Regarding “Return of ‘the biggest social event on the East Coast” (Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2011):
I found your Nov. 8 article, “Return of ‘the biggest social event on the East Coast,’ ” to be insulting and incredibly misleading. While the article as a whole was a nicely researched and well-written summary of the ‘Prince’-Tiger Dance’s history, some of the sentiments expressed in the piece regarding the membership of Tiger Magazine shocked me, to say the least. As chairman of that organization, I feel compelled to set the record straight.
In the middle of the article, the author quotes a female attendee of the 1939 ‘Prince’-Tiger Dance. The woman says that the men of Tiger Magazine “ought to develop a sense of humor” and that Tiger Magazine editors “think they are funny when really they aren’t at all.” Fair enough. Most of the content back then was observations about the disposition of one’s manservant. Honestly, even today we mostly just publish random sequences of words and hope no one notices. I’m really in it for the resume padding because nothing says responsibility like “College humor magazine writer — intermittent.” So yeah, point taken.
Much more troubling, however, is the next segment. The woman goes on to opine, “Perhaps if every Tiger editor didn’t think he was a sideshow in himself and tried to be a wee bit more interesting, he and the magazine in general would have more success.” Really, the ‘Prince’? You had to include that sentiment? Do you honestly believe that the personality flaws of our editors — numerous though they are — come even close to being the biggest reason we’re unsuccessful? Let’s be honest: Being uninteresting doesn’t even crack the top 10. Here are some more important things that are keeping us from being successful: Complete lack of talent, terrible finances, mild illiteracy, that noise that happens when you rub two pieces of styrofoam together, Cher and probably Ikea somehow.
For the record, I would like to reiterate this fact: At no point has anyone ever suggested that Tiger Magazine has ever been or will ever be successful. Insulting us is one thing, but giving false hope to our dozen fans is a travesty. I demand that you issue a retraction at once stating that the ‘Prince’ never meant to imply that there was the slightest possibility that Tiger Magazine would ever be anything other than the miserable sack of failure that it currently is.
I am outraged that this irresponsible drivel ever made it to print.
Yours in righteous fury,
Jim Valcourt ’12
Chairman, Tiger Magazine
Editor's note: The Daily Princetonian appreciates Tiger Magazine's feedback but is dedicated to reporting the facts in their entirety, regardless of how embarrassing they might be to the egos of our esteemed colleagues.
Disappointing behavior by a student
Regarding the blog post, “Princetonians clash with ‘Occupiers’ in town,” (Monday, Nov. 14, 2011):
It was very sad for me to hear the reports that Princeton student Whitney Blodgett ’15 taunted a group of the 99 percent protestors with the statement, “We are the 1 percent” and “Get a job.” Another anonymous student said: “Princeton students are benefitting from this system, so why would they protest?”
While this is true, at least in benefitting from the best 1 percent of educational opportunities, students and graduates of Princeton might ask what is the responsibility of the 1 percent? Do we say: “When someone has been given much, much will be required in return” (Luke 12:48)? I don’t see this as a guilt trip; it’s a challenge to have a meaningful life that uses our own resources to contribute. An alternative is to say: We who have much will take much more.
As a graduate of both Princeton and Yale, and having been a fellow at Harvard, I want to say that the responsibilities I feel to the fundamentals of democracy are immense. The 99 percent should have representative voice in the decisions made for this country. I did not feel this way as a freshman — and it should be noted that Mr. Blodgett is a freshman — or as a sophomore when I joined Ivy Club. I can only hope that Mr. Blodgett and any of his peers who agree with him also come to a similar realization as I have about their future role in the world.
Bryan Bell ’83
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