News

Ng '16, Xiao '16 found student-run investment fund

Mitchell Ng ’16 and Edward Xiao ’16 founded a student-run investment fund that currently manages $150,000 in assets.The investment fund, Thessalus Capital Management, focuses on exchange-traded funds and large market cap stocks to minimize risk and maintain a stable portfolio, Xiao said.“It’s about balancing risk, some high risk and high reward, as well as long-term stable investments, such as healthcare and technology, as well as [exchange-traded funds],” Ng explained.Ng said the two main goals of the fund are to generate positive returns and to beat the Standard & Poor’s 500 index.If the fund is successful, over time Thessalus will increase risk by incorporating long-short strategies similar to those of a hedge fund, Ng said, adding that Thessalus will provide seed funding for start-ups on campus.Seed funding is an early investment in a start-up that helps pay the initial costs of launching a company.Xiao said his team is not confining itself to any one sector.“We are doing what traditionally investment funds do, but at the same time we are taking on a portion that is somewhat like a venture capital business in that we are investing in very small companies like start-ups,” he said.Devansh Gupta ’16, the chief executive officer of Wolfpak & Pack Inc., will receive seed funding for his start-up from Thessalus management.Gupta's company, co-founded with Rutgers junior Felix Young, created a social networking app called Wolfpak that applies the anonymous social media concept of Yik Yak to photos and videos.

USG holds last senate meeting of the academic year

The Undergraduate Student Government senate held its last meeting of the semester on Saturday, in which it wrapped up projects and invited committee members for an end-of-the-year celebration afterward.At the beginning of the meeting, Honor Committee chair and U-councilor Dallas Nan ’16 introduced newly selected Honor Committee and Committee on Discipline members to the senate.“We had a very strong applicant pool.

At 69.4 percent, Class of 2019 yield highest ever

The University’s yield for the Class of 2019 is 69.4 percent, according to University Media Relations Specialist Min Pullan. The yield is the highest in the University’s history. Of the 1,909 admitted students, 1,324 have committed to the University. This year's yield represents a 0.2 percentage point increase from last year’s yield of 69.2 percent. The University expects that over the course of the summer, the yield number will be reduced by 20-30 students because of “summer melt,” Pullan said.

Legacy status remains a factor in admissions

An applicant's legacy status has gone from being an important factor in admissions to a factor that is given some consideration over the past decade, according to the University’s Common Data Set.All eight Ivy League universities now indicate in their Common Data Sets that legacy status is a factor that is considered during the admission process. “Every year we review our process.

News and Notes: Columbia Teachers College employees vote to strike

Employees of Columbia’s Teachers College voted on April 29 to authorize a strike as a response to proposed cuts to their pension and health care plans, according toColumbia Daily Spectator. The employees, members of the United Auto Workers Local 2110 union, voted to authorize the strike by a 95 percent margin after three months of unsuccessful negotiations with Teachers College representatives. Employees held a rally in March to protest the proposed cuts, but claim that negotiations have not made any progress since then. Union president Maida Rosenstein said that the Teachers College administration proposed reducing health benefits, requiring employees to contribute to their premiums and pay higher deductibles.

Social sciences now popular concentrations for premeds

Although many premedical students at the University concentrate in the natural sciences, data shows that a growing number of students choose to major in social sciences instead.The past four years of premed students have seen 143 molecular biology concentrators, 76 ecology and evolutionary biology concentrators and 111 concentrators in the social sciences, including anthropology, history, psychology, sociology and the Wilson School, according toDirector of Health Professions Advising Kate Fukawa-Connelly.Premedical students are able to pursue any concentration at the University, regardless of its association to science, she said, adding that the most popularconcentration among premeds over the past four years has been molecular biology.Fukawa-Connelly said that graduates who entered medical school in the fall of 2014 represented a variety of concentrations.

On wait-list, 86 undergrads to receive housing assignments in the summer

When Christopher Cross ’18 saw his name on the last page of the room draw list for Whitman College, he knew the rooms would run out before his draw time.As of Wednesday, 86 undergraduate students have applied to the wait-list for the 2015-16 room draw, according to University Media Relations Specialist Min Pullan.

House Budget Committee chairman discusses economic recovery

The economic recovery from the recession of 2008 has been the slowest, statistically, since the Great Depression, House Budget Committee chairman Tom Price said at a lecture onWednesday. Price, a former orthopedic surgeon, began his political career in 1997, and is currently the U.S.

News & Notes: 13 transported for alcohol intoxication during Houseparties, Lawnparties

Thirteen students were transported toeither McCosh Health Center or the University Medical Center of Princeton this past weekend for alcohol intoxication, according to University media specialist Min Pullan. The weekend coinciding with Houseparties and Lawnparties traditionally represents a spike in the number of students hospitalized for excessive alcohol intake. Seven students were transported for alcohol intoxication betweenSunday at 12 p.m.andMonday at 12 p.m.

U. receives $10M anonymous donation to establish behavioral science center

The University announced on Monday that it received a $10 million donation from an anonymous donor to establish the Kahneman and Treisman Center for Behavioral Science and Public Policy at the Wilson School.This is the second $10 million donation in the last month.

