Regarding "Economic crisis may impact graduate student funding," (Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2008)
The headline on your story about Monday's meeting of the Council of the Princeton University Community (CPUC) unfairly singled out the Graduate School in discussing the impact of the current economic climate on the University. The Graduate School is a vitally important part of the Princeton University community, and sustaining the quality and well-being of its graduate students is one of the University's priorities.
This commitment has been visible in the work of the Priorities Committee over the past several years. The Committee has treated competitive graduate stipends as one of the University's most crucial budgetary objectives. It will continue to do so. The Committee has also recognized the importance of graduate education in other ways, such as by funding new staff positions in the Graduate School and teaching assistants for graduate courses.
The Graduate School is in the same position as the rest of the University during these difficult economic times. As I said at Monday's meeting, we cannot guarantee that either graduate stipends or university salaries will increase as much as people might hope in a tight year. What we can promise is that we will do our best to respond to the needs of all the people whose flourishing is so fundamental to this community.
Christopher Eisgruber '83, Provost
Frist ‘checkpoint' protest gives a skewed picture of a complicated reality
Regarding "Mock Israeli checkpoint constructed in protest," (Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2008)
Let's say Tigers for Israel (TFI) carried out a demonstration in protest of how Palestinian activities are affecting the civilians living in the Land of Palestine and Israel. How would such a demonstration look?
We would start by launching upward of 1,000 rockets at the southern end of Princeton's campus over the course of the next year. Nothing too serious - just, on occasion, 40 rockets a day exploding in and around Whitman and Forbes colleges. The residents of those colleges would have to accustom themselves to the sound of an air-raid siren. When it sounds, you would have a maximum of 15 seconds to reach a bomb shelter or suffer the consequences. Don't worry; you would get used to it, and only 12 of you would die.
We could continue by hijacking one of the bulldozers operating in the Butler construction site and then overturning and flattening buses and other vehicles entering campus. Three weeks later, we would hijack another bulldozer for a repeat performance.
We could re-stage the mock checkpoint at the north entrance of Frist and try to blow ourselves up, after which we could throw smoke-bombs into Cafe Vivian. We could throw some more at passengers on the Princeton jitney on its way back from the Dinky. Luckily for the passengers we would not be using the real thing.
Would such demonstrations constitute a complete, realistic portrayal of what is going on in the Palestinian-Israeli region of the Middle East? No. Would it be constructive? No. Would such methods, which remove information from its true context, be honest? No.
Do the same answers to the same questions apply to the Princeton Committee on Palestine's demonstration on Monday?
Yes.
Conditions at checkpoints are not only "not ideal." They are, in many cases, highly detrimental, as are the checkpoints' effects on the lives of civilian Palestinians. Conditions of life for all peoples (Christians, Bahá'í, Buddhists, Hindu and Druze as well as Muslims and Jews) in the Land of Palestine and Israel are suffering because of the current conflict. Let's put that in the proper context: dialogue, discourse and raising awareness through constructive and honest means.
Rivka Cohen '12
Read More
Why can’t lecturers win the President’s Award for Distinguished Teaching?
Jerry ZhuLet’s acknowledge those who make “boutique teaching” possible, those who work tirelessly to make our rigorous curricula more accessible, and those who dedicate their time to advising and guiding us through all the challenges we face at this University. Lecturers should be eligible for the President’s Award for Distinguished Teaching.
Let’s acknowledge those who make “boutique teaching” possible, those who work tirelessly to make our rigorous curricula more accessible, and those who dedicate their time to advising and guiding us through all the challenges we face at this University. Lecturers should be eligible for the President’s Award for Distinguished Teaching.
Princeton’s administration of justice is Trumpian
Frances BroganThe disparity between the University’s approach to Giberson and its approach to pro-Palestinian protestors reflects a concerning trend of appeasing an increasingly emboldened right rather than resisting the threat it poses to academic freedom and the wellbeing of Princeton students.
Secular Opening Exercises? Don’t throw out the baby with the bath water
Frank StrasburgerThe secular makes no room for the spiritual. What Opening Exercises are meant to convey is the spirit of the institution so that it may be kept alive from generation to generation.
The secular makes no room for the spiritual. What Opening Exercises are meant to convey is the spirit of the institution so that it may be kept alive from generation to generation.
