News

HackPrinceton attracts close to 500 hackers

Kristin Qian

HackPrinceton, the semiannual hackathon organized by the Princeton Entrepreneurship Club, brought in around 500 participants this weekend for a 24-hour software and hardware competition. “HackPrinceton is not just an event where you make a project and it’s like, ‘Who can win this?’ It’s much more about the holistic process of learning and being here,”Raeva Kumar ’17, a HackPrincetonco-director, said. The software track is very well-developed and represents the majority of the hacks that take place at the hackathon, Kumar said, but the University's electrical engineering department helps to facilitate the hardware track with the use of labs and equipment. The Entrepreneurship Club awarded three prizes in each of the software and hardware categories. In the hardware category, Joseph Bolling ’15, Ted Brundage GS and Ankush Gola ’15 took first place for a remote-controlled car controlled by the movement of fish in a mounted fish tank.

NEWS | 04/12/2015

Eisgruber '83 email sparks student response in light of recent controversies

Eisgruber '83 email sparks student response in light of recent controversies

Jessica Li

University President Christopher Eisgruber ’83 sent an email to all undergraduate students on Thursday inviting them to a gathering on Sunday to discuss the recent controversies over Urban Congo and the selection of Big Sean as the Lawnparties headliner that sparked widespread discussion oncampus. “We owe it to ourselves to do better, to be better, and to embrace all the members of our community with respect and with genuine appreciation for the perspectives they bring,” Eisgruber wrote in his email.

NEWS | 04/09/2015

News & Notes: Yale environmental activist group threatened with arrest after sit-in

Daily Princetonian Staff

Nineteen members of Fossil Free Yale were fined and threatened with arrest after a day-long sit-in on Yale’s campus, according to the Yale Daily News. On April 9,48 members of Fossil Free Yale entered Woodbridge Hall in the morning to begin the day-long sit-in. Later that afternoon, approximately 150 people gathered around Woodbridge Hall and formed a human chainto advocate for the divestment of Yale’s endowment from fossil fuels. The Yale Police Department Chief Ronnell Higgins issued a5 p.m.deadline for the protestors to disperse, threatening those who did not with arrest.

NEWS | 04/09/2015

Emerson GS hit by car at Washington Road crosswalk, in stable condition

Jasmine Wang

Nyssa Emerson GS, a graduate student in the chemistry department, was struck by a 2008 Toyota Prius Wednesday night while crossing Washington Road, according to a press release published by the Princeton Police Department.Twenty-year-old Steven Cruz, the driver of the Prius, was alone in the car as it approached the marked crosswalk on Washington Road, south of Ivy Lane, at approximately 9:32 p.m.Emerson said that she had gone to Frist Campus Center to get a cup of coffee beforehand before returning to the chemistry department.“I think on one side of the road, a car had stopped for me, and so I entered just a crosswalk and it seemed clear, but the other car didn’t stop, and hit me,” Emerson said of the last thing she remembered about the accident.Princeton First Aid and Rescue Squad transported Emerson, who suffered critical injuries, to Capital Health Regional Medical Center in Trenton, N.J.The Prius, which sustained damage to the front end and windshield, was towed, according to the press release.The officer investigating the accident, Patrolman Marshall Provost, who was also assisted by the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office Serious Collision Response Team, is preparing charges against the driver, PPD Lieutenant Robert Currier said.Currier added that there were no updates as of Thursday afternoon.Cruz and Provost could not be reached for comment.Although Emerson has no brain or spinal injury, she has broken bones and said she is in a lot of pain.

NEWS | 04/09/2015

U. considering expansion of bike sharing program

Zaynab Zaman

The University is planning a potential expansion of its bike sharing program by cooperating with the township and increasing the amount of bike stations both on campus and in the community, University Director of Community and Regional Affairs Kristin Appelget said.The bike sharing program was launched in Novemberto coincide with the opening of the new Princeton Station.

