News

U. to appeal denial of its motion to dismiss newer tax exemption lawsuit

U. to appeal denial of its motion to dismiss newer tax exemption lawsuit

Jessica Li

The University announced on Thursday that it will appeal a Morris County tax court judge’s denial of the University’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit against its property tax exemption for the 2014tax year.The University is asking the Appellate Division of New Jersey’s Superior Court to review the denial of the motion to dismiss.The lawsuit in question is separate from a 2011 suit challenging the University’s property tax exemption for 19 buildings alleged to have non-educational or primary uses, University spokesperson Martin Mbugua said.In the lawsuit whose motion to dismiss was adjudicated on Thursday, four town residents are challenging the University’s receipt of a property tax exemption from the town in 2014.The lawsuit’s premises are flawed, University Vice President and Secretary Robert Durkee ’69 said.“The standard in New Jersey for being eligible for property tax exemption is that your dominant purpose should be an educational institution, and Princeton’s dominant motive is to be an education institution," Durkee said.

NEWS | 02/12/2015

Crunchbutton to provide restaurant delivery service to U. students

Do-Hyeong Myeong

Crunchbutton, a start-up that offers delivery service from restaurants that typically do not deliver, will launch its operations on campus on Feb.

NEWS | 02/12/2015

Student Health Advisory Board launches mental health mentorship program

Christina Vosbikian

The Student Health Advisory Board last week launched Peer Connection, a one-on-one peer advising service for students who might be dealing with stress or who seek academic, life, relationship or other advice from peers.So far, 92 students have signed up as mentors, and 19 have signed up as mentees, project organizer Mizzi Gomes ’16 said.Gomes is a senior opinion columnist for The Daily Princetonian.“Now that the meningitis campaign is over, SHAB has really been looking for our next big project, and mental health is such a timely issue and has concerns that we want to address,” Gwen Lee ’16, chair of SHAB, said.Although Peer Connection officially launched last week, it has been in development since last spring.

NEWS | 02/12/2015

Martinez '15, Robertson '15 win Pyne Prize

Annie Yang

Yessica Martinez ’15 and Jake Robertson’15 were named as the recipients of the Moses Taylor Pyne Honor Prize on Wednesday afternoon. The Pyne Prize is the University’s highest general distinction, awarded to an undergraduate who displays excellent scholarship, strength of character and effective leadership. Martinez and Robertsonwill speak at Alumni Day exercises onFeb.

NEWS | 02/11/2015

News & Notes: Town to consider charging disposable shopping bags

Do-Hyeong Myeong

The town of Princeton is considering charging customers a fee of between 10 and 25 cents for disposable plastic or paper bags, The Times of Trenton reported. A local environmental group suggested the fee, and the town is investigating whether it can impose the charge,Mayor Liz Lempert told the Times.

NEWS | 02/11/2015

University begins process of creating gender-neutral bathrooms

Corinne Lowe

The University is in the process of creating more gender neutral, single stall bathrooms around campus, according toMichele Minter, vice provost for institutional equity and diversity.“There’s just been a lot of interest from students over the past couple years to have more gender neutral bathrooms, as well as interest from our Office of Disability Services,”Minter said.The buildings of interest are academic, athletic and other non-residential buildings, Assistant Vice President for the Office of Design and Construction Anne St.

NEWS | 02/11/2015

Mwita discusses East African integration, borders

Katherine Oh

Africa’s national borders are often the products of colonization, Mahiri Mwita, lecturer in the Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies, said during a lectureon Wednesday. Before 1884, he said, Africa consisted of simple communities with no clear borders.

NEWS | 02/11/2015

Town council developing 2015 priorities

Jacqueline Gufford

Town council discussions have established three strategic priorities for 2015, including providing financial stability, creating an inclusive and well-run community and improving service delivery, according toMayor Liz Lempert. While the council has not yet passed a list of specific priorities for 2015, working sessions have outlined a number of initiatives in line with the strategic priorities, she said. Unlike last year, which saw several large administrative reorganizations, the town council will primarily focus on several projects slated for developmentthis year. In particular, the town will focus on harmonizing existing town and borough parking ordinances, seeking bids for the potential installation of a solar array at the local landfill and creating a plan for the inclusion of bike lanes on Hamilton Avenue are important upcoming projects, Lempert said. “This is an exciting time for the municipal government because we are still in transition and we have a lot of opportunities to do more self-assessment and adopt policies that will put us in a good position moving forward,” she said. Councilwoman Jo Butler said that maintaining financial stability is at the top of the council’s concerns for the coming year. “Costs are always increasing, concerns exist about taxes rising and we need to focus on maintaining low costs while improving infrastructure,” Butler explained.

NEWS | 02/11/2015

Former European Commission president Barroso joins Wilson School faculty

Olivia Wicki

José Manuel Barroso, the former president of the European Commission, joined the Wilson School faculty on Feb.

NEWS | 02/11/2015

News & Notes: Cornell student charged with murder of father

Chitra Marti

Cornell University sophomore Charles Tan was arrested Monday on charges of second-degree murder after allegedly shooting his father, Ling "Jim" Tan, the Cornell Daily Sun reported. Police responded to a domestic incident at Tan's home in Pittsford, N.Y., and found Charles Tan and his mother standing in the driveway with his father dead in the house with gunshots in his upper body. Investigators conducted a search warrant of the house early Tuesday morning and found a shotgun.

