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GSG forum debates divestment in preparation for graduate student referendum

GSG forum debates divestment in preparation for graduate student referendum

Katherine Oh

The Graduate Student Government helda forum on Tuesday to discuss the divestment referendum that the graduate student body will vote on from Wednesday through Friday.Similar to the referendum that the undergraduate study body voted on last week, the graduate students' referendum calls upon the trustees of the University and the Princeton University Investment Company to “divest from multinational corporations that maintain the infrastructure of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, facilitate Israel’s and Egypt’s collective punishment of Palestinian civilians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, or facilitate state repression against Palestinians by Israeli, Egyptian, and Palestinian Authority security forces, until these corporations cease such activities.”The University should not benefit from the conflict in Israel, Kelly Roache GS said on behalf of Princeton Divests. “The University’s current investment practices are inimical to Palestinian human rights and Palestinian dignity, and it is incumbent upon us to end our complicity in that action and stand up,” Roache said. While multinational corporations might participate in the Israeli conflict because of foreseeable profit, their involvement causes the average Palestinian to suffer, Alexander Berg GS, another representative of Princeton Divests, said. Though students cannot know exactly which companies the University’s endowment is invested in, there are several known “economic ties” to companies like Caterpillar and Motorola, Roache said.

NEWS | 04/28/2015

DPS arrests man after pursuit in Friend Center

Ruby Shao

The Department of Public Safety charged a 30-year-old man with aggravated assault and resisting arrest on Tuesday afternoon. Reginald Murph, of Teaneck, N.J., was arrested after a pursuit that began in the Friend Center at approximately 1:30 p.m., Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office spokesperson Casey DeBlasio said. Public Safety detective Michele Aversa first saw Murph on the third floor of the Engineering Library, and recognized him because she had previously charged him for theft and unauthorized use of credit cards stolen from the Engineering Library, according to DeBlasio. DeBlasio added that Aversa knew of active warrants for Murph from South Plainfield and New Brunswick municipal courts. The Department of Public Safety deferred comment to theMercer County Prosecutor’s Office. After noticing Aversa, Murph exited the Friend Center and confronted a University patrolman waiting outside.

NEWS | 04/28/2015

U. sexual misconduct climate survey sees over 50 percent response rate

Christina Vosbikian

Fifty-two percent of undergraduate students and 53 percent of graduate students responded to the University’s sexual misconduct climate survey, according to Vice Provost for Institutional Diversity and Equity Michele Minter. The University’s goal was a 50 percent response rate, Minter added. “This is a very high response rate for a survey of its type, so we are very pleased,” Minter said.

NEWS | 04/28/2015

Office of Sustainability, environmental groups discuss plastic water bottle use on campus

Melissa Curtis

The Office of Sustainability sent a survey to students last week about the use of reusable and plastic water bottles on campus and askedif the University should continue to sell plastic water bottles. The survey, which also asked if anything prevents students from using refillable bottles, was intended to improve the Office of Sustainability’s “Drink Local” campaign, according to Shana Weber, the director of the Office of Sustainability. The "Drink Local" campaign provides tall spouts attached to water fountains around campus to fill water bottles. Weber declined to say whether there was a possibility of eliminating the sale of plastic bottles on campus, although she said that the Office of Sustainability is trying to change the University’s approach to water distribution. “The Office of Sustainability is working in partnership with students, [Campus] Dining and the psychology department to develop a research-based approach that should significantly reduce bottled water usage on campus,” Weber said.

NEWS | 04/28/2015

Semenov ’15 named valedictorian, Hannan ’15 named Latin salutatorian

Christina Vosbikian

Misha Semenov ’15 was named the valedictorian of the Class of 2015 on Monday, and Neil Hannan ’15 was named the Latin salutatorian. The valedictorian and salutatorian were announced at the faculty meeting on Monday, when Dean of the College Valerie Smith announced that the Faculty Committee on Examinations and Standing had recommended Semenov and Hannan for the respective honors. Semenov, a native of San Francisco, is concentrating in architecture with certificates in urban studies and translation and intercultural communication. For his senior thesis, advised by Dean Stanley Allen of the architecture department and history professor Alison Isenberg, Semenov studied housing projects designed to accommodate residents’ expansion, and examined how more flexible, rule-based architecture can help fulfill larger social goals. “Professor Isenberg describes him as the most talented undergraduate she has encountered in 20 years of teaching,” Smith said. Hannan is a classics major pursuing a certificate in finance.

NEWS | 04/27/2015

Princeton Prize Symposium in Race Relations honors 27 high school students

Cassidy Tucker

The eighth annual Princeton Prize Symposium in Race Relations honored 27 high school students representing 25 different regions across the United States. The students were flown into campus free of charge after winning the Princeton Prize in Race Relations, an award that recognizes and reinforces the commendable work of high school students who have promoted better race relations within their schools or communities.

