(From left to right) Figure 1: Representation of Princeton Undergraduates in Highest Profile Leadership Positions on Campus, 1970-2010, by Sex and by Decade; Figure 2: Winners of Pyne Prizes, 1970-2009, by Sex and by Decade

President Tilghman charged the committee to address “the critical question of whether women undergraduates are realizing their academic potential and seeking opportunities for leadership at the same rate and in the same manner as their male colleagues.” After a year of work in focus groups, committees, surveys, and conversations, here’s what the committee of 9 faculty members, 6 undergrads, and 3 administrators came up with.

Overarching theme: There are subtle but real differences in the way that women and men experience college life, and this finding is not limited to Princeton’s campus.

Redefinition of leadership: Women participate in a range of extracurricular activities on campus, and hold leadership positions that tend to be “behind-the-scenes.” The summary report notes, however, that “some women have expressed interest in more prominent posts and were actively discouraged by other students.”

Leadership style: While women and men, alike, agreed that women keep the gears turning in the organizations in which they’re involved, the committee found that women “consistently undersell themselves” and that often, men are more quick to voice opinions in group settings.

Academic achievement: The findings of the committee suggest that women are consistently achieving higher GPA’s than male peers and are more likely to receive honors in general, while men are more likely to receive highest honors.

Importance of support systems: The committee noted women’s increased need for strong beginnings at Princeton in their on-campus involvement, the benefits of mentoring for women in an environment in which women feel greater pressure to behave in specific ways, and the importance of affiliation with other women.

In response to these issues, the committee made five general recommendations for the University:

1. To increasingly recognize leadership efforts of both men and women
2. To confront stereotypes that may hinder women from running for leadership positions on campus
3. To describe in greater detail what leadership roles entail
4. To celebrate academic achievement in all departments and address any disparities in achievement
5. To encourage all undergraduates to address and dispel residual gender prejudices that may be present in campus social life

Additionally, five more specific recommendations were made:

1. To restructure orientation activities in order to involve upperclassmen, to better prepare incoming students for positions of leadership, and to encourage students to participate in a “re-orientation” program after fall break to continue the efforts of orientation
2. To improve current mentoring opportunities for incoming students by a.) strengthening the current program of peer-to-peer advising with the possible addition of a peer advising system for female underclassmen in the residential colleges, b.) expanding the current model of faculty mentoring, c.) including grad students and alumni in mentorship, and d.) offering prizes to exceptional mentors
3. To increase faculty awareness of campus-wide issues by providing high-achieving students with encouragement to apply for fellowships, graduate programs, etc., using gender-neutral grading techniques, and minimizing competition among students by focusing on collaborative learning
4. To improve and build upon existing leadership training programs to make them more widespread, as well as to invite women to assume positions of leadership and to encourage cooperation between different student leaders on campus
5. To periodically reassess the situation of men and women on campus through data collection to keep goals of gender equality in sight, with the specific goal of a follow-up to coincide with the 50th anniversary of coeducation at Princeton in 2019

Check out the full report for more detail on the committee’s findings and recommendations, or Professor Evan Thomas’ take on the issues here. Further discussion with committee members about the report will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 23, in Dodds Auditorium.

"Dick Van Buren" '10 icing Prez Shirley Tilghman

That up there is Shirley Tilghman, President of Princeton University. Opposite her is “Dick Van Buren” ‘10 (who asked we change his name for this article). In the photo, DVB is icing Shirley Tilghman. This is his story.

But, let’s backtrack for a second — if you haven’t yet heard of icing, well, I guess you’re not a bro, bro. Quoth the Times:

The premise of the game is simple: hand a friend a sugary Smirnoff Ice malt beverage and he (most participants have been men) has to drink it on one knee, all at once — unless he is carrying a bottle himself, in which case the attacker must drink both bottles of what [one bro] described as a “pretty terrible” drink.

The trend’s struck colleges across the country, and has even started to creep into everyday bro life. (Icing a bro when he gets to his office desk in the morning, icing a bro when he gets back from the gym, icing a bro coming out the bathroom — classic, all of them.) Unfortunately, the chronicler of the offline meme, BrosIcingBros.com, has stepped down. But if you stuck around for Reunions this year, you might have seen the wreckage of the beautiful game around campus — freshly downed bottles of Ice were strewn about campus much of the weekend.

And one of those Ices had Shirley’s name on it. DVB tells us how things went down.

