Intellectualism investigated

A silent precept. Tales of weekend debauchery over Sunday brunch. A professor sitting alone during office hours. Do these situations occur too often at the top University in the country?

That question is at the center of a debate over campus intellectualism.

The specter of anti-intellectualism at Princeton has haunted the University since the turn of the century, when the school was seen as a veritable country club for the sons of the well-to-do. Woodrow Wilson 1879 first suggested four-year colleges and introduced the precept system to reform a student body he saw as under stimulated and even outright resistant to the University's academic mission.

The U-Council's letter to the student body published in The Daily Princetonian on Sept. 30 marks the first time students have publicly raised the issue. The letter encouraged the University community to examine the intellectual vibrancy of campus life.

In classrooms, dormitories, dining halls and eating clubs students and faculty have been discussing "intellectualism" — which is a difficult concept to define. Those interviewed tended to define it as an enthusiasm for and engagement with one's studies inside and out of the classroom.

Some have pointed to precept structure, composition of the student body and social life at the 'Street' as possible roots of the problem — arguing that there is not enough overlap between students' academic and social life. But others believe that no problem exists, and any ostensible intellectual shortcomings reflect national trends not endemic to the University.

History professor Anthony Grafton, who participated in the initial intellectualism forum in the Frist Campus Center with professors John Fleming GS '63 and Patrick Deneen, is among the many who believe the academic climate on campus needs improvement.

"Princeton is a less intellectual place than it ought to be," he said.

Fleming agreed, summarizing his view of the problem: "A lot of . . . students [are] living intellectual lives that are unadventurous and confined and constrained."

Some blame admission policies for the dearth of intellectual excitement. Philosophy professor Henry Frankfurt said he worries that the school accepts too many students for nonacademic reasons — such as athletics and legacy ties.

Admission Dean Fred Hargadon did not return telephone calls and emails for this story.

"[They are] not the strongest students in the University," Frankfurt said.

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He said Princeton has a more prominent "jock culture." At Yale University — where he taught before coming to Princeton 12 years ago — academically-minded students set the tone of the student body, he said.

Jason Navarino '04, who just returned from a semester abroad at Oxford University, also noticed differences between the two student bodies. Oxford students are admitted on a strictly academic basis of high grades and near perfect scores on A-level exams, with few concessions made for students stronger in areas outside academics.

Navarino said conversations during the day at Oxford were more focused on work and what people were studying than at Princeton, attributing the difference to the daily "9-5" work schedule, which allows meals to be taken when academics are on the forefront of students' minds.

There are also significant differences between the predominant social outlets at Princeton and at Yale, where students generally favor intimate room parties to the anonymity of the 'Street' scene.

Yali Lewis '05, who transferred to Yale from Princeton last year, said Yale's calmer and more personal social scene fosters casual conversations that are generally more "intellectual" in nature.

Harvard University has also been wrestling with the balance between the social and academic realms. Local bars and its exclusive Finals Clubs have received criticism — similar to that aimed at the 'Street' — for their negative influence on students. Under the guidance of a new dean of arts and sciences, Harvard is also undergoing a complete reevaluation of its curriculum. Using the input of faculty and students, the administration is seeking to define more concretely what it means to receive a Harvard education, according to Sujean Song Lee, president of Harvard's Undergraduate Council.

"The bottom line is that I don't feel like there's a general excitement about academics," Lee said.

At Princeton, the precept system has borne the brunt of recent criticisms. Almost everyone has encountered a classroom filled with "bright" students who remain silent, reluctant to participate in class discussion. Deneen said he had observed an "absence of a robust willingness to talk during preceptorials."

Many students and faculty have also questioned the effectiveness of graduate student preceptors, frustrated that some do not speak English well enough to communicate their subject matter clearly. Grafton also questioned their "moral authority" to command undergraduate respect, recalling the original system of professor-run precepts.

Although some problems with the intellectual environment may be structural in origin, national trends also influence the student body.

President Tilghman said that while she thinks many students live deeply intellectual lives, their tendency to overschedule often leaves them with little to no free time.

"Over the last 25 years . . . there's been an intensification of this, the level of competitiveness, the sense that to succeed, one has to be focused in on building the resume every moment of the day," she said. She also noted the rise in stress-related visits to the McCosh Health Center.

Fleming noticed a similar trend. "Students do work very hard," he said, "in many cases too hard, in many cases with the wrong ethic, which is an achievement ethic rather than a self-development or learning ethic."

Joe Patterson, a visiting professor from Columbia University teaching AST 205: From Planets to Quasars, said despite their busyness, his students' work ethic and intellectual curiosity has impressed him greatly since he came here this fall. He said approximately four times as many students have approached him for help on a regular basis than at any class he has taught at Columbia. Generally, "students here are much more diligent," he said.

Paul DiMaggio, a sociology professor who left Yale in 1992, said he has also been impressed by the caliber of Princeton students and their intellectual curiosity, citing Princeton's emphasis on undergraduates as a primary factor in their success.

Princeton's independent work requirements and compact campus also foster a healthy intellectual atmosphere, he said.

Students have praised the way the admission office crafts each class. "Students at Princeton are well-rounded," Daily Princetonian columnist Katherine Reilly '05 said at a Whig-Clio debate on intellectualism. "They're some of the most impressive 18, 19 and 20-year-olds in the world."

Still, the ongoing debate and widespread student dissatisfaction with the current academic climate, has touched off a search for structural solutions to the problem.

The U-Council committee on intellectualism plans to hold six public forums in the spring to formulate suggestions for the administration.

Tilghman said the University would be open to recommendations from the committee once they have concrete suggestions.

"I would be thrilled to sit down with them and figure out how we can move the agenda forward," she said.

Preliminary reform in precept administration, student body size and the residential college system is already underway. Frankfurt is optimistic that the increase in class size could bring in a greater number of academically-minded students. Fleming was particularly excited about the future four-year colleges in Whitman and Butler colleges. "I'm very hopeful that these four-year colleges . . . eventually will be the locus of a kind of cultural life that hasn't had any other place on campus up till now," he said.

Changing the semester schedule is yet another idea on the table for piquing student interest in their studies. A quarter system, for example, could prevent students from getting weary of a long semester of the same four classes, Deneen said.

Though a conclusion to the debate, if one is indeed possible, remains far in the future, many participants in the debate are grateful that a vigorous conversation is taking place.

"I think it's great that so many students seem to be thinking about what the place is like," Grafton said.