A record number of graduates from the Class of 2014 — 90.3 percent — achieved their post-graduation goals within six months of graduating, according to an annual report published this week by the University’s Office of Career Services.
Although many premedical students at the University concentrate in the natural sciences, data shows that a growing number of students choose to major in social sciences instead.The past four years of premed students have seen 143 molecular biology concentrators, 76 ecology and evolutionary biology concentrators and 111 concentrators in the social sciences, including anthropology, history, psychology, sociology and the Wilson School, according toDirector of Health Professions Advising Kate Fukawa-Connelly.Premedical students are able to pursue any concentration at the University, regardless of its association to science, she said, adding that the most popularconcentration among premeds over the past four years has been molecular biology.Fukawa-Connelly said that graduates who entered medical school in the fall of 2014 represented a variety of concentrations.
Caroline McCarthy ’06 will become the graduate board chair of Cloister Inn during Reunions, becoming the third woman ever to chair an eating club’s graduate board. She will be the University’s only female eating club graduate board chair. She previously served as a member of the club's graduate board. The first female graduate board chair was Kimberly Noble ’80, at Elm Club, which no longer exists as its own club, and the second wasAnne Lester Trevisan ’86 of Campus Club, whichhas not been an eating club since 2005. Noble and Trevisan did not respond to requests for comment. McCarthy said she is aware of the low number of female chairs historically, but does not feel uncomfortable by being outnumbered in terms of gender.
The Office of Sustainability sent a survey to students last week about the use of reusable and plastic water bottles on campus and askedif the University should continue to sell plastic water bottles. The survey, which also asked if anything prevents students from using refillable bottles, was intended to improve the Office of Sustainability’s “Drink Local” campaign, according to Shana Weber, the director of the Office of Sustainability. The "Drink Local" campaign provides tall spouts attached to water fountains around campus to fill water bottles. Weber declined to say whether there was a possibility of eliminating the sale of plastic bottles on campus, although she said that the Office of Sustainability is trying to change the University’s approach to water distribution. “The Office of Sustainability is working in partnership with students, [Campus] Dining and the psychology department to develop a research-based approach that should significantly reduce bottled water usage on campus,” Weber said.
Eight students received the 2015Spirit of Princeton Award, including Joanna Anyanwu ’15, Christina Chica ’15, Azza Cohen ’16, Brandon Holt ’15, Joseph Laseter ’15, Janie Lee ’15, Hannah Rosenthal ’15 and Paul Riley ’15.The award is an effort of the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students to acknowledge achievements in different areas of campus life, including athletics, community service, the arts, student organizations and religious life.
The Princeton Board of Health adopted an ordinance on Tuesdayraising the minimum age to purchase tobacco and other smoking products to 21. Princeton is the seventh town in New Jersey and the first in Mercer Countyto have implemented such an ordinance.The statewide minimum age to purchase tobacco in New Jersey is 19. The adoption of the ordinance follows arecommendation by the Board of Health last month by approving the introduction of the ordinance. Mayor Liz Lempert said she supported the new ordinance. “The longer you can put off someone taking their first puff the more likely it will be that they’ll never start,” Lempert said. The feedback Lempert has received on the anti-smoking measure has been highly positive, Lempert said. “I think it’s more that we’ve tried to be practical in Princeton and a leader in the state when it comes to creating a smoke-free environment in our parks and outside of our municipal buildings,” Lempert said. In 2013, the town of Princeton enacted a ban on outdoor smoking on municipal property, including municipal buildings, parks, pools and town-owned recreation areas, becoming the first town in Mercer County to do so.
Khristina Gonzalez was appointed associate dean of the college for programs of access and inclusion last Thursday. The appointment comes at the same time as a similar appointment of an associate dean for diversity in the Graduate School. Gonzalez is the former associate director of the University's Writing Center and oversees the Freshman Scholars Institute, among her various roles at the University.
The Facebook group of the Class of 1977 was shut down on April 7 after an alumnus posted a controversial article from The Atlantic about “The Princeton Mom,” according to Robert Gilbert ’77.The article, which had been posted several times, was deleted several times by an administrator, and while the administrator responsible for the action is unclear, there is speculation by those interviewed that it was Class of 1977 president Susan Patton.
Some students who gathered in the University Chapelon Sundayto address issues of racism and prejudice turned their backs on University President Christopher Eisgruber ’83, and some walked out.The gathering followed controversy last week concerning performances by student group Urban Congo that some said mocked African people and racist posts on the anonymous social media application Yik Yak.Alison Boden, Dean of Religious Life and of the Chapel, introduced each speaker.The event was intended to “take steps toward a better place,” she said.As Eisgruber began to speak, around 20 students stood and turned their backs to Eisgruber.
Members of the Class of 2015 were upset last week when they were reminded in an email that all graduating seniors will only be allowed one guest wristband for Reunions.According to the April 2 email, graduating seniors can attend Reunions free of cost but can register one guest for $65, the same price as a wristband for students who are not guests of seniors.Last year, graduating seniors were given the opportunity to purchase two $60 wristbands for their guests, and the year before they were given the opportunity to purchase five.The Office of Alumni Affairs sent an email last year on April 2, 2014 to the then-senior and junior classes explaining that the number of guest wristbands would be reduced to two for the Class of 2014 and further reduced to one for the Class of 2015 and future classes.The wristbands are only required for activities that take place after 5 p.m.
