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“Cornel West”

Triangle sold out so fast when people thought this was a real Sondheim-adapted rap musical.

Triangle sold out so fast when people thought this was a real Sondheim-adapted rap musical.

Cornel West, African-American Studies/Religion professor and one of our many celebrity academics, recently announced that he will be leaving his Princeton post in 2012 to teach Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York, the school where he first began his career in academia.

For his time at Princeton, West will be remembered for more than just his commitment to paideia (which I learned is not a Spanish rice dish), his multiple political arrests, and his theological bromance with fellow professor Robbie George.

Oh, and that time his cartoon self roundhouse kicked some R. Kelly supporter in the Boondocks.

Since he began teaching at Princeton in 2001, West’s radical liberal politics have made him a controversial figure. A smattering of editorials and always well-phrased comments in the Prince since his arrival highlight the various opinions on West: “Princeton’s foremost hire” to “clownish entertainer,” “hero” to “charlatan,” and “exemplary human being” to “media whore.” My crowd of friends isn’t a big fan of West either, and as one friend once put it: “Why is he in academics at all? Why does he matter?”

I’ll be honest. Despite his platitudes, gangster proclivities, and propensity for showmanship, I believe Professor West matters.

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Amateur Paparazzi on the Nassau St. CVS

CVS on Nassau Street: Where civil rights figures get their cough drops.

Apparently, Dr. West is back in Princeton, after getting arrested on Sunday for protesting on the steps of the Supreme Court in DC as part of the Occupy movement.(Certainly, not the first time this G’s been behind bars). No charges were pressed, but I’m guessing he’s lying low in Princeton for the time being.

West, who’s been on leave from his teaching post at Princeton this semester, has been very vocal about his support for Occupy Wall Street.

Without getting into a whole kerfuffle about #Occupy and the 99%–for interested students, Princeton’s ACLU is holding an event: #OccupyWallStreet: An Examination next Tuesday, October 25, at 4:30pm. Location: TBA– I will ask this: Is it just me, or does Cornel West only own one type of suit? Maybe he didn’t have time to change since his arrest.

Given that Princeton is a pretty sleepy place in the summer (read: in general), our actual town doesn’t often make national headlines. According to our own University news, the most exciting thing that’s been happening on campus is a summer research program run by the grad school, which matches undergrads with professors and tries to reassure them that they really do want to stay in academia. Forever.

Yes, the accompanying photo for our local news headlines is a snapshot of the Princeton Junction parking lot. But such is the setting where minds gather for greatness! Glory! Who needs actual news when you can have an Orange Bubbles worth of intellectualish banter and Ivy League pretension? (Source: nj.com)

Yes, the accompanying photo for our local news headlines is a snapshot of the Princeton Junction parking lot (source: nj.com).

Meanwhile, PFML kids continue to gripe about their GPAs/futures and get insecure about girlfriends’ IIP-sponsored summer flings. PJ’s announces a new partnership with the guy who brought us Princeton Sports Bar this year. And a random naked dude gets arrested for running around in the parking lot of NJ Transit’s Princeton Junction!

Okay, so you know that Triangle is right (”Nothing ever happens in Princeton/Princeton is like an old folks’ home”) when we make much ado about some kid taking off his clothes after getting high and thrill to the thought of having salad and pasta options alongside our pancakes. But small as our town is, it serves as setting for the kinds of minds that do have their names scattered throughout national and global news, whether in commentary, direct participation or surprising background inspiration.

On the domestic front, Cornel West got annoyed at both Reid and Boehner’s budget plans and complained that left, right, and Obama were all failing the poor citizens of America. In true brotha-loving fashion, he also announced an upcoming “poverty tour” to “spotlight… working people['s] humanity, their dignity and their sense of resiliency.”

Outside the U.S., Anne-Marie Slaughter went to a China conference in Singapore and published her meeting notes, listing bullet-pointed observations on how ”Chinese youth really like blogs” and “Businesspeople don’t like hearing about potential problems with Chinese growth.”

Finally, this reading of Norwegian terrorist Anders Behring Breivik’s manifesto reveals an unexpected Princeton connection. Breivik directly cites MOL/WWS professor Lee Silver’s book Remaking Eden as partial inspiration for his warped eugenics beliefs. Of course, the article quickly clarifies that Silver is by no means responsible for Breivik’s mass murder crimes. But just the fact of connections like these is a reminder of how far Princetonian influence spreads, for better or for worse, even from a town as quaint (read: kind-of-sort-of-boring) as ours.

Bummed that you didn’t snatch up a ticket for the midnight showing of Harry Potter at the Garden Theater before they all disappeared? Don’t worry! There’s still hope for some entertainment next week.