NEWS | 04/09/2015

Save the Dinky raises awareness of memorandum, encounters problems at Communiversity

Zoe Toledo

Save the Dinky, a local nonprofit group, is raising awareness of Dinky ridership by calling attention to a past agreement signed in 2011 by representatives of Princeton Borough, Princeton Township and the University. The document, titled “Memorandum of Understanding” outlines the University’s intentions to work with both the Borough and the Township,statingthat if the proposed zoning agreements within the Memorandum are approved, any subsequent changes made by the University will be reviewed and voted upon in a public hearing led by the planning board. The University and the municipalities also agreed to establish a joint task force that would be called the Alexander Street/University Place Transit Task Force. However,Anita Garoniak, president of Save the Dinky, said she questions how the University will fulfill promises stated in theMOU. “The MOU was suppose to promote Dinky ridership and nothing has been done to do that,” Garoniak said. Director of Community and Regional Affairs Kristin Appelget said the University has been upholding all aspects of the agreement. “Many of the items that are outlined in the agreement have already been achieved,” Appelget said."It is important to remember that the agreement was struck in 2011 and much progress has been made since then.

NEWS | 04/09/2015

News & Notes: Documents show suspicious monkey deaths at Harvard

Daily Princetonian Staff

New documents suggest that Harvard was dealing with suspicious primate deaths before 2010, The Boston Globereported. Harvard had previously reported four monkey deaths from 2010-12 at its New England Primate Research Center, which was supported by taxpayer funds. However, a detailed spreadsheet released by the former head of the center, Frederick Wang, contained the medical histories of 14 monkeys from 1999-2011 and suggested that the center harbored suspicious primate deaths long before 2010. Wang told the Globe that his experience and review of the data suggests that the deaths were primarily a consequence of human error and inadequate animal care, which caused the monkey’s deaths primarily by deprivation of water. In 2013, the Primate Research Center announced that it would close.

NEWS | 04/08/2015

Ted Cruz '92: Grassroots phenomenon who once seemed destined for the ivory tower

Ted Cruz '92: Grassroots phenomenon who once seemed destined for the ivory tower

Katherine Oh

The Daily Princetonian ArchivesWhile many now identify Ted Cruz '92 as the classic example of a conservative populist politician, few still remember a time in his life when he seem destined for the ivory tower or understand how someone so committed to the life of the mind became a grassroots phenomenon. Cruz had already begun thinking about the topic of his senior thesis while he was a freshman,his roommate and debate team partner David Panton ’92 said. “He was 17," Panton said.

NEWS | 04/08/2015

ACLU Director lectures on American fight for justice, equality

Jessica Li

Despite facing numerous challenges, the American public should look towards the fight for justice, equality and civil liberties with optimism, American Civil Liberties Union Executive Director Anthony Romero ’87 said in a lecture on Wednesday. “We believe that everyone is entitled to live a life of dignity," Romero said.

NEWS | 04/08/2015

Faculty discuss divestment at panel

Shriya Sekhsaria

It is a moral duty to put pressure on the University to divest from companies profiting from the occupation of the West Bank and the siege of Gaza, Cornel West GS ’80, professor emeritus in the Center for African American Studies, said at a panel discussion on Wednesday. “We don’t want our money spent on those particular private sector institutions that are facilitating this kind of occupation,” West said.“Occupation is immoral, is wrong, is unjust, is illegal and it can only be pushed back — we have experienced this in South Africa — when voices of those across the border… are heard." The vote on the student referendum calling for University divestment from the occupation of West Bank and the siege of Gaza will occur on April 20, Max Weiss, professor of Near Eastern Studies and moderator for the event, said. A lot of people have expressed relief in having found a mechanism to talk about the difficult situation in the region through the petition, Molly Greene, professor of History and Hellenic Studies, said, noting that a similar petition is underway at Stanford University. Even though the University has engaged in divestment as recently as 2006, it is difficult to make progress due to University policy, Greene said, especially because the University gives out mixed messages about what leads to divestment. "Is it something the trustees decide?

NEWS | 04/08/2015

Students, Career Services react to study about race, job market

Durva Trivedi

Black students who graduate from elite universities are about as likely to get competitive jobs as white students who graduate from less selective universities like the University of California, Riverside and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, according to research published by University of Michigan sociology professor S.

