Opinion

Humor, help and hope

“FMyLife” is a popular website for laughing about life’s misfortunes, but among the petty and pithy posts on our college’s version, PrincetonFML, are serious cries for help: students posting about stress, depression and even thoughts of suicide. The contrast between the mundane and the meaningful is jarring — the frustration of losing socks shouldn’t warrant the same “FML” appendix as the inability to get out of bed all day. We read these darker posts with a grimace and moment of discomfort. And then we keep scrolling. There’s something wrong here: Why are students turning to a humor website to deal with their gravest problems?

Editorial: On the SCUWL report

The changes proposed by the Steering Committee on Undergraduate Women's Leadership would benefit both women and the campus as a whole, and the Editorial Board encourages the University to implement them.

The Muslim notion of self

Essentially, there is no personality vacuum. An Arab’s history and previous actions are as much a part of him as what he exhibits in the present.

Cartoon: Unwritten rules

Opine... and sign?

When you next have a comment, think about sealing it with your real name. If you don’t, have the self-awareness to know why you are not doing so and consider carefully whether the possible benefits of the posting really do outweigh the costs — to you, to anyone you may be criticizing and to the wider community.

Counterpoint: The cardboard tiger

In calling on Gaddafi to leave, Obama unnecessarily added a very real U.S. strategic asset to the calculation — our credibility. Had he said nothing or simply condemned Gaddafi’s violence and watched the colonel slaughter the rebels and citizens of Benghazi, he would have been criticized only for his moral ambivalence. But the moment Obama advocated regime change, he created a scenario in which any other result would suggest to our enemies — chiefly Iran — that we are not confident enough to use all force necessary to achieve our stated goals.

Editorial: Alumni bicker at Cannon Club

It is widely acknowledged that the Bicker process in general is imperfect. Cannon’s proposed procedure exacerbates its chief flaws.

Cartoon: Just... just don't ask

Point: To the shores of Tripoli

I was impatient for Obama to take military action in Libya, conditional on the understanding that no American boots should set foot on the shores of Tripoli. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates objected that this was an implausible caveat; apparently, he was wrong. I still regret that we had to delay military action on the approval of international committees, but I don’t see how we could have acted otherwise.

Cartoon: Princetonian lifestyle

Untapped potential

Students at Princeton are missing a major opportunity. Whether or not there is validity behind a parent’s desire to hire college students to help their kids in school, there is undoubtedly a market out there that we have not yet accessed.

Cannon: the club to watch for 2012

If Cannon is to survive longer than a few years, it has to provide a unique experience not found elsewhere. To have a unique experience, Cannon needs the right membership.

It could happen to you

What was that? You didn’t cheat? Well, here’s the thing. You don’t have to cheat to violate the Honor Code. The Honor Committee only looks at your intent after it’s determined that you’re guilty. Guilty of what? Violating the Honor Code, of course.

Editorial: Departmental responsibility

All departments should create positions in which certain undergraduates can serve as liaisons between the concentrators and the faculty.

Cartoon: Engineering curves

Advancing human rights?

Bob Bernstein has been a champion for human rights his whole life, but this is a step in the wrong direction. Rather than expanding human rights, he is seeking to limit them by refusing to focus on transgressions by nations generally thought to be democratic.

Obama's quiet war

Military engagement is inherently complicated, all the more so in Libya. The least we can do is define and defend the mission publicly.

Cartoon: Professors make the worst games ever

Doing good beats feeling good

Japan is a relatively wealthy developed country well-equipped for emergency response and thus not even in dire need of financial support. Consequently, there are few things that outside organizations can actually do to help on top of the local response.

Prank the pranksters

One day last winter I was walking toward East Pyne, when a blotch of red caught my eye. Sure enough, the freshly fallen snow around our cannon was stained with the scarlet blood of a long-held rivalry. I felt a strange sense of excitement as I walked over to find that strewn around the cannon and covered in red paint were bumper stickers that said “Rutgers: Global Reach, Jersey Roots.”