POCC Leaders: New No Communication Order policy is preposterous
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The following is a guest contribution and reflects the author’s views alone. For information on how to submit an article to the Opinion Section, click here.
In 1945, with enrollment up almost 50 percent since the pre-war era, the Class of 1915 committed to building a new dormitory. Because materials and labor were in short supply, costs ballooned. The quarry of Princeton stone had just been exhausted, so most of the walls were cheaper red brick. The building’s ornament included only a few pieces of trim, projecting dormers, and rounded archways. It was dubbed the “Poor man’s Gothic.” Somehow, even under difficult conditions, a building meant to house a burgeoning campus population was saddled with the legacy of the Gothic buildings on campus.
Nothing has disappointed me more than Princeton’s recent architectural failures. New College West and Yeh look terrible: They are dull, rectangular, and prison-like. And as columnist Julianna Lee recently argued, the yet-to-be-built Hobson College is poised to continue this mistaken trend. Princeton’s new architectural style — if one can even call it style — represents a cultural and architectural decline at Princeton.
In the Hawaiian language, there exists a fundamental proverb: i kaʻōlelo nō ke ola, i ka ʻōlelo nō ka make. “In the language there is life, in the language there is death.”
In 1984, I graduated near the top of my class from Thomas Jefferson High School in San Antonio, Texas. I had an SAT of 1190 (above the 80th percentile at the time) and a solid GPA. I applied and got into University of California Berkeley, beginning there in the fall of 1984. Then I nearly failed out. My first-semester grades hovered around the C to C- range.
After completing my final day of midterms, I found myself hurriedly packing and rushing to Wawa to embark on my Princeton-sponsored fall break trip. Despite being exhausted from exams, I was filled with anticipation about the journey that lay ahead: I was going to Senegal. After a long 24 hours and two flights, we finally arrived in Dakar, Senegal’s capital. Stepping out of Aéroport International Blaise Diagne, it truly started to sink in. I was in Senegal. Home. My parents were born and raised here, before they decided to immigrate to the United States. I had not been to Senegal since I was eight years old, and so the little recollections I had of the country were fuzzy and blurred together. But here I was, returning over a decade later, through Princeton’s support.
Living in New College West, I dread my 8:30 a.m. math lecture. Not only is it hard to get out of bed so early, but more importantly, walking up the hills of the Princeton campus to get to Fine Hall is a daunting task for a sleepy person. However, my experience is nothing compared to those who experience physical disabilities. I am not disabled.
Princeton is the school of Ralph Nader ’55 (magna cum laude; Phi Beta Kappa) — famous rebel, muckraker, progressive, and activist, right? Well, not really.
This coming Tuesday, Nov. 8, a grand ritual of American democracy will play out: the midterm elections. At stake, primarily, is the partisan balance of the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives — and thus the direction of federal legislation. Yet, more is on the line. Besides control of Congress, governorships and mayoralities are also up for grabs, as are seats in state legislatures and on courts, county commissions, city councils, and school boards. In these offices and beyond, the fate of matters impacting all Americans, ranging from the economy to the environment, will be determined.
The University prompted many questions last year when it decided not to release the statistics for the newly-admitted class of 2026. Instead, it released the statistics for students who matriculated this fall without some of the traditional information about average test scores or the acceptance rate. While not disclosing some indicators regarding selectivity of the University, the information disclosed made one thing clear: The undergraduate population is getting more racially diverse.
I am accustomed to proclaiming sameness to be boring. Until very recently, I have dubbed this year an uninteresting one. The parties are the same; there has not yet been enough time to integrate anyone new into friend groups; and classes, though new, maintain the same level of work and continue to be rife with overactive participants and theatrical lecturers.
What makes Princeton students proud of their residential college? For many students, the answer is nothing.
In the spring of 2000, students in POL 316 and ENG 335 walked into old Palmer Hall — which had recently been outfitted with new finishes and equipment — talking over the din of construction from the unfinished Frist Food Gallery below. Not everyone felt enthusiastic about these changes. A September 2000 Daily Princetonian article highlighted the frustration of students with the “constant construction” that had been going on for four years. Another article from the ‘Prince’ quoted the project manager, who said, “I think people understand that we have to pursue the construction with vigor so we can get done when we’re supposed to.” This sentiment also applies to Princeton’s current renovation projects. Indeed, it is by looking at Princeton’s past projects that we can better understand — and redeem — the University’s current efforts.
On Sept. 12, U.S. News released its annual college rankings and my social media accounts were flooded with reposts celebrating Princeton’s 12-year reign as the country’s No. 1 national university.
As Russia’s war in Ukraine grinds on through its seventh month since the escalation of the conflict by Russia on Feb. 24, great strain has been placed on the nations of the Caucasus and Central Asia that have deep economic, political, and cultural ties to Russia. While Princeton’s campus community has shown admirable solidarity with Ukraine against Russia’s aggression, there has been less attention devoted towards other countries that also face economic and political headwinds as a result of the war and Russia’s broader aggressive posture. Among the most vulnerable is Georgia, a small nation of more than three and a half million people on the eastern edge of the Black Sea. Its quest to join the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) against a backdrop of separatist conflict, Russian military intervention, and destabilizing domestic political polarization warrants greater concern and solidarity.
Community Action (CA) has sparked a heated debate in the Princeton community since this school year began. Last month, an article published in The Daily Princetonian, “Some first-years, orientation leaders critique Community Action orientation program,” featured students who felt unfulfilled by their CA experiences at Princeton-Blairstown Center (PBC) and Trenton Central High School. In response, Vincent Jiang wrote a column about his time as a CA orientation leader of the Essential Needs of Refugees group at the Archdiocese Youth Retreat Center, defending the program.
At Princeton, some campus conservatives have acted as if they have a monopoly on fighting for free speech. It’s time for that to change. During a first-year orientation event about free speech, only three people spoke: President Christopher Eisgruber ’83, USG Vice President Hannah Kapoor ’23, and Myles McKnight ’23, the president of the Princeton Open Campus Coalition (POCC). McKnight describes the POCC as “a group of students working to promote the values of free speech, intellectual freedom, and robust discourse on campus,” and on paper, this sounds good. No one should be against free speech on campus, right?
When people see the word “Indigenous,” who do they think of?
Content Warning: The following column references settler colonialism and violence against Alaska Natives and their cultures.
With the new academic year having begun, many of us are looking for a sense of normalcy following the COVID-19 lockdowns: masks are no longer required for a majority of classes, and the utilization of Zoom meetings (for class and club purposes, at least) seems to be dwindling.