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"I'm a Jamaican." When I spent last summer at Duke, the first replies to that statement ranged from, "Do they speak English?" to more enlightened questions such as, "Do you have any weed?" (I don't, by the way.) So, you would think that, for someone who has spent her life correcting the stereotypes placed upon her by an ivory-towered world, I would know better than to reduce people ? strangers especially ? to stereotypical packages, Rastafarian stamped and sealed.

NEWS | 09/20/2000

Mahajan '03 survives four days in school bus to win contest

Mahajan '03 survives four days in school bus to win contest

Americans this summer watched the contestants on CBS's "Survivor" eat rats, form alliances, endure hunger and bug bites, and do whatever it would take to be the one contestant on the island who would go home with $1 million.Akshay Mahajan, '03, was also a survivor this summer.But he did not have to spend months on a deserted island in the South China Sea ? just four days on a school bus.

NEWS | 09/20/2000

New professors fill vacancies left by departing faculty members

As academic years come and go, the University sees many professors enter and leave through its gates.

NEWS | 09/20/2000

Public Safety officers volunteer for community policing effort in colleges

In a proactive community policing effort, volunteers from Public Safety are working closely with each of the residential colleges and the Graduate College this semester.Initiated last year by Wilson College Master Miguel Centeno, and continued by Public Safety officer and volunteer Jim Lanzi, the Adopt-A-PUPS program involves six proctors and security officers."I felt that students and proctors didn't know each other very well, and that relations between the two could, perhaps, improve if they started to become acquainted," Centeno said.Members of the policing effort work at their respective colleges before and after their normal police or proctor shifts or in free time during shifts with the permission of their supervisor.

NEWS | 09/20/2000

With nation watching, Holt and Zimmer square off

With less than two months until election day, a New Jersey race has grabbed the national spotlight.The 12th Congressional District contest ? between incumbent Democrat Rush Holt and former Republican congressman Dick Zimmer ? is being targeted by both parties and watched by pundits and politicians as an indicator of voters' moods in the heart of a major swing state.Holt, who was formerly the assistant director of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, won one of the biggest upsets of 1998, slipping past Rep.

NEWS | 09/20/2000

A class-action suit, and the birth of a new law

New state alcohol legislation has sparked controversy among residents of New Jersey towns who fear it could infringe on individuals' right to privacy.But this method of preventing underage drinking ? giving police powers to cite underage drinkers on private property ? is not new to the state.Avalon, N.J., adopted a similar ordinance more than 20 years ago to combat underage drinking at rented homes during the summer, when the town's population swells from 2,000 to 30,000.State officials in Atlantic County began pushing for the new state law last year when Avalon was forced to repeal its ordinance ? which made underage drinking a punishable offense even on private property ? under the settlement terms of a federal class-action lawsuit.Under the original Avalon ordinance, violators faced fines of $125 for the first offense and mandatory community service, according to Avalon police Chief Steve Sykes.But in 1996, Avalon police stepped up their enforcement of the ordinance to combat the drinking, which they believed was rising to alarming levels.

NEWS | 09/20/2000

Career services' new policies push back job offer deadlines

With hundreds of companies slated to visit campus in the coming months to begin their annual recruiting efforts, seniors can be found hurrying between meet-and-greets with consulting firms, investment banks and other companies.Armed with freshly printed resumes and practiced smiles, these students are putting their hopes in the hands of recruiters who often give them nothing more than a business card and a handshake.Some, however, do not need to attend these meetings.

NEWS | 09/20/2000

President Clinton to deliver keynote address earlier than scheduled

President Clinton's keynote address at the conference on American progressive politics next month now is scheduled to be delivered at 2 p.m.

NEWS | 09/19/2000

The Weather Man

During the past several years, the climate event known as El Ni

NEWS | 09/19/2000

Local law enforcement officers anticipate president's arrival

They guard critical traffic flow points for the President Clinton's motorcade, provide on-site crowd control, secure buildings and entryways used during presidential visits ? but they are not the Secret Service.Officers from the Princeton Borough Police Department ? along with New Jersey State Police and University Public Safety ? will be closely involved with Clinton's visit to campus next month.Ensuring the president's safety is not a new job for Borough officers, who participated in Clinton's visit to Princeton this past summer.

NEWS | 09/19/2000

University plans to clean graffiti-plagued Serra sculpture

A $1 million sculpture by renowned artist Richard Serra erected between Peyton and Fine halls in May has been the target of repeated graffiti attacks recently.Vice President and Secretary Tom Wright '62 said the University is making plans to completely clean the sculpture, which stands about 15 feet tall and 80 feet long and is composed of three S-shaped steel plates.