NEWS | 04/27/2015

Graduate students to vote on divestment referendum this week

Zoe Toledo

Less than a week after undergraduate students voted against a divestment referendum, graduate students will have the opportunity to vote on a similar referendum this week from Wednesday through Friday, May 8.The referendum calls upon the trustees of the University and the Princeton University Investment Company to “divest from multinational corporations that maintain the infrastructure of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, facilitate Israel’s and Egypt’s collective punishment of Palestinian civilians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, or facilitate state repression against Palestinians by Israeli, Egyptian, and Palestinian Authority security forces, until these corporations cease such activities.”Graduate Student Government president Akshay Mehra GS said that Kelly Roache GS first approached the GSG at the April 8 graduate student assembly proposing a divestment referendum for graduate students. Roache said it is important for graduate students to weigh in on meaningful issues of conscience."In one sense, [the GSG divestment referendum] was an act to ensure our full student community was included in the decision-making process," she said.Roache noted that the Resources Committee of the Council of the Princeton University Community has asked to see a consensus and sustained student interest regarding divestment.The results of the upcoming GSG divestment referendum will be used by University planners, mainly individuals on the Resources Committee, trustees and PRINCO, “to serve as a barometer for graduate student interest and opinions on divestment," Roache said.The referendum is nonbinding, Roache said, adding that it was never an option for the USG or GSG to bind the CPUC, PRINCO, or the trustees to act.

NEWS | 04/27/2015

Rolling Stone UVA story ‘was a collaborative failure,’ say authors of investigation at a lecture

Evan Washington

The mistakes in the controversial Rolling Stone article, “A Rape on Campus,” were fundamental and avoidable, Sheila Coronel, an author of the investigative report on the article, said at a conversation with the report's co-author, Steve Coll, on Monday night. Coll is the Dean of the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism and Coronel is the Academic Affairs Dean. The November article by Sabrina Rudin Erdely described in what Coll called “molecular detail” the alleged gruesome gang rape of the pseudonymous “Jackie” at a University of Virginia fraternity house party.

NEWS | 04/27/2015

News & Notes: Faculty discuss changes to curriculum at meeting on Monday

Kristin Qian

Changes to the undergraduate and graduate curriculum were proposed at the faculty meeting on Monday. On behalf of the Faculty Committee on the Course of Study, Smith reported curriculum changes, in which some courses were added and others decommissioned, in the departments of Art and Archaeology, Astrophysical Sciences, Near Eastern Studies, Spanish and Portuguese Languages and Cultures, and Religion. Dean of the Graduate School Sanjeev Kulkarni reported new courses for the departments of Architecture and Quantitative and Computational Biologyon behalf of the Curriculum Subcommittee of the Faculty Committee on the Graduate School. The faculty also approved Misha Semenov '15 as the Class of 2015's valedictorian and Neil Hannan '15 as the salutatorian.

NEWS | 04/27/2015

TruckFest earns money for charity, attracts over 4,500 attendees

Nahrie Chung

Approximately 4,500 students and community members attendedTruckFest this past weekend. While the organizing committee has not yet announced final numbers, at least $24,000 from ticket sales has been raised so far, according to Kate Gardner ’16, co-chair of the Community Service Interclub Council. Every dollar spent on tickets was a dollar donated directly to TruckFest’s cause, according to Stephanie Goldberg ’15, co-chair of CSICC and another key event organizer.

NEWS | 04/27/2015

News & Notes: Drexel accidentally sends admission emails to 495 students

Daily Princetonian Staff

Hundreds of students received false admission emails from Drexel University last week, according to the Associated Press. Four hundred ninety-five high school seniors who were originally denied admission from Drexel or had submitted incomplete applications received a follow-up congratulatory email from Drexel three weeks later. The email was to remind students of the reply deadline and was only supposed to be sent to admitted students, but was mistakenly sent to rejected students as well. Drexel sent out another email to the students seven hours later, apologizing for the error. Drexel made the same mistake in 1994, when it accidentally mailed admission letters to 25 students.

NEWS | 04/26/2015

USG discusses support system for students taking leave

Katherine Oh

The USG senate approved an amendment to the Honor Committee constitution that would give the incoming Honor Committee chair more time for training at its weekly meeting on Sunday. Honor Committee chair-elect and U-councilor Dallas Nan ’16 noted that other changes to the constitution will require more time for review. “A concern that we need to pass as soon as possible is to make this chair transition time concrete,” Nan said.

