Opinion

In support of creative writing

Non-directed creative production is somewhat like participating in a sport or performing something — it’s a great release from the enormous academic burden on our shoulders. Creative writing is especially useful for those not majoring in English or Comparative Literature, since it not only improves writing ability but critical thinking ability as well.

Letter to the Editor: October 19th, 2012

The University is committed to protecting student data appropriately under existing policies. The integrity of these policies is of great importance, and protection of student privacy is one of the goals of the strict rules governing access to and use of the data.

Poetry of Greek life

Even the closest friendships are based partly — maybe a large part, maybe a small one, depending on the context — on what the other person’s effect is on you. Maybe they make you feel smart or funny or popular. Maybe they make you feel loved. I’m not dismissing all friendships as shallow contracts between self-absorbed individuals

Why gender equality trumps coffee dates

Kurz’s article is based upon the assumptions that Princeton women who participate in hookup culture are desperately unhappy and that the men they hook up with are taking advantage of them. His article is focused on heterosexual hookups, and he equates them to a predator-prey situation, explaining that he no longer wants to be “a conqueror looking for a victim.”

Princeton's romance with exclusivity

We’re all college students. It’s irritating to not be able to go out with a friend because you have a pass and they don’t, or vice versa. It’s irritating that bicker clubs are held to some higher degree simply because of their exclusivity.

Oh, Othello

At the heart of the matter, “Othello” is kind of a bummer when it comes to female parts. Unless you’re really good at pretending to be smothered, you’re essentially going to find yourself shortchanged when it comes to roles for the neatly-genitaled.

Cartoon: Party time

Intellectual diversity

Within the first month of my Princeton experience, though, I realized I had overlooked one of the most obvious forms of diversity I would find at college — intellectual diversity. What sets intellectual diversity apart is that for other forms of diversity, we can claim different backgrounds and orientations; intellectual diversity, though, stems from a few common backgrounds, only different blends and ratios among students.

Who am I?

I can honestly say that, at just about two-and-a-half years in, I don’t really know myself. Not in the way that we all hope to know ourselves. I don’t know who to tell you I am if you were to simply ask. In fact, I might know myself even less than I thought I did when I came to this place.

Cartoon: Test drive

On affirmative action

The problems behind racial inequality are far too complex to solve just by targeting higher education. Using affirmative action in college admissions is simply taking the easy way out. If we are to truly solve this problem, we must overhaul the public education system and give the disadvantaged students the help they need early on.

Twitter vs. TV

There’s only so much that stands out in a full hour-and-a-half, and it turns out most of it can be reiterated in 140 characters. I hate to admit it, but my 10 minutes on Twitter and my 90 minutes of TV had left me with uncomfortably similar results.   

Cartoon: The game of life

Microsoft's grade deflation

Princeton’s grade deflation system and Microsoft’s employee evaluation system essentially operate on the same principles.

Hating the band

I have a few friends in the band, and one of them once told me about a strange phenomenon.

Greening Princeton

I have no reason to believe that green-haired 18-year-olds are, on average, smarter and more deserving of being here than those of more traditional mien — but I also have no reason to believe that they are less so. I hope the next president agrees.

Editorial: Certificates by department

Because the benefits to Princeton students far outweigh the possible harm, Princeton should seriously consider expanding the certificate program to include certificates in major areas of study.

Televised debates

Find a drinking game, enjoy what you watch and recognize those photo stills which dominate the media in the days after. But don’t let the presidential debates affect your vote

Cartoon: Forbes'd

Do your reading

If professors and preceptors have high expectations of what we can accomplish at the outset of a course, we should do our best to meet them. The default attitude in math and natural science courses is, “I can and will complete my assignments.” The humanities and social sciences deserve the same approach.