years in prison. This story is developing and will be updated as more information becomes available.
Bridget O’Neill is a head News editor for the ‘Prince’ from Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
Student Health Plan halves mental health copay, covers initial consultations off-campus
By Ava Fonss Staff News Writer
Beginning Aug. 1, the copay for mental health visits in the Exclusive Provider Network (EPN) for students enrolled in the Student Health Plan (SHP) was reduced from $20 to $10 for the 2024–25 Plan Year. The plan also now completely covers the cost of EPN initial therapist consultations, meaning students on the plan can begin mental health care with an off-campus provider.
In addition to these changes to mental health benefits, Uni-
versity Health Services (UHS) shared additional and clarified information regarding international travel and fertility preservation coverage.
The 2024–25 SHP annual fee for undergraduate students has been raised to $3,510 — an increase of $360 from the previous year.
While undergraduates may choose to opt-out of SHP coverage, graduate students are automatically enrolled in the service.
In May 2024, the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) discussed mental health initiatives during their final meeting
of the 2023–24 year. During this meeting, the financial burden of copays was highlighted as an issue of particular concern.
According to Vice President of the Graduate Student Government (GSG) Executive Committee Christopher Catalano, copays were also identified as a critical issue through the GSG’s participation in the Ivy Plus conference, a conference that involves participants from all Ivy League schools as well as other elite institutions such as MIT and UChicago.
“One of the topics that [came] up [during the conference] is
healthcare, and in particular, mental healthcare,” Catalano said in an interview with the Daily Princetonian. “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 fifty-two visits with no copay.”
Catalano added that, when compared to Princeton’s peer institutions, SHP mental health coverage was the “least accessible and least comprehensive.”
After prioritizing this concern, a formal policy proposal advocating for the reduction or elimination of copays was prepared and submitted to the office of Vice President for Campus Life W. Rochelle Calhoun. This proposal included research findings, testimonials from undergraduate and graduate students, and cost estimates for various financing options.
The proposal specifically highlighted the disproportionate effects of copays on “lowincome students, students with chronic mental illnesses, and other marginalized populations.”
In one testimonial, an undergraduate student shared anonymously that they “stopped going to therapy because of copays.”
“My family struggles financially and I feel like the school is fairly generous with the money it gives for financial aid, but I don’t understand why that generosity isn’t there for mental healthcare,” the student added. According to Catalano, Uni-
versity administration was “very receptive” to the proposal. On July 12, the University Health Service (UHS) announced that the EPN copay had been reduced from $20 to $10 for the 2024–25 Plan year, and that initial visits to therapists would be covered at 100 percent.
The announcement stated that the decision to cover the cost of initial visits with therapists was made in order to allow students to “assess whether a therapist is the right match for them without incurring out of pocket costs.”
According to Catalano, a student on the SHP who sees a standard therapist once a week and a psychiatrist once a month will now save $600 per year. These benefits also apply to the dependents of enrolled students.
“I don’t think I can overstate the significance of that,” Catalano said. “I’m so proud we were able to get this done, and I’m so excited for the benefits that will be seen by all students now and going forward.”
“This initiative took about a year, so we’re very grateful to the University for prioritizing mental health and understanding the importance of our concerns,” Catalano added. “[The GSG is] really looking forward to continuing to work with the USG on healthcare, mental healthcare, and just making campus a place where all of its students can succeed and thrive.”
Ava Fonss is a staff News writer for the ‘Prince.’
CALVIN GROVER / THE DAILY PRINCETONIAN McCosh Health Center.
AMMAAR ALAM / THE DAILY PRINCETONIAN The Friend Center.
A tradition of excellence: Team Princeton is heading to the Olympics
By Grace Zhao & Tate Hutchins
Senior Data Writer & Associate Sports Editor
Princeton’s rich history in academics is no secret, but Princetonians have made their mark in athletics as well — all the way to the biggest stage in the world, the Olympic games. Generations of Tigers have graced Olympic stadiums, with over 154 athletes trading the orange and black for their countries’ flags over the past years — and 25 students and alumni will compete this summer in Paris.
Princeton sent its very first delegation to the Olympic Games at the inaugural iteration of the modern Games in 1896 in Athens, with four members of the Class of 1897 competing for the United States: Francis Lan, Albert Tyler, Robert Garrett, and Herbert Jamison Garrett. The group kicked off a tradition of excellence, bringing home two gold medals, four silver, and a bronze. Since then, almost a hundred medals have been won for Old Nassau.
In the leadup to this summer’s Olympic games in Paris, The Daily Princetonian looked at Tiger Olympians past and present. This deep dive dating back to 1896 uncovered several Olympians not previously listed on Princeton Athletics’ website, prompting Athletics to update their record.
The number of Princeton Olympians has risen over time. Princeton generally sent between two and eight athletes to the Summer Games from their modern inception in 1896 to 2000. Since the Sydney games at the dawn of the new millennium, at least ten athletes with ties to the Orange Bubble have competed at each Summer Games.
Far fewer Princetonians have competed at the Winter Games. Until 2018, no more than two Princetonians competed at the Winter Games, with many games seeing no Tigers compete. In 2018, Princeton sent three athletes to South Korea, and in 2022, seven Princetonians competed in the Beijing games, the most in a winter games thus far by a wide margin.
Princeton’s athletes don’t merely represent their countries at the games — they also find
their share of success on the podium. A total of 216 appearances amounts to 87 medals for those with connections to the orange and black — 32 gold, 27 silver, and 28 bronze. If Princeton were a country, it would have won more medals than 114 out of 156 countries, beating Mexico, Croatia, and Argentina.
Princeton has sent athletes to compete in 23 different sports, 17 of which are a part of the Summer Games. Rowing has produced the most representatives at 43, with Athletics (Track and Field) following behind at 29. Other popular sports are Fencing, Ice Hockey, Swimming, Sailing, and Field Hockey.
Princeton’s history as a male-only institution has contributed to an overall imbalance of 108 male against 46 female athletes, but since co-education began, women’s and men’s Olympic participation has been roughly equal.
While the majority of Princetonians have donned the American red, white, and blue, many have also elected to represent their countries of origin. Track athlete Thorsteinn T. Gislason ’69 GS ’70 was the first to do so at the 1972 Munich Olympics when he represented Iceland in the 800m race.
Twelve years later at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, Princetonians faced one another for the first time with Harold Backer ’85, Mike Evans ’80, and Christine Clark ’83 of Canada beating Christopher Penny ‘85 of the United States in the Men’s 8 rowing event. At the next summer Olympics in Seoul, Backer again raced for Canada, while Deborah St. Phard ’87 represented Haiti in shot put. More athletes have represented other nations in recent years, with eight foreign countries represented by ten athletes at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and at least six other countries represented this year.
This year, 25 Princetonians will represent eight countries in the City of Lights across six sports. Rowing is once again the largest, as nine Princeton rowers will represent five different countries: the United States (four), Great Britain (two), Australia (one), Uganda (one), and Norway (one). At least one more Princeton affiliate will compete in the Olympics as Mo Alkhawaldeh will compete
for Jordan in the Marathon. Alkhawaldeh is a Financial and Program Manager for the Politics department.
Princeton will also send seven fencers, five of whom will represent the United States. Mohamed Hamza ’23 will represent Egypt for his third Olympics and Sabrina Fang ’27 will represent Canada for her first Olympics.
For the returning athletes, the environment of Paris will be strikingly different from the empty stadiums of the COVID-era Olympics in Tokyo three years ago.
“I think the excitement and hype towards Paris is much bigger than Tokyo since there will be an audience at each event, which will make the competition feel all the more special,” Hamza told the ‘Prince.’ “Having competed in varying environments in Rio and Tokyo, I feel like I’m definitely ready to handle any type of pressure that may come my way in Paris.”
Similar to the usual makeup, “Team Princeton” will be an almost even mix of veterans and newcomers, with ten returning Olympians and 11 first-timers. Two of the veterans are also Olympic medalists. Goalie Ashleigh Johnson ’17 has won back-to-back golds as Team USA’s last line of defense in water polo and Tom George ’18 won bronze rowing with Team Great Britain in the Men 8+. This year’s Tigers spread across class years from the Class of 2011 to the Class of 2027.
Strong showings from Princeton’s primary sports — fencing and rowing — add a combined 16 appearances to the two sports’ already high totals — 69 and 34 respectively, prior to this year’s additions. Johnson and rising junior Jovana Sekulic will double Princeton’s previous water polo appearances, while Kareem Maddox ’11 will make a rare basketball appearance in the 3-on-3 event. Rising junior Beth Yeager, who took a gap year, will become the 15th Princeton field hockey athlete at the Games. Team Princeton will be rounded out with a trio of international track and field representatives, Sondre Guttormsen ’23 for Norway, Lizzie Bird ’17 for Great Britain, and Obiageri Amaechi ’21 with the U.S. trials still in progress.
Princeton’s sheer quantity of athletes at
the games has given rise to a number of impressive and notable feats. For example, Nathan Crumpton ’08 has completed the exceptionally rare feat of competing in both the Winter and Summer Olympics, where he represented American Samoa in track and skeleton, gaining notoriety along the way for his traditional Samoan dress during the ceremonies.
Princeton Athletics has often struck gold at the Games, with eight athletes taking home first multiple times. Princeton Ph.D. candidate Brad Snyder has been the most dominant Tiger athlete, raking in six golds across swim and triathlon events at the Paralympic games.
Princeton has no doubt had previous success at the games and the Tigers look to be in great shape to see some Tigers up on the podiums. Johnson and Sekulic will be part of a U.S. water polo team that is a favorite and looking to four-peat, while Maddox’s U.S. 3-on-3 basketball team, featuring former college superstar Jimmer Fredette, is an overwhelming favorite for gold.
Even though expectations can be high, athletes combat that pressure with routine.
“I’m just focusing on my training routine and gaining confidence in my abilities from the work I’m putting in now,” Hamza, currently ranked No. 4 globally, added. “I do take great confidence in having competed consistently well this past season, and it gives me more trust in that what I’ve been doing lately has been working.”
Princeton athletes have made their mark on the Olympics in the past and are set to do so again in Paris. These 25 Tigers join over a hundred Princetonians to represent both their home countries and Old Nassau at the world’s foremost athletic competition.
Grace Zhao is a senior Data writer for the ‘Prince.’
Tate Hutchins is an associate Sports editor and News contributor for the ‘Prince.’
Ivy League Olympians: By the Numbers
By Andrew Bosworth Head Data Editor
The Ivy League has a long and storied presence at the Olympic Games. In the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, 241 men from 14 nations competed in Athens, Greece. Team USA was made of 12 men, all from Columbia, Harvard, and Princeton.
Since then, the League has dominated rowing, represented dozens of countries across the world, and Harvard has managed to make an appearance in every game.
The 109 athletes the Ivy League sent to compete in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris mark the most the conference has ever sent. Since the 2016 Summer Games in Rio, Princeton has sent the most or secondmost athletes to each Games from the conference, and overall ranks fourth in Ivy League Olympians.
The Daily Princetonian analyzed Ivy League Olympic rosters of current and former students who participated in the modern Games. Paralympians and alternates are included in the analysis, but coaches and support staff are not.
The first Ivy League Olympians competed in “Athletics” — another term for what are now widely known as “Track & Field” events in the United States. While Harvard advised competitors to travel under the Boston Athletic Association, the first Team Princeton all traveled under the Orange and Black banner.
By the fourth modern Olympics — the 1908 games in London — all Ivy League institutions had sent at least one representative to a Game, with Dartmouth being the last to do so. The 2024 Olympic Games mark the eleventh time where all Ivies are represented, the previous occurrence was the 2012 Games in London.
While Harvard — followed by Dartmouth — has sent the most overall athletes to the Olympics, Dartmouth sent only seven athletes to Paris this summer, the third lowest in the conference. Princeton’s 25 athletes are the second highest in the conference, two fewer than Harvard’s 26 Olympians and one Paralympian.
Penn has sent athletes to the second fewest Games after Columbia, and attended the same number as Brown, but has sent over double the
number of athletes the Bears have sent in their history. The 1970s and 80s gave the Quakers a boost — in each of the four summer Games between 1972 and 1984, Penn sent more athletes than any other Ivy, except in 1972 when Penn and Harvard each sent 12.
Brown has sent the fewest Olympians to Paris with four athletes. Princeton’s large number of athletes sent in the past few years vaulted the Tigers above Penn’s alltime athletes.
Overall, the largest percentage of Ivy League Olympians have competed in rowing — 28 percent of all time conference Olympians. In Paris, rowers comprise 38 percent of the conference representation — 17 of whom hail from Yale and nine from Princeton. Three Tiger rowers have secured Olympic medals: Nick Mead ’17 and Hannah Scott ’21 took home gold for Team USA and Great Britain, respectively, and Tom George ’18 won silver for Team GB.
Team Princeton won another gold in fencing — the second most represented sport by the Ivy League in Paris, representing 19 percent of conference athletes — with eight from Harvard and seven from Princeton. Maia Weintraub ’26 took home gold in foil securing the first USA gold in team fencing history. Three out of the four women’s fencers trained in the Ivy League.
Seventeen sports have at least one Ivy League competitor in Paris, alongside three Paralympic events.
Since 2016, 55 percent of Ivy League athletes have competed for Team USA. Each Games, Canada has been the next most popular nation for Ivy Leaguers to compete for, with seven percent of the conference’s Paris athletes sporting red and white Lululemon suits on the River Seine. Twenty-three countries have Ivy League representation in Paris, with teams Harvard and Yale each on the rosters of 10 nations and Princeton on nine. Cornell’s five Olympians in Paris are all on Team USA, alongside all four Paralympians from Columbia, Dartmouth, Harvard, and Yale.
The Olympic Games continue through Aug. 11 followed by the Paralympic Games.
Andrew Bosworth is a head Data editor and staff Sports writer for the ‘Prince.’
