Opinion

Letter from the Editor: Why you should join the ‘Prince’

This is the promise of The Daily Princetonian: to find something that interests you, and to inspire you to dig into it, relentlessly.

This is the promise of The Daily Princetonian: to find something that interests you, and to inspire you to dig into it, relentlessly.

Class of 2029, it’s okay to be a student first

As high school academic over-achievers, we paradoxically internalize that our academic success isn’t enough, that we somehow have to do more. But at Princeton, intellectual labor isn’t tangential — it’s the whole point.

As high school academic over-achievers, we paradoxically internalize that our academic success isn’t enough, that we somehow have to do more. But at Princeton, intellectual labor isn’t tangential — it’s the whole point.

Before you can give back, you have to get by

Taking a high-paying career can help us give back to both our own families and society at large. Financial security is not at odds with intellectual seriousness or social responsibility; in fact, it can enable a more profound and lasting impact.

Could Princeton avoid the endowment tax by expanding financial aid?

Institutions will have to pay 8 percent on endowment returns if they have “at least 3,000 tuition-paying students” and “a student adjusted endowment in excess of $2,000,000.” Princeton checks all the boxes. So, we have to pay. Right?

Institutions will have to pay 8 percent on endowment returns if they have “at least 3,000 tuition-paying students” and “a student adjusted endowment in excess of $2,000,000.” Princeton checks all the boxes. So, we have to pay. Right?

Keep academic authority in human hands

The Trump administration’s attacks on research and higher education as well as a blind reliance on AI chatbots are reflective of a societal backslide: a commodification of knowledge that prioritizes “efficiency” over the messy process of getting to an answer, where nuances are flattened and the truth is fungible.

The Trump administration’s attacks on research and higher education as well as a blind reliance on AI chatbots are reflective of a societal backslide: a commodification of knowledge that prioritizes “efficiency” over the messy process of getting to an answer, where nuances are flattened and the truth is fungible.

What do we owe society for a Princeton education?

The social and moral responsibility that comes with receiving a degree subsidized by both private generosity and public trust is significant. 

The social and moral responsibility that comes with receiving a degree subsidized by both private generosity and public trust is significant.

Notes from a so-called enemy’s classroom

It wasn’t revolutionary. It was homework. But it was homework that asked: how do we build schools that work for all kids? Inclusion, after all, is the “I” in DEI. That’s what we’re thinking about together. And caring about each other’s experiences and opportunities, it turns out, isn’t something you can outlaw.

It wasn’t revolutionary. It was homework. But it was homework that asked: how do we build schools that work for all kids? Inclusion, after all, is the “I” in DEI. That’s what we’re thinking about together. And caring about each other’s experiences and opportunities, it turns out, isn’t something you can outlaw.

Can a bacchanal Reunions be a sustainability lab?

The path to a net-zero Reunions remains uncertain. But Earth Brands’ story proves that the same university known for beer jackets and century-old traditions can also launch the next wave of sustainable solutions.

The path to a net-zero Reunions remains uncertain. But Earth Brands’ story proves that the same university known for beer jackets and century-old traditions can also launch the next wave of sustainable solutions.

$56,000 in debt at graduation is not the financial aid Princeton advertises

Take my story as an example — despite repeated evidence, both before and after taking out loans, that I would be unable to pay what Princeton asked of me — the University never set a cost that I could truly meet loan-free.

In the Garden State’s service and the service of humanity

It is important to cultivate in students interest in local and state level change, because it is the most direct way to give back to the New Jersey community that sustains the University.

Why do two-thirds of your summer research wages go to Princeton, anyway?

The income that students earn from employment is not “miscellaneous.” So Princeton must decide: Does it want its students — all of them, not only those who can afford it — to be able to work on the important research happening at Princeton, or be forced to go home?

The income that students earn from employment is not “miscellaneous.” So Princeton must decide: Does it want its students — all of them, not only those who can afford it — to be able to work on the important research happening at Princeton, or be forced to go home?

Seniors deserve better than Jay Shetty

We are writing to express our strong disapproval of the selection of Jay Shetty as the 2025 Class Day speaker. We deserve better than a self-help guru and repeated plagiarist who runs a “school” that an expert claims exhibits “similar patterns” to a multi-level marketing scheme.

We are writing to express our strong disapproval of the selection of Jay Shetty as the 2025 Class Day speaker. We deserve better than a self-help guru and repeated plagiarist who runs a “school” that an expert claims exhibits “similar patterns” to a multi-level marketing scheme.

The CPUC must not gut its Judicial Committee

Ending the Judicial Committee’s jurisdiction over initial complaints would embolden abuses of power, allowing the administration to evade accountability for University rule violations without the pressure of student and faculty authority.

Ending the Judicial Committee’s jurisdiction over initial complaints would embolden abuses of power, allowing the administration to evade accountability for University rule violations without the pressure of student and faculty authority.

Princeton, let’s adopt a digital prox

To prevent pointless replacement and lockout charges, maximize convenience, and create better access to meals and facilities, Princeton should follow the precedent set by some of its peers and adopt a digital prox system.

To prevent pointless replacement and lockout charges, maximize convenience, and create better access to meals and facilities, Princeton should follow the precedent set by some of its peers and adopt a digital prox system.

What is a Princeton degree really for?

So what, in the end, is a Princeton degree really for? I take a more moderate view: Students should prioritize earning potential — unless they feel irresistibly called to something else.

So what, in the end, is a Princeton degree really for? I take a more moderate view: Students should prioritize earning potential — unless they feel irresistibly called to something else.

If there’s one survey you fill out this year, make it the Year End Assessment

The University cares about collecting good data — but it needs to centralize its efforts.

The University cares about collecting good data — but it needs to centralize its efforts.

In defense of ChatGPT

Complete avoidance of AI is not a solution to the issue Johnson rightfully points out. Avoidance merely leaves us ignorant, standing still in a moving world. On the contrary, Princeton students should discuss the use of AI tools in education with honesty and open-mindedness and consider it a novel tool as opposed to a morally objectionable scourge.

Complete avoidance of AI is not a solution to the issue Johnson rightfully points out. Avoidance merely leaves us ignorant, standing still in a moving world. On the contrary, Princeton students should discuss the use of AI tools in education with honesty and open-mindedness and consider it a novel tool as opposed to a morally objectionable scourge.

Who’s self-censoring at college now?

Conservatives today must choose their cause: free speech or authoritarianism? Throughout history, the only leaders who cheered the downfall of universities and intellectualism were authoritarians interested in suppressing political dissent.

Conservatives today must choose their cause: free speech or authoritarianism? Throughout history, the only leaders who cheered the downfall of universities and intellectualism were authoritarians interested in suppressing political dissent.

In an age of anti-intellectualism, embrace the humanities

Expanding the humanities is imperative because they train students to recognize the value of knowledge regardless of where and whether it is applied — something sorely needed given the state of American culture.

Expanding the humanities is imperative because they train students to recognize the value of knowledge regardless of where and whether it is applied — something sorely needed given the state of American culture.

Amplify the student voice in the Faculty-Student Committee on Discipline

Having a student-centered disciplinary process that understands root issues will allow for a more empathetic, fair adjudication of an inherently difficult process.

Having a student-centered disciplinary process that understands root issues will allow for a more empathetic, fair adjudication of an inherently difficult process.