“It wasn’t planned or anything,” DVB said. “I stashed an Ice or two in my beer jacket for the P-rade in case a prime opportunity arose. Little did I know…”

Yes, DVB was, in a way, about to make history. Scene? Poe Field, swarming with parents and students. Task? “I was hanging out with some of my buddies who were also graduating and I made a passing comment about wanting to ice Shirley. They convinced me to at least try.”

Could he? Could DVB stare down his target? Could he step up to the giant, like David did Goliath, with humble Ice in hand? Our man mustered up the courage.

She was up on stage taking pictures and talking to professors and I didn’t see any security measures in place other than the crowd’s own sense of propriety, so I just walked up on the stage and stood around trying to look like I wasn’t about to offer her a delicious citrus-flavored malt beverage.

A deep breath later, things escalated quickly.

I moved in during a gap in conversation and introduced myself, explained the rules of the game, and offered her an ICE Original on behalf of myself and the Class of 2010. She informed me that she couldn’t be seen chugging it, so I asked her if she could just take a sip, which she also declined.

We’ve known this for a long time based on her policies, but now we finally have confirmation — Shirley Tilghman: not a bro.

Thankfully a gracious alum accepted the thrown gauntlet.

I was just about to walk away in disgrace when the guy (I think his name was Adam) who was in charge of running the P-rade stepped in and bit the luke-warm, triple-distilled bullet. I had introduced myself to him earlier at the class picture because he was being absolutely hilarious and seemed like a total bro, so he must have remembered me and realized that I wasn’t a straight-up creep. He had asked me to toss him a couple Bud Lights while he was walking next to Tilghman in the P-rade and I guess he wanted to return the favor so I wouldn’t have to retire in defeat.

DVB: We applaud your skill, and commend your attempt. May the Ice be with you.

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:

• The Princeton museum’s curator is being investigated by the state of Italy and may be the target of criminal proceedings that are under way. The Times reports:

According to a 14-page legal notice from the public prosecutor’s office in Rome, J. Michael Padgett, 56, antiquities curator at the Princeton University Museum of Art, is a focus of a criminal investigation of “the illegal export and laundering” of Italian archaeological objects.

Yikes. Italy’s alleging that Mr. Padgett was involved in the buying, selling, or lending of Italian art “looted or stolen” from the state without its consent. The investigation comes as a surprise, since in 2007, Italy had come into an agreement with Princeton to exchange eight antiquities for Italian cooperation and bilateral agreements.

But hey, at least it’s not as bad as when Yale confirmed that an art curator had received a Yale doctorate when she hadn’t, prompting a lawsuit from the the Sungkok Art Museum in South Korea.

• Relatedly, the museum acquired three pieces with “aesthetic excellence” and the Times reports on an upcoming exhibit of the Princeton faculty meeting room financed by alumni. Maybe that cancels out the potential lawsuit? Probably not.

• And finally, a potentially big story here: Our very own Brian No ‘10 reports in PAW that Shirley Tilghman is considering banning fraternities and sororities in response to the John Burford ‘12 tell-alls printed this past semester in the Prince. The founding member of the Theta sorority weighs in and says Princeton doesn’t need ‘em. Some former Greek life dropouts also weigh in on their pledge experiences.

John Burford '12, former SAE pledge

The administration will consider over the summer banning fraternities and sororities outright from campus, President Shirley Tilghman said in an interview.

Tilghman said she was considering three options: 1) keeping the University’s current policy of non-recognition, 2) recognizing fraternities and sororities in the hopes of increasing regulation and University oversight, and 3) banning Greek life from Princeton outright.

“At the moment I am keeping an open mind about all options,” including retaining the University’s existing policy of non-recognition, Tilghman said in an e-mail to PAW. One way to ban Greek life, she said, would be to require matriculating students to pledge not to join fraternities or sororities, the same method used when fraternities were banned from Princeton between 1855 and World War II.

Tilghman’s comments came the week after John Burford ’12, a former Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) pledge, described allegations of serious fraternity hazing in The Daily Princetonian’s article, a story that had been recorded for a fall journalism class and posted on The Weekly Blog at PAW Online in February.

While most fraternity and sorority alumni said they enjoyed their Greek life experience, some alumni now say they have their doubts. The founding president of Theta, Mim Stokes Brown ‘85, told the PAW: ”My personal feeling is that the school doesn’t need them. Between the eating clubs and residential colleges, it just seems unnecessary… I can’t think what value is added by having fraternities and sororities.”

