Alumni, faculty respond to BJL sit-in
The recent sit-in protest led by the Black Justice Leaguehas resulted in divided opinions among alumni and faculty, with some praising the efforts and others denouncing them.
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The recent sit-in protest led by the Black Justice Leaguehas resulted in divided opinions among alumni and faculty, with some praising the efforts and others denouncing them.
Interest in entrepreneurship among students at the University has grown dramatically, and the Keller Center has responded to this by providing opportunities to explore these interests and pursue innovative ideas beyond traditional settings in the classroom and laboratory, Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science Vincent Poor GS ’77 said.
The University will be implementing changes in response to the Report of the Special Task Force on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion that was released in May 2015, Vice Provost for Institutional Diversity and Equality Michele Minter said.
In 2007, only 13 years after his first trip through the Northwest Passage, David Thoreson said he was stunned to see little to no ice along the water route, a sharp departure from the rough pack-ice that prevented him from passing through the Passage on his original attempt in 1994.
The Class of 2019 consists of 1,319 students from 46 states and Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and Guam, with a plurality coming from California, New Jersey and New York.Nearly 37.6 percent of students came from these three states, a slight decrease from last year’s 38.7 percent. Alaska, Mississippi, Nebraska and South Dakota are not represented in the class, according to Dean of Admissions JanetRapelye.Vidur Beharry ’19 comes from New York, one of the most represented states in his class, yet was the only student accepted to Princeton from his high school, DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx. He said that he applied to the University with an ounce of hope that he would gain admission, and that he had first heard about the institution through the Questbridge program.“Being a low-income student, I was scouring for scholarships to afford a top-tier education,” Beharry said. “I also had to maneuver my way around paying to send SAT/ACT scores, and find ways to send my recommendation letters because all the teachers who had written me one were removed from my school.”Daniel Han ’19 comes from Guam, one of the least-represented of the states and territories at the University. Only one other student from his high school was accepted in the past few years, but chose not to matriculate. Han said he had heard of the University's world-class education and was not deterred from applying.“I made sure to maintain good grades throughout high school while also pursuing varied extracurricular activities that interested me, such as participating in local volunteer efforts and in a school book club,” he said. “The part of the application process that stood out most to me was probably the interview; Princeton was the only college that offered an in-person interview to me.”The Class of 2019 includes 177 international students from 51 countries, which accounts for 13.4 percent of the class. Rapelye noted that there are more international students in the Class of 2019 than in the past few years. The Class of 2018 only included 11 percent international students.Tamara Macharashvili ’19, an international student from Georgia, explained that she had heard about Princeton through her sister, a current junior, but had never visited before. She noted that the application process was different for her because the grading system and activities did not concur with that of the U.S. educational system.“I didn’t give much thought to studying in the U.S. until the last couple of years, so most of the activities I was doing came from a natural impulse, and weren’t even intended for the application,” she said of her application experience. “I could by no means determine if they were good enough and if I had a chance.”Thirty-five students returned from the Bridge Year program and will be joining the Class of 2019, while 35 students from the Class of 2019 chose to participate and will defer until next year, according to Rapelye. Overall, 46 students chose to defer for a year, a significant decrease from the 82 deferrals from the Class of 2018.Rapelye said the University reached its goal in number of enrolled students, with seven more freshman enrolled this year compared to the 1,312 students enrolled in the freshman Class of 2018.Students who attended public schools made up 58.6 percent of the class, while 28.6 percent attended independent schools, 12.1 percent attended religiously affiliated schools and 0.7 percent attended military or were home-schooled, Rapelye said.According to Rapelye, 21 percent of enrolling students indicated that they wanted to study in the BSE program. Women comprised 40.8 percent of the 277 intended BSE students, which is slightly lower than the 42 percent from the Class of 2018.“We approach each year with a fresh perspective and we are already visiting high schools to meet potential applicants for the Class of 2020,” Rapelye said.
