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Isikoff details challenges of investigative reporting

Isikoff details challenges of investigative reporting

Michael Isikoff, an investigative reporter for Newsweek, discussed the secrecy of the current White House administration and the state of investigative journalism in front of a nearly full Dodds Auditorium yesterday.Isikoff, who authored ?Uncovering Clinton: A Reporter?s Story,? is known for his investigation of the Monica Lewinski story and his coverage of the war on terror.He spoke extensively on the problem of the secrecy surrounding the current Bush administration and actions he believes are unconstitutional.?This is an extremely secretive administration,? Isikoff said.

NEWS | 03/11/2008

Trial date for Scharf ’08 pushed back - Updated 6:34 p.m. March 11

Editor's Note appendedPrinceton Borough Prosecutor Kenneth Lozier has asked the Borough Court to reschedule former Charter Club president Will Scharf '08's trial after witnesses were not present to testify at the hearing scheduled yesterday due to a clerical error.Kara Murphy '09, one of the two students involved in the incident that led to the charges against Scharf, did not receive a subpoena intended for her due to an error between the police department and the court clerk's office, Borough Police Lt.

NEWS | 03/10/2008

CPUC discusses COMBO study, Dillon Gym renovations

The socioeconomic background of Princeton undergraduates affects their reasons for choosing colleges, the level of knowledge they have regarding the University before entering and what activities they participate in during their four years on campus, according to a survey conducted by the USG in May 2007 that was presented at a meeting of the Council of the Princeton University Committee (CPUC) yesterday.Former USG president Rob Biederman ?08 discussed the results on behalf of the USG?s Committee on Background and Opportunity (COMBO). The survey, which captured responses from 30 percent of the undergraduate population, explored the differences in campus lifestyles of students based on socioeconomic factors.While the study?s results are not currently available in full, they are scheduled to be released to the public after COMBO discusses its recommendations with the University Board of Trustees in April.Biederman explained four reasons for conducting the survey, the first of which is that at every university, there are ?pretty clear differences across students based on the type of background they come from.?The second reason, Biederman said, is about visibility, since ?socioeconomic issues aren?t often discussed because one, they?re not that obvious from looking at someone typically and two, they make people somewhat uncomfortable because it?s something that in many cases people are trying to hide on either side.? Biederman explained that the survey will also provide ?data that was quantitative backup for the things we intuitively sort of noticed over four years, three years of college? as well as offering ?a baseline for comparison? to future classes.?We are hoping the future USGs will administer the survey every two or four years,? Biederman said.One key finding of the survey was that a person?s socioeconomic status affects his or her reasons for choosing a college.

NEWS | 03/10/2008

Carrel scribblings raise the spirits of gloomy seniors

Underclassmen tread softly past the blue sliding metal doors of the carrels nestled in the lower levels of Firestone Library, perhaps afraid that an overworked, overtired senior may emerge and pierce them with an icy glare.

NEWS | 03/10/2008

Spitzer ’81 may resign as governor

News that New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer (D) ?81 was involved in a prostitution ring rocked Albany, Wall Street and his alma mater as it became clear that the former New York attorney general, who made his name pushing for greater ethics in government and business, had committed an ethical lapse of his own.

NEWS | 03/10/2008

Instability seen as a threat to PRC government

While China?s economy is booming, its leaders feel increasingly insecure and threatened, Susan Shirk, deputy assistant secretary of state during the Clinton administration, said in Dodds Auditorium yesterday during a lecture based on her recent book ?China: Fragile Superpower.??China?s leaders are very anxious about their hold on power inside China,? Shirk said.

NEWS | 03/10/2008

Singing folk tunes for friendship, relaxation

James Krendel-Clark ?11 thought he would take a break from studying to say hello to a group of familiar faces sitting on on the other side of the Murray-Dodge Cafe.

NEWS | 03/10/2008

N.Y. Republicans may move to impeach Spitzer '81

New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer (D) ?81 is still conferring with advisers and has not said that he will resign in the wake of the revelation that he was an alleged client of a prostitution ring.The delay in a final decision about his resignation is angering some state lawmakers.

NEWS | 03/10/2008

News & Notes | March 10

MIT unveils new financial aid planMIT has become the latest top-tier American university to dramatically revise its financial aid plan for middle-income families.The institution announced Friday that beginning next fall it will eliminate tuition for undergraduates whose families make less than $75,000 a year.

NEWS | 03/09/2008

Scalia sees narrow role for courts

Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonin Scalia defended the Court?s role in the 2000 presidential recount in Florida and shared his views about the Court?s role in a liberal democracy before a packed audience in McCosh 50 on Friday night.Scalia also received the James Madison Award for Distinguished Public Service at the event, co-sponsored by the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions and Whig-Clio, which presented the award.Whig-Clio president Molly Alarcon ?10 asked Scalia several questions selected from a pool that had been submitted in advance by Whig-Clio members.Among the most controversial questions Scalia addressed was one from Forest Sebastian ?10 regarding the Supreme Court?s decision to stop the Florida vote recount in the 2000 presidential election.?Get over it, it?s eight years ago,? Scalia said.

