Opinion

The Review Committee should go back to the drawing board

The Princeton University Board Plan Review Committee has been reviewing dining hall options for the past two years, and this week released a memo detailing possible changes for both under and upperclassmen. Although well-intentioned, this proposal seems to place more limitations on students rather than facilitating student’s growth towards making healthy decisions for themselves. 

The label of an accent

Native English speaker or not, you have an accent. So does the girl sitting next you, and so do I. We all vocalize our thoughts with different rhythms, intonations, percussiveness, and inflections. Even within the United States, people speak English differently. Despite this natural tendency, we are keen to point out the “accents” of those who speak differently from how we do.

The problem with room draw proxies

As we enter room draw and draw times are released, many will find that their draw time(s) are at inconvenient hours, specifically from 9 a.m. through 7 p.m. on weekdays. During these hours, most students will either be in lecture, lab, precept, or another prior commitment, creating a high likelihood of conflict. Many students feel forced to get proxies to cover for them during their draw time, which can be inconvenient and stressful. This nuisance can be prevented through simple policy changes. 

The right way to increase accountability

I believe that the mere potential for this process to take place will encourage the Committee leadership to think more critically about its behavior and professionalism. This referendum would help remedy an Honor Committee in desperate need of transparency and accountability, so I strongly encourage you to vote YES.

Preview Review

Discriminatory meal plan changes under the guise of ‘community engagement’

My phone-typed response soon had the length of an essay, and I’m sharing part of that here. As an engineering major focused on sustainable design, and a health-focused individual who treasures the interpersonal warmth of a great meal, I’ve long taken issue with the required meal plans at this university. The forced predetermination of one’s food and eating place is incomprehensible to my friends and family, in Germany and across the globe.

The hidden costs of proposed dining plans

If the Board Plan Review Committee is truly concerned about flexibility, they should not make any meal plan mandatory. Affordability can be addressed by simply increasing the annual stipend or granting more free meal swipes. Quality of life should not be sacrificed for supposed efficiency, which keeps costs down for the University while the most vulnerable student populations.

Station 206: Challenging greatness

If resistance to the Station succeeds, life will proceed as normal. Finding an internship will still be stressful. You will still have that 8:30 precept. Little will change. But we will know the answer to the question posed by Station 206, a question that we would do well to ask ourselves more often. What are you working for: a good world, or your own Greatness?

donotreadme.txt

Class conflict: Can we make course scheduling better?

We’re all told to maximize our time here, and no one will argue that the classes you choose are going  impact that time. Part of what you choose is the options you’re presented with, and course times are a big part of how we schedule our lives. Who knows how many people have left Princeton without experiencing that one life-changing class, that one class that made it all worth it, because Introduction to Spanish is at 1:30 p.m., and so is everything else.

The wrong way to increase Honor Committee accountability

This week, the USG election ballot includes yet another referendum to amend the Honor Constitution. Unlike the referenda from the fall, however, this proposal does not touch on the committee’s penalties or procedures. Instead, it focuses on the leadership of the committee itself. The referendum, if adopted, would create a procedure for a member of the Honor Committee to challenge the incumbent chair or clerk for their position. Regardless of your views on the Honor Committee and the fall referenda, this proposal should concern every student. 

The subtle uneasiness of being Chinese-American

Feeling ridiculed and disrespected is a universally shared experience that all types of people have felt on different scales.

To PDF or not to PDF

Let's be honest: The Panera shooting was a tragedy

So, what we’re left with is simply more questions, and it’s incumbent on good journalists to dig further, and for the State Attorney Generals’ office to release more information on the exact circumstances of the shooting on March 20. For our community’s part, Princeton seems to want to sweep the memory of the shooting away. A window was shot out in the Panera on the day of the shooting; it was replaced by evening the next day, as I walked by. And then a week later, Panera reopened, as if nothing had ever happened. “We remodeled,” read a cheery sign outside the storefront. 

Letter to the editor: Panel values student input on dining plans

We are eager to share more about our recommendations with students and continue to gather their feedback. The committee is holding three focus groups on the recommendations next week. For information, visit the committee’s website, https://boardplan.princeton.edu.

Me and my mother: Not part of the Tiger Club

Alongside my godmother and father, my mother taught my brother and me the discipline and hard work ethic that drove us to pursue our own dreams, without tightening nooses around our necks to study or completely secluding us from outside friendships. There were fights about grades and tests, but there were also fights about car privileges and party rights. My mother spearheaded the path I have taken, but she is by no means part of the club that most Asian American women are forced into as a result of the “tiger mom” narrative. 

An always overriding risk: U.S. strikes in Syria and superpower nuclear war

Precluding his earlier vaunted “element of surprise” (remember the election campaign?), Trump's residual policy options could lead inexorably to a direct U.S.-Russian military encounter. Among other “simple” things, the president's most capable strategic thinkers (not tactical military planners) will need to work very quickly through the unimaginably complex dialectics of virtually all possible nuclear scenarios and outcomes.

The "Real" Problem

[APPLY NOW!] Waste(Land) of Opportunity

The University should have more consistent institutional guidance for underclassmen, who are still confused as to where they see themselves in the near future.

Adulting 101