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Mirbagheri '04 brings energy to USG vice presidency

Mirbagheri '04 brings energy to USG vice presidency

Dressed in a white, V-neck short-sleeve shirt with a beige skirt, open-toed white sandals and long black hair, USG vice president Sonya Mirbagheri '04 looks like any other college student.But when Mirbagheri went to Iran ? she is the younger of two daughters of Iranian expatriates who fled the country following the 1979 Iranian revolution ? she wore a long sleeve shirt and long pants and covered her hair with a head scarf, hiding all except her face in conformance with the dress code required of women.Calling her experiences "eye-opening," Mirbagheri said it was like encountering a "different world" where people live under a fundamentalist government that imposes strict ways of life but where people "love to hear anything you have to say and share."Given her background, Mirbagheri, just accepted to the Wilson School, said she plans to focus on foreign policy in the Middle East and "somehow emphasize culture" in policy making.She is interested in international law and foreign policy and plans to "eventually" go to law school, she said.Mirbagheri was born and raised in Dallas, Tex.

NEWS | 04/17/2002

McCarter expansion project to open new performance, practice spaces

McCarter Theatre is growing up, and out, thanks to The Next Stage Campaign, a multimillion-dollar expansion project.Workers have recently begun constructing the steel frame for McCarter's addition, which will feature a new theater, rehearsal halls and classrooms that will benefit the University and community alike.Construction of the Berlind Theatre, a second performance space, is one of the plan's most noteworthy features. For student useBuilt for Princeton student group productions and outside acts, the theater is expected to accommodate 350 people.The addition will also include two rehearsal halls and several classrooms available to undergraduates in the University's theater and dance program.The final $14.1 million construction cost has almost doubled the amount originally announced.

NEWS | 04/17/2002

Third World Center new name approved

University trustees approved a recommendation last weekend to change the name of the Third World Center to the Carl A.

NEWS | 04/16/2002

Pressure and isolation plague many students

Walking across campus can be a sobering experience. Acquaintances ask, "How are you?" and walk away before listening to the answer.

NEWS | 04/16/2002

Campus group helps international students adjust to life at Princeton

As most freshmen will still vividly recall, the prospect of leaving home and entering college is often daunting.

NEWS | 04/16/2002

Divestment campaign fails to garner U-Council support

A group of concerned University students and faculty have banded together to form a campaign against University investment in Israel.

NEWS | 04/16/2002

Community recognizes centennial birthday of neighborhood legend

He looked like a humble politician.Wearing a crisp black suit and ironed tie he made his way through an eager crowd of all ages, shaking hands and flashing a wide dimpled smile.

NEWS | 04/16/2002

New student group raises funds and awareness for UNICEF

University professor Peter Singer of the Center for Human Values will speak tonight on the responsibility the United States has to help children in poverty in developing countries.The audience will have the chance to discuss the practical ways the Princeton community can make a difference following the speech.Tonight's lecture and discussion ? to be held in McCosh 10 at 7:30 ? mark the major kick-off event of the newly organized Princeton chapter of the U.S.

NEWS | 04/15/2002

Kalmbach '68 named senior vice president

Charles Kalmbach '68 was named the University senior vice president for administration Saturday. He will take office on June 1.Kalmbach's appointment was approved by the University Board of Trustees during its weekend meeting.

NEWS | 04/15/2002

West criticizes Summers, commends leadership of Tilghman and Gutmann

Cornel West GS '80, who was appointed to the religion department Saturday, yesterday characterized in a radio interview his decision to join the University faculty as both a "pull" toward Princeton and a "push" from Harvard University.Henry Louis Gates Jr., the chair of Harvard's Afro-American studies department, is strongly considering leaving Harvard for Princeton, West also said.In the 12-minute conversation with National Public Radio host Tavis Smiley, West strongly criticized Harvard president Lawrence Summers and highly praised President Tilghman and Provost Amy Gutmann.Despite his "love" for Princeton, West said, he probably would not have left Harvard if not for recent tension with Summers.Asserting that he requires a certain level of respect, West said he was "dishonored" by Summers' "attack on [him] as the wrong person, as a professor and [as] a wrong Negro."Summers unfairly judged West's scholarship and his politics, West said."Summers is the Ariel Sharon of American higher education," West said.

NEWS | 04/15/2002

Tilghman examines evolving role of sororities and fraternities on campus

Social life at Princeton is unlike any other institution in the country, with eating clubs presenting the most popular social option for upperclassmen.

