Opinion

Confessions of a campus pianist

I think the pianist has some right to play in the space, given that there’s a piano there. The impression I get from Princeton FML is that the pianists are always considered outsiders, either invading it with their offensive sounds or entertaining it with themes from Final Fantasy or the Godfather. Instead, they should be considered rightful users of the space. True, they can play the piano elsewhere, but others can study elsewhere.

Too soon?

Letter to the Editor: April 23th, 2012

I write regarding Aaron Applbaum’s April 13 reply to my article, in which he argues that the Obama administration has offered a satisfactory compromise in altering the contraception mandate. While the compromise does distance some organizations from what they deem to be participation with evil, it fails to live up to Aaron’s principle that “no citizen should be coerced into performing actions they believe to be wrong or morally reprehensible.” If an employer believes contraception is wrong, she will object to using it, to supplying it, and to purchasing health plans which provide it to her employees for free.

The responsibility for honor

Princeton university’s Honor Code was established by undergraduates in 1893, creating a system of academic integrity and trust between students and faculty to be used for in-class examinations. In order to uphold the ideals of the Honor Code and to enforce its regulations, an entirely student-run Honor Committee was formed. Together, the Honor Code and Honor Committee have established an environment that increases trust among students and faculty members by handling academic dishonesty among undergraduate students. Since the committee is entirely student-run, the undergraduate student body is the only entity influencing its decisions and membership.

Put a grade on it

Why not harness the motivating power of grades and apply them to other aspects of our lives? By doing so, we would become not only better students, but better friends, homemakers and lovers.

Prefrosh don't like Saturdays

Doing more

Ultimately, my biggest, yet most beneficial, error at times has been doing too much. It’s hard to regret those activities I had to branch out to enjoy at Princeton; it’s easy to regret not doing others. So for those of you who still have time, don’t lend yourself to easy regrets. Rather, give yourself over to great opportunity, and find a way to break the constraining mold that you had previously imagined for yourself. Like the two-dimensional figure being lifted off a page to see the real world, you have the unique chance to be liberated in your experiences at this University. Don’t waste it.

Editorial: Welcome to Princeton

Congratulations on being accepted to the best University in the nation. As you spend the next few days in the Orange Bubble, we, Princetonians, hope to pass on our love for this place we call home. Princeton Preview will be over before you know it, so the Daily Princetonian Editorial Board is dedicating today’s editorial to helping you prefrosh seize every moment you have on campus.

Somewhere to belong

Princeton isn’t a monolithic institution: That’s what I love about being here. It’s a place for settling in and creating a niche for oneself. Based on how much alumni give back, and how they come back for Reunions every year, there’s clearly something that made a large and diverse group of people fall in love with this University.

Cartoon: The four prefrosh you host

Wearing your stripes

“Earn Your Stripes” is not a mandate to unconditionally praise Princeton as a university and institution, but rather to recognize your participation in something larger than your individual experiences and to take part in shaping Princeton’s future. Whether you are happy or unhappy here, whether it is because of certain aspects of Princeton or external circumstances, the reality is as simple as the P-rade T-shirt slogan: You are here.

Memo to seniors

We’re at a tipping point: Either we reestablish an economy that is based on real products and services providing real value to citizens, or we slide further into the theater of economic activity. The era of physics majors crafting opaque weapons of mass financial destruction has to come to an end. It’s going to take a new generation of Don Plattens and Dick Fishers, taking the knowledge from their majors in philosophy and history and applying it in their real work, to create a new and better real world. That observation, like solid financial practices, should be readily transparent, not opaque. If you think that you could contribute to that sort of a restoration, please don’t let anyone scare you out of it. We really need you.

Making plans

Starting this year I had a very clear set of objectives. Apply for jobs, interview for jobs, pass classes, turn in thesis, graduate. Yes, I had factored in that I wanted to enjoy this year with my friends and learn as much as possible. However, what I had not thought of was the purpose of my goal. What was the point of graduating if I didn’t know where I wanted to end up? In my strict adherence to the minimal and micro-level checklists that I organized, I never stopped to question what the larger picture was and what the larger motivation should be.

Until we eat again

Capturing a culture

Info packets, emails, invitations and websites beckon you to the different colleges, touting unparalleled research opportunities, strong undergraduate focus, incredible study-abroad programs, substantial grant-based financial aid and award-winning faculty. But when it comes to enticing accepted students to matriculate, too often colleges don’t provide the right information.

Please don't elaborate

The problem with the “please elaborate” mentality stems from a lack of understanding of the social process of teaching and learning.

Cartoon: Princeton in full bloom

What are you sinking about?

Last weekend my girlfriend and I saw the 1997 film “Titanic” in theaters, which has been re-released in 3-D to commemorate the centennial of the sinking. This experience got me thinking about how and why we relate to memorable — and disastrous — moments in our past.

Letter to the Editor: April 18th, 2012

The Writing Seminars were roundly criticized in two recent ‘Prince’ columns. While individuals are clearly entitled to their views, it’s worth noting that course evaluation data for the Writing Seminars paints a very different picture.

A smooth operator