NEWS | 09/19/2000

New ecstasy law increases penalties for possession

Gov. Christie Whitman signed legislation in late June that increased criminal penalties in New Jersey for the possession, manufacture and distribution of the drug MDMA, also known as ecstasy.The legislation ? passed June 22 ? is meant to discourage young people from experimenting with the drug and more severely punish dealers.In the past, possession or distribution of ecstasy was considered a third-degree offense.

NEWS | 09/19/2000

Health Commission addresses ban on public smoking, underage drinking

The Princeton Regional Health Commission announced last night at a public meeting that it will push for state legislation to allow municipalities to issue ordinances against smoking.The decision came in response to a superior court judge's Aug.

NEWS | 09/19/2000

Class of 2004 Website helped incoming freshmen make ties

Thanks to Jennifer Brea '04, many freshmen experienced less than the requisite dose of anxiety before arriving on campus this month.In January, after she was accepted early decision, Brea constructed a Website ? which can be found at www.geocities.com/princeton04 ? to help incoming freshmen get to know each other."I've made probably about three really good friends because of this," Brea said of her own experience making use of the site's features, which include a housing section and a photo gallery."I have tons of different sections," she added.Brea said she started working on the Website after people she met on the Princeton Review Website encouraged her.

NEWS | 09/19/2000

Health Commission addresses ban on public smoking, underage drinking

The Princeton Regional Health Commission decided last night to support a local push for an ordinance that would permit police to cite underage drinkers on private property."The commission thinks that lessening underage drinking is a laudable goal," vice chair Grace Finden said at the commission's meeting in Borough Hall to a crowd of five, consisting entirely of press.Borough Mayor Marvin Reed had requested the opinion of the health commission concerning the issue.Roz Denard, a member of the commission, echoed Finden's statement about curbing underage drinking.

NEWS | 09/19/2000

Parking garage to be finished by Dec.

Construction on the University's new parking garage ? located behind the New South building and adjacent to Baker Rink ? is expected to be completed in December, according to Jon Hlafter '61, director of physical planning.Most of the 740-space parking garage ? begun in February ? was completed during the summer, but Hlafter said the remaining time before the opening will be used for marking spaces and completing other finishing touches.Students will benefit indirectly from the construction of the garage.

NEWS | 09/19/2000

Bringing the page to life

In the gothic classroom, amid dusty books and opaque lighting, a distant world is enlivened by the enchanting tale of an animated woman with intense blue eyes and a welcoming smile.At first glance, it appears that the audience of students in WRI 156w: The Writer in the Community ? which was offered last spring ? is too mature to appreciate listening to stories, and instead should be poring over esoteric novels and treatises.

NEWS | 09/18/2000

Projecting Change at the Garden Theater

Ionic columns frame the building as though standing memorial to a distinguished past. Weeds grow up through the metal grating out front, and seat cushions peer over the edge of dumpsters.But the Christmas lights strung across the Garden theater's entrance look as though they might at any moment shine in celebration of a holiday.And though there is no guarantee that it will be open in time for Christmas, the extensive $600,000 renovations to the Garden theater ? which the University announced Aug.

NEWS | 09/18/2000

Professor emeritus remembered for lively humor and passion

When the University scheduling committee met in the 1960s and '70s, Professor Emeritus John Wilder Tukey GS '39 would lie flat on his back and call out answers to scheduling problems that he worked out in his head.When a developer proposed plans for mass construction in the wooded area of Princeton Township where Tukey lived, he became concerned about a possible increase in traffic.

NEWS | 09/18/2000

After 12 years and $1.1 billion, what's left for a president to do?

During the last five years, President Shapiro has spent a significant amount of his time away from the institution he leads.Instead of strolling through ivy-covered archways, taking in the view of Cannon Green from his first-floor Nassau Hall office or watching Princeton students hustle between classes, the president of the nation's top university has been traversing chaotic airport terminals, climbing onto cramped airplanes and spending night after night in countless hotels.And his fund-raising efforts have resulted in endowment growth almost as marked as that of his frequent flyer balance.With the completion of the $1.1 billion Anniversary Campaign for Princeton on June 30, Shapiro has led the most successful fund-raising effort in the University's history.The funds have helped finance new academic and research programs, expand the financial aid program and launch many new and ongoing construction projects, such as Scully Hall, Frist Campus Center and dormitory renovations.A fund-raising campaign of such magnitude typically represents the flagship accomplishment of a university president's tenure.And for Shapiro, passing that benchmark in his 12th year at the University's helm calls into question his future plans.Former University President Robert Goheen '40 said, "It does happen frequently" that University presidents resign after holding the post for "10 or 12 years" and completing their campaigns."Being president of a major university is a major responsibility, and especially taxing," Goheen said.

NEWS | 09/18/2000

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