“Time A f T er Time ”
By MC McCoy Staff Constructor
1 Moves one's head to music 5 Partridge's tree in a Christmas song 9 What an opera singer might break
October birthstone
Marathon or 5k
Elmo's enemy
Wait for 18 Phil known for protest songs
Eroded, with "away"
20 1979 opening Zeppelin track
23 Slow movement of a symphony
26 Not dry 27 "___ a bird!" "___ a plane!"
28 2014 final single for a One Direction album
32 Double-helix molecule
33 Leftovers from a fire
34 Brother duo in the MCU
38 ___ it in 40 Mooch (off)
43 Become unclear?
44 Bert's partner on "Sesame Street" 46 Largest continent
48 Country with the most 2024 Olympic medals
49 Final song for the Witch in "Into the Woods"
53 Album period for Swift
56 Syvelster in "Glee" 57 ___-weensie
58 2017 single for Zayn, or a clue for 20-, 28-, and 48- Across 62 Unimportant
63 MGM founder Marcus 64 Section for the NYT 68 Royal house following the Plantagenet dynasty 69 Louvre Lisa
Lyft competitor
Little fights 72 Site for handmade goods
73 Clicking sounds of disappointment DOWN 1 Short women's haircut 2 Nail polish brand 3 Tampon alternative
Vehicle for St. Nick
Official procedure
___ and every one
Stiched together again
Front door job at Walmart
Something borrowed
Second half of a play
Odor 13 Parts of an album 21 Lice eggs
22 Fruit's counterpart, for short 23 De Shields of "Hadestown" and "The Wiz"
Roadside restaurant
Another time
Garden tool
Best of the best
Short form of a long sandwich
Punches
California roll, for example
Make a speech
Zero 41 Crime franchise for CBS 42 Debut single for a 2024 Fall Lawnparties headliner
45 Christian holidays for resurrection 47 Made ___ (created again)
50 Juris or generis preceder 51 "Spill!"
52 California burger joint
53 Cuts, copies, or pastes, maybe
Amass
55 Carne ___ 59 Tangle
60 Stolen goods
61 Underground animal homes
65 Educational TV station
66 Reaction to a bug, maybe
67 Hospital workers: Abbr.
by Kia Ghods, Victoria Davies, and Sunney Gao
In defense of gray masses: a love letter to Princeton’s contemporary architecture
Robert Mohan Guest Contributor
The following is a guest contribution and reflects the author’s views alone.
When the cornerstone of East Pyne Hall was laid in 1897, Princeton alumni were resolutely furious. They dubbed it the “Crime of ‘97,” rebuking the discordant look of the Victorian Gothic building and mourning the demolition of the old chapel and East College. They felt that the new style of East Pyne could not compare to the erstwhile aesthetic of the university. Sound familiar?
Today, of course, East Pyne is upheld as a scion of Princeton architecture and criticism has turned elsewhere. In 1999, Catesby Leigh ’79 lamented Frist and Woolworth as “architecture whose spiritual horizons have narrowed to the point of utter inconsequentiality.” While these buildings have gained acceptance, the deconstructivist Lewis Library was recently denounced as a “Minecraft glitch,” and many now bemoan the austere aesthetics of Princeton’s contemporary construction.
But this reproach ignores how architectural ideals are determined and who a style is meant to serve. Princeton’s newest buildings are not intended to reinvigorate the past. Rather, the new style disengages from traditional footprints and facades to draft a novel visual language for Princeton.
Many of the cherished historic buildings on our campus obey a decorative agenda, holding that the outward appearance of a structure can be divorced from, and supersede, our residential uses for it. Conversely, the new style posits that a structure’s form must be thoroughly attuned to the human
interactions it will facilitate. Princeton’s contemporary, post-decorative pursuit denies the separation of appearance from function, abandoning the project of visual hegemony and taking assertive aesthetic risks.
The nostalgic architecture most frequently heralded in critiques is that of Ralph Adams Cram, the prodigious early 20thcentury architect behind much of Princeton’s upperclass housing. Cram sought to evoke the elite educational atmospheres of Oxford and Cambridge in his work, assuming homogeneity in gender, ability, and lived experience among its inhabitants. This is readily observable: his structures rely on single-gender occupancy for facilities, exhibit low accessibility, and, built before the relatively recent notion of ‘campus culture,’ contain a dearth of communal spaces.
As opposed to Cram’s more imitative approach, the architectural firm TenBerke’s design for Yeh College and New College West started from scratch to discern how a community could thrive at Princeton. Their approach was guided by ambitious ideals including the permeation of the outdoors indoors, degendered privacy, total accessibility, the primacy of community, and sustainable climate control. The colleges feature spaces for performing, dining, art-making, and socializing unseen in Cram’s older sites. Thus, they don’t “look like” anything else on campus — that’s the point. Our housing need not be imitative, it can boldly put forward a new thesis about the nature of communities.
To enjoy purpose-built architecture, we cannot construct nostalgically. Whitman College lies stuck in an architectural ‘uncanny valley’ as an unsuccessful hybrid of the contemporary and traditional. It attempts to replicate Cram’s masonry charm without access to its traditional artisans or reference points. The result is disorienting: Whitman’s
Community Hall is nearly devoid of decoration beyond the first eleven feet of height, a far cry from the intricate beams, colorful stained glass, and wooden grotesques of traditional neo-Gothic halls. Although it has some exceptionally well-designed vignettes, such as its drawbridge entrance and central tower, the complex as a whole does not form a confident aesthetic assertion.
On the other hand, the contemporary projects are unapologetically of our time: they ditch the mimicry of revival and the irony of postmodernism, preferring an aesthetic of sincerity. The monolithic buildings reflect the University’s collectivist ethos, suggesting stalwart communities and grounded institutions. The peripheral arms of Yeh wind across greenspaces to conjoin at strange angles, the edges crisp and the brickwork clean. Forget Cram’s isolated entranceways and tight passes — this is architecture intentionally scaled up, where buildings become expansive hubs for connectivity. Beyond their aesthetic merit, these works also vigorously promote sustainability, the profusion of mass timber across the new projects serving as a fine case study in both material sincerity and carbon-conscious engineering.
Critics of this contemporary aesthetic often construe the project as a struggle against tradition. Noted architect Mark Alan Hewitt argued that in the construction of the new residential college bearing her name, Mellody Hobson ’91 should press for architecture that “represents continuity rather than obtrusive change.” Julianna Lee ’25 shared a similar opinion, asserting that continuity in style allows Princeton to “remain Princeton.” Unlike Hewitt and Lee, I believe that the great, ineffable continuity of Princeton lies in its lineage of students. This communal continuity beautifully transcends the current built landscape and instead seeks to
manifest in a range of new physical spaces. Princeton is decisively ushering in new institutional values, and new construction is styling the campus to reflect them. When Hobson College’s concept plan was revealed in February 2022, Princeton Municipal Planner Michael LaPlace pushed back, saying that “the colors, the massing, the height seems… corporate and very fish-out-of-water.”
Although LaPlace’s assertion may have felt accurate in 2022, Hobson’s environs will have greatly changed by the time it is completed in August 2027. By that time, “central campus” will no longer only refer to the cozy brick of Brown Hall, Jones Hall, and McCosh Infirmary. The neighborhood will include the angled stone panels of the new Princeton University Art Museum, the roman-brick Frist Health Center, and the perforated steel facade of the Class of 1986 Fitness and Wellness Center. Although this picture might frighten our school’s more skeptical contin-
gent, I very much look forward to seeing it actualized.
In stark opposition to the alleged “cultural and architectural decline” underway at Princeton, I firmly believe that the university is experiencing an architectural renaissance. We find ourselves in the midst of tremendous growth in built space — a staggering 2,381,700 additional square feet. As a result, critical evaluations of style, feel, and function have reached the forefront of the institutional conscience, producing architecture with refreshing candor. Yes, at times, this architecture disregards the past, but not callously — instead, with a firm conviction to materialize the communal and academic ideals of the present, set in brick and mortar.
Robert Mohan is a junior from Phoenix, Arizona studying Art & Archaeology (History of Art). He can be reached at robert.mohan@princeton. edu.
In order to prevent health-care related financial catastrophes, the University should alter the student health plan to provide increased coverage for all medical services.
of-pocket costs for each service covered by insurance. In comparison, coinsurance forces individuals to pay a percentage of their healthcare costs. To put this in perspective, consider this: if you receive a service that costs $20 and you have a plan with a $20 copay, you would pay $20. In comparison, if you have a plan with 90 percent coinsurance, you would pay two dollars. But what if you were to require a service that costs $2000? In that case, you would still pay $20 with the copay plan; however, you would need to pay $200 with the coinsurance plan. Although coinsurance is an acceptable policy for most standard medical expenses, it can come back to bite people when they seek out emergency services, which are far more expensive on average. In particular, New Jersey ranks as the number one state for Emergency Department visit costs, with the average bill ranging around $3,750.
This cost is exacerbated by the fact that emergency services are often much more likely to be accessed through outof-network providers, and given that the SHP has only 70 percent coinsurance for out-of-network care, students could be on the hook for 30 percent of the cost even
after they have paid the deductible in full. As a result, a single visit could easily cost well over $1,000 in out-of-pocket expenses for a student if the services happen to be provided by an out-of-network provider, especially in cases in which students are receiving care in emergency situations and they don’t have the chance to inquire about their health provider’s network. Furthermore, it could be incredibly difficult for students to know whether an emergency services provider is in- or outof-network. 20 percent of Americans who go to an in-network hospital are still given a bill for out-of-network care from a doctor and 50 percent of ambulance rides generate an out-of-network bill.
Although these costs may seem as though they would be rare or isolated, these costs can hit Princeton students in unexpected ways. During the academic year, students need care from professionals UHS does not have or students who are in a condition that could be life-threatening are often sent to Princeton Medical Center (PMC). Unlike UHS, services provided at PMC are not free and, based on the coverage provided by the SHP, the costs of a single trip via ambulance to PMC can be significant, even nearing the $1,000 mark if the provider happens to be out-of-network. Additionally, being sent to PMC is no rarity. In cases of alcohol poisoning on campus, students will be sent off to PMC in an ambulance, which
may cost as much as 400 dollars for the approximately 4 mile trip. In some cases, students could request not to be taken to PMC by ambulance, but then be charged hundreds of dollars involuntarily if their request is denied. With this knowledge, students who may be unable to pay such a cost out-of-pocket will likely feel pressure to not seek medical attention — or be forced to receive emergent care they can not reasonably afford when they lack the capacity to consider those costs.
The University has made steps to address the problem of these out-of-pocket costs through various supplementary initiatives that students can apply to and be awarded money to cover their medical costs, with the Special Needs Fund being one of the main initiatives to date — an emergency fund for students who find themselves with unexpected financial needs. However, these measures are inadequate. For example, the Special Needs Fund is critically capped at only $300 allotted per student over the course of an academic year, and other resources, such as the Dean’s Emergency Fund, generally only grant up to $500. For some students, the limited nature of this support could be devastating. For reference, the cap for individual expenditures on the SHP is $5,000 for medical and $1,350 for prescriptions, which adds up to $6,350 in combined costs. A small grant of $500 wouldn’t go a long way in covering such expenses for
students faced with high individual expenditures, forcing students into difficult financial positions.
It doesn’t need to be this way. Some of Princeton’s peer institutions have done a much better job at alleviating the financial burden of an unexpected medical expense. For instance, Brown University provides free ambulance services to students with medical emergencies. Princeton can and should follow models like this.
In order to prevent health-care related financial catastrophes, the University should alter the student health plan to provide increased coverage for all medical services. They should take on a copay model, rather than a coinsurance model, in order to decrease the risk of a student becoming stuck with thousands of dollars in medical costs on the University’s watch. Moreover, they should allocate additional dollars to funds like the Special Needs Fund to help students who have multiple health emergencies over the course of the academic year. The University has the resources to provide better support to students with medical emergencies — there’s no excuse for their inaction.
Davis Hobley is a columnist for the ‘Prince,’ and a member of the Class of 2027 who intends to major in Neuroscience. He hails from Rochester, Mich. and can be reached by email at dh2172@princeton.edu or his personal Instagram @davis_20.23.
The “Crime of ‘97” overshadowing Nassau Hall, ca. 1920s.
In the service of gentrification: How my summer housing worsened racial displacement in NYC
This summer, I participated in an advocacy internship sponsored by the Pace Center for Civic Engagement. At the same time, my stay in an Airbnb there contributed to the continuing gentrification of Crown Heights, Brooklyn.
In Princeton’s 2016 strategic planning framework, the University warns against an overly prescriptive definition of service: “service is not ultimately about what vocation or avocation one pursues, but about how one pursues it.” And while the “what” of service certainly still matters, the broader sentiment remains paramount.
As the Pace Center for Civic Engagement has acknowledged, serious harm can be done in the name of service. One of these harms is racial and economic displacement caused by intern summer housing, but it is largely ignored. Without taking this issue seriously, the Pace Center’s hope that its programs teach students how to “identify ways to contribute to the greater good and respond to inequities” is inherently limited.
Undergraduate service interns, their host organizations, and the University need to construct summer opportunities that do not disenfranchise vulnerable communities, especially those for whom their service internship is targeted. Summer interns should be mindful of the kind of housing they choose to live in and opt for local, Princeton-based, or virtual internships when they are unable to
minimize the impact of their housing decisions.
Gentrification is a contentious and politicized term. It is meant to describe an influx of wealth (and white people) into a neighborhood that results in the displacement of economically vulnerable (and usually Black) community members already living there. But, despite some who downplay gentrification as something that increases quality of life for those who stay, the harms of displacement are widespread and real.
There is no better example of this than the gentrification of Brooklyn. While the borough saw an overall population increase of 230,000 people between 2010 and 2020, Brooklyn’s Black population fell by nine percent. At the same time, its non-Hispanic white population grew 8.4 percent, increasing by nearly the same number of residents by which the Black population fell.
