Volume LXXIII, Number 20
Centurion Event Celebrates Release of Exonerated Prisoners . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Leonardo da Vinci Haunts Game of Thrones 500 Years Later . . . . . . . . 19 McCarter Theatre Presents Skylight . . . . 20 Princeton Festival’s “Making of a Musical” Program . . . . . . . . . . 21 PU Women’s Lax Tops Loyola in NCAA Tourney, Will Play at Boston College in Quarters . . 30 PHS Girls’ Lacrosse Falls to Lawrenceville in MCT Final . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Stuart Country Day Track Wins 2nd Straight Prep B Outdoor Championship . . . . . 36
Lynne Olson Speaks About Her Best-Selling Book at PPL . . . . . . . 10 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Berkshire Hathaway Fox & Roach Realtors . .14, 15 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 28 Classified Ads . . . . . . 40 Dining & Entertainment . . . 26 Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Music/Theater . . . . . . 21 New To Us . . . . . . . . . 38 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 39 Police Blotter . . . . . . . . 4 Real Estate . . . . . . . . 40 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Topics of the Town . . . . 5 Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . 6
www.towntopics.com
PU Protests Continue Into Second Week Over Title IX Reform
Students demanding action in response to their concerns over Princeton University’s sexual misconduct policies have continued their protests into a second week on the main lawn in front of Nassau Hall. Braving the elements throughout the rainy week since Tuesday afternoon May 7, Princeton Students for Title IX Reform (PIXR), ranging in number from a handful to about 200, continue to insist that the University “acknowledge that this is a crisis on our campus,” and “publicly address our concerns in a way that is oriented toward taking steps to resolve the issues we’re addressing,” said Junior K. Stiefel, one of the protest organizers. “The University has a long history of sending things to committees and collecting data, but not actually taking action.” A PIXR press release states, “The protest occurring on Nassau lawn is an active demonstration of the pain and indignation caused by the way in which the administration currently addresses sexual and interpersonal violence. As community members continue to suffer, PIXR will continue to push for systemic change.” Last Friday, Princeton University President Christopher Eisgruber approved a request for an external review of the Title IX system, the second of PIXR’s 11 demands, but PIXR has rejected the University’s proposal that University Provost Deborah Prentice oversee the external review, claiming that “she has been directly implicated in the mishandling of Title IX cases.” Other PIXR demands include a call for “transparency and consistency in the Title IX processes”; “the establishment of an opt-in alternative restorative justice track for survivors who wish to avoid the traumatizing process of Title IX proceedings”; a group of independent, full-time, professional social workers to help survivors navigate the Title IX system; a fund set up to assist students with costs related to mental health services; departmentalization of the Program in Gender and Sexuality Studies; mandatory and comprehensive sexual assault and Title IX training for all University hires and student leaders; the hiring of an international interpersonal coordinator to work with students on Continued on Page 8
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Wednesday, May 15, 2019
Tight PPS Budget Forces Staff Cuts For the first time since 2010, Princeton Public Schools will be making reductions in staff, as a divided Board of Education (BOE) grapples with the challenges of moving forwarded with limited resources. At last week’s more than three-hour public meeting, the BOE voted 6-4 to approve the 2019-2020 budget, which calls for cuts of 10.2 full-time teaching positions and 10 instructional assistants, as well as other cuts and cost-saving measures. A number of teachers and parents spoke out at the meeting, condemning the cuts as unfair and claiming they would have a disproportionate impact on the most needy students. Board member Michele Tuck-Ponder, one of the “no” votes, shared their concerns. “The budget was balanced to the detriment of the most vulnerable students,” she said. “The pain needs to be equally felt. Contrary to our strategic goal of equity and fairness, a whole bunch of people aren’t going to feel any pain. What I don’t see is pain in advanced placement or in the orchestra, or areas we like to hold up and bandy about and say what a fine school district we are. Any school district that does not take care of the least of us is not a fine school district.” PPS Superintendent Steve Cochrane weighed in on the question of equity,
saying, “I see the story differently. We’re still moving forward towards our goal of equity. We are continuously focused on our most vulnerable.” He cited positions added in recent years to support vulnerable students. “I see us saying we want to support our vulnerable. The budget is not my ideal, but it is fair and thought through carefully.” The reductions, some of which will take place by attrition, include one teacher at Community Park and one at Littlebrook;
four academic intervention services (AIS) teachers, one at each elementary school; and at Princeton High School (PHS), where enrollment is projected to be lower next year, one teacher each in English, social studies, and science; and a .4 partial teacher position in Latin, .4 teacher in health/adaptive PE, and .4 teacher in math. Cuts to administration and other staff will include the director of communications, a human resources Continued on Page 7
All-Pedestrian Cross Phase To Have Trial at Intersection
At a meeting of Princeton Council May 6, it was announced that the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) will conduct a two-week trial of a pedestrian-only phase in the crosswalk at the intersection of Nassau Street and Washington Road. The trial begins June 10. The intersection has long been considered dangerous. In October 2017, a woman was struck and killed by a cement truck turning left onto Washington Road from Nassau Street as she attempted to cross Washington Road. In 2016, the NJDOT had made some changes to traffic signals at those two streets, and
at Vandeventer Avenue, in an attempt to make the crossings safer. The NJDOT had initially rejected the municipality’s request for the pedestrian cross phase. But after a conference call early this month, a pilot program was proposed by the NJDOT. The idea had been suggested in previous studies of crosswalks on Nassau Street by the former Borough, and, more recently, with the municipality’s traffic safety and transportation committees, said Deanna Stockton, municipal administrator. The NJDOT sent a signal phasing schedule to the town, which is now being Continued on Page 7
FOUR OF A KIND: Players on the Princeton Day School boys’ lacrosse team celebrate after they rallied to defeat Notre Dame 7-6 in the Mercer County Tournament championship game last Thursday at WW/P-North . It marked the fourth straight MCT title for PDS, which ended the spring with a 13-3 record . For more details on the game, see page 32 . (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski).