Letter from the Editor
Dear Fellow Princetonians, As always, I am struck by how fast time flies at Princeton. I first wrote to you as an incoming Editor-in-Chief about a year ago, and today I am writing to say goodbye.
Dear Fellow Princetonians, As always, I am struck by how fast time flies at Princeton. I first wrote to you as an incoming Editor-in-Chief about a year ago, and today I am writing to say goodbye.
Editor's Note: This article was originally published on January 6, 1988 as part of the Daily Princetonian's special William G.
Language should be used not to please the ears, but to shatter the silence and pluralize voices and narratives.On October 17, the Editorial Board of the Daily Princetonian wrote a piece arguing that events hosted by the Women*s Center should be more accommodating of politically conservative students.
This is a very exciting time to be a Princetonian. Over the course of the past few semesters, we have seen active discussions on race and racism on campus, movements to make the campus more inclusive and supportive of students of all identities and backgrounds, and effortsto make pressing issues such as mental health more visible. Most importantly, studentshavebecome increasingly involved inthedecision-making processes of the University, and whenissuesthat they don't have a direct voice in arise,they demand the right to help make thedecisions that will impact their lives and lives of many others on this campus.
Humanistic imagination is crucial in forging a public culture that enables respectful discourse to bridge the increasingly polarized society, University President Christopher Eisgruber ’83 said at the University’s 269th Commencement on Tuesday. Noting how the American society has become more and more polarizing over the past years, Eisgruber said that the University’s residential liberal arts education can forge discussions about ideas that can bind people together and allow students to connect with one another as fellow human beings despite their difference. Referring to the recent campus dialogues on diversity and inclusion, Eisgruber noted that for the University community to collectively decide about its future, it is crucial to understand each other.“Understanding one another requires, among other things, finding new ways to comprehend the history that has affected, and continues to affect, different groups and individuals in different ways,” he said. He noted how the musical “Hamilton” provides inspirational narrative of America that transcends the political line, explaining that imagination and creative construction can allow us to claim our pasts in new ways. “The world that awaits you will sometimes be frustrating and difficult, but it is a world that needs your talents, your citizenship and your engagement,” he added. Valedictorian Cameron Platt ’16, an English major, reflected on the importance of speech and conversation. Noting that she is less interested in the freedom of speech than in what people decide to do with that freedom, Platt praised her classmates who have “stood up, spoken out and declared that no one should have to suffer under the silence that is so often the burden of a marginalized identity” throughout the year. Platt noted how speech can heal the “aches of the silences” through the story of her grandfather who died of AIDS before she was born and whose story was silenced until recently.
With the start of the new semester, the Daily Princetonian’s 140th managing board officially began its tenure. Since 1867, The Daily Princetonian has been the paper of record on this campus, and without the support from the larger Princeton community we couldn’t have done it for last 139 years.
Asurveyon student opinion in the Black Justice League’s sit-in protest found that the majority of respondents had negative views on the impact of the protest, according to Daniel Wilson ’18, the survey’s creator. The survey, titled “What Princeton Thinks of the Black Justice League,” was open from10 a.m.on Thursdayto1 a.m.on Saturday.The survey had 948 respondents, which is roughly 18 percent of the University’s undergraduate population, Wilson noted. Wilson said that one of the notable results is that regardless of race, the majority of respondents had a relatively negative opinion on how the walkout has impacted the campus.
Fifty-four faculty members signed afaculty letterin support of student protests,drafted by twelve faculty members affiliated with the program in African American Studies andpublished onlineon Friday. The letter, addressed to University President Christopher Eisgruber ’83, Dean of the College Jill Dolan, members of the University Board of Trustees and other senior administrators, notes that “there is a palpable sense that … students of color, particularly black students, all too often find themselves on the margins of this University.” The letter adds that the undersigned faculty members stand in solidarity with the student protestors. The letter urges the University administrators to take a “different, bolder, more comprehensive kind of action” to address “core problems” such as the racial climate on campus, and calls for a meeting of the faculty dedicated to the issue of faculty diversity. The signatories come from a number of departments and programs across the arts and humanities, social sciences and natural sciences. No faculty member from theSchool of Engineering and Applied Scienceor the School of Architecture signed the letter. Politics professor Robert George noted that his name was put into the letter without his consent, via a Facebook post publishedonFridayaround 7 p.m. "In what is the most underhanded tactic I have encountered in thirty-one years in academic life, my name was fraudulently added to a petition supporting student protestors at Princeton," he wrote.
University President Christopher Eisgruber ’83 agreed to the modified demands of student protestors on Thursday evening.He signed the document at about 8:20 p.m., approximately 32 hours after students in the Black Justice League began a sit-in in his office and after significant negotiations over the content of the demands.Around 20 student protestors had been occupying Eisgruber’s office since Wednesday.The “Walkout and Speakout” protest, organized by the BJL, began with a walkout from classes on Wednesday morning, then featured a march to Nassau Hall and a sit-in in Eisgruber’s office.Students who occupied the office stayed there overnight.
University President Christopher Eisgruber ’83 said that he had no plans to sign the document outlining the demands of student protesters occupying his office in Nassau Hall on Wednesday. The “Walkout and Speakout” protest, organized by the Black Justice League, began at 11:30 a.m, when nearly 200 students convened outside Nassau Hall. The students then moved into Nassau Hall and filled the hallway, chanting, “We here.