Crown Heights, the neighborhood I lived in this summer, is one of the most affected boroughs in Brooklyn. One of Crown Heights’ zip codes — 11216 — was ranked as the tenth most gentrified zip code in the country, comparing 2000 and 2016 data. The median home value in the neighborhood nearly tripled during that time, and analysis of the Department of City Planning census data found that Crown Heights and two adjacent neighborhoods “each lost from 10 to 14 percent of their [B]lack populations” between 2000 and 2010.
While the reasons for Crown Heights’ gentrification are numerous and there is likely no single preeminent driver of the neighborhood’s racial displacement, my choice to spend the summer there in an Airbnb — a major driver of displacement — was unquestionably a bad one.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of Airbnb removed thousands of
long-term units from New York City’s housing market, contributing to a $380 long-term rent increase over three years for the median renter. Years later, mass eviction and the return of prepandemic rent costs threaten renters in Brooklyn who are still recovering from the pandemic’s disproportionate effects on Black communities. Predatory landlords push out Black tenants in Crown Heights or offer them scant buyouts to then raise rent astronomically or list their units on Airbnb.
While Airbnb has advertised itself as a tool for resisting displacement because of a homeowner’s ability to supplement their income, racial homeownership disparities in New York (like in all of America) make this largely impossible. In all 72 predominantly Black neighborhoods in New York City, “Airbnb hosts are 5 times more likely to be white.” Black Airbnb hosts earned $48 million between 2014 and 2017. White hosts earned $160 million.
However, none of this information is presented to service interns looking for summer housing. Many of my peers with whom I conversed with about our Airbnbs had heard of gentrification, but had no idea just how harmful our own stays could be. The Princeton in Civic Service (PICS) handbook lists “Access to the property’s facilities and kitchen” and “Requires lots of up-front work to identify roommates” as the only cons of “Other rentals (Airbnb, etc.)” in its guide to housing.
And unfortunately for summer interns, avoiding Airbnb isn’t the solution; short-term rentals in general have changed the housing landscape of cities like New York for the worse — another fact missing from the handbook.
In order to better fulfill their own goal of “[strengthening] students’ understanding of the historical and con-
temporary structures and norms that form the context for their service,” the Pace Center must provide next year’s cohort of summer service interns with education on gentrification and the impacts that housing choices may have on the communities they wish to serve.
The Pace Center alone cannot solve this issue. The dearth of affordable housing in major cities and Princeton University’s own avaricious summer housing costs severely limit the options students pursuing summer service internships have, especially in comparison to their better paid nonservice intern peers. But while Princeton ought to provide service internship students with more competitive stipends and lower on-campus summer housing costs, interns must also be willing to make changes to their summer housing searches regardless of University financial support.
Though Princetonians will understandably wish to work at an organization or in a city that seems especially desirable or impactful to them, they may need to either confront the dissonance that is in working in the name of social justice while will-
ingly participating in gentrification, or be forced to make some difficult choices. When possible, working locally at home, living on Princeton’s campus, or participating in virtual summer internships may be one of the best ways to avoid furthering racial displacement in gentrification vulnerable communities. For students unable to avoid working in gentrification-vulnerable communities, the Pace Center should provide them with the sufficient knowledge and resources needed to make the best decision possible, and explicitly recognize that shortcoming in the internship process.
Of course, these kinds of difficult choices extend far past housing. Beyond the “where,” Princeton interns — and later alumni — interested in service should always ask “how.” If they don’t, their actual social impact may run counter to the very principle of service that motivates them in the first place.
Christofer Robles is the Community Opinion editor. He can be reached at cdrobles@princeton.edu or at @cdjrobles on ‘X.’
By erasing Hamas and the Oct. 7 attacks, PIAD’s proposal is unproductive and deeply unsettling
Judah Guggenheim Guest Contributor
Afew months ago, I went to hear Linda Sarsour speak at the Princeton encampment. She had garnered considerable attention, and I was curious to hear what she had to say. Her speech was, in a word, inspiring. She called for justice, equality, and human dignity, urging students to stand on “the right side of history.” She made listeners feel fired up and energized to do something. But to do what? The more I listened to her, the more I wondered what her proposal was to end the Israel-Hamas war. As a Princeton student, I share a deep commitment to improving the world. I like to believe that I, too, pursue justice for people everywhere. I understood why many in the audience found the speech to be moving. But as I stood at the encampment, I waited in vain to hear Sarsour’s idea to end the conflict in Gaza. Maybe she wanted renewed calls for a cease fire? But that seemed at odds with protestors’ calls for “no justice, no peace” that followed her speech. Maybe
she wanted a two-state solution, or a unified state for all people? But she never mentioned that, and — importantly — she never gave suggestions to replace Hamas’ leadership.
There lies the main problem with movements to divest from Israel, at Princeton and beyond. In Princeton Israeli Apartheid Divest (PIAD)’s 66page proposal for divestment, there is not a single mention of Hamas, unless you count the titles of articles in the footnotes (which I don’t). The proposal references “Israel’s response,” but never explicitly mentions the horror of the Oct. 7 attacks that Israel is responding to or the fact that the terrorists who carried them out are deliberately hiding in places of worship, schools, and private homes. Israel is currently fighting a war against a terrorist organization that indiscriminately killed, raped, tortured, and kidnapped over 1400 people of many nationalities. That sentence should break your heart.
After Hamas took Israeli hostages on Oct. 7, they embedded themselves in a dense civilian population. Israel has pursued and killed thousands of these Hamas terrorists, but in doing so killed thousands of Palestinian civilians along
with them. That sentence should break your heart, too.
But the PIAD proposal gives no indication as to how boycotting or divesting from Israel will lead to a better future for Palestinians, because it never addresses what that future will actually look like. By erasing facts that are inconvenient for their narrative, PIAD attempts to paint a black-and-white world in which Israel and everything it touches are evil, acting aggressively for no reason rather than fighting a war with terrorists. PIAD paints a simpler world of right and wrong, but not a true one.
The moment requires that we enter the fall semester asking real, urgent, and important questions: Can the need to eliminate Hamas justify the civilian casualty count, low in proportion relative to other urban warfare examples, but still tragically high? Does targeting the Hamas masterminds of the Oct. 7 massacres and the rogue actors who support them risk escalating conflict, or does it promote accountability and justice? Can we find a non-military path to oust Hamas, identify Israeli and Palestinian leaders for true negotiations, and maybe even take steps toward an ultimate peace? Who will lead it, and what will
that look like?
Unfortunately, PIAD is not alone in refusing to confront the truth of Hamas’ brutality. On Oct. 9, when I was on the board of the Princeton College Democrats, I co-drafted a statement condemning the attacks. The majority of the board declined to put the statement forward.
On Oct. 10, one of the same groups, now arguing for divestment, put out statements condemning Israel, not Hamas, while their victims’ bodies were still being identified. And at repeated events since then, I have spoken with protestors — friends who I trust and respect — and I have asked them: what would it look like to end the occupation in a way that would promote safety and peace for all people? They didn’t have an answer.
This isn’t a rhetorical question. It’s a hard one, and I don’t fault those who don’t have an answer. I’m not sure that I have one, at least one that would really work in practice. But it is a fundamental question that we cannot ignore.
We must consider that question with all of the facts, taking into account all of the realities of the Middle East and the multidimensional nature of the cur-
rent war. Failing to do so eliminates the chance at productive dialogue in search of a better reality for all who live there. It feeds into a growing world of misand dis-information, the scary world of alternative facts and denial of blatant truths.
As we return to campus, I truly hope that we can ask ourselves and each other: what would we do if we were the Israelis? The Palestinians? What practical, detailed courses of action can we push forward to bring real justice?
Whether you feel personally invested in this conflict or not, we can raise the level of real discourse on our campus. That starts with rejecting the idea that Israel is an evil force of one-sided violence.
I’ll end on a personal note: I’ve been frustrated by the limited campus opportunities for true dialogue across differences of opinion. If you’re reading this and want to talk, especially if you disagree with what I’ve said, please reach out. Send me an email, and I’d love to get coffee.
ZEHAO WU / THE DAILY PRINCETONIAN Pace Center for Civic Engagement located in Frist Campus Center.
Christofer Robles Community Opinion Editor
editor-in-chief
Eden Teshome '25
president
business manager Aidan Phillips ’25
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
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
director of outreach
Lia Opperman ’25
Accessibility
Tess Weinreich ’25
Lucia Wetherill ’25
creative director Mary Ma ’26
strategic initiative directors
Christopher Bao ’27
Education
Charlie Roth ’25
head
Financial Stipend Elaine Huang ’25
Sections listed in alphabetical order. public editor Abigail Rabieh ’25
Raphaela Gold ’26 Kaylee Kasper ’26
Associate Archives editor
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
Elizabeth Polubinski ’25
head data editors
Andrew Bosworth ’26
Suthi Navaratnam-Tomayko ’26
head features editors
Sejal Goud ’25
Molly Taylor ’25
associate features editor
Raphaela Gold ’26
head graphics editors
Luiza Chevres ’26
Noreen Hosny ’25
head humor editors
Spencer Bauman ’25
Sophia Varughese ’26
associate humor editors
Sam McComb ’25
Mya Koffie ’27
head news editors
Bridget O’Neill ’26
Annie Rupertus ’25
associate news editors
Olivia Sanchez ’26
Miriam Waldvogel ’26 (Investigations)
head newsletter editor
Kia Ghods ’27
associate newsletter editors
Victoria Davies ’27
Sunney Gao ’27
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
Theo Wells-Spackman ’25
head print design editors Avi Chesler ’25
Malia Gaviola ’26
head prospect editor Isabella Dail ’26
associate prospect editors Russell Fan ’26
Regina Roberts ’26
head puzzles editors Sabrina Effron ’26
Joah Macosko ’25
associate puzzles editors Wade Bednar ’26
Lindsay McBride ’27
head sports editors Cole Keller ’26
Diego Uribe ’26
associate sports editors Tate Hutchins ’27
Hayk Yengibaryan ’26
head web design and development editors
Yacoub Kahkajian ’26 Vasila Mirshamsova ’26
148TH BUSINESS BOARD
Jessica Funk ’26
business directors
Gabriel Gullett ’25
Andrew He ’26
Tejas Iyer ’26
Jordan Manela ’26 Robert Mohan ’26 Kok Wei Pua ’25 My Ky Tran ’26
managers Jason Ding ’25 Kaustuv Mukherjee ’26
chief technology officer Roma Bhattacharjee ’25
Princeton, turn construction efforts to our education
Journeys to a Princeton diploma are manifold. In fact, they are so varied that they completely lack a coherent guiding message or principal intellectual basis. Our education is the sum of the classes we take, yet there is no support in its construction beyond our major requirements and a demand to take a suitably broad range of courses through the unfocused general education requirements. With no perspective offered on the knowledge or ideas that make someone educated, the University abandons a crucial task in its mission.
To better guide students through intellectual growth that is meaningful and results in deep knowledge, Princeton must offer more structure. A more restrictive gen-ed requirement program, comprising only a few specially designed courses, could ensure that diverse intellectual tools are coherently, successfully, and meaningfully imparted. With more institutionalized pathways — be they internal department tracks or pre-major sequences studying a particular time, place, or knowledge base — students might actually gain specialized knowledge instead of simply pursuing more breadth.
Some of these options already exist: in the politics department, for example, students can follow a track to focus their studies. Underclassmen can take a humanities sequence to humanistic inquiry in a particular culture, or the Integrated Science Curriculum to study life sciences multiple disciplines. But many majors do not offer ways to carve a specific path through their discipline, and few underclassmen are well-prepared to plot their course of study: something the University knows well. A decisive course plan is not necessary nor expected — my first year, it was advertised that 56 percent of A.B. students and 40 percent of B.S.E. students change from the major on their application.
When it is time to build an academic program, we are told to choose classes with content that “engages your imagination and expands your educational horizons” or to take a course because it “sparks your inter-
est,” all while balancing distribution requirements and required classes for one’s major. This leads to both a somewhat unmanageable bevy of options — usually a course catalog will spark interest in more courses than can fit in one semester — and an intimidating set of restrictions, particularly when underclassmen juggle the prerequisites for multiple majors. There’s an overwhelming amount of ways to spend course credits.
This might make it seem like you can’t go wrong: if there are so many options, a fulfilling schedule is bound to form. But a random hodgepodge of classes does not a good education make. It’s one of the reasons colleges have majors. We choose departments because we recognize that cultivating deep understanding is necessary for rigorous intellectual inquiry. Presuming that classes taken outside one’s major should have an educational purpose that extends beyond simply finding that major, it seems essential to build a curriculum that does not simply revolve around exploring to the widest possible extent.
But the University does not help students curate a meaningful collection of classes, instead prioritizing breadth and diversity of experience and thus leaving a vacuum of centralized advice. It’s up to students and their advisors to cobble together a useful education. To understand how this process can occur, I reached out to four professors in different disciplines who advise underclassmen, asking their advice on how to craft a good curriculum. Three of them — one in each the history, chemistry, and computer science departments — told me that their guidance was calibrated to the individual students they worked with, making it impossible to share anything beyond the already-given generalities.
Absent a self-generated or University-dictated perspective on education, students are indeed reliant on their advisors to guide them through their education. But this is worrying, because the advising system here is not very good. There’s very little continuity — I’ve had a different advisor each year of undergrad — and there are few opportunities for a deep relationship to form between mentor and mentee. You may never take a class with your advisor or meet them more than once a semester. Thus, there is no guarantee that students will actually receive support that helps them construct a personalized education that is excellent — the education for
which Princeton allegedly strives.
Indeed, it’s too easy to leave Princeton without the transcendent liberal arts education that the University extols when the only intellectual guidance comes in the form of general platitudes and an inconstant and inadequate advising system. Helpfully, Shilo Brooks, Executive Director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions and Lecturer in the Department of Politics, shared one such perspective on a universal educational goal with me.
