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USG survey indicates student dissatisfaction with precepts

USG survey indicates student dissatisfaction with precepts

When Woodrow Wilson 1879 was University president, he envisioned a precept system that would stimulate the intellectual curiousity of students outside of lectures.The form of precepts has changed over time, but the ideal of engaging students in academic discussion has become a defining aspect of the educational experience at the University.After an extensive seven-month study of students' and preceptors' experiences in precepts, the USG Precept Review and Reform Committee reported Monday at a U-Council meeting that their data "indicates a high level of dissatisfaction" among students."The University still promises the Wilson ideal," committee chair Josh Anderson '04 said.

NEWS | 04/11/2002

Athletes, administrators address role of 'student-athletes' on college campuses

One of the posters advertising last night's panel discussion on University athletics asked "In which Jadwin do you spend most of YOUR time?"The teaser cut to one of the points of the discussion titled "Athletics: The anti-intellectual subculture," asking whether athletes spend too much time in places like Jadwin Gym and not enough in academic areas of campus like Jadwin Hall, which houses the physics department.The panel, hosted by Wilson College, aimed to address various conceptions of student athletes as held by other members of the University community.The speakers on the panel were Michael Cross, associate director of athletics, Elizabeth Bogan, professor of economics and former chairman of the faculty committee on athletics, Vincent Lloyd '03 and Roger Hughes, head football coach.Represented by three pro-athletic advocates and one non-athlete student ? Lloyd, who held the view that the University need not take such a strong stance on athletics ? the panel tended to favor athletics, but introduced several very good ideas on both sides.The discussion started with Nick Napoli, a Wilson College assistant master, establishing that, at times, the campus seems divided."There are different ways in which we define ourselves," he said.

NEWS | 04/10/2002

OWL, club heads discuss the gender issues of Bicker

In an effort to address the sexual environment at the 'Street,' the Organization of Women Leaders is working with eating club officers to discuss gender concerns during the Bicker process."We want to start a dialogue about inappropriate Bicker activities that create an unhealthy environment," OWL president Nancy Ippolito '03 said.

NEWS | 04/10/2002

Computer science professor testifies in anti-trust case against Microsoft

University computer science professor Andrew Appel testified yesterday and Tuesday in support of an antitrust case against Microsoft Corp.

NEWS | 04/10/2002

McCosh renovations to begin in May; to be completed before fall semester

McCosh Health Center renovations, which administrators say will improve privacy, convenience and outpatient services, are scheduled to begin May 15 and be completed before the start of the fall semester.The University is planning a $250,000 renovation to the health center, President Tilghman said at a USG Senate meeting Sunday.The building and its various services have been in need of improvement for many years, said Janet Finnie, associate director of health services.Plans for the renovation were developed from student feedback during an administrative review of University Health Services a few years ago.Students expressed some dissatisfaction with certain aspects of McCosh's outpatient services, Finnie said.

NEWS | 04/10/2002

In lab and on stage: Physics major Sofield '02 directs 'Sweeney Todd'

What do you get when you throw together an exiled barber, his dead wife, his abducted daughter and an evil judge?

NEWS | 04/10/2002

Students debate politics of Middle East events

Hours after a Palestinian suicide bomber killed eight people in an attack on an Israeli bus, and Israeli tanks rolled into another town in the West Bank, University students gathered in Whig Hall to formally discuss the escalating violence.

NEWS | 04/10/2002

Managers hang signs at 'Wa to ward off disruptive behavior and vandalism

In the early hours of the morning, after the eating clubs close, groups of students congregate at another hangout, the Wawa Market.Recent incidents of shoplifting and vandalism in the store have prompted managers at the 'Wa to place several signs around the store warning that disrespectful and obnoxious behavior will result in arrest.Such disruptive behavior has warranted police involvement on two occasions since Spring Break, store managers said."We're not going to tolerate this kind of behavior," store manager John Golias said.Offenses have included eating items in the store that have not been paid for, tossing items around the store, making loud noises and swearing.He added that appropriate discipline is "at the discretion of the management," and that, if necessary, "we're going to ask them to leave."He said the students could be identified as University students based on their conversation content and because they paid using credit cards with the U-Store logo on them.The night manager and assistant store manager Tyrone Butler said that since the sign has been posted the disturbances have decreased."We don't mind them coming in," Butler said of the inebriated students, "but when they get rowdy they must be asked to leave."Some students have used a counterfeit "paid" stamp, enabling them to pick up items at the sandwich counter for which they have not actually paid, he said.Many times "we just said not to come back here," Butler said."This is a school that people talk about," he said.

