The public smoking ban recently proposed by the Princeton Regional Health Commission will extend to the Prospect Avenue eating clubs, according to Bill Hinschillwood, the commission's health officer.
"I don't know all the details of what the setups are at the eating clubs, but I would assume the dining rooms would be considered a public place," he said. "The common areas of the buildings would be covered under the ordinance."
Princeton Borough Council president and lawyer Roger Martindell said he also believed the proposal would apply to eating clubs. "If it's inside the structure of the building then [the ordinance] would apply," he said.
The proposed ordinance prohibits smoking in restaurants, bars, cabarets, taverns, workplaces, restrooms, lobbies, reception areas, hallways, elevators and all other public enclosed areas with the exception of retail tobacco stores.
"We are very concerned with the impact of smoking and secondhand smoke to our community and especially to the youth," health commission chair Robert Hendry said.
The Princeton Regional Health Commission, which proposed the ordinance, heard evidence both in support of and in opposition to the ban, but will not reach a decision on the matter until after a public hearing slated for next month.
Singer protesters arrested
A day of protest against the University's hiring of controversial bioethicist Peter Singer culminated Sept. 21 in the arrest of 14 activists, who were dragged away from Nassau Hall after sealing off the building for two hours.
About 30 wheelchair-bound protesters and several other disability-rights advocates from Not Dead Yet barricaded all five entrances to Nassau Hall — trapping University officials inside and preventing at least two deans from entering — before being removed by Public Safety around 1:30 p.m.
Just hours before, about 200 protesters descended on a soggy campus while singing, "Shapiro promotes murder," and wielding posters that compared Princeton to Auschwitz.
After they attempted to block entrances to Nassau Hall, Princeton Borough Police and state troopers surrounded them with metal barricades, warned them to leave and then charged them with trespassing and disorderly conduct.
The Borough police helped proctors process the arrests but the physical removal of activists was left to campus security. None of those arrested were New Jersey residents.
Shortly after being dragged away from the north entrance of Nassau Hall, Not Dead Yet self-proclaimed "ambulatory wheelchair warrior" Eileen Sabel chided President Shapiro for not answering the protesters' demands. "The administration wouldn't give us the courtesy of a response, so we escalated," she said. Sabel added that it was the 40th time she had been arrested in the past decade.
Olympics causes controversy
After receiving more than 100 e-mails from disapproving classmates in three days, sophomore class officers scrapped their plan to burn an effigy of former Dean of Student Life Janina Montero on the first snowfall.
With no other event approved by the administration, the class did not hold an event in lieu of the Nude Olympics on the first snowfall Jan. 18.
Prior to the first snowfall, class president Ben Shopsin '02 expressed doubt that the class would be able to find an activity that is both attractive to students and acceptable to administrators, although he pledged that the class officers would continue to seek alternatives.
"It looks improbable with the restrictions being placed on myself and the officers that we're going to be able to hold an event," Shopsin said. "We've given in so many suggestions and received so many suggestions, I'm really unsure what's left to be tried."
Shopsin said the decision to abandon the mock trial for Montero followed by a burning of her effigy was spurred in part by the e-mails he received from classmates who objected to the idea.
"For the most part, these [messages] echoed the same concerns I've had from the start about this plan — that it's spiteful, mean and doesn't do the same things that the Nude Olympics seemed to do for the class," Shopsin said.
Forbes withholds donations
University trustee Steve Forbes '70 announced Sept. 21 that he will not contribute any more money to the University unless it rescinds the appointment of bioethics professor Peter Singer.
The billionaire, whose family's financial ties to Princeton are legendary, has already called on the administration to dismiss Singer. But in an open letter, Forbes upped the ante and threw his political influence with the anti-Singer movement.
A Forbes spokesman read the letter while standing among protesters from Princeton Students Against Infanticide and Not Dead Yet at an anti-Singer rally held outside Nassau Hall.
