Columns

Professor Whittington, Hear Students Speak Freely

Professor Whittington, Hear Students Speak Freely

David Palomino

“This University to which we all belong serves as an ideal place for a rich and complex debate about the future of the Supreme Court.”

“This University to which we all belong serves as an ideal place for a rich and complex debate about the future of the Supreme Court.”

OPINION | 04/20/2021

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The reality of imposter syndrome in the COVID-19 era

The reality of imposter syndrome in the COVID-19 era

Maisie McPherson

“At a time when students, including myself, find themselves questioning their validity, high-achieving universities should emphasize the importance of rest instead of adding to students’ stress.” 

“At a time when students, including myself, find themselves questioning their validity, high-achieving universities should emphasize the importance of rest instead of adding to students’ stress.”  

OPINION | 04/15/2021

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Why Princeton students should support #ANewDeal4HigherEd

Why Princeton students should support #ANewDeal4HigherEd

Melissa Reynolds

“Sky-rocketing tuition costs and the student debt crisis are the most obvious and talked-about effects of slashed investment in public higher education, but these are far from the only impacts on students’ collegiate experience. Cuts to state funding for higher education have also generated a total overhaul of university fiscal management policies. Gone are the days when university departments were funded simply on the premise that education itself was a public good.”

“Sky-rocketing tuition costs and the student debt crisis are the most obvious and talked-about effects of slashed investment in public higher education, but these are far from the only impacts on students’ collegiate experience. Cuts to state funding for higher education have also generated a total overhaul of university fiscal management policies. Gone are the days when university departments were funded simply on the premise that education itself was a public good.” 

OPINION | 04/15/2021

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There’s no crying (cancel culture) in baseball

There’s no crying (cancel culture) in baseball

Julia Chaffers

“The question isn’t whether leagues like MLB should involve themselves in politics, but how they should leverage the role they already play. Every institution has a responsibility to act to protect voting rights as they come under increasing threat nationwide.” 

“The question isn’t whether leagues like MLB should involve themselves in politics, but how they should leverage the role they already play. Every institution has a responsibility to act to protect voting rights as they come under increasing threat nationwide.” 

OPINION | 04/13/2021

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Re-engineering Princeton’s language requirement

Re-engineering Princeton’s language requirement

Genrietta Churbanova

“Perhaps one day colleges will reform their curricula to reflect the universal importance of non-English language acquisition in such a way that does not unduly burden B.S.E. students. But until that day, introductory level language courses should count towards B.S.E. humanities and social sciences requirements at Princeton.”

“Perhaps one day colleges will reform their curricula to reflect the universal importance of non-English language acquisition in such a way that does not unduly burden B.S.E. students. But until that day, introductory level language courses should count towards B.S.E. humanities and social sciences requirements at Princeton.”

OPINION | 04/12/2021

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When you silence Asian pain, you light us all on fire

When you silence Asian pain, you light us all on fire

Mark Lee

“Today, I'm still wearing my KF94 mask to protect others, but I’ve shed my other mask — the one I wore to convince myself and others that the flames weren’t real. They are real, and the world is on fire — both literally, but also within the millions of minds that white supremacy and racial capitalism set ablaze centuries ago.”

“Today, I'm still wearing my KF94 mask to protect others, but I’ve shed my other mask — the one I wore to convince myself and others that the flames weren’t real. They are real, and the world is on fire — both literally, but also within the millions of minds that white supremacy and racial capitalism set ablaze centuries ago.”

OPINION | 04/08/2021

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Confronting Gerrymandering: The Power of Just Data

Confronting Gerrymandering: The Power of Just Data

Collin Riggins

“It is not enough to take data points as unequivocal truths without questioning the structures that create them. The progress of marginalized communities, from criminal justice reform to electoral reform, rests on being able to achieve this level of contextualization.”

“It is not enough to take data points as unequivocal truths without questioning the structures that create them. The progress of marginalized communities, from criminal justice reform to electoral reform, rests on being able to achieve this level of contextualization.”

OPINION | 04/07/2021

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Will Princeton continue to attract ‘the best and the brightest’?