NEWS | 04/10/2002

AAS center discussed, West makes decision

As part of an effort to attract African-American studies professors from Harvard University ? especially Henry Louis Gates Jr., chair of Harvard's Afro-American studies department ? Princeton has discussed the creation of an African-American studies research institute in conversations with Gates, a top Harvard professor with knowledge of the situation said yesterday.Robert Durkee '69, vice president for public affairs, said yesterday that the University has not offered an African-American studies research center in return for Gates leaving Harvard for Princeton.

NEWS | 04/10/2002

Followers of Falun Dafa seek support in Princeton area

Practitioners of Falun Dafa, a meditation sect with followers around the world that has been the target of a crackdown by the Chinese government, have obtained statements of support from several Princeton-area government officials.Phyllis Marchand, the mayor of Princeton Township, proclaimed a "Falun Dafa Week" in 2000, and the Township Council in nearby West Windsor passed a resolution backing the group's freedom to practice its program of meditation and exercises in 2001.Local followers of the group organize classes in the Princeton Public Library and morning exercises next to the Princeton Shopping Center.Princeton's legislative leaders, including the Township Committee and the Borough Council, have declined to pass resolutions in support of the group, which the Chinese government describes as a cult.Steve Frakt, a Township committeeman, said he did not think it would be appropriate for local officials to take a stance on the group.Local officials around the country have reported receiving letters from Chinese officials urging them not to recognize the group, but no one in Princeton reported receiving such letters.Also known as Falun Gong, the group was founded in China in 1992.

NEWS | 04/10/2002

LGBT students reflect on nature of homosexuality

Ask Sue Dyer '03, and she will tell you it does not matter. The answer is not important, the Pride Alliance co-president says, because she is comfortable with her homosexuality.But for many across the political spectrum, the role of nature and nurture in determining sexual preference could forever change the way society views homosexuality and gay rights.The question of nature versus nurture is black and white, but the answers can only be found in the gray.

NEWS | 04/09/2002

Room draw for '04 ends, some left without dorms

Upperclass room draw ended yesterday, leaving a number of students without accomodation, housing officials said.Room draw is the lottery process through which students select the dormitory rooms in which they would like to reside next year.This year's process went "very well," undergraduate housing coordinator Adam Rockman said.The Housing Department was unable to provide housing to all draw applicants, but it is compiling a waiting list, for which applications need to be turned into the Housing Office by April 26, assistant director for housing Lisa DePaul said.Students who are taken off the waiting list are notified in late August, according to housing forms.The University does not guarantee upperclassmen housing, according to University regulations.Still, about 98 percent of students live on campus, Rockman said.

NEWS | 04/09/2002

Campus victims of sexual harassment rarely pursue disciplinary action

According to last year's Core Survey, put out by University Health Services, 9.3 percent of self-reporting students experienced sexual harassment on campus within the preceding 12 months.Meanwhile, the Committee on Discipline has found no student guilty of sexual harassment in the past three years, and according to Vice Provost Joanne Mitchell, only three cases of sexual harassment have passed all the way through the University's Faculty/Staff Sexual Harassment Panel during her eight years at Princeton.The gap in the numbers can be accounted for in part by those who choose private, confidential mediation instead of the formal venues of committees and panels.There is also the possibility, however, that confusion about what constitutes sexual harassment and a resistance to report instances result in some victims slipping through the cracks. Battling the MythsOne obstacle in the fight against sexual harassment is misinformation, and the University's Sexual Harassment/Assault Advising Resources & Education Program is seeking to equip members of the community with useful information.Throughout the year, SHARE holds panels for faculty, staff and students.

