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POCC, George testify before House subcommittee on free exchange of ideas

POCC, George testify before House subcommittee on free exchange of ideas

Jessica Li

Princeton Open Campus Coalition co-founder Joshua Zuckerman ’16 and McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence Robert George testified at a House Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee hearing on Wednesday.The hearing centered on whether tax-exempt colleges and universities are using the tax code to avoid upholding their commitment to create an open marketplace of ideas on campuses.According to the committee website, the hearing was announced by Oversight Subcommittee Chair Peter Roskam (R-IL), following an incident at Georgetown University Law Center when a student was barred from distributing campaign material for a presidential candidate.In his testimony, Zuckerman said that his coalition believes that the protection of free speech is vital to the flourishing of the university.Zuckerman noted the BJL sit-ins last November when protesters called for increased faculty cultural competency training, affinity housing for students interested in black culture and mandatory courses that present the ‘struggles of minorities.’He noted that his coalition opposes these demands due to their destructive effects on the free flow of speech and thought.

NEWS | 03/02/2016

Lowery, Knowles discuss hierarchical system of privilege

William Liu

When addressing social inequality, it is in the interest of people on the bottom to destabilize and those at the top to stabilize the system, Brian Lowery, the Walter Kenneth Kilpatrick Professor of Organizational Behavior at Stanford University, said.Lowery initiated the discussion with a focused analysis of the concept of hierarchy in modern society, particularly as it relates to racial issues and the concept of white privilege.According to Lowery, problems commonly addressed in psychology involve the existence of established hierarchies and why individuals at the bottom keep the status quo, rather than rise up against the establishment.Most psychological studies, however, focus on the costs to the people at the bottom tiers of society, instead of addressing the downward pressure placed upon this class.Lowery used this lens to analyze the actions that the upper classes would take, such as granting concessions and bringing others into the system to increase the costs of rejecting the system.To explain this concept, Lowery utilized the example of when members of a lower status group are admitted into the University.“Are you less likely to protest and riot against inequality?” he asked.

NEWS | 03/02/2016

Blumerman, Moffett discuss 2020 census

Hannah Waxman

In the 2020 census, the US Census Bureau plans to use new technologies to tackle challenges such as a declining response rate and economic restraints, Lisa Blumerman, associate director of the Decennial Census Programs said at a lecture on Wednesday.The Census asks ten basic questions about age, sex, race and other identifiers.

NEWS | 03/02/2016

University affiliates submit amicus briefs in Supreme Court Abortion Case

Marcia Brown

University faculty and alumni have written amicus curiae briefs for both sides of Whole Woman’s Health v.

NEWS | 03/02/2016

Smoke in EQuad caused by malfunctioning fume hood, no one injured

Annie Yang

A malfunctioning fume hood in the Engineering Quad resulted in an initial report of smoke made to the Department of Public Safety on Tuesday night at approximately 10:30 p.m. The DPS relayed the report to the Princeton Fire Department.

NEWS | 03/01/2016

Cruz '92 wins three states in Super Tuesday primaries, NJ newspapers call for Christie to resign

Christina Vosbikian

Texas senator and Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz '92 won the primary in his state, Oklahoma and Alaska on Super Tuesday, receiving a total of 69 delegates, according to the New York Times. The Super Tuesday primaries were held in 11 states: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont and Virginia. Businessman Donald Trump won the most delegates of any Republican presidential candidate in the day’s primary elections, while former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton won the highest number of delegates of any Democratic presidential candidate asof 9 p.m.

NEWS | 03/01/2016

U. researchers recruited for Tor Project, an online platform for anonymity

Marcia Brown and Kristin Qian

Three University researchers have recently been recruited by the Tor Project, a nonprofit organization that enables anonymous communication over the internet. Tor, by rerouting messages and data through multiple layers, allows users to access the internet without revealing their identity or location, according to its website. According to an article by The Register, Tor had contracted Roya Ensafi and Philipp Winter, postdoctoral research associates in computer science, and Nick Feamster, a professor of computer science. Feamster and Ensafi did not respond to requests for comment. After the Paris terrorist attacks last year, the French government proposed to increase its security measures by banning the use of Tor, according to an article in Le Monde.

