1000 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
(02/14/24 5:49am)
The Daily Princetonian released its 2023 Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) report last week, which publicly shares internal statistics on staffers’ identities, feelings of inclusion within the ‘Prince’ community, and satisfaction with the extent of ‘Prince’ coverage. This report, which includes a multitude of analyses on the problems the ‘Prince’ faces and goals for improvement, could be read as suggesting that the utmost priority of internal Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts is to increase the diversity of staffers. This would be a poor takeaway from an interesting and insightful report, and leave the paper open to common criticisms that shallow DEI programs face — that they prioritize appearances over values-driven change. Instead of becoming a directive on personnel proportions, the DEIB survey should be used to identify and resolve gaps in coverage of particular communities and areas in which internal programs exclude certain groups of individuals.
(02/12/24 8:45am)
The share of Princetonians who graduate as members of sign-in clubs has halved since the 1990s, reflecting a long-term decline in sign-in participation. In light of this trend and Cloister’s dire financial situation, the question of what allows an eating club to succeed is an important one.
(02/09/24 4:50am)
Student-led sociopolitical dissent is an enduring asset of the American university. Since the horrific events of Oct. 7, 2023, on-campus demonstrations have recognizably spiked. The ensuing months of complicated and heartbreaking conflict in the Middle East have prompted many contemplative and necessary exchanges regarding power, national autonomy, and the ceaseless tragedy of the loss of innocent life. This intensification of student speech, in tandem with the recent controversy surrounding congressional testimony by Ivy League university presidents and their alleged hesitation to condemn rising antisemitism, has renewed attention towards the role of universities as both conduits and participants in the national political discourse. Some even argue that Princeton University is responsible for answering inquiries on its positions regarding national and global events to continuously support marginalized voices. While this goal is undeniably noble, a reexamination of the Kalven Report and recent restrictive legislation levied towards Florida universities serves as a necessary reminder that we at Princeton shouldn’t overlook the power of institutional neutrality to preserve campus discussions of diversity and equity.
(02/09/24 3:56am)
The following is a letter to the editor and reflects the author’s views alone. For information on how to submit a letter to the Opinion Section, click here.
(02/08/24 6:11am)
Planetary breakdown worsens each day — and our language to describe it hasn’t caught up. Most of us call it “climate change,” or “global warming” if we’re old-school. While useful in certain contexts, these terms fail to convey the urgency of the dire situation facing our planet and our people — sometimes, they even conceal that situation. As a result, they limit our ability to feel and act from that urgency. Let’s change this language.
(02/08/24 5:45am)
National attention on higher education feels like it’s constantly increasing, with the spotlight shining especially brightly upon elite institutions. It should come as no surprise that after years of casting themselves as the makers of future world leaders, Ivy League schools succeeded in convincing America that they are, indeed, important. When the education of the next generation of presidents, billionaires, and business leaders is on the line, it’s reasonable to expect that the current ruling class would want a say. While this interference can manifest through democratic processes — from campaign threats about taxing endowments to federal investigations over student life — it’s private influence that seems to be sparking the most concern inside universities themselves. Donations to universities take place out of the public eye, with the decisions of a few affecting the lives of a large community. But should this form of behind-the-doors influence be a cause for concern?
(02/06/24 6:21am)
“We even have a Gutenberg Bible in the library!”
(02/05/24 5:35am)
The following is a guest contribution and reflects the author’s views alone. For information on how to submit a piece to the Opinion section, click here.
(02/02/24 4:22am)
The Creative Writing (CWR) program has long been a favorite of the University’s students across class years, degree options, and concentrations. This semester, hundreds of students enrolled in CWR courses, hoping to snatch one of the few spots available. Who filled these coveted spots came down to rather insignificant elements: the reaction time of a mouse click, internet speed, or a cleared cache.
(02/01/24 6:26am)
Since affirmative action was overturned in June 2023, conversations about how to promote campus diversity and fairness in admissions have turned towards criticism of legacy admissions. Affirmative action and legacy admissions are often positioned as opposing forces — they are perceived as respective representations of diversity and tradition. Recently, columnist Sarah Park argued for the acceptability of legacy admissions on account of their ability to foster “intergenerational community” and noted a general negativity about legacy and legacy students themselves. This negativity exists for good reason: legacy admissions perpetuate privilege and have, historically largely benefitted wealthy, white students. But as time goes on, diversity is increasing within the legacy pool, despite the fact that it is still less diverse than our campus as a whole. No longer are all legacies stereotypical, privileged, white kids. As Princeton continues to diversify, legacy will too. If we end legacy now, we are prematurely eliminating the advantages that come from a more diverse intergenerational community.
(01/31/24 4:39am)
During my tenure as the head Opinion editor at The Daily Princetonian, I received countless emails from alumni thoughtfully interacting with our content, supported writers as their arguments were warped in the national media, and was told my work was “boringly moderate.” The readership of the ‘Prince’ often has a lot to say. For a responsible journalist, this is thrilling — having your work read and contemplated is often a testament to a job well done. Yet the alternative can be just as true: the reporter is not always right, and audiences’ responses are crucial to identifying these failures. Truth-telling is a tricky business, and simply holding membership in the ‘Prince’ does not prove any inherent ability to conduct it. In recognition of this problem, the ‘Prince’ is changing to become more accountable and more accessible to the public it serves, in order to serve it better. This begins with establishing a public editor, a role in which I will be serving this upcoming year.
