Opinion

Election break

Last year, I wrote on these pages about Princeton’s “election break” — now called fall break — established in 1970 to allow students time off to work for a campaign or other political cause. In that column, I wrote about material in the Nixon presidential archive which revealed the extent to which the “election break” attracted the attention of Nixon himself, who feared that liberal-leaning college students would mobilize en masse against the president’s party.  

Cartoon: College rankings

Cartoon: Illustrious

I want to meet you

In the lively debate that has ensued after my last column, I’m left with two marriage proposals and one question: Why can’t knights and damsels fight together to protect one another from a common enemy?

The college athletic system is broken

The college athletic system as it stands is unsustainable for two reasons: the subordination of student interests and inequitable profit sharing among athletes, universities and their own athletic departments.

Reconsidering certificates

The great benefit of many of the certificate programs is that they are interdisciplinary by nature, so in many cases they supplement academic study in another field without forcing a student to grapple with the entirety of that field. For certificates to be successful in this regard, the onus falls on the students to craft an academic program for themselves — they should not blame the administration for a lack of opportunity.

Watchbirds

At the moment the surveillance is for commercial purposes, but it’s not a giant leap to imagine governmental scrutiny as well. That certainly happens in other countries, and there have been plenty of attempts here by various agencies to obtain information about individual users from companies like Google, Facebook and Twitter.

A broader ally

But if being an “ally” has a broader meaning of standing up against oppression — as I believe most of us would believe it should — then can one limit support to LGBT people?

Cartoon: Consolation

Editorial: Improving residential colleges

While the current residential college system has contributed to a sense of community on campus, particularly among underclassmen, its effects on upperclassmen are mixed. We believe that there are a few specific problems that should be addressed.

Cartoon: Squirrel parties

Editorial: Civic engagement over fall break

The Board urges students to keep in mind the original purpose of fall break and engage with their local communities during this time.

In support of creative writing

Non-directed creative production is somewhat like participating in a sport or performing something — it’s a great release from the enormous academic burden on our shoulders. Creative writing is especially useful for those not majoring in English or Comparative Literature, since it not only improves writing ability but critical thinking ability as well.

Letter to the Editor: October 19th, 2012

The University is committed to protecting student data appropriately under existing policies. The integrity of these policies is of great importance, and protection of student privacy is one of the goals of the strict rules governing access to and use of the data.

Poetry of Greek life

Even the closest friendships are based partly — maybe a large part, maybe a small one, depending on the context — on what the other person’s effect is on you. Maybe they make you feel smart or funny or popular. Maybe they make you feel loved. I’m not dismissing all friendships as shallow contracts between self-absorbed individuals

Why gender equality trumps coffee dates

Kurz’s article is based upon the assumptions that Princeton women who participate in hookup culture are desperately unhappy and that the men they hook up with are taking advantage of them. His article is focused on heterosexual hookups, and he equates them to a predator-prey situation, explaining that he no longer wants to be “a conqueror looking for a victim.”

Princeton's romance with exclusivity

We’re all college students. It’s irritating to not be able to go out with a friend because you have a pass and they don’t, or vice versa. It’s irritating that bicker clubs are held to some higher degree simply because of their exclusivity.

Oh, Othello

At the heart of the matter, “Othello” is kind of a bummer when it comes to female parts. Unless you’re really good at pretending to be smothered, you’re essentially going to find yourself shortchanged when it comes to roles for the neatly-genitaled.

Cartoon: Party time

Intellectual diversity

Within the first month of my Princeton experience, though, I realized I had overlooked one of the most obvious forms of diversity I would find at college — intellectual diversity. What sets intellectual diversity apart is that for other forms of diversity, we can claim different backgrounds and orientations; intellectual diversity, though, stems from a few common backgrounds, only different blends and ratios among students.