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E-Prince
Created by Zachary Ruchman
The Daily Princetonian Editorial Board. First row from left: Brittany Sanders '13, Josh Abbuhl '10, Will Pickering '11, Chelsea Ayers '12, Mary Marshall '10, Zayn Siddique '11, David Christie '10, Dan Rauch '10. Back row from left: Matthew Butler '12, Christine Emba '10, Justin Cahill '11, Jess Lanney '10 (Chair), Oliver Palmer '11, Jonathan Sarnoff '12. Not pictured: Shivani Radhakrishnan '11
Editorials
Editorial: Lawnparties as a benefit concert
Lawnparties is among Princeton’s most beloved traditions. At the beginning and end of every school year, thousands of undergraduates and guests take to Prospect Avenue for a day of music, preppy clothing and community in a truly one-of-a-kind event. Lawnparties is a great tradition, but the Board believes one step could be taken to make it an even more meaningful experience. The Board proposes that the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students and Undergraduate Student Government make Lawnparties into a benefit concert. Proceeds from the event would go to a charitable organization chosen by consultation between representatives from the USG and the student body.
Editorial: Spring rush
Majority: Last year, the University announced a new policy regarding Greek letter organizations on Princeton’s campus, forbidding freshmen to take part in any activity sanctioned through these organizations. The rationale given by the University was that Greek organizations isolate students from meeting people outside their organization and are dominated by ...
Editorial: On-campus discipline for sexual assault
Sexual assault is unique among cases requiring on-campus discipline. The physical evidence in these cases rapidly deteriorates or is completely unavailable, and often the only witnesses are the victim and the guilty party. Such a dynamic makes it difficult to meet the current standard, since it is hard to accumulate enough evidence to meet the high burden of proof. This likely has the effect of discouraging students from pursuing claims of sexual assault in front of the Committee on Discipline because they feel that they will not be able to prove their cases.
Editorial: On P/D/Fing COS 126
The board understands the great difficulty that the Department of Computer Science must go through to provide these well-administered courses to so many students. However, we believe that even if COS 217 and COS 226 are to become no-P/D/F/ courses, the P/D/F option should at least remain for COS 126.
Editorial: Gun violence
The Board feels that in order to better protect the Princeton community, the University should arm those Public Safety officers who are sworn police officers in the state of New Jersey by giving them access to an armory in the Public Safety headquarters. We further propose that this arsenal only be accessed if there is evidence of a lethal weapon on campus. The quantity and type of arms in the arsenal should be determined by consultation between Public Safety and the University with reference to the types of arms carried by local police officers.
Editorial: Academic deadlines
With the release of Princeton’s course offerings for the fall semester and this past week’s course selection process, the Editorial Board believes it timely to discuss the practices surrounding course deadlines. In particular, the board is troubled by the uneven distribution of information available to students prior to academic deadlines such as the deadline for selecting of courses and deadline for pass/D/fail election.
Editorial: Improving sexual health
The Editorial Board supports the idea of a mandatory module on sexual harassment and bystander responsibility. In addition, we propose including a second, complementary section on safe sex practices — covering both contraception and sexually transmitted infections. Students would be required to pass a brief test at the end of both sections to check that they have processed the information.
Editorial: Reexamining grade deflation
While grade deflation continues to influence the academic environment at Princeton, the Board believes that constructive conversation about and criticism of this policy has declined. Given the upcoming presidential transition and the recent transition in college deans, we believe that the grading policy ought to be reconsidered; we further believe that the realities of the policy illustrate that its implementation has been problematic.
Editorial: Taking advantage of Preview
Welcome to Princeton, prefrosh! If you are reading this article, you have begun to explore the bustling campus that we call home. You have worked long and hard to get here, and now you have an important decision to make: where you will spend the next four years of your lives. During Preview, you will encounter Princetonians who will share their love of this university and fellow prefrosh who are beginning this journey with you. You will have to consider many factors while making your choice — academic opportunities, campus culture and, of course, the students who will study, discover and grow alongside you. This can be daunting, although it shouldn’t be — we think Princeton is clearly the right choice. So today, the Editorial Board dedicates our editorial to helping you make the most of your visit.
Editorial: Marriage equality
Because there are many Princetonian and national voices speaking in the public eye on marriage, the Editorial Board believes that now is an appropriate time to discuss same-sex marriage. Specifically, we write in support of same-sex marriage and consequently recommend that the Supreme Court begin to extend the right to marry to same-sex couples by overturning California’s Proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriage and the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act.
