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.
While Day 1 is usually just handing out syllabi and making awkward “name-year-major” introductions, sometimes professors get a little bit colorful with their intros on the first week of classes.
Sam Wang (NEU 101): “Please, no tattoos or unremovable piercings above the waist in the fMRI. Otherwise those piercings… will become removable.”
Darcy Steinke (CWR 304): “Let’s go around the room and say our favorite sandwiches. I’ll go first–mine is the egg sandwich.”
Pictured: “Ladykiller” Rosen.
Harvey Rosen (ECO 100): “There are no laptops allowed in lecture. I’ve found that I can’t really compete with internet porn. Unless you’re into middle-aged economists. In that case, you’ll be squirming in your seats all semester.”
Matthew Salganik (SOC 204): “I’m going to teach this class as if it were a class at a law school. I’ve never actually been to law school, but this is how I think it would work.”
Rob Schapire (COS 402) after a visiting appearance by Noam Chomsky: “He was very even-handed in the way that he insulted absolutely everybody in the room.”
Keiko Brynildsen (PSY317) filed under #psychology:“So discussion of ethics aside…”
Janet Monge (ANT 308): “I mail human remains all the time.”
Gary Bass (POL 380): “Osama Bin Laden, I hate that guy. I’m glad he’s dead.”
Andrew Conway (PSY 251): “Does anyone know what percentage of a textbook you can PDF before it becomes illegal?” (Disclaimer: Prof. Conway is not to our knowledge engaging in any illegal PDF-making.)
Got more off-the-wall quotes from your profs? The week isn’t over yet! Send a tip to pressclb[at]princeton.edu
What do you do when that precept you really, really, really wanted is closed? Now with Princeton Pounce, you can automatically receive an email or text notification when a spot in that precept (or class) opens up. No more crazy SCORE checking necessary!
Jeremy Cohen ’16 and Zach Koerbel ’16, the creators of the site, were originally inspired to write the script after being locked out of a COS 217 precept they wanted. Over winter break and intersession, Cohen and Koerbel worked on turning their script into a website, a process both described as fairly simple.
According to Cohen, they were not the only ones who wrote such a program–several of their friends had similar scripts as well– but they were the first to share their script with other (less comp-sci minded) students through a public website.
“Despite the fact that some people might use it for classes we want, there’s tons of classes we would never dream of taking where people are in the same situation,” Koerbel said.
Since they began publicizing the site last Sunday night, there have been over 500 subscriptions and over 200 notifications. The most requested classes?
1. SOC 204 - Social Networks (70 subscriptions)
2. COS 126 – General Computer Science (46 subscriptions)
3. COS 226 – Algorithms and Data Structures (40 subscriptions)
4. COS 217 – Introduction to Programming Systems (36 subscriptions)
5. PSY 101 – Introduction to Psychology (35 subscriptions)
Plans have already been made to include Princeton Pounce on TigerApps (Cohen is a member of the USG IT Committee). While the site has already been approved by the committee, Cohen is unsure when they will officially open the website on TigerApps.
In the meantime, go visit their website and start pouncing!
Seniors, here’s a thesis idea: how to build an operable atomic bomb.
Although it was a junior term paper and not his senior thesis, John Aristotle Phillips ’78 did just that.
A less than lackluster student and Tiger mascot, the physics major came across the paper idea as he was trying to think of ways he could not fail out of his seminar about nuclear disarmament. Over the course of a few weeks, Phillips consulted only publicly available material, like physics textbooks and government releases.
He even figured a simplistic way around the hardest and most complex part of making an atomic bomb– the detonation trigger. The final result: a 40-page guide to building an atomic weapon “more sophisticated than the Hiroshima bomb”. A little scary isn’t it?
It seems people at the time thought it was too, because the story went viral (in the newspaper-y, pre-internet sort of way) and people from California to Maine starting talking about the “A-Bomb Kid.” A 2003 article about Phillips describes the chaos like this:
“I remember telling him I would give him an A for it,” Dyson [Phillip’s professor] e-mails me, “but advised him to burn it as soon as the grade was registered.” Phillips was spared the trouble of procuring matches: The U.S. government kept his term paper and classified it. Soon Phillips was pursued by hack journalists and trench-coaters alike: The Pakistani embassy tried to get a copy; agents trailed him; the FBI and CIA got involved. Everything exploded.”
