Democrat-rich faculty not fine for some . . .
Regarding 'Democrat-rich faculty is just fine' (Wednesday, March 9, 2005):
Until [Jon] Wiener has sat in a classroom, as a Democratic student,with a professor who is a Republican and vocal about his viewpoint, and a class full of other Republicans equally vocal and derogatory about Democratic viewpoints, he can't really claim to understand what the pressure is like within a classroom setting for conservative Republican students. Additionally, while there is not conclusive literature on the grading of conservative students, most conservative students have stories about papers that were made difficult to write because of the lack of support and literature offered by a liberal professor on a conservative standpoint. That's certainly not directly marking someone down; but torpedoing student efforts seems almost as insidious.
Clearly, academia has always been more liberal, and probably for exactly the reasons that Wiener points out. However, an acknowledgment of the difficulty that might pose for conservative students, rather than a dismissal of their uncomfort, might be a more "liberal" and "open-minded" stance for the author to take.
Kate Thomas '03
. . . But less of a problem for others
Regarding 'Democrat-rich faculty is just fine' (Wednesday, March 9, 2005):
Kudos to Jon Wiener for taking on the right-wing shrills who impugn the reputation of so many good men and women scholars for supposed "liberal bias."
I'd advise conservative Tigers "gasping for breath" in the "Maoist indoctrination camp" known as "liberally-biased" Princeton that there are many other institutions of higher learning in America where they might feel more comfortable.
These are schools where "liberal beliefs," such as human evolution, equal opportunity and social justice get called into question every single day. Best of all: I hear Bob Jones University, along with Jerry Falwell's Liberty University and those Christians madrasas (also known as 'Bible colleges') have rolling admissions, so you can apply over spring break! I'm sure your politics preceptor would be happy to write you a letter of recommendation — assuming she's not a latte-siping pinko-commie feminist.
Asheesh Siddique '07 Editor, Princeton Progressive Review
Grad student quality of life hasn't changed
Regarding 'Graduate students face isolation' (Monday, March 7, 2005):
It was quite disappointing to read about the isolation that the current generation of graduate students experience. It's been over 10 years since I earned my Ph.D. at Princeton, and we faced much the same situation then. It seems that the only thing that's changed is that there are now field trips to go bowling, rock climbing, hiking, ice-skating and paintball. That's not much progress in a decade!
Left unsaid in the article was the physical isolation that students experience living in the graduate college — at one edge of the campus, far removed from the center of gravity of campus life. I would have hoped that the Frist Campus Center would give grad students a place to gather that was closer to the action, but evidently not.
Sandeep Mulgund GS '94
Not all grads are unhappy with their lot
Regarding 'Graduate students face isolation' (Monday, March 7, 2005):
I feel that articles such as this one create the divide between undergraduates and graduate students and also fuel the stereotype of the overworked, underappreciated graduate student who grades undergraduate lab reports all day and works all night to try to please his advisor who is never satisfied.
I am a second-year graduate student in Molecular Biology and am very happy with every aspect of the Molecular Biology graduate program, my advisor and lab, as well as the Princeton community.
Yes, graduate school is a difficult and stressful process, but it is also highly rewarding and there are many satisfied and happy graduate students at Princeton. I feel that Princeton's Graduate School programs do a great job of fostering a graduate student community by providing social activities and events.
Maybe in the future, The Daily Princetonian can interview graduate students who are happy doing research in a field that they love, are taking advantage of opportunities at Princeton to build relationships with professors and students, both graduate and undergraduate, who have similar interests, and have both the time and energy to have a social life.
Anna Azvolinsky GS Molecular Biology
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