Letter to the Editor

Halfway to midterm elections: A call for continued action

One year on, halfway to the 2018 midterm elections, advocacy and activist groups are now beginning the real hard work: sustaining the advocacy effort. With much of the initial passion drained, grit and determination become critical to maintaining the efforts that will lead to lasting change.

Letter to the Editor: On Hotovely and the dangers of moral panic in response to the AJP

In the interest of fair and open conversation, I challenge members of the AJP to an open debate on the importance of hard conversation on campus and invite the CJL to sponsor a dialog about this.

Rethinking the academy: Opposing the conflation of the Academy with Western Academy

Then the realization hit: there is an unstated, but unquestioned, notion across humanities and social science that the Academy refers only to Western Academy (used broadly to refer to European and North American academia), and if something hasn’t been said in the Western Academy, it is as though it has never been said.

Letter to the Editor: Statement opposing Tzipi Hotovely’s visit to the Center for Jewish Life

By inviting MK Hotovely to speak, the Center for Jewish Life violates its own official policy on Israel-related events, which states that “The CJL will not, however, sponsor groups or speakers that, as a matter of policy or practice, foster an atmosphere of incivility, intend to harm Israel, or promote racism or hatred of any kind.” In clear violation of this policy, Hotovely has repeatedly made racist statements. 

Birth control is healthcare

The author of a recent Prince column would presumably take issue with Merriam-Webster. According to Thomas Clark, birth control should not be considered healthcare because it “suppresses the natural function of the reproductive system” or “counteract(s) normal bodily operation” — to be contrasted with other therapies “that treat illnesses or disorders and seek to return the body to health.” 

Letter to the Editor: Don't boo, vote

If you want to help create a bulwark of states against the Trump Administration and prevent a further power imbalance in state and national politics, follow President Barack Obama’s advice: “Don’t Boo. Vote!”

Letter to the Editor: Response to Jon Ort

I want to affirm that some, hopefully many, Princeton University librarians are keenly aware of and concerned about privacy issues, especially in an online environment.

Letter to the Editor: Live criticism — critique as care, idealism as necessity

Ultimately, my critics and I agree: Let’s make use of the fabulous space we now have, dynamically and with heart. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t also question it.

Letter to the Editor: Replies to an unjust criticism of the new Lewis Center

This past week, Kyle Berlin ’18 sent a letter to the editor in which he criticized the new Lewis Center for the Arts complex. From decrying the center’s allegedly garish architectural style, to its supposed complicity in the Neoliberal Cooptation of the Arts, Berlin spared no aspect of the University’s newest project in his piece. As it turns out, not only are his accusations vague and unimportant, but they are wrong, threatening to obscure the great good that the existence of this new center will do for the University. 

Letter to the Editor: Live art

Last weekend, a mysterious procession of people weaved its way through north campus. From a distance, they emitted a collective murmur — a moan of mourning. If you got close enough, you could catch snippets of individual sentences.

So you passed a referendum. Now what?

"Shall the undergraduates direct the USG Senate to establish a standing committee that works with the Interclub Council to annually collect and release demographic information, such as race, gender, and academic major, about the members of each Eating Club, and additionally, for each selective (‘bicker’) Club, its applicants (‘bickerees’)?"

Old sins cast long shadows: Repressing ballots with batons in Catalonia

The Oct. 1 referendum on Catalan independence made headlines, but not because of its result. As the CNN reported, “some 893 people were injured as riot police raided polling stations, dragged away voters, and fired rubber bullets during clashes.” International media published videos showing Spanish policemen beating people up, from teenagers to old ladies. Nonetheless, about 42 percent of Catalans managed to vote, and among those, 92 percent voted to secede from Spain.  

Letter to the Editor: Resisting Trump's latest action against DREAMers

The government says that it wants to eliminate the incentives for immigrants to come to the United States. By turning out the light of hope and opportunity that draws people to our shores, the administration puts all of us in the shadows. 

Bicker: Its problems and how to fix them

Another Bicker season has come and gone, leaving some students overjoyed and some crushed. For some of those students, bickering was a way to increase their social status, to be part of a club that everyone wants to get into. During the year, the thought of Bicker nags constantly in the recesses of their minds. Students actively try to hang out with members of clubs, even at the expense of their old friend groups. Every social interaction with a member of a selective club is just that more important, that more consequential. But I’m willing to wager that most students who bickered, like me, were just looking to be able to eat with their friends.

Letter to the Editor: In response to PGSU

As you call on the University to do, we condemn violence and hatred of all kinds. The three of us and the offices we represent work daily to protect the rights and safety of immigrants, transgender people, and people of color (and those whose identities intersect all of these categories and others).

So you want to start a company?

Letter to the Editor: Legacies of incarceration

The Harvard University administration set off a firestorm when they rejected a formerly incarcerated woman who had already been accepted by the Department of History.

Letter to the Editor: Princeton should extend an invitation to Chelsea Manning

After Harvard University’s recent decision to rescind its fellowship offer to Chelsea Manning, following backlash from CIA Director Mike Pompeo, as well as others, it has become evident that once more the fight for academic freedom and university autonomy is more important than ever.

Letter to the Editor: Towards an inclusive free speech

Just before Princeton students returned to campus this year, an open letter signed by 16 Ivy League professors appeared online, calling on inbound college first-years to “think for yourself.” Though the call to think critically and maintain an open mind is benign on its surface, the letter is in reality a thinly veiled call to resistance against progressive campus activism.

Cierra tu Boca and Open Your Mind: An Open Invitation to Princeton’s Latinx Heritage Month

I hope the conservative students at Princeton join us for the many events planned for Latinx Heritage Month.