News

Adopters fund rare book restoration

Guests at the Book Adoption Party held yesterday enjoyed wine and hors d?oeuvres, making sure not to spill their refreshments on the books, maps, manuscripts and coins on display.The event, at which guests could adopt a variety of rare items for prices ranging from $100 to $1,650, was designed to raise funds to restore pieces in poor condition.

Webmail tops USG Senate meeting agenda

OIT representatives heard student comments and suggestions regarding the University Webmail system at a USG Senate meeting last night.USG vice president Mike Wang ?10 described the Sun Java Webmail system as ?highly in need of improvement.?Among the problems with the current Webmail system discussed at the meeting were its inabilities to filter messages, to search through multiple folders at the same time and to retrieve e-mail addresses previously used when the user types in the first few letters.The representatives from OIT, who included senior manager of customer services Leila Shahbender, presented students with the options they are currently considering, stressing that no decisions have been made yet.One of the options under consideration is ?moving most students to Exchange [a Microsoft e-mail front similar to Outlook or Mozilla Thunderbird],? explained Charlayne Beavers, technology integration specialist at support services at OIT.?We?re doing this assessment [regarding student opinions of the e-mail system], and in the background we?re doing an assessment on cost-analysis to try to determine which way to go,? Beavers said.Shahbender also brought up a ?digital [student] suitcase? available at princeton.edu/suitcase, which is an online service students can use to create a downloadable zip file for storing their Princeton University e-mail, files on their H drive and blog entries.Though this service is ?meant for people who are leaving campus [so that they] can take all their intellectual property with them, anyone can use it while they?re at Princeton if they want to back up their H drive or back up their e-mails,? Shahbender said.USG social chair Christian Husby ?08 said he used to use the Sun Java Webmail system but has since converted to Gmail because of the other features it included, such as a place to store documents and a calendar.Students also prefer to use other applications because of the notifications that pop up when they receive an e-mail, U-Councilor Becca Silver ?09 said.That the University increased the size of the e-mail quota five-fold, however, was helpful, Class of 2010 senator Cole Morris said.U-Councilor Liz Rosen ?10 added that another benefit of the current system is the effectiveness of the University?s junk-mail filter.Students also expressed a desire during the meeting to retain their Princeton e-mail addresses after they graduated.?To notify everybody [about a new e-mail address] would just be kind of a hassle,? Husby said.Even if the University did outsource its e-mail, most students agreed that they would prefer to keep ?Princeton? in their e-mail addresses.?We can?t promise to implement anything with a new system, but we?re trying to get feedback from you to find the best fit possible,? said Joseph Karam, manager of enterprise infrastructure services at OIT.Another item on the meeting agenda was amending Article III, Section D of the USG constitution to stipulate that ?all appropriations from the Senate Pilot Programs fund which are greater than $1000? must require Senate approval.

Senior sues Tiger Inn, University

A senior claiming she was sexually assaulted at Tiger Inn in February 2006 has filed a lawsuit against the University and TI, marking the first time in recent years that a student has brought legal action seeking damages from Nassau Hall and an eating club.?My client was sexually assaulted.

Weekend in Photos - March 31, 2008

Scientists find new bacterial cell wall proteins

University researchers have identified two proteins used by E. coli bacteria to form protective outer membranes.

Alumnus, senior win Gates scholarships

Two Princetonians, Mateusz Plucinski ?08 and Kenneth Fockele ?06, received scholarships from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to pursue graduate studies at Cambridge University next year.Plucinski, an operations research and financial engineering (ORFE) major from Warsaw and West Virginia, intends to study computational biology while at Cambridge.Hugo Simao, an ORFE professor who worked with Plucinski, described Plucinski?s future studies as a ?hybrid of math, biology and computer science.??He?s very persistent.

International Festival Opening Ceremony

Princyclopedia presents a whole new world of fun

The sound of Middle Eastern music playing in Dillon Gym was drowned out by the screaming and giggling of children of all ages scrambling to see lizards, snakes, frogs, falcons and a camel Saturday at the second annual Princyclopedia convention.An interactive event sponsored by the Cotsen Children?s Library, Princyclopedia, whose theme this year was ?Aladdin and the Middle East,? was free and open to the public.Student groups, nonprofit organizations and businesses helped run 25 activities, which included hovercraft carpet rides, making your own genie in a lamp, Arabic calligraphy and building miniature minarets.Aside from the different games and crafts, Bent Spoon ice cream was offered at the ?Oasis? table.

