Like a lithe cat, history professor Kevin M. Kruse carefully eyes his prey before pouncing. Only Kruse’s prey is ahistorical facts and his territory is Twitter.
From July 9 to Sep. 1, the University will be hosting 13 scholars through the Visiting Scholars and Artists from Puerto Rico program. The program provides a space for researchers affected by the devastation of Hurricane Maria to advance their work. They will be provided with office space, access to library and scholarly resources, a stipend for living expenses and off-campus housing, and opportunities to interact with colleagues. The program is sponsored by the Program in Latin American Studies and the Office of the Provost and is endorsed by the Princeton Task Force on Puerto Rico.
New Jersey Senator Cory Booker announced his opposition to the nomination of Kavanaugh in a July 9 statement. Booker was concerned about Kavanaugh’s views regarding Roe v. Wade, the Affordable Care Act, and the rights of workers to organize for better wages and working conditions. Because of this, Booker urged young people to oppose the nomination of Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. University professors explained how the Supreme Court has been increasingly politicized since the Reagan administration.
The University’s campus is changing — and growing. By 2026, up to two new residential colleges will accommodate 500 new undergraduate students, including transfer students who will be admitted as part of the University's reinstated transfer program. These new residential buildings are just one part of a larger plan to expand the University.
In September of 2017, as students left their homes all over the world to come to campus, the Trump administration announced it would begin to phase out the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which provides protections for individuals who were brought to the United States illegally as children. Since then, the University has engaged in a yearlong legal battle to protect DACA beneficiaries after the policy’s announced rescission.
On July 5, the University dropped the need for applicants to submit an essay score from the SAT or ACT. Beginning this 2018-2019 application season, applicants will, instead, have to submit a graded high school writing sample, preferably a work either of English or history.
Myesha Jemison ’18 is one of six new trustees recently elected to the Board of Trustees. She is joined by Joshua Bolten ’76, Kimberly Johnson ’95, Marco Tablada ’93, Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo ’87, and Craig Robinson ’83. According to Jemison and Bolten, the diversity of the newest cohort of trustees means they're well-equipped to guide and support the University's goals.
Students are expressing outrage over a posting on Handshake, a job recruitment platform, for a position as a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer. The posting is not new, but many students are now deeming it unacceptable, especially in light of new information about the federal government’s family separation policy.
On Tuesday, June 26, the United States Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 vote that President Trump’s travel ban was constitutional because it did not necessarily target immigration on the basis of race or religion. The ruling elicited a statement from President Christopher L. Eisgruber ’83. Many University students are responding to the court's decision with outrage, while others said the travel ban could positively impact national security.
An innovator in the world of vaccines, Mahmoud was known for his focus on saving lives and his consistent empathy. After creating better and more widely available vaccines as the president of Merck Vaccines and Case Western Reserve University’s department of medicine, Mahmoud would go on to join the University community as a professor, brightening the days of colleagues and students alike.
YDS circulated the petition following a Town Hall on May 9, 2018, during which the petition’s issues were brought to public attention. The petition highlights ongoing problems with wages and benefits, managerial harassment, hiring practices, and more. YDS worked closely with the Service Employees International Union Local 175 to produce the petition document, which is a result of over thirty interviews with workers in Dining Services, Facilities, and other departments. The petition is directed at President Eisgruber, the Board of Trustees, and the Provost’s Office.
Yasmin Ahmed Abdillahi ’20, known for her compassion for others and for her strong Muslim faith, died last Friday after being struck by a train in Euless, Texas. She was 20 years old. According to friends and family she had been playing with cousins and accidentally encountered the moving train. Her funeral took place on Sunday, June 10, in Dallas. Her death is still under investigation, and as of Friday, June 15, the Fort Worth Police Department was unable to provide additional information to The Daily Princetonian.
On Monday, molecular biology professor Dr. Adel Mahmoud died of a brain hemorrhage in New York. He was 76 years old.
According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the incident occurred at approximately 8:40 p.m. Her death is still under investigation by authorities in Fort Worth.
The 2016 election continues to loom large on the psyche of Princeton Republicans. To many on both sides of the political spectrum, Donald Trump represented a subversion of political norms and accepted political behavior. To Dudley Sipprelle, Trump’s campaign posed a serious threat to the “traditional” Republican party. It was only after the Republican primary that Sipprelle was forced to come around on Trump and support his party’s nominee.
“Lack of integrity has real, live consequences,” Eduardo Bhatia ’86 said. “In such an environment, we need to wake up and confront a culture of lies. There is no time to waste. The voices of reason, honor, integrity, and honesty need to be heard.”
Politics Robert P. George, who serves as the director of the James Madison Program, and students shed light on their experiences with political conservatism and the quality of political discourse on campus.
The University has made big steps throughout the 2017–18 year to pursue its 10-year campus development plan, including starting major additions like residential colleges and a new “Lake Campus” south of Lake Carnegie.
Significant administrative changes such as certificate opportunities, calendar reform, and student advocacy on issues such as honor code reform will leave a lasting legacy for future students.
“Walk into every room, go to every place, and embrace the world with your spirit and your truth,” said Senator Cory Booker said. “If you do that, if you live that way, if you strut like you are powerful then I promise you that generations yet unborn will know of your light and your love.”
