Opinion

Problems of the Ivy League

I remember when I was accepted to Princeton. It was a Friday, the infamous Ivy Day, to be exact, when all Ivy League schools send out their decisions, leaving thousands of high school seniors feeling extremely ecstatic or extremely inadequate. After other college rejections, I opened each Ivy League letter with low expectations.

Kevin Spacey and the art of confessing when convenient

“I choose now to live as a gay man,” Kevin Spacey solemnly acknowledged in a tweet. By "now," he means the crucial first moment after he was  accused of sexual assault by a man who was, at the time, a minor. By "now," he means when it is most opportune. After reports surfaced of Spacey allegedly molesting Anthony Rapp in 1986, when Rapp was 14, the world awaited Spacey’s statement with bated breath, wondering how the notoriously private actor would respond to the explosive allegations. The answer, perhaps, is best summed up by comedian Billy Eichner on Twitter, “Kevin Spacey has just invented something that has never existed before: a bad time to come out.”

Eisgruber’s hypocrisy on Amazon

So why do critiques of business practices constitute political statements, but enthusiastic endorsements are considered apolitical? It would be one thing if Eisgruber conceded that business practices with large-scale social consequences (such as corporate welfare or gentrification) may be inherently political, or if he clearly defined the difference between a political statement and an evaluation of a company’s ethical strengths and weaknesses. It’s the inconsistency that is most troubling. 

What sex & power have to do with academia

When accusations against Harvey Weinstein were first brought to light this October, it seemed like another stand-alone case. After the media cycle moved on to another story, the film industry would return to its normal ways, waiting until the next Weinstein was revealed. 

Letter to the Editor: Pyne Prize nominations

I write to solicit nominations for the Pyne Prize, the highest general distinction the University confers upon an undergraduate, which will be awarded on Alumni Day, Saturday, February 24, 2018.

Hibernation

When your bathroom is hijacked

I affectionately joke about the small community living in my Wilson basement being a nudist colony. Despite our limited interaction as nearly strangers, my dorm neighbors and I still have a healthy sense of platonic camaraderie when it comes to accepting the unintended consequences of living with members of the opposite sex in tight quarters.

The Ivy League’s insincere quest to recruit low-income students

In May, the New York Times ran a glowing article about Princeton’s efforts to recruit low-income students. The article, titled “Princeton — Yes, Princeton — Takes on the Class Divide” included everything you’d expect: concessions to Princeton’s history of exclusion, favorable Pell Grant statistics, and uplifting quotes from President Eisgruber. “I get up in the morning thinking about how I can bring [the transformative Princeton] experience to more people,” he said. But it seems that even Eisgruber is guilty of that most stereotypical of Ivy League behaviors: thinking, but never doing.

Halfway to midterm elections: A call for continued action

One year on, halfway to the 2018 midterm elections, advocacy and activist groups are now beginning the real hard work: sustaining the advocacy effort. With much of the initial passion drained, grit and determination become critical to maintaining the efforts that will lead to lasting change.

The case for blind grading

Blind grading is a convenient way to ensure fair grading, preventing the rewarding of favorites, those who turn in good work first, and those who speak well in precept, while being fair to those who can sometimes cause trouble, took some time to find their footing in a class, and those who are quiet in precept. 

Liberals, learn to listen

By pushing to disinvite Hotovely, progressive Jews on Princeton’s campus are legitimizing the attempts on the opposite side of the political map to disinvite leaders of organizations such as Breaking the Silence, which is comprised of Israelis who shed light on the destructive nature of the continued military occupation of the West Bank. But more importantly, they are stopping themselves from fully understanding the political and religious realities of Israel. If the American Jewish community wants to exercise influence over Israel, the first step must be to appreciate its multifaceted, frustrating, and seemingly incomprehensible existence.

Letter to the Editor: On Hotovely and the dangers of moral panic in response to the AJP

In the interest of fair and open conversation, I challenge members of the AJP to an open debate on the importance of hard conversation on campus and invite the CJL to sponsor a dialog about this.

It should be easier to get to New York City

The university has no control over the fares of New Jersey Transit or Megabus, but could facilitate a more cost effective and efficient way for students to get to the city. 

Friends with (emotional and health) benefits

Everyone has to create their own work-social life balance and must, then, make their own decisions about how social integration and interaction plays a role in their life. But they must also remember that friendship, if fostered and nurtured, will help keep them emotionally and physically healthy for years to come.

Putting federal sentencing on trial

To achieve a universally comprehensive criminal justice reform, the federal judicial system should assume its role in the effort to differentiate the treatment for violent and non-violent offenders.

#MeToo, but what about everybody else?

My problem with the idea is not with the posts themselves - I support going public as a way for women to remove the stigma from being a victim of sexual harassment and assault, and I think owning that experience through public statements can be empowering. Women should not have to expose themselves to the voyeurism of social media and perform the emotional labor of publicly owning and explaining their past trauma in order to show men the “magnitude of the problem.” The magnitude should be clear by now. It has been happening for LITERALLY ever. This is a problem. Most women who have had any experience as women are not shocked by the Weinstein accusations, because they have seen and/or lived this all multiple times before.

Letter to the Editor: AJP commends CJL’s postponement of Hotovely talk

Chabad at Princeton picked up sponsorship for an address by Tzipi Hotovely, a member of Israel’s Knesset, and Hotovely spoke to a full lecture hall of students — including many members of the Alliance of Jewish Progressives — as planned, but without CJL sponsorship. 

Letter From the Editor: DACA

A piece of documentation should not stand in the way of a person’s dreams. It’s on all of us to make undocumented people’s dreams a reality. 

Rethinking the academy: Opposing the conflation of the Academy with Western Academy

Then the realization hit: there is an unstated, but unquestioned, notion across humanities and social science that the Academy refers only to Western Academy (used broadly to refer to European and North American academia), and if something hasn’t been said in the Western Academy, it is as though it has never been said.

Letter from the Editor: Reflection on campus discourse

Today, so many of us mourn the lives lost in a mass shooting at a church in San Antonio – a gross violation of the sanctity of a place of worship and its community. Today, I hang my head in shame at our collective inaction and complacency. As a journalist, I hang my head in shame at the proliferation of fake news and a double standard in the reporting on recent attacks. As a student, I hang my head in shame at our silence. Prayers and condolences are not enough, so I ask each of us to critically consider our capacity and responsibility to act in the service of humanity. Our campus community seems confined to politically polarized echo chambers, and it can be rare to find a platform for discussion across ideological differences, as opposed to vitriolic debate defined by identity politics. I invite you to engage directly with someone who does not share your race, faith, or political stance, because we are all part of one community and the onus is on each and every one of us to act in its service.