Inspired by my favorite publication, I have decided to pen some observations of mine since my time at Princeton into a thread, that I call the RANT.
Why is it that the columnists of The Daily Princetonian are chained by the shackles of negligence? While we write on the dime every two weeks, we don't receive any pay, free subscriptions to the 'Prince,' the right or hassle of voting in the paper's elections, nor a box of cookies. That has got to change.
Have you ever noticed that at Princeton, there are a lot of self-proclaimed "stupid" people? I mean, nobody claims to have a very high GPA but in some gasp for humility, large swaths of Princetonians say things like, "Oh my God, I studied like only two hours for this test," or "My grades have been slipping" etc. Can we publish everybody's GPA so that we know who's lying, and who to punch for raising the curve, and who to thank for doing the opposite?
If Princeton claimed that its academic population consisted of about 6,500 students (incl. graduate), and faculty, the University would be wrong. We'd be forgetting the old people from the town who consistently show up to my classes on time, or even the night before. I would like to make a rule that if there is a lecture or speaker on campus, you cannot get there more than five minutes early. Is that too much to ask? I am also pushing for quotas.
Have you ever been to the second floor of Frist, and seen the Frantz Student Organizations Center? How ironic that no student organizations are housed there. I feel that to make Frist a real student center, and real social alternative, the builders should have thought about having more than just one television, two pool tables, a Frist Fest, and a multipurpose room. At least have a slot machine.
Who exactly chooses this Baccalaureate speaker? And why can't we call it our Commencement address so that we can fit appropriately into our television-paced perception of reality? Not that James McPherson is bad — he's eminently qualified — but he's already here. I feel like we should be bringing somebody, perhaps as far away as the moon, so that we get an outside perspective. Perhaps we should bring back the people who donated money for Butler College and ask them what they were thinking.
Speaking of committees, how many are there at Princeton? I feel that there are some people who have a separate section on their resumes for which committees they served on. I love it when they post online which students have been selected for a search committee, albeit through as surreptitious means as my inevitable deportation.
Who here has tried to organize a demonstration? OK to those three undergrads, and 1800 graduate students, and vegans from the tristate area, what is up with this? In order to have a protest you have to register it as an event, inform public safety, have it approved and remain in a confined area for a limited amount of time without impeding foot traffic. You might as well put people away in the grad college. Oh.
Speaking of dissent, have you noticed how in every building the windows tend to get punched out? This happened both my freshmen and sophomore years in Wilson College, and now in Pyne Hall. Does it make us feel more empowered? Well, admittedly I too have participated in this act, albeit by accident.
I noticed this year, in the first few weeks that many people's mattresses and bed frames were outside their doors etc, particularly in my hall. Perhaps people were seeking to donate their beds to the homeless, but more plausibly people were purchasing new beds. My question is: WHO DOES THAT? Before you write me an email that you do, be careful, because I will come sleep in your bed.
As my rant comes to a close, I would just like to comment on the people who have been carping about President Tilghman, the first female appointee for President at Princeton. These men have also complained of all the females that now occupy significant posts in the school. They complain about the Organization of Women Leaders, the Virginia Monologues (I know what it is, but I feel uncomfortable not being equal opportunity in my genitalia references) etc. I have never heard men complain about the existence of women so much. My question is are you frustrated because you haven't gotten any, or are you trying to thwart all future _____ to pursue a life of lonely self-infatuated celibacy?
Taufiq Rahim is a Wilson School major from Vancouver, British Columbia.
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