This page: Missing you

I was opinionated and inflated by freshman week, and I did not take well to these words, spoken by an equally opinionated and disagreeable individual I found at a ‘Prince’ open house my freshman year.

This was neither an appealing nor a diplomatic way to recruit columnists. So let me rephrase: I care deeply for your thoughts. I want to encourage you to share them with me, and with the Princeton community broadly through the ‘Prince,’ our illustrious campus newspaper.

“Unless your thoughts have to do with Afghanistan.” Let me politely clarify the content policy of the ‘Prince’: We aim to cover issues that are relevant to Princeton University, Princeton students and Princeton alumni. We discuss campus happenings; student life; anecdotes and issues relevant to students and our generation more broadly. This definition, with few exceptions, excludes Afghanistan as a topic.

Indeed, as a freshman, I was in no position to criticize or praise General McChrystal, American politicians or world leaders. I have no more authority as a Woodrow Wilson School student two years later. I have resolved to leave such topics to those who know better. We need no policy briefs in our section, unless of course, we’re talking about the USG or University policy — this could not be more relevant.

That being said, our content is not limited to our sometimes-banal campus politics. These topics, in addition to any discussion of Bicker, grade deflation and (dare I utter the dreaded word) hummus are tired. Furthermore, pressing campus issues are not readily available. On the contrary, campus is a fairyland abundant with free food, academic resources and moneys. As such, Mama Princeton has robbed us of the right to legitimately complain about our lives here. People often say that Princeton is like an old folks home. Indeed, I eat my dinner at 5 p.m. and complain about pain in my back. Having attended a ball and eaten Cornish game hen in the dining hall, I wonder if the luxury I’ve experienced at Princeton can be contained in the old folks home analogy. I am not living like a senior citizen, I am living like a sultan.

Perhaps it is this sort of overwhelming content that has caused many prospective writers to throw up their hands and exclaim “I just don’t know what I’d write about.” I assure you: Even with Afghanistan off the table, there is still a lot to work with.

We draw our content from a wide spectrum of interests; in the past week alone we have published articles on topics ranging from cyber-bullying to healthy eating to funding for clubs. Furthermore, commentary need not manifest itself in five-paragraph essay form. This semester we hope to include more creative commentary as well, whether through satire or generally less-argumentative prose. We want to encourage dialogue, whether about our generation’s use of social media or mental health concerns on campus. You can do more than contribute to the conversation; you can start it.

You can add your voice to the opinion section in a number of ways. Our cartoonists capture campus sentiment with pictures. A columnist writes an 800-word piece biweekly on a topic of his or her own choosing. The Editorial Board meets two times a week to discuss campus issues, and then writes 500 word editorials representing the opinion of the ‘Prince.’ These articles appear on Mondays, Wednesdays and Friday.

We also welcome guest content. This is a forum for students, administrators, faculty, student groups and other members of the Princeton community to reflect and shape campus discourse. If you have found any injustice in my Cornish hen consumption, I beseech you: Write me a column.

The ‘Prince’ aims to be the record of the University. The opinion page aims to capture and promote the discussion that produces the material for the ‘Prince’ to record. We (the opinionated but agreeable editors) will be holding open houses tonight and tomorrow from 7 p.m. till 8 p.m. in our office. If you are interested in writing for the opinion section or if you have any questions about the process, please email us at opinion@dailyprincetonian.com. Applications for the Editorial Board, columnists positions and cartoonist positions are available online at dailyprincetonian.com/join/opinion. The opinion page aims to capture the zeitgeist of the Princeton community through the words of a few discerning individuals — join us!

Monica Greco is a Classics major from Brooklyn, N.Y., and the executive editor for Opinion. She can be reached at mgreco@princeton.edu.