News from around the Ivy League
Brown:
Missing Students Found
Kimberly Hays ’11 and Sophia Roy ’10 went to Trinidad for Spring Break were declared missing after they didn’t return home on their scheduled flight. The two are reported to be safe, although Steven Hays, the father of Kimberly, told the Daily Brown Herald that “one of them may have been drugged.” The FBI and State Department are looking into the matter.
UPDATE: Students Safe and Unharmed
Columbia:
Relay for Life Event Affected by Economic Downturn
Every year Columbia hosts the Relay for Life, an American Cancer Society event. But this year’s economic climate has affected the charities donations. Two years ago the event raised $92,000 and last year $72,000. As of April 2nd, the event had raised $46,254 which is roughly $2,000 less than the same time last year.
Cornell:
Shrinking Economy Forces Cuts
Although Cornell University has had plans to reorganize and increase the efficiency of the Alumni Affairs and Development (AAD) Office for about 18 months, the economic crisis has quickened the necessity of implementing them. Out of 76 positions eliminated from the AAD, 41 were layoffs. The AAD is in charge of fundraising for the University.
Dartmouth:
New Invention May Save American Lives in Iraq
Jacob Jurmain ’08 is working on a device that has the potential, he claims, to reduce roadside bomb casualties in Iraq by more than 50 percent. The device would extend from the front of a Humvee, for instance, and have the capability to set off roadside bombs. Three years ago, Jurmain worked on a project for the Department of Defense in which he helped create “a robot prototype that allows emergency responders to dispose of hazardous material easily and quickly.”
Harvard:
Matt Lauer to Address Senior Class
It was announced yesterday by the Harvard Senior Class Committee that Matt Lauer will address the class of 2009. The host for the Today Show received mixed reviews from Harvard students. Some felt the decision was wise considering Lauer’s experience and involvement in current events. Others hoped that a more satirical speaker would have been chosen. The speech is usually a light-hearted and comical castoff for the graduating class.
University of Pennsylvania:
The Demise of the Rejection Letter
For the first time this year UPENN will not send out rejection letters to students unless they have not logged in online to see their admission status. The new policy will be “green” and help the university save money. Yale and MIT have also initiated a paperless rejection letter policy.
Yale:
Koh Angers Conservatives
The New York Post reported last month that Yale Law School Dean, Harold Koh, made comments in support of incorporating Shariah law in the U.S. court system. While the accuracy of Koh’s comments is still unverified, some conservative pundits like Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck have attacked him. Others like Ed Whelan, however, cautioned that critics should refrain from attacking Koh until his true remarks can be verified.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Ivy Watch: Economy Edition
Snuggies: Almost as Awesome as Pet Rocks
At this point, who hasn't heart of a Snuggie?
If you're in the sad minority, here's a quick run down. The Snuggie is a blanket... with sleeves. You can order one on TV or the internet. And as the Snuggie following has grown, so too have the parody YouTube videos and the cultish Snuggie Pub Crawls, which by coincidence, I would really like to attend if anyone is interested.
Here's the latest video I've found on the interblag. The University of Dayton video on replacing heat with Snuggies, (as a parody green initiative). As my NYU friend, who sent me the link said, "I would be in favor of this initiative simply because the students look like Hogwarts students [in their Snuggies]." And who wouldn't support that?
University of Dayton video on Snuggies. (It wouldn't upload).
And more, from the NYTimes Article.
Thesis Countdown
If you saw seniors on the Street last night who had previously been MIA, it may have been that they no longer had theses to occupy themselves. As of Friday at 4:30, the seniors in the Politics department turned in their theses and then danced in the Woody Woo fountain, starting the month long process during which most Princeton seniors are required to submit their independent work, described by the University as "quintessentially Princeton."
So if you're wondering how your department stacks up in terms of due dates or when a friend may emerge from their carrel in Firestone, read on for the 2008-2009 Thesis Calendar.