The University should provide the American Studies program with the necessary faculty hiring capacity to sustain the development of programs in Latino Studies and Asian American Studies, an April 3 report by the Asian American Student Association and Princeton Latinos y Amigosargued.The report highlighted the current state of ethnic studies at the University. Specifically, the document calls for merging the program in Latino Studies with the program in American Studies, as well as allowing students to declare a track in Asian American Studies or Latino Studies within the American Studies certificate program.The report also seeks designation of Latino Studies and Asian American studies courses under two different headings in the course catalog. Right now, both are listed under LAO.The report, delivered to the offices of University President Christopher Eisgruber '83, Provost David Lee GS '99, Dean of the Faculty Deborah Prentice, Dean of the College Valerie Smith, Deputy Dean of the College Clayton Marsh '85 and Vice Provost for Academic Affairs Katherine Rohrer, was sent in conjunction with a letter of support which received over 522 signatures from individuals across the University.According to University spokesperson Martin Mbugua, who spoke on behalf of the administrators, Lee sent a response to the letter on Wednesday afternoon.“Proposals for programmatic expansion or change typically originate from academic units and faculty members, not from the central administration,” Mbugua said.He added that administrators in the Office of the Provost are gathering views on the proposal from faculty members with research and teaching interests in Latino and Asian American Studies. The Office of the Dean of the College is also reviewing the designations of Latino Studies and Asian American Studies courses to see if it is possible to make them more distinct from each other.“Provost Lee is consulting with colleagues about ways to encourage faculty members and departments to increase course offerings in these areas while the University continues the process of recruiting additional permanent faculty members,” Mbugua said.Current cross-listing of many Latino Studies courses with Latin American Studies hinders the Program in Latino Studies, according to the report.“Latin American studies is a regional study, the history and culture of a region, while Latino studies is the study of a community within the United States,” Princeton Latinos y Amigos co-president Briana Christophers ’17 said.Christophers said that this distinction is particularly important for Latino studies because the Latino community is the largest growing ethnic or racial group in the United States. Latino culture and identity overlap with various spheres including politics, medicine and social sciences, she added.“The problem with having Latino Studies and Latin American Studies, while having all of these classes being largely cross-listed, creates less emphasis on developing each one as an individual field of study,” she said.Christophers said AASA first approached PLA with the task of compiling the report, which not only commemorates the 1995 sit-in that advocated for the creation of these ethnic studies programs, but also reevaluates the state of ethnic studies in the past 20 years.According to the report, a protest and sit-in occurred on April 20, 1995 near former University President Harold Shapiro GS ’64’s office in Nassau Hall. Seventeen students occupied the office while over 100 other protesters gathered outside. A petition for more Latino and Asian American studies professors garnered support from 548 individuals across the campus.The following year, a significant gathering of students attended a rally to commemorate the event and to continue advocating for the creation of programs for ethnic studies.Cailin Hong ’17, co-president of AASA, noted that it is important to talk about ethnic studies in general to give the broader University community the opportunity to analyze and understand the intricacies of a diverse cultural group.She added that other universities including Columbia, Stanford and the University of Pennsylvania have well established ethnic studies programs while the University remains lacking.Hong is a former design editor for The Daily Princetonian.Christophers said the report was meant to spark conversation and push the University to re-evaluate the status of Latino Studies and what will hopefully become the program in Asian American Studies."While it’s wonderful to have a program in Latino studies, it’s not enough just to have one. You have to cultivate that area so that it becomes robust and something that Princeton is known for," she said. "Simply having [a program] doesn’t mean it will become a flourishing program here at Princeton. You have to put the resources in and encourage people to study, so that we develop that critical mass of faculty.”Currently, the requirements for a Latino studies certificate include three elective courses and one required course, which is LAO 200: Latinos in the American Life and Culture.Christophers noted that next semester there will only be three courses listed next semester, with two being cross-listed with Latin American Studies. With so few courses being offered and variation between semesters, there’s no guarantee that a student will be able to take a course in the future