Today’s Briefing: 

Last Wednesday, on Oct. 20, Amherst College announced the end of their legacy admissions, a policy that granted admission preference to children of alumni. Many cited the policy as a barrier against low-income, first-generation, and minority students and praised the change. With the announcement, professors, alumni, and students across the country are now calling on their own institutions to follow suit. 

Notably, 13.1 percent of Princeton’s current undergraduate student body are children or stepchildren of alumni. Deputy University Spokesperson Michael Hotchkiss has also stated that Princeton does hold “recognition of the special bond that Princeton has with its alumni,” though the data has shown a decrease in focus on legacy status over the last 20 years. 

“‘Now is the time to end this historic program that inadvertently limits educational opportunity by granting a preference to those whose parents are graduates of the College,’ Amherst president Biddy Martin wrote in the statement announcing the decision.”

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The Starbucks on Nassau Street has drastically cut its hours due to a temporary staffing shortage. With the store being situated in a college town, most of the employees, who are either high school or college students, are only able to work limited hours. The store now operates from 6 a.m. to 12 p.m. on weekdays and is closed on the weekends. The store will return to its normal hours when it has enough employees to properly staff each shift. In the meantime, show compassion to the baristas!

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In Prospect

In Opinion

• On Oct. 2, in the football match against Columbia, Princeton gave back to the “Hometown Heroes”; four tickets were given to each of the dining hall and maintenance workers at the university, as well as first responders and essential workers that helped us through the pandemic. Senior columnist Sally Jane Ruybalid noted the surge in attendance at the game and urged the University to offer free admission for all “hometown heroes” at every ticketed game. 
• The University’s newly created Venture Forward program aims to expand alumni engagement and raise funds for future endeavors such as improving college access, financial aid, and climate change research. While this narrative appears to be quite beneficial, Senior columnist Mohan Setty-Charity cautions against the dangers of the influence of donors from the Venture Forward plan and urges the University to continue to uphold its commitments to core values. As Setty-Charity notes, “it is important to make sure that our University values are being advanced, and that those values are not co-opted, captured, or skewed by alumni and donors who underwrite these new programs.”

At Your Leisure

• Listen to this week's episode from DayBreak!
• Come try your hand at today's puzzle: “Tumble”!