Good morning!

Since 2018, the TigerConfessions Facebook page has been an outlet for students to anonymously share their thoughts on academics, campus life, and a plethora of other issues. Among the many avenues students have for sharing opinions on campus issues, TigerConfessions was unique in its anonymity. However, TigerConfessions, in some ways, is a “COVID-era tool.” As Princeton students’ usage of Facebook declined, so did their use of TigerConfessions. Recently, other anonymous forums such as Fizz have risen in popularity.

Looking back at TigerConfessions data, the ‘Prince’ Data section identified patterns regarding what students shared online, and what it says about major campus arcs of the last four years. The MAT 202 academic integrity scandal and students being sent home in March 2020 can be chronicled using TigerConfessions. 

Posts also track important the development of opinions around certain student-driven campus movements such as divestment activism and controversial referenda. Construction as a topic has risen in popularity in March, July, and October of 2022 as the University began significant construction projects. In posts discussing construction, students also used words like “campus,” “companies,” “noise,” “divestment,” “fossil,” and “room.”

While the future of TigerConfessions may be uncertain, the platform allows University students today to reflect on how the past four years have shaped our relationships with the University, each other, and ourselves. 

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Analysis by Jacqueline Zhou

Today’s Briefing:

Graduate School dean talks unionization, cites existing engagement with students: On Wednesday, March 8, Dean of the Graduate School Rodney Priestley discussed unionization and the Graduate School’s institutional response with The Daily Princetonian. Priestley clarified that the recent 5 percent raise in graduate student stipends was originally proposed in the fall of 2022. This contradicts a tweet by Princeton Graduate Students United (PGSU) that this was “the first of our union wins.” Priestley emphasized that students have a right to make a decision about unionization, and he added, “I look forward to supporting our students in the future and making sure they have the best possible experience in graduate school, because that's what we want to develop.”

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Princeton police fine scooter-riders, citing town ordinance banning bikes, skateboards, roller skates: Princeton police are issuing a $50 fine to those caught riding scooters on public sidewalks in town, upholding an ordinance the town council amended last December. At the time, Mayor Mark Freda told The Daily Princetonian that “we’re getting a lot of complaints from people about nearly getting run over by people on scooters and electric bikes and sidewalks doing 40 miles an hour and not slowing down.” The law applies to University students, who now may ride scooters on campus but not on certain routes in town.

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The University’s dining pilot program — which grants 10 percent of upperclassmen five swipes each week to use in any dining hall, eating club, or co-op — does not address the exclusivity of Princeton’s dining scene, according to Madeleine Burns ’24 and Rakesh Potluri ’23. Instead, the University should end Bicker. “Making all the clubs sign in would be the single most effective way to make Princeton dining more inclusive,” Burns and Potluri write. “Reducing exclusivity doesn’t negate the power of eating clubs to create community; instead, it creates communities in healthy ways that don’t rely on social nepotism.”

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With over 82,200 followers on Tiktok, Hailey Colborn ’22 creates content at the intersection of literature, film, and music. For Colborn, the name of her account, “@hotliterati,” draws on the campy, ironic hot girl identity that has defined the online zeitgeist over the last few years. She uses her platform to address issues like body image, eating disorders, and the sexualization of girls’ bodies. Colborn, who won Miss Teen USA in 2018, studied English literature with certificates in Gender & Sexuality Studies, African American Studies, and Creative Writing at Princeton.

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At your leisure

• SPORTS: 
  • Ivy League schools facing federal lawsuit over lack of athletic scholarships
  • Preview and Staff Picks: Men’s basketball at Ivy Madness
  • Preview and Staff Picks: Women’s basketball at Ivy Madness
  • Senior football star Andrei Iosivas shines at NFL Combine
  • First-year running back Ryan Butler to transfer to Stanford
  • Women’s basketball’s Kaitlyn Chen wins Ivy League Player of the Year, Tigers pick up seven Ivy honors
• THE PROSPECT: 
  • ‘More plot in its pinky finger than a DC movie’: Black Panther 2 film review
  • Sexpert: Dealing with the size of male genitalia
  • A triumphant tribute: Glee Club’s Walter L. Nollner concert
  • Play For Love: L’Avant-Scène’s Third Program of The Year
• PODCAST: Listen to the latest episode of Daybreak, The Daily Princetonian’s daily news podcast.