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Newly formed student group, Valley Academy, wins Battle of the Bands

Newly formed student group, Valley Academy, wins Battle of the Bands

Olivia Wicki

The student band Valley Academy, which features David Lind ’18, Yaw Owusu-Boahen ’17 and Ben Falter ’17,won the inaugural Battle of the Bands event on Friday. The event, hosted by the Undergraduate Student Government’s social committee, was organized to decide the opener for the main act at Lawnparties. The Battle of the Bands line up included student bands St.

NEWS | 04/19/2015

News & Notes: Stanford announces it will not participate in divestment from companies in Israel

Daily Princetonian Staff

Stanford will not divest from companies operating in Israel, according to the Stanford Daily. The announcement was madeon Tuesdayafternoon by the Stanford Board of Trustees in response to a request from the Stanford Students for Justice in Palestine, who had asked Stanford to divest from a list of companies that allegedly profited from human rights abuses in Palestine. According to the statement, the Board believed that any action to divest would create deep divisions among the Stanford community.

NEWS | 04/16/2015

Prager discusses anti-Semitism, politics of religion

Jacob Donnelly

A moral compass can be determined to be valid or invalid based on whether Jewish people are treated fairly, and Islam may not pass this test, Jewish radio hostDennis Prager said at a heavily attended discussion moderated by jurisprudence professor Robert George on Thursday. Prager drew ananalogy between the few number of Germans who were actually mass killers during the Nazi era and the few number of Muslims who are actually terrorists,adding that just as a few Germans were Nazis did not excuse Germany from having a Nazi problem, few Muslims being terrorists does not excuse Islam from having a terrorism problem. Israel is now a target of annihilation just like Jewish citizens in Germany once were, Prager said. Prager also said he believed that Jewish and Christian conservatives have more in common now than with liberals in their own religions. Prager recalled an incident in which a caller was giving a rabbi who was a guest on a radio show a hard time about the chosen status of Jewish people, and a Catholic priest called in to say, “God chose the Jews.

NEWS | 04/16/2015

Humanities sequence will no longer require applications

Zoe Toledo

The Humanistic Studies Program will no longer require prospective freshmen students to apply to the intensive year-long Humanities Sequence. Students, including non-freshmen, can instead reserve a spot by emailing Lin DeTitta,the program manager for Humanistic Studies and Journalism. The Humanities Sequence is a year-long sequence of courses that is designed to represent an interdisciplinary approach to examining Western literature from antiquity to the 20thcentury. Originally, the emphasis on faculty-led precepts forced limits on the number of students who could enroll, saidKathleen Crown,executive director of the Council of the Humanities. The program has evolved over time in regard to the number of faculty and students involved with the program, she added. “There is nothing in the origins of the sequence to indicate that the HUMSequence should be limited to a select group," Crown said.

NEWS | 04/16/2015

Yik Yak considers disabling posts from U.'s region

Olivia Wicki

After an unknown individual emailed Yik Yak with a request to showcase posts from the University on the application's "Peek" feature, a Yik Yak support agent replied that the company is considering banning all future posts in the area. Yik Yak is a Twitter-like application that allows users within a certain area to share anonymous posts from their phones.

NEWS | 04/16/2015

Gender imbalance on disciplinary committees divides student opinions

Ruby Shao

The current 2014-2015 Faculty-Student Committee on Discipline has six male and two female undergraduate members.

NEWS | 04/16/2015

News & Notes: Driver who hit Emerson GS charged with careless driving, failing to yield to pedestrian

Daily Princetonian Staff

Police have charged Steven Cruz, the driver who hit chemistry student Nyssa Emerson GS on April 8, with careless driving and failing to yield to a pedestrian, The Times of Trenton reported. The Toyota Prius collided with Emerson as she was walking across Washington Road at approximately 9:32 p.m.She suffered serious injuries, including broken bones.

NEWS | 04/15/2015

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

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