NEWS | 04/09/2002

Study shows increase in drinking among college-age women

Binge drinking may not be on the rise overall, but college women's drinking habits throughout the country are catching up to those of college men, according to research released recently by the Harvard School of Public Health.The study showed that three times as many college women in 2001 as in 1993 reported being drunk on 10 or more occasions during the previous month.In addition, the study found that the percentage of college students overall who binge drink has remained fairly steady at approximately 44 percent since 1993.But the study also found that the number of students at all-women colleges who drank four or more drinks in a sitting in the previous two weeks rose from 24 to 32 percent.The data may indicate that women have become more comfortable participating in the same drinking activities as men."There's no taboo on women getting drunk anymore," said USG president Nina Langsam '03, who is also co-chair of an Alcohol Coalition committee on education and communication, a part of the Trustees' Alcohol Initiative.Langsam said she thinks that some women may drink more to feel they are equal to men."If the men are setting the bar at 'X' drinks, the women are going to compete and do the same," she said.Another study released yesterday by the federally funded Task Force on College Drinking found that approximately 1,400 college students are killed each year in alcohol-related incidents, most of which are motor vehicle accidents.The report estimated that drinking by college students contributes to 500,000 injuries and 70,000 cases of sexual assault or date rape.

NEWS | 04/09/2002

Selectivity rises in Ivy League

The University admitted only 10.8 percent of applicants for the Class of 2006, making this year's process one of the most competitive on record, Dean of Admissions Fred Hargadon said in an e-mail.Harvard University, which admitted 10.5 percent of applicants, edged out Princeton as the most selective Ivy League school as the majority of schools across the league posted lower acceptance rates than last year.Harvard, Yale University, Dartmouth College, the University of Pennsylvania, Cornell University and Columbia College have all sent out a surprisingly high number of rejection letters.Hargadon said last week that the University will be inviting many more musicians and dancers into the Class of 2006, in addition to many international students and minorities."I have no doubt that [the Class of 2006] will be plenty bright, plenty talented and plenty interesting, as have been the preceding classes here at Princeton," he said.Dartmouth, which saw the largest increase in applicants for the Class of 2006 in the Ivy League, also saw an increase in international and minority students in its applicant pool of 10,193.Of those, Dartmouth accepted 2,077, admissions director Maria Laskaris said.

NEWS | 04/09/2002

Leighton '78 speaks on Internet efficiency and e-traffic routing

Tom Leighton '78, chief scientist of Akamai Technologies, spoke yesterday on making the Internet more efficient in the Computer Science building as part of the Gordon Wu Lecture Series."The good news about the Internet is it provides an unprecedented way to communicate," Leighton said.

NEWS | 04/09/2002

No Republican candidate files for Borough Council primary election

Criticism of the University's parking policy for construction vehicles and an impromptu speech by Albert Hinds highlighted last night's Princeton Borough Council meeting.Several councilmembers expressed dismay about the University's handling of construction vehicle parking and the "constant construction" taking place.The University has disregarded its promise to have workers park at Jadwin Gym and use the shuttle to get up-campus, councilmembers said.To kick off this week's meeting, Mayor Marvin Reed read a proclamation in honor of Hinds for his years of service to the town.

NEWS | 04/09/2002

Beyond the printed page: Seniors seek closure with perfect thesis binder

Some lucky seniors are already done with their theses, while others finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.

NEWS | 04/08/2002

Gellman '82 wins Pulitzer Prize for national reporting of 9/11

Three members of the University community were recognized yesterday by the Pulitzer Prize Board, which handed out its journalism, letters and drama awards.Ferris professor of journalism Bart Gellman '82, a former Daily Princetonian Chairman, is among the eight journalists on The Washington Post's national reporting team that received the national reporting prize for its coverage of Sept.

NEWS | 04/08/2002

Committee presents precept reform proposal to U-Council

The findings of a two-month long study on the quality of the University's precept system were presented at a U-Council meeting last night.

NEWS | 04/08/2002

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