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Starving bacteria seek food together

Starving bacteria seek food together

When they're starving, they're social. And when they're social, they're slimy. Bacteria are the centerpiece of new research that has disclosed some of the methodology behind the social organization of bacteria.The research was conducted in the labs of physics professor Robert Austin and molecular biology professor Jeffry Stock.Contrary to the past assumption that bacteria disperse randomly and then cluster, this research suggests that the bacteria "can actively find each other," said Peter Wolanin, a postdoctoral researcher in Stock's lab.Emil Yuzbashyan, a graduate student theorist, observed that when he placed E.

NEWS | 09/17/2003

University prepares for threat of Hurricane Isabel

While many students lounged in the sun yesterday, Princeton administrators prepared for the arrival of a major storm.Though she has lost strength during the last few days, Hurricane Isabel is scheduled to plow through North Carolina this afternoon.

NEWS | 09/17/2003

Budget talks include 'rape kits' funding

University Health Services moved a step closer yesterday to being able to examine students for evidence of sexual assault at a budget meeting discussing "high priority needs" for campus life.In the 2004-2005 budget, Health Services will request money for the first time for nurses and equipment to conduct "rape kits" on campus, in which a sexually assaulted student is examined to collect evidence that can be used in court, University officials said."Health Services has identified many critical unmet needs," said Vice President for Campus Life Janet Dickerson, who met with Provost Amy Gutmann yesterday to discuss funding priorities.

NEWS | 09/17/2003

Mitchell to lead Butler through construction, expansion

English Professor Lee Mitchell recently became master of Butler College and is excited to lead it through the major transformation of the residential college system due to take place during the next few years."Butler is unquestionably the best college in the University, and I'm privileged to work with students in an intellectual and social world outside the classroom," he said.A major task Mitchell will face is successfully transitioning Butler from its two-year underclassmen structure to a four-year college plan.

NEWS | 09/17/2003

Liberal political group could open campus chapter

A new, left-of-center legal affairs group is considering coming to the Princeton campus.Founded in Washington in 2001, the American Constitution Society aims to counter what they consider a conservative dominance in American legal thinking.Though ACS is focused on opening campus chapters at law schools across the United States, "we're thinking about whether it makes sense for us to talk with folks at the [Woodrow] Wilson School [of Public and International Affairs] about a chapter there," said David Lyle, ACS deputy director.Wilson School Dean Anne-Marie Slaughter '80 spoke at the Society's first annual convention in August.

NEWS | 09/17/2003

Zipcar company offers students hour-long rentals

There have always been two kinds of Princeton students: those with cars and those without.But this may soon change.As of this September, Princeton University has forged a partnership with Zipcar, a service that lets members rent cars by the hour for errands, the visiting friends or even just going to movies. LocationMembers can use the four cars in the Princeton area, as well as any Zipcar in the metropolitan areas of Boston, New York City and Washington.

NEWS | 09/17/2003

Afghanistan faces continued challenges

Alina Rekhtman '05 remembers hearing stories of bodies hanging from telephone poles.Rekhtman, one of five University students who worked as interns in Afghanistan this past summer, speaks of Afghanistan as a place where much of the terror of civil war has become a memory ? but a memory that is still fresh."All the things that we heard about on TV happened so recently that the last few years were years of incredible suffering for the Afghan people," Rekhtman said.

NEWS | 09/16/2003

Sex assault exam funding requested

University Health Services are moving closer to being able to examine sexually assaulted students for evidence so that it may be used in court.

