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Gallaudet student confesses to murders of two classmates

Gallaudet student confesses to murders of two classmates

Last Tuesday, Joseph Mesa, a 20-year-old Gallaudet University freshman, was arrested and charged with two counts of felony murder in connection with two separate murders in the past four-and-a-half months.His arrest came 10 days after the body of former dorm-mate Benjamin Varner, a 19-year-old freshman, was found stabbed to death, according to a Gallaudet University press release.Last September, Eric Plunkett ? a freshman with cerebral palsy who also lived in the same dorm as Mesa ? was found beaten to death.

NEWS | 02/19/2001

Williams to retire as development V.P.

University Vice President for Development Van Zandt Williams '65 announced his retirement this week following the conclusion last June of the record-setting Anniversary Campaign that raised approximately $1.14 billion for the University.His announcement comes several months after President Shapiro made public his own decision to step down.Williams, who has worked in his current capacity since 1980, said he would continue to work through the transition period under Shapiro's successor.

NEWS | 02/19/2001

Going off Tap?

While new eating club presidents get comfortable with their new positions, the threat of an alcohol crackdown at the 'Street' may loom closer after incidents that occurred during initiations weekend prompted a resurgence of discussion at last week's Borough Council meeting.At the Feb.

NEWS | 02/19/2001

Time, place, and manner restriction

Professor Robert Kaster and his colleagues in the classics department have a "door code." They keep their doors open when they're in their offices and happy to meet with students and other faculty.When their doors are closed almost all the way, but not shut, that means to knock: they're busy, but might still be able to meet with people.

NEWS | 02/18/2001

Worker's rights group raises awareness at 'Street'

Posters and buttons distributed by the Workers Rights Organizing Committee last night gave a swift reminder to students heading out to Prospect Avenue of some of the realities the group claims are faced by Princeton's low-wage workers.Members of WROC said they hoped the posters, which lined the gates of various eating clubs, would give a new perspective on the issue.

NEWS | 02/18/2001

Kochan tries to focus on race and gender

Students should not be surprised if they notice their classmates discussing race and women's issues around campus during the next few weeks.

NEWS | 02/18/2001

Former Citigroup CEO to speak about future of banking industry

Senior Visiting Fellow at the Bendheim Center for Finance John Reed will speak tonight on banking technologies and how they will affect the banking industry.

NEWS | 02/18/2001

Making the Grade

When University politics professor Robert George started the notoriously difficult course, POL 315: Constitutional Interpretation, last semester, he issued a warning to his students: "I grade according to a rigorous standard."And George ? a staunch opponent of grade inflation and grade compression ? did not waver from this commitment, to many students' displeasure."I spent four times the amount of time studying for the course, but only received half the grade as any of my courses last semester," recalled John Ophardt '03, one of 73 students in George's course last semester.Studies, like the one done at Princeton in 1998, have shown that grade inflation and grade compression have persisted at universities during the last 30 years.

NEWS | 02/18/2001

University fears loss in Frank sexism suit

High University officials privately have expressed concern in recent weeks that the N.J. Division on Civil Rights will uphold senior Sally Frank's charges of sex discrimniation against the University and three Prospect Ave.

NEWS | 02/18/2001

GSG seeks graduate alumni trustees

The Graduate U-Council presented a proposal this week to the Council of the Princeton University Committee to include young graduate alumni on the University's board of trustees.This proposal has been endorsed by both the Graduate U-Council and the Graduate Student Government and is now under consideration by the board of trustees.Karthick Ramakrishnan GS, a member of the GSG and the originator of the proposal, said he believes that young graduate alumni will "provide both the necessary skills and energy, as well as a general concern with the overall University community."He cited the increased participation of graduate students in various campus affairs in the past few years as evidence of wider integration."In addition, graduate alumni and enrolled graduate students will have a greater sense of institutional loyalty because they are being incorporated into the governing decisions of the institution," he said."This is an important way to capture the loyalty and talent of the 18,000 graduate school alumni," he added.Four seats on the 40-member board are reserved for young undergraduate alumni, a policy that was initiated in response to the 1969 student protests.

