Diana Matheson ’08 celebrates her game-winning goal
The Olympics are now over, but one more Tiger managed to take home a medal: Diana Matheson ’08, who scored Canada’s only goal in the bronze medal women’s soccer match against France for a 1-0 shutout win.
That means Princeton had seven medalists, which, as @PrincetonBetch points out, beats the country that invented the Olympics.
We were slightly less successful in the other Olympics – ahem, Alumpics – taking silver behind Dartmouth (really? Dartmouth?!), with Cornell solidly in third. In case you missed it, this was the Ivy League photo-liking competition – the more people that “liked” a school’s photo on Facebook, the better that school does in the rankings. Dartmouth, Princeton and Columbia were the only schools to actually get any points, and Dartmouth’s overwhelming victory seems to suggest that perhaps no one else really cared, but if nothing else the photos will satisfy some of the summertime Orange Bubble withdrawal.
This week has been a big one for Tiger athletes, least of all because of some impostor-Princeton rowers hitting the boats at Lake Carnegie. The much-anticipated Ralph Lauren fall collection photoshoot, which took place on campus in early May, is finally online, so if you’re missing the Dinky or Blair Arch or the courtyard outside the U-Store, just play it on repeat. (We’d also like to let all nervous 2016ers know that real Princeton students are much happier than the models pretending to be Princeton students).
But the Ralph Lauren rowers have nothing on our real Tiger rowers, who have brought in a medal of each color in the past week. Caroline Lind ’06 helped the US women’s eight win their second Olympic gold in a row on August 2, and Andreanne Morin ’06 and Lauren Wilkinson ’11 brought home silver medals for Canada in the same race. The women’s eight gave Princeton its first medalists of the London Olympics. On August 4, Glenn Ochal ’08 and the US men’s four came away with bronze.
Sorry ’16ers, as much as we tried (and boy did we try: liveblog transcript of evidence here), none of you will be able to join a sorority or fraternity this year. As I have no doubt the administration has already alerted you, a full-fledged freshman Greek ban was instated this spring, prohibiting the rush of, and enrollment in Greek organizations during a student’s first year on campus.
Rather, this post is concerned with a considerably more ancient Greek tradition: the quadrennial summer Olympic Games, in which the representation of this notable collegiate institution has not let you down.
"草泥马挡中央": Ai Weiwei's self-portrait holding the stuffed animal to cover his crotch is one in a series of photographs that has brought allegations of "distributing pornography" on to the artist by the Chinese government.
It seems that they Woody Woo building itself won’t be the only marvel in the area this fall, as the university has announced that Scudder Plaza (just in-front of Woody Woo—had anyone heard this name before?) will play host to an installation from the acclaimed Chinese artist Ai Weiwei. “Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads” consists of 12 “monumental sculptures” (approx. 10 feet high) which have toured the world; now, they’ll remain by Woody Woo for a calendar year (beginning August 1, 2012). The location is fitting: Weiwei is well known for his role as a social activist and his commitment to free speech.
Switching gears to athletics: our Princetonian-Olympian superhumans keep popping up in these WiRs, and rightfully so. To give you a quick update on Donn Cabral ’12, the London-bound steeplechase star has been setting personal bests heading into his stay at the USA training camp, shaving over 5 seconds off his 3k and over 3 seconds off his 1.5k. Make sure you stay updated through his fan page!
The reason we are using this potentially controversial meme is to pique your interest in an upcoming post by VC '14, re: yellow fever, Asians, etc. Yeah, STAY TUNED! Also, browsing the Princeton memes site actually makes us really homesick for campus. Aww. Also this comment is fiendishly long. I apologize.
First up, shout out to our incoming freshmen! Princeton 2016 is getting all worked up this week – with good reason, since they’ve received both their res college assignments and chance to flip through the fall frosh seminars catalogue. It includes the classic free trip (!) seminars with promises of fall breaks in Costa Rica or Cyprus – but also a range of gems like “Bad A$$ Asians” (the namesake of this Ink post), a Joyce Carol Oates fanfest, and the chance to literally spend $50,000, as long as it’s philanthropic and approved by Stan Katz. Protip: pay attention to the prof teaching your seminar, not just to the topic. Like, Nancy Malkiel’s “Coeducation” course sounds great, but incoming GPA-sensitive, grade-deflation-fearing premeds might want to do a little background check first…
In any case, we remember those overexcited, over-sharing-on-Facebook days. (Upperclassmen, bored at your internships? Go back and look at the posts your friends made in your class FB groups when you were prefrosh. GUARANTEED LAUGHS.) We think it’s cute! And we welcome you in all your enthusiastic, over-enrolled glory! Case in point, see The Princeton Tiger’s thoughtful suggestions for where to put all the extra frosh:
10. Re-purpose unused Firestone carrels
9. Quad
8. Build a Forbes Annex Annex
7. During Frosh Week, erect large fences around Cloister’s backyard
6. Charter boat, discover new continent
5. All CA groups now focused on building housing for themselves
4. Make OA year-round, Princeton-based
3. Lift the ban on the steam tunnels
2. Rutgers
1. University of Princeton® online
No really though, UPC loves frosh and wants you all to apply for journalistic futures with us. Check out our res college reviews, written last year but very much valid for your incoming lives. Of course you may be placed into what we used to know as Wilcox’s yoga studio and art room, or a Whitman study room, but whatever. Princeton is Princeton and you’ll love it.
Teaser! Click through for the full comic.