NEWS | 04/08/2015

Psychologist discusses avenues to confront issue of sexual assault

Christina Vosbikian

There are ways to confront the problem of sexual assault, clinical psychologist Dr. David Lisak said in a lecture on Tuesday. “The real question isn’t, 'Do you have a problem?' " Lisak said.

NEWS | 04/07/2015

Bridge Year sees steady expansion, opportunity for more growth

Do-Hyeong Myeong

Bridge Year has expanded steadily since its inception in 2009, and administrators are looking to continue to expand the program. The program began with 20 students equally distributed among four countries in the 2009-10 academic year.As student interest grew, the program expanded to accommodate 28 students in 2012, and then 35 students in 2013 with the creation of a new location in Brazil, program director John Luria said. Although there are no concrete details yet, the program is also considering a domestic expansion that would establish Bridge Year-style opportunities within the U.S., he added. The number of applicants nearly doubled from 52 students in 2009 to90 students in 2012. “Initially, the working group that established the program envisioned a program that could accommodate up to 100 students per year,” Luria said.

NEWS | 04/07/2015

News & Notes: Concerns arise over divestment movement at University of Pennsylvania

Daily Princetonian Staff

A pro-Israel group at the University of Pennsylvania, the Think Peace Coalition, expressed concern over a campaign called “Penn Divest from Displacement,” a divestment movement at the Penn campus, The Daily Pennsylvanian reported on Monday. The movement proposes that Penn divest from seven companies that are involved in“human rights abuses related to the displacement of peoples.” The seven identified companies are part of the private prison, drone manufacturing and bulldozer weaponization industries. For example, the group alleged in a March 30 editorial in The Daily Pennsylvanian that General Atomics Aeronautical Systems had produced "drones that terrorize Muslim communities in South Asia and the Middle East." The groups that announced the movement were thePenn Arab Student Society, Penn for Immigrant Rights, Penn Students for Justice in Palestine, Students Organizing for Unity and Liberation, Penn Amnesty International, Penn Non-Cisand theStudent Labor Action Project. Princeton University undergraduate students will soon vote on a referendum todivest from companies that are “complicit in the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and blockade of the Gaza Strip.”

NEWS | 04/07/2015

U. acquires personal library of philosopher Jacques Derrida

A view of part of Jacques Derrida's library in his home in Ris Orangis. Used with permission. © Andrew Bush, 2001

U. acquires personal library of philosopher Jacques Derrida

Jessica Li

Firestone Library announced last week that it had acquired a collection of over 13,800 books from the personal library of Jacques Derrida, a 20th century French philosopher best known for developing the philosophical concept of deconstruction. The new acquisition includes an intellectually diverse range of books, with significant holdings in philosophy, literature and the social sciences,David Magier, Associate University Librarian for Collection Development, said. “These books are in French, English, Italian, German and other languages.

NEWS | 04/07/2015

Using data from U. immunizations, researcher finds meningitis B vaccine effective

Jacob Donnelly

A study designed to examine students’ immune responses to the meningitis B vaccine found evidence for the vaccine’s strength at the level normally used to license vaccines, researcher Nicole Basta said. Basta is a visiting researcher in the ecology and evolutionary biology department who led two studies on the effectiveness of the vaccine on University students last academic year.

NEWS | 04/07/2015

News & Notes: Rutgers bans fraternity, sorority parties

Daily Princetonian Staff

Rutgers University has banned all fraternity and sorority houses from throwing parties for the rest of the semester, NJ Advance Media reported on Monday. The Rutgers administration cited the unusually high number of alcohol-related incidents occurring at the houses this semester as its reasoning for the ban. There are 86 fraternities and sororities at Rutgers. The organizations, however, will be permitted to host their year-end formals at off-campus locations, but other spring events must be cancelled immediately. Rutgers student Caitlyn Kovacs died in September of alcohol poisoning after attending a party at a fraternity, and five other unknown Rutgers fraternities are under investigation for alcohol-related incidents. The ban follows a meeting between Rutgers officials and the leaders of all 86 Panhellenic societies over the weekend, in which negative publicity surrounding Greek life at Rutgers and around the country was discussed. Erin Kearns, president of the Rutgers Panhellenic Association, told NJ Advance Media that the Greek leaders appeared to accept the ban.

