IN "PRINT": Black Princetonians Discuss Campus Race Relations

Here are two Newsweek video clips that are companion pieces to this week's article on "post-racialism" at Princeton. The round table discussion features Princeton students talking about race relations on campus and what it means to be a black Princeton alumnus in the real world.



Another clip after the jump:
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IN PRINT: Obama's new media director speaks at Princeton

Joe Rospars, who managed the new media aspect of then-Senator Obama's presidential campaign, spoke at Princeton last Thursday about the Democratic Party's head start in Internet campaigning.

He emphasized the role of participation and giving Obama supporters the tools and assistance they needed to become community organizers and take part in traditional campaign activities like phone banking and canvassing.

Rospars, who looks like he knows his way around Facebook and Twitter, said that the new media campaign's success came from giving people a way to participate.

”The technology we used was actually pretty simple — not a lot of significant, super complicated innovation happening,” Mr. Rospars said. “It was really about applying simple tools to lower the barrier to entry into the traditional campaign operation.”

For the full story, visit centraljersey.com.

AW

IN PRINT: Ban Ki-Moon Looks to Woodrow Wilson for a "New Multilateralism"

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon discussed the urgent need for a new multilateralism during his address on Friday morning to an audience of nearly 1,000 people in McCarter Theatre.

”We need a new vision, a new paradigm and a new multilateralism,” Mr. Ban said. He defined this multilateralism as one that delivers “a set of global goods,” recognizes intercollaboration and has necessary authority and resources.

Mr. Ban traced this idea of multilateralism to former President Woodrow Wilson’s mission to create a League of Nations after World War I.

”He called for the nations to come together to ‘make it safe for every peace-loving nation,’ “ Mr. Ban said, quoting President Wilson. “Justice can be maintained to promote social programs and better standards of life with larger freedoms,” Mr. Ban added.

Read entire article at the Princeton Packet here.

SJP

[photo credit: http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S23/99/93I68/index.xml?section=featured]

IN PRINT: Black in the Age of Obama

Michelle Obama '85 didn't like her time at Princeton. In her senior thesis, she wrote how she always felt she was "black first and a student second" because of "a white cultural and social structure that will only allow me to remain on the periphery of society … never becoming a full participant."

Almost 25 years later, do Obama's observations still reflect what it's like being an African American student at Princeton? Newsweek interviewed two multigenerational black families that attended Princeton, and their experiences show what "postracialism" actually means in today's world.

Click here for the full Newsweek story and for video of Princeton students discussing race relations on campus today.

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IN PRINT: Tom Kean is Mad at Congress; Terrorism Inspires Morbid, Stoic Humor

Tom Kean, former Governor of New Jersey and the co-chair of the 9/11 Commission, delivered the keynote speech at the somewhat terrifyingly named conference, "Emergency Preparedness in the Region: What Have We Done & What is Still Needed?" This reporter was hoping the answers were Everything and Nothing, respectively. Sadly, they were not. Highlights from his speech and the conference after the jump...
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Just in case you forgot about terrorism/ Al Qaeda:
"They've stated plainly and continue to state they want to kill Americans, and they want to kill as many of us as they can wherever they can. They want to produce mass casualties."

He's ANGRY at Congress:
“Congress was very anxious and willing to reform the executive branch. They were not so willing to reform themselves,” said Kean. “The 9/11 commission recommendations have made no headway, or very little headway, in congressional reform.”
Why is Congress a problem? Well, it turns out the Department of Homeland Security still has to report to 86 congressional committees, down from 88 since the 9/11 Commission Report was release. Michael Chertoff told Kean that he spent one third of his time preparing to testify in front of Congress.

Other highlights from the rest of the conference:
The audience laughing when the head of the New Jersey office of Homeland Security passed off a question to someone from the Port Authority, saying, "I’m a believer that if we have another event in this area its going to be on Port Authority property,” to which he responded, "hopefully not before I retire!" Hillarious! Clearly, this was a conference full of people who spend their time contemplating terrorist attacks on American soil; they'll get their laughs when they can.

Full Story here.

SKG

Update: And here!

AW

IN PRINT: Chabad Gets a New Torah, Hilarity Ensues

If the celebration that traipsed its way through Mathey-Rocky this past Sunday afternoon is any indication, new Torahs are a big deal. Chabad, the Jewish center run by the Hassidic Lubavitz movement, got its first Torah on Sunday, and members of Chabad made their jubilation known.

Highlights of the ceremony and subsequent parade:

• The strange techno-cultural disconnect of seeing old men in strict Hassidic dress busting out new digital cameras
• Someone lighting their cigarette from the ceremonial candles being passed out
• Pretty much everything involving Chabad leader Rabbi Eitan Webb, whose highlights of the day included riding on a freshman's shoulders for a good five minutes and stealing/playing senior Dan Berry's bongo drum somewhere around the University Place side of the U-Store
  

Full story here

SKG

IN PRINT: Gen. Petraeus to address senior class at baccalaureate

Gen. David Petraeus, commander of the U.S. Central Command, will deliver the baccalaureate address to Princeton University seniors, at 2 p.m. May 31 in the University Chapel.

The general’s selection follows that of CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric, who was announced earlier this year as the 2009 speaker for Class Day, a June 1 commencement event.

”I felt very honored to be invited to speak at the baccalaureate, and I look forward to the occasion very much,” Gen. Petraeus said.

Gen. Petraeus oversaw all coalition forces in Iraq. After serving as U.S. commander in Iraq for 19 months, he became leader of the U.S. Central Command, which oversees American troops in the Middle East, East Africa and Central Asia.

”I’m grateful for the opportunity to offer reflections of a Princeton grad who has been privileged to serve with many wonderful Americans in recent years,” he said.

