In observance of the 20th anniversary of 9/11, The Prospect is asking Princeton community members — students, faculty, staff, and alumni — to share brief personal reflections, around 250 words in length. We invite you to share fragments of your family’s history, personal memories, and any other anecdotes related to 9/11 that are meaningful to your life. Please submit your reflections here.

As the lingering summer heat begins to simmer down, Princetonians all over celebrate the return of in-person classes and life on campus. At The Prospect, we’re thrilled to reintroduce Intersections, our bi-weekly newsletter dedicated to delivering the latest about arts and culture at Princeton to your inbox.

Despite a wet and stormy start to the semester, the hustle and bustle of campus life has more or less returned unimpeded. On Sept. 3, The Princeton Triangle Club brought back the annual Frosh Week show with ‘2 All the Boys 5 Loved Before.’ Last weekend, the student band Julien Chang and the Deep Green performed a concert at Terrace Club, and The Coffee Club celebrated their grand re-opening with free pastries for undergraduates and live music.

For staff at The Prospect, the return of in-person classes has provided a rich source of inspiration. For those who are new to campus, our writers share suggestions about what to do in Princeton, from dining on Nassau Street to thrifting locally. With a week of classes now behind us, others reflect on how our experiences from the virtual year will translate to the classroom.

In the 2021–22 season, The Prospect is also very excited to announce the return of ‘Under the Bubble’, a ‘Prince’ podcast that aims to provide a more intimate view into the incredibly vibrant and diverse lives of Princeton students. With Book-ish veteran and Prospect Senior Writer Gabriel Robare at the helm, this year’s revamp will not only feature longform interviews with student artists and performers, but also art, music, and film reviews from The Prospect’s resident critics. If you have a story you would like to see featured in Under the Bubble, write to us at prospect@dailyprincetonian.com.

The uncertainty of the upcoming year means that the arts may face additional challenges, even as museums and live performance venues reopen to the public. But having witnessed the tremendous grit and determination with which artists have confronted the pandemic, adapting new modes of creating and sharing in our collective move online, I have faith that the arts will continue to thrive and provide us with strength. As for The Prospect — we’ll try to do our part in disseminating seeds of artistic inspiration throughout the Princeton community. We warmly welcome you back.

Cameron (Cammie) Lee
Co-Head Editor of The Prospect
cameronl@princeton.edu

What’s the Conversation

• In a heartfelt self-reflection, Associate Editor José Pablo Fernández García describes, through his experience preparing for the annual Triangle Frosh Show, the palpable joy of attending and participating in live performances, classes, and events.
• Associate Editor Aster Zhang argues that Lorde’s third studio album “Solar Power” is a marked shift from the musical identity the musician has cultivated among her following with her critically-acclaimed albums “Pure Heroine” (2013) and “Melodrama” (2017). 
• Senior Writer Cathleen Weng takes readers behind the scenes of “REACTIVATING MEMORY, ‘Shuffle Along’ and the Tulsa Race Massacre: A Centennial Symposium,” a collaboration between the Lewis Center for the Arts and CLASSIX in honor of two centennial anniversaries.

• After a hiatus, “Survivor” is returning on Sept. 22 for its 41st season. Assistant Prospect Editor Molly Cutler explores how the show has failed its contestants from marginalized groups and what needs to change for the coming seasons to shine.
• Reflecting on a summer spent working as a camp counselor in Kentucky, Managing Editor AG McGee writes about coming to terms with grief and how to move on after a major loss.
• Senior Writer Gabriel Robare encourages readers to consider the long-term merits of taking the time to memorize a personal mantra — poetry, or otherwise.

What to Do This Weekend

• From September 7–21, stop by the Hagan Gallery at 185 Nassau Street to view “Bounced Around by the Bendiness,” an exhibition featuring works by last year’s seniors and juniors in Princeton’s Visual Arts Program. Due to the pandemic, many ‘Vis’ students were forced to create art remotely, and exhibit their work online. “Bounced Around by the Bendiness” celebrates these artists and pays tribute to their work over the virtual semester.

• On Friday, Sept. 10 from 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., The Lewis Center for the Arts’ Program in Music Theater presents “REACTIVATING MEMORY ‘Shuffle Along’ and the Tulsa Race Massacre: A Centennial Symposium.” The symposium gathers artists, journalists, and scholars to trace the legacies of ‘Shuffle Along’, an all-Black Broadway musical, and the Tulsa Race Massacre. While free and open to the public, registration is required to attend.
• Art@Bainbridge — the Princeton Art Museum’s satellite gallery space on Nassau Street — reopened on Sept. 4, with “Gathering Together,” an installation featuring the work of multimedia artist Adama Delphine Fawundu. Drawing upon her Mende heritage, Fawundu’s work explores themes of tradition and cultural inheritance in the African diaspora. “Gathering Together” is on view until Oct. 24, 2021.
• On Tuesday, Sept. 14 at 4:30 p.m., tune in to the 2021 Princeton University Constitution Day webinar — a series of lectures addressing the state of democracy and the constitution today. The four distinguished speakers are all Princeton professors, including Ruha Benjamin from African American Studies, Amaney A. Jamal from the School of Public and International Affairs, Kevin M. Kruse from the Department of History, and Aisha Beliso-De Jesús from the Program in American Studies.

The Prospect Curio Cabinet

• From Primary Information, “Godzilla: Asian American Arts Network 1990–2001” — an anthology of archival materials documenting the work of a historic Asian American art collective — is now available for pre-order. The collective was initially established in 1990 to support the work of Asian American artists, writers, and curators in a world dominated by white male artists.
• If you're looking for something calming to listen to, the Canadian indie band Men I Trust recently released “Untourable Album” — a beautiful collection of songs that remains on-brand with the band's quasi-psychadelic dream-pop aesthetic.
• If you find yourself in New York City with a few hours to spare, stop by the Whitney Museum of American Art to see “Dawoud Bey: An American Project,” co-organized by the Whitney Museum of American Art and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Bey's work will remain on view until Oct. 3, 2021.
• If you are looking for yet another heart-wrenching queer coming of age story, check out “Young Royals” on Netflix. Released earlier this summer, the show follows the complications that arise when Sweden’s second in line to the throne is sent away to an elite boarding school.

Today's curio cabinet was curated by Co-Head Prospect Editor Cameron Lee and Associate Editor José Pablo Fernández García.