We’ve all heard the criticisms of Greek life — they’re networks for wealthy, white students; they’re feeders into certain eating clubs; they’re havens for hazing and alcoholism. But in all the ways Greek life has been described on campus, the most limiting factor is rarely mentioned: Princeton Greek life is overwhelmingly heterosexual.
“Remember that happy summer feeling I told you about?” she says. “It’s gone now.” We’re struggling to become Bob Dylan’s “pretty people,” and our failures are only amplified by the enormous success and possibilities for it that we see around us. Are we allowed to strive without succeeding? Is there room for a rolling stone at Princeton University? I hope so; I think so.
My red bracelet traveled a long way before Grillo tied the strings around my wrist. The bracelets are handmade by Nepalese women and girls at a safe house near the Indian border. The safe house is a temporary home for girls either rescued from sex traffickers or girls who have nowhere else to turn. The bracelets are distributed in the United States by the Red Threads Movement, a student-run charity affiliated with Eternal Threads, a Texas-based non-profit that supports impoverished women throughout the world by selling their products in the United States.
I decided to attend Occupy Wall Street, the social justice campout that began in the financial district over three weeks ago, mostly out of curiosity. I first read about OWS in August when the Facebook event was sent around. The cynic in me didn’t take it seriously, this overly self-aware attempt to ride the wave of a more genuine Arab revolutionary spirit.
While some assume that we are supposed to come to campus with spectacular resumes, we must remember that truly extraordinary accomplishments almost always come well after college is over. The point is not to have accomplished great things before coming in, but to use Princeton’s resources to maximize our own potential after we graduate.
They will write it, sign it, and celebrate it: Palestine, a global affirmation of support for a people that has been oppressed for far too long. Here’s hoping our government one day joins in.