April 7- English, German, History and the Wilson School
April 8- Art and Archaeology
April 10- Anthropology and French and Italian
April 13- Civil and Environmental Engineering, Operations Research and Financial Engineering, Psychology and Religion
April 14- Comparative Literature and Music
April 15- Chemical Engineering, Classics, Economics and Sociology
April 16- Spanish and Portuguese Languages and Cultures
April 17- Computer Science
April 21- Slavic Languages and Literature
April 22- East Asian Studies
April 23- Molecular Biology
April 27- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Geoscience and Philosophy
April 30- Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
May 1- Astrophysics, Chemistry and Physics
May 4- Mathematics and Near Eastern Studies
Friday, April 3, 2009
A battle of lax giants at Giants Stadium
On Saturday afternoon at 2:30 p.m., the No. 5 men's lacrosse team faces off against No. 2 Syracuse in a prime time venue for a prime time matchup.
To be sure, the battle against Syracuse at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., will be Princeton's most difficult game of the season as of yet. The Tigers vs. the Orange is one of three matchups taking place at this Saturday's first-ever Inside Lacrosse Big City Classic, which will showcase some of the best lacrosse teams in the nation. Before Princeton plays Syracuse, No. 1 Virginia takes the field against No. 10 North Carolina and No. 7 Hofstra competes against Delaware.
227 Comments and Counting - Heated Thread on Princeton Admissions
This week's story simply summarizing statistics on Princeton's and other Ivy League schools' admissions rates has generated a heated debate in the comments section of the story, with more than 200 comments and nearly 10,000 overall views. This is far and away the most commented Prince story since the band's trip to Citadel. On one side are readers complaining about Princeton's social and academic atmosphere, attributing the fall in yield to the University's grade deflation and other policies. On the other side are readers pushing back about how fortunate the Class of 2013 is to be admitted, regardless of the usual complaints about any college.
The comments range from well thought out and emotional paragraph-long arguments, to the more pithy, "Princeton has a lot of good people and squirrels."
Ann Coulter: Fire Shirley Tilghman
And what is Obama’s justification for keeping Shirley Tilghman as president of Princeton University as long as Princeton employs prominent crackpot Peter Singer?
Singer, the Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics at Princeton’s Center for Human Values, believes parents should have the right to kill newborn babies with birth defects, such as Down syndrome and hemophilia, and says there is nothing morally wrong with parents conceiving children in order to harvest them for spare parts for an older child — or even for society to breed children on a massive scale for spare parts.
:::
Doesn't a "new vision" for Princeton -- which benefits from massive taxpayer subsidies in the form of student loans and government grants -- require firing the president of Princeton? That university is clearly teetering on the brink of moral bankruptcy.
Umm...what?
Thursday, April 2, 2009
UFO Film for the week of March 30: "The Last Temptation of Christ"
This weekend’s UFO film is a little bit different from the norm: It’s not a crummy action movie, it’s not a fluffy chick flick, and by no means is it a vaguely recent release. Nope. This weekend’s film, which is supposedly meant to alleviate seniors in their time of greatest need, is Martin Scorsese’s controversial portrayal of Christ’s final days and hours, “The Last Temptation of Christ.” In perhaps the most unlikely piece of casting since Woody Allen was cast as Jimmy Bond in 1967’s “Casino Royale,” Willem Dafoe plays Christ as he faces a number of sinful temptations. The controversial part? He gives into them, fantasizing about sex, and dealing with such distinctly human emotions as lust, depression and doubt. Scandal aside, the film has actually become regarded as something of a cult classic, with its powerful direction and evocative score (written by Peter Gabriel). So, a little bit different from last week’s “Nick and Norah,” but should make for a highly memorable study break.
Going Clubbing: No Rose Necessary
“Extend one foot out, gently, as if you’re testing for thin ice…good!” Robin Thomas, an Argentine tango instructor, surveys the circle of eager dancers surrounding him. It’s a Monday night, and a group of about twenty undergraduate and graduate students, professors and community members have ventured out to the Fields Center for the second in a series of five “absolute beginner” classes offered by the Princeton Tango Club. Soon, the music will start, and the circle will disperse, everyone pairing off to practice the moves they’ve just learned.