NEWS | 03/09/2008

Google engineers lead puzzle challenge for student teams

Students braved Friday?s downpour and trekked out to Google Games ? an unconventional meeting for students interested in Google ? putting their teamwork and problem-solving skills to the test for one-and-a-half hours by working on six puzzles in groups.?Do we need pencils, paper?

NEWS | 03/09/2008

Davall: Public Safety breaks up more parties

Public Safety officers defended their image at a USG Senate meeting last night that focused on student concerns over campus safety.A recent Public Safety initiative that allows officers to patrol dormitories on Thursday and Saturday nights to crack down on high-risk drinking has been met with hostility from students.?We?re seen as the kind of ?beer police,? and that gives us a bad name,? Deputy Director Charles Davall said to the student leaders.

NEWS | 03/09/2008

Nader ’55 calls for more civic activism

After declaring his fourth-consecutive third-party bid for the presidency only two weeks ago, Ralph Nader ?55 explained his reasons for running and called for greater civic activism on Saturday afternoon to a crowded McCosh 50 audience.Co-sponsored by the Arab Society of Princeton and Princeton Justice Project, Nader?s lecture was titled ?The Corporate State and the Destruction of Democracy.?Nader, a well-known consumer advocate and the son of Lebanese immigrants, criticized the practice of voting for the ?least worst? candidate and said that such a practice devalues citizens? votes.Third-party politicsAs a third-party candidate, Nader has been obstructed numerous times from appearing on the ballot, he said, adding that ?[Third parties] are constantly getting this political bigotry as if somehow we?re second class citizens.??Unfortunately, we live in a period in our history when political bigotry against third parties and third-party candidates is at an all-time high, and the two-party duopoly has somehow sold us on this notion that we?ve got to vote for winners, and if both winners aren?t that great then we?ll go for the least worst,? Nader said.

NEWS | 03/09/2008

Wilf ’84 donates $5 million to Butler, CJL

Jane and Mark Wilf ?84 have donated $5 million to fund one of four new dormitories in Butler College and programming at the Center for Jewish Life (CJL), the University announced last week.Wilf?s gift directs $4.5 million to the construction of Wilf Hall, which will be completed as part of the Butler College renovations.

NEWS | 03/09/2008

University architect to retire in June

From the modern curves of the Lewis Science Library to the gothic arches of Whitman College, Jon Hlafter ?61 has left an enduring aesthetic vision for the University?s campus.These and other projects will serve as reminders of Hlafter?s efforts to coordinate architectural projects at the University.

NEWS | 03/09/2008

Weather has two mommies

Editor?s Note: In last week?s column, the Weather Guy incorrectly reported that Nancy Malkiel was stepping down as High Inquisitor of Princeton University and campus fireplaces would be immediately reconnected to the Floo Network in violation of New Jersey state fire codes.

NEWS | 03/06/2008

Seniors given research prize

Anand Oza ?08 and Aaron Pixton ?08 have both been awarded Churchill Scholarships, created by Winston Churchill in 1959 to encourage young Americans to study science and engineering in college.

NEWS | 03/06/2008

Alums bring clarity to hazy primary season

As election season heats up, political junkies and the general public can look to realclearpolitics.com for a one-stop site for conservative and liberal coverage drawn from numerous online and printed publications.Founded in 2000 by Tom Bevan ?91 and John McIntyre ?91, who did not meet until after college, the site compiles political news articles, opinion pieces, analysis, commentary and polls from publications ranging from The New York Times to Rolling Stone magazine.?The idea was that these pieces should be available to the public all in one place.

NEWS | 03/06/2008

‘Aspire’ tops $663 million in donations

The University has raised roughly $52 million in the four months since the Nov. 9 public launch of the ?Aspire? capital campaign.

NEWS | 03/06/2008

Panel discusses Kenyan violence

Land distribution, poverty and historical ethnic prejudices were at the center of Kenya?s recent political unrest, according to a panel discussion given yesterday by Kenyan students and professors in Robertson Hall.In light of a recent peace agreement brokered by the United Nations, Kenyan members of the University community gathered to offer their perspectives on the results of December?s presidential election, which triggered widespread violence in their home country.Following the election, Kenyans unexpectedly began rioting in protest of what they believed to be a corrupt electoral process.?People were looking forward to the elections,? said Josh Muketha ?10, a Kenyan who was at home for winter break when the elections took place.

NEWS | 03/06/2008

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