Opinion

Reviewing the legacy of Harvey Firestone

As a community, we may decide that there are better uses of our scholarly attention than to retroactively evaluate the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company. Or, we may find the company’s conduct inexcusable, no matter when. In either case, the University must first investigate its historical links to the company. We cannot reach an educated and equitable decision until we know more fully how our institution profited from the Firestone plantation.

Letter to the Editor: Addressing the H1-B shortage

I have seen many of Princeton’s brightest minds be forced to leave the United States because, despite finding good employment after graduation, they are unable to get a work visa under the H-1B program. To put it simply: There are not enough visas available for high-skilled workers. As a result, great Princeton-educated scientists, engineers, and businesspeople, who would love to stay and contribute to this country, are forced to leave.

On Wednesdays, do you wear pink?

We’ve all been that rejected person — and it doesn’t feel good. It doesn’t feel good to know that someone doesn’t want you in their “group” without ever getting to know you. So examine your actions over the next few weeks and ask yourself if you’re rejecting people because it’s easier to do so, or if you truly believe that you wouldn’t be compatible.

Letter to the Editor: Against PGSU

Letter to the Editor: An alum's perspective on Honor Code reform

It is in our nature to hire people who agree with us. I therefore recommend that after the current measure passes, students consider lessening the control of hiring new committee members by current committee members.

Valuing people more at Princeton

As students, we must make active choices to make Princeton a more socially inclusive and less lonely place. Every day, we must prioritize a friend, or simply a human being.

Why extensions violate your academic rights

If the group of students who prioritize a course are the ones negatively affected by a professor’s decision, then that decision is wrong and unjust. So long as deadlines are announced early and made clear to all students, last minute changes to these deadlines should not be made.

Let’s talk about sex

By subverting the indoctrinated and threatening stigma about sex, we will be able to better engage in active dialogue with our partners and give clearer consent.

Letter to the Editor: Princeton needs a union — it doesn’t need PGSU

By refusing to affiliate with PGSU and revoking any affiliation you may have given them, you can take a step in the right direction. PGSU dissolving can provide the space to start over, to build from the ground up an organization founded on principles of fairness and transparency. 

Reject USG’s Irresponsible Change to Standard Penalty

Having a strong, student-run system for enforcing cheating on exams is a point of pride for me as a Princeton student, and I cannot support a proposal to reduce the severity of the penalty for violating our shared Honor Code in such a dramatic way.

Responsible Reform: Comments from Honor Committee Leadership Part II

Under this reform, the student who copies code on the in-class programming exam would be on disciplinary probation until graduation, and the student who copies code on the assignment would be suspended for a year. So, if this reform passes, we must then ask if we can encourage the faculty and the Committee On Discipline to accept a modified standard penalty across the board.

Letter to the Editor: Some thoughts on Honor Code Reform

Our job really starts then, once the Honor Committee Chair and two investigators determine a hearing is warranted after reviewing evidence and speaking with the student in question, also known as the SIQ. From that moment, Peer Representatives are defense attorneys, peer counselors, advisers, and ombuds, all at once.

Letter to the Editor: Clarifying the historical record on the Honor Committee

I write to share clarification and historical context in response to the letter by former Honor Committee chairs that was published on Monday, Dec. 11​.​ ​The authors declare​ that for violations of the honor system​, “in 1893, Princeton students settled on a consequence — one-year suspension​...”​​​ In fact, for the majority of the Honor System's existence, the standard penalty for Honor Code violations was expulsion.

Letter to the Editor: Release Patrice Nganang

Last Thursday evening, the prominent Francophone novelist Patrice Nganang was arrested as he was about to board a flight leaving Cameroon. Initially charged with “insulting” the president, Nganang has been a vocal and visible critic of the oppressive and brutal tactics that Paul Biya’s regime is using against Cameroonian citizens in the English-speaking western part of the country.

Current Honor Committee practices: Disregarding principles, policy, and precedent

The Honor Constitution states that a violation is “any attempt to gain an unfair advantage in regard to an examination.” How do you attempt without intent? How can a fair judicial system dismiss a student’s mental health when it affects their culpability? 

Letter to the Editor: Response to WWS graduate students

Since becoming dean in 2012, I have worked to improve how the school approaches issues of inclusion and representation. I am committed to continuing this work with our students to identify areas where the school can improve and implement needed reforms.

Editorial: Vote YES on Honor Code Reform

Two years after the last referendum on the Honor Committee failed to reach threshold limitations, it is time for a concrete change in policy.  Each of the four referenda on the ballot this election cycle proposes an important change to the Constitution of the Honor System. While the language could be more specific, the proposals represent an honest effort to reform a dangerously flawed honor system, and we urge students to vote for them.

Letter to the Editor: My rape isn't a joke

Increased access to mental health care – which would help assault survivors and many more – is apparently just an “idea,” not an “ideal,” according to USG presidential candidate Ryan Ozminkowski.

Letter to the Editor: Response to Spalding

Thanks to Emily Spalding for her profile on me; I do appreciate being able to talk about music at Princeton. One important thing to add, lest I offend some friends who don’t deserve it — most of my interactions with pro orchestra were indeed dreary affairs, as I said, but one important exception is the New Jersey Symphony, who play frequent concerts on campus, and several of whose members now serve as Princeton performance faculty.

A note from former Honor Committee chairs

The Code was created 124 years ago by students for students, to hold each other accountable in the exam room. As former Chairs of the Committee, we hope we can provide context behind how the Code has evolved so you can reform it responsibly and ensure it lives another 124 years.