ICC appreciates the efforts of USG on club financial aid
Regarding 'USG passes club aid resolution' (Monday, April 3, 2006):
I believe the article misrepresents my views on the issue of eating club financial aid and that the matter deserves clarification.
In speaking about social fragmentation at the Street, I was trying to make the point that the University knows it needs to do something about the issue and that the administration is well on its way to doing so. Indeed, what was left out was that I commend the administration for its work so far.
As to my quote that I, as ICC president, am unable to "express a unified view" for the clubs, the situation is more nuanced. Each club has different priorities, so it would be impossible to present them in a unified manner. But that is not to say that the clubs are disjointed.
Finally, while club graduate boards have an important role to play in this issue, so do student officers. They are the ones who know best what tangible changes the University can make to benefit all students. Not including student officers in the discussion would a mistake.
It is unfortunate that the article represented the ICC as reacting negatively to the resolution. From my perspective as a student, officer and ICC president, I am highly appreciative of USG president Alex Lenahan's and the USG's recommendation for a more financially and socially inclusive Princeton, and I am grateful for the University's quick response in helping us move in that direction. Marco Fossati-Bellani '07 ICC President Colonial Club president
Introductory courses do teach students
Regarding 'A failing system' (Monday, April 3, 2006):
The 'Prince' editorial board insists that math and the sciences have a monopoly on "joke" classes taught at the University. But I wonder why this is so.
For instance, it would seem to me that setting supply equal to demand is no more important or difficult a skill than is calculating acceleration. And yet the possession of this former skill is almost enough to ensure an A in ECO 100. I doubt that everyone agrees that ECO 100 is this easy — or else the Admission Office is failing to provide a well-rounded atmosphere — but the point is that it is on par with classes such as Physics for Poets. Indeed, many classes offer equally little insight into the difficulty or general study of their subject area.
Perhaps one might argue that ECO 100 is more worth taking than Physics for Poets, but such value judgments are entirely inconsistent with the motives of liberal arts education. And rather than resort to these judgments, I think we ought to realize that introductory courses in all subjects are capable of teaching Princeton students important knowledge which is both useful in life and valuable in itself — regardless of their difficulty.
Colin Anderson '07
'Aspies' coming out
Regarding 'How "Hells Bells" are gonna get me ... and help me' (Thursday, March 30, 2006):
The anonymous writer gives us a beautifully-written glimpse into his mind, a mind society has labeled with the term "Asperger's Syndome."
People with this condition and others, such as ADD, bipolar disorder and OCD, have long been labeled by the psychiatric community as somehow less than "normal" individuals. Many people with these differing conditions have been helped by medications, some by counseling or therapy, and most probably by pulling themselves up by their own bootstraps.
But new and creative thinkers recognize that all conditions of the human mind, including Asperger's, are just differences among human individuals, differences which have probably long been included in the lives and history of the human race, differences which have enriched the history of the human race when strengths have been realized, often in spite of great difficulties.
"Anonymous" writes with insight about himself as well as about the late Bon of AC/DC fame. Along the way, he describes his feelings of growing confidence, nurtured by supportive parents and one would hope, friends. With a little help from one's friends and a little less reliance on the image of Asperger's Syndrome as a set of deficits, I hope more and more "Aspies" like myself will want to "come out," anonymous or not.
Melinda Jones
How many students needed for diversity?
Regarding 'University launches program to up diversity' (Thursday, March 30, 2006):
I just don't get it. The Admissions Office is trying to broaden further the applicant pool so that even more students apply to Princeton. How many applicants do we need in order to fill a class with 1,200 highly intelligent students who also possess a wide array of athletic, musical and artistic talents? The present 20,000+? 30,000? 50,000? It seems to be neverending. Oh, how I wish the increasingly vacuous word "diversity" would disappear from the lexicon of the Admissions Office.
Michael Scharf '64
Read More
Keep academic authority in human hands
Lily Halbert-AlexanderThe Trump administration’s attacks on research and higher education as well as a blind reliance on AI chatbots are reflective of a societal backslide: a commodification of knowledge that prioritizes “efficiency” over the messy process of getting to an answer, where nuances are flattened and the truth is fungible.
The Trump administration’s attacks on research and higher education as well as a blind reliance on AI chatbots are reflective of a societal backslide: a commodification of knowledge that prioritizes “efficiency” over the messy process of getting to an answer, where nuances are flattened and the truth is fungible.
What do we owe society for a Princeton education?
Jia Cheng ShenThe social and moral responsibility that comes with receiving a degree subsidized by both private generosity and public trust is significant.
The social and moral responsibility that comes with receiving a degree subsidized by both private generosity and public trust is significant.
Notes from a so-called enemy’s classroom
Jennifer JenningsIt wasn’t revolutionary. It was homework. But it was homework that asked: how do we build schools that work for all kids? Inclusion, after all, is the “I” in DEI. That’s what we’re thinking about together. And caring about each other’s experiences and opportunities, it turns out, isn’t something you can outlaw.
It wasn’t revolutionary. It was homework. But it was homework that asked: how do we build schools that work for all kids? Inclusion, after all, is the “I” in DEI. That’s what we’re thinking about together. And caring about each other’s experiences and opportunities, it turns out, isn’t something you can outlaw.