In defense of gray masses: a love letter to Princeton’s contemporary architecture
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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.
I’ll probably spend every Princeton summer interning in New York. The thought of this depresses me a little bit. Before the summer started, I worried I would become a profoundly boring person. I suspected that my summer days would entail waking up early, getting dressed, going to the office, and pretending to be in my “corporate girl era.”
I would characterize my first year at Princeton as a melting pot, in which people of various backgrounds and ideas swirled together in our beloved Orange Bubble. The friends I’ve made come from different backgrounds, with many of them being second-generation Asian Americans. Some of them would converse with each other in Mandarin and compare regional dialects. Others would share funny Vietnamese quips that are better kept amongst ourselves. My boyfriend only spoke to his mother in Korean over the phone.
I did not realize how special it was to live on the border until I was 2,000 miles away from home. I grew up in El Paso, Texas, which lies on the border of Mexico, across from Ciudad Juarez. When I was little, my grandparents would cross over to visit every weekend. I had friends in school who lived in Juarez and would cross the border every morning to attend school after waiting hours in line. My entire life has been formed of two different worlds that are surprisingly similar.
As the 2024 Olympics came to a close on Aug. 11, two gold medalists carried the American flag through a raucous Stade de France. On the left side of the stars and stripes strode Katie Ledecky, the swimmer who defined a decade of competitors on her way to becoming the most decorated female American in Olympic history. Alongside her, with his left hand on the flagpole and a beaming grin on his face, Princeton’s own Nick Mead ’17 flew the colors with pride after bringing home a gold medal in the men’s coxless four rowing final. Mead’s selection as flag bearer capped off a roaring success not just for the United States, which took home the most medals at the Games, but for Princeton Tigers past and present.
“What would you recommend?”
Paris is famously known as the City of Light. Its iconic riverbanks, world-class restaurants and shops, and, of course, the Eiffel Tower have made it a picturesque destination for centuries. However, this year, the city is embracing a new title: host to the 2024 Olympic Games. As a Princeton student located in Paris for the summer, I witnessed this grand city transform into the world’s biggest stage — upending day-to-day life as the world turned to watch Olympic history be made.
There was something therapeutic about strolling on the uneven surface of cobblestone streets in the old neighborhoods of a city. The rustic facades of the weathered, closely-packed buildings lining the narrow sidewalks provide an intimate, homely beauty that make the walks all the more calming. Petite antique galleries, moody leather goods shops, and unassuming local eateries pique the interest of the artsy and thrifty. While the description matches a Manhattan scene, I am not referring to the Village or SoHo.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) charged Nader Al-Naji ’14, the founder of crypto social media platform BitClout, with wire fraud and the sale of unregistered offerings of crypto asset securities on July 30.
The 13 members of the Princeton community arrested for occupying Clio Hall during pro-Palestine protests last semester had their first appearance in Princeton Municipal Court on Tuesday. All the arrestees are charged with defiant criminal trespassing, a petty offense in the state of New Jersey.
After several delays, the Graduate Hotel in Princeton silently opened its doors to the public on Thursday, Aug. 1 without announcement. Its opening concludes a saga of delays and issues for Princeton’s newest hotel.
Beginning Aug. 1, the copay for mental health visits in the Exclusive Provider Network (EPN) for students enrolled in the Student Health Plan (SHP) was reduced from $20 to $10 for the 2024–25 Plan Year. The plan also now completely covers the cost of EPN initial therapist consultations, meaning students on the plan can begin mental health care with an off-campus provider.
On June 3, I woke up to the news that my employer for the summer, Paramount, had been sold.
On a particularly sweltering day this May, I was sitting on the back terrace of my eating club, sweating in all the wrong places and nursing an iced coffee when I got a shocking, yet thrilling email: I had been granted a large sum from the Lewis Center for the Arts to realize an independent performance art project over the summer.
Princeton Rowing has certainly left its mark on the City of Lights, with program alumni securing three medals to close out the sport’s Olympic run.
On a busy Thursday afternoon in Paris, the Tigers smelled gold in the women’s foil competition taking place at The Grand Palais. Team USA, with junior Maia Weintraub on the roster, cruised through their three bracket matches to take the top prize. In turn, they became the first ever American team, male or female, to claim gold in the team-based competition, with Weintraub claiming another gold medal for the Orange and Black.
The Ivy League has a long and storied presence at the Olympic Games. In the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, 241 men from 14 nations competed in Athens, Greece. Team USA was made of 12 men, all from Columbia, Harvard, and Princeton.
As the first full week of the Olympics got underway, there were plenty of Tigers in action across a range of events, with a handful taking home medals.
Minh-Thi Nguyen ’21, a gifted physicist and cherished friend, passed away on June 21 after being struck by a box truck while cycling in Cambridge, Mass. She was 24 years old.
Magic ring. Six stitches.