Volume LXXV, Number 51
www.towntopics.com
Westminster Students Say Rider’s Response to Petition Ignores Their Concerns
Local Artist’s Mural Invites Viewing and Interaction . . 5 Council Will Decide on Cannabis Dispensaries in Early 2022 . . . . . . . . . 8 Thoughts On Shakespeare’s “Pervasive Presence” . . . . . . . . . 13 Chamber Music Society Presents Program of Bach . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 PU Wrestling Star Glory On Track for Goal of NCAA Title . . . . . . . . 22 Featuring Depth, Talent, PHS Swim Teams Off to Sizzling Start . . . . . . . 26
All in a Day’s Work With School Nurse Liz Dyevich . . 9 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 20 Classified Ads . . . . . . 32 Happy Holidays . . . . 18-19 Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 30 Performing Arts . . . . . 15 Real Estate . . . . . . . . 32 Service Directory . . . . 21 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Topics of the Town . . . . 5 Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . 6
Early this month, a petition signed by 130 students and alumni of Westminster Choir College of Rider University was delivered to Rider administration. Complaining of inadequate facilities, decreasing enrollment, and unfulfilled promises since Westminster was moved from its longtime Princeton location to Rider’s Lawrenceville campus last year, the petition demanded an immediate response. Rider responded with a lengthy email on December 16, addressing the concerns listed in the petition. “Starting at a high level, please know we have invested considerable time and millions of dollars in Westminster Choir College campus transition and the facilities to support it, all in a very challenging fiscal and COVID-impacted environment,” reads the letter, which is signed by Rider President Gregory G. Dell’Omo, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost DonnaJean Fredeen, and Westminster College of the Arts Dean Marshall Onofrio. “We know transitions are hard and often require sustained work to get right. We are continuing our work as explained below.” While surprised at the length of the administration’s response, one of the students who wrote the petition was less than impressed with its content. “To me, it’s a prime example of gaslighting,” said Marion Jacob, who is pursuing a graduate degree in choral conducting. “It has taken all of our concerns and said they were not valid, exaggerated, or just don’t deserve attention. From every part of this petition, every one of our concerns was ignored. They mention a few things they have changed, but only since they got the petition.” Westminster’s 22-acre choral campus has been located on Walnut Lane in Princeton since the 1930s. The college became part of Rider in 1992. Four years ago, Rider announced it would sell Westminster and its Princeton campus, saying the institution had been losing money. But the controversial plan was dropped in 2017 after attempts to sell fell through, and last year Rider absorbed Westminster into its Lawrenceville campus. Among the biggest concerns expressed by the students is the size of Rider’s Gill Chapel, which the petition says isn’t large enough to accommodate Westminster’s famed Symphonic Choir. It also cites the chapel’s acoustics as Continued on Page 10
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Wednesday, December 22, 2021
Record Number of New COVID Cases Reported The Princeton Health Department on Monday announced the highest number of new COVID-19 infections in Princeton since the start of the pandemic almost two years ago. There were 42 new cases in the previous seven days and 75 new cases in the previous 75 days, surpassing the highest previous totals of 39 for seven days and 66 for 14 days, registered a year ago in December 2020. Princeton University reported a continuing “campus risk status: moderate to high” for the week of December 11-17, with 98 positive COVID cases out of 16,942 tests for a positivity rate of 0.58 percent. Due to rising case numbers, the University on December 15 canceled or postponed all indoor gatherings with food and those where face coverings can’t be worn, then on December 16 announced that all undergraduate exams would be shifted to a remote format so that students could leave campus as soon as possible. The University has also required all students, faculty, and staff who are eligible to receive a COVID-19 booster by January 31. “The most recent increase in cases is likely a combination of Delta and Omicron,” said Jeff Grosser, Princeton deputy
administrator for health and community services. “There is really no other way to explain why we would be experiencing such a quick take-off in cases.” Little more than a month ago, in late November, Princeton had relatively few COVID cases, but as the colder weather, the holidays, and the Omicron variant all arrived the numbers rose rapidly. “With Omicron accounting for 73 percent of new infections in the United States last week and an estimated 90 percent of
new infections in the New York area, we have to assume it’s already here,” Grosser said. “The first wave of Delta impacted Princeton starting around mid-July, which peaked in early September and then began to retreat, but just momentarily, in early November.” Grosser went on to speculate about possible causes for the rapidly rising infection rates. “Princeton has a very high vaccination rate, when compared to other similar towns, with the exception of our Continued on Page 10
Special Improvement District Still Under Consideration for Town
At a meeting of Princeton Council on Tuesday, December 21 (after press time), the governing body was expected to consider taking the next step toward forming a Special Improvement District (SID) by hiring Economic Development Strategists LLC for the third phase of consulting services on the proposal. Stuart Koperweis, president of the company, led a presentation on the initiative at Council’s December 13 meeting. Koperweis has worked for the past year with the town’s Economic Revitalization Steering Committee, which held two meetings last September with business owners about
forming a SID. The issue would be further discussed at a January Council meeting, when there would be opportunity for public comment. A SID is a defined area in the business district of a town that is authorized by state law and created by a local ordinance to collect a special assessment on the commercial properties and/or businesses in that area. A nonprofit organization, separate from the municipality, collects that assessment, which goes toward improving the economic, physical, and social values of the district. Continued on Page 11
HONORING THOSE WHO SERVED: Reenactors took part in the annual Wreaths Across America Patriot Graves Commemoration Ceremony at the Colonnade at Princeton Battlefield State Park on Saturday. Attendees share why the ceremony is important to them in this week’s Town Talk on page 6. (Photo by Weronika A. Plohn)