“My view is that students should make sure to take at least a few courses that will put them into conversation with the most profound thinkers, writers, and artists in human history,” he wrote. Education, expressed here, has a purpose: not only to come into contact with many different types of knowledge, but to learn things that matter to leading a meaningful life.
“You are [a] human being, and your task is to martial [sic] the resources of this institution to prepare yourself for the wonderful and terrible fickleness of your life by experiencing for yourself the potential and substance of the kind of being you are,” Brooks wrote.
One way to achieve this vision would be establishing a core curriculum, which can give students “coherent and substantive learning in essential areas of knowledge,” wrote Lynne Cheney when she served as Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, adding that without one students can only bring a “limited perspective to enduring human questions.” This model of education is no longer upheld, and there are many good reasons for that: students can dive deeper into fields in which they are passionate, and there are more opportunities to support and investigate new fields of study and areas of research.
But in its absence, there’s been an abdication of responsibility on the part of education leaders; no longer are students supposed to simply learn, but they’re also supposed to know what, how, and why to do so. We are taught to research, but not to accumulate knowledge that can support serious intellectual inquiry or to construct a coherent worldview. Depth and breadth are not mutually exclusive, but the former has been completely abandoned in favor of the latter.
Students come to Princeton University to be educated. A good education consists of more than just a collection of interesting classes, and the University knows this. Instead of letting students bumble around trying to happen upon one, it should standardize pathways, programs, tracks, and truly impactful advising systems that ensure such an education is imparted. I’m only a student myself, so far be it from me to suggest that I know precisely what I — and my peers — need to study. The question of what constitutes a good education is complex and contentious. But it would be nice if someone, somewhere, in this institution, made some attempt to provide that answer.
Abigail Rabieh is a senior in the history department from Cambridge, Mass. She is the public editor at the ‘Prince’ and can be reached via email at arabieh@princeton.edu or on X at @AbigailRabieh.
CALVIN GROVER / THE DAILY PRINCETONIAN The stacks of Firestone Library.
Abigail Rabieh Public Editor
Jerry Zhu ’27
“We’re a minority in a minority, and we get lost in the marginalization.”
BELONGING
Continued from page 1
Collins said he believes that Native students are perceived low priority for affinity spaces to other ethnic groups on campus.
“We’re a minority in a minority,” he said, “and we get lost in the marginalization.”
Montuffar, who is Hñähñu, noted that their place in Green Hall added a sense of physical isolation from the other affinity groups at Princeton and the other affinity spaces in CAF. “A space in CAF would be great,” they said.
University spokesperson Jennifer Morrill commented on the future of the Indigenous affinity space at Princeton in an email to the ‘Prince.’
“With campuswide renovations underway, it is too early to know what additional space offerings might become available for the future,” University spokesperson Jennifer Morill wrote to the ‘Prince.’
“As always, the Office of the Vice President for Campus Life will continue to work with affinity groups to better understand desired locations for their organizations,” she added.
Toledo worked with the administration to acquire the space during her time at Princeton leading NAP.
“As a student, I was frustrated with how slow things are,” she said, “but now as an alum, seeing how things work in the background. I can understand a little bit more.”
Weber says that she has “gotten used to ‘what we have is what we have.’” While she told the ‘Prince’ she is grateful for what progress has been made, she similarly finds the process frustrating.
“We shouldn’t just keep asking for scraps and pennies.”
“I wish I could exist in peace, but I cannot”: Being Native as a “political identity”
More often than not, it’s Indigenous students advocating for Indigenous issues. While rewarding at times, Students say, the work to secure small wins is draining because the fight is inextricably linked to their identity.
When Samuel Lee Regan ’26 arrived on campus as a transfer student last fall, they said they did not feel welcome by the Princeton community. Regan, a member of the Cherokee Nation and current NAP officer, described their first semester here as “insanely hard,” especially as they encountered individuals who had never met a Native person before.
“It’s crazy that we’re at the best University in the world and people are so disconnected from my experience that it feels like a show,” they said. Regan characterized this sense of standing out and meeting so few people with shared experiences as “really overwhelming.” They explained, “It was really all I could think about.”
They considered transferring but eventually decided to stay. “I made this determination that I’m not going to be made to feel unwelcome,” Regan said, adding, “This is my space. I don’t care … I’m not getting pushed out.”
When Regan entered Princeton, they had hoped to be an advocate for more Indigenous representation within the University through new initiatives from instating an Indigenous elder-in-residence to cooking traditional Native American food in dining halls. But being a fulltime student strained those ideals. In the midst of their second semester here, they reflected, “Frankly, this school beats you down so hard, and it’s so exhausting.”
In their first year at Princeton, Montuffar has productively collaborated with administrators and faculty from across the University to advocate for Indigenous students. “It’s nice to have so many people we feel support us and have our backs,” they noted.
“There’s still a lot of work to be done in making sure that we have resources on campus,” Montuffar added, “and also just making sure that we, individually and as a collective, are doing well, not just having to constantly advocate for ourselves and better resources, but just being able to survive as students.”
Weber characterized the Indigenous advocacy on campus as “passionate individuals” pushing for change. This work includes coordinating speaker events, organizing internal meetings, and speaking with administrators.Weber said pushing for these changes is intensive for students.
“I feel like I don’t necessarily get the privilege of being a student first,” Weber said. “Like I’m a Native American student at Princeton, rather than just a Princeton student that’s also Native American.”
“I think it’s not the responsibility of students to have to take on a full time advocacy role while they’re just trying to get through their studies,” Toledo noted. She argued that the University needs a “designated staff member” to serve as an administrative advocate, or an academic program as a home for Indigenous students.
In an email to the ‘Prince,’ Shawn Maxam, Associate Provost for Institutional Diversity and In-
Members of Natives at Princeton have decorated their affinity space in Green Hall
clusion, discussed new hires aimed at supporting Indigenous student wellbeing.
In January 2024, the University hired inaugural assistant vice president for Diversity, Belonging and Well-Being “to strengthen belonging across student identities.”
“In addition,” Maxam wrote, “the Carl A. Fields Center is seeking an external consultant to lead a year-long part-time project to support the co-curricular experience of Indigenous and Native populations from two lenses: supporting our Indigenous and Native students and the various academic and student affairs departments across campus that support them.”
NAP has a critical mass of 53 students, with five student leaders, but internal dynamics complicate the solidity of the group. Some believe that Natives at Princeton should be a politically active group, while others argue that it should serve purely as an affinity space. In order to provide an alternative space from NAP to specifically focus on advocacy, the Princeton Indigenous Advocacy Coalition (PIAC) was formed in 2019. However, the limited number of people in each group results in a significant overlap.
Weber believes that the Princeton Indigenous Advocacy Coalition (PIAC) should work on Indigenous advocacy, while Natives at Princeton should remain an affinity space.
She acknowledged that “[NAP is] naturally going to be more political, because being American Indian and Native American is a political identity.” However, Weber noted that the group’s political advocacy should not get in the way of cultivating a sense of belonging.
“Different Native students are gonna have different perspectives, and it’s not appropriate for Natives at Princeton to speak on behalf of all Native students,” she explained, however. Regan, on the other hand, believes that NAP should be a political organization.
“[NAP] has to be a political group, because we’re having to advocate for our rights constantly.
And no one is doing it for us,” she noted.
“It’s a challenge, because as any type of marginalized person, or specifically as Indigenous people, our existence is politicized,” Montuffer noted. “To me, there is no separation of affinity with politics.”
Montuffar added, “I wish I could exist in peace, but I cannot.”
The role of the University: “Not just empty words, but substantial action”
The University does boast its attempts to improve Native life on campus. Beyond hiring efforts, Princeton has focused on expanding representation within the student body.
“Princeton Admission is a partner of College Horizons — a college-access organization focused on the academic journeys of Native students,” Morrill wrote to the ‘Prince.’
She also said that the University uses data from the U.S. Bureau of Indian Education to plan recruitment travel with peer institutions and “reach majority Native populations.”
Regan hopes that Princeton will match their admissions work to “significantly increase the presence of Native students on this campus,” through intentional outreach, religious accommodations for Indigenous students, and Indigenous food in dining halls.
Weber echoed Regan saying that some Native students might not want to go to Princeton due to the historical lack of community and resources for Indigenous students on campus.
“If Princeton wants more Native students,” she said, “they need to invest.”
According to Maxam, Princeton has been thinking about how to make the University more inviting to Indigenous students and enrich research and scholarship through incorporating Native and Indigenous voices.
Maxam hypothesized a possible recruitment strategy to the ‘Prince’ that would be “informed by site
visits to reservations and communities,” rather than simply focusing on the message that “Princeton is available to everyone.” He said that Princeton could partner with tribal colleges and work to tailor its recruitment strategy to people’s needs and experiences.
“You have to do the kind of outreach that says that Princeton wants you, that Princeton actually needs you,” Maxam explained.
“There [are] other universities and institutions where that kind of mode of inquiry and thinking has [been happening] for decades,” Maxam explained. With the addition of new Indigenous studies professors and working to build mutually beneficial relationships with Indigenous communities and scholars, Maxam hopes to see progress over the next 5–10 years. When asked about how he wants the University to be perceived in the future regarding Indigenous issues, Maxam said, “We’d love to be a leader.”
Over the next few years, the University plans making in-person visits to other educational institutions that have had “longer histories with building relationships with tribal nations or thinking about collaborative research.” Maxam explained, “We are very keen on understanding what peer institutions are doing and what we can learn from them.”
Toledo, who is two years out from Princeton now, emphasized the urgency of building Indigenous spaces at Princeton.
“Princeton has the resources and money to create something spectacular,” Toledo questions, “Why haven’t [they] yet?”
Now, as a mentor to current Indigenous students, she shares her hopes for the University’s path forward.
“Please,” she said, “ask the next generation what they want.”
Raphaela Gold is an associate Features editor and head Archives editor for the ‘Prince.’
Mira Eashwaran is a staff Features writer for the ‘Prince.’
ANGEL KUO / THE DAILY PRINCETONIAN
with culturally meaningful objects.
From classroom to colosseum: Princeton’s role in reviving the modern Olympics
By Coco Gong & Synai Ferrell Staff Features Writers
The American team almost missed the first Olympics. The Americans claimed it was the Greek’s antiquated reliance on the Julian calendar, yet some have argued that the near-miss was intentions.
While it seems unthinkable now, the revival of the Olympics that began in the late 19th century was met with skepticism and dismissal from many in the United States. It turns out much of the reason the Olympics exist as they do today is to the credit of one man, a Princetonian professor who rallied the first American team to cross the Atlantic and helped establish the International Olympic Committee (IOC). While the many Princeton athletes have made the University’s mark on the game, without Professor William M. Sloane that history may have never existed at all.
The Ancient Olympic Games originated in ancient Greece nearly 3,000 years ago to honor Zeus. Participation was limited to free Greek men, who competed nude in events ranging from discus throwing to chariot racing before tens of thousands of spectators. But by the year 393, due to invasions, natural disasters, and Roman influence, the Games had ceased.
The revival began with Baron Pierre de Coubertin, a French educational reformer passionate about sports, envisioned an international festival dedicated to sports as he saw more of the world become interested in competitive
play. His ideas were endorsed in an 1894 gathering in Paris that became known as the first Olympic Congress. There, the IOC was established.
The Olympic Games struggled to pick up steam because the original proposal for competition were not considered formal nor professional, even to the less established 1890s athletics scene.
An article from the Daily Princetonian in 1895 called the revival an effort to “further the cause of international amateur sport.” The first games struggled to attract international interest, with only 241 athletes participating in 43 events, and just 14 athletes representing the United States. Today, over 10,000 athletes will complete in the 2024 Paris Games from over 200 Olympic Committees, of which nearly 600 are from the American delegation alone.
Despite broad reluctance, when news of this international sports festival reached the United States, Sloane signed-up to gather U.S. involvement.
A professor of Latin and History at the University, Sloane was interested in intercollegiate athletics serving as a member of the University’s athletics advisory committee.
When Coubertin and Sloane met, Coubertin was visiting campus and became impressed by Princeton’s atmosphere, while Sloane was intrigued by Coubertin’s vision of reviving the Olympics Games, receiving Coubertin’s idea with wild enthusiasm. The two would become great friends — Coubertin dedicated his book, “Souvenirs d’Amérique et de Grèce” to Sloane, and Sloane wrote
a kind tribute to Coubertin in his article “The Olympic Idea, Its Origin, Foundation, and Progress” in Century Magazine.
Although Coubertin’s project was met with lukewarm support from other organizations of amateur athletics and intercollegiate sports, Sloane and a few other key supporters remained faithful to his vision. At the Paris Congress of 1894, Sloane was one of three committee members in charge of preparation for the Games. With this influence, Sloane would make a lasting impact on American Olympic history, serving as the founder and chairman of the U.S. Olympic Committee.
Initially, Sloane struggled to convince U.S. athletic clubs and universities to participate in the games because they had little interest in international competition. However, he soon found interest among the group of athletes he oversaw, recruiting four Princeton Track and Field athletes: Robert Garrett Jr., Albert C. Tyler, Herbert B. Jamison, and Francis A. Lane, all members of the Class of 1897. These four made up a significant chunk of the country’s first 14man Olympic delegation.
“The announcement that Princeton is to be represented in the Olympic games was a great surprise to the majority of the undergraduates, and has been the cause of much comment,” the Alumni Princetonian, a special edition of the ‘Prince,’ reported. “It is undoubtedly somewhat of an experiment.”
Due to Princeton’s lack of financial resources at the time, Garrett’s family, a
wealthy dynasty of Baltimore bankers, funded the students’ transportation to Athens. On March 21, 1896, they boarded the S.S. Fulda from New York with members of the Boston Athletic Club. At their send-off, the Princeton team reportedly received passionate renditions of “Old Nassau” and “The Orange and Black.”
While on board the Fulda, the Princeton athletes regularly trained by practicing starts, hurdles, high jumps, and lifting dumbbells up to two times per day.
