U.S.News ranks U. first for eighth consecutive year
For the eighth consecutive year, Princeton took first place in U.S. News & World Report's college rankings.
This is the eighth straight year the University has been topped the rankings and the second in a row that it alone has held the position. This year, Harvard is ranked second and Yale third, unchanged from last year.
Rankings are determined using a formula that takes into account retention and graduation rates, class sizes, average SAT scores and alumni giving rates, among other factors.
One part of the rankings formula that has garnered significant media and institutional attention in recent months is the peer review ranking, which is based on the perceptions that college and university presidents have of other institutions.
The presidents of dozens of liberal arts colleges in the Annapolis Group have signed onto a statement agreeing to abstain from providing peer rankings and from promoting their respective institutions' rankings in promotional material.
In 2004, Dean of the College Nancy Malkiel told The Daily Princetonian that she "[has] always believed that the U.S. News rankings are of very limited value," though the University has stopped short of shunning the rankings or refusing to participate.
This year's rankings were published in the magazine's Aug. 27 issue. —Kate Benner
Students plead not guilty to assault charges
A Princeton senior and a friend pled not guilty to aggravated assault in the early-morning June 1 beating of a then University undergraduate during Reunions.
Nicholas Hermandorfer '08 and Adam Fassnacht, who graduated from the University of Virginia this spring, turned down a plea deal offered by the Mercer County Prosecutor's office, which would have resulted in probation.
Hermandorfer's lawyer, Murray Gendzel, said his client turned down the plea deal because there are witnesses who deny that Hermandorfer was involved in the assault and because Hermandorfer passed a polygraph test, the Associated Press reported. Earlier statements from Borough Police indicate that Hermandorfer and the victim may have fought in the past.
The case will now likely move to a grand jury hearing, prosecutor's office spokeswoman Casey DeBlasio said. In that confidential proceeding, the prosecutor's office will present its evidence against Hermandorfer and Fassnacht. The grand jury will then decide whether to send the case to trial.
The victim was beaten in an unprovoked attack and suffered a broken eye socket, cheekbone and nose, she said, citing a report from Borough Police.
A grand jury hearing has not yet been scheduled, DeBlasio added. Details of its proceedings will not be released, but its decision on whether to indict the two defendants will be made public upon its conclusion. —Jonathan Zebrowski
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