• Princeton’s valedictorian and salutatorian announced
• A counterargument to the recent Charter Club controversy
• An analysis of Princeton’s athletic field usage

Class of 2024 valedictorian, salutatorian announced: Yesterday, the University named Genrietta Churbanova ’24 valedictorian and John Freeman as salutatorian. Churbanova is an anthropology major from Little Rock, Ark. who is pursuing certificates in Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies, and Chinese language and culture. After graduation, Churbanova will pursue a master’s degree in global affairs at Tsinghua University in Beijing as a 2024 Schwarzman Scholar. Freeman is a classics major from Chicago, Ill., pursuing certificates in German and Hellenic studies. Post-graduation, he plans to participate in a summer associate program at Sperling & Slater law firm in Chicago. Both are members of the Phi Beta Kappa Society and peer academic advisors in their respective colleges. They have also both embarked on extensive study and research abroad, describing their time abroad as their most meaningful experiences at Princeton.

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Graduate students file for union election, marking last Ivy to do so: Princeton Graduate Students United (PGSU) filed for an election with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on Friday afternoon as they seek to unionize. If they are recognized, Princeton would become the last Ivy League school to have a recognized graduate student union. PGSU would be affiliated with the United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers (UE), and become the largest union on campus. Gaby Nair GS, an organizer with PGSU, told the ‘Prince’ that a “strong majority” of graduate students had signed union cards. The University noted that several things may change if PGSU were to unionize. University spokesperson Jennifer Morrill wrote in a statement to The Daily Princetonian that “union representation would change some aspects of graduate students’ relationship with Princeton, and the University has concerns about how such representation would affect graduate students’ education and experience here.”

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The COVID class: Princeton’s Class of 2024 will graduate on May 28, 2024, less than two months from now. As the seniors reflect on their time at Princeton, one formative event comes to mind: the COVID-19 pandemic. On Aug. 7, 2020, President Eisgruber announced that undergraduate education would be fully remote for the Fall of 2020, transforming the Class of 2024’s college experience. The ‘Prince’ sat down with five members of the Class of 2024 to reflect on strengths and lessons they — the ‘COVID’ class — have brought to Princeton during their four years here. Several of those interviewed noted the Class of 2024’s resilience, taking leadership and adapting in the post-COVID era. Stephen Daniels ‘24, the USG president for 2022–23, expressed the Class of 2024’s “hunger for Princeton to be what [they] wanted it to be.” He advises those graduating after the Class of 2024 to “learn from [his class]. Just because the impression you get of Princeton seems fixed — it’s not a permanent thing.”

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OPINION | Community is built on empathy; stop politicizing it

Hi! My name is Ava and I’m a first-year student. I was perplexed by a recent column in the ‘Prince’ because of its assertions about the role of eating clubs. I found the columnist’s argument to reflect a lot of popular debate about identity politics and the idea of “safe spaces.” I really wanted to approach the issue of safe spaces from a moral and social standpoint, instead of a political one. I noticed that a lot of the time identity politics are seen as a left-wing political tool, instead of a discussion about people’s real and valid feelings. I wanted to bring this personal perspective to the argument, and note that the politicized notion of creating “safe spaces” is also often just about respecting the feelings of others. I would hope that having empathy and respecting how one’s actions make others feel is a universal human priority, not just a political one. 

— Columnist Ava Johnson       

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At your leisure

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

SPORTS | Princeton bests Dartmouth 3–0 in softball series at home

Amid Princeton Pride Month, Princeton softball (19–11, 8–4 Ivy League) swept a three-game series this weekend against Dartmouth (9–15, 5–7 Ivy League), giving the Tigers a 23–22 lead against the Big Green since 2002. In the first game on Saturday, wind gusts reached up to 31 miles per hour, presenting a challenge for both teams. While the Tigers were down 3–2 in the fourth inning, they scored four runs in the fifth inning and a two-run homer in the sixth, allowing Princeton to cruise to an 8–4 win. The second game was a dominant performance from Princeton as the Tigers scored 11 points in five innings to Dartmouth’s one point, triggering the run-ahead rule after five innings. The third final game saw the Tigers and the Big Green neck-to-neck, resulting in a 3–2 win for the Tigers. Overall, Princeton outscored Dartmouth 22 to 9. This Wednesday, April 17, the Tigers play Monmouth at home for their final non-conference game of the season followed by a three-game series at Yale on April 20 and 21. 

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DATA | Princeton’s most popular fields have been reserved 1,520 times this semester. We broke down their usage.

Princeton’s athletic fields are used extensively for varsity, club, and intramural sports. The Daily Princetonian analyzed data from the 5,306 reservations made by Princeton University Athletics and Princeton University Campus Recreation over Spring 2022, Spring 2023, and Spring 2024, finding that the climate-controlled Bubble over Powers Field is consistently the most reserved field. White Peff ’03 Field was least versatile as all of its reservation have been for varsity athletics, while Plummer Field near New College West and Yeh College is the most versatile field with numerous reservations from each department. As the weather warms up, the number of field reservations is only expected to increase. 

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THE PROSPECT | The Spring Street Mural: Inspiring the Princeton community through public art 

The Spring Street Mural, located behind the store Village Silver, is a public art mural that rotates every three months. The project is organized by the Arts Council of Princeton (ACP) and began during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in 2020 as a way to uplift the Princeton community. As part of the rotating mural, artists paint on a canvas custom-built for the project rather than on the wall itself, allowing the ACP to support as many local artists as possible. There have been ten murals painted since July 2020, with “Blooming” by Amilli Onair currently on display. The ACP currently has plans underway for another mural at the Avalon Bay apartment complex and a totem pole supported by the National Endowment of the Arts.

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