Articles filed under “In Print”

“In Print”
is a running roster of published articles written by Press Club members that are available online

torah8huIf the celebration that traipsed its way through Mathey-Rocky this past Sunday afternoon is any indication, new Torahs are a big deal. Chabad, the Jewish center run by the Hassidic Lubavitz movement, got its first Torah on Sunday, and members of Chabad made their jubilation known.

Highlights of the ceremony and subsequent parade:

  • The strange techno-cultural disconnect of seeing old men in strict Hassidic dress busting out new digital cameras
  • Someone lighting their cigarette from the ceremonial candles being passed out
  • Pretty much everything involving Chabad leader Rabbi Eitan Webb, whose highlights of the day included riding on a freshman’s shoulders for a good five minutes and stealing/playing senior Dan Berry’s bongo drum somewhere around the University Place side of the U-Store

Full story here

petraeusGen. David Petraeus, commander of the U.S. Central Command, will deliver the baccalaureate address to Princeton University seniors, at 2 p.m. May 31 in the University Chapel.

The general’s selection follows that of CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric, who was announced earlier this year as the 2009 speaker for Class Day, a June 1 commencement event.

“I felt very honored to be invited to speak at the baccalaureate, and I look forward to the occasion very much,” Gen. Petraeus said.

Gen. Petraeus oversaw all coalition forces in Iraq. After serving as U.S. commander in Iraq for 19 months, he became leader of the U.S. Central Command, which oversees American troops in the Middle East, East Africa and Central Asia.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to offer reflections of a Princeton grad who has been privileged to serve with many wonderful Americans in recent years,” he said.

Read entire article at the Princeton Packet here.

einsteinJohn Nash gets a lot of the “Eccentric Princeton Genius” attention nowadays, but he was by no means the first world-famous superbrain to grace our campus. Albert Einstein, the Walter Matthau to Nash’s Russell Crowe, ably held down that position until his death in 1955.

More than fifty years on, it’s hard to find authentic traces of Einstein on campus — an unrenovated Frist classroom here, a small off-campus house there, some old letters stored in Firestone. But Einstein’s legacy lives on in the form of Gillett Griffin, his last surviving friend.

Read Griffin’s story – including the strange tale of his first encounter with Einstein (it involves a yellow plastic duck!) – in today’s Star-Ledger.

A Princeton University student touched off a campus-wide security alert over the weekend by running across the campus carrying an “imitation” AK-4 assault rifle, police said.

Princeton Borough police confiscated the weapon and charged Steven Shonts, 18, of Eden Prairie, MN, with “possession of a weapon for unlawful purpose” and “possession of an imitation firearm on university grounds.” He was released on his own recognizance.

Another student, Erica Greil, said in an e-mail that she had contacted the university’s public safety department at 11:30 p.m. Friday after seeing a male running with a gun near University Place.

Read the full article at the Princeton Packet.

AW and SJP

Reports of a male student carrying a firearm prompted a campus security alert at Princeton University overnight, which ended after an investigation determined that the gun was “non-functional” and the student posed no threat to public safety.

University spokesperson Cass Cliatt said in an email Saturday that campus public safety officers and Princeton Borough police “were immediately on the scene interviewing witnesses and searching the area –within minutes.”

The first alert to the campus community went out at 12:42 a.m. via e-mail, text messages and voice mail.

“This is an actual emergency and not a test,” the alert said. Public Safety has recommended that all students remain inside until further notice. Do not go outside to travel to another building. Close and lock the doors and windows. Check e-mail and/or the University’s home page at www.princeton.edu for further information and updates.”

Read complete article at the Princeton Packet here.

AW and SJP

c841frl0Princeton University has an $82 million budget-cutting plan set for the new fiscal year, Princeton administrators told members of the community during a town hall meeting on Wednesday afternoon. 

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.

mildredtrotman

Princeton Borough Mayor Mildred Trotman

Update 3/28: Here is the PAW article on the symposium.

[Full disclosure: This reporter was covering a symposium on the black experience at Princeton a couple weeks ago for the Princeton Alumni Weekly. It only occurred recently to this reporter that Princeton Borough mayor Mildred Trotman's comments may be news.]

Princeton Borough mayor Mildred Trotman, in office since 2005, said she will probably not run for reelection.

Speaking at a panel discussion with former New York City mayor David Dinkins and Trenton mayor Doug Palmer on February 21, Mildred talked about her emphasis on consensus and fairness when governing. She then admitted, “I don’t think I’m going to run again.”

Trotman did not discuss further her comments, though Dinkins responded that one should “never say never.”

“Mayor Trotman, you’re going to run again, I bet you,” Dinkins said.

Dinkins also addressed the upcoming New York City mayoral race and lamented mayor Mike Bloomberg’s decision to run for reelection after overturning term limit laws.

“I like Mike, and I get along fine with him, but I would hope that he would not seek reelection,” Dinkins said.

Continue reading…

Late Sunday evening, Rutgers canceled all classes on its New Brunswick and Piscataway campuses.

Then The College of New Jersey closed its campus at 5 am this morning.

Then all local school districts declared it a snow day.

After we’d hoped all night for the expected “8-14 inches of snow” to bury Princeton’s Gothic buildings and cancel –or at least delay!– classes, imagine our disappointment when we woke up to a measly 6-7 inches and…a full day of classes. Beginning at 8 am.

Continue reading…

Jarrett Kerbel, executive director of The Crisis Ministry of Princeton and Trenton, speaks at a forum on food policy in Mercer County

Jarrett Kerbel, executive director of The Crisis Ministry of Princeton and Trenton, speaks at a forum on food policy in Mercer County

How hard is it to buy fresh, local produce in Trenton? Harder than it should be, say organizations like the Crisis Ministry and Isles.

A group of Mercer County residents–professors, farmers, college students and parents–gathered at Labyrinth Books last week to open up the discussion on food policy in Mercer County.

We use the term food democracy,” said Mark Winne, who writes, speaks and consults on food policy councils and subjects ranging from hunger to agriculture. “It’s a concept that we as consumers should have some say in what we’re eating.

Continue reading…

glenn-close

(image source: www.tiff08.ca/blogs)

Alex Forrest, the bunny-boiling other woman in the 1987 film “Fatal Attraction” was not an easy character to love. But actress Glenn Close found it necessary to do just that.

”I just wanted to do the role justice,” Ms. Close told an audience at Princeton University on Thursday night, in a lecture titled “Are you who we think you are?”

”I’ve always felt that in order to truly commit to a character, I must love her,” she said. “Without love there’s judgment and if you’re judging you can’t understand.”

Ms. Close said she sought to discover whether it was plausible for a woman to act in the ways Alex did. From psychologists, she learned that Alex’s psychotic behaviors — which included boiling a child’s pet rabbit — were typical of someone who has experienced incest at an early age…

Read complete article at centraljersey.com