We stand by the decision of the Class Day Co-Chairs and throw our unwavering support behind Marshawn Lynch.
The few voices which were upset at the decision to bring Marshawn Lynch to speak for Class Day are not representative of all of Princeton campus, but they do succeed in reinforcing elitist stereotypes and cynical exclusivism.
To argue that Mr. Lynch does not represent the student body is to argue that the backgrounds of people like myself are not valuable. The background of Mr. Lynch not being that of a “typical” Princeton student is in fact one of the strongest reasons for my excitement at his acceptance of this role.
Those few students, no matter how vocal, did not truly speak for “us,” the University community, nor the approximately 1,300 members of the senior class.
I can’t cure whatever it is that’s making me feel sick today. Awareness of that forces me to step back for a moment and wonder: if I can’t fix this, should I spend my time and energy getting upset about it?
This Board opposes qualified immunity on principle and finds no reason for the University to support the expansion of this practice.
The idea that athletes have nothing productive to add to our national conversation and that their intelligence begins and ends with their ability to run routes and read defenses shapes the way many people think about even our most dominant sports figures.
Unfortunately, the open letter shifted the conversation away from the celebration of the perspective that Mr. Lynch will bring to Class Day, and toward a troubling implication as to the concept of “worthiness” in addressing our class.
Only by raising the next generation of church leaders in this conviction will we achieve these much-needed reforms, and that starts with each of us vowing to remain in the church.
As students at a demanding university with high expectations, we shouldn’t be manipulated into thinking that it is a waste to take time to recuperate and to explore interests outside our own academic sphere.
Both mechanical pencils and standard pencils require a certain degree of maintenance; while the regular sharpening of standard pencils is certainly more frequent than lead replacement in mechanical pencils, replacing lead is significantly less cathartic of an activity as grinding down a pencil.
The inevitable question then, when all is said and done, is the following: if not ours, whose interests does the University serve?
The app that I propose would streamline that process. Rather than having to search by department, by class or, worse, manually through all possible options (this semester alone, the registrar lists 1,559 classes), we would have a system where we could search for rooms by building.
To educate students on topics not traditionally covered in the American education system, broaden their academic horizons, and, most importantly, instill an awareness of different cultures, the University should adjust the distribution requirements so that all students — not just those in the major — must take at least one HA course that does not focus on the United States or Europe, with the exception of those centered on African-American history.
We believe that reforming the nomination and selection process by clarifying the procedure and by involving the senior class will definitely anticipate such concerns, giving students a better understanding and moreover a sense of ownership over the decision to invite a specific speaker.
The costs of supporting performance group events would not be small, but it is absolutely worth it to ensure equal access to art and culture. It is a matter of prioritization by the administration: all student athletic events are free, so why should artistic ones be any different?
Rather than perpetuate previous failures, the Oscars took a step forward. This year’s win is a reaffirmation of the values we were taught as children and a timely refutation of Trumpian politics.
Community occurs organically and should be given room to thrive on its own, not be forcibly structured through the residential college system.
Whether we are in our first or final years at Princeton, it’s worth challenging whatever it is that we believe in order to determine whether or not we actually believe it.
There are points at which the way we discuss destructive behavior, whether of ourselves or others, becomes the abuse, as opposed to the use, of the language that should represent a tool for validation and resolution.
