A culture of service
Regarding 'Civic disengagement, please' (Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2007): Over tea with Wilson School Dean Anne-Marie Slaughter '80 last week in Shanghai, she raised the question of whether "civic engagement" places too much emphasis on service as a social culture and too little as an expression of individual will. Are Princeton students fighting for causes they believe in, or are they simply volunteering because they're being told to? Does it really matter? Slaughter seemed to suggest that the mission of the Pace Center is to promote a service-as-social-culture — that this accomplishes more than waiting for students to find the will to volunteer on their own. I very much hope that she is correct, and that this newly coined culture will promote, and not inhibit, individual self-cultivation. Andy Chen '09
The Borough was wrong about Cottage
Regarding 'Court awards Cottage tax-exempt status' (Monday, Sept. 17, 2007):
Cottage Club filed for tax-exempt status in accordance with an existing law. Flouting the existing laws, the Borough denied its request. Even though Cottage was properly considered tax-exempt, the Borough continued to collect taxes. The Supreme Court has ruled in favor of the laws, and in favor of Cottage, ordering the Borough to repay the taxes that were wrongfully collected. The Daily Princetonian reports, "To fulfill this compensation, the Borough will raise taxes." 'The taxpayers are being forced to pay for a club they are not allowed to use, which is ironic, isn't it?' Princeton Borough Mayor Mildred Trotman said after the ruling was handed down May 29." The Borough essentially spent money that it did not have. If it had acted in accordance with existing laws, the money would never have been collected, much less spent. The hubris of the Borough's decision makers is what taxpayers will be paying for. Jennifer Mickel '07
Princeton will lead the pack in deflation race
Regarding 'Average grades drop 6.4 percent' (Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2007):
I'll be waiting for the follow-up article with the headline "Number of Other Colleges Adopting Grade Deflation Policies Increases 0 percent. Since Implementation." The University just has to figure out how to spin grade inflation as a racist and/or class-discriminating practice like they did to Early Decision, and colleges all over the country will follow suit. Mike Westrol '07
Funding an imaginative world
Regarding 'A 'Second' Princeton' (Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2007): When I received a mailing a few weeks ago announcing that the Class of 2006 had donated nearly $100,000 in our first year as alumni, I felt truly proud to be a graduate of a University that inspires such loyalty and generosity and spent a few moments thinking about the many deserving individuals and traditions that money would help support. When I read this morning that the University has spent $1,675 (not including $195 on monthly service fees) to "own property in a 3D virtual world," I wondered if it was too late to ask for my $25 back. True, I'd probably just spend it on beer, but at least the beer would be real. David Baumgarten '06 Former 'Prince' Managing Editor
Read More
$56,000 in debt at graduation is not the financial aid Princeton advertises
Avi CheslerTake my story as an example — despite repeated evidence, both before and after taking out loans, that I would be unable to pay what Princeton asked of me — the University never set a cost that I could truly meet loan-free.
In the Garden State’s service and the service of humanity
Olivia Ragan, Lauren Aung, and Madison LintonIt is important to cultivate in students interest in local and state level change, because it is the most direct way to give back to the New Jersey community that sustains the University.
Why do two-thirds of your summer research wages go to Princeton, anyway?
Isaac BarsoumThe income that students earn from employment is not “miscellaneous.” So Princeton must decide: Does it want its students — all of them, not only those who can afford it — to be able to work on the important research happening at Princeton, or be forced to go home?
The income that students earn from employment is not “miscellaneous.” So Princeton must decide: Does it want its students — all of them, not only those who can afford it — to be able to work on the important research happening at Princeton, or be forced to go home?