News

New statement on freedom of expression sparks debate

New statement on freedom of expression sparks debate

Jessica Li

A newly adopted statement in the University’s “Rights, Rules, Responsibilities” upholding “academic freedom of expression” triggered debate among students and faculty this week. The statement, which originated as a petition pioneered by professor of mathematics Sergiu Klainerman, has been incorporated into the University’s Principles of General Conduct and Regulations and is located immediately adjacent to sections on academic integrity and diversity and community, University spokesperson Martin Mbugua said. In response to recent controversies surrounding Urban Congo’s performances and Big Sean performing at Lawnparties, Klainerman said that combatting incendiary speech through civilized debate is an important aspect to fully grasping the freedom of expression.

NEWS | 04/15/2015

USG sends email acknowledging problems with Big Sean lyrics

Jacob Donnelly

Undergraduate Student Government president Ella Cheng '16 sent an email to all undergraduates on Wednesday acknowledging that Big Sean’s lyrics “are demeaning towards women and LGBT individuals” and apologizing to students who were triggered by the selection. The email was co-authored by members of the USG social committee, as well as by Duncan Hosie ’16 and Rebecca Basaldua ’15, who started a petition earlier this month to rescind Big Sean’s contract to perform at Lawnparties. Basaldua said the email was the result of a meeting between her and Hosie with members of USG and Deputy Dean of Undergraduate Students Thomas Dunne, but that the email was not going to be the final result of the USG campaign. Dunne did not immediately respond to a request for comment. “Duncan and I obviously have very strong disagreements over the fact that Big Sean was chosen to come here and we vehemently disagree with Simon [Wu ’17] and Ella even as they stand by that choice — we were able to come to some common ground over his lyrics ... and communicate that to the student body,” Basaldua said. Basaldua said she thought that Lawnparties should not be canceled but that USG could still make alternative accommodations.

NEWS | 04/15/2015

Indictments in Bridgegate scandal could come soon

Jacob Donnelly

Indictments in the controversial closing of the George Washington Bridge in the fall of 2013 could come next week, PolitickerNJ reported on Tuesday, citing anonymous sources close to the investigation. Aides close to N.J.

NEWS | 04/15/2015

U. receives $10 million for new music building

Jessica Li

The University recently received a $10 million donation from a currently unnamed University alumnus and his wife that will be used to finance the new music building thatis a part of the Princeton Arts and Transit Project. The Arts and Transit Project, which is expected to cost around $330 million, is expected to be completed in 2017. The new three-story, 23,000 square-foot building, which will eventually be named by the donors, will contain a 3,500-square foot performance and rehearsal room, acoustically advanced practice rooms and teaching studios, as well as a digital recording studio, University spokesperson Martin Mbugua said. The new building is essential to accommodate a vibrant performing arts scene on campus,Steven Mackey, chair of the Department of Music, explained. “We are bursting at the seams in our current music building primarily because performances have grown so much,” Mackey said.

NEWS | 04/15/2015

U. Farmers’ Market returns from 2 year hiatus

Christina Vosbikian

Both students and local business owners approved of the return of the Princeton University Farmers’ Market, which took place for the first time since 2013 on Wednesday outside of Firestone Library. The market plans to continue to feature products from Terhune Orchards, Infini-T, Jersey City Veggie Burgers, Tassot Apiaries, Terra Learning Kitchen, Tico's Eatery and Juice Bar, Valley Shepherd Creamery and Whole Earth Center at markets on campus every Wednesday through May 13.

NEWS | 04/15/2015

News & Notes: Dartmouth alumni demand college divest from fossil fuels

Daily Princetonian Staff

Dartmouth alumni released an open letter on April 2 demanding that Dartmouth president Phil Hanlon, the Board of Trustees and the Advisory Committee on Investment Responsibility divest from fossil fuels, The Dartmouth reported. The signatories were 79 Dartmouth alumni who said they would donate to the Multi-School Fossil Free Divestment Fund instead of the Annual Fund. Divest Dartmouth, a student-run organization, joined divestment groups from 16 other colleges to create theMulti-School Fossil Free Divestment Fund in December. The new fund calls for the involved Universities to immediately cease new investments — and divest from current holdings — in the fossil fuel companies within the next five years.