An alumnus who graduated eight years before Phillips, remembers the story first hand:
“Nobody around at the time will ever forget him. The perfect poster wonk for the Cold War, he brought out the combined confusion and frustration of the post-Vietnam era via the bold and breathtakingly insightful act of … submitting his term paper.”
And in case you were curious, Phillips did end up getting an A in the class.
So seniors, as you continue (or, for you bad procrastinators, begin) writing your senior theses, try to beat out the A-Bomb Kid for the wackiest thesis ever.
I believe it was TS Eliot who said, “This is the way [Dean's Date] ends. Not with a bang but a whimper.”
Thus, our tired and tireless news group has fizzled and popped. Our only solace at the end of this 24-stint is, well, this guy:
Standing in line for a Princeton beanie giveaway.
That said, with over 3,400 views (edit: not counting the 2,400 directed from our homepage* correction for LZ and the Twitterverse),we at The Ink are proud to say that this Dean’s Date has been amazingly fruitful (in the procrastination department).
DEAN’S DATE, WE WILL MEET AGAIN.
-VC
2:24 PM – Bloomberg Study Lounge
No time for citations? Some pro-tips from the pros (i.e. not me):
1) Type in the name of your article/book to Google Scholar, click the cite button, and voila! Good for MLA, Chicago, APA, etc. Also imports to other citations managers.
2) easybib.com
-JW
1:05 PM – Reddit
“Selling books back like a true college student”:
File this under Post-Dean’s Date/Finals tips for buyback shipping.
-VC
12:36 PM – McGraw, delirious
If only my Dean’s Date essay was half as good as this…
-NDS
11:39 AM – printing stalled
Yes, EL, still not enough baby things.
“The moment our 5-month-old suddenly realized we had a puppy.”
-VC
11:27 AM – printing cluster
VC has pointed out there are not enough babies (human or otherwise) on this blog. Too much Rick Ross and G-Unit and not enough cuteness.
Me as I’m re-reading my draft:
Me trying to climb out of Dean’s Date despair:
Me and copies of my draft in 6 (!!!) hours:
-EL
11:20 AM – bed, no shame
THROWBACK UPDATE: Earlier we posted a 2006 video of a group of Princeton students who made the “P-Unit” Generic Rap Song that, with 130,000 Youtube views, seems to have done pretty well for itself. Where are they now?
Just in case you need some extra motivation to get you through the day, check out this (admittedly low-quality) clip of Princeton’s Dylan Ward of the Men’s Squash Team clinching yesterday’s 5-4 win over Harvard. The Women’s Team similarly won 5-4. To quote Steve Harrington, of the Princeton Men’s Team: “It was one of the best moments of my sports career. I played some of the best squash of my whole life.” Carry this energy with you through to your assignments.
-CRM
10:37 AM – Witherspoon’s
6.5 hours to go, everyone. Which makes it probably too late for this public service announcement from a friendly politics major getting a caffeine refill, but just in case:
“The deans are actually pretty lenient about giving extensions when you have multiple papers due the same day. I mean, it’s not like they want you taking five exams in a single day, right? The one at my residential college said they hardly get any requests…I wish I’d known that as a freshman.”
ME TOO. Cue flood of fervent pleas for a few more hours.
-LZ
10:31 AM – Printing Clusters (!)
Because we made it this far with only one baby animal:
-VC
7:55 AM – Wilcox
The dining halls are now open for breakfast. Wilcox, in particular, has a wide selection of bagels.
– AJS
6:50 AM – Butler
Starbucks is open! The sun might be up soon! Life begins anew! It’s a brand new day! Here’s a timeline of what’s hip and happening this morning.
7:00 AM – Frist Food Gallery opens
7:00 AM – PJ’s Pancake House opens
7:30 AM – Dining halls open.
7:45 AM – Chancellor Green Café opens.
8:00 AM – U-Store opens
8:00 AM – Witherspoon’s (in Frist) opens
9:00 AM – C-Store opens
– AJS
6:20 AM – Somewhere South of Sanity
DON’T FALL ASLEEP YET!
