Journalists must approach everything with skepticism – that’s our job. In every story – including this one – we strive to fairly report the facts. Our reporter worked with integrity, and I stand by that reporting.
When we broke the story that night about the student’s reaction, we had to decide if we would print the word “n****r.” Because the story was explicitly about the word’s use, many expected that we would print it. In fact, some college newspapers have. We chose not to.
Here at Princeton, some go so far as to allege that the University has become a haven of left-wing groupthink. For its part, the left seems like it will tear itself apart over ideological differences — just look at the Ta-Nehisi Coates and Cornel West feud, or the continued battles in the Democratic Party between the Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton wings.
A piece of documentation should not stand in the way of a person’s dreams. It’s on all of us to make undocumented people’s dreams a reality.
Today, so many of us mourn the lives lost in a mass shooting at a church in San Antonio – a gross violation of the sanctity of a place of worship and its community. Today, I hang my head in shame at our collective inaction and complacency. As a journalist, I hang my head in shame at the proliferation of fake news and a double standard in the reporting on recent attacks. As a student, I hang my head in shame at our silence. Prayers and condolences are not enough, so I ask each of us to critically consider our capacity and responsibility to act in the service of humanity. Our campus community seems confined to politically polarized echo chambers, and it can be rare to find a platform for discussion across ideological differences, as opposed to vitriolic debate defined by identity politics. I invite you to engage directly with someone who does not share your race, faith, or political stance, because we are all part of one community and the onus is on each and every one of us to act in its service.
This fall, the ‘Prince’ will revise its process for publishing unsigned editorials, which accompany the bylined columns, guest contributions, and letters on our Opinion pages.
Trump may end DACA as early as Sept. 1. We urge Trump not to end DACA without a suitable, compassionate, and permanent replacement and the University to bring DACA students back to campus before the Sept. 5 deadline imposed by the group of attorneys general who have threatened to sue the Trump administration. Let’s live up to our motto — “Princeton in the nation’s service and the service of humanity.”
Your class is taking – and will take – unprecedented strides forward in many respects, as the first class to enroll more women than men, the class with the highest percentage of first-generation college students, at 16.9 percent, and the first class to enroll five military veterans. So as Princeton serves this nation, serves humanity, as its unofficial motto prescribes, by moving towards greater equality in opportunity, expanding those opportunities for everyone, and redefining ‘public service’ and what it means to serve, it’s now your turn – as a part of our collective responsibility – to consider how you, too, will serve, not only your community here at Princeton, but humanity. Looking back, as an incoming freshman, I certainly didn’t give Princeton’s motto a second thought (granted, the University motto was different then too). In fact, the only conception of ‘service’ that I harbored before arriving at Princeton entailed volunteering at the local public library, hospital, or food bank.
I wondered what I would write in this column. What would I have told myself three years ago, in the summer of 2014?
The power of journalism lies in its ability to share people’s stories and raise their voices. But with that power comes great responsibility — a responsibility to truth, and a responsibility to people. This is why such a passionate, committed staff collectively pours innumerable hours, words, images, and ideas into this publication almost every day without much recognition.
Dear Fellow Princetonians, As always, I am struck by how fast time flies at Princeton. I first wrote to you as an incoming Editor-in-Chief about a year ago, and today I am writing to say goodbye.
