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Panel discusses Kenyan violence

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

Filling the small screen

On any given day, one might expect to find Princeton students studying, socializing or sleeping, but putting together TV programs might not spring to mind.

NEWS | 03/06/2008

Leaping language hurdles alongside Olympians

Students taking part in the Princeton in Beijing (PiB) study-abroad program this summer will have the opportunity to be in close contact with Olympic athletes ? even if they do not snap up tickets for the 2008 Summer Games.According to The New York Times, the U.S.

NEWS | 03/06/2008

Orange Key members concerned about Admission Office oversight

Two years after the organization was brought under the aegis of the Admission Office, members of the formerly self-governing Orange Key Guide Service are saying that they have witnessed a marked erosion in their independence as administrators have sought to assert greater control over the content and organization of the group?s tours and in the administration of the group itself. ?Guides now feel that there?s Big Brother over their shoulder,? Brandon Bierlein ?08, the 2007 Orange Key chair, said in an interview with The Daily Princetonian last week, claiming that the administration has taken a larger role in shaping guides? messages to the public over the last two years.Some guides are concerned that ?the University [is] creating a laundry list of things that [have] to be said in the tour,? Bierlein added, noting that during his tenure as chair he heard ?a lot of concern from the guides that the traditional freedom that we?ve had was being undermined."Orange Key, whose volunteer guides lead 26 weekly tours, was founded in 1935 and had been an independently managed student organization funded by University Services until its incorporation into the Admission Office at the beginning of the 2006-07 academic year.?It makes sense for Orange Key and our admissions officers to work together as we present visitors to our campus with a comprehensive picture of life at Princeton,? Dean of Admission Janet Rapelye said in an e-mail in response to questions about the level of her office?s involvement with the guide service.

NEWS | 03/05/2008

News & Notes

Robertson case trial date setThe high-profile battle between the University and the Robertson family will go to trial on Oct.

NEWS | 03/05/2008

Five professors awarded Sloan prize

Five faculty members received Sloan Research Fellowships, which recognize promising young scientists and provide them with unrestricted financial assistance, the University announced yesterday.Lynn Loo GS ?01, Jason Petta, Ulrich Mueller, Roman Rafikov GS ?02 and Joshua Shaevitz joined 113 peers at North American universities ? chosen out of more than 600 nominees ? to receive $50,000 each for further research in their respective fields.The funds are granted by ?[monitoring] the science field for where the need is,? fellowship administrator Erica Stella said.

NEWS | 03/05/2008

OIT may add more Apple desktops to clusters

Macs have outstripped PCs in laptop sales through the University?s Student Computer Initiative (SCI), which sold three Macs for every two PCs last fall.?The percent of Macs on campus has grown significantly,? said Steven Sather, OIT?s director of support services.

NEWS | 03/05/2008

Jacoby: Peace process is a myth

Boston Globe op-ed columnist Jeff Jacoby denied the viability of a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine in McCosh 28 yesterday. Jacoby included the two-state solution as one of his ?Four Big Myths? in a lecture titled ?The ?Peace Process? and Other Middle East Myths.? Jacoby listed the four myths as the plausibility of a co-existence of Israel and Palestine, the idea that peace should be made between enemies, the notion that ?terrorists want to derail the peace process? and the belief that ?anti-Zionism isn?t anti-Semitism.? Throughout history, and ?every time [the idea of a two-state solution] has been on the table, Palestin[ian]s have refused it,? Jacoby said.

NEWS | 03/05/2008

New group to focus on healthcare

Concern about the growing number of uninsured Americans has led Mahesh Somashekhar GS to begin rallying students to fight for universal healthcare.Somashekhar?s agenda includes organizing students to do a variety of healthcare-related activities, such as volunteering at local hospitals, facilitating panel discussions, launching letter-writing campaigns and demonstrating at the New Jersey State Legislature.?Good health is precious,? Somashekhar, a graduate student in the sociology department, said in an e-mail.

NEWS | 03/05/2008

Nash home catches fire

An accidental fire broke out Tuesday morning at the house of Nobel Prize laureate and University senior research mathematician John Nash, Jr., GS ?50.

NEWS | 03/04/2008

Students evaluate gap-year program

Though the University announced the proposal of an international gap-year program for incoming freshmen on Feb.

NEWS | 03/04/2008

Borough may ask U. for funds

State budget cuts and a loss of tax revenues will likely force the Borough to raise taxes by about 6.5 percent this year, Borough Administrator Robert Bruschi announced at the Borough Council meeting last night.

NEWS | 03/04/2008

Coyle '38 award given to radio station leaders

Two senior members of the student-run radio station WPRB were awarded the station?s most prestigious honor, the Dan D.

NEWS | 03/04/2008

Panel calls for action on green issues

David Crane ?81, CEO of NRG Energy, Inc., a Princeton-based power company, joined several professors in Tuesday?s Symposium on Energy, Climate and the Environment at the Friend Center, adding a corporate perspective to academic and policy discussions on climate change.

NEWS | 03/04/2008

Applications to financial internships up amidst economic woes

Even as the headlines of major news outlets highlight the dollar?s depression and the economy?s move toward recession, over the past three weeks students have flocked to interviews for summer internships in the financial sector.

NEWS | 03/04/2008

Applicants criticize aid policy

After several elite universities bolstered their financial aid packages during the past year, some Class of 2012 applicants and their families are expressing doubts about whether the University?s financial aid program can best the competition. In the past, the University has stood on the strength of its pioneering efforts to eliminate loans, but some applicants are now skeptical that the funding for middle-class families will not be sufficient, despite repeated attempts by Director of Undergraduate Financial Aid Robin Moscato to explain that Princeton provides enough aid to meet the demonstrated need of all students. Applicants lauded the University?s no-loan policy, but some expressed the desire for the University to take further steps as other schools are actively bolstering their aid programs. One applicant praised the University?s grant system, but said the overall program ?only appears to be average because many other colleges and universities are adopting similar financial aid methods.? All applicants interviewed for the article were granted anonymity because their applications to the University are still pending. ?While Princeton had the grant policies before, I think that they should respond to the other colleges? boosts in financial aid so that they can be even more appealing to students,? another applicant agreed. In light of Stanford?s financial aid reform that eliminated tuition for families with annual incomes below $100,000, Moscato maintained that Princeton?s financial aid packages are still competitive. Though the University does not set fixed income brackets for aid packages, the administration?s letter to the Senate Finance Committee last week reported that members of the Class of 2011 with annual family incomes below $75,000 received grants that on average covered nearly all tuition and room and board costs. Those with family incomes between $75,000 and $100,000 paid an average of $10,180, or $800 short of the full cost of room and board.

NEWS | 03/03/2008

Digital scavenger hunt wins business plan competition

Most scavenger hunts involve small prizes and bragging rights, but Seth Priebatsch ?11?s idea for a virtual text-messaging scavenger hunt earned him a $5,000 check. Priebatsch?s team SCVNGR, whose name mimics text-messaging style for the word ?scavenger,? won $5,000 and first place in the TigerLaunch Business Plan Competition, in which 15 teams comprising up to four students submitted business plans for review by a panel of judges with backgrounds in entrepreneurship. ?I was excited, but there was still a lot more work to do.

NEWS | 03/03/2008

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