On Wednesday, the 'Prince' reported on the founding of the Princeton Coalition Advocating Investor Responsibility (P-CAIR). This group wants Princeton University Investment Company, through proxy voting, to pressure companies in which Princeton owns a substantial share of stock to adopt socially and environmentally progressive business practices. Currently, Princeton seeks to maximize its longterm return on investment when casting proxy votes and does not consider the environmental or social impacts of those votes.
The formation of this group represents the growth of an understanding among students that Princeton University can address environmental, social and economic problems on a scale unreachable by even well-established nonprofits and advocates.
The University's size is impressive and gives it great leverage to effect real change. In a "A Princeton Profile," a pamphlet dedicated to recording metrics of Princeton's size, we read that Princeton is the 15th largest employer in New Jersey and the largest in Mercer County, that the University's economic impact on the region is approximately $1.9 billion per year and that our endowment is now $9.6 billion.
In lofty exhortations on civic values, President Tilghman has reminded us that we as Princeton students have an affirmative duty to contribute to the greater good. It's time for us to turn that rhetoric back on those who hold the purse strings at Princeton.
The lawsuit brought by the Robertson family against the University will drag the Wilson School's efficacy as a training ground for public servants into full public view. We can be sure that, regardless of the outcome of the lawsuit, the scrutiny heaped upon the University by outsiders will be an impetus for some significant change, and the Wilson School will improve its record of sending its graduates to work in the nation's service and in the service of all nations.
It is important to recognize, though, that our impact on the nation and world can be even more immediate than, and just as important as, whatever Princeton graduates can achieve in the policy world. We may have the ability to participate in the geopolitical game, but that does not mean that we can shirk our duty to clean our own house of injustice.
Here are three ways in which the University can address injustice in its own backyard:
Create and contribute to a regional workforce housing fund. Low-income workers at Princeton University and other companies in the region are unable to live in the communities in which they work. In central New Jersey, as in much of the country, jobs are being created in the suburbs, but homes affordable to those working low-wage jobs are not.
Make all new construction and renovation conform to high standards of environmental sustainability. Green building techniques are now a proven way to reduce the use of virgin construction materials, as well as curb the high energy bills plaguing the University's Priorities Committee. This year's $4 million budget shortfall was largely avoidable, but we will continue to be held hostage to a volatile energy market as long as we fail to build with sustainable materials and principles. I'll be writing more about this recommendation in future columns.
Require that contractors selected to work on Princeton's campus conform to affirmative action hiring principles. We need to continue to hold the administration accountable for this lapse in the fulfillment of the University's duty to provide opportunity to all regardless of race.
When a dining hall worker or janitor finds that he or she cannot afford any home but one in the heart of a declining ghetto, when we spend tens of millions of dollars on new construction but fail to prioritize sustainable building principles, and when we fail to give minorities access to opportunity on our campus, the honor and glory of Old Nassau are tarnished. If we have a love for Princeton, then we have an obligation to protest these failures and work for change. Thomas Bohnett is a sophomore from Princeton Junction. He can be reached at tbohnett@princeton.edu.
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