News

Princeton Board of Health raises minimum age to purchase tobacco to 21

Princeton Board of Health raises minimum age to purchase tobacco to 21

Melissa Curtis

The Princeton Board of Health adopted an ordinance on Tuesdayraising the minimum age to purchase tobacco and other smoking products to 21. Princeton is the seventh town in New Jersey and the first in Mercer Countyto have implemented such an ordinance.The statewide minimum age to purchase tobacco in New Jersey is 19. The adoption of the ordinance follows arecommendation by the Board of Health last month by approving the introduction of the ordinance. Mayor Liz Lempert said she supported the new ordinance. “The longer you can put off someone taking their first puff the more likely it will be that they’ll never start,” Lempert said. The feedback Lempert has received on the anti-smoking measure has been highly positive, Lempert said. “I think it’s more that we’ve tried to be practical in Princeton and a leader in the state when it comes to creating a smoke-free environment in our parks and outside of our municipal buildings,” Lempert said. In 2013, the town of Princeton enacted a ban on outdoor smoking on municipal property, including municipal buildings, parks, pools and town-owned recreation areas, becoming the first town in Mercer County to do so.

NEWS | 04/22/2015

Neuroscience has 17 concentrators in inaugural year, other sciences largely unaffected

Jacob Donnelly

Seventeen sophomores signed in to the new neuroscience concentration this year, according to Asif Ghazanfar, co-director of the Program in Neuroscience. It was hard to have any expectations for enrollment because sophomores did not have the chance to plan how they were going to fulfill the concentration’s prerequisites in their freshman year, Ghazanfar said. “[The sophomores] I met with, basically, were very, very thankful, because they were trying to figure out some other kind of route to pursue their neuroscience interest,” Ghazanfar said. The Program in Neuroscience asked incoming sophomores which department they would have joined.

NEWS | 04/22/2015

Schneider ’17, Jayanti ’17, Schneider GS to represent U. at international computing competition

Zoe Toledo

Eric Schneider ’17, Siddhartha Jayanti ’17 and Jon Schneider GS will represent the University at the upcoming Association for Computing Machinery International Collegiate Programming Contest in Marrakech, Morocco this May. ACM is an educational and scientific computing society comprised of computing educators, professionals and students. The contest allows hundreds of teams, each consisting of three students, to work together and solve a series of problems with mathematical algorithms. A total of 2,534 universities and 38,160 contestants from101 countries participated in the regionals-level competition.

NEWS | 04/22/2015

More sophomore enrollment in language concentrations, humanities remain dominated by history concentrators

Do-Hyeong Myeong

The Spanish and Portuguese department experienced a significant increase with 16 new concentrators this year compared to three sign-ins last year, according to Spanish and Portuguese department representative Germán Labrador Méndez said. He said that this year’s increase in Spanish and Portuguese majors could be explained by the ongoing internationalization of the University campus, noting that many of the concentrators the department received this year speak multiple languages or have international backgrounds. He also explained that the increase in enrollment reflects the growing importance of the Spanish language in the United States. “Spanish is really getting important in the States,” Méndez said,"especially in real life and in future jobs in the field of medicine, in the field of law, in the field of international relations or in the field of business." The department’s interdisciplinary nature suits many students, whether they are interested in the sciences, humanities, arts or politics,Méndez added. Mary Hui ’17, an aspiring foreign correspondent, explained that the Spanish and Portuguese department’s small size and flexibility, as well as her love for Spanish language, convinced her to join. “Originally, I was thinking about [being a] politics major with a Spanish certificate, but I realized it wouldn’t be enough [for me to master the language],” Hui said.

NEWS | 04/22/2015

News & Notes: Animal rights advocates urge legal action against Harvard's New England Primate Center

Daily Princetonian Staff

The advocacy group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals sent a letter to the Worcester County District Attorney's office last week, urging it to pursue criminal charges against the Harvard researchers responsible for the care of primates that were allegedly mistreated, the Harvard Crimson reported on Monday. Harvard’s New England Primate Center is facing scrutiny after reports that several of its monkeys have died from inadequate care.

NEWS | 04/21/2015

U. announces appointment of Graduate School associate dean for diversity and inclusion

Jessica Li

The University announced its appointment of Dale Trevino as the Graduate School's associate dean for diversity and inclusion last Friday.

NEWS | 04/21/2015

Associate dean of the college for programs of access and inclusion appointed

Melissa Curtis

Khristina Gonzalez was appointed associate dean of the college for programs of access and inclusion last Thursday. The appointment comes at the same time as a similar appointment of an associate dean for diversity in the Graduate School. Gonzalez is the former associate director of the University's Writing Center and oversees the Freshman Scholars Institute, among her various roles at the University.

NEWS | 04/21/2015

Newly elected Greek governor lectures on strengthening democracy, challenges as a woman

Katherine Oh

The new administration of Attica, Greece, aims to establish a new plan to resolve the economic and political crisis faced by the region, Attica governor Rena Dourou said at a lecture on Tuesday. Attica is the largest region in Greece and includes the capital, Athens.

NEWS | 04/21/2015

Though search continues, Asian American Studies professorship still vacant

Christina Vosbikian

The University has been unsuccessful in hiring an Asian American Studies professor, though the search is continuing, professor of English and African American Studies Anne Cheng '85 said. The search, which has spanned candidates in multiple disciplines, launched in November 2014.