"This has been rumored for several weeks," said University spokesman Justin Harmon '78.
"It's too bad that a man who is a sitting trustee thinks it appropriate to take this position for political reasons when part of his job as a trustee is to uphold academic freedom," Harmon said.
But Forbes campaign manager Bill Dal Col said the Republican candidate would continue to vociferously oppose Singer's appointment, both at future trustee meetings and, if the situation arises, on the campaign trail.
As for whether or not Forbes would put pressure on other prominent donors to stop contributing to the University, Dal Col said, "What he'll do is he'll continue to speak out about this and people can make their own decisions."
Forbes also called for fellow presidential hopeful and former New Jersey Sen. Bill Bradley '65, as well as Gov. Christie Whitman, to join him in demanding the University rescind the Singer appointment Dal Col said.
In the wake of Forbes' announcement and the protest, President Shapiro continued to defend Singer's appointment. "I believe [the protesters] are completely sincere in their concerns, but I am completely sincere in my own determination that the University should be a place where thoughtful ideas can be shared," he said.
Board of trustees chair Robert Rawson '66 rebuked Forbes for his attacks on Singer, declaring that the presidential candidate violated a "fundamental responsibility of trusteeship."
Man shoots wife near campus
Police have yet to apprehend the man who allegedly opened fire on his estranged wife in the parking lot of the Merwick Rehabilitation Unit on Bayard Lane on Oct. 19.
Errol Thompson allegedly shot his wife three times with a 9-mm handgun outside the facility, which is adjacent to the University's Stanworth Apartments complex. The woman was then transported by ambulance to Helene Fuld Medical Center in Trenton, where she underwent surgery, according to Princeton Borough Police Lt. Charles Davall.
Thompson's wife, who is employed by Merwick, had just arrived at work with a male friend in her Dodge SUV when the incident occurred. Thompson pulled in behind them, climbed out of his car, a red Acura Integra, and began to argue with his wife, Davall said. When the male friend saw that Thompson had a knife, he climbed out of the car to intercede, Davall said. He said Thompson thrust the knife in the man's direction, and reached toward his waistband.
The friend, suspecting that Thompson was about to draw a handgun, turned and ran toward the building to call the police, Davall said. He said Thompson then fired a single shot at the man, and the bullet passed through the man's clothing on the left side, but did not strike him.
While the friend was in the building, he heard three shots, police said. When he returned to the car, he found that Thompson's wife had been shot three times. Thompson was driving out of the parking lot in his car at the time, according to police.
Sculpture installation delayed
Installation of a massive Richard Serra sculpture, planned for the area between Peyton and Fine halls, has been delayed after the astrophysics department expressed concerns that lighting for the sculpture would interfere with the operation of telescopes on Peyton Hall's roof.
Consultants are completing lighting studies of the 94-foot-long, 162-ton sculpture, which is in storage in a University facility.
Vice President and Secretary Tom Wright '62 said the University is considering the astrophysics department's concerns, but added he is reasonably certain the sculpture will be erected in the planned location.
"I think the department is more comfortable than they were," Wright said, adding that the completed studies indicate that the lighting around the sculpture will not interfere with the telescopes significantly.
Wright said the remaining issues are the choice of lighting and engineering changes to the large utility lines under the sculpture's proposed site.
Floyd causes water crisis
Hurricane Floyd damaged a major water plant that provides the majority of the University's water in September, leaving the campus without regular water service for eight days.
The University asked students to refrain from any unnecessary water consumption, such as doing laundry, flushing toilets and showering.
In addition, the Elizabethtown Water Company warned consumers that all water should be boiled for at least three minutes to make it safe for consumption by eliminating potential bacterial contamination.
During the water crisis, the Department of Dining Services spent more than $12,000 on water, ice and disposable plates and silverware to stay in operation, according to director Stuart Orefice.
