Opinion

In that case, just double tuition?

The point is that if there is a good reason that this University exists as an institution of higher education and not a poverty-relief fund, then it seems highly questionable that it has any business using its means to create a warm glow of charity which makes the ivory tower of learning look a little more like a soup kitchen.

Academia for academia's sake

Some types of research enrich academia with humor and insight, bringing fun to the stacks in Firestone and making it sometimes just as important as more somber research.

Editorial: Lecturing to a wider audience

Not everyone is lucky enough to attend this university, but that does not mean that those who do not study here cannot be given the opportunity to take advantage of some of Princeton’s intellectual wealth. Providing online access to lectures and course materials for a small fee would allow the University to provide this public good in a budget-neutral way. The University should initiate this program with all reasonable haste and make available as many lectures as is practical.

Cartoon: Love can cross chasms

My complete works

Please, bear these rules in mind, and remember that a junior professor who meets these criteria will write a much more effective letter than a famous person who doesn’t. You’ll get the recommendations you deserve, and I’ll be able to spend a little less time rounding up the usual suspect adjectives — and a little more doing justice to the people for whom I should be writing.

PrinceCast #1: Tea Party edition

Michael Medeiros and Charlie Metzger sit down to discuss whether the tea party could thrive at Princeton and recent news regarding the Princeton dinky's survival under New Jersey Transit.   

Editorial: Progress on sustainability

In terms of reducing both energy use and waste, the University and its students have made great progress. However, there is still room for several easy, low-cost changes that could have a big impact on the University community’s use of resources.

Honor your mater

 "So, where do you go to school?”

Speak less, say more

Our malaise of the mouth is best cured when focusing on the back-and-forth, not just the forth.

Cartoon: Illustrated idioms

Cartoon: You've got mail

Climate change and the limits of skepticism

A true discussion does not get derailed by uncertainty and does not conclude that an entire field of science is false because of occasional errors.

Plastic or paralysis

Rather than the tax-and-spend Democrats, we shall have the spend-but-don’t-tax Republicans.

The fear of being unremarkable

The fear that we can’t measure up to those shining beacons — our classmates, our friends — can shake our highest aspirations to the core.

The price of a free concert

As much as I love Lawnparties, I believe that the USG spends far too much money on them by bringing a big-name act to campus.

Editorial: A more rational lockout policy

Students who are locked out of their room during normal business hours must now borrow a temporary key from the housing office. If the key is not returned in 24 hours, they will be charged a $75 fee to change the lock. Beginning in the spring semester, the Undergraduate Housing Office plans to implement a fee schedule for lockouts. The new policy is misguided, and the University should seriously consider alternatives.

Cartoon: Common Misconception

A long night’s journey into the future

Prox-access rooms will allow for a more efficient lockout system, which will increase the speed with which rooms will be unlocked in the future. As enticing as this prospect is, it’s important that the Facilities Department takes a number of precautions and carefully explores implementation options before making this switch.

Cartoon: Slylock Box

Declared my major and Ma ain't happy

While for some people choosing a major is an agonizing decision filled with multiple “changed-my-mind”s, for me, it was more a realization that I had known what I wanted to do all along. In retrospect, I had really been leaning towards comparative literature for quite some time. My mom, however, was still hoping in her heart of hearts for a last-minute change to something practical like electrical engineering or operations research and financial engineering. She was not exactly thrilled.