Editorial: Summer programs in Princeton

Many students pursue summer internships or jobs either on campus or in the Princeton area. Obviously, because Princeton is not Washington, there are certain services provided by Princeton-in-Washington that do not need to be duplicated here — there is no need to help students adjust to living in the area, for example. Many of the services Princeton-in-Washington provides would be valuable at Princeton, though. Currently, there are no established means by which campus events are organized or through which students can connect with each other, so there exists a real need for a program that would bring them together. Organized film screenings; lectures by local alumni, professors or other public figures; and trips to New York City or Philadelphia would make the experience of spending the summer in Princeton more enjoyable. The program would allow students to take advantage of many of Princeton’s resources that they are too busy and stressed to appreciate during the academic year.

Princeton-in-Washington is administered and funded by the Office of Career Services; this arrangement is sensible given that the majority of Princeton students spending the summer in Washington do so to further their careers. Since students’ reasons for staying on campus over the summer tend to be more varied, it would make less sense for Career Services to administer the on-campus summer program. We think it would be more appropriate for the on-campus program to be run by the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students, perhaps in collaboration with the USG, while making use of the lessons learned in running Princeton-in-Washington.

Such a program would not only benefit the undergraduates who choose to remain on campus over the summer. The program could incorporate graduate students — many of whom also remain in the area — in addition to undergraduates, providing rare opportunities for these groups to get to know one another outside of the typical context of precepts and grading. Furthermore, the program could organize events with local alumni, who are largely invisible to undergraduates during the academic year. This program would make the prospect of staying on campus more attractive to students and would provide invaluable opportunities for them to meet members of the community who otherwise might be inaccessible. The Editorial Board encourages the University to establish this program.