Opinion

The post-secondary gamble

Last week in Las Vegas, I was confronted with a difficult reality —that your path in life may depend solely on where you live, how much your family makes, the outcome of a lottery, and even which teachers are willing to commit to your district. If you haven’t seen “Waiting for Superman,”Guggenheim’s documentary would be a good start to understanding the problems facing the American public education system.

Self-deprecating humor?

A few days ago, Girls creator and lightning rod for both endless praise and endless controversy Lena Dunham wrote what I assume was intended to be a “humor” piece in the New Yorker entitled “Dog or Jewish Boyfriend?

Editorial: encouraging female leadership on campus

The Daily Princetonian recently published an article, as part of a four-part Women’s History Month feature series, on the rise of female visibility and leadership in major campus organizations as well as on the Street.

Quick nap

Dalliance and dopamine: another look at hookups

There was a time when it seemed that every time you’d open The Daily Princetonian there would be an opinion piece about “hookup culture.” Gallons of ink were spilled over the issue, with anonymous contributors sharing sexual anecdotes while columnists agonized over the culture’s effect on gender roles and romantic orientation, with a fair amount of moralizing thrown in for good measure.

The way we speak

I’ve found myself frantically looking up slang terms in Urban Dictionary mid-conversation — discreetly on my phone — more frequently than I’ve had to look up a word in the Oxford English Dictionary. Though, it makes sense to refer to Urban Dictionary, which was started back in 1999 by none other than a college freshman.

Breaking down gendered personhood

TED talks have long been fodder for conversation. Ranging in subject from issues of the environment to innovations in scientific research to social commentary, these speeches often offer a snapshot of the United States’ current state of being.

Cartoon: Definitely real interviews

A vicious cycle of weak civic engagement

Last week, out of the hundreds of surveys for senior theses and university-sponsored initiatives that flooded my inbox (already filled with 1,915 unread messages and counting), I chose to complete the Pace Center Survey. Having participated in a student organization under the Pace Center for Civic Engagement last semester, I felt some small inclination to voice my grievances regarding the systematic lack of organization and general communal apathy toward strengthening Pace programs.

At least we go to Princeton

Each time I am faced with a roadblock, I feel barraged with this sentiment: “Well at least you go to Princeton”. On the surface level, this remark alone sounds rather extraordinary, especially this week, as high school students around the world learn if they’ve been accepted to Princeton. Striding the same halls that world leaders (and Ted Cruz '92) walked years ago, we too have obtained the chance to do remarkable things — and that is an incredible privilege.

The decision to vote for divestment

In the recent Israeli elections, hope for productive negotiations with Palestinians was dealt a serious blow.

A most relevant monk

It’s a weekly event: a world leader is coming to Princeton’s campus! Insert illustrious title, sponsoring department, a moderator with a doctorate and a time and place to be there.

The Call

This January, Duke University had planned to begin broadcasting the Adhan, a traditional Muslim call to prayer, from the top of their chapel on Fridays in an effort to help create a more welcoming environment for Muslim students and foster community unity.

Keep OA/CA voluntary

My gals and I went down to Florida two weeks ago to escape cloudy New Jersey. These were all friends that I had made on Community Action, the pre-orientation program that, along with Outdoor Action, is designed to help freshmen transition more easily into their first year.

Cartoon: Free Food Listserv

Why does #WeSpeak matter?

The Footnotes are in. diSiac is in.

Cartoon: Space dogs

Editorial: Offering historical tours

The Continental Army fired cannonballs at Nassau Hall during the Battle of Princeton, and Albert Einstein taught in what is now the Frist Campus Center.

Endowment spending

Several reports in the past year have rightfully pointed out that Princeton (along with Stanford, Yale and Harvard) earns enough in investment returns on its endowment each year to more than cover annual operating expenses (with significant amounts of money left over to spend on capital projects or put back into the endowment) and that the University could therefore make tuition 100 percent free for everyone and still make a massive profit. By the numbers, Princeton’s annual rate of return on endowment investment has been between 15 and 20 percent for the past few years, and has averaged, 10.5 percent per year over the last 10 years (a period that includes the worst financial crisis in modern times). Last year, the 19.6 percent return equated to $2.8 billion, and in future years a similar rate would yield an even higher absolute number.

Does the P/D/F option dissuade learning and exploration?

On Sunday, the Editorial Board wrote an editorial encouraging the University to adopt measures relating to the current pass/D/fail policy.