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Princeton: So fresh and so clean

Princeton: So fresh and so clean

With prospective students set to explore Princeton during the annual pre-frosh weekend, the University seems to be flaunting a calculated image of a campus with strong ties to its community, a 21st century view of sexual violence and a social environment dictated by arts events rather than by alcohol.Though Communiversity, the USG spring concert and Take Back the Night overlap this weekend, administrators maintain there is no overarching promotional strategy and the myriad events being scheduled this weekend is just a coincidence."I think it's just an accident that they occur at the same time," University Vice President and Secretary Thomas Wright '62 said.

NEWS | 04/26/2001

Horowitz debates slavery reparations advocate in a packed McCosh 50

In a heated debate last night, Dorothy Lewis ? a leader in the movement for reparations for slavery ? and David Horowitz ? the movement's most outspoken antagonist ? presented their views to a packed McCosh 50.The debate was sparked by Horowitz's recent campaign to place advertisements ? titled "Ten Reasons Why Reparations for Slavery is a Bad Idea ? and Racist Too" ? in college newspapers.In an interview before the debate, Lewis, who is co-chair of the National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America, called Horowitz's ads "a dishonor to the memory of the millions of [black] lives that have been lost [to slavery]."Last month, The Daily Californian at the University of California-Berkeley printed Horowitz's ad, but apologized for printing an ad they perceived to be racist after widespread campus protests.Horowitz ? author and president of the Center for the Study of Popular Culture ? was adamant in his stance, calling students "little left-wing fascists" for rejecting his views they perceived to be too conservative.At the outset of his opening statements, Horowitz criticized University history professor Sean Wilentz for supporting some issues but refraining to contribute to a "civil discourse" on the issue of reparations.Horowitz attacked the idea of reparations ? the issue that has brought him national prominence.

NEWS | 04/25/2001

Merck funds professorship to honor chemist Arthur Patchett '51

The Merck Company Foundation recently donated $3 million to the University for the establishment of a chemistry professorship in honor of Arthur Patchett '51, who has worked at Merck Research Laboratories both as a researcher and former vice president of medicinal chemistry for four decades.Patchett ? who retired from Merck last year but continues to act as a consultant for the company ? majored in chemistry at Princeton, graduated Phi Beta Kappa and earned a Ph.D.

NEWS | 04/25/2001

Being known for enjoying life

You probably never knew.There's no way you could really tell from looking at me. I look like any other college student who stays up too late and runs late to class every morning.The difference is that if I had been born 20 years earlier I probably never would have been able to go to Princeton ? or any other university for that matter.

NEWS | 04/25/2001

Wilson School grad students pursue public policy internships

When the first-year Wilson School MPA graduate students arrived on campus last fall, they were immediately given a task ? to find an internship for the following summer with an organization that intrigued them.

NEWS | 04/25/2001

Acting governor supports increased University grants

Acting Gov. Donald DiFrancesco said he will be an active proponent of legislation related to Princeton University amid recent turmoil concerning alleged ethical improprieties while he was the Scotch Plains township attorney ? a controversy that led DiFrancesco to abandon his gubernatorial campaign yesterday."I support innovative programs such as college savings plans, tuition aid grants, biomedical and technology research and teacher preparation grants," he said in an interview earlier this week.In addition to denying charges of misconduct, DiFrancesco must balance the dual role as both acting governor and N.J.

NEWS | 04/25/2001

DiFrancesco drops bid for N.J. governor

Acting Gov. Donald DiFrancesco dropped out of the 2002 New Jersey gubernatorial race yesterday, following allegations of ethical misconduct and calls for his impeachment."I could not really run this race the way I wanted to on the issues and still be the governor I wanted to be in 2001," DiFrancesco said in a press conference at the governor's mansion in Princeton, citing media investigation into his business transactions as the reason.

NEWS | 04/25/2001

University workers and students gather to discuss grievances with PriCom

More than 100 University workers and students attended the meeting of the University Priorities Committee last night to request funding allocations for cost of living adjustments and raises, according to Tim Phillips, a University janitor and member of the SEIU union."We want them to hear what we're saying," said Sandy Hambrecht, who has been a University employee for more than 20 years.

NEWS | 04/24/2001

Princeton and Oxford anounce collaborative research projects

Princeton and Oxford Universities announced yesterday a comprehensive plan for collaborative research as well as faculty and student exchanges.The initiative was approved by the Princeton University Board of Trustees on Saturday and was similarly approved by the Council of the University of Oxford on Monday.

NEWS | 04/24/2001

Adam Barr '88 writes about his experience working for Microsoft

Looking down from the highest cliff on the digital mountain, then-Microsoft CEO Bill Gates described to the business savvy world of 1996 the past, and what might be the future, of the internet in his first book "The Road Ahead."Last year, after a decade of working as a developer for Gates, Adam Barr '88 published his own perspective, "Proudly Serving My Corporate Masters: What I Learned in Ten Years as a Microsoft Programmer."In the book, Barr explains how Microsoft works on the inside, and how Microsoft's business practices that he knew helped the company to reach success on the outside. Barr's first impression of Microsoft was his grueling job interview with them shortly after graduating from Princeton.