The competition included only nine sports: athletics (track), cycling road, cycling track, fencing, shooting, swimming, tennis, weightlifting, and wrestling. Although the Princeton athletes had little time to acclimate and train before competition, they excelled in their events. Garrett placed first in discus and shot put, Tyler placed second in pole vault, Jamison placed second in the 400m, and Lane placed fourth in the 100m.
First-place winners were awarded with olive wreaths, while second-place winners were given laurel wreaths. The Alumni Princetonian reported that upon the Princeton athletes’ return to campus, the athletes “receive[d] a warm reception by the students, for their victories are considered to be the greatest achievements Princeton has made in track athletics.” Quite a reversal in tone from the frigid skepticism the Games once faced.
“The Olympics are a huge thing for Princeton and a huge source of pride for Princeton athletics,” Jerry Price, the Senior Writer and Historian for Princeton University Athletics, told the ‘Prince.’ “There is something extraordinarily special about saying that you are an Olympian.”
On the centennial of the first Olympic games, Sloane’s grandson and namesake, William Milligan Sloane, commemorated his leadership in the first modern Olympics by carrying the Olympic torch to Sloane’s grave in New Jersey on its way to the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.
“Princeton has this great Olympic history. Obviously, the United States has this unbelievable Olympic history,” Price added.
“They both started with those four guys and Professor Sloane, and that’s a pretty amazing thing.”
This piece was inspired by Sir Michael Llewellyn Smith’s chapter on the Olympic Games within “The Princeton University Library Chronicle.”
Coco Gong is a staff Features writer and News contributor for the ‘Prince.’
Synai Ferrell is a staff Features writer and staff Podcast writer for the ‘Prince.’
Since 1896, over 150 Princetonians have competed in the Olympics, and they have earned nearly a hundred medals. This summer, there will be 25 Princeton students past and present competing in Paris. Across all sports, 13 of them are athletes representing Team USA and 12 athletes represent eight other countries.
Robert Garrett Jr., Albert Tyler, Herbert Jamison, and Francis Lane, all members of the Class of
Same Bed Different Dreams: Award-winning Ed Park on writing and teaching speculative fiction
By Lauren Blackburn Staff Features Writer
“I went up. I probably should have prepared a speech … I think I started by saying, ‘I never win anything,’ to express my surprise,” recalled Ed Park, a Lecturer in Creative Writing at the Lewis Center for the Arts.
This spring, Park was named one of five finalists for the 2023 Los Angeles Times Book Prize in fiction for his novel “Same Bed Different Dreams.” The prize is presented annually for exceptional literary works published within the last year. The finalists of the 44th-annual Book Prizes were recognized at a ceremony at the University of Southern California’s Bovard Auditorium.
Each winning author gave a brief acceptance speech. Fiction was last, meaning Park and his family waited all night.
Then, in the final moments of the ceremony, Same Bed Different Dreams was announced.
“To my surprise, I won,” Park said, describing it as a “real thrill.”
A month later, on a fateful Monday in May, Columbia University revealed the Pulitzer Prize in fiction.
“I was preparing for my class, but tuned in [to the Pulitzer ceremony] a bit after 3:00 p.m. Fiction was the last category announced, and to my delight, Same Bed Different Dreams was named as one of the three finalists! … What a thrill!” Park wrote in a blog post on the book review site Goodreads.
Park has brought his literary work and success to the academic sphere, teaching Princeton students the ins and outs of creative writing. He joined Princeton’s creative writing faculty in Fall 2023 following careers in journalism and publishing. His first course at Princeton was a section of CWR 203: Introductory Fiction, that focused on speculative fiction. For the Fall 2024 semester, the course is listed separately as CWR 213: Writing Speculative Fiction.
It seemed fitting that Park heard the announcement while preparing for a class. Since “Same Bed Different Dreams” was published last November, in the middle of the semester, Park was juggling the demands of being an author with his teaching. His experiences as an author, from editorial decisions and book tours, made their way into the classroom.
“What was cool is that we got the inside scoop into how the cover was made, and the different versions of it,” Jessica Wang ’26, who took Park’s class last fall, told the ‘Prince.’ “He brought a bunch [of designs] to class … He showed us the inside process of how they brainstormed the cover, what he was thinking, what the publishers were thinking.”
Wang is a staff writer for the Prospect at the ‘Prince.’
The novel draws on Park’s life-long interest in Korea as a Korean American. It imagines an alternate history of Korea in which the Korean Provisional Government (KPG) — an institution formed in 1919 during Japan’s occupation of Korea and primarily composed of Korean expatriates — continues in secrecy rather than dissolving after WWII. The plot traces the KPG’s goal to reunify North and South Korea and the transition from Korea’s tragic history into a speculative, techdominated future.
“Same Bed Different Dreams” contains multiple narratives that are woven together throughout the novel’s 500-plus pages. Park explained that the book’s different sections and writing styles reflect its title. He said he read the expression “same bed, different dreams” in an email from his father over twenty years ago.
“That phrase was so evocative because it’s just four words, and it encapsulates so much. Like no matter how close you are to a person, you don’t know what they’re thinking, right? A family member, spouse, friend — they could have a completely different sense of things,” Park said. “I thought it was really profound and just very elegantly put. So, I always wanted to use it as a title for something.”
The novel explores this idea between both individuals and nations as it follows various members of the Korean diaspora through different moments in Korean history — both imagined and real. It also includes many historical Korean figures, such as Syngman
Rhee, South Korea’s first president and a Princeton graduate.
“There’s a [married] couple in the book,” Park said, “But this very couple — you can think of each of them having different ambitions, dreams, aims. Then on the political or geographical level, Korea was always one country, really for hundreds of years. Thousands of years. And now it’s North and South Korea ... Same bed of Korea, but different dreams.”
“[The book] definitely engages with some speculative stuff,” Park added. “There’s a science fiction writer and video games … It was fun to talk about that and teach some great authors from the science fiction world that I read as a student.”
The topics in Park’s course mirror these elements of his novel. During the course, Park assigned writing prompts involving non-existent technology, time loops, and messages from future selves, pushing students to press the boundaries of their writing skills. He also gave students the freedom to write what interested them most.
“Students handed in really interesting work,” Park said. “I’d never taught a speculative fiction workshop before, so everything’s going [to] be interesting at some level. People are coming up with multiverses, dystopian stuff.”
Park’s experience as the former executive editor of Penguin Press and running his own imprint, Little A, at Amazon allowed him to engage with students’ writing from a professional point of view and give them a taste of the publishing world.
Soloman
Khan ’26, a student
in the class, said he was grateful for Park’s feedback.
“He always entertained every idea that someone had,” Khan explained. “He would always look at someone’s work as if they’d done the absolute best that they could. And so he was critiquing them at their best, even when they weren’t. … It never felt like you ever had anything to be shy about in his class, which I thought was so interesting. It’s the only class at Princeton that has been like that for me.”
Lulu Pettit ’27, another student in the course, shared similar appreciation for Park’s encouragement.
“I just felt very supported,” she said. “I was a first-semester freshman, and it was my first experience with creative writing at a higher education level. So I liked that I felt really supported, and it was a really welcoming environment.”
Pettit is a contributor to the Prospect at the ‘Prince.’
Inspired by Park’s course, several students set out to read Same Bed Different Dreams. In moving through the novel, they noticed parallels with themes they had learned directly from Park.
“It was cool to read because it reminded me of what we talked about in the class … like writing speculative fiction, and playing with structure and the way you tell the story,” Pettit said.
“One of the things that stands out to me just looking at [the book] is the form, like kind of what he taught us in class. Changing form, thinking about ways to think outside the box,” Wang explained. “That’s stuff he did with this book, and this book is insane.
It’s long, and it’s complex and has multiple parts.”
The novel begins with the question, “What is history?” The line is repeated several times throughout the book.
“What is history? I was asking myself [that] as I was writing,” Park said. “Now that the book is done, and the book is out, I can reflect a bit more on it. It seems, in a way, that the book itself was kind of my answer to that question. This is what history is meant to be. It has put all these images and scenes in my head, and it’s driven me to see how they connect, to try to make sense of it. And then write a book, using those figures in those scenes. That’s it.”
Park will publish another book next year, a collection of stories titled An Oral History of Atlantis. The stories will range over Park’s entire writing career and include some speculative pieces.
In addition to writing, Park said he is excited to teach more students. “Especially as our world seems to become more virtual or simulated in some ways, [speculative fiction] is a good way to think through those conditions, dilemmas.”
“If a regular, non-speculative workshop was needed, I could do that. But I like this field. I find it very inspiring … Always when students [can] connect to the material, it is great.”
So far, it seems like students have.
“I really looked forward to that class,” Wang said. “I wish I could take it again. I can’t believe that other people are going [to] get to take it next year.”
Lauren Blackburn is a staff Features writer for the ‘Prince.’
Photo by Sylvia Plachy with cover design by Will Staehle. Courtesy of Ed Park.
‘A pretty tough group of hardass women’: The women who propelled Princeton rowing to Olympic glory
By Raphaela Gold Associate Features Editor
When Carol Brown ’75 arrived at Princeton in 1971, she was not an athlete. Five years later, Brown would go on to row for Team USA in the Montreal Olympics, becoming the first of 16 female Princetonian rowers to do so.
The summer before arriving on campus, she received a letter in the mail from Amy Richlin ’73, a transfer student from Smith College who was starting a rowing team. At the time, the only other women’s sports at the University were tennis and field hockey. Richlin had individually mimeographed, stamped, and addressed a letter to each female member of the Class of 1975, trying to sell them on the merits of crew. The letter sparked Brown’s curiosity — particularly its closing line, which read, “The way I figure it, you wouldn’t be coming to Princeton if you liked to do things the easy way.”
So, in the fall of ’71, Brown went to the first team practice, along with many other women intrigued by the invitation. At that point, all she knew about rowing was that it involved “these long boats with long oars.” She would soon learn everything else about the storied sport.
“You’re not going to get rid of us”: Equipment challenges in the early days of women’s rowing at Princeton
“It’s a big horror story,” Brown said, speaking to the trouble the women’s rowing team faced accessing equipment.
That first season, women were forbidden from the boathouse and could not be seen while the men were present, so they needed to finish rowing each morning before the men arrived at 7 a.m. There was no women’s locker room nor bathroom. The coach — Pete Raymond ‘68, who was training for the 1972 Olympics as a lightweight rower — could only work part time.
Some were dissuaded by the harsh rowing conditions.
“When it got dark and wet and cold,” Brown said, “a lot of people drifted off.” Almost all of these women were complete beginners to the sport.
But there were also those who Brown dubbed “a pretty tough group of hard-ass women” who were determined to stick it out. She explained, “The more [they] said no, the more we said ‘BS, you’re not going to get rid of us.’”
In addition to coaching, Raymond also worked a full time job.
“It was out of the goodness of his heart, with no pay and no equipment,” Brown explained. The team needed to hold a bake sale to buy him a rain suit and megaphone. In the fall of 1972, Raymond’s friend Al Piranian ‘69 took over coaching. Piranian also had other commitments, and when he couldn’t make practice, he would leave instructions for Mimi Lyman ’76, a coxswain, to lead the workouts.
“There was no history of all these sports, so you could just try whatever you wanted,” Lyman explained.
With the advent of women’s collegiate sports there was a lot of flexibility for young athletes. Lyman appreciated that she did not have to commit to just one sport, as many athletes do nowadays. Similarly, Brown also started and captained the first women’s swimming team, while another teammate, Janet Youngholm ’75, started and captained the women’s basketball team. Lyman herself joined a new women’s ice hockey team.
Because of her small stature at 5 feet 1 inch, Lyman became a coxswain, responsible for steering the boat.
“I thought it’d be nice to finally be the right size for something,” Lyman said. She was also a trained pilot, so steering the boat came easily to her. For Lyman, landing the 60-foot boat on the dock felt “kind of like landing an airplane.”
Though Lyman was a natural, she still wasn’t sure how she felt about the sport. Be-
cause boats were not yet equipped with electronic magnification, she had to yell through a megaphone, leading to a hoarse voice.
“A lot of the year, I could just shout, but I couldn’t talk.”
Though she considered leaving the team, there was nobody else who could take over from her as a coxswain. By her senior year, Lyman was a co-captain.
When this team of inexperienced female rowers first formed, nobody dreamed of making it to the Olympics. But their coach told them early on that women’s rowing had been added to the program for the 1976 Games in Montreal — five years out from the team’s formation.
“Any of you could be on that team,” he told them.
Brown recalled the team’s incredulous response.
“We were all like, ‘What are you smoking?’” In their minds, an Olympian needed to start training for the games from childhood. The idea seemed laughable then, but as it turned out, the 1976 U.S. women’s rowing team would comprise women who were new to rowing all across the country, including Princeton.
“Walking into the stadium with the whole world cheering for you”: The first of Princeton’s female rowers hit Olympic grounds in Montreal
For her first three years at Princeton, Brown didn’t think about her Olympic potential.
“I was just racing as Princeton, learning how to row, and getting a little more access to the boathouse,” she said.
Then, in the 1974 Nationals, Brown rowed in a pair with her teammate Janet Youngholm. They won, qualifying them for the World Championships that summer.
Both women had summer jobs, didn’t have coaches, and would need to pay their own way to the competition. So naturally, they abandoned their summer jobs and returned to Princeton, where they found a men’s coach who was willing to work with them. At Reunions, they walked around holding an oar and a donation hat, raising enough to fund their journey to the championships.
There, Brown and Youngholm finished fifth, becoming the only U.S. boat to reach the finals. Brown said that she thought at the time that she should start taking rowing more seriously. So, when Brown had the opportunity to participate in the first women’s national team training camp the summer after she graduated in 1975, she took it.
“It kind of all fit together,” noted Brown. mer, working multiple jobs and training with the Olympic coach. Both Brown and Young holm were invited to the Olympic tryout camp; Brown made the team in the eight boat, while Youngholm did not. But Lyman did make the cut as a coxswain of the four.