The lifting of the water restrictions could not come soon enough for most students. With their supplies of clean clothes dwindling, many students headed for the laundry rooms after the University unlocked them.
"At home, I'd gotten used to wearing something once and throwing it into the wash. I'd always been able to do laundry," explained Adena Springarn '03 as she sat atop a dryer in the Holder laundry room. "Now I know I should conserve clothes. It wasn't something I'd ever thought about before this."
Police arrest Lewis '55
University trustee Peter Lewis '55 pled guilty to three counts of drug possession the day after New Zealand customs officials allegedly discovered what they described as "significant" amounts of hashish and marijuana in his briefcase at the Auckland airport, according to airport customs managers Paul Cambell and Phil Chitty.
Chitty said drug-sniffing dogs allegedly caught Lewis smuggling 32 grams of cannibus into the country at the baggage pick-up area on Jan. 5. After questioning the president and CEO of Progressive Corporation, police allegedly uncovered an additional 47 grams of cannibus, 56 grams of hashish and assorted smoking pipes and bongs at another undisclosed location, according to Chitty.
Though the amount of drugs Lewis allegedly possessed was in the "upper half" of common individual consumption quantities, police said they do not believe Lewis intended to distribute the drugs.
Nevertheless, the charges carry maximum penalties of 14 and eight years of imprisonment, respectively, for possession of hashish and marijuana. Lewis avoided the prison terms after only one night of incarceration and was released on bail the following day.
Cold damages Edwards
A 12-inch, 15-pound stone fell from the northwest side of Edwards Hall earlier this month, nearly striking a building services employee who was shoveling snow outside the dorm, according to Crime Prevention Specialist Barry Weiser.
"[The custodian] heard a rumbling and looked up and saw a stone falling off the roof," Weiser said. "It appeared that water seeped into the joints and froze, causing the ice to expand and loosen stones."
The University has closed off the potentially hazardous area and boarded the northwest door of Edwards, Weiser said, adding that repairs on the building were begun shortly after the incident.
Students were asked in an e-mail from the undergraduate housing office to use an alternate door when entering the building.According to Lou Dursi, associate director of maintenance, University roof maintenance and masonry crews checked and approved the stability of Edwards Hall in September as part of an ongoing building maintenance program.
Despite these precautions, "water finds its way into cracks and into the ornate features in buildings with this architectural style," Dursi said. "We go around and make sure that the buildings are tight and stable, but stone buildings are sensitive to water ingress, and these things can happen."
Haven issued health citation
A judge ordered Hoagie Haven to pay a $500 fine for health code violations, but the popular sandwich shop has resolved its differences with the Princeton Regional Health Department, health officer Bill Hinschillwood said.
Hoagie Haven owner Konstantinos Liras pleaded guilty Dec. 20 to a charge of smoking in a food-preparation area, but local Judge Russell Annich dismissed two other health-related charges facing the restaurant during a hearing at Princeton Borough Hall.
The health department agreed Nov. 18 to give the sandwich shop until Dec. 20 to replace wooden tables and shelves with stainless steel ones in food-preparation areas and to add more refrigeration space. Hinschillwood said the restaurant has rectified the problems adequately, but the health department will continue to monitor the shop.
"I think it's a little misleading to say the two charges were dropped," Hinschillwood said. "My interpretation was that the three charges were merged into one. They got a $500 fine, but they corrected all the violations.
Liras said he does not believe that University students will be reluctant to eat at the shop as a result of the fine. "We have fixed whatever they were asking, and that's it," Liras said. "We have yearly inspections, and whatever they ask us to do, we do it all the time."
Liras declined to comment further on the hearing and referred all other questions to his attorney, Lori Greenberg.
Greenberg said no customers have ever become sick from eating at the restaurant and the health department simply wanted the shop to "modernize" some of its resources. "An employee was smoking in the food-preparation area, and so they fined them for that," Greenberg said. "Everyone knows now that smoking won't be tolerated."
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