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SPEAR leads referendum on divesting from private prisons

SPEAR leads referendum on divesting from private prisons

William Liu

Princeton Students for Prison Education and Reform has submitted a referendum calling for the Council of the Princeton University Community and the Princeton University Investment Company to divest from private prisons. The referendum readsthat the University should “dissociate and divest from corporations that draw profit from incarceration, drug control and immigrant deportation policies.” These corporations include Corrections Corporation of America, The GEO Group, G4S and financial entities that exclusively contract correctional facilities like Global Tel Link, JPay, Securus and Corizon, according to the referendum. Julie Chen ’17, co-president of SPEAR, noted via an emailed statement that when prisons are privatized, correction companies often lobby the government for higher mandatory minimums and bed quotas to keep more people in prison. “While we can't change the system right now, we can decide that it is against our university's values to invest in a corrupt system of incentivized incarceration," she added. According to data reported by the Department of Homeland Security, there have been rapid increases in the number of inmates held by private prisons.

NEWS | 04/13/2016

Number of drug violations increased; policies remain unchanged

Jessica Li

The number of documented drug-related violations that occurred at the University this academic semester has doubled compared to those recorded between February and April of 2015.All such violations with the exception of one case have resulted in the arrest of the offender, a marked departure from the combination of administrative referrals and arrests observed in the past.Four incidents of drug-related violations were recorded between February and April of 2015.

NEWS | 04/13/2016

Bazelon discusses changing legal landscapes

Kevin Agostinelli

The increasingly political nature of prosecutors has transformed the country’s legal practices, journalist Emily Bazelon said in a lecture Wednesday.Bazelon is a Senior Research Scholar and Lecturer in Law and Truman Capote Fellow for Creative Writing and Law at Yale Law School and a staff writer for the New York Times Magazine.Bazelon noted how, after the general expansion of government administration capacity in the 1930s, the elected position of prosecutor began to evolve into a stepping-stone for a higher political office, citing Earl Warren, Robert F.

NEWS | 04/13/2016

U. professor files amicus brief in support of Clean Power Plan

Marcia Brown

Michael Oppenheimer, professor in the Department of Geosciences and the Wilson School, filed an amicus curiae brief on early April in defense of the Clean Power Plan, to be ruled on this June.

NEWS | 04/13/2016

U. virtual campus tour attracts more than 6,000 visitors

Catherine Wang

Within 30 days of its launch, 6,494 people visited an interactive virtual tour of the University's campus, according to Dena Stivella, Client Relationship Manager of YouVisit, the media company that helped create the tour.According to a University press release, the Office of Admission and the Office of Communications worked together with YouVisit to create the tour.YouVisit was founded in 2009 and has created virtual reality tours for Harvard University and Yale University, which launched in October 2014 and October 2011 respectively.The University's tour, which includes 23 sites like iconic buildings, academic centers and student and recreational facilities, was turned live by the University on Feb.

NEWS | 04/12/2016

C-Store starts putting price labels on all items

Amber Park

Until recently, more than 60 items sold at the C-Store lacked price labels.Before April 7, when stickers were put on the items, customers could only check the price of these items at the store's checkout desk.

NEWS | 04/12/2016

Fox News interviewer asks U. students about “offensive” topics

Claire Lee

“I was on my way to my microeconomics precept, and I made the mistake of making eye contact with Jesse Watters,” Jessica Wright ’19 said of her experience being featured in a recently aired segment, “Watters’ World: Princeton University Edition.”To kick off the segment, which aired as part of “The O'Reilly Factor,” Fox News host Bill O'Reilly observed that college students have recently been expressing distress at seeing the word “Trump” written on walls and posters.

NEWS | 04/12/2016

Buck to develop diversity vision as the first dean of diversity and inclusion

Caroline Lippman

Founding Director of the Center for Diversity and Inclusion at Washington University in St.

NEWS | 04/12/2016

Sprint football program to be discontinued

Jessica Li

In an email addressed to sprint football affiliates Monday afternoon, University President Christopher Eisgruber ’83 announced that the University has decided to discontinue its 82-year-old sprint football program.Eisgruber and Director of Athletics Mollie Marcoux ’91 delivered the news in person to current members of the sprint football team this afternoon, Assistant Vice President of Communications Daniel Day said.

NEWS | 04/11/2016

Fire displaces six graduate students

Betty Liu

Six graduate students have been displaced from their dormitories following a fire that occurred early Sunday afternoon, according to Assistant Vice President for Communications Daniel Day.Day explained that no one was harmed in the incident.

NEWS | 04/11/2016

Dunwoody discusses diversity in the Army

Zaynab Zaman

Many people falsely continue to believe that having token minorities is a solution to a lack of diversity, while the key really lies in diversity of thought, said General Ann Dunwoody at a lecture this past Monday.Dunwoody is the first woman in United States history to be ranked as a four-star general.Dunwoody said she initially joined the army after her junior year of college due to a paid army incentive designed to recruit more women.

