Professor Sarah Kay says that the Romance languages are not, in fact, declining and Jason Kaplan '12 supports the editorial board's proposal of grade translation.
Last December, when the University of Virginia — the third school to abolish its early admissions program in 2006 — announced that it would be reinstating an early action program, the Editorial Board expressed its belief that Princeton’s decision to abandon early admissions was the right one and urged the University not to recant. We take the same position today: We believe that the policy change announced yesterday is ultimately harmful for the University.
Princeton students aren’t really enthusiastic about political activism. It’s certainly not a unique assertion to make. It takes quite a bit to get a rise out of us, and even then we seem pretty content talking it through and making sure there’s a whole lot of “awareness” of the issue at hand. Say what you will about Princeton students, we are nothing if not “aware.”
Far from supporting a scheme the likes of which countries such as Germany are glad to abandon, the University should take a strong stance against well-meaning intents to institutionalize what in effect amounts to “taking away” — not “giving back.”
We can’t try to anticipate and block the growing network of paths through which a person can obtain our information, because our efforts will be in vain.
Instead of the one-size fits all model that we currently have, we could have introductory math courses such as MAT/CHM 103-104: Mathematics for Chemists or MAT/SOC 105-106: Mathematics for Sociologists.
Consider it a challenge — or a devil’s advocate stance — for those going to work in finance to break the mold that has brought you to this point and to be that painful-but-necessary thorn in the side of your future firm from day one.
The University should have all graduating seniors fill out a survey: a one-page, 500-words-or-fewer anonymous transition memo that would become part of an online institutional memory bank accessible to all undergraduates with a netID.
If the grade deflation policy will be retained, this particular concern should be addressed by adopting a system of grade translation. Instead of using the standard 4.0 scale for calculating GPA, the University should calculate it based upon some other number, for instance five or 10.
Princeton’s new Arts and Transit Neighborhood would garner widespread and respected coverage. With an integrated light-rail system, it would be recognized for setting a new standard for safety in shared-space transit everywhere. It would be an inspiring example of a major, powerful institution and its surrounding community working together to achieve a win-win outcome.
Schadenfreude is a uniting force, one that perpetuates the distinction between being in and being excluded from a group. While pickups and the eating club system are perhaps the most institutionalized form of schadenfreude at Princeton, schadenfreude also exists outside of the realm of social life.
There are eight students in the class, some Muslim, Jewish, Christian, Sikh and Hindu. On the table in front of us are our three, 500-page Pequod packets, compilations of the major Sufi teachings and their contemporary commentators. The name of this course is NES 324: Introduction to Later Sufism, the second in a two-semester series on mystical Islam.
If community service is considered great and those who “give back” are admired, why should we not institutionalize incentives to perform further community service?
Among the many things the American educational system needs are stronger intellectual ties across the unnaturally large institutional divide between 12th grade (and what comes before) and freshman year in college (and what comes after).
The University should cease its current policy of imposing disciplinary consequences on students found in possession of marijuana in excess of those regulations required by law.
