Opinion

Why damsels can have it all

When I was little, I didn’t want to be a damsel in distress. After doctor, astronaut, and mother, it just didn’t make the cut. Which is why, in the midst of all this talk about hookup culture and gender roles, I’m surprised no one has mentioned another voice on gender roles: our own Anne-Marie Slaughter.

The taste of shame

So if someone forces sexual intercourse from you despite the fact that you’ve said no and most likely used force to stop this person, these aspects could constitute a bad hook-up. I get it. These were the words told to Angie Epifano, a former student at Amherst, who wrote a gut-wrenching article about her rape and neglect by the administration. The last thing any sexual assault survivor would want anyone to question is that that maybe he or she wasn’t raped. Or even worse — maybe the victim caused the rape to happen. For a woman’s case, maybe her skirt was too short, she showed a little bit too much skin or she was insinuating that she wanted more from someone else than just to “hang out.” This sort of psychologically cruel and unjust interrogation is what causes victims like Epifano to remain quiet, to allow a criminal to walk free without even a slap on a wrist and most of all, to maintain the pristine, utopia-like images of elite institutions.

Members only

As Shruthi Deivasigamani elegantly admonished in her Oct. 18 column, “That the exclusivity exists for the sake of exclusivity and nothing more is something to legitimately complain about.” While I find myself agreeing with this statement quite profusely on nights when I have been turned away from the enticing beats rattling in clubs past the 1 a.m. mark, I occasionally appreciate the exclusivity that these members or passes only nights offer.

Watch this space

One reason I have held onto my space in the Fourth Estate all these years is my belief that the humanities need advocates. If I cannot fit the 890 students I’d like to talk to into my space in East Pyne, at least I have my 890 words. Will they have an effect? Probably not, but watch this space.

Editorial: In support of Jackson and Mancenon

Though each of the candidates possesses unique strengths, the Editorial Board endorses Jackson for president and Mancenon for vice president.

Cartoon: A Princeton Thanksgiving

Hating Harvard

We push our insecurity down and prop ourselves under the mantra that “Harvard sucks” when really it sucks that Harvard doesn’t suck. It sucks that Harvard pulls more applicants and posts a higher yield rate. It sucks that Harvard says “Princeton doesn’t matter.” It sucks that Harvard undergrads don’t have to deal with grade deflation. It sucks that the Harvard name carries more prestige. It sucks.

Editorial: Mental health at Princeton

Attending Princeton is a big opportunity for all Princeton students. Though some find that their four years at Princeton are the happiest of their lives, Princeton is a very stressful place. The challenges of Princeton are part of what makes Princeton so great, but they also can be very taxing on Princeton students. Some Princeton students can become depressed or discouraged and find it difficult to cope. Though Princeton has a wide variety of resources for supporting mental health and well-being on campus, students do not adequately take advantage of these opportunities, nor does the campus culture support taking advantage these opportunities.

Letter to the Editor: November 16th, 2012

University tiesRegarding ?Forum highlights local disapproval? (Monday, November 12, 2012)I was disappointed to read in The Daily Princetonian about a recent meeting in which town representatives spoke of the apparent lack on the part of the University in having active communication and showing interest in the local community.

Marooned passports

 At that moment I felt very American. These were the values I, too, stood for. I wasn’t able to vote for Obama, but I stood by him in that moment. I believe that the choices we make, not the identities we are born with, shape who we are and determine our value to the world. That day, I chose to be American.

Cartoon: Blackbox

Dine and unwind

In encouraging Princeton students to take time out of their evenings to enjoy a restaurant meal with friends, the USG is sponsoring a cultural shift — if only for one week.

I want to eat you

Yes, while you all were busy rehashing the definition of a hookup and explaining to each other what DFMO stands for, I was busy scavenging this campus for brains. I figured this would be the place to look, since this is a campus full of quality brains. But my journey has not been easy. Allow me to explain.

Cartoon: Abecedario

PETA

Animal mistreatment is a very bad thing. There are few people out there in this world who would openly claim to be in favor of torturing animals. But the thing is, PETA isn’t synonymous with animal rights. I would make the argument that PETA is more synonymous with “band of crazed lunatics” or “Psychos Eviscerating Truth Again” than anything else.

Selecting a president for Princeton

On Sept. 9, 2012, University President Shirley Tilghman greeted 1,357 new freshmen at the opening exercises. Tilghman glibly entitled her talk “Occupying Princeton” and admitted she co-opted the phrase from the Occupy movement. Tilghman informed the freshmen their “admission to Princeton is a privilege” and also proclaimed they had “become part of the 1 percent.” She included the usual empty rhetoric concerning “making the world a better place” and “Princeton in the nation’s service and the service of all nations.”

Man vs. machine

I rarely find staffing decisions to be of any interest, but this one breaks the mold for me. UBS intends to fill his vacancy with a computer. In doing so, they will join Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse and Barclays in using highly developed software programs in lieu of highly fallible, and expensive, human traders.

Why I love political comedy

Stewart and Colbert, through banter and parody, lay bear the typical ridiculousness and gaffes of American politics. But what took me a while to realize, perhaps because I didn’t want to become so disillusioned so early in life, is that in their banter and parodies were larger truths about our politicians.

Rapunzel at Tower Club

Hold the judgment

The Petraeus affair is just the latest example of a current event we don’t know much about, yet many of us have already formed our opinions on various aspects of the story and related political issues. Instead, we should take a step back and wait for news stories to unfold further before passing judgment.