Responding to criticism: SUV emissions; affirmative action
Dear Brian Beck,I appreciate the fan mail, but I am worried that you are not really reading my columns (or at least not all of the words in them) before you respond. This is a common trend among students campus-wide, so you can't be blamed (right?).
For instance, in the letter you wrote on January 15 in response to my article against sport utility vehicles, you said that SUV's "emit some toxic gases, but those are as strictly limited as in any other car." Other than being completely wrong, this statement also concerns me because I specifically mentioned in my article that SUV's "exhaust three times more hydrocarbons and four times more carbon monoxide than a car."
Another example is your February 28 response to my article on affirmative action. You wrote that one applicant shouldn't be given preference over another just because of melanin content, when the real determining factor is class. You actually claimed that I had forgotten this important point — that class matters. I am wondering if you misunderstood what I meant by "a college applicant deserves additional consideration solely because he or she is black . . . all other things being equal [i.e.: class, hardship] . . . " So see — we are in agreement. There is no reason why race and "hardship" can't both be considered. In fact, this is exactly what happens at the University of Michigan.
I must also say I did not appreciate your implication that either I falsely "claimed" or relied on faulty studies when you wrote, "I doubt that the studies [Williams] cites actually control for economic background as he claims." These studies were published in the New England Journal of Medicine and the Journal of the American Medical Association — you may have heard of them. I can email you specifics if you are interested (as I could have to begin with . . . ).
By the way, regarding the "concept of consumer choice," you write that "In America, we let the consumer decide — without taxing products that some don't like." I find this at odds with reality. For example, we have a tax on tobacco products, and alcohol, and luxury vehicles, and firearms, and in New Jersey there is a tax on junk food. It seems as though in America there are actually taxes everywhere! Anyway, I look forward to hearing from you, Robin Williams '04
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For a more effective USG, train newly elected members on the bureaucracy
Luqmaan BambaFor student representatives to make the change we can through the systems we have, we need a more onboarding process that prepares us to navigate these byzantine processes.
For student representatives to make the change we can through the systems we have, we need a more onboarding process that prepares us to navigate these byzantine processes.
Go big or go home: the case for a single Lawnparties
Sarah ParkConsolidating the fall and spring budgets into one would reinforce the position of Lawnparties as a quintessentially Princeton tradition and a mainstay of the social experience.
Consolidating the fall and spring budgets into one would reinforce the position of Lawnparties as a quintessentially Princeton tradition and a mainstay of the social experience.
Princeton must retire the Atatürk Professorship
Greg ArzoomanianWhile no professor has held the title since Atatürk Professor of Ottoman and Modern Turkish Studies emeritus Heath W. Lowry departed in 2013, the position remains open for new candidates. Just as Princeton exempted Wilson’s name from celebration due to his racist ideologies, it must do the same for the Atatürk Professorship: It must be retired.
While no professor has held the title since Atatürk Professor of Ottoman and Modern Turkish Studies emeritus Heath W. Lowry departed in 2013, the position remains open for new candidates. Just as Princeton exempted Wilson’s name from celebration due to his racist ideologies, it must do the same for the Atatürk Professorship: It must be retired.