Letters to the Editor

Some things are not in the realm of administrative duties

Annual giving and the development office are probably going to face a real fundraising challenge in the years to come: Eric Wang yesterday declared that he will "never give any money to any of this university's funds that can be touched by central administrators. For every such dollar that is solicited from me, I will give a dollar to Yale." Mr. Wang cites "administrators' liberal inhibitions against getting tough on crime" as his justification, and he illustrates unruly behavior on this campus with stories of supposedly racist Public Safety Officers, slumbers interrupted by hallway loiterers and unmanageable smoke in his hallway. If anything is out of control on this campus, it is Mr. Wang's perspective on college life and crime, as well as his understanding of administrators' primary responsibilities.

I commend Mr. Wang for his courage to confront the issue of misbehaving students on campus. We have all been aggravated at times by loud noises at night, or by drunken students parading around campus. I must, however, question the importance of such matters in the grand scheme of one's experience at Princeton and within the realm of administrative duties. We all have crazy hours, we all work very hard, and we all need to release anxiety every now and again. This is by no means an endorsement of rule-defying behavior in order to overcome stress, but perhaps Mr. Wang would be well-served to remind himself that he is at college, living in a dormitory and in the midst of what many people call "the best four years of my life," and that he should just let some things go.

Mr. Wang recounts with frustration an evening during which he was "lunged at" and "threatened" when he "tried to tell [intoxicated individuals playing soccer with empty water jugs] to stop." I think that he only told half the story, and I would be willing to bet that he walked out of his room in a tizzy and started screaming his head off at them. In fact, a neighbor of his from last year told me that she was awakened by his screaming one evening as he rebuked his neighbors. Maybe if Mr. Wang had "asked" instead of "told" those neighbors they would have been a bit more receptive to his request. Involving administrators, moreover, only foments resentment; if my neighbor tattled on me, I might spend the rest of the year doing things to annoy him or her too.

But let's look at the bigger question: What is the big deal if you get awakened at 3:00 am by water jug soccer in the hallway? Forget complaining — ask if you can join the game. Mr. Wang asserts that victims are punished more than perpetrators. He refers to neighbors who smoke in the hallway and "inundate" his room with smoke: Mr. Wang, if you did not want to live with smokers, the onus was on you to draw into the substance free dorms that the University makes available. I personally like to think that administrators at the number one University in the nation have better items on their agendas than loud noise and common space smoking.

Students were publicly urinating during the recent pick-ups spectacle, and Mr. Wang is upset that they were not reprimanded by onlooking Public Safety Officers. I personally would rather have Princeton's fine safety force looking out for well-being before concerning themselves with harmless public urination. Safety and counseling resources are provided at McCosh Health Center, and recovery, not punishment, Mr. Wang, is why the administration sends students there.

I am not even going to address the claim that Public Safety officers are racist because the assertion is absolutely preposterous and evidence to back it up is nonexistent.

Mr. Wang is correct to request that students follow rules; we have a responsibility to respect one another on this campus. We are adults, and we should be able to reasonably govern ourselves. I think that administrators want us to work together to solve our community problems, and this perspective, more than negligence or racism, explains for me the administration's lax responses to Mr. Wang's complaints.

So here's my message: Live by the Golden Rule and don't bother our fine administration with silly issues that you can solve with a cordial, understanding disposition. We are in college, and we should make the most of it, particularly us seniors in our last few months. And I'm all for Mr. Wang's new donation policy; in fact, I'm going to request that every Class of 2002 Annual Giving volunteer badger him for donations. Hopefully Yale will use this windfall well, and maybe Mr. Wang's pockets will be lightened enough to knock the chip off his shoulder. Ryan Salvatore '02