To many, it is clear that Princeton has not fully thrown off the robes of "the Old Princeton." For evidence, one needs look no further than the aptly titled blog "It Happened Here," which is located here and hosted by a student group of the same name, of which I am a member. The blog solicits accounts of marginalization of all sorts on campus - be it according to income, gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, religion or anything else. Cloaked in the protection of anonymity, revealing stories of all sorts are coming in. For example, one athlete recounted an argument with a classmate over whether athletes at Princeton were inherently less intelligent. Another post noted that while Jew jokes are commonplace on campus, this does not make them all right or acceptable.
There is a tendency among many students, even those who are the targets of these slights, to brush them aside and to tell those who are offended to stop complaining. Others acknowledge the malady but plead inability to cure it. "It Happens Here" is the answer to both of these groups because it defines, through a number of personal accounts, the type of discrimination that occurs at Princeton. As the stories indicate, marginalization here takes a soft form - no one is ever so crude as to be blatantly discriminatory, but many jokes and sentiments create an atmosphere that is unfriendly to diversity.
Due to its rawness, the blog has provoked responses from some students that argue that the posts on the website only worsen the problem. I have heard this complaint before when the issue of marginalization pops up at the lunch table. Yet, this response is the most insidious because, if the issue is never discussed, then the problems remain undefined and unaddressed. This attitude has led to a situation, similar to the "racial stalemate" in America that Obama described in his speech, where Princetonians are either unaware of the problem or unwilling to discuss solutions.
Luckily, the posts provide interesting information that both helps define the problem and hints at potential solutions. Students speak of feeling marginalized in both social and academic settings. The most hurtful comments in social settings are often glib and humorously intentioned. This points to an uncomfortable truth: The real solution to marginalization is for community members to think more carefully about their off-hand remarks. We should feel free to laugh among friends about our differences, but it is important to remember that no one has a right to offend.
This, however, does not mean that we should sink back into the hyper-PC era of the '90s. After all, it is this culture that contributed to our nation's current "racial stalemate." This is where things get a little trickier. As an intellectual community, we should respect freedom of thought and therefore should be very careful about limiting serious discussions that occur anywhere, particularly in precept. Yet, many of the posts identify the precept as a hot spot for perceived slights and attacks. One student recalled a precept where the professor lent credence to the idea that whites were racists. Others tell of feeling tokenized - being looked to for comment on issues such as welfare or rap music - because of their race. While students should remain respectful but uninhibited in the precept, it is up to the preceptor to provide balance. Clearly, the administration needs to do more to teach preceptors how to moderate discussions without marginalizing or offending their students.
Sen. Obama's speech opened the door for Americans to start discussing uncomfortable issues once again. "It Happened Here" was started months before Obama's speech, but it responds to his challenge. If we as a community are going to confront the lingering legacy of discrimination at Princeton, it is important to let everyone know what "it" is that happens here.
Adam Bradlow is a freshman in Wilson College from Potomac, Md. He can be reached at abradlow@princeton.edu.
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