Editorial: Combating elitism
In the aftermath of the publication of Ms. Patton’s letter to the editor, there has been extensive media response to the sentiments she expressed. While commentators have largely focused on Ms. Patton’s advice for young women who attend Princeton, the Board feels that there is a second issue in the letter that has not been given adequate attention by the national media. Specifically, while the Board is concerned by several of Ms. Patton’s contentions, we are particularly troubled by the elitism implied in the letter. Ms. Patton’s letter implicitly assumes that those who have attended Princeton are inherently better than others in society. Though many within our community reject her views on marriage, we believe her view of the superiority of Princetonians is far more common among the student body.
Editorial: Princeton Preview and the Street
As of Thursday, 1,931 Princeton applicants received their acceptance letters and can officially be called “prefrosh.” The tables have turned, as the University must now convince these prefrosh to choose Princeton. An important aspect of this decision process takes place during the two Princeton Preview sessions, which, this year, will take place on April 11-13 and April 22-24. The purpose of Princeton Preview is to provide admitted students insight into campus life through interactions with current students, attending classes and getting a feel for the campus culture.
Editorial: Certificates in the Wilson School
Over the past few years, the Wilson School has undergone dramatic changes in its undergraduate program. These changes have included the discontinuation of selective admissions, the emphasis on specific policy tracks and the discontinuation of the certificate program. With this in mind, the Board, while recognizing that the previous certificate program posed numerous problems, recommends that the Wilson School create a new certificate program that would aid in the school’s aim to further collaboration between policymakers and those in other disciplines and departments. We believe that the School should offer certificates in specialized policy areas, such as security or health care policy, instead of offering a general certificate.
Editorial: Honor code reforms
The Honor Committee recently announced that it would be holding focus groups to solicit student opinions regarding the punishment for writing after time has been called on exams. In an op-ed published in the ‘Prince,’ Honor Committee chair Antonia Hyman ’13 reported that there has been a significant increase in the number of students reported taking extra time on exams. The Editorial Board welcomes the Honor Committee’s initiative and calls for even greater transparency. Taking into account our judgment about the relative severity of working over time and the likely effects of a policy change, the Board believes that the default sentence for writing over time on an exam should be a zero on the exam and academic probation, rather than a one-year suspension.
Editorial: On P/D/F language classes
While Princeton students are able to fulfill distribution requirements with numerous courses that can be taken pass/D/fail, students are required to take all introductory level language courses on a graded, no-P/D/F scale. The Editorial Board agrees that a letter grade should be required for fulfilling the University language requirement. However, the Board believes that students who have already completed the University foreign language requirement should be allowed to P/D/F introductory level classes for additional foreign languages.
Editorial: Second semester rush
While the Editorial Board supports many of the concerns raised in the report, we do not wholly agree with the final recommendation: We believe that banning rush events for only the first semester of freshman year would achieve most of the benefits of postponing rush while avoiding certain problems.
Editorial: Intent to cheat
We believe that, while perhaps professors should penalize students who unintentionally cheat by lowering their exam grades, students should not suffer broad punitive measures as mandated by the current system.
Editorial: More healthy options
Dining Services should consider a number of potential changes. It ought to introduce a greater range of healthier options at more affordable prices at late meal. Furthermore, the Frist Gallery ought to offer more orange plate combos for their healthier sections.
Hopes for Eisgruber’s Presidency
The Editorial Board would like to congratulate Eisgruber on being named Princeton’s 20th president. Back in September, the Board wrote an editorial complimenting President Tilghman on her confident leadership and detailing the issues we believed were imperative for the incoming President to address during his or her tenure. In light of Mr. Eisgruber’s appointment, the Board would like to reflect on his time as provost and express its hopes for his presidency.
Editorial: Informational ambiguity
The University ought to have taken a more straightforward and honest approach in reporting Calvo’s death.
Editorial: On the Title IX investigation
Given that the Committee on Discipline hears only one or two cases of sexual assault every year, however, it seems that changing the standard of review would not be wholly effective in solving the problem. Attempts to improve the disciplinary process must also focus on reforming campus culture so that more victims of sexual assault feel comfortable reporting it to appropriate campus authorities.
Editorial: Sexual assault awareness
Princeton is certainly exceptional in a number of ways, making it is easy to assume a problem like sexual assault “does not happen here.” Yet even in our ivory tower, sexual assault occurs. It is important to acknowledge that Princeton is part of and contributes to the national figures. We are no exception.
Editorial: Charging at the U-Store
Allowing students to charge their U-Store purchases to their student accounts will help both the student body and the U-Store itself.
Editorial: A change, "finally"
Finals are clearly a difficult time for everybody involved, and we credit the University for the job it has done in making this stressful period as painless as possible. Of the relevant policies, however, three stand out in need of change.
Editorial: This week's referenda
The Editorial Board urges students to vote for the proposed changes to the Honor Code but it does not support the ENDA referendum.
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