After a two-year effort to introduce healthier peanut butter to the residential dining halls, Alice Wistar ’20 can finally enjoy the fruits — or legumes — of her labor.
“For many of us in the Class of 2019, Ellie Kemper has been a part of our lives since childhood, when we would gather with family and friends on Thursday nights to watch ‘The Office,’” Class Day co-chair Jordan Salama said in a statement.
The Interclub Council announced Monday, Sept. 10, that first-year students would not be allowed into eating clubs until the start of the semester. The ICC told The Daily Princetonian they decided to close the clubs so that first-year students could focus on the Orientation process, which according to the University’s website, goes from Friday, Aug. 31, to Tuesday, Sept. 18.
The University was named the No. 1 national university for the eighth straight year by U.S. News & World report, despite changes in the formula for the ranking process. This year, the U.S. News rankings placed more emphasis on social mobility and less on exclusivity in admissions by dropping admission rates from the formula.
The University has officially implemented Kognito, an online program devoted to mental health awareness, and has made the program mandatory for all incoming first-years. The Kognito Program is a 35-minute bystander intervention training program meant to teach students how to recognize signs of mental health distress in their peers and how to effectively intervene. The program uses avatars to lead students through certain role-play situations, teaching them how to respond to the needs of their friends and effectively connect them to help.
The United Nations concluded last month that Xiyue Wang, the fourth-year graduate student imprisoned in Tehran, should be released immediately. As of Sept. 10, 2018, Wang has been imprisoned for over two years. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detentions released the opinion on August 23 which concludes that the Iranian authorities’ August 2016 arrest of Wang had no legal basis, that Iran violated Wang’s right to a free trial in spring 2017, and that Wang’s “deprivation of liberty is arbitrary.”
First-year students experienced the full array of start-of-term traditions Sunday, participating in Opening Exercises, the Pre-Rade, subsequent barbecue, and “step sing” to kick off their first year at the University.
For the first time in the program’s history, this year’s Pre-read, “Speak Freely: Why Universities Must Defend Free Speech,” will be distributed to all undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, and interested staff.
On Friday, Aug. 31, American electronic music trio Cheat Codes was announced by Princeton USG Social Committee as the headliner for Fall 2018 Lawnparties, which will take place on Sunday, Sept. 16 along Prospect Avenue. The Los Angeles-based group Cheat Codes is known for their singles "Sex" (2016) and "No Promises" (2017), the later of which was certified "platinum" by the Recording Industry Association of America.
This summer, Shriya Sekhsaria ’18 turned her lifelong interest in collecting memories into a startup company called Lumhaa. Lumhaa is about recording and sharing memories through a virtual platform. Users can create virtual “memory jars” via text descriptions, audio or video recordings, and images. Today, Lumhaa is worth an estimated $2.5 million.
Janet Rapelye, dean of admission for 15 years, is stepping down from the position to become president of the Consortium on Financing Higher Education on Nov. 1.
In an email statement, Assistant Vice President for Communications Daniel Day confirmed the University’s support for the inclusion of race in college applications. Day pointed to President Christopher Eisgruber ’83’s response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2016 decision in Fisher v. Texas and a 2015 compliance review of the University’s undergraduate admission process by the Office for Civil Rights.
On Aug. 3, U.S. District Judge John D. Bates upheld his earlier ruling that the Trump administration must restore the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in a lawsuit brought up by the University, Maria De La Cruz Perales Sanchez ’18, and Microsoft. DACA grants protection to undocumented immigrants who came to the country illegally as children.
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.
