Maintain status quo of Whig Hall
Regarding 'Give back Whig Hall' (Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2006):
As a student in Whig-Clio who participates in its multiple subsidiary programs, I can say that Jason Sheltzer's commentary is not only factually incorrect, but also misleading and highly unrepresentative of the majority of Whig-Clio members.
Sheltzer implies that the University places undue restrictions on the student membership regarding use of Whig Hall. This is simply untrue. The president of the society possesses a key and responds to member requests for hall access at any time. Students are not prohibited from enjoying the hall in the late hours. In fact, debate team members and their guests slept in Whig Hall overnight this past weekend!
Moreover, Whig Hall is bustling with activity. Last week, I walked into Whig Hall and found the French theatre group L'Atelier rehearsing on the first floor, Athletes in Action holding a crowded meeting in the Senate Chamber and Mock Trial practices on the third floor. Whig Hall is continuously filled with student action related to both Whig-Clio subsidiaries and other campus interests.
To suggest that any success of debate is atypical is also misleading. This past weekend, Princeton Mock Trial dominated the American Mock Trial Regional Tournament and earned two bids to the prestigious National Championship Tournament in Iowa. This year, 48 students tried out for seven open spots, making this year's tryouts the most competitive in memory. Earlier this fall, Princeton Model Congress attracted more than 100 excited Princeton students to Washington to work with more than 1,000 high school students. The International Relations Council also frequently holds public discussions with prominent professors on campus and stages popular conferences several times a year.
It is true, as Sheltzer asserts, that there is some room to grow in terms of making the Whig-Clio Society itself more cohesive and social. Yet making demands for autonomy to the University is not the appropriate solution. Writing factually incorrect columns with self-serving biases not only is a disservice to the debate membership that Shelzter represents, but also insults the other subsidiaries and hurts our symbiotic relationship with the University.
Michael Vu '06
University is being Big Brother
Regarding 'Leeds '06 opts to stay in running' (Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2006):
Apparently Ira Leeds is not allowed to say that campaigning should be allowed for the young alumni trustee position. But it is also apparent that other candidates are willing to express their own views to the public. Candidates told the 'Prince' that they held the following positions: Princeton Matters is an ill-motivated publicity stunt, which to me seems like public criticism of a specific opponent candidate; Princeton Matters is a dead-end and campaigning is bad, which again specifically criticizes Ira; Princeton Matters is not a form of campaigning, which implicitly criticizes the majority of candidates for YAT who we now know think otherwise.
If Princeton Matters is indeed campaigning, then anyone who expresses a position like those above ought to be investigated for the same crime. Or maybe Big Brother can just stop worrying about this altogether.
Colin Anderson '07
University should post marks
Regarding 'Professor sends all course grades by mistake' (Thursday, Feb. 9, 2006):
I agree completely with the comments of David Billington '50 and John Fleming GS '63 about posting course grades. In the fifties, all grades were posted in Alexander Hall opposite student names. Sure we saw all the grades, but we were really only concerned with our own.
Yes, we laughingly could joke to a friend about their mark. "Hey George, you only got a 2+. You better not spend so much time at the Nass," (which was damn good as the marks were on the "curve" system, grading against each other's performance, not some "standard" yardstick).
Or, another would ask a friend to go look at the marks and let them know what they got. There were only a sprinkling of 1, 1+ or 1-, the very top grades. Most were in the bulge of the bell shape curve — the 2 to 3 range.
All marks should be posted today with the names and scores. There should be no secrets now as there were none then. Princeton is about a superb education, not just every mark one receives. And it is not just a springboard to a graduate school. I thought this Gen X at Princeton was more mature.
Laurence C. Day '55
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