NEWS | 04/15/2002

Prospect2 awards students for ideas on campus improvements

Though many students will never have the opportunity to have their names embossed on the side of a University building, the next best thing may be helping to shape the future of the campus.Architecture graduate students Juan Du GS and Michael Herrman GS and the 13 semifinalists of the Prospects2 competition may do just that.Du and Herrman won first place Saturday in the competition that challenges members of the University community to redefine living space on campus in association with Whitman College.The semifinalists were nervous because they never expected their proposals to come before the panel.

NEWS | 04/15/2002

Sundt '79 brings University research to advanced cardiac surgery

For Dr. Thoralf Sundt III '79, challenges come in the form of critical decisions made in the operating room while performing difficult surgery at one of the most prestigious hospitals in the world, Minnesota's Mayo Clinic.Sundt is a highly regarded cardiac surgeon, skilled in the advanced procedures that can restore the normal rhythm of a person's heartbeat or repair weaknesses in the large blood vessel leading out of the heart.Just as he helps make people whole again, Sundt said he is deeply connected to and at one with his job."It makes your adrenaline flow and it keeps your enthusiasm up," he said.

NEWS | 04/15/2002

Students use senior theses to explore personal journeys, past experiences

Five days into his fifty-day long bike trip across the country, Brian Romanzo '02 lost feeling in his hands.

NEWS | 04/15/2002

Board approves architecture firms to design Whitman College

In a weekend largely overshadowed by prominent faculty appointments, University trustees approved Saturday the architecture firms responsible for designing Whitman College and reviewed the University's financial condition.The trustees approved the feasibility of the new college and hired Porphyrios Associates, whose principal Demetri Porphyrios is a 1980 graduate of the architecture school.

NEWS | 04/14/2002

Trustees appoint West GS '80

The University Board of Trustees appointed African-American studies and religion scholar Cornel West GS '80 to the faculty Saturday, ending months of intense speculation over whether West would leave Harvard University.West, who will become the 1943 University Professor of Religion in July and begin teaching a full course load in the fall, said in a statement he was pleased to return to the University, where he chaired the African-American studies program and taught from 1988 to 1994."I am excited to return to the greatest center for humanistic studies in the country," West said.

NEWS | 04/14/2002

Weekend OWL conference looks at women's role in the workplace

About 60 Princeton students and visitors from other universities gathered Saturday morning to celebrate the achievements of working women.The Organization of Women Leaders held its second annual conference, titled "Breaking the Glass Ceiling." The event featured a full day of speakers on how women have made inroads in their professions.The schedule included panel discussions on women in academia, sports and the business world.

NEWS | 04/14/2002

Drag queen and king competitions highlight annual Drag Ball at Terrace

Pink, green and clear cellophane dangled from door frames and staircase banisters. Students gyrated to the rhythm of raging techno music.

NEWS | 04/14/2002

Board of trustees selects new faculty, discusses new deans

The University Board of Trustees appointed four professors to the senior faculty with tenure Saturday.Novelist Chang-Rae Lee is the second prominent writer to join the University's ranks this weekend.Eddie Glaude GS '95, a former student of Cornel West GS '80, was appointed to the religion department and will teach in the African-American studies program.In addition, President Tilghman updated the trustees on the searches for architecture, engineering, graduate and Wilson school deans, said Thomas Wright '62, vice president and secretary.Though no deans were appointed during the weekend, Wright said he anticipated several posts would be filled in the near future."[The dean searches] are all likely to lead to a conclusion in the next few weeks or months," Provost Amy Gutmann said.The board granted Tilghman the authority to name new deans before the next board meeting in June, Wright said.Sources close to the search committee said it is likely that an architecture school dean will be appointed within a week or two.The appointment of a new Wilson school dean may take more time, another source said.Lee will join the council of the humanities and program in creative writing, where he was a fellow in the fall.He joins a program that already boasts several notable writers, including Paul Muldoon, Toni Morrison and Joyce Carol Oates."One of the reasons I came to teach the course [in the fall] was the people I always followed and admired and to get to know them," he said.His first book "Native Speaker" won several awards, including the American Book Award.

NEWS | 04/14/2002

Swahili courses its way towards fulfilling the language requirement

Mufasa. Rafiki. Simba. Most students at Princeton speak a little Swahili, thanks to the Disney classic, "The Lion King."In an effort to further expand some students' knowledge and appreciation of the Swahili language, the University plans to offer a new cycle of Swahili language classes this fall.The new Swahili courses, which are not part of any program or department, will consist of a four-course sequence beginning with SWA 101 in the fall.

NEWS | 04/14/2002

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