NEWS | 02/10/2015

News & Notes: Town to buy property and expand park

Chitra Marti

The town of Princeton will be purchasing a property at 3133 Lytle St. in order to expand the neighboring Mary Moss Park, the Times of Trenton reported. The town will spend about $600,000 to purchase and destroy the property, which will then be incorporated into the park.

NEWS | 02/10/2015

U. Art Museum joins American Art Collaborative

Shriya Sekhsaria

The University Art Museum is one of 14 museums in the newly created American Art Collaborative, the Smithsonian American Art Museum announced on Feb.

NEWS | 02/10/2015

Panelists discuss experiences with mental health issues

Linda Song

Love and encouragement play critical roles in facilitating family relationships between parents and children with physical, mental and social disabilities, Andrew Solomon said in a lecture on Tuesday.Solomon is the founder of the Solomon Research Fellowships in LGBT studies at Yale and a professor of Clinical Studies at Columbia University.Solomon, who was awarded the National Book Award and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, discussed his latest work, "Far From the Tree: Parents, Children & the Search for Identity," recounting his work with families over the course of 11 years in regard to schizophrenia, deafness, autism and sexual identity.Solomon shared many narratives, one of which involved an individual named Clinton Brown, born with diastrophic dysplasia or “dwarfism." Brown’s parents were told by doctors that he likely would not survive and he was given a dire prognosis.However, his family took him home, and since then he has undergone 30 major surgeries and became the first person in his family to go to college.“The language we use around these experiences can determine in many ways the outcome," Solomon said.Solomon also discussed his own journey in coming out as an LGBT person.“When I was perhaps six years old, I went with my mother and brother to a shoe store," Solomon said.

NEWS | 02/10/2015

USG begins planning upcoming events following retreat

Katherine Oh

While Undergraduate Student Government president Ella Cheng ’16 made only one specific campaign promise — a Chipotle study break — she said the Undergraduate Student Government will see significant change this year.“The plan was first that we restructure USG, secondly explore and execute projects, both new and old, and then getting the word out better,” Cheng said.Cheng is a former staff writer for The Daily Princetonian.At the USG senate retreat this past weekend, USG members discussed the results from the recent “What Matters” campaign and brainstormed projects based on that information.“In all my experience with the USG, it’s surprising to me, we’ve never actually reached out to students before going to retreats and figuring out what to do for the year," she said.USG members will publicly announce a more detailed agenda for the year within the next week, including a list of priorities.Cheng said the goal of her campaign was to present a broader plan for how USG might carry out tasks this year, including incorporating the ideas of students before actually starting to take action.“It’s a multi-step process, and often I think we get stuck at different parts of it,” Cheng said.

NEWS | 02/10/2015

Diversity task force begins to address campus issues

Zaynab Zaman

The Council of the Princeton University Community Special Task Force on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, which was created on Dec.

NEWS | 02/09/2015

CPUC talks plans at first meeting of the semester

Jessica Li

University President Christopher Eisgruber '83 gave a presentation on campus planning and Provost David Lee GS '99 presented an update about theSpecial Task Force on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the first spring meeting of the Council of the Princeton University Communityon Monday. Eisgruber noted that the University is partnering with an outside firm for campus planning.

NEWS | 02/09/2015

News & Notes: Second Providence College student diagnosed with meningitis B

Daily Princetonian Staff

A second student of Providence College in Rhode Island was diagnosed with meningitis B on Sunday, according to The Providence Journal.The first confirmed case of meningitis at Providence College occurred on Feb.

NEWS | 02/09/2015

Q&A: Teach for America founder Wendy Kopp '89

Charles Kyungchan Min

Founder and chair of the board for Teach for AmericaWendy Kopp ’89 spoke on campus on Monday about the growth of her organization and its role in the community.

NEWS | 02/09/2015

Jacobus Fellowship awarded to 4 graduate students

Pooja Patel

Kimberly Shepard GS, Catherine Reilly GS, Yu Deng GS and Evan Hepler-Smith GS were awarded the Porter Ogden Jacobus Fellowship last Thursday. The fellowship is awarded to a University student who has “evinced the highest scholarly excellence in graduate work during the year,” and the students were all nominated by their respective departments. Reilly’s dissertation is titled “Naming Disorder: Psychiatry, Diagnosis and Literary Modernism in Russia and Germany, 1880-1929.” Reilly is a Ph.D.

NEWS | 02/09/2015

Kopp '89 delivers lecture on inequity in education

Charles Kyungchan Min

Teach for America has played a large role in shifting the educational landscape away from social inequity, Wendy Kopp ’89, the founder and chair of the board for TFA, saidduring a lecture on Monday. Kopp, who came up with the idea for the teacher placement organization in her senior thesis, began her conversation by discussing the long-term, fundamental differences TFA has made toward bringing academic opportunities to students in districts with little to no educational resources or facilities.

NEWS | 02/09/2015

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