NEWS | 04/26/2015

Students express concerns about free speech in USG forum

Christina Vosbikian

The Undergraduate Student Government sponsored an open forum about freedom of expression on campus in Frist Campus Center on Sunday. The panelists included Dean of the FacultyDeborah Prentice, mathematics professorSergiu Klainerman and University general counsel Ramona Romero.

NEWS | 04/26/2015

8 students receive 2015 Spirit of Princeton Award

8 students receive 2015 Spirit of Princeton Award

Melissa Curtis

Eight students received the 2015Spirit of Princeton Award, including Joanna Anyanwu ’15, Christina Chica ’15, Azza Cohen ’16, Brandon Holt ’15, Joseph Laseter ’15, Janie Lee ’15, Hannah Rosenthal ’15 and Paul Riley ’15.The award is an effort of the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students to acknowledge achievements in different areas of campus life, including athletics, community service, the arts, student organizations and religious life.

NEWS | 04/26/2015

Divestment referendum fails to pass by slim margin

Daily Princetonian Staff

The divestment referendum did not pass, with 52.5 percent of students voting against divestment and 47.5 percent voting in favor of it. The referendum called on theUniversity to divest from companies“that maintain the infrastructure of the Israelioccupation of the West Bank, facilitate Israel’s and Egypt’s collective punishment of Palestinian civilians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, or facilitate state repression against Palestinians by Israeli, Egyptian, and Palestinian Authority security force.” Though 2,200 students participated in the election and voting process, only 2,032 students voted on the referendum. Princeton Committee on Palestine board member Katie Horvath ’15 explained that, although the movement for divestment had been significant, she was not surprised at the outcome of the referendum. “We knew from the outset that this was going to be an uphill battle, and we had done our research and looked at the previous divestment movements at Princeton,” Horvath said. She added that she was pleased to have lost by only 102 votes, because with more outreach and slightly increased support, the referendum would pass in a similar scenario.

NEWS | 04/24/2015

News & Notes: Princeton High School students stage walkout to support teachers' union

Jasmine Wang

Hundreds of Princeton High School students supported teachers in a contract dispute by walking out of classon Thursday, according to the Times of Trenton. The contract dispute is between the local school board and the teachers' union Princeton Regional Education Association. Andrea Spalla, the school board president, said that the issues in dispute could not be publicly talked about and that progress has been made to address them. OnDecember 1, PREA members responded to the contract dispute by deciding to end voluntary participation in uncompensated extracurricular activities that extend beyond the school day. PHS student Harrison Bronfeld, who helped organize the walkout to support the teachers, said that the studentsdesired a resolution to the issue. “Discourse and respect for a diversity of opinions is valued in the PHS community,”PHS principal Gary Snyder said regarding students’ decision to participate in the walkout. The PREA and the school board are scheduled to meet onMay 4.

NEWS | 04/23/2015

McDermott discusses the changing nature of depictions of the Hindu goddess Durga

Jacob Donnelly

The changes in the face of the goddess Durga during the Bengali festival Durga Puja are reflective of changes in the broader face of Indian society, Rachel McDermott, professor of Asian and Middle Eastern cultures at Columbia,said at a lecture on Thursday. The Durga Puja is the Bengali version of Navratri, or the nine nights festival, in which the slaying of the demonMahishasuraby thegoddess Durga is celebrated, McDermott explained.

NEWS | 04/23/2015

Princeton Medical Institute conducts clinical trial for drug to potentially treat Alzheimer’s disease

Nahrie Chung

Researchers at the Princeton Medical Institute, as well as at other institutions, are investigating a novel drug to fight Alzheimer’s disease in a phase-II clinical trial called the NOBLE study.Alzheimer’s is a neurodegenerative illness that affects more than five million adults in the United States.

NEWS | 04/23/2015

TigerHub and ReCal take the spotlight during course selection

Kristin Qian

During the course selection period for fall classes, many University students have moved away from defunct course-scheduling applications like the Integrated Course Engine and easyPCE andhave started using newer applications like TigerHub andReCalinstead.As of Thursday, Polly Griffin, the University registrar, said that93.9 percent of active students had built a course plan on TigerHub, the University’s course-scheduling portal.

NEWS | 04/23/2015

First class of neuroscience concentrators express excitement, concerns

Zaynab Zaman

The curriculum for the new neuroscience major is noticeably different from the curriculum for the certificate, students interviewed said.Those interviewed said they were excited about having the option for a neuroscience concentration but noted that it has been difficult to prepare for the concentration since they have only known about its existence for less than a year.Seventeen members of the Class of 2017 have decided to major in neuroscience this year, according to Co-Director of the Program in Neuroscience Asif Ghazanfar.

NEWS | 04/23/2015

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