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More than 70 courses to be offered in second Wintersession

Wintersession will offer about 70 informal classes this year, an over 30 percent increase in the number of courses from the program’s inaugural run last year, U-Councilor and Undergraduate Student Government event coordinator Katherine Clifton ’15 said.

The program, which offers students the opportunity to take classes during the Intersession break, started last year with 53 classes and over a thousand students.

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A diverse array of courses from “Introduction to Taekwondo” to “Knitting” will be offered this year.

The classesoriginated from student and faculty proposals submitted to the Undergraduate Student Government earlier this year, Clifton explained, adding that USG accepted every feasible proposal.

Class size often varies due to the high degree of individual attention required in the more technical courses as USG works to accommodate all instructor needs, she said.

USG president Shawon Jackson ’15 explained that Wintersession courses are funded by the USG Projects Board, a subcommittee in the USG senate which allocates subsidies to student organizations. Course instructors are currently in the process of submitting requests to the Projects Board, which will make funding decisions in the coming weeks.

Jackson added that when the senate first started sponsoring Wintersession last year, it received financial support from the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students and Vice President for Campus Life Cynthia Cherrey. However, as of press time, the senate has not received external funding from campus administrators.

However, Jackson explained that Deputy Dean of Undergraduate Students Thomas Dunne has advised the Wintersession team this year.

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Though a majority of classes were taught by students last year, more faculty and community members will partake in teaching them this year, including Office of Career Services and Department of Public Safety personnel.

Clifton noted that to provide participants a unified experience, most classes will take place in Frist Campus Center and McCosh Hall.

The USG Wintersession team, which comprises seven students, is also engaging the residential colleges to hold study breaks and social events throughout the week, Clifton said.

While more than 1,000 students registered for Wintersession courses during the program’s premiere, Clifton anticipates at least a few hundred students will participate this year. She added that Jackson will email the student body during reading period when the online class registration opens.

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Vivienne Tam ’15, a native of Singapore who spent her childhood in Southeast Asia, will be teaching “Asian Desserts and Delicacies 101.”

“Since moving to the States, Asian food has been one of the biggest things I miss,” Tam said. “I thought it would be a great idea to pass on the joy of making Asian desserts to other Princetonians. I hope they can use desserts as a gateway to understanding a bit more about three cultures: Malaysian, Thai and Chinese.”

Justinas Mickus ’18, who will be teaching “Lithuanian 101,” said that he thought teaching a class would be fun.

“Realistically, no one can expect to learn a language during such a short time, but at the same time, I get to talk about my country and share some funny stories with my peers here,” Mickus said.

Wintersession will take place during the week of Jan. 26, after the end of the fall semester.

“We're looking forward to another exciting Wintersession, and we hope students enjoy their experiences,” Clifton said.