Looking backward and moving forward

The annual mad rush to meet Dean's Date deadlines, submit take-home exams and study for finals is now upon us. It is not surprising, then, that students have too little time during the close of the school year to reflect on the year now behind them and too little energy to look forward to the year ahead. That's why The Daily Princetonian Editorial Board is here to help. In this editorial, we examine some of the most important issues of this year and point out what we hope will be on the University's agenda in the fall.

Princeton, as usual, hosted a laundry list of the most powerful and most brilliant people in the world including — but certainly not limited to — Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Sen. Hilary Clinton (D-N.Y.), author Elie Wiesel, Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff, Justice Stephen Breyer and journalist Seymour Hersh. While the University was attacked from both the left and right for its selection of speakers, we look forward to a similarly astonishing variety of figures next year.

The University has taken several steps in the past year to encourage civic engagement by Princetonians while they are students and after they graduate. Both the Wilson School's nascent "Scholars in the Nation's Service Program" for graduate study in public policy and the PACE Center's new Summer Public Service Fund are steps in the right direction. We hope the University will work next year to expand programs like these and help to fund new initiatives like spring break service trips.

The University has improved its level of transparency regarding the four-year residential college system. The effect that the new system will have on social life at Princeton, however, continues to elicit some hope and much concern. It is imperative, for example, that the University and the eating clubs find a way to bridge the gap between club dues and University financial aid awards. Otherwise, the University risks turning the four-year residential colleges into ghettos for lower-income students and transforming the eating clubs even more into fortresses of wealth.

Perhaps the best example of a place where the University got things right this year is its decision to support the campus pub experiment. The Editorial Board has always been a strong supporter of a campus bar which promotes safe drinking and a social alternative to the Street. Now it's time for the Borough and the state to get on board. We hope the University recognizes the importance of the issue and will devote considerable time next year to lobbying the proper authorities.

Lastly, we wish this year's graduating seniors the best of luck. Remember though, Princeton is the beginning of learning, not the end. Stay active and engaged in your new homes and communities wherever they may be. The world is yours to shape.