News

West criticizes Summers, commends leadership of Tilghman and Gutmann

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

Future of AAS unresolved despite West appointment

The appointment of Cornel West GS '80 on Saturday closes a chapter in a saga that examined the roles of ethnic studies and prestige in the highest levels of academia.

NEWS | 04/14/2002

Study finds chewing gum may make people smarter

Think gum-chewing and the picture that most often comes to mind is that of an unintelligent airhead.

NEWS | 04/11/2002

Serving up hot tiger phallus soup

Traditionally considered to be a libido stimulator by many Asian cultures, the phallus of Princeton's striped mascot is a much-coveted item.

NEWS | 04/11/2002

Trustee discussions could include West

University trustees meet today and tomorrow to discuss issues including faculty and administrative appointments, student health concerns and the sixth residential college.The most widely anticipated decision regards whether the board will hire Harvard University Afro-American studies professor Cornel West GS '80 when it meets in full Saturday in Nassau Hall.University policy bars discussion of potential appointments or promotions until the board acts, University officials said.But West's name was not listed on recent appointment agendas, the officials said.Harvard Law School professor Charles Olgetree, who is representing West, said West is nearing a decision."Prof.

NEWS | 04/11/2002

Professors reflect on attitudes toward homosexuality in the Ivory Tower

Fifteen years ago, The Daily Princetonian ran a feature on Michael Cadden. A course he was leading used gay literary texts, and at Princeton, it was news.Cadden, then an assistant English professor and now director of the University's theater and dance program, was teaching a course called "Sexuality and Textuality: Speaking the Unspeakable."The title referred to the theological designation of homosexuality as "a sin not to be named among Christians."Cadden said in the article then that he only received questions from undergraduates about why he was teaching the course.Most faculty and graduate students understood why he was offering the class.

NEWS | 04/11/2002

Ask Dr. Blaine

Dear Dr. Blaine: What are some creative ways to screw your roommate? ? Teresa D.Dear Teresa: That depends entirely on how much you like your roommate.

NEWS | 04/11/2002

West to leave Harvard to become University professor of religion

Friday, April 12, 4:20 p.m.?The University plans to appoint Saturday Harvard University African-American studies and religion professor Cornel West GS '80, the University said Friday.Speculation about whether the University would hire West has intensified during the past several days.

NEWS | 04/11/2002

Governor of Puerto Rico speaks on U.S. relations and history

Sila Maria Calderon, the first woman to be elected governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, spoke yesterday to a near capacity crowd in Dodds Auditorium on the commonwealth's history, its present condition and the future directions it should take.She began by reviewing the history of Puerto Rico's commonwealth status, describing how it "came out of an impasse" that lasted nearly two centuries.

NEWS | 04/11/2002

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

Most Popular