http://www.flickr.com/photos/73784413@N00/3350166689/

Starting May 1, Princeton students may be using a little more cash when they head into the city for the weekend or take the train home on breaks.

Having campaigned on a promise of tax cuts, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has announced funding cuts to New Jersey Transit in order to balance the state budget. The NJ Transit board of directors will vote on a proposal to reduce costs April 14.

How will this affect Princeton students, if the proposal is approved?

• A ticket to New York will now cost $16.50 instead of $13.25
• Off-peak round trip tickets will no longer exist
• 5 fewer weekday trains will run between Trenton and New York

Photo source: The Princeton Packet, www.centraljersey.com

Despite this year’s tighter budget and a slightly worse-for-wear endowment, President Tilghman is still thinking ahead towards breaking ground on new Neuroscience and Psychology buildings as part of an innovative Natural Sciences neighborhood (as The Ink reported earlier this week).  While the natural sciences project is has been deemed “shovel-ready” by the powers-that-be, plans for a series of new academic neighborhoods, including ones in arts and transit and the social sciences, have still had their share of difficulties in light of the recession:

“Many plans in our capital plan have been delayed, and the major factor is how we can pay for them,” said University Representative Cass Cliatt. “The plans for these buildings are ready as soon as we have the backing to pay for them.”

Read more in the Princeton Packet here.

From http://www.flickr.com/photos/hawken

Remember when American universities started hurting from the recession? At Harvard, students were forced to go without hot breakfasts. Soup kitchens sprang up to help students through the whole thing (we heard).

When they learned of the travesty that had befallen Harvard, Princeton’s very own Tiger Magazine set out to remedy the situation by bringing hot oatmeal to the huddled crimson masses.

“Our humanitarian action was motivated by our deep-seated empathy for Harvard students,” head writer Jim Valcourt ‘12 told us in an email. “After all, they go to Harvard. Sure, our schools are rivals, but that’s no excuse for standing by idly while your fellow man is deprived of morning sustenance. Someone had to act.”

The mission’s mastermind Stephen Stolzenberg ‘13 carried out the Ivy League Marshall Plan with Valcourt, Myra Gupta ‘12, Rodrigo Menezes ‘13, Brian Edwards ‘11 and Steven Liss ‘10.

Ed Kelley ‘13 captured and edited their efforts and posted the video yesterday on Tiger Magazine’s website:

Of course, the attempt to nourish Harvard students’ stomachs and souls devolved into a heated rivalrous confrontation … or at least a couple of email exchanges between Harvard students attempting to plan such a confrontation.

Read our favorite emails after the jump.

Apparently a Tiger Magazine staff member sent anonymous emails to two Harvard listservs, tipping off the Harvard students and asking for reciprocal prank suggestions. Here is one student’s response (you can read the email exchanges here):

I have three options:
1) Play up the fact that no one cares about Princeton, and just belittle them: “Oh, you came to make fun of us? That’s so cute. Someday, someone will want to be your rival school. I’m just sure of it!”. “I’m sure there are people who haven’t heard of Harvard or Yale. They might apply to your school”.
2) Dress up in the most pretentious outfits possible (I’ve got a fake pipe) and pretend to be fellow Princeton people. Make fun of the fact that they’re the only Ivy League that acts like the Ivy League stereotype.
3) Make them kits- giving them condoms and lube, with the promise of hope – someday they’ll get laid.

But ultimately, their ideas came to naught. (Typical Harvard – lots of bark but no bite.) The final message reads:

A couple giant f***-you’s this morning. First, to everyone who said they were gonna come and didn’t show up – i know, you had a midterm/paper/project/homework/just *had* to sleep. F*** you. Seven flake-outs at once?….
It’s exceedingly pitiful that Princeton, of all god-forsaken places, can muster the cohesion and joie de vivre to get enough kids to another school’s campus to both make a prank and film it, and we can’t do shit about it.
This is why Harvard sucks.

Alas, it seems that Harvard has lost not only its hot breakfast, but its competitive spirit. And, of course, any sympathy it had from an equally over-privileged institution of higher learning.

The Prez.

What’s on Shirley Tilghman’s mind these days?

Besides dealing with a $3.7 billion drop in the University’s endowment (thanks, Great Recession!), Tilghman said at this afternoon’s CPUC (Council for the Princeton University Community) meeting that moving ahead with establishing the nation’s premier neuroscience department is her biggest priority. Tilghman also said the lack of funding to renovate the soon-to-be vacant Frick Laboratory has been worrying her.

The construction of a neuroscience and psychology building below Icahn Laboratory was postponed after the economic climate turned sour, but Tilghman said she’s trying to secure enough alumni donations to break ground as soon as possible. She said the new building is “shovel-ready” and said it was urgent that the University take advantage of today’s historically low construction costs. (Basic Wall Street, y’all – buy low, sell high, you know?) Channeling Sarah Palin, Tilghman said she’s reaching out to a small group of loyal alumni benefactors “to get our ‘base’ energized,” though we’re not sure what this exactly means.

Tilghman’s also concerned about the soon-to-be vacant Frick Laboratory. (To be honest, I wouldn’t want to go in there anyway – those big chemical showers give me the creeps.) When the Chemistry Department moves into its new building next fall, the University had originally planned to convert Frick into a classroom space for the humanities and social sciences.

Place looks almost as miserable as three-hour lab makes you feel

But Tilghman said recent cuts in the capital budget are going to force Frick to sit vacant for the foreseeable future. Of course, she’s also worried about the symbolism of an empty building in the middle of campus.

But Shirley Prez still seems optimistic. She said she’s been telling alumni that the past year’s been “Princeton’s finest hour” because the community came together during the difficult financial crisis (aww!). After two rounds of budget cuts, Tilghman said she doesn’t see any others in the near future. “We’re going to be just fine,” she said, “But we do want to keep moving forward.”

Our fearless leader!

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.