71733_jay-z-rocks-the-mic-in-switzerlanddnews cornel west

On Monday Cornel West is scheduled to meet rapper Jay-Z at The New York Public Library to talk politics, rap, and general bad-assery. The conversation comes one day before Hova’s autobiography Decoded is set to be released. The last time the two made headlines together was in February when West had this to say about Jay-Z’s artistry:

“Guys like Talib Kweli and Lupe Fiasco rap messages and have something to stay. Now Jay-Z is on the radio and he’s talented, but he’s just not at the level he used to be at on ‘Reasonable Doubt’ and ‘The Blueprint’. The genius is still there, but there’s no more motivation.”

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Dr. Cornel West, in typical baller fashion, invited rapper Lupe Fiasco to his AAS 201 lecture today. According to Naomi Wood ‘13, Lupe “discusssed why he uses the n-word; social consciousness; parallels in his lyrics and Afro-American texts; censorship; and the relationship between his [Muslim] faith and his life as an artist.” Students remarked how articulate he was — also, at one point apparently Dr. West tried to lead him off the stage, but there was no staircase so Lupe had to jump off the stage, and it was awesome and crowd-pleasing, so everybody was like ohhhhhhhhhhh. No rapping though.

Brother West and Brother Fiasco

I wonder if he called him "Brother Fiasco."

For real though Lupe, please stop doing cool academic-type talks and release your new album already.

(photo courtesy of Allison Vise ‘13)

Guess someone took our advice!  CBS’s globe-trotting reality show The Amazing Race kicked off the filming of its 17th season on May 26.  Among the 11 pairs of two vying for the show’s million-dollar prize is Team NassoonFormer Student Body President – and Pyne Prize winner – Connor Diemand-Yauman ‘10 and Fantasticks star Jonathan Schwartz ‘10 (check out our linked interviews with the two Racers).

Filming began in the Boston area on the morning of the 26th.  First came an introductory segment filmed in Gloucester Harbor (Connor and Jonathan are the “Green Team” — you can catch a glimpse of them at around 4:15 in this video).  Then the teams made their way to Logan Airport, where they were photographed by bystanders not affiliated with the show.  Here’s Connor and Jonathan at the airport en route to the first leg in England (more details after the jump):

TeamGreen

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from aolcdn.com

from aolcdn.com

From “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen,” a 2003 Esquire article by Tucker Carlson on an unlikely peace-negotiating trip to Liberia led by Al Sharpton:

Cornel West, the writer and scholar, led the prayer. “Lord, keep us safe,” West intoned as we bowed our heads. “But more important, keep us soulful.”No one looked more soulful than West himself, who was dressed, as always, like a slightly flashy undertaker: white shirt, black three-piece suit, silver pocket watch and chain. He could have been on his way to meet the next of kin. In fact, he was coming from a jazz club. West had stayed in the city until 4:00 A.M. before returning to his “crib in Jersey” (Princeton, New Jersey, where he teaches), then catching a ride to the airport. Along the way, he’d neglected to pack. West boarded the flight for Ghana with two books and a tiny carry-on the size of a woman’s cosmetic case. That was it. He had no suitcases or garment bags or luggage of any kind. Nor did he have any real idea where we were going or how long we might be there. “When are we coming back?” he asked me as we walked down the ramp onto the plane.

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(source: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=113321675364106&index=1)

They’re baaaaack! Descending like locusts, interrupting your life with question after question. Yes, the prefrosh have landed once again, and if you’re tempted to pack your perky pre-Princetonian off to Timbuktu so you can get some work done or just enjoy some blessed peace, look no further than this week’s arts events. There’s something for every little prefrosh, and after seeing the weekend’s offerings you might even be tempted to join in–sitting a safe distance away from the all the orange-lanyard-clad hordes to preserve your street cred, of course.

First up is the Triangle Club’s Annual Spring show, “Cornel West Side Story.” Rumor has it that the great Cornel himself will make an appearance before the weekend is up.  ”He already asked us for a copy of the poster to hang up on his office wall,” said actress Carolyn Vasko ‘13.  ”Apparently it’s every Princeton professor’s dream to have a variety show named after them!”

Unlike the Club’s annual fall show, which is a full-fledged narrative musical, the spring show is when up-and-coming Triangle writers get to try out their best (and worst) skit ideas.  All writers have participated in a semester-long writing workshop with Andrea Grody ‘11 and Willie Myers ‘11, and will continue working together to create a full-length production in the fall.  This weekend’s show reads like a Tiger-infused episode of SNL–complete with insiders-only Ivy jokes, bawdy sing-alongs, and squirrel costumes (trust us, you just have to see it to believe it).  Though their legendary Triangle drag kickline is a fall-only affair, the show is the perfect prefrosh crash-course in all things Princeton; for an underclassmen, it offers sheer escapist fun and prime relief from papers and studying.