NEWS | 02/15/2001

Town hires sharpshooters to combat deer population

The Princeton Township administration is in the final stages of implementing a five-year deer management program intended to reduce the deer population from its current size of between 1,300 and 1,600 to an ideal size of about 500 deer.

NEWS | 02/15/2001

Type Casting

It felt like one of those interminable lines in Disney World where you wait for an hour outside and then move slowly through a dimly lit passageway for another hour until you finally reach the attraction.But instead of licking ice cream cones, the people leaving the ride are smoking cigarettes.The dimly lit passage is filled with banners marked with names of different beers instead of TV screens with Christopher Lloyd preparing you for your ride back to the future.And you arrive at an audition that might let you experience the "real world," instead of reaching a boat that will carry you past singing dolls in a small world of fantasy.The real world?

NEWS | 02/15/2001

U-Council appoints committee to study frisking controversy

An Executive Committee resolution to form a special committee to investigate "reported violations of university policy" in connection with the Feb.

NEWS | 02/15/2001

Napster back in court: Other Websites step up to fill Internet music vacuum

A federal appeals court ruled this Monday that an injunction issued against Napster, Inc. last July was too broad and ordered it sent back to a district court for modification.

NEWS | 02/15/2001

The education of Prince Charming

Last week's Bicker sessions and initiations allowed Princeton sophomores the opportunity to present their refined social skills to their peers.

NEWS | 02/15/2001

Oprah welcomes Oates to book club

Once again, Oprah's golden touch holds true.Oprah Winfrey's Jan. 24 announcement that Joyce Carol Oates' "We Were the Mulvaneys" was one of her book club's books of the month saw sales of the book at Barnes & Noble, B.

NEWS | 02/15/2001

Lights, camera, action: Desiring to explore new things, Yale students to film porn flick

When envisioning the typical Yale student, one might picture a productive person who acts decisively and has direction.

NEWS | 02/15/2001

Study shows that blind auditions may benefit female musicians

Attempts to conceal the identity of musicians auditioning for spots in orchestras can significantly increase the rate of success for women, according to a study co-authored by Wilson school professor Cecilia Rouse.Rouse and Claudia Goldin ? a professor of economics at Harvard University and one of Rouse's former thesis advisers ? co-produced the study, which was published in the September-November issue of The American Economic Review.The country's top orchestras have long been thought to discriminate against women in hiring, and in the past many renowned conductors have even asserted that women are unsuitable to play in orchestras, according to Rouse."It is hard to say why, but I can say that there were many orchestral leaders on record for saying that they would not hire women," Goldin said.Director of the University Orchestra Michael Pratt said he has not witnessed this sort of discrimination during his time at the University."I have always been amazed that there would be any conductor a fool enough to reject a candidate because she is a woman," he said.In the late 1960s and early 1970s, there was a "democratization of the hiring process," according to Goldin.

NEWS | 02/14/2001

Police, administration respond to initiation weekend hospitalizations

Borough Police are investigating several incidents that occurred last weekend, in which 11 students were treated at McCosh Health Center and four at Princeton Medical Center and Capital Health System Fuld Campus in Trenton for severe intoxication and alcohol-related injuries.One 20-year-old male student was taken from Cottage Club to Capital Health System after police found him lying unconscious on the floor and vomiting.

NEWS | 02/14/2001

Open casting call to be held for Russell Crowe film about life of John Nash

As Russell Crowe smiles at the camera while walking down McCosh Walk next month, you could be doing the same right next to him.Open casting calls for Universal Picture's "A Beautiful Life" are scheduled to take place tomorrow and Saturday at the University.The film, which will be directed by Ron Howard and will star the burly Australian Oscar nominee along with Ed Harris and Jennifer Connolly, will be shot on campus and in surrounding areas beginning Mar.

NEWS | 02/14/2001

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