Tiger women Olympians,” Brown said. ing a few years before.
but we were tough, competitive,” Brown ex plained.
Russia, had been training for much longer. Many of these athletes were dis cov
ered to have been using performance-enhancing steroids.
“We didn’t know at the time that we weren’t supposed to beat them,” Brown said. “We didn’t beat them, but we gave it our all.”
In 1976, Lyman came in sixth place, and Brown walked away with a bronze medal. Brown went on to make the 1980 and 1984 teams, though because the United States boycotted the 1980 Olympics, she only competed in 1984. By then, the next generation of Princeton women rowers had already begun to join her.
“A testament to unwavering dedication”: The persisting legacy of Olympian Princeton women’s rowers
By the time Anne Marden ’81 arrived on campus in fall 1976, Brown and Lyman had already made Olympic history. Now, the crew team was more established, and Marden knew she wanted to be a part of it. Having rowed in high school, she was eager to continue the sport in college, and she arrived just in time for the team to be getting a full-time coach — Kris Korzeniowski.
At winter training that year, Korzeniowski gave the team a bench throw test. Though most people only managed 60 or 70 repetitions, Marden, who was on the short side at 5 feet 7 inches, reached 300, at which point Korzeniowski told her to stop.
For Marden and the coach, “It was a wakeup call that I could be as good as someone who was six feet tall, that I really could be a good rower.”
Though women had been competing in college, national, and Olympic rowing for over five years, Marden explained that the playing field remained unequal.
“We got the worst boats, the heaviest boats, the cheapest coach … the laundry list keeps going,” Marden said.
But by 1978, she was a sculler in the World Championships. She then competed on the U.S. team for 14 years — from 1978 to 1992 — with only a few breaks. She also found a way to integrate her academic and athletic interests at Princeton, winning an economics senior thesis prize for her analysis of the most important factors required for athletes to produce an Olympic gold medal.
Marden herself went on to win two Olympic silver medals — for quad sculls in 1984 and single sculls in 1988. Marden also participated in the 1992 Olympics, where she fell ill and didn’t compete as well as she had hoped. But that same year, she beat all international scullers, including some Olympic medalists, at the
rowing program, they watched as resources for men and women gradually reached parity. In the 1990s, the women’s locker room was still smaller than the men’s, who had two locker rooms (one for light-weight and the other for heavy-weight). Because Princeton was once an all-male institution, the boathouse itself was built for men. Now, Princeton offers the same resources for all teams.
“Something that you carry with you for life”: A new generation takes the Olympic stage in Paris
As the 2024 Paris Olympics approach, five women from Princeton are once again training to take up Olympic oars, with three representing the United States, one representing Great Britain, and one representing Uganda.
The sole Ugandan rower is Kathleen Noble ’18, who, like Brown, joined the women’s rowing team her first year with no prior experience.
“I didn’t know anything about rowing before I came to Princeton,” Noble said. But her first-year roommate had been a recruit to the women’s lightweight rowing team, so her sophomore year, Noble walked onto the lightweight team.
The team practiced six times a week and trained even in winter.
“I really enjoyed having that time every day that was kind of set aside, that I didn’t have to think about homework or anything, and I could just be in my body, and exercise, and be outside,” Noble said.
In a “strange twist of fate,” as Noble described it, the Uganda national rowing coach happened to be in Princeton the year Noble started rowing. Noble was born and raised in Uganda to Irish parents, and obtained her Ugandan citizenship in 2022.
Uganda’s rowing community is very small, so the coach was eager to bring Noble into the fold and send her to the World Championships.
“At the time, I was like, I have been rowing for six months. I can’t even balance [the boat],” Noble said.
But the Olympic seed was now planted in Noble’s mind, just as it had been with Brown and Lyman over 40 years prior.
Noble took a semester off of school to row in Uganda, where she had an open invitation to train with the national team. There, she learned how to scull in these “giant old training boats we have there,” and ended up going to the World Championships for Uganda. After graduating from Princeton with a degree in biology, Noble thought her rowing days
held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This made Noble the first person to represent Uganda for rowing in the Olympics.
“The thing that was most surprising for me was how much attention I got back home [in Uganda],” Noble said.
In Tokyo, Noble came in 26th. She said she is looking forward to the Paris Olympics as a more social, lively experience than the pandemic games of Tokyo.
“I’m really excited for Paris, for the energy of it, and having spectators, and just being able to get to know people,” Noble said.
She knows she’s gotten faster since she last competed and hopes to break her Tokyo records.
“I am looking to make a new national record and try to set a standard for future Ugandan rowers,” Noble said.
Noble reflected on the sense of pride and legacy that comes with being on women’s rowing at Princeton. She has been inspired by the women who came before her, “who were pioneers and went on to do so well.”
“Being part of Princeton rowing is something that you carry with you for life, something that does connect people across generations.”
“Athletics will always be a part of my life”: The old crowd is still going strong Noble’s assessment that Princeton women’s rowers never really leave the sport, or the University, behind is fairly accurate. Marden, for example, is back in masters rowing and just won the Henley Royal Regatta this past year in her age group. Lyman only coxed sporadically after her Olympic performance, but she did compete once more in the Head of the Charles in 1977, coxing a women’s four for Brown. They won.
As for the next generation, Noble is not planning to continue rowing and looks forward to starting a career and a family. She is eager to pass the baton to new Ugandan rowers, who she hopes will reach Olympic waters in the years to come.
Lyman and her husband, a men’s rower who she met at Princeton, continue to visit the boathouse together.
Brown still races the Head of the Charles every year, and sometimes visits Princeton’s boathouse and meets with the current women’s team. Now, when the women’s rowing team enters the boathouse, they are greeted by a black and white photograph of Brown and Youngholm rowing in a pair, captured in 1974. Brown wears her hair in two braids, with a look of determination on her face.
the PROSPECT. ARTS & CULTURE DISPATCH: Rediscovering D.C.
By Regina Roberts | Associate Prospect Editor
“What would you recommend?”
I have lived 20 minutes outside of D.C. for my entire life. Yet, before this summer, if you were to ask me what I enjoyed about the city, I would have pointed to places in Old Town Alexandria, Va. — my hometown, where I spent years meeting friends at the same restaurants and walking the same path by the water. The regularity never concerned me. It felt comfortable. I knew where to park my car along the packed streets, how to find most cuisines, and where to go for a cold drink after a long day in town. The cafés changed occasionally, boasting the latest food trends, but generally everything remained the same. I ordered my go-to chai smoothie from my regular coffee shop, drinking up the feeling of consistency.
When I accepted an internship in D.C. for the summer, I was thrilled that I could commute from home. I imagined myself coming to the city for work but quickly heading back home on the Metro when the day ended and spending my weekends in Alexandria, just like my summers in high school. But as my college friends moved into the city for their internships, questions about how to spend their time in D.C. during the
humid summer months came flying in — “Have you heard of this Ethiopian restaurant?” “What do you think of this farmer’s market?” — and I was at a loss.
I had been to the National Mall for school field trips, but I had no recommendations that surpassed a general tourist guide. Despite living so close to the city, I realized I didn’t know it well.
I was unaware of any “underground” spots or activities. My friends seemed more like the locals. I felt ill-equipped to navigate the intricacies of the city myself, let alone give anyone local insight.
During the first few weeks of my internship, I became more intentional about how I spent my time, following in my friends’ footsteps as a city tourist. I saw my first Washington Nationals game — despite not knowing anything about baseball — browsed the Eastern Market by Capitol Hill, and spent hours in newly discovered museums to escape the endless heat wave. I soon discovered favorite cafés and restaurants, keeping an ongoing list of places I wanted to return to.
On July 4, I saw the D.C. fireworks for the first time from the roof of George Washington University, a place where I discovered that many college students from around the world gathered to watch the sparkling display. It was
some of their first times ever celebrating American Independence Day. As I stood in the middle of the crowd and heard gasps with each explosion, it felt like my first time, too.
As my internship and summer have come to an end, I realize that as much as I learned in the office, I also discovered more about D.C. and my place within it. Instead of going straight home after work, I lingered in the area, trying new restaurants or going to late-night museum events. It seemed like I only went back to Alexandria to sleep. Even on weekends, I gravitated to the city. I found comfort in a place that once felt somewhat overwhelming. In the past, I avoided navigating the various Metro lines, always frequenting familiar pockets of D.C. where I knew I could easily drive and park. Now, I visit different neighborhoods and memorize the routes, making a point to find go-to spots across the city.
In the beginning of the summer, if you asked me what to do in D.C., I would have said that you should go to a Smithsonian museum or get dinner in Georgetown — both still great things to do, but some of the only things I had ever ventured to explore. However, as the summer ends and I get ready to leave the city, I can tell you about the gardens at the National Cathedral
where you can sit for hours and have a picnic, outdoor movies at Union Market with a view of the sunset from the rooftop, or the cupcakes at Baked and Wired.
Spending the summer in my hometown, I thought I would find comfort in routine. Instead, I felt uneasy when I realized how much I clung to the same spaces. Commuting in and out of the city for three months, among the people brushing past me with briefcases and detours brought on by national conferences, I found new spaces to occupy. When a place is so accessible, it’s easy to take it for granted. While visiting New York or L.A., I jump at the opportunity to navigate local transportation and never go to the same place twice. It only took me adopting the same mindset for a couple of months in D.C. to truly feel like a local. It feels ironic that I only appreciated my close access when my college friends came to the city. In between meals crowded around small tables in loud restaurants and walks in 100 percent humidity, I came to realize that D.C. could be a place for me too. So now, you can ask me what I would recommend. I’ll have an answer.
Regina Roberts is an associate editor for The Prospect and contributing staffer for the Podcast section of the ‘Prince.’
DISPATCH: Growing up in two worlds and letting go
By Natalia Diaz | Staff Prospect Writer
I did not realize how special it was to live on the border until I was 2,000 miles away from home. I grew up in El Paso, Texas, which lies on the border of Mexico, across from Ciudad Juarez. When I was little, my grandparents would cross over to visit every weekend. I had friends in school who lived in Juarez and would cross the border every morning to attend school after waiting hours in line. My entire life has been formed of two different worlds that are surprisingly similar.
While I know of people who never learned their mother tongue nor engaged in their culture, that has not been my experience growing up. Our border town not only embodies Mexican and American customs — our town’s culture was the blend itself. Bilingual programs were implemented in most public schools, authentic Mexican restaurants could be found at every corner, and matachines’ beating drums echoed in the air as they gath- ered for their weekly practice at my neighborhood park.
I will not deny that discrimination exists within our
multicultural city. Yet, in my hometown, I have never had to deny any parts of my culture in the hope of fitting in. I know that the people in this town are filled with love and appreciation for all the aspects that make our home what it is.
I have always lived in these two worlds, which made coming to Princeton difficult. When I moved, I found comfort in knowing that my hometown would always be waiting for me when I returned. This summer, I saw so many Princetonians doing amazing things all across the globe. While I could have taken advantage of the countless resources and opportunities Princeton has to offer, I needed to be back home. Before I even moved into 1976 Hall in Butler my first year, I promised myself that my first summer would be spent at
home.
I have heard that first-year summer is the last time you can truly experience your hometown in the same way, and the thought kills me. My parents and dogs are getting older; my nieces and nephews are growing up. I want to soak up every moment.
At the start of the summer, I felt lost — trapped between childhood and adulthood. I spent the summer focused on low commitment academic opportunities, like reading and crafting. Most importantly, I tried to be available for my family in case they needed anything at all, trying to make up for lost time. As I spent my mornings playing with my dog, my afternoons reading and crocheting with my nieces, and my evenings watching telenovelas with my mom, I wondered if I was being too childish. I felt uncomfortable, doubting whether I was doing enough or whether I would ever be able to grow up; I began to cling to my childhood even more. As summer came to a close, I resisted letting go. I felt I could not let myself leave. I even put off buying my ticket back to New Jersey.
It’s hard to keep my new world at Princeton connected with my old worlds at home.
However, even when I am 2,000 miles away, I carry my home with me. My parents gave me the smile that I have when I am around my amazing roommates, and my dog is always right by my heart inside my locket. The child-like lexicon I have adopted from my nieces and nephews even slips into my conversations with my peers at Princeton. I am grateful that I got to spend this summer at home, and rather than feeling uncertain about how I spent my time, I am glad I was able to reconnect with my childhood and be with my family. Beyond that, I am also excited for the opportunities the new school year presents. I do not have to let go of home — I have to embrace it even more regardless of how far I am. I have to let go of my fear of change and differences. After all, what makes my hometown so special is its ability to embrace all its aspects, all its roots, and every puzzle piece that forms it, and I should follow its example and do the same for myself.
Natalia Diaz is a member of the Class of 2027 and a staff writer for The Prospect.
The Prospect
Weekly Event Roundup
By Isabella Dail & Regina Roberts, Head & Associate Prospect Editors
1
Release the Shame: Exhibition
Christopher Núñez and Branden Wallace Sept. 6 – 12 at 10 a.m. – 8 p.m. CoLab, Lewis Arts complex
Christopher “Unpezverde” Núñez, a visually impaired artist and choreographer, along with Branden Wallace, a neurodivergent artist, explore the concept of “shame” for individuals with disabilities and the effect of prejudice against disability on their art.
This event is free and open to the public.
2
3
4
Seuls en Scène 2024: L’Addition
by Tim Etchells
Sept. 13 – 14 at 8 p.m.
Wallace Theater, Lewis Arts complex
Seuls en Scène presents a French show with English subtitles where two actors replay the same scene. The work is facilitated by British director and Forced Entertainment artistic director Tim Etchells along with the duo Bert and Nasi.
Free tickets are required.
Theater Performance Co-curricular Classes with Vivia Font Mondays at 4:45 – 6:15 p.m.