Will Princeton continue to attract ‘the best and the brightest’?

Hannah Reynolds and John Huyler

“By seriously addressing the concerns of its students regarding  climate change, Princeton would greatly increase its appeal to deliberating high school seniors, who might have offers of admission from other universities like Columbia and Brown, which have both already divested from fossil fuels.”

“By seriously addressing the concerns of its students regarding  climate change, Princeton would greatly increase its appeal to deliberating high school seniors, who might have offers of admission from other universities like Columbia and Brown, which have both already divested from fossil fuels.”

OPINION | 04/07/2021

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Expecting financial aid in a broken system: A response to Andi Grene ’24­

Expecting financial aid in a broken system: A response to Andi Grene ’24­

David Palomino

“Even if financial aid should be ‘expected,’ the more constructive approach to understanding our aid may be to accept its troubling implications. Princeton’s financial aid students are beneficiaries of immense wealth in a society that does not equitably distribute it, and we may feel a resulting sense of indebtedness, luck, or impostor syndrome that cannot easily be removed. However, such unwelcome feelings may prove our greatest motivator, urging us to reform our nation to make higher education affordable and accessible for future generations.”

“Even if financial aid should be ‘expected,’ the more constructive approach to understanding our aid may be to accept its troubling implications. Princeton’s financial aid students are beneficiaries of immense wealth in a society that does not equitably distribute it, and we may feel a resulting sense of indebtedness, luck, or impostor syndrome that cannot easily be removed. However, such unwelcome feelings may prove our greatest motivator, urging us to reform our nation to make higher education affordable and accessible for future generations.”

OPINION | 04/05/2021

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Maybe too cautious: University regulations during COVID-19 pandemic

Maybe too cautious: University regulations during COVID-19 pandemic

Ava Milberg

“While social distancing is critical for our physical health, the isolation has critical impacts on our mental health in ways that can’t be fixed by logging on to yet another Zoom event. Opportunities for in-person interactions are unnecessarily limited this semester.” 

“While social distancing is critical for our physical health, the isolation has critical impacts on our mental health in ways that can’t be fixed by logging on to yet another Zoom event. Opportunities for in-person interactions are unnecessarily limited this semester.” 

OPINION | 04/04/2021

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Governor Kristi Noem vs. Lil Nas X: the ‘white man’s burden’ of conservative Christianity

Governor Kristi Noem vs. Lil Nas X: the ‘white man’s burden’ of conservative Christianity

Brittani Telfair

“The choice to label Lil Nas X as a threat to morality while failing to address the literal, fatal threat a pandemic poses demonstrates a spirituality centered around the holiness of white “saviors.” This attitude has its roots in the exportation of Christianity around the globe through brutal colonial regimes that forced millions to assimilate.”

“The choice to label Lil Nas X as a threat to morality while failing to address the literal, fatal threat a pandemic poses demonstrates a spirituality centered around the holiness of white “saviors.” This attitude has its roots in the exportation of Christianity around the globe through brutal colonial regimes that forced millions to assimilate.”

OPINION | 04/01/2021

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Mental health shouldn’t only matter during the pandemic

Mental health shouldn’t only matter during the pandemic

Allen Liu

“There has always been a mental health problem at Princeton and our peer institutions, and it shouldn’t take highly-visible levels of burnout or worse, a tragedy, to address it.”

“There has always been a mental health problem at Princeton and our peer institutions, and it shouldn’t take highly-visible levels of burnout or worse, a tragedy, to address it.”

OPINION | 03/31/2021

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Thus Spoke the Undergrads: On noisy roommate sex

Thus Spoke the Undergrads: On noisy roommate sex

Ethan Magistro, Claudia Frykberg, and Andi Grene

“Is there a moral issue here? Can sex and sleep be weighed using a utilitarian metric? And what obligation does a roommate have to fulfill the requests of their neighbor? To answer any of these questions, you, our dear questioner, will first have to confront your roommate.”

