The Editorial Board exists to affirm The Daily Princetonian as part of the University community and critically examine the world around us.
Though Princeton may seem a world away from the uncertainty and terror that Dreamers endure every day, we must not forget that we have peers who are living through this hell. We stand with them as friends, students, and Americans.
The decision to invite Wax is as myopic as it is dangerous — and we will not stand for it. We urge the leaders of Whig-Clio to reconsider their invitation.
The new requirement will further allow members of CPUC — foremost among them, President Christopher Eisgruber ’83 — to manicure, polish, and calibrate platitudes in advance. Council meetings will degenerate into PR. Worse still, there is no way to ensure that the Council will even address, much less disclose, the questions it receives and chooses not to answer.
By positioning administrators, who are not tasked to listen to protesters’ 2019 demands, but rather to monitor and restrict their lawful behavior, in close physical proximity to demonstrators, the University stifles the type of unfettered, unsettling free speech it claims to champion.
Fifty years ago, the Association of Black Collegians occupied New South to protest the University’s investments in apartheid South Africa. Those students examined South African history and contemporary affairs beyond the constraints of traditional Western scholarship. They pursued an expansive, provocative understanding of the human experience, one that transcended geographic and racial boundaries. We should heed their example.
As Ressa’s own government violates her human right to free speech, we believe that journalists everywhere must express their solidarity. We hope that our fellow Princetonians will join us and stand with Ressa in her fearless battle against authoritarian oppression and in preserving the voice of journalism.
To evaluate The Daily Princetonian against the University, the Board circulated a 10-question survey to the entire staff, which is comprised of undergraduate students. Approximately two-thirds of the staff responded to the survey. By closely studying the results, we have identified where the ‘Prince’ lags behind, and we have developed plans to rectify these shortcomings.
In a break from tradition, the Board refrains from endorsing a candidate in the USG presidential election, advocating instead for the reform of the USG election system.
University Trustee Bob Hugin ’76, who has made inflammatory remarks on the inclusion of women and LGBTQ+ individuals in the eating clubs, is now running for U.S. Senator from New Jersey. President Eisgruber has defended Hugin as a “terrific trustee for this University.” The Board calls on Hugin to prove he is the person Eisgruber believes him to be.
Student journalists — at The Daily Princetonian and elsewhere — are the future of the democratic free press. We commend the hundreds of editorial boards nationwide who have written articles last week combating attacks on American journalism. Quilted together on the front page of The New York Times, these editorials send a strong message: journalists will not back down.
Despite progress for women on campus, the University has a long way to go in addressing sexual misconduct, combating misogyny on male sports teams, and rectifying the lack of female mentors.
After careful consideration, the Board finds while Rosen’s use of the word “n****r” fell within his pedagogical rights as a tenured professor, it was unnecessary to the teaching of his lesson.
Two years after the last referendum on the Honor Committee failed to reach threshold limitations, it is time for a concrete change in policy. Each of the four referenda on the ballot this election cycle proposes an important change to the Constitution of the Honor System. While the language could be more specific, the proposals represent an honest effort to reform a dangerously flawed honor system, and we urge students to vote for them.
This Board welcomes the opportunity to continue in the tradition of formally endorsing a candidate for President of Undergraduate Student Government. In the Winter 2017 election cycle, the three candidates for President are: Matt Miller ’19, Ryan Ozminkowski ’19, and Rachel Yee ’19. After careful consideration of each candidate's platform, the Board endorses Rachel Yee for USG President.
In the midst of a national conversation on sexual misconduct and the abuses of power by national figures like Harvey Weinstein and others, it should hardly surprise us to learn (or perhaps, remember) that academia is home to perpetrators of sexual misconduct as well. A university’s hierarchical organization enables those in authority to exploit vulnerable individuals in the hierarchy, often without consequence.
As sexual assault has become an issue of increasing concern on college campuses and in national politics, the Board has advocated proposals to help prevent assault at Princeton and encouraged students to take the We Speak survey. We must consider a related issue with equal concern: how the University can ensure a fair, impartial process as it adjudicates alleged sexual misconduct.
As the 2016-2017 academic year comes to an end, the University is already preparing to welcome the next incoming class in the fall. First-years will participate in a host of activities that comprises the University’s orientation program. This program is designed to ease the transition to campus life “by introducing first-year students to the values, expectations, and resources of the inclusive Princeton community.”
The Editorial Board feels it necessary to reaffirm our support for bringing back the campus pub. We believe the campus pub should return to its original location where Chancellor Green Café now operates.
In recent weeks, there has been considerable debate in the opinion pages of The Daily Princetonian about the Honor Committee. Recent columns have touched on the very nature of the Honor Code itself, even opposing the current penalties for academic integrity violations during in-class exams. The Board supports the current standard penalty of a one-year suspension for Honor Code violations because this appropriately upholds community standards and provides opportunity for rehabilitation.
