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“Old Nassau”

Throwback Thursday! In honor of Black History Month (we still got 1 more hour!) this week’s edition of Old Nassau features some photos and other fun documentation giving us a glimpse into the history of African Americans at Princeton University in the 1960s, the era of racial integration at Princeton.

The Office of Admission’s Report to the Faculty- 1962-1963

“The addition of more American Negroes and other underprivileged groups to the campus would contribute to the diversity of the student body and enrich the residential experience of all. Secondly, at this particular point in American history it behooves all educational institutions to do what they can toward upgrading the status of the Negro in our free society. Princeton has an opportunity and responsibility in this regard.”

Photo Courtesy of Princeton University Archive

African American students organize a day of commemoration for MLK’s assassination- April 1968

Photo Courtesy of Princeton University Archive

Photo Courtesy of Princeton University Archive

Photo Courtesy of Princeton University Archives

Photo Courtesy of Princeton University Archive

Dr. Carl A. Fields is appointed Assistant Dean, making him the first African American dean of an Ivy League university- June 1968

Photo Courtesy of Princeton University Archive

Press Release from the Department of Public Information, Princeton Admissions – April 1968

“More than half of all black students who have attended Princeton in its 221-year history are on campus now.”

Photo Courtesy of Princeton University Archives

Minority Admissions; 1968-1999; Carl A. Fields Papers, Box 15; Princeton University Archives, Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, Princeton University Library.

Race Relations at Princeton University; 1966-2001; Carl A. Fields Papers, Box 13; Princeton University Archives, Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, Princeton University Library.

Mar 1, 2013

Old Nassau: Black History Month Edition

By Bina Peltz

Posted in Nostalgia Also tagged African-Americans, Black History Month, race matters, throwback Leave a comment

Throwback time! The Ink proudly presents Old Nassau, our weekly walk down the orange-and-black tiled memory lane. We get it already. Princeton’s old. We love to flaunt our legends, lore, and ridiculous traditions like cane spree, our school song, and the more-than-slightly uncomfortable hand motions that accompany it. But who doesn’t love looking at baby pictures?

Each week, we’ll be showcasing some of Princeton’s baby photos with the help of the photo archive at Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library, so you can laugh at how different (or eerily similar) Princeton was back in the day.

FIRST INSTALLMENT:

bicker (v): To prostrate oneself before the members of one of Princeton’s selective Eating Clubs, for the purpose of gaining admission. To do so, the goal of moving up the social hierarchy must be held as a higher priority than dignity.

1954, unidentified club: Bickerin’ in style. Trenchcoats (note the popped collar) are a bicker must.

Photo courtesy of Princeton University Archive

1888, Cannon Club: Nice hats, guys!

Photo courtesy of Princeton University Archive

Date unknown, Colonial: Unclear what is going on here.

Photo Courtesy of Princeton University Archives

1995, Terrace: Yes, this seems right.

Photo Courtesy of Princeton University Archives

1897, unidentified club: 116 years later, some things never change.

Courtesy of Princeton University Archive

Citation: Bicker; undated; Historical Photograph Collection, Campus Life Series, Box SP13, Box MP151; Princeton University Archives, Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, Princeton University Library.

Feb 10, 2013

Introducing Old Nassau: Bicker Edition

By Bina Peltz

Posted in Nostalgia Also tagged bicker, Eating Clubs, Madmen was real, old photos, prep, TFC, throwback, vintage Leave a comment

DID YOU READ…? YOUNG ALUMNI TRUSTEE AKU AMMAH-TAGOE ’11 TELLS US WHAT’S WRONG WITH PRINCETON, WROTE A KANYE-FUELED THESIS, IS AN “OLD PERSON”

Name: Aku Ammah-Tagoe
Age: 21
Major: English
Hometown: Silver Spring, MD
Eating Club/Residential College/Affiliation: Terrace/Forbes RCA

What was your initial reaction when you found out about your selection?
It was the Thursday morning of Reunions, and I was sitting on the Dinky platform at Princeton Junction as it slowly filled up with alumni getting off the train from New York. I wasn’t allowed to talk about the results yet, so I couldn’t do anything dramatic, but it was cool to sit there surrounded by so much of Princeton’s past and present, knowing that I’ll get to impact all of their lives now in tangible ways. At that point the election process had been going on for what, two and a half months? So I felt more relieved than anything else. But I definitely got excited as the weekend went on.

Who’s your favorite Princetonian, living or dead, real or fictional?
Adoley Ammah-Tagoe ’14, my little sister! She actually makes Princeton sparkle.

What’s the best meal you’ve eaten in Princeton?
Dinner at Prospect House at the English Majors Colloquium my junior spring. I don’t actually remember what we ate, but the Majors Colloquium is one of my favorite things about our department, and the company — juniors and seniors in the department, our favorite professors — was perfect.

In one sentence, what do you actually do all day?
Read and write (and read and write emails).

What is your greatest guilty pleasure?
Lately, one of my Pandora stations, TLC Radio. It’s so 90s! And you get a lot of girl power, “Independent Women Part I”-style songs that are ideal for, um, cruising through your childhood suburb in your parents’ Toyota.

