News

Politics professor's company fights SARS

Donald Drakeman GS '88, politics professor and former lawyer, is now at the forefront of developing a treatment for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome.His company, Princeton-based pharmaceutical business Medarex, joined forces with the Massachusetts Biologic Laboratories of the University of Massachusetts Medical School late last month to create wholly human antibodies to SARS.SARS ? a respiratory illness that has recently been reported in Europe, Asia and North America ? has as of yesterday caused more than 6,500 cases and close to 500 deaths, according to the World Health Organization."We believe that development of a fully human neutralizing antibody to the SARS virus may be a relatively rapid approach to obtain an agent that can limit the disease in infected and exposed individuals," said Israel Lowy, director of infectious diseases at Medarex, in a press release.Drakeman and Mark Shelton of the UMass press office said the lab and the company were compatible because of their similar research in genetic engineering.The MBL is the only nonprofit Food and Drug Administration-licensed manufacturer of vaccines and other biologic products in the United States, according to a press release on Medarex's website.

Students, faculty join to honor Dean Fred after his last 'YES!'

Dean Fred. Dean of Deans. The "Yes!" man.During his 15 years as dean of admission, Fred Hargadon has achieved a healthy archive of nicknames from colleagues and the students he has admitted.

Q&A: David Dobkin

David Dobkin, chair of the computer science department, will take on a new role as the University's dean of the faculty starting July 1.'Prince' reporter Josh Brodie asked Dobkin about his past research.'Prince': About the time when you left grad school, computer science was a nascent field.

Professor and rare book specialist Ludwig dies at 82

A former associate University librarian and emeritus English professor, Richard Ludwig, died April 28 in his home in Princeton.

Seven professors retire at year-end

Seven professors with more than 250 years of teaching experience among them will retire at the end of this year.A trio of loved English professors ? Robert Hollander '55, T.

Photos from Lawnparties

Three students sent to McCosh, PMC over Houseparties weekend

This year's Houseparties weekend saw the number of students requiring medical transport more than halved over last year.Three students required medical transport for intoxication as of early last night.One student was taken to Princeton Medical Center, and two were taken to McCosh Health Center."This is very low, much better [than previous years]," said Public Safety Sgt.

A spirited Princeton tradition, Houseparties endure, evolve

Every May, as the days grow warmer and classes end, University students assemble for the annual tradition of Houseparties.

Israeli political identity blurring, professor says

In a lecture yesterday in Dodds Auditorium, political scientist Tamar Hermann discussed the evolution of Israeli-Jewish public opinion on the peace process with the Palestinians.Hermann, who is director of the Tami Steinmetz Center for Peace Research at Tel Aviv University, said the standard definitions of "left" and "right" in Israeli politics no longer apply.In previous years, to say that you were "on the left" in Israel meant that you were willing to make far-reaching concessions in negotiations with the Palestinians, while saying you were "on the right" meant you believed security should be the top priority, she said."This division between doves and hawks no longer exists in Israel in the same way it did in the past," she said.

Weekly Wrapup

Dean's List Thumbs Up: Hey, congrats man, you've got a date'Twas the night before Houseparties and all through the house, not a female was untaken, not even a mouse.

U-Council to propose monthly discussions

As part of its ongoing effort to address concerns about intellectual climate on campus, the undergraduate U-Councilors are asking students to support an optional program of monthly dinner meetings with professors and graduate students.The proposal ? which will be formally presented at Monday's CPUC meeting ? calls for designating an hour each month during which no practices, rehearsals, meetings or classes would be scheduled.

Purity is the hobgoblin of small minds

The Princeton experience is one that we will never leave behind. The four years we all spend here are uniquely "Princeton" ? a quality captured in "The Mother of All Princeton Purity Tests" created by Danielle Lindemann '02.Now a graduate student at NYU's Draper Program in the Humanities, Lindemann graduated from the University with a degree in English, concentrating in Creative Writing.She created the test over the summer while she "was in this weird haze of nostalgia and had too much free time on [her] hands." Princeton legendsLindemann came up with many of the questions herself, based on her own experiences at the University as well as those of her friends.

Photos from Frist Fest 2003

Peng, RIAA settle infringement case

Daniel Peng '05 and the Recording Industry Association of America have reached a settlement in the copyright infringement suit the group brought against him last month, lawyers for the two sides said yesterday.

Career services foresees another tight job market

Though job market statistics for the Class of 2003 will not be available until after the senior checkout survey in May, job searches for graduating students will likely be competitive, as last year's were, according to the Office of Career Services."The job market in some industries has been a bit rocky for a few years, making the job search more competitive or last longer than several years ago," Rebecca Ross, associate director of Career Services said in an e-mail."Because we do not have data from students yet, I can say that there does not appear to be an appreciable difference between this year and last," said Ross.Last year, 99.2 percent of the Class of 2002 responded to the Career Plans Survey.

Announcement to come in Peng case

Sophomore Daniel Peng's ordeal with the RIAA may be one step closer to completion. His lawyer, Howard Ende, said he expects announcements today regarding the lawsuits brought April 4 against Peng and three other college students for operating network search engines.

Museum patron damages priceless ancient vase

A fragment of an ancient vase on display in the University Art Museum was broken Saturday when a running eight-year-old girl bumped into its pedestal, Museum Director Susan Taylor said."The child was okay," Taylor said.

Students give Tilghman Isenberg tenure petition

Seven University students showed up at President Tilghman's weekly office hours yesterday armed with anecdotes and 500 signatures.The students ? all history enthusiasts ? came to protest the University's decision to deny professor Andrew Isenberg a tenured position despite support from his colleagues and undergraduate and graduate students.Their hope was that the University would reconsider its decision, said Erik Linstrum '06, a student in Isenberg's American Places class and one of the students at Tilghman's office yesterday afternoon.Tilghman listened to the students attentively, nodding and affirming their positive experiences, their awe of Isenberg's teaching ability and his scholarship in the newly emerging field of environmental science."I want a reason," said Morgan Prewitt '05, who said she declared a history major because of her experience as one of Isenberg's students.Tilghman tried to to demystify the tenure process by outlining the three categories of consideration: teaching ability, scholarly eminence and collegiality, or the "likelihood that a candidate will become a leader in the department," Tilghman said.

Panelists debate evidence of stereotyping at the University

Dr. Thema Bryant-Davis opened the discussion with a piercing question."Who do they say you are ? those who encounter you in brochures and superficial meetings of the mind, those who read about you, hear about you?

Student groups propose adding cultural studies requirement

If a proposal from the Cultural Leaders Summit of the Carl A. Fields Center and some members of the USG succeeds, ST's, HA's and EC's will have new company ? a cultural studies requirement that would be incorporated into existing University distribution requirements.The proposed formation of a student committee to develop the new distribution requirement comes in the midst of debates on such divisive issues as self-segregation and campus diversity.A similar requirement was last considered in 1994, when a faculty committee concluded it would further rather than alleviate cultural segregation.Though the proposal is still in the research phase, the Cultural Leaders Summit plans to approach the administration in the fall, James Tieng '04, co-president of the Asian American Students Association, said in an e-mail.