NEWS | 03/01/2016

Barnard students oppose Anne-Marie Slaughter '80's nomination as Commencement speaker

Caroline Lippman

Barnard Collegeannouncedlast week that former University professor and Dean of the Wilson School Anne-Marie Slaughter '80 has been selected to speak at its Commencement ceremony in May, a decision that has sparkedcontroversyand debate among Barnard students as she was not on the shortlist for speakers nominated through a student-ran survey. Slaughterserved as the dean of the Wilson School from 2002 to 2009 and went on to work as the director of Policy Planning for the U.S.

NEWS | 03/01/2016

U. opposes pending case of graduate student unionization, issues not as prevalent at the University

William Liu

The issues leading to unionization are not as prevalent at the University as they are at its peer institutions, Graduate Student Government president Akshay Mehra GS noted in light of the recent amicus brief filed by the University against graduate student unionization.

NEWS | 03/01/2016

Over three hundred participate in Princeton Feminists photo campaign

Andie Ayala

More than 370 students participated in the "Princeton Feminists" photo campaign last week, which occurred during late meal hours from Feb.

NEWS | 02/29/2016

Gerberding discusses emergence of infectious diseases

Catherine Wang

We must focus on anticipating zoonotic infection emergence, increasing protection and prevention capabilities and committing to sustained engagement, former director of the U.S.

NEWS | 02/29/2016

Breaking: University files amicus brief against graduate student unionization

Daily Princetonian Staff

The University filed an amicus brief to the National Labor Relations Board on Monday against graduate student unionization along with eight other private universities.The brief was filed in a Columbia University case before the NLRB regarding unionization of graduate students at the school.The brief argues that relationship between graduate students and private universities should be defined as strictly academic, and urges the NLRB not to reverse the 2004 Brown University ruling that graduate teaching assistants should primarily be considered as students, not employees."Amici believe that reversal or modification of Brown would significantly damage private sector graduate education in this country and will represent an inappropriate intrusion into long protected areas of academic freedom and autonomy," the brief reads.The brief explains that the institutions who signed the brief do not measure teaching and research in commercial or economic terms, adding that the institutions consider teaching experience as a crucial component of preparing doctoral candidates for careers.The brief further adds that the market value of teaching services provided by doctoral candidates is not taken into consideration when determining stipends provided to graduate student who teach.

NEWS | 02/29/2016

N. J. Gov. Christie endorses Trump for president

Maya Wesby

New Jersey Governor and ex officio University trustee Chris Christie endorsed Republican businessman Donald Trump’s presidential campaign last Friday, Feb.

NEWS | 02/29/2016

Q&A: Hyung Joon Won, activist and musician

Claire Lee

Hyung Joon Won is a South Korean musician and activist for the reunification of North Korea and South Korea who had recently given a talk and a violin performance at aconference hosted by Princeton for North Korean Human Rights.

NEWS | 02/28/2016

New TigerTransit lines propose better access to EQuad, Boathouse

Caroline Lippman

TigerTransit will pilot two new bus lines, one between Princeton Station and the EQuad and the other between Princeton Station and the Boathouse, from Feb.

NEWS | 02/28/2016

USG discusses bathroom code replacement

Katherine Oh

The Undergraduate Student Government senate discussed replacing bathroom codes with proximity card access in their weekly meeting on Feb.

NEWS | 02/28/2016

ICC discusses diversity, inclusion in eating clubs

Caroline Lippman

In a Princeton Interclub Council conversation about diversity and inclusion in eating clubs on Sunday, eating club officers and students addressed common stereotypes and discussed ways to increase club accessibility for students from a variety of backgrounds.The conversation was meant to address how the eating club system can become more welcoming towards all students hoping to join, according to a statement from the ICC.

NEWS | 02/28/2016

News & Notes: Harvard changes staff title

Jessica Li

Harvard University has replaced the traditional staff title of “house master,” faculty in charge of residential colleges, with “faculty deans” this past Wednesday, according to the Harvard Crimson. Initial conversations about the change surfaced in an email sent by Dean of Harvard College Rakesh Khurana to Harvard students dated Dec.

NEWS | 02/25/2016

U. professors join wide field of scholars working on NASA telescope

Andie Ayala

University professors David Spergel and N.

NEWS | 02/25/2016

Doudna discusses bioethics, science of gene editing

Samvida Venkatesh

Scientists working on gene editing need to talk about the responsible use of such techniques, geneticist Jennifer Doudna said ina lecture on Monday. Doudna, one of the key players behind the discovery of the CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing technique, said that in early 2014 a lab in China published a paper about their use of this technique in monkey embryos.

NEWS | 02/25/2016

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