NEWS | 04/24/2001

Dormnet to be included in room fees

Beginning next fall, a reduced Dormnet service fee of $130 will be incorporated into students' basic dormitory rates.

NEWS | 04/24/2001

Wendy Kopp '89 speaks about Teach for America

Wendy Kopp '89 believes in the power of the big idea.The founder and president of Teach for America, Kopp spoke in Dodds Auditorium yesterday about how she turned her senior thesis ? a plan to send recent college graduates to teach at schools in low-income neighborhoods ? into a non-profit organization that has sent more than 6,000 recent college graduates to teach in 15 low-income areas since its inception."The idea wasn't to create this little non-profit organization," Kopp said.

NEWS | 04/24/2001

Horowitz to debate Lewis on reparations for slavery

In an effort to foster a dialogue on slave reparations among students, Whig-Clio is hosting a debate between David Horowitz and Dorothy B.

NEWS | 04/24/2001

U-Council elects executive members

Adam Dressner '02 and Josh Anderson '04 were elected yesterday to serve as executive members of the Council of the Princeton University Community.

NEWS | 04/24/2001

Stories of 20th century heroes: Biographer A. Scott Berg '71

When A. Scott Berg '71 danced off stage following the Princeton Triangle Club's 1969 performance of "Call a Spade a Shovel," the curtain seemed destined to fall on his Princeton career.Backstage, at the Lincoln Center, the talented writer-performer ? then a junior at the University ? was approached by three agents who sought to represent the rising actor and to secure him a place among Hollywood's young stars.Berg, the son of a television writer and producer and resident of Los Angeles since he was seven years old, entertained thoughts of pursuing a career in show business.But University English professor Carlos Baker convinced Berg ? who had already begun his senior thesis research on Maxwell Perkins, then editor-in-chief of the publishing company Charles Scribner's Sons ? to finish his role as a student."He said, 'Scott, you were the star of the Triangle show this year, wouldn't you like to be the star of the English department next year?' " Berg recalled.Stardom for Berg ? the 1999 Pulitzer Prize winner for his biography "Lindbergh" on the aviator Charles Lindbergh ? would come not in the wings of the theater, but in the words that would fly from his pen. Sitting at a table by the window on the dining level of Frist Campus Center, Berg reflected on his Princeton experience and the distinguished writing career that followed, taking flight after he published "Max Perkins: Editor of Genius." The best-selling biography based on his senior thesis research earned Berg the prestigious National Book Award in 1978 ? an early stop on his road map to literary success."I suddenly had a career," Berg explained, while returning the greetings of his fellow orange-and-black-clad trustees, who paused to offer warm hellos.As much as Berg's author status seemed to fall effortlessly into place, his career had been preparing for take-off since his freshman year.

NEWS | 04/23/2001

Pride Alliance forced to relocate

The Princeton Pride Alliance's constitution states that one of its goals is to "represent the interests of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning members of the community at Princeton University" and to "be active in campus politics in order to promote [the interests]" of those students.And the alliance has done just that from its office in Aaron Burr Hall for almost 20 years.

NEWS | 04/23/2001

Final round of Prospects yields ideas for arts centers, more inclusive 'Street'

Imagine walking along a giant strip of green grass stretching over the entire length of Prospect Avenue, or whirling around on a giant swing overlooking campus on a warm Saturday night.

NEWS | 04/23/2001

Professors Starr, Wilentz explore future of Democratic Party politics

While on the surface the path to progressive politics may look grim, participants in a panel Sunday night titled, "The Democratic Party at a Crossroads ? Which Way to a Progressive Future?" discussed possibilities for a more promising future and reasons why the Republicans might be the cause of their own demise.Co-sponsored by the Princeton Community Democratic Organization and Princeton University Democrats, the panel included sociology professor Paul Starr, who is co-editor of "The American Prospect," history professor Sean Wilentz, who is a contributing editor of "The New Republic," and Iver Peterson, a political columnist for The New York Times.Opening up the discussion, President of the Princeton Community Democratic Organization Andrew Koontz said the idea for the panel grew out of an argument with the organization's previous chair over the success of the past president."[The previous chair] said that Bill Clinton was worse than a Republican," Koontz said.

NEWS | 04/23/2001

Week devoted to sexual violence awareness

Purple is the color of April ? and the shade of the ribbons being distributed among the University community to publicize Sexual Violence Awareness Month.The Organization of Women Leaders, Take Back the Night, SHARE and the Department of Public Safety are sponsoring several events this week to promote this cause."This is part of a national and international movement," said Women's Center director Susan Overton."We want this week to prepare people, to get them started talking about the issue," said Nancy Ippolito '03, co-founder and co-president of OWL.Murray-Dodge Cafe hosted an open-mic coffeehouse Sunday, showcasing songs, poetry and stories on themes of women's awareness.

NEWS | 04/23/2001

Princeton-Columbia research project explores family dynamics, welfare

Researchers at Princeton and Columbia University recently completed the first portion of a $17 million study investigating the effect of government welfare and child-support policies on children and families.

NEWS | 04/23/2001

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