Volume LXXI, Number 10
Wrapped in an Enigma: Novelist James A. Michener. . . . . . . . . . 16 Hagen String Quartet at Richardson . . . . . . . . 18 Dr. Adel Ahmed, Who Was Inducted into the New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame, Dies. . . . . . . 35 PU Men’s Hockey Advances to ECAC Quarterfinals. . . . . . . 28 PHS Boys’ Hockey Falls in Public A State Semifinals. . . . . . . . . 31
Raoul Momo the Subject of This Week’s All In a Day’s Work . . . . . . . . 11 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Cinema . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Classified Ads. . . . . . . . 37 Clubs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Mailbox. . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Music/Theater . . . . . . . 18 New To Us . . . . . . . . . . 26 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . . 35 Police Blotter. . . . . . . . . 9 Real Estate . . . . . . . . . 37 Religion. . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Service Diretory . . . . . . 32 Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Topics of the Town . . . . . 5 Town Talk. . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Alumni, Students Continue Efforts To Save Westminster Campus But Fate Remains Uncertain A decision has yet to be announced on whether Rider University will sell the Princeton campus of Westminster Choir College, which Rider has owned since 1992. As negotiations continue, efforts to save the 85-year-old musical academy on Walnut Lane have intensified. Constance Fee, chairperson of the Coalition to Save Westminster Choir College, said Tuesday that there are close to 5,000 signatures on two petitions that have been circulated among students, parents, alumni, and others in support of the school. “Some of the comments are just heartwrenching,” she said. “I’m hoping to have them printed out and hand-delivered. Things have developed and grown. We are working full time to explore our options and try to see our way ahead. We are still working to save Westminster.” Rider’s faculty, members of the American Association of University Professors, was scheduled to vote Tuesday on a resolution of “no confidence” in president Gregory G. Dell’Omo. But the vote did not happen, according to Rider spokesperson Kristine A. Brown. “It is our understanding that a vote of no confidence did not take place today,” she said in a statement. “We are encouraged that many of our University faculty, coaches, trainers, and librarians are optimistic that we can work together to discuss our challenges and find solutions that will ensure Rider’s long-term stability and competitiveness. President Dell’Omo remains deeply committed to working with AAUP leadership. He will continue to meet with academic departments and other groups across the University and is open to all ideas that will help the
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Wednesday, March 8, 2017
District Will Appeal Charter Expansion
The State Board of Education on March 1 approved Princeton Charter School’s (PCS) proposal to expand its enrollment by 76 additional students, but the conflict that has raged in Princeton over the past three months since PCS submitted its application is not over. Princeton Public Schools (PPS) announced yesterday that it will be filing an appeal of the decision with the Appellate Division of the Superior Court, and the Board will also file a request with the Acting Commissioner Kimberley Harrington to stay her decision. “We are filing this appeal on behalf of the students and the taxpayers of the Princeton community,” PPS Superintendent Steve Cochrane said. “It is economically, educationally, and ethically unjust that a majority of the allowable increase in the school budget will, for years to come, fund the expansion of 76 students at the Princeton Charter School, while leaving a much smaller portion for the nearly 3800 students in the growing and far more diverse Princeton Public Schools.” PCS and Princeton Public Schools have also sued each other over violation of the Sunshine Law [Open Public Meetings Act]. Those suits are pending
in State Superior Court. Princeton Mayor Liz Lempert expressed concern that the expansion decision was made at the state rather than local level. “I’ve heard from many residents, who opposed the expansion, who are confused by the decision and outraged,” she said. “This has been an extremely contentious issue for the community, and I believe it was made worse by the process. Decisions like this one about how local tax
dollars are spent should be made at the local level by officials who are accountable to the taxpayers. I’ve heard from Charter School parents, too, who are upset about the backlash. Had this been a community decision, I believe there would have been more opportunity for productive dialogue.” Mr. Cochrane, who last week described the expansion decision as “deeply Continued on Page 10
Local Religious Leaders Respond To Upswing in Anti-Semitic Activity An orange swastika is painted on a sculpture on the Princeton University campus. A Jewish cemetery is desecrated in Philadelphia. Bomb threats are called in to Jewish community centers all over the country, including Cherry Hill. This recent rash of anti-Semitic acts has hit close to home, and local religious leaders are addressing the issue. The Princeton Clergy Association released a letter last week signed by Rabbi Adam Feldman of The Jewish Center of Princeton, the Reverend David A. Davis of Nassau Presbyterian Church, Bob Moore of
The Coalition for Peace Action, and Jana Purkis Brash of Princeton University Methodist Church. “We know of Muslims who feel threatened today by certain policies and statements being made in many public forums and then this week we witnessed acts of hatred directed at a Jewish cemetery in Philadelphia,” the letter reads. “This is not only disrespectful to the deceased and their families but it also violates so many of our religious traditions of demonstrating honor to people after they pass away Continued on Page 8
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Recent Trump Initiatives Inspire University Day of Action. . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
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Daylight Saving Time starts this Sunday at 2 a.m. Turn clocks ahead one hour.
Bryn Mawr-Wellesley
NET WORTH: Members of the Princeton University men’s basketball team enjoy the moment after cutting down the net at Jadwin Gym last Saturday in celebration of beating Dartmouth 85-48 to finish the regular season at 21-6 overall and 14-0 Ivy League. It marked the program’s first perfect Ivy campaign since the 1997-98 season. The Tigers are next in action when they compete in the inaugural Ivy League Tournament this weekend at the Palestra in Philadelphia. See page 27 for more details on the team’s victory. (Photo by Charles R. Plohn)
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