NEWS | 04/11/2016

A grassroots man: Will Yandik '00

A grassroots man: Will Yandik '00

Abhiram Karuppur

If elected to Congress this fall, William Yandik '00 may be one of the only farmers to serve in the House of Representatives. Yandik is currently running as a Democratic candidate in New York’s 19thCongressional District.

NEWS | 04/10/2016

Truckfest to feature 15 food trucks

Catherine Wang

The third annual TruckFest, hosted by the Community Service Inter-Club Council, in conjunction with the Pace Council for Civic Values, will host 15 food trucks and will donate a majority of its proceeds to two local charities, Meals on Wheels and Send Hunger Packing, according to CS-ICC press chairJennifer Peng '17. TruckFest will take place on Prospect Street from 1 p.m.

NEWS | 04/10/2016

USG discusses bathroom codes, spring elections

Katherine Oh

The Undergraduate Student Government Senate discussed bathroom codes and the upcoming USG elections during its weekly meeting on Apr.

NEWS | 04/10/2016

Panel discusses Wilson's legacy on race

Annie Yang

Former University and United States presidentWoodrow Wilson, Class of 1879,is often noted for his domestic and international achievements, but was a divisive figure,Cecilia Rouse, dean of the Wilson School,said in a panelon Friday. “He alienated many while denying the others the fullness of their humanity on racial grounds,” she said. Under his watch, the University remained a bastion of white Anglo-Saxon Protestantism, and on a national level, segregated the Federal Civil Service, which closed a pathway for the advancement for African-Americans, she added. Panelist Chad Williams GS ’04, associate professor and chair of the Department of African and Afro-American Studies at Brandeis University, said thereis a bigger conversation to be had about how we think about history and the place of black people in this country’s history. He said that as a student, he understood the dissonance that had animated the BJL protest: the feeling of being “at” Princeton, but not “of” Princeton. “Having this conversation is very important.

NEWS | 04/08/2016

Buck named as new dean for diversity

Daily Princetonian Staff

The University has appointed LaTanya Buck, founding director of the Center for Diversity and Inclusion at Washington University in St.

NEWS | 04/07/2016

News&Notes: Rochabrun '15 wins IRE student award

Daily Princetonian Staff

Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc., recognizedformer editor-in-chief Marcelo Rochabrun ’15 with a first-place award in the student category, small circulation division, for his May 2015 article “Charities funneled millions to eating clubs to pay for social facilities” in The Daily Princetonian.The long-form article investigated how some eating club leadership at the University set up educational foundations in order to grant donors tax deductions, despite this being a violation of IRS guidelines.IRE is a grassroots nonprofit organization founded in 1975 that is dedicated to improving the quality of investigative reporting.The award will be presented to Rochabrun on June 18 at the organization’s annual conference.This is the first time that a reporter from the ‘Prince’ has won the award.Rochabrun also won the first-place award in Enterprise/Investigative Reporting from the New Jersey Press Association’s College Newspaper contest with the same story.

NEWS | 04/07/2016

CHVRCHES to perform at Lawnparties

Hannah Waxman

The musical group CHVRCHES will be headlining the spring 2016 Lawnparties, Undergraduate Student Government President Aleksandra Czulak ’17 announced in the Lawnparties website Thursday.USG Social Committee Chair Rachel Park ’18 noted that the Social Committee has not yet determined the performer for the opening act, and she added that the committee plans to determine the opening act performer within the next few days.CHVRCHES is a Scottish electronic band that was formed in 2011 by lead singer Lauren Mayberry, Iain Cook and Martin Doherty.

NEWS | 04/07/2016

The Integrated Approach: Studying Science Without Borders

Kristin Qian

Since its formation, Integrated Science Curriculum has undergone several subtle changes, the most notable being the elimination of the two-year sequence and the addition of two 300-level courses for upperclassmen, according to Professor of Physics Joshua Shaevitz.ISC Curriculum ChangesThe change in curriculum largely came about in response to student comments, Shaevitz said.The original two-year sequence consisted of an intensive double course in physics and chemistry in the first year with a bit of biology motivation, and then a single, less intensive course in the second year covering molecular biology, biochemistry and organic chemistry, using tools developed in the first year, he explained.For the students who completed the two-year track, it was very successful, he said.

NEWS | 04/07/2016

U. community shares reactions to Wilson Legacy Committee Report

Andie Ayala

Following Monday’s release of the Wilson Legacy Committee’s report, many members of the University community expressed that the decisions of the University Board of Trustees, especially the decision to keep the name of Woodrow Wilson, Class of 1879, on the Wilson School and the Wilson College, were not a surprise. Anchal Padukone ’16 said she thought it was necessary to have a conversation about Wilson's legacy and what we encourage when we honor figures by naming a building or program after them. “While there were some people who were vocal about the importance of the name change, there were many others who were indifferent,” she said. Briana Payton ’16, a previous board member and a current senior advisor of the Black Student Union, said that she was disappointed, but not surprised, by the recommendations in the report. “I think it would have been amazingly progressive and noble to rename the [Wilson] School; it would have been a huge symbolic victory,” Payton said. She said she understands why the University cannot feasibly rename every building that was named after a historic figure.

NEWS | 04/07/2016

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