Letters to the Editor: Feb. 28, 2008

Musical wisdom from an alum

Regarding ‘On tap with ... Brandon Denham,' (Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2008):

I was disappointed to read in The Daily Princetonian's recent profile of Brandon Denham '09 that he is embarrassed by the collection of Raffi songs on his iPod. I also wanted to point out that the article incorrectly refers to "Banana Foam," instead of the 1994 hit "Bananaphone." The lyric "Ring, ring, ring, ring, ring, ring, ring, banana foam", would not make much sense, as it is generally acknowledged that phones are more likely than foam to ring. Bananaphone: "it's a phone with appeal!"

I say, play that music proudly! In fact, it might be nice if the team would play Raffi's charming "Bananaphone" during timeouts at games. Perhaps its friendly message would calm the sometimes unruly home supporters. It would also drive the other team bananas.

Nathan Kaplan '07

Why the silence on grad student housing?

Regarding ‘Context and continued dialogue on Spelman 7 and 8,' (Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2008):

I was glad to see the proliferation of assurances the Housing Office's staff offered to concerned undergraduates regarding the decision to allocate Spelman 7 and 8 to Whitman College next year. As the range of housing options for independent undergraduates increases, at least housing of some sort is guaranteed, Princeton's graduate students and their families are feeling uneasy after receiving a carefully worded letter of notification regarding vast upcoming housing changes recently described by a colleague on these pages as "a game of musical chairs: repeated changes of venue but fewer places in the end." Loyalties to homely Hibben-Magie and the derelict Butler Apartments are, I imagine, thin as ice, but at the end of a long day in the lab or library, a bed is a bed, and it'd be swell to know that we could rely on that.

David Hsu GS

Vegetarian athletes on the right track

Regarding ‘Giving up meat doesn't hurt Tiger athletes' (Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2008)

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It was encouraging to see that vegetarian student-athletes are not only keeping up with their meat-eating counterparts and getting an ample supply of vital nutrients but also benefitting from the many health advantages a vegetarian diet can offer. Vegetarians endure far less heart disease, cancer, stroke and obesity. Not surprisingly, many athletes praise the diet, including "Olympian of the Century" Carl Lewis, who said that his best year of competition was the first year he followed a vegan diet.

As the athletes in the article make clear, there are as many reasons to go vegetarian as there are vegetarians. One of the most common is disgust at the horrific callousness and cruelty that is involved in raising and killing animals for food. On today's factory farms, chickens often have their beaks sliced off with a hot blade, while cows and pigs are skinned and dismembered, many while still fully conscious. Such abuse inflicted upon cats or dogs would result in felony animal cruelty charges.

With more and more students actively seeking out vegetarian and vegan options than ever before, hopefully Dining Services will be able to keep up with the student demand for years to come.

Ryan Huling

College Campaign Coordinator, peta2.com

Quote gives an unfair depiction of TI in '80s

Regarding ‘U. releases Obama '85's senior thesis,' (Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2008):

I found College Democrats vice president Scott Weingart '09's singling out and negatively depicting Tiger Inn a poor example in support Michelle Obama's thesis on the black experience on campus in the mid 1980s. If he wanted to juxtapose an intolerant and unprogressive organization in relation to her thesis, he should have picked on some other group. I am sure that the members of TI who elected their club president for 1988 would feel the same as I do.

John Brehm '86