Letter to the Editor: In response to “Against Divestment from Private Prisons”
Guest ContributorThe Editorial Board recently published an editorial opposing SPEAR’s referendum calling on the University to divest from private prisons.
The Editorial Board recently published an editorial opposing SPEAR’s referendum calling on the University to divest from private prisons.
Dear Daily Princetonian, I must take issue with Newby Parton’s column from April 13, specifically his call to “strengthen [Princeton’s] brand and reputation, provided we do not compromise our commitment to undergraduate education.” Mr. Parton has evidently failed to consider that fully one-third of Princeton's student community is made up of graduate students, who are consistently marginalized by University institutions.
What do modern evangelical Christians and animal cruelty groups have in common? They both pass out a great number of leaflets in hopes of persuading people to adopt a different way of thinking.
Last week, USG held its spring elections. They gave students the opportunity to vote on U-Councilors, class government positions and referenda on divesting from private prisons and creating a task force on disciplinary reforms.
During the Spring Undergraduate Student Government elections this week, students voted on, among other ballot items, a referendum calling on the University and the Princeton Investment Corporation to “divest from corporations that draw profit from incarceration, drug control and immigrant deportation policies.” The Board has consistently argued against divestment of the University’s endowment. Although the referendum did not meet the minimum voting requirement of one-third the student body,the Board urges the University to reject future petitions to divest unless there is substantial consensus and more conclusive evidence.
This past weekend, I was one of 850 plus alums to attend a conference on campus titled “L’Chaim!: Celebrating 100 Years of Jewish Life at Princeton.” For myself, and for many other attendees, this conference was healing, therapeutic and the antidote to what we experienced as students.
Two of my girlfriends and I often tease our other friends in the economics and ORFE departments, letting them know that they may have to take us in in the future.
The Woodrow Wilson School prides itself on being an internationally renowned and globally-oriented public policy school, one that aims to train its students to bring a “global perspective” to its curriculum.
Last week, I was able to attend a lecture by Jose Antonio Vargas, an immigration rights activist and journalist.
A few weeks ago, Jesse Watters of Fox News stoked the embers of the “offensive speech” debate with largely inflammatory interviews of Princeton students on campus. Watters asked students how they felt about certain trigger words, among them “ghetto,” “white privilege,” “black crime” and “Islamic terrorism.” The video aired on The O’Reilly Factor and was preceded by a brief description of how “sensitive” college students are to “offensive words.” The video failed on almost all fronts.
By guest contributor Alice Mar-Abe ’18On April 24th, 2014, 26-year-old Madaline Pitkin died alone on the floor of her solitary cell at the Washington County Jail in Oregon.
Princeton is not like other universities. Among the myriad of new and unique experiences the Class of 2020 will have is the surprising and impressive level of trust that the University places in the academic honesty of its students.
The shadows of the discipline processThe Honor Code rules this campus, from when we enroll in this University to the very first performance we see of the Triangle Club to the statement of honor we write on our theses.However, the disciplinary system is far from perfect, and this is why Justin Ziegler ’16 proposed a referendum to consider its reform.
In their response to my column, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education continues their fight against straw men in the supposed battle over free speech in higher education.
In his April 11 op-ed, Nicholas Wu mischaracterizes the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education’s determination that Princeton’s speech codes threaten students’ expressive rights.