NEWS | 04/21/2015

Former U. President Bowen GS ’58 discusses details of divestment

Jacob Donnelly

Divestment is a complicated issue, but universities should resist efforts to have outside agendas forced upon them through divestment, former University president Bill Bowen GS ’58 said at a dinner discussion on Monday. The action of divestment is too blunt to account for nuances and lets people engage in a form of activism that is "too easy" as opposed to the hard work of bridging divides and effecting real change, Bowen said. Bowen recalled that during his University presidency from 1972 to 1988, some members of the campus community had wanted the University to divest from a towel company that had engaged in questionable labor practices.

NEWS | 04/20/2015

News & Notes: NJ Transit may halt bus between town, local hospital

Do-Hyeong Myeong

New Jersey Transit recommended discontinuing the bus service between the town and the University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro due to low ridership, The Times of Trenton reported on Monday. The specific route that is affected is the 655 Princeton-Plainsboro route. New Jersey Transit officials announced Monday that the agency faces a budget gap of about $60 million for the 2016 fiscal year, and that to close the gap, the agency is considering discontinuing some of its routes. The Tiger Transit route that runs between the hospital and the University would be unaffected. In addition to discontinuing and reducing bus routes, New Jersey Transit alsoproposed increasing the fares up to 9 percent. If approved, this would be the first fare increase in five years. Public hearings on fare increases and service reduction are scheduled from May 16-21, prior to the final decision of the agency’s board of directors in July.

NEWS | 04/20/2015

Lindy Li ’12 files paperwork for congressional candidacy

Lindy Li ’12 files paperwork for congressional candidacy

Cassidy Tucker

Lindy Li ’12 is running to represent Pennsylvania's Seventh Congressional District in the U.S.

NEWS | 04/20/2015

Class of ’77 discusses removal of Patton ’77 from alumni class presidential position

Christina Vosbikian

Members of the Class of 1977 have been discussing whether Susan Patton ’77 should be removed as alumni class president due to some concerns regarding her alleged abuse of the office. The critical point in these discussions occurred when Patton allegedly censored classmates who criticized her on the class Facebook page, Robert Gilbert ’77 said. Patton gained fame for writing aletter to the editorof The Daily Princetonian in March 2013 encouraging female students to find a husband on campus before graduation.

NEWS | 04/20/2015

Roberts '16 awarded Truman Scholarship

Kristin Qian

Thomas Roberts ’16 was awarded a 2015 Truman Scholarship, which will support his graduate studies in public policy and international affairs. Roberts is currently concentrating in astrophysical sciences with a certificate in Russian and Eurasian studies. This year, the Truman Scholarship was awarded to 58 students from a pool of 688 candidates, according to information released by the Harry S.

NEWS | 04/20/2015

News & Notes: Yale to increase undergraduate student body by 15 percent

Daily Princetonian Staff

Yale will increase its undergraduate enrollment by 15 percent, or 200 students per class, with the addition of two new residential colleges, according to Yale's website. The colleges mark the first expansion of the residential college system since 1961, bringing the total number of colleges up to 14, and the enrollment increase will significantly increase the student body for the first time since Yale became co-ed in 1969. At a ceremony on April 16, Yale president Peter Salovey, Yale president emeritus Richard C.

NEWS | 04/19/2015

USG senate discusses Honor Committee constitutional amendments, Projects Board funding

Katherine Oh

The Undergraduate Student Government senatediscussed possible updates to the Honor Committee constitution on Sunday. U-councilor and Honor Committee chair Dallas Nan ’16 suggested a provision that would destroy any evidence concerning a case, should a student’s appeal prove successful.If the provision were to pass, there would be no record that the student had appeared before the Honor Committee after a givendecision is overturned following an appeal. “Destruction of evidence is personally good for the students who have a graduate school or employer who ask for disciplinary records,” U-councilor Danny Johnson ’15 said. Johnson is a former senior writer for The Daily Princetonian. However, U-councilor Jacob Cannon ’17 said he was wary of the deletion of evidence, since it is important for accused students to understand that there have been successful appeals in the past.

NEWS | 04/19/2015

Q&A: Congressman Adam Schiff, ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee

Nahrie Chung

The Daily Princetonian sat down with Congressman Adam Schiff, eight-term representative of California’s 28th District, who in January became the leading Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee.

NEWS | 04/19/2015

Students express interest in Hindu prayer space

Cassidy Tucker

Many students are interested in the idea of having a Hindu prayer space on campus, according to Rishika Dewan ’16. Dewan spearheaded an initiative withPrinceton Hindu Satsangam to send out a survey last month to students to see if there was interest on campus for the creation of a Hindu prayer space. “There is an interest from both Hindu students and non-Hindu students alike,” Dewan said.

NEWS | 04/19/2015

Ranking member of Intelligence Committee discusses national security, privacy

Nahrie Chung

Congress faces an unprecedented conflict between national security and individual privacy given the post-Edward Snowden era and emergence of a new brand of global terrorism, Congressman Adam Schiff, ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, said at a lecture on Friday. “It’s a really challenging time for our work on the Intelligence Committee for many reasons, not the least of which is in the wake of the Arab Spring we have greater instability than any time in the last half-century,” Schiff said. He referenced a number of conflicts occupying the attention of the Intelligence Committee, including high casualties from the catastrophe in Syria, the ongoing war in Iraq, party clashes and terrorist profiteers in Libya, government crackdowns in Egypt and, more recently, the growing conflict in Yemen, where Saudis and Iranians have a new battlefield to clash in. U.S.

NEWS | 04/19/2015

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

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