- AJS
3:45 AM – Wilson
As we get into the wee hours of the night, my mind starts doing random things. Like making Dean’s Date parodies of Portal (nerd-alert) songs.
Namely the last verse/refrain(s):
Look at us liveblogging
when there’s papers to do
When we look around, it makes us glad we’re with you
I’m gonna need a Wa run
There is Dean’s Date to be done
For the people who are still awake.
And believe us we are still awake.
It’s 4am and we’re still awake.
Hey Prox, you see us and we’re still awake.
Our brains are crying, but we’re still awake.
And when you’re sleeping we’ll be still awake.
Public Service Announcement – 10 hours to go, so BACK UP YOUR WORK. Dropbox, email papers to yourself, pull out those USB sticks, whatever.
-SG
3:14 AM – Rocky Dining Hall
It’s past 3:00. Your coffee and chocolate aren’t helping anymore. Neither is your 5 hour energy. What to do? Play a game!
We recognize the names to all the well-known buildings on campus: Joline Hall, Forbes College, McCosh Hall. But do we know the man (or woman) behind the name whose building we use daily? Unless you’re a Princeton history freak (and not in the tour guide kind of way. I love the backwards walking — real talent), you probably don’t.
So here’s the game! Match each building or residential college with the picture of its namesake. I’ll bet you can’t do it. Oh yes, you just got dared.
Answers will be hidden under Nixon (You can’t miss him, just look for the nose).
Pictures:
Buildings:
Joline Hall. Named after Adrian Joline ’70, the 1800 kind. A lawyer, railroad executive, and author, he graduated from the University while it was still called the College of New Jersey (just for the record, it didn’t became Princeton until 1896). It was donated by his wife, Mary E. L. Joline, after his death.
Rockefeller College. Named after John D. Rockefeller III ’29. A grandson of the original John (Standard Oil) Rockefeller, he had more money than even an ORFE student thinks he’ll make on Wall Street. He was a large philanthropist and was on the University’s board of directors.
Bloomberg Hall. Named after Emma B. Bloomberg ’01. She’s the daughter of the mayor of New York and graduated with a degree in English and a certificate in Medieval Studies.
Forbes College. Named after Malcolm S. Forbes, Jr. ’70. He is the editor-in-chief of Forbes Magazine and has run for the Republican presidential nomination twice. He prefers to be called “Steve.”
McCosh Hall. Named after James McCosh. He was a philosopher and president of the University from 1868-1888. His friends said that he was all around, a very cool guy.
Mathey College. Named after Dean Mathey ’12. Described Alexander Leitch in A Princeton Companion as “one of the most devoted, energetic, and generous supporters of the University in modern times.” He is the Dean in Dean’s Date. Not really, but that would be funny.
- ONF
2:44 AM – Dod
We did a little more Firestone adventuring before being unceremoniously thrown out for the night. If you go to the third floor and walk all the way to the back, past the African American studies reading room, there’s a narrow staircase leading up into the tower. Go up, past the little-used fourth floor until you can go no higher, and take a closer look at the windowsill. This seems to be Firestone’s designated graffiti zone, and though most of it’s pretty harmless – initials and class years, the symbol for pi, “TOM” inscribed in a winged heart – take a closer look at the lower right corner.
“REDRUM” (h/t EL)
It’s a lonely place this time of night, and come to think of it, a little eerie. Who knows who might be lurking in the labyrinthine stacks, peering between the shelves, lying in wait? Maybe it’s just as well you’ve been sent back home to your cozy dorm study room for the night. Hopefully you managed to snag some of the Frist nachos along the way.
-LZ
1:55 AM – 2006
Serious throwback here from Princeton students circa ’06, parodying a generic rap song (wait, did I just see twerkin’ at 1:51?! Are you telling me twerkin’ wasn’t invented in 2012?!) :
UPDATE: The site’s creator made Tiggerstalk as a pre-Frosh. ”I was fed up with College Facebook even before I got to campus,” he said. The creator is yet to have any contact with the school regarding the site. “I have fun with it. Try typing in ‘hottest indian’.”