NEWS | 04/14/2015

Princeton Board of Health to vote on tobacco ban for people under 21

Durva Trivedi

The Princeton Board of Health will vote on an ordinance next week to ban the sale of tobacco and electronic cigarettes to people under the age of 21. The Board made the recommendation last month by approving the introduction of the ordinance.

NEWS | 04/14/2015

Planning board approves plan to build new post office, 7-Eleven

Zaynab Zaman

Princeton’s planning board unanimously approved plans late last month to locate a 7-Eleven and a post office at 259 Nassau St. This location was formerly the West Coast video site, but the site has been vacant for nearly a decade, according to The Times of Trenton. The 7-Eleven will be constructed to face Nassau Street, and the post office will be located in the rear.

NEWS | 04/14/2015

Dale Fellowship winner Clifton '15 to write play on Romani status in Serbian society

Kristin Qian

Katherine Clifton ’15 was awarded the 2015 Martin A. Dale ’53 Fellowship, and will travel to Serbia to write a play about the relationship between the Serbs and Romani people in hopes to bring healing through theater. The fellowship, in honor of Martin Dale ’53, comes with a $33,000 grant, provides the winner the opportunity to spend a year after graduation to pursue a meaningful project “of extraordinary merit that will widen the recipient’s experience of the world and significantly enhance his or her personal growth and intellectual development," according to its citation. Clifton, who is concentrating in English with a certificate in theater, was a participant in the Bridge Year Program prior to freshman year, and lived in Serbia during that time.

NEWS | 04/14/2015

Study examines U.’s tax-exempt status, proposes excise tax on U. endowment

Christina Vosbikian

The University’s tax-exempt status generated more than $100,000 per full-time equivalent student in taxpayer subsidies in 2013, according to an estimate from a study from the Nexus Research and Policy Center. A full-time equivalent student is a unit that denotes either a full-time student or a number of part-time students whose course loads add up to a full course load. In contrast to the University, the figure was $12,000 per student at Rutgers,$4,700 per student at Montclair State University and $2,400 per student at Essex County College. The study, called “Rich Schools, Poor Students: Tapping Large University Endowments to Improve Student Outcomes,” recommends that Congress repeal the exemptions from taxation that very wealthy, private, not-for-profit educational institutions receive.

NEWS | 04/14/2015

Requests to view admission files surge since January

Ruby Shao

Over 300 students have filed requests to view their admission files under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act since Jan.

NEWS | 04/13/2015

News & Notes: Penn students protest closing of Africa Center

Daily Princetonian Staff

Students at the University of Pennsylvania protested the closing of the school’s Africa Center in front of prospective undergraduates, The Daily Pennsylvanian reported on Monday. The students also protested the merger of the school’s African studies department and Center for Africana Studies. The protest was led by students majoring in African studies, as well as members of the Penn African Students Association and of Students Organizing for Unity and Liberation. Students said the merger doesn’t make sense because Africana studies concerns itself with the African diaspora, while African studies focus on the African continent. Penn, in an email to students, said the changes were precipitated by a number of eliminations in federal funding. Some students, however, questioned the school’s motives, since the Africa Center employed only three staff members and Penn is in the process of opening a new center in Beijing.

NEWS | 04/13/2015

Muslim American comedian discusses anti-Arab sentiment

Muslim American comedian discusses anti-Arab sentiment

Jacob Donnelly

Only 21 percent of Americans view Muslims favorably, and the media narrative needs to begin reflecting Muslims’ positive contributions to society, Muslim comedian Dean Obeidallah said at a lecture on Monday. “Before 9/11, I was a white guy,” Obeidallah said.

