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(04/27/17 12:59am)
When I was choosing colleges five years ago, I consciously decided not to attend Princeton Preview. I had both the free time and the means to attend, and I needed to learn more about Princeton as I was still very much debating which college to attend. I was the perfect candidate to attend, but I opted out because I didn’t believe that Preview could give me the experience I needed to make the right college decision. I wanted to get the best information I could get: a real sense of what my four years would be like. And to me, that sense cannot be gained by attending Princeton Preview or equivalent events at other colleges.
(04/12/17 12:47am)
Three weeks ago, a 14-year-old girl was allegedly raped in her Maryland high school by two older students. I read a lot about it in my news feed because I happen to have graduated from the rival high school, located about 10 minutes down the road.
(03/09/17 2:14am)
I was thrilled when I saw so many people taking time out of their day on Monday to participate in the Day of Action. Every lecture I went to overflowed with people; people covered all corners of the room and stood four deep in the doorway. Sometimes we even had to move to a larger room. And it wasn’t just students, but faculty, staff, and members of the community who joined as well. I don’t think I have ever seen so many people in Frist Campus Center — and that includes for late meal.
(02/24/17 1:25am)
“What’s wrong?” “Nothing.”
(02/08/17 5:15pm)
In her hearing before the Senate on Jan. 17, Secretary of Education nominee Betsy DeVos remarked that “assault in any form is never okay,” a claim about which she “want[s] to be very clear.” Yet, despite her conviction, DeVos refused to promise to uphold the Obama administration’s provisions for how schools should handle campus sexual assault. DeVos' actions in this respect contradict her words, comprising just one reason, among many others, why college students should actively watch the Department and fight her decrees if need be now that she has been nominated in a 51-50 vote.
(01/16/17 2:20am)
I’m not going to lie: The only thing that got me through the week before break was the knowledge that we were close to break. Between group projects and club elections, my days were overwhelming, and I looked with glee toward the empty days coming up on my calendar.
(12/12/16 2:54am)
Once upon a time, Congress passed
a law aimed at ensuring that university community members, particularly current
and prospective students and their families, could access accurate information
about campus crime. Such information would allow them to judge safety levels
and determine if a particular college is indeed the place they wanted a young
adult to attend for four years.
(11/09/16 10:03pm)
Tuesday night, I had the pleasure of returning to my room to face vandalism for the second time that day. In the morning, my roommate had written “Vote” on our whiteboard outside our door. No partisan message, just a little friendly reminder. We like to leave positive messages for each other and passersby. When I stopped by earlier after lunch, someone — either because of politics or some misguided notion of humor — added “Trump” to our sign.
(11/08/16 8:12pm)
The University must take greater steps to obtain a clearer picture of sexual misconduct on campus because it is critical that we sort out what is really occurring. Currently, there are at least three published reports on this topic each year. But because of different definitions, different time periods covered, and different sources of information, comparing the data from these various reports is almost impossible.
(10/18/16 6:30pm)
“This is not a drill!” with a link to the latest presidential election poll – Facebook posts like these clutter my newsfeed. While I’m glad students are paying attention to politics and passionate about their position, many students’ lack of agency or their decision to remain inactive this election cycle frustrates me. Millennials have the power to have a real impact on this election. I’ve taken to posting upcoming volunteer opportunities to let people know that there is something they can do to make their political preference a reality.
(10/05/16 7:15pm)
Some so-called free speech advocates seem to be talking out of both sides of their mouths. Take for example the Princeton Open Campus Coalition’s open letter to first years. The POCC was founded, it’s important to recall, in response to the Black Justice League’s peaceful sit-in last year. In this letter they sharply criticize the “shutdown culture” of student protests and list examples of speaker events on campuses across the country that were canceled in response to such demonstrations.The POCC warns that these “greedy” student protesters are creating “sterilized and repressive environments.” As the POCC notes, “it is only when we are exposed to new ideas, when our dearly-held beliefs are challenged, that we are able to determine right from wrong — to seek any semblance of truth.” And yet, the POCC concludes that we ought to stifle the protesters. Wait. Seriously? Seems sort of hypocritical given that protests are one way of exposing us to new ideas, the very principle the group purports to support.Let’s look carefully at the examples of the harmful effects of the campus protests that the POCC provided. In the first, Virginia Tech University leadership disinvited (and then reinvited) Jason Riley, a conservative journalist, “for fear of protests” against the speaker’s controversial book. The next anecdote discusses how Condoleezza Rice decided herself to back out of speaking at Rutgers University after student and faculty protests. A similar situation arose at Brown with Janet Mock, when the speaker chose to back out of speaking at Brown in response to protests. A further example given was DePaul University’s decision to ban Ben Shapiro, a conservative commentator, from speaking on campus as the