if it isn’t offered, she added.By incorporating Latino and the potential Asian American Studies in American studies, students will be offered the flexibility to explore other areas of ethnic studies as well, Christophers explained. Students can study about other communities within the United States in order to see the country from different perspectives.Latino Studies program director Marta Tienda declined to comment.Members of the Executive Committee on Latino Studies, assistant professor of religionJessica Delgado and senior lecturer ofsociology Patricia Fernández-Kelly, did not respond to multiple requests for comment.Rebecca Weng ’18, Asian American Studies chair for AASA, said that Asian American Studies faces a unique situation in that program currently exists at the University, despite several courses offered this semester.“We feel that the narrative presented by Asian American Studies and Latino Studies makes for a more holistic picture of American history, because these ethnicities do play a major role in shaping our country,” she said.The Asian American Students Association, which started the report on ethnic studies and distributed the letter of support, faces a different set of challenges when approaching the administration because no program in Asian American Studies currently exists.English and African American Studies professor Anne Cheng ’85, an advocate for Asian American Studies who teaches courses related to Asian Americans, declined to comment.History professor Beth Lew-Williams, who specializes in Asian American history, said she will be on leave next year and will not be teaching Asian American History.“I’ve been happy to see a large amount of student interest in Asian American studies courses at Princeton,” she said, declining to comment further.Outgoing AASA president Evan Kratzer ’16 said the University has not actually charged any department with the development of the program. He noted that one of the most important factors that contributes to the development of a program includes retention of faculty.He recommended that the University empower the department in American Studies to hire faculty. With faculty, the program can flourish and allow for graduate studies and a wider variety of courses, he said.Vice president, treasurer and former Asian American Studies chair of AASA Andrew Hahm ’17 said that it is imperative for the University to provide resources for developing Asian American Studies if the institution claims to support such a program.“To say that you’re committed to a program and not give it any resources is actually more harmful than not committing at all, because then you’re saying that you’re committing to something that many people are invested in, but not taking many moves to fulfill that,” he said.
A house in the town of Princeton constructed in 1870 that has been home to several generations of occupants faces possible demolition if Mary Moss Park is to be expanded.
Dartmouth is currently investigating the Alpha Delta fraternity chapter, which inspired the 1978film “Animal House,”for allegedly branding pledges’ skin, TIME Magazine reported.
Construction on the planned apartment community in the town of Princeton by housing developer AvalonBay Communities is likely to start in mid-April.
The Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory is using 3-D printing technology to create custom parts for experiments with support from the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science, a University press release reported.
Women are the key to progress in the Arab world, Woodrow Wilson Award winner Queen Noor of Jordan — formerly Lisa Halaby ’73 — said during Alumni Day on Saturday.
Homeownership is one of the most important factors in breaking the cycle of poverty because it can stabilize the family and neighborhood,James Madison Medal winner Martin Eakes GS ’80 said at an Alumni Day lecture on Saturday.
Yessica Martinez ’15 and Jake Robertson’15 were named as the recipients of the Moses Taylor Pyne Honor Prize on Wednesday afternoon.
While Terrace Club filled after its first round of sign-ins, new members will still be accepted at Charter Club, Cloister Inn, Colonial Club and Quadrangle Club until the end of the sign-in period on Feb. 14.
Cannon Dial Elm Club was significantly more popular among students this year, with 200 students bickering, up from 143 Bickerees last year for an increase of almost 40 percent, according to Cannon president Connor Kelley ’15.
Dartmouth recently banned hard liquor from its campus, and Brown banned alcoholic events in residential areas.
Five juniors have been awarded fellowships for the Wilson School’s Scholars in the Nation’s Service Initiative, a program to promote and sponsor students’ work in the federal government.
Dance: PUB’s 'Winter Solstice'
Former President Jimmy Carter argued that the greatest unaddressed violation of human rights is the deprivation of equal opportunities for women in a talk about his new book, “A Call to Action: Women, Religion, Violence, and Power” on Wednesday. This is the first time he has spoken publicly at the University.
William Gansa ’17 and Ella Cheng ’16 will participate in a runoff election for the position of Undergraduate Student Government president, according to an email that outgoing USG president Shawon Jackson ’15 sent to the student bodyon Friday afternoon.