NEWS | 04/13/2015

U. accused of violating Animal Welfare Act in marmoset monkey incident

Cassidy Tucker

Stop Animal Exploitation Now, an activist group that monitors U.S. research laboratories, filed a complaint last week against the University with the Department of Agriculture for violations of the Animal Welfare Act. Negligence at a University laboratory in March 2014 resulted in the injury of two marmoset monkeys, SAEN alleged in its complaint. Two marmosets, one male and one female, escaped from their cages, according to Dean for Research Pablo Debenedetti’s report of the incident that was obtained by The Daily Princetonian.

NEWS | 04/13/2015

‘As I Am’ campaign hopes to promote body acceptance, eating disorder awareness

Katherine Oh

The Undergraduate Student Government’s Undergraduate Student Life Committee launched its “As I Am” campaign for eating disorder awareness on campus on Saturday. Students can participate in the program in a variety of ways, including registering at a "Wellness Walkthrough" to learn about ways to eat nutritiously in the University's dining halls, consulting with campus nutritionist and eating disorders specialist Victoria Rosenfeld orhaving their photos taken in the USG office. Rosenfeld did not respond to a request for comment. “In the beginning, I don’t think we really envisioned it as a campaign,” USLC chair Kathy Chow ’17 said.

NEWS | 04/13/2015

News & Notes: News of Columbia destroying admissions records released

Daily Princetonian Staff

The Columbia admissions office destroys all documents created by or with comments from Columbia admissions officers, the Columbia Spectator reported on Friday. When Frederic Enea, a junior, learned of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, he asked to see his admission record.

NEWS | 04/12/2015

USG discusses low candidate turnout, staff appreciation

Katherine Oh

Chief elections manager Grant Golub ’17 provided an overview of the spring elections process for U-councilor and class government positions at the weekly Undergraduate Student Government meeting on Sunday. There are 13 candidates running for the 10 available U-councilor positions, Golub said.

NEWS | 04/12/2015

Patton ’77 allegedly shuts down Class of 1977 Facebook group

Melissa Curtis

The Facebook group of the Class of 1977 was shut down on April 7 after an alumnus posted a controversial article from The Atlantic about “The Princeton Mom,” according to Robert Gilbert ’77.The article, which had been posted several times, was deleted several times by an administrator, and while the administrator responsible for the action is unclear, there is speculation by those interviewed that it was Class of 1977 president Susan Patton.

NEWS | 04/12/2015

Students protest chapel gathering hosted by U. President Eisgruber '83

Students protest chapel gathering hosted by U. President Eisgruber '83

Melissa Curtis

Some students who gathered in the University Chapelon Sundayto address issues of racism and prejudice turned their backs on University President Christopher Eisgruber ’83, and some walked out.The gathering followed controversy last week concerning performances by student group Urban Congo that some said mocked African people and racist posts on the anonymous social media application Yik Yak.Alison Boden, Dean of Religious Life and of the Chapel, introduced each speaker.The event was intended to “take steps toward a better place,” she said.As Eisgruber began to speak, around 20 students stood and turned their backs to Eisgruber.

NEWS | 04/12/2015

Philosophy professor addresses sexual morality at annual Anscombe Society event

Nahrie Chung

To address issues of sexual morality, one must first recognize the purposes of the human sexual faculties, Edward Feser, associate professor of philosophy at Pasadena City College, said in a lecture on Saturday.The event was moderated by politics professor Robert George.“The human sexual act is a seamless unity between the procreative and the unitive [ends] directed at the same time toward both biological generation and emotional communion,” Feser said, describing the unitive end as the relational and emotional strengthening between a man and woman.These two natural ends of sex — the procreative and unitive — are inseparable from each other, Feser said, because human beings perceive reality in both a sensorial and conceptual way.

NEWS | 04/12/2015

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