Read the rest of the PAW exclusive here.

(image source: Princeton Alumni Weekly)

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):

Those photographs — and more spoiler accounts from the show — were posted on Reality Fan Forum.  According to that site, the Race, currently on its third leg, has since continued on from Boston to Stonehenge and Accra, Ghana.

In the Amazing Race, teams of 2 with pre-existing relationships sprint across the globe performing tasks and solving puzzles.  Each episode chronicles a different leg of the race.  At the beginning of each leg, teams are given instructions to travel to a new location; at the end of each leg, the last team to arrive at that leg’s “Pit Stop” is eliminated.  The show, produced by Hollywood heavyweight Jerry Bruckheimer, has won the Emmy Award for Best Reality Series seven years in a row.

Neither Diemand-Yauman nor Schwartz were present for the week’s Reunions events at Princeton, although due to confidentiality agreements neither was able to divulge why they were skipping their commencement.  Diemand-Yauman told some friends he was traveling, and others that he had to start his job hosting a children’s television show in South Korea early.  The pair, both members of the Nassoons a capella group, first tried out for the show in February, attending an open casting call in New York City.

The University threw Diemand-Yauman a “mini-commencement” on May 20th in Nassau Hall. Shirley Tilghman and Cornel West both attended the ceremony, according to a witness at the event (who wrote about the ceremony  here — pictures included).

Filming is expected to last from three weeks to one month.  Check back soon for more information, and in the meantime, read all of our previous posts about Connor HERE.

Edited to add: Fantasticks press release about Jonathan here.  Princeton press release about all of Connor’s accomplishments here (Sonia Sotomayor won the Pyne Prize when she was a Princeton senior).

What do you call it when Tiger Woods and his caddy argue about which golf club to use? Multi-club bicker!

The Eating Club Task Force released its recommendations Monday afternoon, and as expected there are several calls for change (full list of recommendations here). One of its most interesting suggestions is an eradication of the current bicker process in favor of a multi-club bicker. Let’s go to the documents!

The Task Force recommended that the Eating Clubs:

Multi-club bicker?! Radical! But not necessarily new. It turns out the current system of only bickering a single club was only put in place during the 1980s. So really bicker would be going old school (except with women this time).

So what happens now? According to President Shirley Tilghman, “the ball is in everyone’s court.” Like you, we weren’t totally sure what exactly this meant, but here’s what we’ve come up with: the recommendations are meant to be the start of a discussion, on issues from financial aid to the role of Greek life in bicker clubs. Have an opinion? Read the report and let us know what you think in the comments section.

(image credit: http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/xtTYm5jvYoG/AT+T+National+Round+Three/1fSS7dXjLSo/Tiger+Woods)

But have you checked the weather report for this weekend? Awful, to say the least:

Welcome, prefrosh!

But, maybe Shirley knows what she’s doing — a new Penn study shows that cloudy weather might actually attract prefrosh. Weird?

The researchers serve up a dish of counterintuitive with a side of obvious:

Visiting a college on a cloudy day could increase the likelihood that you’ll apply and enroll at that particular school, according to a study by Wharton professor Uri Simonsohn.

Simonsohn was surprised with his findings. He was “expecting the opposite” result, since data show that people are happier during sunnier weather.

And the name of the study? “Weather to Go to College.” So, prefreez, go to Penn for the charm and wit.

Surprisingly, this is only partly Jim Leach. But I imagine it's pretty close. (Images from princeton.edu and rodneyramosproductions.com)

President Tilghman might need to step it up.

Former Iowa Rep. James Leach ’64, chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, received the Woodrow Wilson Award on Alumni Day last weekend. In his speech, he remembered former University president Robert Goheen ‘40 as the Best President Ever. Ever ever.

From the PAW:

Before delivering his Wilson Award lecture, Leach recalled one of his first experiences at Princeton, a reception for freshmen held at the home of President Robert Goheen ’40 *48. Goheen welcomed each young man individually, offering personalized words of encouragement with every handshake. When Leach reached the front of the line, Goheen said, “Jim, pleased to meet you. I hope you continue with your math and your wrestling.”

Leach’s father, duly impressed, told his son that the Princeton president was “the greatest man in the United States of America.”

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.

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!