It was 11 p.m., and the polls had just closed on the West Coast. Thousands gathered at the steps of the statehouse in Little Rock to await the appearance of the man just elected the 42nd President of the United States.
The 'Prince' was there.
It was late in the evening when the helicopters circling overhead indicated that something was amiss in Princeton. One person had been killed in the robbery of a Nassau Street bank, and an exhaustive manhunt for the suspects was already under way in town.
The 'Prince' was there.
Police forcibly removed a group of more than 30 activists who had handcuffed themselves to Nassau Hall in protest of the University's decision to hire bioethicist Peter Singer.
The 'Prince' was there.
For more than a century, The Daily Princetonian has been there to bring the news to the University community first.
And in the process, it has produced generations of the nation's leading reporters and public figures — from Woodrow Wilson 1879 to R.W. Apple '57 and from Adlai Stevenson '22 to Frank Deford '61.
Today, the 'Prince' still stands as the only publication on campus to challenge the student body, to question the administration and to tell the story of Princeton.
As one of a handful of American college papers run completely independently of its university, the 'Prince' thrives with a readership of about 8,000. The paper recently entered its second century as a daily publication, making it one of the oldest college dailies in America.
Over the years, a number of things have changed. Linotype has given way to printing. Manual typewriters have been replaced by state-of-the-art computers. And now, there's the Internet.
But one thing remains true: The 'Prince' is still produced entirely by a staff of students — more than 100 strong — that has complete control when it comes to the news, sports, arts and editorial pages of the paper.
And with an annual budget of about $500,000, the 'Prince' business department is the closest thing to running a real company that students can find on campus.
Through their experiences at the paper, 'Prince' reporters frequently take summer positions at national publications, where many have landed staff positions after graduation.
Many 'Prince' alumni also have taken their skills to other venues — from Capitol Hill to Wall Street.
The 'Prince' is currently under the leadership of Austin Starkweather '04 from Cookeville, Tn. The paper's 127th editor-in-chief, Starkweather was elected this winter by news, sports, layout, photography and online staffers. An economics major and former sports writer, he plans to pursue a career in journalism.
Erica Slep '04, 'Prince' business manager, oversees the logistics of the paper's complex advertising and marketing departments.
Just down the hall from the newsroom, the 'Prince' photography staff is responsible for capturing the essence of an event in ways words cannot.
In recent years, front-page feature photos and full-page photo essays have become integral components of the newspaper, particularly its sports pages. Every Monday, the "Sports Extra" section features large photographs of the weekend's sporting events.
The 'Prince' also has a specialized graphics staff to add punch to the paper's news stories, opinion pieces, sports and arts features.
Page Three includes magazine-style articles on topics ranging from alumni to science, business and technology to a humorous campus notebook feature.
The editorial pages have become increasingly popular with students. In addition to featuring work by regular columnists, the page offers all students the chance to voice their opinions about campus and broader issues in the form of letters to the editor and guest columns.
The weekly arts section, Access Arts, reviews plays, books and albums, and explores the wealth of Princeton's culture.
The layout department brings the paper together each night. Using QuarkXPress and Adobe Photoshop on Macintosh G4 workstations, the layout editors are responsible for the visual essence of the 'Prince.'
The most recent addition to the 'Prince' is its online department, which updates www.dailyprincetonian.com each night, offering an extensive variety of web-exclusive content. The 'Prince' is hoping to find freshmen interested in helping organize online polls, reader quizzes and audio excerpts from interviews.
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