Read entire article at the Princeton Packet here.

SJP

IN PRINT: Princeton makes budget cuts while increasing workers' salaries

Princeton University has an $82 million budget-cutting plan set for the new fiscal year, Princeton administrators told members of the community during a town hall meeting on Wednesday afternoon.

Princeton currently has an operating budget of $1.3 billion, 48 percent of which comes from investment income while 29 percent came from student fees, 16 percent from sponsored research and 9 percent from gifts, Vice President for Finance Caroline Ainslie said.

“Princeton is especially dependent on investment returns compared to other public institutions,” Ms. Ainslie said. Princeton averages a 15 percent return on the endowment. Last year, however, returns were only 5.6 percent and they are expected to fall 20 percent for the 2009 fiscal year, Ms. Ainslie added.

“This gives you a sense of why we’re not in the same good old days and why the times are not normal,” Ms. Ainslie said. The new budget will cut the amount that comes from endowment returns by 8 percent or $74 million, Provost Chris Eisgruber said. Princeton also borrowed $1 billion for operations in order to prevent increased endowment spending, Ms. Ainslie said.

Mr. Eisgruber said that these measures are only the beginning.

Read entire article in the Princeton Packet here.

SJP

IN PRINT: At black symposium Princeton mayor says she may not run for reelection

Update 3/28: Here is the PAW article on the symposium.

[Full disclosure: This reporter was covering a symposium on the black experience at Princeton a couple weeks ago for the Princeton Alumni Weekly. It only occurred recently to this reporter that Princeton Borough mayor Mildred Trotman's comments may be news.]

Princeton Borough mayor Mildred Trotman, in office since 2005, said she will probably not run for reelection.

Speaking at a panel discussion with former New York City mayor David Dinkins and Trenton mayor Doug Palmer on February 21, Mildred talked about her emphasis on consensus and fairness when governing. She then admitted, "I don’t think I'm going to run again."

Trotman did not discuss further her comments, though Dinkins responded that one should "never say never."

"Mayor Trotman, you're going to run again, I bet you," Dinkins said.

Dinkins also addressed the upcoming New York City mayoral race and lamented mayor Mike Bloomberg's decision to run for reelection after overturning term limit laws.

"I like Mike, and I get along fine with him, but I would hope that he would not seek reelection," Dinkins said.

He offered praise for NYC comptroller Bill Thompson, who has said he will run for mayor.

"Billy Thompson is a good friend of mine, and I think he is eminently qualified to be mayor," Dinkins said.

However, he said it would be challenging for Thompson to run against Bloomberg because of his immense personal wealth.

"It’ll be very difficult for Billy or anybody to defeat [Bloomberg], and I think [Thompson] would have had a battle with [Rep. Anthony] Weiner, but I think he would have beat him," Dinkins said.

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(image source: princetonboro.org)

IN PRINT: Princetonians go to class, everyone else in New Jersey stays inside

Late Sunday evening, Rutgers canceled all classes on its New Brunswick and Piscataway campuses.

Then The College of New Jersey closed its campus at 5 am this morning.

Then all local school districts declared it a snow day.

After we'd hoped all night for the expected "8-14 inches of snow" to bury Princeton's Gothic buildings and cancel --or at least delay!-- classes, imagine our disappointment when we woke up to a measly 6-7 inches and...a full day of classes. Beginning at 8 am.

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Though some professors decided not to attempt the drive to Princeton (or decided to just stay home that day --Come on, the roads were pretty much clear) and canceled classes due to the weather, the day progressed as normal for most students.

”Closing the campus is very rare and is done only under extreme, unsafe conditions,” Ms. Cliatt said. “This would take place usually only in a blizzard or other extreme weather situation, and we believe such closing has happened only three times in the past 15 years — in 1996 for a blizzard, in February of 2003 also because of heavy snow and in April of 2007 because of heavy flooding in the region.”

Check out the article in the Princeton Packet here.

AW

IN PRINT: Closing the food gap

Jarrett Kerbel, executive director of The Crisis Ministry of Princeton and Trenton, speaks at a forum on food policy in Mercer County.

How hard is it to buy fresh, local produce in Trenton? Harder than it should be, say organizations like the Crisis Ministry and Isles.

A group of Mercer County residents--professors, farmers, college students and parents--gathered at Labyrinth Books last week to open up the discussion on food policy in Mercer County.

”We use the term food democracy,” said Mark Winne, who writes, speaks and consults on food policy councils and subjects ranging from hunger to agriculture. “It’s a concept that we as consumers should have some say in what we’re eating.”

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Everyone knows about Princeton University's one freegan, but the locavore movement has begun to spread into Trenton, an urban center of Mercer County which residents say receives too little of its suburban and rural neighbors' fresh produce.

Check out the article in the Princeton Packet here.

AW

IN PRINT: Actress Glenn Close Reveals her True Character

Alex Forrest, the bunny-boiling other woman in the 1987 film “Fatal Attraction” was not an easy character to love. But actress Glenn Close found it necessary to do just that.

”I just wanted to do the role justice,” Ms. Close told an audience at Princeton University on Thursday night, in a lecture titled “Are you who we think you are?”

”I’ve always felt that in order to truly commit to a character, I must love her,” she said. “Without love there’s judgment and if you’re judging you can’t understand.”

Ms. Close said she sought to discover whether it was plausible for a woman to act in the ways Alex did. From psychologists, she learned that Alex’s psychotic behaviors — which included boiling a child’s pet rabbit — were typical of someone who has experienced incest at an early age...

Read complete article at centraljersey.com
[photo credit: www.tiff08.ca/blogs]

SJP