Opinion

Admitting that we don't know

There seems to be a campus ban on appearing unworldly, uncultured or unintelligent, an unspoken agreement to position Princeton not as a place for learning but as a place for the learned. What is it about being among the often remarked “best and brightest” that makes us wary of ever admitting that in some areas we are the “worst and dullest”?

Cartoon: The final(s) countdown

The disease of cliche

A global torrent of cliche and banality forever undermines what we truly believe. Anonymous commentators do something to highlight this consistent danger and diminish it; however, much more can and should be done.

Why we drink

I do not hyperbolize when I say that ethanol, or what we have come to refer to as alcohol, is a significant component of the American college, and therefore the Princeton, undergraduate experience.

Cartoon: Princeton Black Friday

Editorial: Don't invest in HEI

Now that Princeton is well aware of allegations against HEI, the school ought to follow the example of Brown, UPenn and Yale and not reinvest with the company. This is a policy Princeton should follow whenever it is faced with clear evidence of wrongdoing on the part of its investees.

Smiling at strangers

In late October I was averaging what I thought to be an impressive four hellos on my daily mid-morning walk from my dorm room to Italian class. They weren’t people I knew exactly, for “know” is a strong word to describe our poorly defined relationships. They were other freshmen that I’d met in passing, friends of friends or people who happened to have the same dining schedule as my own. In those early months of school, there was the idealistic possibility that each fleeting conversation of “What’s your name?” “Where are you from?” “What’s your major?” could yield some blissful friendship or, at the very least, another lonely soul to acknowledge your presence as you trudged from one class to the next.  

Cartoon: Home in 7 days

Editorial: Cannon's bicker process

We oppose Cannon’s decision to bicker students at a different time from the other eating clubs. The Bicker process works best when all clubs hold the process at the same time. Under this model, students are forced to choose one club to bicker. When all the clubs start bickering students at the same time, no club is able to gain an unfair advantage over the others.

Occupy Princeton

You may have noticed us the past few weeks. Since Nov. 17, we have been congregating weekly outside of Frist Campus Center, standing in a circle and shouting echoes of what speakers say. We are Occupy Princeton.

The value of classical languages

Latin and classical Greek are not merely linguistic puzzles on a page. They develop one’s ability to negotiate real-life cultural barriers as effectively as any living language, while providing peerless access to the treasures of Western civilization.

The proliferation of waffle

Verbal vagueness is a time-honored college tradition. It is the overworked student’s trusty standby in those seminar sessions when everyone except the teacher knows that no one did the reading. However, there’s such a thing as excessive equivocation, and too many students at Princeton are toeing the line.

Cartoon: Steaming pile of homework

In focus: the CNR reviewed

While reality television has launched many a CNR, with the rise of social media, we move away from the traditional CNR pattern to the introduction of self-made CNRs. These self-mades jolt into the public eye without so much as a Celebutante Ball or wardrobe malfunction.

Cartoon: Rush

Movember

As Movember illustrates, a man has much more freedom to present himself in a way that makes him physically unattractive without confronting any of the social risks that a girl who chooses not to wear makeup faces, but he also cannot talk openly about prostate cancer without making people uncomfortable.

The power of the prox

If the University and downtown shopping venues were to work together to allow prox purchasing, they would create a mutually beneficial relationship, whereby students would have easier, more appealing access to outside food, stores would have more customers and Princeton University would create a positive, working relationship with its neighbors.

Editorial: Occupy Princeton

We applaud a shift away from the apathy that currently reigns on campus, and — regardless of our views on Occupy Princeton’s political goals — we are hopeful that its presence may help contribute to that shift.

Cartoon: Dressed to Kill

Looking for 'The One'

Inside the interview room we were all self-assured and positive that “this” was our goal and our dream career, but outside we each expressed self-doubt and a lack of direction. It was reassuring to realize that I wasn’t alone and yet at the same time frightening. It was not the interview but the prospect of a looming decision that concerned my peers and me.