NEWS | 04/06/2015

Faculty discuss freedom of expression on campus

Kristin Qian

The faculty discussed and passed a motion to publish a statement on freedom of expression on campus in "Rights, Rules, Responsibilities"at the faculty meeting on Monday in Nassau Hall. The motion was presented by mathematics professor Sergiu Klainerman. Klainerman had originally sent an email to Dean of the Faculty Deborah Prentice, University President Christopher Eisgruber ’83 and Provost David Lee GS ’99 advocating that the University adopt a commitment to academic freedom similar to one the University of Chicago had recently adopted. The email attached the names of 60 other faculty members who had supported the idea of this motion. The motion was to adopt the principles stated in the University of Chicago’s Report of the Committee on Freedom of Expression, including that it should be for individuals and not for universities as institutions to decide, in general, when speech and ideas are inappropriate. "Because the University is committed to free and open inquiry in all matters, it guarantees all members of the University community the broadest possible latitude to speak, write, listen, challenge and learn,” the Chicago report reads in part. The motion was seconded and then moved forward to further discussion and questions. The faculty discussed and inquired about the reasoning, context and timing of this motion.Some faculty expressed curiosity as to why the motion was being brought up now or if there was something that happened regarding the campus culture causing this matter to appear. Klainerman said it was in response to a “general feeling” that is present across different academic institutions. “[The University of Chicago produced a] wonderful statement, which reaffirms the principles of academic freedom," he said.

NEWS | 04/06/2015

Petition brings referendum on divestment issue to student vote

Christina Vosbikian

The Princeton Divests Coalition's petition to run a referendum to divest from companies that are "complicit in the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and blockade of the Gaza Strip"gained enough signatures to run the referendum before the undergraduate student body. This referendum calls on the University to divest from companies that allegedly maintain the infrastructure of the Israeli military occupation of the West Bank; facilitate Israel’s and Egypt’s collective punishment of Palestinian civilians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; and facilitate state repression against Palestinians by Israeli, Egyptian and Palestinian Authority security forces. Undergraduate Student Governmentpresident Ella Cheng ’16 said that USGchief elections manager Grant Golub ’17 verified on Monday that the petition to run the referendum had garnered 229 valid signatures. The referendum needed 200 valid signatures to run, Golub said. Golub is a former staff writer and former copy editor for The Daily Princetonian. Referendum signatures must be verified by USGbefore referenda are presented to the student body. The group has stopped collecting signatures on the petition, as it already has enough,saidMohamed El-Dirany ’18, one of the students who worked on the referendum petition.The group began its effort to collect signatures on March 25. “If the referendum passes, it’s a stance that the undergraduate student body takes that says, ‘We want the University to divest,’ ” he said. Allegra Dobson ’18 said she didn't see the value in the referendum. “I feel like Princeton as an institution shouldn’t support companies either way but that individual students should be encouraged to express their opinions,” Dobson said. However, divestment efforts are counterproductive to achieving a two-state solution, Hannelora Everett ’17, president of Tigers for Israel, said. “Tigers for Israel firmly opposes divestment,” she said.

NEWS | 04/06/2015

Students express concern over choice of Big Sean as Lawnparties main act

Students express concern over choice of Big Sean as Lawnparties main act

Christina Vosbikian

Some students took to social media this weekend to express concern over the choice of Big Sean as the main act for Lawnpartiesafter Duncan Hosie ’16 and Rebecca Basaldua ’15 started a petition urging the Undergraduate Student Government to rescind its offer to the rapper. The petition alleges that Big Sean promotes rape culture and misogyny in his lyrics. Hosie said USG’s promotional video, which featured Big Sean repeating the phrase “stupid ass bitch,” spurred him to reach out to Basaldua, and to start the petition and open up dialogue about the selection of acts for Lawnparties. “After I saw that video, I started researching Big Sean’s language and I found language that was both misogynistic and homophobic,” Hosie said.

NEWS | 04/06/2015

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