Fleming's plane and train musings influenced parents
Regarding 'Professor Fleming's last column' (Monday, May 15, 2006):
I can't read your last column without letting you know that you have influenced parents, too, with your regular contributions to The Daily Princetonian. I told the retiring editors this past winter that I have learned more about the University through my faithful perusal of the online 'Prince' than through any other entity. No other vehicle would have been as meaningful and fun. My daughter graduated in 2005, but I continue to read about this institution of which I have grown so fond of. Your years with the University have, indeed, lent the enriching dimension to the paper that your "zealous recruiter" had envisioned. I was always anxious to read "the venerable professor's column." I enjoyed your sense of humor, plentiful allusions and your knowledge of history and literature which you used to enlighten us on current events/issues. And I always learned a half dozen new words! So I'm sad that you'll retire from the paper as you retire from the college. I cast my vote for your garnering your "fugitive pieces," within which there's surely good history of the University. Your valedictory article not only facilitates your personal transition into the next stage of your life but also allows us readers ask, "So what has it all meant, these past 40 years, to this very devoted scholar in this very special institution?" Thank you for your musings composed in planes and trains and shared with the Princeton community. Pat Mericle P'05
Orange Key should be independent from Admission Office
Regarding 'Admission takes over Orange Key' (Monday, May 15, 2006):
As a former tour guide and Orange Key officer, I was deeply disappointed to read that the long-independent organization was being brought under the imperium of the Admission Office. Anyone who has ever read the glossy, canned-ham admissions booklets knows the Admission Office's view of the campus is not entirely connected with reality. I'm not suggesting that the folks at the Admission Office are prevaricators, but they do have a bottom line to meet: They are required to make Princeton look as attractive as possible to prospective students. In doing so, they often provide a hyper-idealized portrait of the University. For a long time, Orange Key guides have provided an independent dose of reality, from answering unsavory questions about campus drinking ("Newman's Day" tours were always fun), to occasionally noting that an economics preceptor could not speak English. Whether such honesty will be allowed to thrive in the future remains an open question. Your article suggests that guides will not be required to tow the party line — at least for now — but it is troubling to me that the honesty of formerly autonomous guides now rests solely upon the whim of the Dean of Admission. Michael Taylor '05
Housing Office needs to have a more sympathetic heart
Regarding 'Checking out' (Monday, May 15, 2006):
Thank you for writing this piece. I can only hope that it has some effect on University policy. I am one of the unfortunate souls who has an exam on the May 27, (MOL 348: Cell and Developmental Biology), one day after my final exam in CHM 304: Organic Chemistry. I will be one of those scramblers because I certainly can't spend precious hours before these two demanding exams on packing. Come on, Housing — have some sympathy! Have a heart! Sara Viola '08
Class of 2006 '666' graduation date is not a silly superstition
Regarding 'FitzRandolph Gate of Hell?' (Friday, May 12, 2006):
Despite the humorous tone of this article, I find that it is in very poor taste and, quite frankly, an insult to the entire Princeton community. The accompanying graphic was equally jarring and upsetting. The article commits a grave error in assuming that everyone can laugh this date off as a silly superstition. To add insult to injury, your editors chose to run this piece as the front page, lead article. It is a farce that this article's sole investigatory basis is a town psychic and some nonchalant Princeton seniors. I know your publication may see the entire story as an entertainment piece, but I find it highly inappropriate to joke about this date and an occasion that is both joyful and solemn in marking a hard-earned achievement. Graduating seniors suffer enough anxiety as it is with theses defense, final papers and comprehensive exams. Must you tarnish our special day with inflammatory and ridiculous claims about the "Gates of Hell?" The Daily Princetonian has crossed the line and stooped to the National Enquirer's level with this article, and it is simply not funny. An apology to the Class of 2006 and your entire readership is certainly in order. Enjoy the cheap laughs now but realize that my friends and I will leave Princeton with this article as the unfortunate final memory of our University's major student-run publication. Becky Gidel '06
Writer calm down: Brielmaier not yet on Browns' team roster
Regarding 'Brielmaier signed to Browns' (Wednesday, May 10, 2006):
Your writer needs to calm down. The mini-camp Ben Brielmaier attended was non-contract, and he has not made the team roster. He has only made the 80-man group who will attend pre-season training camp in August, which will be cut down to 53 men when the season begins. He can also be cut at any time before then. Art Benis '58
Boathouse appreciates coverage but wants facts to be straight
Regarding 'Junior examines boathouse dynamics' (Wednesday, May 10, 2006):
As a member of the women's openweight team and a participant in Jordan Bice's survey, I was incredibly disappointed with the story that was written about his junior paper. His interview with the rowers was not at all about the "pecking order" in the boathouse or how funding is distributed throughout the boathouse, but about the perceptions of each team from within the boathouse and among ourselves, such as how the women viewed themselves and their accomplishments in relation to the men's teams and women's lightweight team.
Perhaps the most disappointing aspect of the article was the headline: "Crew gender equality persists at the boathouse." If anything, rowing for Princeton has given myself and my teammates the opportunity to compete at an equally demanding and competitive level as any men's team. Even though rowing is filled with male traditions, the Princeton boathouse overcomes these and has one of the best male-female dynamics in the country. Funding is spread throughout the boathouse and each program has at least one, if not more, new boat for this racing season. Bice adamantly expressed that his findings represented pure speculation and did not concretely prove anything. While everyone at the boathouse looks forward to when The Daily Princetonain gives our teams some well-deserved coverage, I'm sure we would all prefer you got the facts straight more often. Danielle Villoch '07
Use of the word 'diverse' in article is misleading
Regarding 'Diversity up at grad school' (Monday, May 8, 2006):
According to this article, "efforts to strengthen minority representation in the graduate school resulted in a slightly more diverse group of accepted students this year."
If you inventoried the fauna in a rainforest and found examples of five types of plants, and a year later you found six types, you could say the plant life there was "more diverse" than it had been. But if you found more examples of those same five types of plants, that wouldn't make that rain forest's plant life any more diverse.
So why do you go along with the University's meaningless and misleading use of "diverse?" According to the article, the graduate school's "fauna" consists of "African-Americans," Latinos, "Native" Americans, Asian-Americans in the humanities, women in science and engineering and None of the Above. As long as the school has one member of each of those categories, it does not become more diverse by adding additional members of those same categories.
There is nothing in the article to suggest that the grad school is any more diverse than it was last year. If The Daily Princetonian were more of a paper and less of a student paper, the headline would have said something like "More underrepresented students in grad school." Terry Wintroub '69
Retiring Professor T.K. Rabb also deserves recognition
Regarding 'Two great professors leave a legacy' (Friday, May 5, 2006):
Without taking away either from John Fleming or John Gager, both of whom I deeply admire, and without wishing to seem to castigate the 'Prince,' since I was greatly pleased by your coverage of them, I feel it is unfortunate that you did not mention history Professor T.K. Rabb, also retiring this year. I am certain that Rabb's contributions are also accurately described by your praises of these two fine Princetonians. Professor Robert Hollander '55 Emeritus Professor in European Literature
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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.