We’ve caught wind of a site that’s looking to give everyone (university students and beyond) easier access to the information on both College Facebook (thankfully, however, without those glorious mugshots) and Facebook.com. Check it out at Tigerfacebook.com. Without a netID, you can get access to anyone’s email address, Frist mailbox number, etc. Apparently, the site existed under the name of Tiggerstalk for the past year or so.
The site’s FAQ (which mentions the annoying inability of College Facebook to handle first+last name queries…) also lists the following with regard to privacy and creepiness: “Isn’t this creepy?Maybe, but know that all the information you find on Tiger Facebook is (or was previously) freely available on the web. Tiger Facebook doesn’t store personal data; it retrieves information and formats it in a readable way.”
Additionally, the Facebook.com integration doesn’t seem too intrusive; the most I’ve found is that each individual’s entry includes a link that opens up a subsequent search in Facebook.com for said individual’s name.
If you’ve got a problem with the site, tough luck–the FAQ says that “you should work with the university to figure that out.”
YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED THESE AGGRESSIVE, STRESS-INDUCING DEAN’S DATE POSTERS AROUND CAMPUS. THE INK’S INSIDER INFORMATION TEAM HAS CORNERED THE CREATOR(S) OF THIS PROPAGANDA AND ASKED THEM THE REAL HARD-HITTING QUESTIONS.
Name: The Committee to Motivate Students to Do Dean’s Date Work (CMSDDDW) Hometown: Grover’s Corners Major: General Club and Residential College Affiliation: Club Foot
Are you an animal, mineral, or vegetable? We are argon-based lifeforms, straddling the boundaries between what is alive and what is merely sentient. So kinda like all three.
Who’s your favorite Princetonian, living or dead, real or fictional? Goku from Dragon Ball Z. He’s a Princeton alum in many Dragon Ball fanfictions, which we hold as canonical.
What’s the best meal you’ve eaten in Princeton? One of us once distracted Nancy Malkiel and gulped down several spoonfuls of some clam chowder she was eating.
Why are you posting such intensely fonted posters? It is inexplicably acceptable at Princeton to procrastinate on papers, then wail and moan on Facebook as you pull an all-nighter and produce some half-assed essays on Dean’s Date Eve. We somehow find a perverse sense of camaraderie in this self-destructive tradition, punctuating it with fanfare and pageantry and silent discos. Our posters are meant to encourage skepticism about a culture in which we all act as if we’re all academic martyrs crucified on the amount of work we have to do, when we nailed ourselves there in the first place. We all have work. We all have time to do it right. It’s hard, but complaining makes it worse. It’s a privilege to have the education we do, one that hundreds of thousands of applicants wanted and were denied. Acting as if Princeton is pulling us through school by our hair disrespects that privilege and lowers the quality of the work that we do. If we saw Dean’s Date work and exams as challenges to be met rather than curses to be endured, we would write better papers, score higher on exams, and live happier, less stressful lives. If inculcating that kind of living takes some aggressive words in Impact font, so be it.
In one sentence, what do you actually do all day? Acquire currency and the hatred of the entire Princeton student body.
What is your greatest guilty pleasure?
Snarky answers to journalists’ questions.
Who is “sponsoring” your posters? Microsoft and Mr. Pibb.
What is your relationship like with the font IMPACT? Monogamous.
What’s hanging above your desk and/or bed?
The last reporter who divulged our identity.
What is your biggest fear?
An unwritten paper. Also, spiders.
What would you do if you were on the Presidential Search Committee? Install the dictator android ENLIGHTENED DES-BOT and enjoy a thousand years of peace.
The USG Social Committee has announced that the electronic artist Basshunter will perform at Princeton on Dean’s Date (this year, January 15). The format of the show, however, will not fit the conventional “rave” experience, as attendees will wear headphones hooked up with a direct stream of the DJ set. No music will be played aloud, creating what’s referred to as a “Silent Disco” in which onlookers can see a group of ravers dancing… in silence. Apparently, the concept was fashioned at the Glastonbury Festival as a workaround for local noise violations. We’ve also received word that the committee is hoping to hold the event outdoors, but there’s no confirmation available as-of-yet.
You can find out more here–the Social Committee has an entertaining trailer up-and-running on their site. Basshunter is best known for such rave tunes as “Now You’re Gone” and “Dota”. Hopefully, he makes for a pretty good Dean’s Date performer.