While currently a graduate student organization funded primarily by the small fees the group charges non-Princeton students to attend their classes, Princeton Tango Club (PTC) is working hard to receive recognition as an undergrad group as well. Grace Haaland ’12, is one of the undergrad students the club has been attracting lately. “I didn’t dance before Princeton,” she told me, “but once I got my first taste of the larger tango community, I was hooked.”
The idea of a community of dancers came up several times in the course of the conversation, both with Haaland and other club members: “I don’t know what it is about tango…people just like to travel [for dance events]!” says Anca Chereches ’10, who often goes to New York City for weekend “milongas” (the name for a tango dance event) herself. On campus, PTC fosters this sense of solidarity through weekly classes and open “practica” (a term for unstructured practices), as well as monthly milongas attracting students from nearby universities. This past November, the club hosted their second Princeton Tango Festival, a weekend event attended by over two hundred participants and featuring master classes taught by various instructor couples, practica and several milongas.
Pausing to observe the pairs moving together around the room with varying degrees of success, I asked Chereches whether participants were expected to attend with a partner: “Not at all! In fact, that’s what I like about tango: unlike ballroom dancing, you are trained to dance with any stranger rather than just one specific person. We’re constantly rotating partners.”
Another perk? The shoes! (Sorry, guys, but yours aren’t as exciting as the girls’…) Haaland and Chereches both eagerly pulled out their strappy black heels when the topic of footwear came up. I must have looked skeptical when I saw them (Three inches high?!), because Chereches laughed and assured me, “I can’t walk in them…but I can dance!”
I was disappointed to learn, however, that no one actually dances with a rose between their teeth. “Maybe in ballroom tango, which is more about performance, they might,” Haaland conceded. Argentine tango, in contrast, places the emphasis on the individual couple. “Most of what we do is invisible. It’s all about learning to pay attention to your partner’s balance; when you dance with one of the instructors, you feel like you’re floating!”
Roses or no roses, it seems that Princeton tango is here to stay.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Shuttle Stop
It seems quieter inside this shuttle stop. The windows and steel posts frame various aspects of life, streaming through this southern part of campus.
One can see a steady trail of students heading for the Wawa; another chain comes out of the store, heading home in the evening.
A TigerTransit shuttle idles 10 yards away. “WEST ROUTE,” flashes the signs on the bus. No students are visible inside. The shuttle eventually leaves the stop, empty.
Behind the shuttle sits a bus, which drives off for “New York.”
There is a blue plastic bench inside this shuttle-station, and a white plastic ceiling hides the sky. To the right is McCarter, behind, an empty train station, and, to the left, a parking lot. Forbes College looms in the distance; the buildings visible from this stop are dark.
10 feet away, a faded-brown wooden bench sits against a tree. There is a bicycle chain hooked around three of its wooden boards.
Some students meander slowly on the sidewalk, while others use a much faster pace in the other direction, backpacks dangling their shoulders.
The traffic lights are the only constants, flashing green and red no matter what.
Tonight, the bench is cold, and one can see the remains of dried raindrops on the windows of the station, lit by the glow of dim white lamps a few yards away. On the windows, one can see marks left by tape used for posters. There are none up right now, however.
A driver climbs out of his taxi to get some coffee.
A student zooms by on his bike.
Another shuttle, bigger than the last, comes to a stop—“CAMPUS CIRCULATOR.” A student runs to hop aboard. It, too, leaves.
UCSD
Yesterday, 19,814 applicants to Princeton received the bad news that they had not been offered a spot in the class of 2013. They were probably not the high school seniors having the worst rejection experience, however. The University of California- San Diego (UCSD), which notified prospective freshman of their admissions decision on March 14, sent out an email to 47,000 students inviting them to admitted students day. UCSD only accepted around 18,000 of those students.
A technical error caused the email to be sent to all applicants to UCSD, including the 29,000 students who had already been rejected. The admissions office responded with another mass email, apologizing to the applicants.
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