Letters to the Editor

Correcting 'Prince' article on Tuesday's forum on race

After reading yesterday's article on the faculty-student race "debate," I decided it was finally time to sit down and send a word or two to my favorite Princeton establishment, The Daily Princetonian. I wasn't sure how to start this letter when I sat down to type it because there were so many things that I wanted to say and so many points I wanted to get across.

I think I'll begin with a question to the 'Prince.' When you decided to include your interpretations of my comments and questions, as well as a confident reference to my race, how did you know that I am black? I am, in fact, biracial. Some people might call it the same thing, but I do not. Did you go on my color? Or my presence at such a meeting? Or by the tears I shed for "minority" issues? Or maybe you asked someone else my name and race because you certainly did not ask me. Not that this is uncommon or really that distressing, because I do proudly consider myself a member of the black community and claim the heritage that goes with it, but I was disappointed by such disregard for my racial identity, since the 'Prince' seemed so "down" just last week.

Next, despite the insinuation of the article, I was not dissatisfied with the panelists' statements, or with their views as pronounced after the event, as a few people stayed for further discussion. I deeply respect the achievements, experiences and efforts of the professors, deans and other administrators on campus who contributed to this and other similar events. I simply disagreed with much of what was said. And for my final point, I'll explain why.

I feel race at Princeton is a double-edged sword. On the one side, we, as minority students, are told to keep a hard heart in the face of inevitable race conflicts and to focus on academic achievement as a path to better experience and greater power later in life. On the other side, however, we are asked to become involved and nearly forced to create our own communities and to inform the University's policies and initiatives, while also told we don't have to represent all minorities everywhere. This makes for a confused student. Events and panels, retreats and conferences on race relations seem to consistently degenerate into a minority pep talk and coping workshop, when what is desperately needed is an honest look at the problems unique to minorities on this campus, including "lower" academic performance.

Assuming for one minute that the University and its members believe, as I do, that students here have earned their place and are working their best to maintain it, then why do we keep teaching minorities how to "just deal" with Princeton, rather than teaching Princeton how to deal with us? And not only to tolerate but to embrace us. I guarantee that would go a long way in ensuring minority academic success. Robin Stennet '01

Clarifying comments from article on diversity forum

While I am pleased that The Daily Princetonian valued the Princeton Achievement Alliance meeting on race relations Dec. 12, I fear the 'Prince' misquoted and misunderstood the broader implications raised by the panel of professors. At no stage did I suggest that students of color at Princeton stop being minorities when they joined the student body. The suggestion is absurd given that these students still belong to various ethnic groups, races and nationalities and live out the meaning of those experiences on a daily basis.

When such students come to Princeton, they must understand they also belong to a new minority — not one that erases their cultures or other identities — but rather one that enriches. Princeton students are privileged in that they have access to a wealth of resources. Too often, students of every color under-utilize these resources, making their undergraduate experience less than it could be.

Students of color continuously fight against assumptions made about their place in elite institutions. Doing daily battle gnaws away at their self-esteem. It is, as Robin Stennet '01 so eloquently put it, what "exhausts them." These students often feel let down by their classmates, faculty and University administration. We must take that sentiment seriously. Sarah-Jane Mathieu Department of History Program in African-American Studies

Extra endowment spending should address workers' rights

On Dec. 12, the 'Prince' ran a front-page article announcing a proposal to increase the percentage of the endowment to be spent in the coming year. Listed among the recipients of the increased funds were various undergraduate and graduate programs, the financial aid office and campus renovation projects — all worthy causes. Yet the service employees of Princeton were notably missing from the discussion of possible uses for the additional funds. The University community, and the writers at the 'Prince' in particular — having dedicated an entire issue of The Prince Magazine to the problem of workers' rights on this campus — have a responsibility to ensure that the concerns of this vital part of our community are not ignored.

The "workers' rights" issue of The Prince Magazine served an important function, one that all important journalism serves — to bring to light sources of injustice so that they can be dealt with by the community they affect. The grievances of Princeton's workers did not end with a newspaper article, though. The article provided the needed impetus for a greater workers' rights campaign, and has even led to the creation of the Workers' Rights Organizing Committee on campus.

I hope the 'Prince' will not ignore the movement it had a hand in creating. To that end, I vehemently urge the writers at the 'Prince' not only to be cognizant of the interrelated nature of the issues presented by the proposal and the current concerns of Princeton's employees, but also to take an active role in keeping the Princeton community's attention focused on this issue, one in which we can all make a difference. Let Provost Jeremiah Ostriker and Vice President for Finance and Administration Richard Spies GS '72's boasts of economic abundance remind us that no part of the Princeton community should be neglected. Scott Duffield Levy '02