Shake off your New Year’s Eve hangover and say hello to 2013… and end-of-break panic. But don’t worry. Although you forgot a semester’s worth of material, breathe easy knowing that UPC’s got you covered on what’s trending in 2013. When your thesis adviser starts hunting you down or someone mentions “fiscal cliff” again, distract them with Snapchat and conspiracy theories on why Shirley T is really leaving. You’re welcome.
The results are in. The Princeton admission office made 697 students (plus their parents) very happy today. Of the 3,810 students who applied to Princeton for the single-choice early action (SCEA) deadline, 18.3% were accepted–slightly more selective than last year’s 21.1%. You can read more statistics on the Princeton website, but The Ink is here to give you a more personal introduction to who will–and won’t–be making up the Great Class of 2017 (woah, you kids are young!).
We take you now on a tour of some of the highlights of applicants’ reactions, as posted in the College Confidential “Official Princeton University 2017 SCEA Results” forum. Yes, that’s a real page.
Why was this kid rejected? Because, in his words,
I’m surprised this one didn’t get in. Maybe in regular decision:
This kid applied SEAC, got in, and is still hoping for an HYP three-peat. Doesn’t SCEA mean you really want to go to the place?
Pretty sure these guys have more impressive resumes than I do. (Seriously. Independent work? Getting a head start on your thesis?) Example #1:
Example #2:
Classic I’m So Awesome They Couldn’t Not Take Me post. (They took him. He’s from Alaska. Also, he has no weaknesses.):
Recently, you may have seen this video of Princeton students waiting in a long line at New South to sign up for Creative Writing sections:
According to the official Princeton Facebook PR, this is just another awesome example of how amazingly popular these classes/professors are, and how enthusiastic students at Princeton are!
Am I the only one who finds this a little…
…Depressing?
Luckily, this video was shot during a signup session where students were allowed inside the building. In the past, they’ve kept us queued outside in the freezing NJ cold for several hours. I once arrived at 6:30am…and I wasn’t even the first in line. (Note: many of these students aren’t waiting in line to get into a course– they’ve already gotten in.)
While I understand Creative Writing’s desire to honor a first-come-first-serve system for signing up for the in-demand professor you want, there is something else–something better– we could do. I’m told it’s called “the Internet.”
Button-mashing may be arbitrary, but it beats breadlines.
But it seems, in true writerly form, Princeton’s CWR department is determined to do it the old-fashioned way.
CAP PRESIDENT ALEC EGAN SPENDS HIS DAYS RUNNING INTO THINGS, WISHES PRINCETON HAD MORE FAST FOOD, LIKED HIS JUNIOR SEMINAR, AND MIGHT END UP IN THE WHITE HOUSE.
Name: Alec C. Egan Hometown: Abilene, Texas Major: History Club and Residential College Affiliation: The Illustrious Cap and Gown Club and The Woodrow Wilson College of Destiny
What did you do this past summer? Bench, Squat, Clean.
Who’s your favorite Princetonian, living or dead, real or fictional? Dr. Jon Osterman
What’s the best meal you’ve eaten in Princeton? Lamb BLT and an Oatmeal Cookie Stout from Triumph
In one sentence, what do you actually do all day? Run head first into things, sometimes school work, sometimes food, sometimes doors, but mostly people.
Favorite spot in Cap? Kegerator
What club did you think you’d be in as a freshman and why? Cottage
What is your greatest guilty pleasure? Restaurant Impossible
If you could change one thing about Princeton, what would it be? Proximity to fast food
What’s hanging above your desk and/or bed? Texas Flag
What is your biggest fear? Global shortage of steak
Favorite class you’ve taken? Toss up betweenSOC 250:Western Way of War and HIS 400: Winston Churchill, Anglo-America and the Special Relationship
What’s your drink? Whiskey-Dr. Pepper
What’s your personal anthem? Fat-Bottomed Girls
Who is your mortal enemy? Walter Snook
When’s bedtime? I’ll sleep when I’m dead
Best memory in your club? Kitchen Parties
Worst memory in your club? Well if I remembered it, it wouldn’t be the worst
Seniors, here’s a thesis idea: how to build an operable atomic bomb.
Name: Alec C. Egan