The show goes up Thursday-Saturday nights at 8pm in the Whitman Theater. Tickets are $6, and the event is TigerTickets eligible.  We recommend buying ahead at the Frist Box Office–Triangle is notorious for selling out for its one-weekend-only runs.

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So Obama’s approval rating has seen better days. What’s Cornel West got to offer the Commander in Chief?

Well, besides having a slick set of clean duds every morning.

Check out one of Dr. West’s more recent public appearances in this video put out by the BBC. The professor encourages President Obama to not “simply be the friendly face of the American Empire.” West even goes so far to ask him, “How deep is your love for poor and working people?” He insists, “Don’t be seduced by the elites.”

And the professor begs for democratic policies in place of technocratic ones, splicing in images of afflicted Americans. But in spite of the tough criticism, or, as he calls it, “loving pressure,” he does offer Obama a fair consolation prize: “I applaud your brilliance; I applaud your charisma.”

Cornel West at his freshest!

Cornel West at his freshest!

If you’re taking one of Professor Cornel West *80’s two seminars this coming semester make sure you do your reading! Because he will be “real fresh”! That, apparently, includes clean clothes–an aspiration that is a constant struggle for Princeton students.

West was recently featured in The New York Times‘ “Sunday Routine” series. On the subject of class preparation, he said:

I try to shoot to be home by 8 or 9 at night. I like to get home and wash my clothes. I have to read all night; I have to be real fresh for class. I like to read two or three hours every night. Right now I’m reading Robert Brandom, one of the great pragmatic American philosophers. I read until 2, 2:30 a.m. I don’t really need that much sleep.

Curiously, West also said he has never spent a weekend on campus:

I’ve never spent a weekend in Princeton. I would like to be at home, but my calling beckons me.

Instead, he usually visits four cities each weekend! And he does all this on DECAF coffee, which is the craziest thing we’ve ever heard.

(image source: princeton.edu)

Easy to get in! Just present six passes of any color. SOURCE: http://upload.wikimedia.org

Easy to get in! Just present six passes of any color. SOURCE: http://upload.wikimedia.org

In light of a recent visit from two friends from high school, I realized, as one is wont to do, that it’s the little things that make Princeton so special. Everyday musings aside (“Gee, I chugged a possibly hazardous number of Red Bulls to get me through Dean’s Date!” or perhaps “The competitive, back-stabbing nature of that intro class is just so invigorating!”), there are some things we simply forget are unique, interesting, or downright bizarre.

While by no means a comprehensive list, what follows is a collection of those things we take in stride, those things that fall under the heading “Only at Princeton…”

  1. We are so taken with the benefits of flexible logic that we enforce trayless policies in several campus dining halls and eating clubs, but often force Rocky/Mathey students to use disposable plates, cups, and bowls at weekend brunch. Here’s to a marriage of green dining and fiscally-responsible employment models!
  2. We have a bubble tea joint on Nassau that serves—get this—exploding boba. “Would you like regular boba or exploding boba?” (As if that were even a question.)
  3. Many of us live in beautiful residential college buildings in which we have to ascend two flights of stairs to reach the nearest bathrooms (ahem, Holder). We even convince ourselves that the “It’s 5 a.m., so I refuse to believe that my bladder is about to pull a Tycho Brahe” game is normal.
  4. We can’t do the usual student bouncer thing on the Street. Nope, we go all out, ensuring that only those possessing an ever-changing rainbow of passes (or a great color printer) can get into those exclusive eating clubs.

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(source: insidehighered.com)

(source: insidehighered.com)

Everyone knows the story of Cornel West, Princeton’s Class of 1943 University Professor in the Center for African American Studies: West teaches at Harvard, then-Harvard president Larry Summers tells West that he’s concerned about West’s scholarly output, West takes offense, West comes to Princeton earlier this decade. Big coup for Princeton!

West has recently been making the rounds promoting his memoir, Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud, that he co-wrote with David Ritz. In response, Scott McLemee, a columnist for Inside Higher Ed, recently wrote a scathing review of West’s latest book. He writes:

Cornel West’s work was once bold, challenging, exciting. The past tense here is unavoidable. His critical edge and creative powers might yet be reborn (he is 56). But in the wake of his latest book, Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud, this hope requires a considerable leap of faith. Published by Hay House, the book also bears a second subtitle: “A Memoir.” It is the most disappointing thing I have read in at least a year.

McLemee criticizes West for (you guessed it) his lack of academic output in the past decade and points out instances in the book where he believes West is simply self-congratulating himself, not unlike a celebrity would. The writer later concludes:

It is clearly time for Cornel West to take himself to the woodshed — and not for a weekend either.

Ouch. Unfortunately for McLemee, West has reached iconic status here at Princeton. He’s untouchable.