Donald G. Drapkin Studio, Lewis Arts complex
The classes are a series of drop in workshops to improve acting abilities, including coaching for specific pieces and warmup exercises. There will be eight total sessions, but not all sessions must be attended. Experience is not expected.
The classes are free and available to Princeton students.
Atelier@Large: Conversations on Art-making in a Vexed Era
David Bellos, Bridget Kearney, and Dinaw Mengestu Sept. 10 at 4:30 p.m.
Richardson Auditorium
Director of the Princeton Atelier Paul Muldoon brings David Bellos, Bridget Kearney, and Dinaw Mengestu into conversation. The panel will speak about creating art in today’s world. The event will be co-sponsored by the Labyrinth book store.
The event is free and open to the public with no advance registration.
Labyrinth Books and Paul Muldoon
Sept. 12 at 6 p.m.
Labyrinth Books invites Pulizter prize-winning poet Paul Muldoon about his collection “Joy in Service on Rue Tagore: Poems.” Muldoon will read selected works from the poetry collection. In his poems, Mul- doon considers historical events with vibrant language.
No tickets are required.
Under a Southern Star: Identity and Environment in Australian Photography
Aug. 17 – Jan. 5
Art on Hulfish
The exhibition blends the work of contemporary Australian artists with notable photographs from Australian history. Using varying techniques that include Lumachrome glass printing and AI animation, the works examine colonial history in Australia as well as issues involving identity and the environment.
No tickets are required.
Intersecting Identities at the Taplin
Gallery
Aug. 30 – Sept. 28
Artists Isabel Nazario, Julio Nazario, and Rodríguez Calero bring a visual arts gallery informed by their Puerto Rican heritage to consider issues that include immigration and cultural crossroads.
The event is free.
Quipfire Improv Comedy Show
Sept. 6 at 9 p.m.
The Class of 1970 Theater, Whitman College
Quipfire presents their show for freshmen called Detour, which takes a comedic stab at the construction seen around Princeton’s campus.
The event is free.
Gallery Opening: Charles Evans Scholars
Sept. 7, 3 – 5 p.m.
Arts Council of Princeton
The gallery features the work of Maggie Collins, Eve Kavookjian, Ales- sandra Kime, Olivia Navarrete, Avantika Palayekar, El Teo, Drew Trenfield, and Vishaka Vaidyanatahn — re- cipients of the Charles Evans Scholarship, which is awarded to exceptional young artists from Princeton High School.
This event is free.
9
Triangle Frosh Week Show
Sept. 6 at 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m.
McCarter Theater
Triangle Club is celebrating the class of 2028’s arrival with a per- formance at McCarter’s main stage featuring some of the club’s great- est numbers from the last 133 years.
The event is free.
11
This event is free.
Fuzzy Dice Improv Comedy Frosh Show
Who is putting it on Sept. 7 at 9 p.m.
The Class of 1970 Theater, Whitman College
The cast of Fuzzy Dice presents its first show of the fall semester to kick off the year with a laugh — whether you’re a freshman or returning to campus.
FOOTBALL
Princeton football seeks return to glory ahead of upcoming season
By Alex Beverton-Smith Assistant Sports Editor
Blake Stenstrom ’24 took the snap, dropped back two paces, looked around, and launched the ball out left to then-junior tight end Tyler Picinic.
Two Yalies swarmed the Princetonian and swatted the pass away. Just like that, the Tigers’ hopes of the 2023 Ivy League title disappeared as, in the fourth quarter and 8 in double overtime against Yale, Princeton simply couldn’t get it over the line.
This game followed a defeat the week prior against Dartmouth, and the Orange and Black went on to end the season in fourth place. It was a disappointing end to a challenging campaign for the Tigers, in spite of the star power on the roster.
Nevertheless, a new college year brings a new college football season, and the Tigers are excited to be back in action on Sept. 21 against Lehigh University.
“You have a blank slate, and it’s so much fun seeing the development of the players,” Head Coach Bob Surace ’90 told The Daily Princetonian. “We went from being a relatively inexperienced team … to being a team up there with the covid years — the most seniors.”
“Some of the errors you typically have in the spring — we made less of them. We were able to expand some of the concepts we have on offense and defense with a veteran group,” Surace continued.
The Tigers also struggled on offense during parts of last season, especially at the beginning. Princeton scored just 55 points across four games to begin their season, with three of these games coming against non-conference “preseason” opposition.
A change in offensive coordinator saw Mike Willis, former assistant coach and offensive coordinator (OC), join Marist College to be their head coach for the 2024–2025 season. The Tigers selected former Quarterbacks Coach Mark Rosenbaum to fill this role.
Although the Tigers are losing their OC, they will find comfort knowing that most of their key offensive weapons will return for the upcoming season. Senior wide receivers Luke Colella and AJ Barber, who both had star seasons last season, return for their final year alongside most of Princeton’s offensive line. Picinic returns as well, and the rushing yards leader, senior John Volker, will look for another strong season.
It was left tackle Jalen Travis ’24, transferring to Iowa State for his final year of eligibility following an injury which took him out of several games, and Stenstrom, a fifth year transfer from Colorado, who were integral parts of the Princeton offense that graduated this past spring.
“We have a lot of depth,” Surace said about the Princeton offense. “It’s really only one position on the offense [the quarterback] that doesn’t have starting experience; it’s created a great competition — the young guys are pushing the veteran guys.”
The quarterback position is indeed hotly contested, with the Tigers listing five different quarterbacks on their roster. Last season’s play, however, hinted at junior Blaine Hipa being in prime contention for this spot following his performance against Yale, which saw him not only throw a touchdown but score a rushing touchdown too. Senior QB Blaine McAllister also appeared in one game — against Brown — and he may have a shot for this starting spot.
“It will be exciting to see how it shapes up throughout camp, but I think they’re [the quarterbacks] all looking forward to the competition,” Surace told the ‘Prince.’ “They support each other — it’s a strong room — but until you play games, they’re untested and that’s great because they’ll have a chip on their shoulder.”
On the defensive side of the ball, Princeton has a big hole to fill in the linebacker department. Three key linebackers, Ozzie Nicholas ’24, Liam Johnson ’24, and Will Perez ’24, who shared most of the snaps last year, graduated. Nicholas transferred to Duke, while Johnson will attend UC Berkeley in the fall — the two were both 2023 First Team All-Ivy selections and went for 187 combined tackles in 10 games.
Surace is strategically keeping quiet on replacements for this particular position as fall training continues, but expect senior Carson Irons and junior Sekou Roland to pick up some of the slack at LB. Both of them had significant game time in this star-studded position, and that will only increase come fall. Junior Marco Scarano also had a sharp upturn in gametime as the season progressed after Perez’s injury and should similarly line up for many snaps.
“While replacing Liam [Johnson], Ozzie [Nicholas] and Will Perez are huge roles to fill, we have guys that have been working really hard from the moment the season ended,” senior defensive lineman Collin Taylor told the ‘Prince.’
“We also know that we have a lot back at our other positions on the defensive line and defensive backs,” Taylor continued. “It means we do have a lot of experience which will be very valuable for us.”
On the D-Line along with Taylor, expect fellow seniors Ryan Ives and
Jack DelGarbino, who both started every game, to continue to play large roles for the Tigers. The three seniors ended the season with 30, 21, and 51 tackles respectively — numbers that are sure to increase as they enter their final year with Princeton.
In the secondary, Princeton has a packed roster with talented players across all positions within the group. Seniors Mason Armstead, Jackson Fischer, and Jalen Newman all saw significant gametime as they totalled 73 tackles playing in the safety and cornerback positions.
Juniors Nasir Hill and Tahj Owens are two more to watch out for in the upcoming season. Owens racked up 46 tackles while Hill, Second Team All-Ivy last season and a future star, collected 62 — third highest in the team.
The Tigers also had several of their talented players recognized with Preseason All-Ivy Selections. Senior offensive lineman Tommy Matheson, Colella, and DelGarbino saw First-Team honors. Meanwhile, sophomore kicker Brady Clark, Barber, and Hill received Second Team picks — Clark was one of just two sophomores on the list.
Despite this talent, a preseason media poll placed the Tigers fourth for the upcoming Ivy League season — they received one first place vote out of 16, and ranked behind Yale, Harvard, and Penn respectively.
“I think we kind of focus on every season as an individual season and we want to be the best we can be as a team, so we’re highly motivated every single day, working hard to achieve our goals which is to win the Ivy league,” Taylor said to the ‘Prince’ about the preseason poll.
“We don’t necessarily think of this season as separate or together from other seasons,” Taylor continued.
“We think of this as our own team,
and we’re ready to work with this team to be the best that we can.”
Princeton faces a tough season ahead with the competition seemingly growing ever closer by the year: last season, six out of seven of their conference games were decided by one score or less, and one of them by just a single point. The Tigers, nevertheless, have an advantage with an experienced roster and coaching staff, and a change in offensive coordinator will hopefully be able to solve some of the struggles they had offensively last season.
A new QB and some less experienced defensive talents will be wildcards, but there are several key players that the Tigers will be relying on come the season start. On offense, look out for WR Colella #1 in particular — the six foot senior led the team in receiving yards last season and will be sure to keep up his strong form. Junior QB Hipa, if he gets the starting job, may also surprise many people in the League.
On defense, there are several talented players; in the secondary, however, junior defensive back Hill has stood out throughout all of his time at Princeton. Seeing action in every game his whole Princeton career is no small feat and he is sure to continue his upward trajectory in the fall — his tackle and interception stats will only improve.
The Tigers start the season at Lehigh University on Sept. 21. Following a poor opening game last season, Princeton will not want to repeat history. The Orange and Black are on a three-game winning streak against the Mountain Hawks dating back to 2018 and the Eastern Pennsylvania school should be put away by Princeton once again.
Alex Beverton-Smith is an assistant Sports editor for the ‘Prince.’
NATIONAL
Ivy League to Grand Slam: Ryan Seggerman ’22 journeys to the 2024 US Open
By Josefina Gurevich Staff Sports Writer
Ryan Seggerman ’22 was a shining star on the tennis courts of Old Nassau, but he has now made an appearance on a much larger stage.
On Wednesday, Seggerman made his debut at the U.S. Open, one of four Grand Slams at tennis’s highest possible level. It’s been a winding road from Ivy League doubles to one of the largest tennis tournaments in the world, but if any Princetonian is equipped for the journey, it is Seggerman.
After growing up in Southern California and establishing himself as a skilled player, Seggerman decided to take his skill to the collegiate level — a rare decision for top players, who usually begin their professional careers without attending college. After slugging through the Challenger-level tournaments, a massive upset at the so-called “fifth slam” of Indian Wells put the tour on notice. Now, despite a first-round loss at Flushing Meadows, Seggerman has ventured into new territory for Princeton tennis and has started a new journey at the Slam level.
Professional Beginnings
Seggerman’s first full season on the professional tennis tour started off strong with two consecutive Challenger doubles titles paired with University of Utah’s Patrik Trhac at the inaugural 2024 Southern California Open series, home soil for the native of Coronado, a town just outside of San Diego. However, after suffering consecutive first-round losses, Seggerman believed their beginner’s luck had run out.
“[Trhac and I] were coming off of two really tough weeks [playing] in Spain; we were both under the weather and we were pretty disappointed with our results,” Seggerman said. “For us, losing in the first round was kind of unusual.”
Seggerman was en route to his home of Southern California, where the prized Indian Wells Masters tournament would be held that week. Indian Wells is considered one of the most important tournaments on the professional tennis tour and is colloquially dubbed the “fifth Grand Slam.” Several weeks earlier, Seggerman had sent a hopeful email to ask about receiving a wildcard into the Indian Wells Masters tournament. The response he received simply read, “Noted, thanks.”
While awaiting his flight back to the States, Seggerman received another email from the organizers of Indian Wells that would end up altering the trajectory of his professional career.
“They asked if we were still interested, and if we would be able to play doubles that week.” Seggerman quickly responded, “Yeah we can play, no problem.”
Around 20 minutes later Seggerman received a response.
“Okay, you got it. Good luck.”
At Indian Wells that week, Seggerman and Patrik Trhac went on to upset the sixth seeds in the first round 3–6, 7–5, 10–8. In their Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Tour debut, the team of SoCal natives had defeated the thirteenth-best doubles team in the world at the time — at the same venue where they had won their first two Challenger events just two months before. It was a huge upset and the catalyst for Seggerman’s professional success. Less than a year later, Seggerman and Trhac received a second wildcard opportunity to impress on home soil — this time, at the 2024 U.S. Open.
The Tiger Years
While most professional tennis players skip the collegiate path, playing in college was always in Seggerman’s plans.
“I had some far-out aspirations of playing professionally when I was young, but the plan was always to play for a school,” Seggerman confessed. “I wanted to be a part of college athletics.”
With rules allowing teens to jump straight to the professional level, most tennis pros forgo university for the experience, and earnings, of the professional and junior tours.
However, in recent years, exstudent athletes have made noise on the tour just like Seggerman. Just last year, Princeton’s very own Matija Pecotic ’13 defeated three top-250 opponents — including former top-10 player, Jack Sock — en route to the round of 16 at the 2023 Delray Beach Open.
Seggerman’s on-paper highlights from his time as a Tiger include two-time First Team All-Ivy League Doubles (2018–19, 2021–22), Second Team All-Ivy League Singles (2021–22), and twotime NCAA Doubles tournament qualifier (2019, 2022).
Seggerman recalled his first time playing in the NCAA tournament as one of his favorite matches.
Alongside fellow Princetonian and doubles partner Peyton Holden, Seggerman faced off agains the undefeated fourth seeds in UNC Asheville. Despite being heavy underdogs, Seggerman and Holden went on to defeat the pair 3–6, 7–6, 10–8, and clinched Princeton’s first win in that event since 2001.
Unfortunately, Seggerman and Holden went on to be taken out in the very next round by a Wichita State pair in a nail-biting tiebreaker, 6–4, 3–6, 9–11.