What do you hope to accomplish as a YAT?
My two main constituencies — the residents of McCosh Hall and the Forbes Addition — have been asking a lot about renovation plans. But mostly I’d like to become the type of person who should hold Princeton in trust; I’d like to listen a lot, learn as much about the University as possible, and make informed decisions that are in its best interests.

Jun 21, 2011

21 Questions With Aku Ammah-Tagoe ’11

By Giri Nathan

Posted in 21 Questions Also tagged Aku Ammah-Tagoe, cosmpolitanism, Kanye West, orange bubble, suburban cruisin', surprise malaria, Young Alumni Trustee Leave a comment

MUSIC MAN SCORES A SCHOLARSHIP DOUBLE WHAMMY (RHODES, MARSHALL): NICK DiBERARDINO ’11 LIVES “IN EXCESS,” DIGS GARLIC AND CLEVERNESS, CRITICALLY ASSESSES OLD NASSAU

Name: Nick DiBerardino
Age: 21
Major: Music
Hometown: Westport, CT
Eating Club/Residential College/Affiliation: Rocky/Ivy

What was your initial reaction when you found out about the scholarship(s)?
With the Marshall, I’d say I was mainly feeling sticky — as soon as I won, two of my suitemates came and poured champagne on my head — but I suppose there was a fair amount of excitement mixed in there as well. With the Rhodes, the feeling was awkward … they announce the winners in front of everyone who lost, so it’s … uncomfortable, to say the least. It’s like they designed this stuff for reality TV.

Who’s your favorite Princetonian, living or dead, real or fictional?
Jeff Nunokawa. You’d think the man was fictional.

What’s the best meal you’ve eaten in Princeton?
One particular 3AM Frist pizza session comes to mind. They still had an “everything” slice, I covered it in garlic powder, and the rest is history.

In one sentence, what do you actually do all day?
Live in excess — excess composing, sleeping, working, working out, or slacking off, depending on the day.

What is your greatest guilty pleasure?
Super Smash Bros. (Brawl)

What are your plans for the Rhodes, which you ultimately chose?
The Rhodes will take me to Oxford for two years (for free!), where I’ll study composition and build in a whole lot of time to hang out and travel. Iceland and Russia are on the list of places I’m hoping to jump to from England.

Dec 1, 2010

21 Questions with … Nick DiBerardino

By Giri Nathan

Posted in 21 Questions Also tagged cleverness, composer, Frankensteinian pizza experiments, Nick DiBerardino, Rhodes Scholar, Super Smash Bros. Leave a comment

Since it’s summer and we know you’re busy at your super-important [insert bank here]/[insert NGO here]/[insert research institution here] internship or backpacking across Europe or voraciously watching back episodes of Gossip Girl, we here at The Ink round up the week’s news so you don’t have to. Today we’ve got some graduations stuff, some art crime stuff, some reality TV show stuff, some fratty stuff, and generally, stuff.

First up this week: Alumni swarmed Princeton this weekend, as you might have guessed, for Reunions. There was debauchery, there was dunko (as per the Wall Street Journal), and good times had by old people. God reportedly attempted to smite the revelers, but only knocked out a few trees. Fun!

A tree near Dillon Gym faced the wrath of nature

Also, graduation happened, which is weird to think because that means a quarter of the student body has moved on into the real world. At Baccalaureate on Sunday, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos ’86 told the Class of 2010 about his grandmother and to be kind.

And then NBC news anchor Charlie Gibson ’65 cracked some jokes, along with Class Day speakers Zach Zimmerman ’10 and Becca Foresman ’10. Reports indicate everybody had a good time. Too bad superstar student body commander-in-chief CDY wasn’t there, because he was racing with Jonathan Schwartz ’10 while filming an episode of the CBS reality show The Amazing Race.

The Class of 2010 marched on anyway, and 1,166 seniors passed through FitzRandolph Gates, with some special guests. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was given an honorary degree for a bunch of stuff, among them being a trailblazer for women’s rights and being pretty old.

Valedictorian David Karp (who had 29 A’s and A+’s!?) spoke, along with salutatorian Marguerite Colson, who gave her address in Latin to a bunch of people who couldn’t understand her:

Because few students today know Latin, the new graduates follow along using printed copies of the remarks. These include footnotes telling when to applaud (plaudite) and laugh (ridete). Guests and other audience members do not have the annotated copies, a practice dictated by tradition because the salute is directed to the members of the class.

Here’s a slick video Princeton made of the happenings. Money shot’s near the end, with the Class of 2010 on the steps of Blair Arch, doing the creepy Heil singing “Old Nassau.”

We’ll miss you guys!

And then, that huge sucking sound you heard on Wednesday? That was campus being evacuated for the summer. News grinded to a halt, but stuff still happened, apparently:

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Article Tags

“Old Nassau”

Old Nassau: Black History Month Edition

Introducing Old Nassau: Bicker Edition

21 Questions With Aku Ammah-Tagoe ’11

21 Questions with … Nick DiBerardino

Week in Review (May 30 – June 6): Campus Diaspora Edition

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