Retrospectives

‘Our moment in the sun’: Transgender alumni reflect on representation, activism, pride

The Daily Princetonian met with seven transgender and non-binary Princeton alumni who graduated Princeton between 1960–2000. Their accounts shed light on how they explored their identities and navigated the University in their time as undergraduates, as well as how they have renegotiated their relationships with the institution in their time away from it.

The Daily Princetonian met with seven transgender and non-binary Princeton alumni who graduated Princeton between 1960-2000. Their accounts shed light on how they explored their identities and navigated the University in their time as undergraduates, as well as how they have renegotiated their relationships with the institution in their time away from it.

One year later, the Class of 2020 reflects on virtual commencement

Faced with dire circumstances near the start of the pandemic, the University opted for a live-streamed virtual graduation celebration for the Class of 2020, postponing the class’ more traditional in-person ceremony to 2021. But in February this year, the University reversed course and canceled the event altogether. One year later, the Class of 2020 reflects on their virtual commencement.

Faced with dire circumstances near the start of the pandemic, the University opted for a live-streamed virtual graduation celebration for the Class of 2020, postponing the class’ more traditional in-person ceremony to 2021. But in February this year, the University reversed course and canceled the event altogether. One year later, the Class of 2020 reflects on their virtual commencement.

As Divest Princeton awaits University response, a look at past divestment movements

Divest Princeton, a group calling for University divestment from fossil fuels, submitted a proposal to the Council of the Princeton University Community (CPUC) Resources Committee last year. Soon, the Committee will either reject the proposal or recommend it to the Board of Trustees for final consideration. As Divest Princeton awaits the decision, the ‘Prince’ examined the history of divestment movements on campus — both successful and not.

Divest Princeton, a group calling for University divestment from fossil fuels, submitted a proposal to the Council of the Princeton University Community (CPUC) Resources Committee last year. Soon, the Committee will either reject the proposal or recommend it to the Board of Trustees for final consideration. As Divest Princeton awaits the decision, the ‘Prince’ examined the history of divestment movements on campus — both successful and not.

In 2020, Princeton promised anti-racist action. Five years prior, the Black Justice League had offered a blueprint.

In this interactive feature, The Daily Princetonian recounts how the Black Justice League’s 2015 Nassau Hall sit-in forced a reckoning with racism on campus. We trace the group’s activism to the present day, from the removal of Woodrow Wilson’s name to ongoing calls for an anti-racist curriculum.

In this interactive feature, The Daily Princetonian recounts how the Black Justice League’s 2015 Nassau Hall sit-in forced a reckoning with racism on campus. We trace the group’s activism to the present day, from the removal of Woodrow Wilson’s name to ongoing calls for an anti-racist curriculum.

PART II | ‘Resurfacing history’: A look back at the Black Justice League’s campus activism

Wilson was not at the core of the BJL’s early campaigns. But in the fall of 2015, the call to remove his name commanded national attention, largely eclipsing the BJL’s other goals.

PART I | ‘Resurfacing history’: A look back at the Black Justice League’s campus activism

Walking into Nassau Hall, the students had every expectation of returning to their dorms that evening. But five, 10, 20 hours later, they were still in Eisgruber’s office.

How the eating clubs went coed

Thirty years since the NJ Supreme Court ruled against Princeton’s last all-male eating clubs, The Daily Princetonian takes a look back at the decade-long fight for equality on the Street.

‘Take a breath’: Two alumnae of the Great Recession on graduating in crisis

Today, the Class of 2020 attended its virtual commencement. Tomorrow, it will enter a world plagued by uncertainty, fear, and a national unemployment rate of 14.7 percent.

50 years of women: Susan Belman ’73 and Cassandra James ’23

In 1969, a group of female undergraduates arrived on Princeton’s campus. In 1973, they became the first women to graduate from the University. This is the first installation in a series commemorating 50 years of women at Princeton; each article will chronicle the experience of one woman from the Class of 1973 and one from the Class of 2023. 

ROTC celebrates 100-year anniversary

Three days a week, Cadet Gabriel Peña ’23 wakes up at 5:30 a.m. and makes the mile trip to Jadwin Gymnasium for physical training (PT). By 8:00, he’s in the dining hall for breakfast and then on his way to a 9:00 a.m. class. Peña’s schedule is roughly similar to that of the 47 other cadets in Princeton’s Army ROTC. 

Peace in Palmer Square: A history of Vietnam War activism

The Vietnam War brought unprecedented activism at the University in forms ranging from peaceful pickets and fasting to sieges on buildings and firebombing. It divided the campus deeply between radicals and conservatives, youths and adults, and draft refusers and ROTC cadets.

From the Archives: Veterans of Future Wars

What started as a joke exploded into a nation-wide movement. Newspapers across the country ran articles on the Veterans for Future Wars. Members of Congress discussed their arguments; veterans’ organizations condemned them. 

A walk past Nassau: the historically black Witherspoon-Jackson neighborhood

Beyond FitzRandolph Gate, the hustle and bustle of Nassau Street — full of trendy restaurants, University apparel shops, and retail chains — serve as the facade of the town, the first image that tourists, visitors, and University students encounter upon leaving campus grounds. But unbeknownst to many non-residents, past Nassau lies a history of segregation and an ongoing struggle to preserve the culture of the town’s historically African-American Witherspoon-Jackson neighborhood, whose first inhabitants settled in the 1680s.

Liberating New South: How black student activists inspired change through protest

At 7 a.m. on March 11, 1969, four students lurked in the weeds in front of the New South Building. Shortly afterwards, over 40 black students from the Association of Black Collegians (ABC) rushed the building, according to a log from the Department of Public Information. The students then chained the north doors of the building shut and secured the east doors with a mop.