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Study: Princeton students have poorer cognitive abilities than peers, though methodology is disputed

Study: Princeton students have poorer cognitive abilities than peers, though methodology is disputed

While MIT, Harvard, Stanford and Yale all made the top five in a new study ranking U.S. colleges according to their students’ cognitive abilities, Princeton ranked 39th, behind Bucknell and Northeastern. Some psychologists, however, are questioning the methods of the study that ranks Princeton poorly.

NEWS | 11/25/2012

Updated: Nebel ’13 to be named Marshall Scholar

Philosophy concentrator and campus Greek life leader Jake Nebel ’13 will be named the University’s sole winner of the 2013 Marshall Scholarship.Nebel, who is also pursuing a certificate in Values and Public Life, has already been published in multiple academic journals as an undergraduate. He will use the scholarship to complete the equivalent of a two-year master's degree at the University of Oxford.

NEWS | 11/25/2012

New York Times’ Brooks argues that “Organization Kid” culture has deepened in his return to Princeton

New York Times opinion columnist and conservative commentator David Brooks described a recent cultural shift from self-effacement to self-advancement and warned of its implications for national politics.

NEWS | 11/25/2012

News & Notes: Harvard does not plan to divest from fossil fuels despite student referendum

The Harvard student body passed a referendum last week calling for divestment from the fossil fuel industry, echoing the referendum passed by the Princeton student body last spring to invest its endowment in “socially responsible ways.”

NEWS | 11/25/2012

Sunstein, author of 'Nudge,' displays power of default rules

Cass Sunstein, President Barack Obama’s former chief regulator and the author of the award-winning “Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness,” highlighted the influence of default rules, or how existing norms and regulations can impact people’s behavior, in a lecture on Monday afternoon. Sunstein, now a professor at Harvard Law School, partially oversaw the implementation of the Affordable Care Act and financial regulatory reform during his time as the administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.

NEWS | 11/25/2012

New local government takes shape as it meets for first time

In the first manifestation of the local government following consolidation, the newly elected, but still powerless, Princeton Council met on Monday afternoon in a preliminary meeting before it officially takes over on Jan. 1. The new council met in the former Township Hall, which was renamed the Princeton Municipal Complex during the consolidation process.

NEWS | 11/25/2012

News & Notes: Penn aims to interview 100 percent of applicants

Penn plans to interview every applicant to the school by 2015 as part of a new interview program that will use Skype and phones to interview applicants that live in sparsely populated regions, according to The Daily Pennsylvanian.

NEWS | 11/24/2012

Ahead of consolidation, University and new municipality prepare to negotiate over PILOT payment

Even as the January consolidation of the Borough and the Township opens new possibilities for interaction between the town and gown, the University has no plans to change the size of its voluntary contribution to the local community under the new system. However, the mayor-elect of the new Princeton thinks the University should increase the size of the annual payment it will make to the consolidated town.

NEWS | 11/24/2012

In sociology department, professor Fernandez-Kelly is lightning rod

Few professors are surrounded by an air of admiration and controversy as much as sociology professor Patricia Fernandez-Kelly.“I have a history of sort of getting myself into deep trouble as a part of my research,” she noted casually. Her neatly organized, well-lit office in Wallace Hall makes such troubles and misfortune seem far off, but a closer look at the photos and trinkets that line her walls tells a vastly different and dynamic story.

NEWS | 11/24/2012

In new book, alumnus questions Lincoln's role in Civil War

The new movie “Lincoln” tells the story of President Abraham Lincoln’s efforts to pass the 13th Amendment amidst the Civil War. But a recently published book written by a Princeton alumnus argues that Lincoln in fact caused the Civil War because he misunderstood the South.

NEWS | 11/24/2012

Jackson '15, Mancenon '14 reflect on USG victories

Riding support from a Class of 2016 that voted for him by a two-to-one margin, Class of 2015 senator Shawon Jackson was elected USG president Saturday following a campaign period complicated and delayed by allegations of campaign violations. Jackson defeated USG social chair Benedict Wagstaff ’14 by 86 votes, according to vote tallies released on Saturday morning. Jackson earned 51.9 percent of the vote.

NEWS | 11/23/2012

In case you missed it: Princeton's presidential search

Daily Princetonian Staff

Haven't been following the University's search for its 20th president? Catch up with some Thanksgiving break reading here.

NEWS | 11/22/2012

Last-minute appeal by USG vice presidential candidate to disqualify another is canceled

The last-minute attempt by one candidate for USG vice president to disqualify another has been canceled after sponsors of the appeal withdrew their support Friday evening. The series of events over Thanksgiving break delayed the release of all the results from the recent USG election, which will now be released Saturday morning.

NEWS | 11/22/2012

Alumni couple donates $10 million to establish new Iranian studies center

The University will establish a new Center for Iran and Persian Gulf Studies, funded by a $10 million gift from husband and wife Bijan Mossavar-Rahmani ’74 and Sharmin Mossavar-Rahmani ’80 as part of the recently concluded Aspire Campaign.

NEWS | 11/19/2012

University awaiting state license to move forward with plans for campus pub

Plans for the construction of a campus pub, likely to be located in Cafe Vivian in the Frist Campus Center, are on hold. The Campus Center Association is currently waiting for a license of approval from the New Jersey Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control, according to University Spokesperson Martin Mbugua.

NEWS | 11/19/2012

Search committee expects to have candidate list by end of December

The committee searching for a replacement for outgoing University president Shirley Tilghman expects to have “quite a list of candidates” by the end of December, Kathryn Hall ’80, the chair of the search committee told Princeton Alumni Weekly on Monday. Internal checkpoints like this December date had not yet been released by the search committee, which has prioritized confidentiality during the search process.

NEWS | 11/19/2012

Elements, Mediterra, Ferry House pleased with Restaurant Week results

Elements — a fine dining restaurant on Bayard Lane — served more than 700 meals during the University’s first-ever Restaurant Week, significantly more than any of the other participating restaurants. A majority of these meals were served to University students, according to Elements wine director Carl Rohrbach.

NEWS | 11/19/2012

With anonymity, students compliment each other on Facebook

Over the past few days, a Facebook account called Pton Compliments has filled up students’ newsfeeds with compliments about their classmates. The project, created last Thursday, solicits compliments from students through a Google document and posts them anonymously on Facebook, tagging the recipient.

NEWS | 11/19/2012

Wagstaff ’14 cleared of campaign penalty after appeal

The USG voted to clear presidential candidate Benedict Wagstaff ’14 of the 10 points it had penalized him for negative campaigning after he published a chart comparing the presidential and vice presidential candidates on his Facebook page Sunday night.

NEWS | 11/19/2012

Kassen ’76 leads pro-Israel lobby in time of conflict

As violence flares up in the Middle East between Israelis and Palestinians once again, American activists on both sides are vocally advocating for their causes. Michael Kassen ’76, the president of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, has perhaps the most influence in shaping the pro-Israel message within the United States.

NEWS | 11/18/2012

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