Princeton truly in the nation's service

When I told a white woman that I failed to vote during a scholarship dinner back in Los Angeles, she was convinced that I was just another disenfranchised Negro frustrated with our country's polarizing politics. "So tell me," she said with the look of a sympathetic, paternalistic white liberal, "why didn't you vote?" After mingling for two hours, I was pretty tired and cranky, so when this woman presumed to have me pegged, I snapped at her. "I just didn't vote. I forgot to register," I said, more than obviously annoyed by her insistent questioning. Any competent journalist would be satisfied with this answer, but she was going for a Pulitzer. Before she could ask another question, I blurted, "It's not because I feel disenfranchised or anything else. I'm just busy and forgot to register." Finally defeated, the white woman gave me the saddest of frowns and did not say another word to me the entire night.

My story is one of the many stories behind those Princetonians didn't vote against President Bush's naked push for executive supremacy. What's important for the Princeton community, however, at least now that the composition of Congress is decided, are the issues that affect us most or at least some of our friends here at the University. The College Board, an organization that most Princetonians are all too familiar with, found that while the cost of private schools continue to skyrocket, the average federal Pell Grant award declined for the first time in six years. There is not a large percentage of Princeton students on Pell Grants (8.4 percent), but there are enough students to merit a push by elite colleges, especially members of the Ivy League, to ensure that the incoming Democratic Congress works to raise the cap for these much-needed funds.

Besides Pell Grants, many students are concerned about the increasing amount of loans their parents (Princeton students can't take out loans) are forced to take out to finance their children's education. Average debt rose from $7,650 on average per student from 1992-93 school year to more than $17,000 in 2004. Compare that to Princeton, where only 26 percent of graduating seniors experience any type of personal debt. Princeton students are relatively lucky compared to others.

With universities neurotically obsessed with how to make ends meet, one of the main duties of a university president is usually to be the chief fundraiser for the school. Making trips to hobnob with potential donors and massaging millions of dollars out of the pockets of hesitant alumni are commonalities of the job. But when a school has established financial security beyond a doubt, as is the case with schools such as Princeton, does the president's role change?

We've already seen Princeton act as an agent for change, often relying on its sterling reputation to make ripples in the world of academia. For example, grade inflation was something that had long been discussed as a problem in academia. When Dean of the College Nancy Malkiel began her crusade against it, however, there was no school-specific pressure for Princeton to take charge. Malkiel understood this, but believed that Princeton taking the lead "would make it harder for others to throw up their hands and say they can't do it."

For Malkiel, Princeton had not only a responsibility but also a mandate to be a chief advocate in returning academic integrity to higher education. And as with Malkiel, so too must President Tilghman continue to expand her duty beyond the confines of the University, tackling higher education's greatest challenge: Ensuring socioeconomic equality for students everywhere within academia's walls.

A new, dynamic inner-city campaign to attract urban, working class and poor students to our campus is a start. But Tilghman's ability to make things right here in paradise, relative to her potential as an agent of change, would be a small achievement. Advocating extensive change on many of the socioeconomic issues that plague students nationwide, Princeton students included, would be a far more sensible fit considering Princeton's standing in the world of academia.

This newly minted Democratic Congress, full of freshmen looking to make their mark, is ripe for progressive legislation that can improve the lives of college students all over the nation, and Princeton is capable of leading the way. If Tilghman & Co. apply the same determination in convincing Washington to ensure higher education access nationwide as they did to enacting grade deflation, then Princeton will have real, wide-ranging impact. David Smart is a sophomore from Los Angeles, Calif. He can be reached at dsmart@princeton.edu.