(01/31/24 7:59am)
In a quest to achieve historical consciousness in my first history class at Princeton, I frequently grappled with the question of historical erasure: What becomes of an instance of joy, suffering, or loss that goes unrecorded? What becomes of a life without its memory? I sit today with a deepened appreciation for the importance and power of bearing witness — an act that has been critically misunderstood and deeply underemployed by many at Princeton post-Oct. 7. Members of the Princeton community must partake more actively in this necessary practice.
(01/30/24 3:13am)
Ever since our much-hated grade deflation policy was lifted in 2014, Princetonians’ GPAs have been steadily trending upwards. According to the Office of the Dean of the College, the average GPA for the 2022–2023 academic year was 3.56 out of 4.00, an increase from the 2018–2019 average of 3.46. In 2005, when grade deflation policies were first implemented, the average GPA was around 3.30. A recent article in The New York Times noted the same phenomenon of grade inflation at Harvard and Yale, and quoted students, alumni, and professors lamenting that a good grade today is “worth less” than ever before.
(01/24/24 6:40am)
Low-income international students at Princeton have a very different experience than domestic students. Although many international students have voiced financial concerns, none were spotlighted by Undergraduate Student Government (USG) candidates in our most recent election. As we reflect on winning candidates’ platforms, we have to bring the international student experience into the conversation.
(01/10/24 7:27am)
One of my earliest memories of Princeton is a talk about legacy admissions during orientation. My RCA asked my zee group about our thoughts on legacies, and several people expressed what seemed to be the prevailing opinion: legacy admissions are unfair and take away opportunities from more deserving students. They said those things perhaps not knowing that four of the people in the room with us were legacy students. In the short time I’ve been here, I’ve heard people say “I hate legacies” or generalize about how “legacies are so spoiled” — however, I’ve found that some of the most passionate and dedicated people around me are, in fact, legacy students. The fact of the matter is that the admissions process is always unfair, and there is an implication that unfair is equal to unjustified or unworthy. But there are many types of preferential admissions, from athletic to regional, and examining these cases shows us that “unfair” is not necessarily bad — preferential admissions, including legacy admissions, are necessary to create a diverse class and campus.
(01/10/24 5:09am)
Former Harvard president Claudine Gay, who stepped down on Jan. 2 amid criticisms of her response to antisemitism on Harvard's campus and her subsequent plagiarism allegations, is all over U.S. media. Gay’s resignation remained the top story on the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Wall Street Journal websites in the following days. This media firestorm demonstrates how in the midst of the conflict in Israel and Palestine, mainstream U.S. news organizations are blatantly more interested in amplifying Ivy League scandals than reporting on the realities of violence in Gaza, where the death toll recently surpassed 22,000 — mostly consisting of women and children. This disproportionate focus on Ivy League turmoil is a sensationalist distraction. We shouldn’t let it divert our attention from the much more substantive problem of the brutal war in Gaza, and the surge in antisemitism and Islamophobia the war has provoked in the United States.
(01/10/24 5:39am)
In Claudine Gay’s resignation letter from her role as president of Harvard University, published in the New York Times on January 2, she expresses hope that the Harvard community remembers her short term as one characterized by “not allowing rancor and vituperation to undermine the vital process of education.” But in her op-ed, published a day later, she claims that her resignation was the result of the work of “demagogues” to “undermine the ideals animating Harvard since its founding: excellence, openness, independence, truth.” Though Gay paints her removal from office as a tactic to stop such a campaign from gaining further traction, her refusal to admit any guilt and the Harvard Corporation’s failure to note any particular reason for the resignation suggests that her presidency should be defined by a clear abandonment of the tenets to which she and Harvard claim to have committed.
(01/03/24 4:45am)
To the political right, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is the beginning of the end. The Wall Street Journal’s Editorial Board warns of DEI officers who “enforce ideological conformity.” Abigail Anthony ’23 claimed that DEI initiatives “divide, exclude, and ostracize students of all political affiliation.” The freedom of speech, some people argue, will be obliterated by DEI-obsessed bureaucrats.
(12/20/23 4:18am)
University administrators have set the goal of decarbonizing our campus by 2046. To do so, the University has rolled out a sweeping operation to install a complex geo-exchange heating and cooling system, build out thousands of solar panels, replace the old bus stock with brand-new electric buses, and purchase electricity from renewable sources. The University thinks of these campus solutions as test cases that, in the words of President Christopher Eisgruber, “serve as models for the world.” To build on these successes, the University should now turn its attention to the rest of its vehicle fleet.
(12/18/23 3:08am)
When I was in kindergarten, I could answer the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” much more easily than I can now as a college junior. At six years old, I would blurt out “Archaeologist!” before my teacher could finish the question, but as a 20-year-old, there are a few long pauses before I say something along the lines of “I’m still figuring that out.” Yet this indecision should not be seen as shameful — nor should any other career choice. Judging others for how they choose to pursue what they’ve learned at Princeton post-graduation is an intolerable endeavor and is antithetical to our values as a campus.