university determined it could not (or more plausibly, would not) guarantee the speaker’s safety in response to a protest.In only one of the given examples was a speaker prevented from speaking directly as a result of protesters. Evidently, at the University of Pennsylvania, “John Brennan, director of the CIA, was shouted down… by students protesting the American drone program” to the point where he couldn’t respond to their concerns.I agree that what happened at UPenn closed off academic discussion about different viewpoints by actually preventing a speaker from responding to criticisms and continuing his presentation. However, the other examples are instances where university officials are actually directly accountable for disinviting the speakers or the speakers are at fault for deciding on their own not to come to the campuses. The responsibility does not rest with the protesters in those cases for choosing to also voice their opinions. Student protests embody the concept of free speech and the academic sharing of ideas. It is oxymoronic to argue that we must condemn the student protests to allow controversial speakers to come on campus. Both can and ought to co-exist.Let’s be clear. Students peacefully protesting and voicing an alternative opinion as to speakers and issues does not actually prevent said speakers from coming, nor does it prevent other students from organizing a counter protest in response should they choose to do so. (I was part of a counter protest when the Westboro Baptist Church protested a production of “The Laramie Project” at my high school, and I would say both groups were able to convey their positions to the other side and third party observers quite effectively.) It was the speakers themselves who decided they did not want to engage with students and protesters, or university officials who decided that they didn’t want to deal with having opposing sides peacefully voicing their differing opinions about the speaker.Just a few weeks ago, on Sept. 23, the students and administrators at Florida State University demonstrated that protesters and controversial speakers could co-exist and that a meaningful dialogue could ensue. Milos Yiannopoulos, tech editor of the ultra-conservative Breitbart News, spoke on campus at the invitation of the FSU College Republicans and within the same hour there was a solidarity gathering of the Black Lives Matter group for Terence Crutcher, the African-American man shot by a police officer in Tulsa.Yiannopoulos was met with dozens of student protesters outside of where he was speaking, condemning him as a racist who didn’t warrant free speech rights. They were confronted by his supporters who counter protested nearby. Meanwhile, students at the rally for Crutcher came face-to-face with students headed to the Yiannopoulos event. All sides were able to voice their opinion and then proceeded to engage in a civil exchange of opinions with one another.We have witnessed such productive encounters at Princeton in the recent past. Students used posters to protest speakers arguing against gay marriage, and they waved placards when they heard ideas they disagreed with during a panel on affirmative action. These protests occurred before and during said events, but the University and the speakers all decided to proceed and engage and further a dialogue.Critics of protesters like to claim that this mode of speech “shuts down” discussion. However, choosing to listen to the other side and furthering a collective dialogue is a personal choice. I can honestly say that I’ve had conversations with people who supported both sides of the protests at Princeton — regardless of what means of speech they used to convey their thoughts. We can always choose to listen. Or we cannot. That is on us, irrespective of the method of communication.The freedom of speech argument inherently must protect both invited speakers and student protesters, regardless of politics or means of communication. I disagree with some of the speakers the open letter mentioned, but I think they can be allowed to speak at a university that values the open discussion of ideas. I would just stand proudly with protesters in response and engage in discussion with those who disagree on why I believe what I do.If you criticize students for peacefully protesting speakers with whom they differ, that’s an assertion in and of itself. But, don’t do it under the false guise of protecting the free, open, academic exchange of ideas. This is just another manifestation of “the inequality of ideas” where “certain ideas are permitted while others are discouraged or silenced.” If you are really just restricting one side’s method of free speech over another’s because of chosen means of expression, please just call yourselves what you are: anti-protest.Marni Morse is a politics major from Washington, DC. She can be reached at mlmorse@princeton.edu.
(09/19/16 4:02pm)
Take a moment to answer this riddle: A father and son have a car accident and are both badly hurt. They are both taken to separate hospitals. When the boy is taken in for an operation, the surgeon says, “I cannot do the surgery because this is my son.” How is this possible?
(09/18/16 7:01pm)
As we were all packing to either first arrive or return to Princeton, fall semester had already begun at most other colleges. And along with the return of classes came the return of the debate over trigger warnings. This fall the debate was re-triggered, so to speak, by a letter to all freshmen against such notices from the Dean of Undergraduate Students at the University of Chicago.
(04/07/16 3:19pm)
The Editorial Board “reaffirmed” its support for nearly unlimited freedom of expression last week following the appearance of anti-Semitic flyers streaming from printers across campus, the contents of which the Board unequivocally denounced. They justified this position by highlighting that the purpose of a college is to be a “place for open discussion of arguments and ideas.”
