• Michael D. Gordin appointed next Dean of College
• 80 scooters confiscated as a result of the PEV ban
• An argument in favor of grade inflation

Today’s Briefing:

Michael D. Gordin appointed next Dean of the College: Michael D. Gordin, the Rosengarten Professor of Modern and Contemporary History, has been appointed to serve as the University’s next Dean of the College beginning on July 1. As Dean of the College, Gordin will be responsible for the “undergraduate curriculum, residential college system,” and admission and financial aid offices. He will replace the current Dean of the College, Jill Dolan, who will step down after the 2023-2024 school year. Gordin is a renowned historian of science and established faculty member who has served on several Princeton committees and has publicly supported fossil fuel divestment by the University. Following the announcement, Gordin said that his focus will be on challenges facing students while maintaining aspects of learning unique to Princeton.

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U. confiscates 80 scooters, five days into PEV ban: Since the University’s ban on personal electric vehicles (PEVs) has gone into effect, about 80 scooters have been confiscated. University spokesperson Michael Hotchkiss wrote in a statement to the ‘Prince’ that most of the impounded scooters were not registered with Transportation and Parking Services (TPS) and “showed signs of abandonment.” Hotchkiss added that yellow warning tags have been placed on PEVs that were “not immediately removable” and may be “locked or immobilized” by TPS until collected.

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As NJ Transit set to increase fares by 15 percent on July 1, an expert and an advocacy group weigh in: In an effort to reduce its $106.6 million budget deficit, NJ Transit has proposed a 15 percent fare increase to take effect on July 1, with 3 percent fare increases per year. N.J. Transit will hold 10 public hearings from March 4 through March 8, with the NJ Transit Board of Directors considering the proposal afterward. The proposal has faced pushback from organizations like Make the Road NJ, which argues that fare increases disproportionately impact working-class and BIPOC people. 

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OPINION | A little bit of grade inflation never hurt anyone

Columnist Vincent Jiang ’25 asserts that grade inflation at Princeton isn’t “an inherently bad thing.” Grade inflation at Princeton’s peer institutions has been criticized as devaluing the worth of good grades, an argument which Jiang says is ignorant of changes in the factors that affect grades. Jiang explains that increasing competitiveness in Ivy League admissions has caused Ivy League students to be more high-achieving than ever before, leading to better performance grade-wise. Jiang describes the negative effects of grade deflation and grade stagnation on postgraduate competitiveness, proposing that the University instead bring back the 4.3 weight for A+ grades and increase the significance of departmental honors.

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At your leisure

• PODCAST: Listen to this week’s special episode of Daybreak, The Daily Princetonian’s daily news podcast.

SPORTS | Must-see Matchups of the Week

Friday, February 2nd

• Women’s Basketball vs Yale - 7 p.m.
• Men’s Basketball @ Yale - 7 p.m.
• Men’s Hockey vs Dartmouth - 7 p.m.

• Men’s Basketball @ Brown - 6 p.m.
• Women’s Basketball vs Brown - 5 p.m.
• Women’s Ice Hockey vs No. 8 Quinnipiac - 3 p.m.