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Monthly Archives: April 2009

Politico’s Arena, charting daily debates among policy-makers and scholars about recent moves in Washington, today tracks reactions to Obama’s shift in Cuba policy.

While contributors like John Kerry and Princeton professor Julian Zelizer add some fresh perspective to the discussion, Melissa Harris-Lacewell, professor of politics and African-American studies at Princeton (and prominent Twitter-er), weighs in on the debate with some, uh, “insight“:

I just returned from a week traveling and working in South Africa. After 7 days of Russian vodka and Cuban cigars it is clear to me that ideological battles should not restrict the free consumption of the best our cold war opponents export. Open Cuba!

Profound, embarrassing, it’s all the same thing.

(image source: pbs.org)

Apr 14, 2009

Deep thoughts from Melissa Harris-Lacewell

By Will Saborio
Posted in Politics Tagged , Leave a comment

nytimessmashcraftThe New York Times profiles Smashcraft Heroes, Princeton’s videogaming club. Its members? “Mostly Asian, mostly male” engineers. Classic. (Our latest 21 Questions is on Mona Zhang ‘12, the president of the club.)

The reporter describes a recent match of Starcraft against Tsinghua University in Beijing. Of course, being Princetonians, one participant felt the need to relate the game to international relations and geopolitics:

Ke Wan, a graduate student from China who is studying operations research, detailed each world’s character traits: Zergs are prolific and fast, Terrans are sophisticated strategists, and individual Protoss units are extremely powerful. Wan drew a geopolitical analogy. “Zerg is like China,” he said. “It depends a lot on its large population. The U.S. is Protoss because it emphasizes the value of the individual. And Terran is Russia or the former Soviet Union, a huge high-tech war machine.” He plays as Terran.

Read the article, reflect upon on what Princeton has become, and shed an emo tear or two for Old Nassau.

(image source: nytimes.com)

Apr 12, 2009

National Media Only Covers Embarrassing Things About Princeton

By Brian No
Posted in In the news Tagged , , , , , Leave a comment

The Prince reported this week that “tweeting” has increased in popularity recently, and has attracted the attention of a few big names on Princeton’s campus, namely Melissa Harris-Lacewell and Cornel West. Not mentioned was Peter Singer, who also updates his Twitter quite frequently.

It’s to be expected that these update-streams from noted scholars at a prestigious institution should be self-referential, yes, and perhaps even a bit introverted. But these three take it to a new level.

Continue reading…

Apr 10, 2009

The New Frontier of Narcissism

By Will Saborio
Posted in Goings On, In the news Tagged , , , , , Leave a comment
TRAILBLAZING FEMALE PRESIDENT OF SMASHCRAFT HEROES GAMING CLUB PWNS N00BS (W00T W00T!)

TRAILBLAZING FEMALE PRESIDENT OF SMASHCRAFT HEROES GAMING CLUB PWNS N00BS (W00T W00T!)

Update 4/12: Zhang and Smashcraft Heroes have also been profiled by the NYTimes.

Name: Mona Zhang
Age: 19
Major: undecided
Hometown: Gaithersburg, Maryland
Eating club/residential college/affiliation: Forbes College

Who’s your favorite Princetonian, living or dead, real or fictional?
Princeton from Avenue Q, but I don’t suppose he’s actually a Princetonian

What’s the best meal you’ve eaten in Princeton?
Dumplings made from scratch and random ramen at three in the morning

In one sentence, what do you actually do all day?
I answer emails

What is your greatest guilty pleasure?
Gossip Girl and chasing squirrels

What’s the last student performance you saw?
Various snippets of performances at the CSA banquet from Triple 8, the Juggling Club, and more

Do you know all the words to Old Nassau?
Three cheers for Old Nassau, la la la la lassau

What do you hate most about Princeton?
The sewage and maybe the cobblestone when I’m wearing girl-shoes

What’s your drink?
Coke

Continue reading…

Apr 7, 2009

21 Questions with… Mona Zhang ‘12

By Brian No
Posted in 21 Questions Tagged , , , Leave a comment

The Prince ran a story yesterday about a new novel written by Jean Hanff Korelitz, a former reader for the Princeton admissions office. The story is about a fictional Princeton admissions officer and some sort of secret she harbors.

The reporter interviewed Korelitz to ask about her connections to Princeton and to discuss her book, and he even interviewed a student who used to babysit for her kids once upon a time. But over the course of nearly 600 words, the article doesn’t mention the very minor detail that Korelitz’s husband is Paul Muldoon. Nope, not important or noteworthy at all.

(image source: ew.com)

Apr 7, 2009

Minor Detail?

By Brian No
Posted in Goings On Tagged , , , Leave a comment
i iz andover

i iz andover

Forbes.com posted a story yesterday about an earth shattering discovery: there are these crazy things called “prep schools”!

Perhaps we’re being assholes, but isn’t the existence of prep schools, like, pretty much common knowledge? We half expect Forbes to write about something called the “Ivy League” and “parochial schools” next week.

In addition to a slideshow of some prep schools, the piece offers wonderful insights such as, “The Ivy League is still the Ivy League.” The rest of the article can basically be summed up as such: Prep schools are private! They can be famous! They have pretty campuses! Rich people go there! But so do poor people! They have famous alumni! They send their kids to the Ivy League! But so do public schools!

The most obnoxious part of the article is at the end:

But at the end of the day, writing Harvard or Princeton on your résumé really does mean something. So does what prep school you attended.

Okay, we can only hope writing “Princeton” on our résumé “really does mean something.” Because with grade deflation and the Great Depression 2.0, we’re just sure our prep school education will come in real handy.

(image source: forbes.com)

Apr 7, 2009

Forbes Magazine discovers something called “prep schools”

By Brian No
Posted in In the news Tagged , , , Leave a comment

[Insert Seinfeld Joke Here]

Yes, that’s right — everyone’s favorite nineties neurotic paid a visit to Old Nassau today. Or at least Jason Alexander, the actor who played him, did.

Alexander, also the star of the orangutan caper “Dunston Checks In”, was on campus with his teenage son and started off the day with an Orange Key tour. Turns out the actor did his research before coming: he asked his group’s tour guide about Princeton’s much-debated grade deflation policy (no word about his take on the matter). According to the guide, Alexander stuck to the front of the pack and stayed attentive throughout the tour despite the day’s heavy downpour of rain.

Word has it that Alexander later stopped by Theatre Intime, where he obligingly posed for pictures with a few lucky students.

Apr 6, 2009

SPOTTED: George Costanza

By David Walter
Posted in Goings On Tagged , , , , Leave a comment

Tom Kean

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. Here are the highlights from his speech and the conference:

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.”

Continue reading…

Apr 5, 2009

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

By Spencer Gaffney
Posted in In Print Tagged , , , Leave a comment

The New York Times recently profiled Pres. Obama’s budget director, Peter Orszag ‘91, who has been tasked with the unenviable job of overseeing the federal budget. We learn that he is a “supernerd” with grand ambitions:

Everything about the way he has interpreted his new job speaks of ambition: the policy heavyweights he has hired for the Office of Management and Budget, his efforts to persuade cabinet secretaries to let him help shape their plans, a public profile as high as that of any budget director since David A. Stockman’s polarizing tenure under Ronald Reagan a quarter-century ago.

He is also a sex symbol?

Continue reading…

Apr 5, 2009

NY Times Profiles Orszag ‘91

By Brian No
Posted in Alumni, In the news Tagged , , , , , Leave a comment