Students honored in University spirit awards

Seven students who have each contributed to various areas of campus life are being honored with this year's Spirit of Princeton awards. Robert Accordino '03, Sarah Apgar '02, Jamie Bartholomew '02, Rebecca Jones '02, Laura Kaplan '02 and twin sisters Maisha and Nariya Robinson '02 will be officially recognized during a dinner at Prospect House on Dean's Date.

Joe Kochan '02, who served on the selection committee, said the award is designed to recognize "people who have contributed in tremendous ways to University life here." In particular, he explained, the award is used to highlight the achievements of people who "put their heart and soul into what makes Princeton so great," but those who may not have been honored for their work in the past.

The Robinson sisters have worked together during their time at Princeton to improve the environment for minorities on campus.

The range of programs they have founded or worked on is seemingly endless. A modern African dance troupe. A program for the parents of minority freshmen to connect with faculty, administrators and students of color. A pilot program in which University students teach diversity appreciation to local children. Recruiting trips to high schools in Tennessee and Arkansas whose students do not usually apply to the University. A service project that takes University students to teach in Ghana.

"Over the last four years, I've really just tried to create opportunities to make students of color feel like this is a place for them, so they could look back favorably on their Princeton experience for years to come," Nariya said. "I needed to be the change that I wanted to see."

Maisha added, "I think one of the main reasons why we came here, aside from . . . an unparalleled academic experience, [was] a great deal more diversity than we could get in our home town of Memphis, Tennessee."

Administrators have consistently supported the twins' efforts to make the campus a better place for minorities, she added.

Robert Accordino '03 — a member of the Tigertones and the only junior to receive an award this year — organized a benefit concert for AIDS charities at the Kennedy Center in Washington. He is also the only undergraduate on the committee looking for a replacement for outgoing Health Services director Pamela Bowen.

Rebecca Jones '02, another award recipient, has been the president of Princeton Environmental Action for the past three years, as well as played club soccer and other sports. She said she plans to go to graduate school in materials science — a discipline that involves both physics and engineering — but will first spend a year in a public service job with Project '55 in Washington, D.C.

Laura Kaplan '02 — who has been active in SVC during her four years at Princeton, and helped launch a series of discussions about race on campus — said she was honored to have been chosen for the award from a pool of so many qualified students. "In general I'm very flattered to be receiving the award because there are a lot of very talented and committed students on campus," said Kaplan.

She also said she is glad the University has chosen to recognize non-academic achievement.