Opinion

Friends, professors, students: How do we make lectures better?

The unfortunate truth is, for most undergraduates, the majority of their time spent “learning” at Princeton is occupied by lectures. Last spring, I argued that professors should stop lecturing us; in other words, Princeton should get rid of lectures completely. Sadly, though unsurprisingly, the University has not ended lectures since the publication of my article. 

Mercy should be the guiding principle of Honor Code reform

Compassion, reason, and mercy should be synthesized with a promotion of total academic integrity as core principles of the University’s Honor Code. In addition, faculty alone should not be the ones to establish the University’s principles — especially pertaining to the Honor Code, which has a direct and disproportionately substantial impact on student life. 

Straight Outta Asia

Asian Americans have a wide range of unique stories—stemming from their background, family, identity—that have been largely ignored by mass media. Instead, they are portrayed as one-dimensional tropes, creating the illusion that the Asian American experience is monolithic. 

Who holds the power?

Princeton students, between classes and clubs, must find time to educate themselves on what happens outside the Orange Bubble. 

The Glee concert that I both loved and rejected and other thoughts

In that moment, I turned my friend into the enemy because of the color of her skin. 

Moving past Parkland

We need to stop only reacting to situations like Parkland. 

Students: Let’s heal political discourse

Political divisions are higher than ever in our country. A recent Pew Research Survey found that 44% of each party’s membership almost never agrees with their opposition—that’s close to half of both parties. Twenty years ago, the number was less than 20%. Congressional gridlock is extremely high: both parties are obsessed with political survival. We’ve already seen the government shut down once this year. If we can’t work together, we all lose.

Point of Inter-view

Why men are almost always wrong

The message that women have a high capacity for irrationality is repeated over and over again across the internet and on television. It is no wonder that this characterization of women as mad has slipped into our private lives.

From one lacrosse player to another

Every collegiate lacrosse team cannot be implicated as racist and un-diverse just because of Virginia Tech’s bad decisions.

Would it kill you to say hello?

Making greetings a part of Princeton’s personality would encourage interaction between individuals who don’t normally feel as if they have anything to say to one another simply because they’ve never tried.

Burn

Don’t be afraid to cancel class

The University needs to be more willing to cancel classes in the event of inclement weather. Waiting until the weather is so bad that it is dangerous to navigate campus poses a great risk to the safety of students and faculty alike. The University’s Emergency Management website tells students to stay indoors during a winter storm, but we cannot do that if it means missing mandatory classes, nor should we need to choose between attending non-mandatory lectures and our safety.

"Academic freedom" means freedom

Watsky denounced Murray, compared his speech to the recent Open Air Outreach protest at Princeton, and concluded that neither should be protected in a university. But he left out critical details about Murray’s visit and reached a conclusion with grave repercussions. President Eisgruber was right to make this allusion because the Middlebury protest showed how academic freedom is under siege.

We should be the change

This sort of universal student activism is something quite powerful to absorb. Through such a massive move of participation, change is possible, and progress is reachable. We must come together more as a student body for the causes that afflict, touch, and inspire us to show our strength, make our voices heard, and take a direct and undeniable stand. To be students in “the service of humanity,” we must act more boldly, more passionately, and more powerfully as advocates for the change that we wish to effect. 

Why is school spirit reserved for alumni?

Three quarters of the way through my first year at Princeton, I find myself wondering why this energy doesn’t trickle down into undergraduate life. I don’t want to envy middle-aged men and women trying to recapture the glory years I am living. Instead of waiting until after we graduate to bleed orange and black, Princeton students should try to foster a greater sense of school spirit now.

Today's news

"Ooh na na, what's my name?": The importance of getting it right

My name is something my parents gave me to pass on their hopes, their aspirations, a little piece of them that they bestowed upon me. The meaning of my name, “Siyang,” or “思扬,” is multifaceted. The first character can mean “thinking of” and the second is a shortened version of the Chinese city, “Yangzhou.” This is because Yangzhou is where my parents first met, and therefore those two characters always draw back to that time and place where the paths of their lives first crossed. My name is a tribute to the tenacity and beauty of their love. In addition, “yang” means to rise, to fly — a kind of lightness and happiness they hope for me. There is too much meaning carried in those two syllables of my very Chinese name for me to ever let it go. I am my name.

Mood

Paintball in COS 126

This man that claimed to be affiliated with the University (but didn’t offer proof to show it) was still able to market to the entire COS 126 lecture. The result was that students were directly taken advantage of.