(03/30/16 5:53pm)
Because I love seeing Broadway shows so much, I find myself shelling out upwards of $16 for a NJ Transit ticket to New York City a couple of times a semester. Round trip that’s more than$30, or roughly $100 a semester after three trips. It adds up.Though Princeton University does a great job offering many organized free or heavily subsidized trips into the city, it should provide subsidized tickets for students traveling to the city on their own as well. Given that Princeton is only about an hour away from the city, it’s a great resource that unfortunately many students often cannot take advantage of, partially because of costs. Subsidizing tickets would create a more equal opportunity across students of various socioeconomic backgrounds, which is only fair given that the University advertises itself as being close to the city to begin with. This policy would not only help students who want to venture into New York City to explore culture beyond the Orange Bubble but also assist travel for work-related activities, such as interviews with nonprofit organizations that cannot reimburse for such expenses.At info sessions for high school students, the University proudly mentions as an attribute its proximity to New York City and the additional opportunities that creates, be it for work or social experiences. For me, that was a large part of why I chose Princeton. Being from outside Washington, DC and accustomed to city life, I was specifically looking for schools that had easy access to a city. Of course, students from more rural areas also might desire to have opportunities to enjoy an urban environment. I wanted to have those activities at hand, but I also wanted to be at a school with its own campus, separate from the city, where student life was centered.To me, Princeton was advertised that way — with an emphasis on how close and easy it was to travel to both Philadelphia and New York City, but that student life remained largely on campus. I’ve generally found all that true while here, except that it isn’t quite so easy to get to New York City, especially for low-income students, due to the cost. If Princeton is going to promote its proximity to urban life, the University should make sure everyone has an equal and fair opportunity to take advantage of its location.Plus, let’s be honest: there is a limit to what we can experience within the Orange Bubble. Breaking out every so often is a great learning and maturing experience. Getting off campus can be an excellent mental health break, too. For me, seeing real people (outside the ages of 18-22) is a nice change of pace, as well as enjoying a show every so often, even beyond the residential college trips that do offer free transportation. Making it easier for students to take these trips by lowering the costs can only benefit students. Plus, subsidies equalize the playing field so all students can take advantage of the opportunity to get outside Princeton every so often regardless of economic situation.Moreover, separate from these cultural jaunts, some students actually need to get into the city for work or internship-related trips. Many students from Princeton work over the summer or after graduation in New York. That usually requires interviews, sometimes in person, in New York City. While the investment banking firms and other for profit companies pay for the train travel, other companies, particularly in the not-for-profit world, do not, so students have to pay themselves. Students’ opportunities, such as the number and type of internships or jobs for which they accept interviews, should not be hindered because of the cost of a train ticket.Offering such a discounted train fare program wouldn’t be anything out of the ordinary. Other schools in or near cities will often subsidize tickets. This is true from Duke University to Washington University in St. Louis. Sometimes even the transit organization itself offers reduced fares, such as in Boston. If NJ Transit wanted to offer that instead of Princeton, or if they teamed up to share the cost, that type of program would work as well. It’s simply a means to encourage students to get off campus and learn from the world around them.I realize that some might suggest that making it easier to travel off campus will mean more and more students will actually go off campus, driving away student life with them. I doubt that would happen. New York City is far enough away and we have enough course work and activity on campus that, even with cheaper train tickets, most students would not constantly be off campus. Rather, it provides more of an opportunity for students to interview in-person in New York City and Philadelphia and simply be able to get outside the Bubble to explore a bit more of the world every so often.Understandably, this is a sizable cost and perhaps isn’t the University’s top priority. But as the school develops its next 10-year plan, subsidizing train tickets on NJ Transit is at least something policy administrators should carefully consider.Marni Morse is a politics major from Washington, DC She can be reached at mlmorse@princeton.edu.
(03/06/16 3:33pm)
Everyone I know was thrilled to hear that Princeton Preview, a chance for prospective students to get a taste of the Princeton experience, was once again going to include an overnight stay. For the past two years, the overnight portion has beencancelled in light of a meningitis outbreak in 2014. And while, perhaps, we seem overjoyed that this provides high school seniors a better view of Princeton, most are actually excited because this change means student clubs can host more events to specifically entice prospective students to join them.
(02/21/16 4:47pm)
Columnist Sarah Sakha made many excellent points in her column last Friday, “The Paradox of Princeton’s Publicity,” arguing that Princeton University tours shouldn’t aim to avoid discussing student activism because it is something the school should be proud of — and it might even help to attract prospective students. But because she allowed for some exceptions, such as Wilson, eating clubs and grade deflation, her posed argument was flawed. Her argument can, and should, be extended. The goal of tours to prospective students should be complete honesty and openness, as much as possible. And even our controversies over these other issues could be a positive to prospective students.
(02/18/16 4:40pm)
I find myself carefully planning my weekends. Not because I have infinite social engagements, but so that I can see all the various theater performances on campus. Between the seven or so student theater groups, including three with at least five mainstage performances every year, and a very active theater department, there are normally a couple of shows every weekend. As an active member of the Princeton theater community, I feel the need to support my peers. Plus, I enjoy seeing the shows.
(02/08/16 7:10pm)
Dear Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),
(12/14/15 7:10pm)
Starbucks’s red Christmas cups made national news this season. People complained that their plain red design was a symbol of the culture “war on Christmas” in the public sphere. Donald Trump even suggested boycotting Starbucks because of its choice in holiday design. And while this became a national controversy, there seemed to be less national or campus outrage in response to a Bloomingdale’s advertisement that insinuated rape. I don’t understand how the first caused so much anger and the second didn’t.