Volume LXXIII, Number 8
Camp Guide Pages 26 - 32 Princeton Ballet Master Classes . . . . . . 5 Giles Wins NJEA Award . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Town Settles with Officers in Lawsuit . . . . . . . . . 15 Thoughts on Bohemian Rhapsody . . . . . . . . . 19 Bicycle Face at Passage Theatre . . . . . . . . . . 20 PU Women’s Lax Wins Opener, Sailer Gets 400th Victory . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Stuart Hoops Wins 2nd Prep B Title, Makes MCT Semis . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Longtime Resident Ida Belle Dixon to Celebrate 100th Birthday . . . . . . 12 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Berkshire Hathaway Fox & Roach Realtors . .16, 17 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 35 Classified Ads . . . . . . 46 Dining & Entertainment . . 33 Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Music/Theater . . . . . . 21 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 45 Police Blotter . . . . . . . . 4 Princeton Personality . . 12 Real Estate . . . . . . . . 46 Religion . . . . . . . . . . . 45 School Matters . . . . . . 14 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Topics of the Town . . . . 5 Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . 6
www.towntopics.com
Grad Students Host Rally For Colleague Imprisoned in Iran
Princeton University graduate students are hosting a day of action, including a rally and candlelight vigil, today, February 20, to call for the release of Xiyue Wang, a Princeton colleague and United States citizen who has been detained in Iran’s Evin Prison since 2016. Wang was in Iran solely for scholarly purposes, learning the Farsi language and doing historical research for his Ph.D. dissertation, when he was arbitrarily and unjustly detained, according to Princeton University press releases. The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) has called for his immediate release, stating in September 2018 that the spying charge against Wang was false and that his conviction and imprisonment were unjust. A coalition of U.S. universities, led by the American Council on Education and the European University Association (EUA), which represents more than 800 universities and national university associations in 48 European countries, has also called for Wang’s immediate release, denouncing “this alarming violation of academic freedom, due process, and fair trial, which are fundamental and internationally recognized rights and standards.” The November 29, 2018 EUA statement added, “Mr. Wang’s imprisonment is deeply troubling for scholars around the world and has a chilling effect on historical research and all scholarly exchange.” Wang, 38, has now been separated from his wife and young son in Princeton for more than two and a half years, though he is able to call them on the phone almost daily. The WGAD opinion on Wang’s imprisonment states that Wang is “kept indoors for extended periods of time and does not see any natural light for up to a week at a time.” Wang’s wife, Hua Qu, has noted that her husband’s “physical and mental health are rapidly deteriorating. He has lost weight, developed arthritis in his knees, suffered rashes and pains all over his body, and fallen victim to depression.” Today’s events at Princeton University include a call-a-thon from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Campus Club library, where participants will make phone calls and conduct outreach to congressional representatives, urging them to prioritize Wang’s case, followed by the rally and candlelight vigil at Chancellor Green. Continued on Page 10
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Wednesday, February 20, 2019
Hundreds Gather to Protest “Emergency” More than 300 spirited demonstrators gathered in Hinds Plaza outside the Princeton Public Library at noon Monday to protest President Trump’s emergency declaration to obtain funding for a border wall. Warning against “an imperial presidency,” “fascism,” and the deterioration of democracy, ten speakers, including ministers, politicians, public officials, and others, expressed strong opposition to Trump’s actions and called for resistance on numerous fronts. Blustery winds and cold temperatures did not temper the determination and anger of the speakers and their supporters, who repeatedly chanted “No Emergency, No Wall, No Wars,” and held up signs proclaiming “Stop Trump,” “Dictatorship is Un-American; Congress Rules the Purse,” “We Stand With Immigrants and Asylum Seekers,” “Fake Emergency, Fake President,” and other similar sentiments. “It might be cold right now, but our blood is boiling,” said the Rev. Carlton Branscomb of the First Baptist Church in Princeton. “We are hot against this issue in front
of us now, so let us stand up together.” The hour-long demonstration organized by the Princeton-based Coalition for Peace Action (CFPA), the Bayard Rustin Center for Social Justice (BRCSJ), and Moveon.org was one of more than 250 rallies around the country Monday in response to Trump’s February 15 announcement. In addition to the widespread protests, 16 states, including New Jersey, California, and New York, have challenged
Trump in court over his plan to use emergency powers to spend billions more than Congress had granted him for his border wall. Emphasizing the importance of the separation of powers, CFPA Executive Director the Rev. Robert Moore said, “The Constitution is clear that only Congress can appropriate public funds, the president can only sign or veto funding legislation. If he succeeds in a power grab to spend Continued on Page 11
Finance Committee Study Finds Mercer County is a Big Spender At the February 11 meeting of Princeton Çouncil, a report by the Citizens Finance Advisory Committee (CFAC) revealed that Mercer County consistently spends more than other New Jersey peer counties, affecting the tax burden for Princeton residents. Although he specified that the benchmarking study is “a very preliminary, rudimentary analysis,” CFAC head Scott Sil-
lars recommended that the municipality engage with Mercer County officials and neighboring towns in the county to look further into the issue. Princeton’s property tax allocation for 2018 was 48 percent for school tax, 30 percent for county tax, and 22 percent for municipal purposes. As compared to Camden, Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, Continued on Page 7
SIX PACK: Players on the Hun School boys’ hockey team celebrate with student fans last Friday evening after Hun defeated Princeton High 9-4 in the Mercer County Tournament championship game . The triumph marked the sixth straight county crown for the Raiders . See page 41 for more details on the game . (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)