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Natalie Portman touts microlending to assist poor

Natalie Portman touts microlending to assist poor

Greeted with applause, cheers and whistles that echoed off the ceiling of a packed McCosh 50, actress Natalie Portman spoke last night about helping the "poorest of the poor" through microlending.Politics professor Evan Lieberman, who introduced Portman, described microlending as "giving loans to individuals and groups of people who want to build small businesses.""Historically, the poorest people in the poorest countries have no opportunity to realize their dreams," he said.

NEWS | 10/25/2007

Caveat eater

Justine Chaney '10 did not know what was wrong."For about eight months I got mysterious, blistering headaches nearly every day," Chaney said of her freshman year experience.She went to a specialist in food allergies and was injected with about 200 distinct substances to test her reactions.

NEWS | 10/25/2007

W.G. LXXXI: Full Throttle

Top Five References Not to Use When Hitting on Freshmen, Otherwise the Only Dating You Will Be Doing Is Yourself: 5.

NEWS | 10/25/2007

Hermandorfer '08 indicted in assault of recent grad

A grand jury today indicted Nicholas Hermandorfer '08 and a friend with aggravated assault in the beating of a University student that happened during Reunions on June 1.Over the summer, Hermandorfer and recent University of Virginia graduate Adam Fassnacht turned down a plea deal offered by the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office that would have resulted in probation.

NEWS | 10/25/2007

U. disavows ties to Horowitz's program

Princeton is participating in Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week this week, at least according to conservative pundit David Horowitz's website, "Terrorist Awareness." But that's news to the University.The site, which Horowitz developed to publicize his controversial week-long initiative, lists Princeton among the 200 participating colleges and universities.

NEWS | 10/25/2007

Princeton scores small wins with summary judgments

The University can claim a number of small victories in its high-profile battle with the Robertson family after Mercer County Superior Court Judge Neil Shuster released rulings on seven motions for partial summary judgment.

NEWS | 10/25/2007

Wildfires threaten students' families

Firefighters are just beginning to gain control over the wildfires which have raged through Southern California over the past five days, burning nearly 500,000 acres of land and displacing as many people.For Princeton students who call Southern California home, the wildfires have added a great deal of fear to an already stressful midterm week.Megan Leahy '11, a student from the San Diego suburb of Rancho Bernardo, has lived in the same house for her entire life and has experienced threats of wildfire before, but she has never "experienced anything close to the destruction that has apparently taken place at home," she said in an email.Her parents called her Monday morning to say they were evacuating their home and "taking some valuables and sentimental belongings with them but leaving most behind."That same afternoon, Leahy learned from a friend that her home and most of her neighborhood had been destroyed by the flames.

NEWS | 10/25/2007

Students play inter-college game of Risk

Francesca Butler '09 has been conquering the world since the age of 10.Growing up in Mobile, Ala., Butler was an aficionado of Risk ? the popular board game in which players compete with each other for global dominance ? frequently playing with her neighbors and classmates.

NEWS | 10/24/2007

Arrests made in U. robberies

Three suspects were arrested Monday in connection with 10 recent burglaries in Princeton Borough, including several at the University.

NEWS | 10/24/2007

Judge says no jury trial in Robertson case, U. can spend capital gains

A New Jersey superior court judge issued rulings today on seven motions for summary judgement in the Robertson family's lawsuit against the University.

NEWS | 10/24/2007

Secrets of war retold, again

In times of war, the last thing a soldier wants to do is befriend his enemy ? unless it's his job.Arno Mayer, an emeritus history professor, had to do just that during World War II, taking care of Nazi prisoners as if they were sick friends.

NEWS | 10/24/2007

Shinn '73 nominated to Defense post

President Bush nominated James Shinn '73 to the position of assistant secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific security affairs on Tuesday, according to a White House press release.Shinn, who received both his A.B.

NEWS | 10/24/2007

Alum runs for Czech presidency

As an economist by training and a professor by trade, Jan Svejnar GS '76 is accustomed to weighing in on issues ranging from healthcare to labor.

NEWS | 10/24/2007

Judge to rule on seven motions for suit today

A superior court judge will release rulings this morning on seven motions for partial summary judgment in the Robertson family's lawsuit against the University.Though an actual trial date is still months away, this highly anticipated ruling will set the stage for the trial to begin.

NEWS | 10/24/2007

The sweeter side of academics

Professors hoping for positive student evaluations at the end of the semester should look no further than leftovers from Halloween or the candy aisle of their local supermarket.A recent study to be published in an upcoming issue of Teaching of Psychology Journal, found that students who eat chocolate before filling out a course evaluation may give their professor a higher rating than they otherwise would.The study, entitled "Fudging the Numbers: Distributing Chocolate Influences Student Evaluations of an Undergraduate Course," was conducted by Cal State-Northridge psychology professor Robert Youmans and Benjamin Jee, a researcher at Northwestern.Their subjects were students in a lecture class that was also separated into two lab sections taught by the same teaching assistant.To conduct the experiment, Youmans pretended to be administering course evaluations on behalf of the student government.

NEWS | 10/23/2007

Students opt for a year off

While the majority of students at the University pursue the traditional four-year path to graduation, an increasing number are choosing to deviate from standard timelines.Though "the numbers vary from year to year," former University Registrar Joseph Greenberg GS '77 told The Daily Princetonian in 2004, 75 students withdrew voluntarily and 35 were required to withdraw for academic or disciplinary reasons in 2003.Numbers have increased each year since then as growing numbers of students decide to either step away from campus to take a break from the academic rigors of University life or to explore nonacademic opportunities and interests off campus. Get thee to a nunneryErica Greil '10 entered Princeton as a member of the Class of 2009.

NEWS | 10/23/2007

University offers a wealth of religious accommodations

Last fall, Manav Lalwani '09, a devout Hindu, was shocked to find pamphlets criticizing Hinduism and other faiths in a University dining hall.

NEWS | 10/23/2007

'Princeton University is a different world'

In an alternate universe, Rosel Cherubin would be a lawyer.Cherubin, a lead janitor for Building Services, came to the United States with his parents in 1985, when he was 23.

NEWS | 10/23/2007

Merwick site zoning discussed

The Borough Council touched on several matters associated with public safety at its meeting last night and discussed at length plans to create a new zoning arrangement intended to lead to residential development opportunities in the vicinity of the Merwick Care Center.A point of major discussion involved a resolution to hire two new police officers.

NEWS | 10/23/2007

Bodine advocates Iraq withdrawal

The United States' presence in Iraq stalled democratization that had been progressing in that country before American troops arrived, Wilson School diplomat-in-residence and former U.S.

NEWS | 10/22/2007

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