Corzine, Holt promote U.S.-Israel relations

New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine and U.S. Rep. Rush Holt (D-N.J.) joined former American Israel Public Affairs Committee President Lonny Kaplan at the Tigers for Israel (TFI) dinner celebrating the 60th anniversary of the foundation of Israel, as well as student and governmental support for American-Israeli relations.?I think that it is absolutely vital that we have voices that step up and say the reasons to be the closest of allies [with Israel],? Corzine said at the dinner, which was held at Prospect House and hosted 75 attendees.He highlighted the New Jersey-Israel Commission as evidence of the economic link between the state and the country.

At Colonial, joint plans more scarce

Colonial Club has decreased the number of shared meal plans available to members during this year?s room draw from 15 per class to 10, even though the club subsequently ran out of plans for the Class of 2009 just half an hour into residential college room draw.

Achebe: 'Apart' filled literary void

Critically acclaimed Nigerian novelist Chinua Achebe joined philosophy professor Kwame Appiah to discuss the historical and cultural significance of Achebe?s novel ?Things Fall Apart? to a packed audience in the Nassau Presbyterian Church on Wednesday night in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the novel?s publication.

Alumni tout 'thesis crisis center' for seniors in a bind

In the final days before Richard Allan ?02 had to hand in his molecular biology senior thesis, he was much more concerned with the information within the pages than with getting the pages themselves bound.

News & Notes | March 26

Virginia makes monetary offer to families of shooting victims Families of students killed in the Virginia Tech massacre have until March 31 to decide if they will accept an offer of $100,000 each from the state, CNN reported yesterday.

Lawrence Committee vote marred by dispute

After weeks of heated controversy, culminating in the intervention of Graduate School deans, select residents of the Lawrence graduate student apartment complex cast their ballots Monday night to choose members of the Lawrence Committee. The committee, which organizes social events and aims to address residents' concerns, consists of seven members elected by Lawrence residents.

Haitian repression inspires Danticat

An immigrant author must be brave enough to ?create dangerously,? said Haitian writer Edwidge Danticat, who delivered the second annual Toni Morrison Lecture last night in Richardson Auditorium and received a standing ovation from the audience.Danticat discussed how dealing with injustice in her native Haiti inspired her writing and cultivated her belief in the importance of art in coping with oppression and conflict.?We must create as though each piece of art is a stand-in for a life, a goal, a hope, a future,? she said.

Council discusses new alcohol law

At its weekly meeting last night, the Borough Council discussed a potential law that would allow Borough Police to impose penalties on underage drinkers caught on private property.Chip Meara of the Mercer Council on Alcohol and Drug Addiction presented a proposal for the underage drinking law to the Council.

New student group to raise abuse awareness

At a time when the Centers for Disease Control estimates that more than 32 million Americans are victims of domestic violence, a group of Princeton sophomores has formed a new organization aimed at raising awareness among members of the University community.Students Against Domestic Violence (SADV) is the creation of founder and president Janay Watts ?10, whose mother was a victim of domestic violence when she was a child.?People don?t realize it happens [everywhere],? Watts said of domestic violence, which is when one family member or significant other seeks to dominate another either psychologically or physically.

New club supports microloan endeavors

Though charity organizations may inundate the University?s listing of student groups, Ankit Bhatia ?10 and Becky Harper ?10 have taken their desire to help the less fortunate to the next level.The two have created a group that they said they hope will increase student awareness of microfinance, an economic strategy developed by economist Muhammad Yunus in which groups provide loans to citizens of developing counties hoping to jumpstart failing economies.

N.J. subpoenas JuicyCampus

Juicycampus.com was subpoenaed by New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram earlier this month. The attorney general?s office is investigating whether JuicyCampus ? a gossip site on which students from 60 universitites, including Princeton, post anonymous comments ? misrepresented itself to consumers and violated the Consumer Fraud Act.The Consumer Fraud Act is a civil act that ?deals with non-disclosures or erroneous information in terms of a commercial transaction,? said Bill Potter ?68, a partner at the Princeton-based law firm Potter & Dickson.

At Bear Stearns, resentment and fear abound

Adam Weiss was at his computer at home last Sunday when he saw the headline announcing that Bear Stearns was being forced to sell its stock for $2 per share.