Asbestos removal work begins in Dillon Gymnasium

In anticipation of renovations on the A-level of Dillon Gymnasium, work is being done now to remove asbestos in the area, Director of Environmental Health and Safety Robin Izzo said.Asbestos is a mineral that can cause cancer and lung disease.According to Senior Associate Director of Athletics David Leach, the renovations include six gender-inclusive changing and shower areas that will double as family changing areas; upgrades to the existing locker rooms, including new lockers and showers; addition of team rooms for clubs, including men's and women's volleyball; and a new hallway along the gym's west side on the A-Level.The renovations are expected to be completed in the fall of 2016, Leach said.There is a presumption that buildings constructed before 1981 have building materials that contain asbestos, and the University was aware that pipe insulation in Dillon contained materials with asbestos, Izzo explained."Some of the renovations will impact exposed mechanical spaces," Izzo said.

U. extends deadline for feedback through campus mapping app

The University extended the deadline late last week for community members to use the campus mapping tool Campus Compass from May 14 to the first week of June.The Office of the University Architect launched the online app in an effort to gather University-wide feedback for the Princeton University 2026 Campus Plan.The interactive mapping tool asks respondents to map how they experience, use and travel around campus.

10 years after founding, Anscombe Society sparks debate over sexual ethics, free speech

Amid debate over free speech on campus, the Anscombe Society — entering its 10th year of operation — provides a noteworthy case study in the recent history of the wider University community's engagement with alternative viewpoints.In the spring of 2005, six students founded the Society to respond to what they saw as a need for more honest discussion of the University’s casual sex and hookup culture.

CPUC discusses recommendations for sexual misconduct policy changes, diversity efforts at Monday meeting

The Council of the Princeton University Community discussed changes to the University's sexual misconduct policy, the Resources Committee's rejection of the Princeton Sustainable Investment Initiative's proposal, the University's mental health programs and the Special Task Force on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at its meetingon Monday. The meeting began with University vice provost for institutional diversity and equity Michelle Minter presenting proposed adjustments recommended by the Faculty-Student Committee on Sexual Misconduct, which were accepted by the council. Under the new guidelines, certain protections and rights will be provided to complainants in all stalking cases, not just those involving intimate partners. The policy was also modified to permit the University's Title IX Coordinator to balance several factors in determining whether to move forward with an investigation.

Charities funneled millions to eating clubs to pay for social facilities

News & Notes: Former aide to Christie pleads guilty to two counts of conspiracy

David Wildstein, a former aide to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy on Friday in connection to the Bridgegate scandal, according to a press release by the Department of Justice. Christie is an ex officio trustee of the University. Wildstein faces up to 15 years in prison and fines. Bill Baroni, former deputy executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and Bridget Anne Kelly, a former Christie chief of staff, have also been indicted in connection with the scandal. Alan Zegas, Wildstein's attorney, said on Friday that Christie had knowledge of the George Washington Bridge lane closures before they happened, according to NJ Advance Media, which is contrary to what Christie has said on multiple occasions. Wildstein's guilty plea could indicate that he may be cooperating with prosecutors, according to Bloomberg.

Alternative Lawnparties event to be held at Campus Club

An alternative Lawnparties event aimed at students who do not support Big Sean's attendance and students with different musical interests will be held at Campus Club on the day of Lawnparties. The event will feature barbecue and a live cover band with roots in New Jersey, GoodMan Fiske. The scheduling of the alternative event comes after some students had previously called on the Undergraduate Student Government in an informal petition to rescind its contract with Big Sean due to his misogynistic lyrics and criminal past.

Edward Snowden discusses ethics of surveillance and whistle-blowing with Gellman '82

Edward Snowden and journalist Barton Gellman ’82 discussed mass surveillance and privacy in a public conversation on campus on Saturday morning.Snowden, a former contractor at the National Security Agency who disclosed information about the NSA’s surveillance practices to Gellman and Glenn Greenwald, is in exile in Russia and joined the discussion via a live telecast.Since the disclosure of this information two years ago, “we’ve learned a lot that we didn’t know,” Gellman said.The interview-styled conversation between Gellman and Snowden focused on questions of cryptography, mass surveillance and the ethics of whistle-blowing.“[The problem is that information is] increasingly getting into the hands of average citizens,” Snowden said.“Culturally, the government has adopted a worldview that if it is out there, we should know it, and we should have access to it."Governments today have more investigative power than in the past, Snowden said.

Third woman to chair an eating club graduate board to assume position during Reunions

Caroline McCarthy ’06 will become the graduate board chair of Cloister Inn during Reunions, becoming the third woman ever to chair an eating club’s graduate board. She will be the University’s only female eating club graduate board chair. She previously served as a member of the club's graduate board. The first female graduate board chair was Kimberly Noble ’80, at Elm Club, which no longer exists as its own club, and the second wasAnne Lester Trevisan ’86 of Campus Club, whichhas not been an eating club since 2005. Noble and Trevisan did not respond to requests for comment. McCarthy said she is aware of the low number of female chairs historically, but does not feel uncomfortable by being outnumbered in terms of gender.

Result of divestment referendum raises questions over campaign financing and biased language

The referendum to divest from contracting with multinational companies with Israel, the Palestinian Authority, and Egypt was the most heated and contested referendum the University has seen in the 21st century, Undergraduate Student Government chief elections manager Grant Golub ’17 said. Both USG and student activist organizations have been riled by controversy over campaign financing and allegations of biased referendum language,even though the referendum has officially concluded.