“Is there a moral issue here? Can sex and sleep be weighed using a utilitarian metric? And what obligation does a roommate have to fulfill the requests of their neighbor? To answer any of these questions, you, our dear questioner, will first have to confront your roommate.”

OPINION | 03/31/2021

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As we celebrate women’s history, let us push for a better future for women at Princeton

As we celebrate women’s history, let us push for a better future for women at Princeton

Hannah Reynolds

“In order to better represent what it means to be a woman at Princeton in 2021, I interviewed female undergraduates about their experiences with gender at Princeton.”

“In order to better represent what it means to be a woman at Princeton in 2021, I interviewed female undergraduates about their experiences with gender at Princeton.”

OPINION | 03/30/2021

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PART I | A History of American Partisanship

PART I | A History of American Partisanship

Juan José López Haddad

“That consensus does not mean the in-existence of factions. Political parties, while causing division and generating instances of unsavory speech, are necessary as instruments of consensus-making. No one is “above politics.”  

“That consensus does not mean the in-existence of factions. Political parties, while causing division and generating instances of unsavory speech, are necessary as instruments of consensus-making. No one is ‘above politics.’” 

OPINION | 03/28/2021

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The Honor Code is broken

The Honor Code is broken

Rohit Narayanan

“The Honor Code’s only contribution to the calculus of academic integrity is the fear of the consequences if you get caught. Either way, personal honor doesn’t figure in at all. The problem is simple: the Honor Code is not fundamentally based on honor.”

“The Honor Code’s only contribution to the calculus of academic integrity is the fear of the consequences if you get caught. Either way, personal honor doesn’t figure in at all. The problem is simple: the Honor Code is not fundamentally based on honor.” 

OPINION | 03/28/2021

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PART I | Confronting gerrymandering: A New Gilded Age

PART I | Confronting gerrymandering: A New Gilded Age

Collin Riggins

“Structural change must be prioritized if we hope to put the New Gilded Age behind us. I urge you to keep gerrymandering on your radar.”

“Structural change must be prioritized if we hope to put the New Gilded Age behind us. I urge you to keep gerrymandering on your radar.”

OPINION | 03/28/2021

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Tigers below their stripes: A call for Princetonians to remember their pre-Princeton mascots

Tigers below their stripes: A call for Princetonians to remember their pre-Princeton mascots

Genrietta Churbanova

“I increasingly framed my involvement in terms of the University: Aspects of my life ranging from extracurriculars to friendships all are intimately connected to Princeton. Chairing the conference shed light on the fact that the orange bubble is not so much a physical place as it is a mental space. Many of us subconsciously see the world through orange glasses.”

“I increasingly framed my involvement in terms of the University: Aspects of my life ranging from extracurriculars to friendships all are intimately connected to Princeton. Chairing the conference shed light on the fact that the orange bubble is not so much a physical place as it is a mental space. Many of us subconsciously see the world through orange glasses.”

OPINION | 03/25/2021

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Maybe not all men, but all women: It’s time to change our rhetoric about sexual harassment

Maybe not all men, but all women: It’s time to change our rhetoric about sexual harassment

Maisie McPherson

“Saying ‘not all men’ in response to sexual harassment committed against women is not the right response — learning to correct this argument and be more empathetic toward women’s experiences will make Princeton a safer, more inclusive place. This Women’s History Month should not just be about celebrating how far we’ve come but a reminder about how much farther we must go.” 

“Saying ‘not all men’ in response to sexual harassment committed against women is not the right response — learning to correct this argument and be more empathetic toward women’s experiences will make Princeton a safer, more inclusive place. This Women’s History Month should not just be about celebrating how far we’ve come but a reminder about how much farther we must go.” 

OPINION | 03/25/2021

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The benefits of increased transparency on COVID-19 punishments

The benefits of increased transparency on COVID-19 punishments

Mohan Setty-Charity

“Had the University offered clearer messaging as to the way in which it was punishing violations beyond this semester, it could have encouraged many students to make different choices.”

“Had the University offered clearer messaging as to the way in which it was punishing violations beyond this semester, it could have encouraged many students to make different choices.” 

OPINION | 03/24/2021

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