NEWS | 09/16/2003

Recruiting system needs reform, Bowen says

In a book published this month, former University president William Bowen GS '58 and coauthor Sarah Levin argue that extensive reforms are needed to combat what they see as a widening divide between the athletic and academic sides of campus life at the nation's top colleges and universities.The book, published by Princeton University Press and titled "Reclaiming the Game: College Sports and Educational Values," presents the findings of a study based on data gathered at 33 of the most academically prestigious institutions in the country, including all members of the Ivy League in addition to well-known liberal arts colleges in the Midwest and western states.The book shares some data with the 2001 book, "The Game of Life," which Bowen co-wrote with James Shulman.The "most striking finding" of the study is that there are significant differences in academic performance not just between recruited athletes and non-athletes but also between recruited athletes and walk-on athletes, Bowen said in an interview.This distinction was not made in "The Game of Life," which focused on aggressive recruitment of athletes, the admissions advantages they receive and underperformance in the classroom.The study found that recruited athletes who were included on a coach's list at the admissions office earn far lower grades than both their fellow athletes who were walk-ons and other students, Bowen said.The study also found that recruited athletes earn far lower grades than what might be expected based on their incoming academic credentials, he added."I think the reason is that, perfectly understandably, they're more focused on their sports," he said."Coaches naturally zero in on people who are going to focus more on athletics," he said.The study also found that athletes tend to pursue study in social science and business, spend large amounts of time together even outside of the formal demands of membership on a team, limit extracurricular activity to their sport and live with other athletes, according to a press release about the book.The findings of the study suggest there are significant problems with the system of athletic recruitment, Bowen said.There are notable "opportunity costs" resulting from the current system, Bowen said.

NEWS | 09/16/2003

Computer, Xbox stolen in Henry, student reports

In the early morning hours of Sept. 12, an unidentified student residing in Henry Hall reported a burglary with damages estimated at $4,305, Public Safety crime prevention specialist Barry Weiser said."The amount of money involved in this theft makes it a major item," Weiser said.

NEWS | 09/16/2003

Long-time owners of Hoagie Haven back at their counter after 15 years

Hoagie Haven has new counters, a new floor and a new "heart-stop special" ? a bacon cheese steak with eggs for $6.55 ? but the faces behind the counter are familiar.

NEWS | 09/16/2003

New year brings stricter dorm alcohol enforcement

Though the University has made no formal changes to student alcohol policy, it is stepping up education programs and vowing to enforce more strictly standing regulations concerning alcohol use."This year the RAs, MAAs and RCAs have been asked to increase their efforts to confront violations of the alcohol policy that jeopardize the safety of students or property or that show disrespect for the community," said Dean of Undergraduate Students Kathleen Deignan in an email.To curb dangerous drinking this year, the University also encouraged the Class of '07 to take AlcoholEdu ? a three-hour online course on alcohol and the law ? during the summer, instead of when they arrived on campus."The policy is pretty much the same, but the tolerance associated with its implementation has gone down," Wilson College Assistant Master Rupinder Singh said in an email.

NEWS | 09/16/2003

Princeton summer spent constructing new campus

While many renovation projects have yet to be completed, East Pyne Hall and the Marquand Art Museum rejoined the University's functioning buildings at the beginning of this year.

NEWS | 09/15/2003

Crime rate high for first weekend

More crime on campus was committed at the start of this year than last year, but the development is not disturbing, authorities said."It was the worst weekend in a long time," said Barry Weiser, Public Safety crime prevention specialist."I think it's [attributable] to the beginning of the school year.

NEWS | 09/15/2003

U-2 opens 24/7, finding more sales and challenging 'Wa, Frist

The signs outside of the University Store's U-2 convenience mart pose the question, "U-2, 24/7, How convenient is that?" According to students who have taken advantage of the newly extended hours, the answer is very."The 24-hour thing is nice to have when you're studying late at night," Natalie Kurz '04 said.

NEWS | 09/15/2003

Peter Lewis '55: Doling out money from the high seas

"I'm spending a lot of my life in the lap of luxury," Peter Lewis '55 said last week from his $16.5 million yacht off the shore of Lake Michigan.

NEWS | 09/15/2003

With items lost, students find moving, storage agency unreliable

For those students who hail from far away places or even for those simply needing the extra room, finding summer storage is a part of Princeton life.

NEWS | 09/15/2003

Wilson School to partner more closely with NYU law

NEW YORK ? There is no law school at the University ? a fact that students and professors have alternatively boasted of and complained about for years.The University is, however, home to a law and public affairs program, but that wasn't enough for Michael Doyle, a prestigious international relations theorist who left the University in June for a joint appointment in Columbia's law and global affairs schools."It's not quite the same as a law school," he said in a recent interview in his office here.But the University's Wilson School and New York University's law school are trying to forge a closer partnership, involving joint courses, research opportunities and possibly faculty appointments.The effort began when Anne-Marie Slaughter '80, an international lawyer, became Wilson School dean in September 2002.

NEWS | 09/15/2003

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