“He was inconsolable, because he wanted it so badly, and AllAmerican status meant a lot to him,” Princeton head men’s tennis coach Billy Pate recalled.
To perk up Seggerman following the tough loss, the team ended the day at Panda Express — his favorite restaurant.
“My fortune cookie had been something sort of inspirational,” Seggerman recalled. It read, “Be gentle with yourself, you’re doing the best you can.”
“I was so depressed after that second-round loss, but my assistant coach told me to hold on to the fortune – so I’ve kept it in my wallet,” Seggerman continued. “That’s what I loved about Princeton — the relationships I built with my team and friends.”
Off of the court, Seggerman also served as an example for his teammates. He graduated in 2022 as an Operations Research and Financial Engineering (ORFE) major, and Seggerman’s Ivy League accomplishments in the classroom are exceptional among his peers on tour.
“Everyone at Princeton is so impressive in their own right,” Seggerman said. “[They] keep me wanting to reach for more in my own life, and career — to be part of the prestige and greatness of the people at Princeton.”
This mentality allowed Seggerman to mature and develop as a player throughout both his time at Princeton and on the ATP tour. His Indian Wells upset might’ve been the catalyst for his U.S. Open ticket, but the “reach for more” mentality has been the very thing that put him into that position in the first place.
A Full-Time Tennis Player
After Seggerman used his COVID-granted fifth year to further develop his game at UNC Chapel Hill, Trhac approached the Tiger-turned Tar Heel with the proposition to try out professional doubles that summer. To Seggerman, this was intriguing, as not only had his school just defeated Trhac’s — they had actually shared a mild rivalry as SoCal junior players in the 10s and 12s.
After just six months together at the Challenger level, the Seggerman-Trhac team had amassed a win-loss record of 41–2 and 10 titles. As a result of this incredible debut, Seggerman was launched to No. 217 in the global doubles rankings, climbing a total of 1,779 ranking spots in just half a year.
The pair’s 2024 season prolonged the magic as they received wildcards to play the Indian Wells Masters, and as they
reached the top 100, wildcards to the U.S. Open.
Seggerman recalled the firstround upset they had pulled off in Indian Wells as one of the early highlights of his burgeoning professional career.
“We got to play in front of friends and family, and this is a tournament that Patrik and I had been ball boys at when we were young kids,” Seggerman said. “It was just such a surreal moment to get the win in the first round over the No. 6 team. It almost felt like a dream — even now it kind of gives me goosebumps.”
As of August 26, Seggerman clocks in at 91st in the global ATP doubles rankings. Just a year after he became a full-time professional tennis player, Seggerman entered the top one percent of tennis athletes. This rise in rankings allows Seggerman to participate in higher-level tournaments more consistently and comfortably.
“We’ll get a shot to play at the ATP level,” Seggerman said. “Looking forward to the U.S. Open, and Australian Open — we just want to be mainstays in those draws. So if we get a few cracks at Slams, I think it’s just a matter of time before we make a deep run.”
Seggerman has already gained somewhat of a reputation on tour for his playing style and look, integrating an overpowering serve — accompanied by cheeky shots like the occasional baseline dropshot and underarm serve — with his signature sleeveless tee and visor combo, which he thinks is key to his success.
“If it helps me believe I’m going to win some matches, then I’ll keep wearing,” he said.
Seggerman’s career continued on its meteoric trajectory when he received confirmation that he and Trhac would be playing in the main draw of the 2024 U.S. Open as wildcard recipients — a golden opportunity awarded only to seven total teams. This was new ground for the pair, who had been competing at the Challenger level less than a year before.
On Wednesday, August 28, they
stepped out onto the courts at Flushing Meadows for the first time against the veteran pair of Yuki Bhambri and Albano Olivetti of India and France.
While Seggerman and Trhac were able to make some magic at Indian Wells, Bhambri and Olivetti’s experience wound up overwhelming for the young Americans as they went down 6–3, 6–4. The 32-year-old opponents had collectively racked up over $2 million in prize money throughout their careers and were familiar with the U.S. Open stage.
It was an uphill battle for Seggerman and Trhac, as the sharp volleys from Bhambri and the overbearing presence of the 6 foot 8 inch Olivetti only let Seggerman and Trhac win eight receiving points and no break points throughout the match.
Though they remained sharp on serve and kept the match within striking distance, early breaks of serve in each set and winning just 31 percent of their second serve points would be enough to seal their fates in a match where their opponents were flawless on serve. The veterans played a nearperfect match, with 32 winners to just three unforced errors, leaving Seggerman and Trhac little room to create another upset. It may not have been the result Seggerman sought on Wednesday, but this is only the beginning of his professional career. With him and Trhac sitting tied for No. 90 and still rising in the live doubles rankings, they are close to the top 60 needed to consistently compete at Majors. With more rankings points up for grabs at the larger tournaments they are now playing, their meteoric rise should continue. This was Seggerman’s first look at a Slam, but it more than likely won’t be his last.
“I think we are one of the best teams in the world when we are clicking and I can’t wait to show what we are capable of.” Seggerman concluded.
Josefina Gurevich is a staff Sports writer for the ‘Prince.’
How Nick Mead ’17 became an Olympic closing ceremony flag bearer, alongside Ledecky
By Lily Pampolina Sports Writer
Days after Nick Mead ’17 crossed the finish line with Team USA’s men’s coxless four rowing squad, winning a gold medal for the United States, he woke up on the wrong side of the bed.
“[That morning,] I woke up early and honestly, I didn’t really want to go [out],” Mead told the Daily Princetonian. Mead and his fellow rowers were on their way to a Parisian cafe to speak with members of the press — but they weren’t exactly on time.
“My teammates and I were like 20 minutes late,” he said. “When we finally got there, Team USA mic’d us up and told us that they wanted to record a normal conversation, so my teammates and I were just sitting there chatting.”
Mead’s teammate, Justin Best, began the conversation naturally, mentioning their accomplishments in their gold medal winning race, as well as the accomplishments of 14-time Olympic medalist Katie Ledecky. Then, smiling, he revealed that Mead would have the honor of being Team USA’s flag bearer alongside Ledecky in the closing ceremony, becoming the first American rower to serve in the role.
But before Mead would get the honor of carrying the stars and stripes for the United States, he had other business to attend to.
“I had no idea what to say, but the first thing I thought of was that I hadn’t gotten a haircut in like three weeks, so, I needed to get a haircut,” he said, laughing.
Mead had missed the barber shop for those three weeks, and for good reason — he was busy making Olympic history for the red, white, and blue. On Aug. 1, Nick Mead and the men’s coxless four rowing squad secured first place with a time of 5:49.03. That result broke the United States’ 64-year drought of gold medals in that race.
Mead’s rise to Olympic glory and brush with Olympic giant Ledecky followed his storied career rowing for the Orange and Black — but his path to Princeton was not guaranteed.
“I was not the top recruit in my class,” the two-time Olympian and Princeton alumnus told the ‘Prince.’ “I think I knew,
coming into Princeton, that I’d have to get a lot better.”
And he did. During his senior year in 2017, he was named a captain of Princeton’s varsity rowing team and earned Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) All-Academic honors — though his post-grad plans were undecided.
Princeton rowers share a storied tradition of success competing on the international stage after graduation. 43 Princeton rowing alumni have gone on to compete in the Olympic games — far ahead of Princeton Track and Field, the next highest total of Olympic sports, that produced just 28 Olympians. Despite this undeniable history of excellence, Mead remained unsure as to whether or not he would compete following graduation.
“There are some people who always know they want to try for the Olympics,” Mead told the ‘Prince,’ “But I don’t think I ever believed in myself as much as the people around me believed in me.”
At the end of his senior year, head coach Greg Hughes sat Mead down to discuss his plans.
“He basically said, ‘you know, you should at least try out for the [national] team this summer, and if you don’t make it, then you’re right back where you are right now.’ He told me that he thinks I’d regret not having at least tried.”
The summer after graduation in 2017, Mead tried out for, and made, the U.S. senior national team. It wasn’t long before Mead found success. At the 2017 World Championships in Bradenton, Fla., Mead won silver as part of the U.S. men’s eight team.
Though, for Mead, the transition from college rowing to rowing for Team USA was not all that easy.
“I think the main difference is in the day-to-day preparation — you just have to train so much more after college,” Mead explained. “We probably trained eight or nine times a week in college, but at the senior level, we train at a minimum 14 times per week.”
In 2021, Mead made his Olympic debut in Tokyo, rowing in the men’s eight boat. The team finished in fourth, narrowly missing out on a medal. His loss came amid a difficult year for Team USA rowing, as the Tokyo Olympics marked
the first games since 1908 that the United States failed to medal in rowing.
Nonetheless, Mead said he was proud of his performance, calling it “a win and accomplishment in itself.” Mead became one of 154 Princeton students to have made an Olympic appearance.
After Tokyo, however, he had a larger goal.
“When I decided to come back and rejoin the team in 2022, I wanted to see if I could make the team for Paris,” Mead told the ‘Prince.’ “This time, my mentality from the beginning was that I was coming back to win, and just making the team wouldn’t make me happy if we weren’t successful in 2024.”
After two long years of tireless preparation and stiff competition, Mead and his teammates at last reached the pinnacle of their sport, clinching an Olympic medal and breaking a decades-long drought for Team USA men’s rowing in this event.
“The thought of winning the Olympics is something that you go to bed thinking about in the back of your mind, but it’s almost like you never want to speak it out loud or tell other people,” he told the ‘Prince.’ “So, when it finally happens, and you know you’re across that finish line, it’s
just like the biggest weight of your whole life [is] off of your shoulders.”
Mead’s contribution to Team USA’s men’s rowing earned him a nomination to be the nation’s flag bearer in the closing ceremonies of the games.
“I knew I’d been nominated because I submitted some sort of written statement describing why I thought I should be flag bearer,” he said, “But I 100 percent did not think I would ever win the vote [because] there are just so many athletes with so many more medals and who are more accomplished.”
But Mead did end up winning the confidence of his fellow Olympians, and on Aug. 11, his duties as flag bearer were called to action.
As hosts of the forthcoming 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, Team USA was the final team to enter the stadium for the closing ceremonies.
“Katie [Ledecky] and I were in the back of line, and we were walking into the stadium to be on NBC with Jimmy Fallon and Mike Tirico,” he recounted. “It was so loud — it’s like 80,000 people in there, and we were just trying our best to answer Jimmy Fallon’s questions,” he said, laughing.
Even for an Olympian as successful as
Mead, he admitted he still was starstruck from meeting some of his fellow athletes.
“I mean, meeting Katie [Ledecky] obviously, was like, ‘Wow,’” he laughed, “But I also met Michael Phelps and saw the gymnasts, which was so cool.”
His favorite interactions, however, were catching up with his fellow Tigers.
“There were so many Princeton athletes over [in Paris,] and that was awesome. We got a photo with most of us, both current and alumni, in front of the Olympic rings in the village. It makes me really proud to be an alum.”
Mead shows no signs of slowing down, neither in his Olympic career nor as a member of Team USA. He hopes his path — from uncertainty about his professional rowing career to having a laser-focus on winning a medal — will continue to Los Angeles in four years. Regardless of if he will win Olympic glory a second time in L.A., he has already cemented his place in rowing and Olympic history at Paris 2024.
“It really is the greatest experience you’ll ever have competing,” he said, “It’s a really, really beautiful experience.”
Lily Pampolina is a staff Sports writer and staff Audience creator for the ‘Prince.’
The entryway to Princeton academics: 50 years in the making
By Raphaela Gold Head Archives Editor
The first class admitted under equal access admissions for men and women arrived on Princeton’s campus 50 years ago this past week. This class boasted a larger number of women than any previous class, comprising 1,100 freshmen in total. In his welcome address to this unique class, President William G. Bowen ’58 emphasized Princeton’s diverse social and academic communities.
The speech had a dual focus: First, Bowen emphasized the importance of forming friendships with a wide range of people at Princeton. He pointed to the ability of Princeton’s residential nature to facilitate these friendships. He also focused on
relationship-building in the academic sphere, stressing “the close relationship among undergraduate teaching, graduate teaching, and scholarship,” according to an article in The Daily Princetonian from September 1974.
Bowen also discussed the importance of freedom of expression, a topic that remains at the front of the conversation in today’s orientation programming. This past August, the orientation event “Academic Freedom and Free Expression” featured University President Christopher Eisgruber ’83 in conversation with Amaney Jamal, Dean of the School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA).
Before the Class of 1978, Dean of the College Neil Rudenstine ’56 and Dean of Student Af-
fairs Adele Simmons continued the themes of the significance of academic and student life at Princeton. Both raised challenges incoming first-years might face upon entering Princeton’s environment, including the “challenge of living with persons of differing backgrounds and the mutual sensitivity, respect, and trust this requires.” Dean Simmons encouraged freshmen to learn about the University’s resources and take advantage of campus tours in the coming week.
This past week, the Class of 2028 — the Class of 1978’s grandchild class — heard from Eisgruber during their Opening Exercises. While the Class of 1978 was small enough to fit into Alexander Hall, Opening Exercises
are now held on Cannon Green. Eisgruber focused more broadly on the academic aspect of Princeton, unpacking the term “liberal arts” by expanding its scope. He invited students to rebrand liberal arts education as preparing students for leadership in public and private life.
Quoting the Class of 2028 Princeton Pre-read, “The Worlds I See: Curiosity, Exploration, and Discovery at the Dawn of AI,” by Dr. Fei-Fei Li ’99, Eisgruber proposed reimagining the liberal arts education as something “transcendent.” The classes of 1978 and 2028 thus share this initial promise of receiving an education that prioritizes both interpersonal and intellectual development, seeing the two as inseparably linked inside the Orange Bubble.
PHOTO COURTESY OF @TIGERHEAVIES.
Nick Mead ‘17 made history last week as the first American rower to be selected as flag bearer during the Olympic closing ceremonies.
