USG members only 'privilege' at concert was doing work for students
I am writing in response to Aileen Neilsen's column that appeared in the 'Prince' on Nov. 12 regarding The Goo Goo Dolls concert. I take serious issue with her assessment of the "privileged USG officers" who were sitting "quiet and bored" in the press box. If Ms. Neilsen had taken the time to ask any of us up there with our heads down why we were so tired, she might have discovered that we had been up since 6 a.m. that morning working in Dillon Gym all day long to make sure that the concert she had the privilege of attending ran smoothly.
Quite frankly, so long as she is willing to accuse all us USG members of merely "pretending to make themselves useful," I would be just as happy if she had returned her ticket for a refund. Unfortunately, we cannot ask her to refrain from enjoying the benefits of the sweeping changes to come as a result of the Precept Reform Committee; nor can we require as a result of her ingratitude that she not participate in the campus dialogue on intellectualism (too late for that). In truth, we cannot keep her from enjoying the wide-range of services that the USG members dedicate their personal time to providing. It certainly would not be fair if the next time a student group in which Ms. Neilsen is a member applies to the Projects Board for funding, we consider the thanklessness of their membership.
It seems then all we have left to do is ask that rather than biting the hand that feeds her, Ms. Neilsen acknowledge that the USG is in fact doing a lot to enhance her time here as an undergraduate. After all, is it really the crowd-surfers who "want everything," or Ms. Neilsen who wants the luxury of benefiting from all the USG's efforts alongside the privilege of ignorantly deriding us for resting our heads after a long day dedicated to the student body? Michael Kimberly '03 USG Treasurer
The 'unconventional' art of trying
I am perplexed by Aileen Neilsen's column on Nov. 12, in which she ridicules the general Princeton populace with our "passive" attendance of the Goo Goo Dolls concert on Nov. 8. As one of the "privileged" in the "privileged" seating that evening, I would like to clarify a few points. I am not a member of the USG.
Rather, I was personally asked by the USG Social Chair to assist in the grunt work of setup throughout the morning and evening. As he is a roommate and good friend of mine, I agreed to help. While most students were still sleeping off the effects of a "conventional" drinking night, I was already moving tables, carrying furniture, setting up dressing rooms and completing other tasks where I "pretended to make myself useful."
What did I receive for these efforts? A seat for the show. I apologize if Ms. Neilsen feels my lack of visible enthusiasm dampened her concert going experience, but I wish she would recognize and appreciate my efforts, along with the rest of the dedicated and hardworking student staff that made that very concert possible. Or perhaps that's too conventional. Jon Ophardt '03 is a politics major who was wearing jeans and singing along at the Goo Goo Dolls concert.
'Ice Skating for Scuba Divers' and other topics of conversation
In an editorial in the Nov. 11 issue of The Daily Princetonian, Assistant Professor Patrick Deneen wrote an article about "The impossibility of a one-sided dialogue," in which professors — not students — are the ones guilty of anti-intellectualism. While I acknowledge that I may just be one of those lucky students who ends up in classes where professors actually care about teaching, I do not think that mine is a rare experience. Those few professors who — according to Deneen — "object to [the] article" probably do not even read the "Prince" anyway. Students' time is best spent helping those professors who actually care to learn about how to teach. So, with this letter, I intend to encourage those professors who think about their roles at Princeton to reexamine how they approach their jobs and consider whether they truly serve their students. I would suspect that if you have read this far, you care enough about your students to read on.
Three of my four courses are seminars, but none of them are restricted to the classroom. In my Hamlet writing seminar, Professor Kerry Walk is organizing a trip for us to a Shakespeare exhibit in Philly. For my double humanities seminar, HUM 216-217, David Kasunic has already organized a trip to the Greek National Theatre Company's Antigone in New York and plans to organize another such trip for next semester. In addition, at the urging of my classmate Marina Petrova, the four professors — Sitney, Rabb, Prado-Villar and Meserve — have created "Ice skating for Scuba Divers," a time for the professors and interested students to gather in the Rocky private dining room and simply talk. This occurs at lunch every Tuesday, and our discussions have ranged from Aristotle's obsession with organization to reconciling opposing views as to the origins of the New Testament's Gospels. Is this not intellectualism?
Of the four courses in which I am currently enrolled, I expected my organic chemistry class, CHM 301, to have the least instruction, simply due to the shear number of students; on the contrary, it has proved to be equally as enriching as my seminars, both in and out of class. After my first hour exam, Professor Jones took the time to discuss my strengths and weaknesses outside of his office hours. Paul Rablen and Lee Friedman — who help teach the course — also give up countless hours to make sure that we actually understand the material and what it means in the real world; I myself have attended sessions — not precepts, but extra sessions that the professors organize on their own — in which discussions have often taken us out of the text book and into current issues in the world of chemistry.
Mr. Deneen, I will let you know when I get a response concerning this article from my professors, because they all read the "Prince." When I do, I hope you will reconsider your assertion that students are an "annoyance in the lives" of most of the faculty. Call me naive, but I just don't think that's true. Ayan Chatterjee '06
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Guest Contributors"As policy students, we are appalled by the blatant hypocrisy of the University administration, which has relied on fear-mongering and false narratives to discredit student protestors. We are increasingly disillusioned with the dissonance of what we are taught in our classrooms and the University’s actions."
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