Bronze for gold

Unlike most students who will be leaving Princeton this June, I will not be graduating. Like many of my graduate student peers, I will enter into a year of "post-enrollment" status, a limbo state in which I am neither a Princeton student nor an alumnus of the University. Still, this June will be a departure of sorts, as I look forward to a one-year fellowship at Harvard before I march at Commencement next year.

As I prepare for my three-quarter departure from Princeton, I too have begun to reflect on all the changes that have happened during the last few years. I have also begun to give consideration to the numerous improvements that still need to happen before Princeton can truly serve its mission of educating a diverse society and be "in the nation's service and in the service of all nations." Here, then, are ten suggestions for improving Princeton under the upcoming leadership of Shirley Tilghman.

1. Build a multi-cultural center in a central campus location. Instead of merely paying lip-service to the issue of ethnic diversity, Princeton should build a center that makes the cultural contributions of its students a daily reality. Many have suggested a multi-use space that could house a multi-ethnic cafe and an art gallery, as well as space for student organizations.

2. Treat workers in a humane manner. Princeton should commit to a system in which it considers changes in the cost of living for its lowest-paid workers. People should not have to work two or three jobs in order to provide for their families.

3. End all exclusionary practices involving graduate and undergraduate students. The past few years have shown that graduate students and undergraduates work well together, both in academic matters as well as in student life. Measures such as restrictive proximity cards and exclusion from baccalaureate service are visible reminders of a continued segregationist mindset among many University administrators. Eating clubs should also follow the lead of Terrace Club and implement graduate fellow programs.

4. Diversify the curriculum. Over a century ago, Princeton decided that it should move beyond Greek and Latin and that Shakespeare was indeed worthy of study. It is time to make that transition complete by incorporating the notable literary and artistic achievements of different civilizations and of Native Americans, blacks, Latinos and Asian Americans.

5. Implement the Graduate Student Life Initiative. The Graduate Student Government and the Graduate U-Council presented a report that suggested several areas in need of improvement. The University has been very forthcoming with changes in issues such as medical benefits and housing but is dragging its feet on the very significant problem of "post-enrollment."

6. Deal honestly with the issue of sexual harassment and assault. When professors, students or staff members engage in sexual harassment, the University's top priority should be to ensure justice and to provide adequate resources for victims. Cutting back on educational resources and allowing offenders to return to campus after brief sabbaticals makes for a very hostile climate for those who need help.

7. Provide a lawyer with office hours. Students could use legal advice, ranging from matters such as sexual harassment and assault to the issuance of copyrights and patents. Student governments elsewhere have implemented lawyer office hours; our USG and GSG should do the same.

8. Build mixed housing in central campus. End Princeton's version of residential segregation, in which graduate students are confined to the periphery of campus.

9. Hire more women and minority faculty. Former Princeton President William Bowen has argued that diversity promotes undergraduate education in a direct manner by improving what is taught and discussed in the classroom. We should seek not only to have a student body that looks more like America, but a faculty body as well.

10. Build a top-notch education school. So far, academic expansion has come largely in the form of specialized research institutes that are inaccessible to undergraduates. In order to truly be "in the nation's service," Princeton needs to also focus on primary and secondary education. Building a school of education will go far to fulfill the teaching mission that was envisioned by the founders of this University.

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Some of the suggestions above are easy and inexpensive to implement. Others will require more substantial investments in order to be successful. The Shapiro administration has shown that Princeton is remarkably gifted in its ability to raise money. We should all think critically in the next few years about how we will use that money on the projects and initiatives that will improve this University as a place to live, work and study. S. Karthick Ramakrishnan is a politics and Office of Population Research graduate student from Holden, Mass. He can be reached at karthick@princeton.edu.