Jumping straight from pre- to post-Princeton, our endowment also made headlines this week with the announcement that Aspire, STilghz’ 5-year fundraising campaign, exceeded its $1.75 billion goal by raising $1.88 billion, the highest in Princeton history. Meanwhile, our 2011-12 Annual Giving campaign also broke Ol’ Nassau records by raising $57.2 million. Bad A$$ (more like, $$$$$$$$$$$$$$) indeed.
We leave you with two pieces of Princeton Internet Gold. From a still-undergraduate perspective, we love and identify with this comic from Willa Chen ’13. It was crafted in response to this much-forwarded article on elite education by William Deresiewicz. Agree? Disagree? Comment! Go!
And last, it’s good to see that our former USG president CDY and his Nassoon/Amazing Race BFF Jonathan Schwartz, both favorites of UPC coverage, are still alive and well and contributing great things to society:
This week: the birth of our nation and the validation of our physics. And a couple things of lesser gravity, too, like this picture of John Nash and Tina Fey chatting on Cannon Green.
Still unclear as to why our favorite game theorist is on the set -- could be a nice cameo, though. (image courtesy of the University's Facebook account)
On Sunday, Spain made soccer history by winning the Euro Cup and its third straight international title. But since no Princetonian (with the exception of Fernando Torres fan-boy Jeff Nunokawa and this lone Press Clubber) gives a damn about soccer, let’s talk Olympics.
Donn Cabral ’12 earned a spot at the Olympics when he took second at the men’s steeplechase finals in Oregon on Thursday. 2016 Olympics hopefuls take note: the key to training is to squeeze a high-altitude tent into your dorm so you can deprive yourself of oxygen. (Apparently, Fire Safety thinks posters on your door are more hazardous than tents.)
Check out this video of Cabral training at Princeton (filmed by James Cole ’12):
Back at Princeton, five alumni rowers—including Caroline Lind ’06, Gevvie Stone ’07, Sara Hendershot ’10, Robin Prendes ’11, and Glenn Ochal ’08—are currently training for the Olympics. Though they’ve graduated, their finances don’t seem that different from that of Princetonians doing summer research or internships. According to USRowing CEO Glen Merry, the athletes earn a stipend of only $800-$1000 a month. Fortunately, due to intense fundraising last week, the team raised more than $7,500.
But it’s not only recent graduates or alumni who possess athletic prowess. Incoming freshman Ashleigh Johnson turned down an almost guaranteed spot on the 2016 Olympic water polo team to pursue her studies. Being an Olympic-bound athlete and a pre-med will be by no means an easy feat, but all the power to her. Plus, she’ll have an epic response to that pretentious kid who casually mentions that he turned down Harvard for Princeton.
Did we miss any Olympic highlights? Tell us in the comments below.
Steve Carell speaks at Class Day 2012 (via nj.com)
Hey Princeton! In the past month, have you: (a) absentmindedly brought your prox with you to the kitchen, (b) asked a friend if a local bar was “on pass,” (c) craved freshly-baked cookies between 10 p.m. – 12:30 a.m., or (d) all of the above? Yeah, we miss the Orange Bubble, too. So for those who are desperate for some mid-summer news, we’ve got you covered. Beginning today, on Monday of every week, we’ll feature a roundup of Princeton-related news from the prior week, which will hopefully help get you through the next few months.
What’s going on this week? First, professor of politics and international affairs and former dean of the Woodrow Wilson School Anne-Marie Slaughter recently wrote an article titled “Why Women Still Can’t Have It All,” which has been blowing up the interwebs. It has attracted more visitors to The Atlantic’s website in a 24-hour period than any other story the magazine has ever published, according to the New Jersey Herald. The article details Slaughter’s struggles with balancing her high-powered career and motherhood. Writes Slaughter:
“I still strongly believe that women can ‘have it all’ (and that men can too). I believe that we can ‘have it all at the same time.’ But not today, not with the way America’s economy and society are currently structured. My experiences over the past three years have forced me to confront a number of uncomfortable facts that need to be widely acknowledged—and quickly changed.”
Members of the economics department have a reason to celebrate – University officials have submitted plans to the Princeton Borough Zoning Board of Adjustment for proposed renovations to 20 Washington Road, which is set to house the Department of Economics (as well as several international offices and the Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies). As a result, all of Princeton’s economists will be able to gather together in one place (and, you know, figure out how to get us out of this double-dip recession). The building used to be home to the Department of Chemistry. If everything goes as planned, the building will be completed by fall 2016.
On a different note, Hoagie Haven lovers listen up! According to nj.com, a new Subway shop is due to open just two doors down from the beloved haven of hoagies on Nassau Street. The sub vs. hoagie battle is on. Guess that just means you’ll have to eat more hoagies to prevent Subway from beating out the Haven…
If you are on campus currently, you may have the opportunity to see Tina Fey and Paul Rudd (@#*&!). The two will be filming scenes for the movie Admission near campus on July 2 and 3, borough administrator Robert Bruschi said. Speaking of comedians on campus, Steve Carell detailed his Class Day visit, among other things, when he appeared on The Today Show on June 18, which you can check out here.
That’s all for now! Check back next week – and every week this summer – for more dispatches from the Orange Bubble.
In Princeton Borough and Princeton Township–the home of anthrax scares, bear cubs and the ever so popular campus masturbators–nothing fails to surprise. We’ve got beavers, cool embryos and more for this week in news. Here we go!
Princeton is once again wrapped up in zoological drama, the second round following the bear cub hullabaloo back in the spring. This time the star of the show is another species that begins with the letter “b”: beavers. Yes, that’s right, the fauna that inspired the creators of Angry Beavers, the creatures whose homes are one letter away from swearing, the lovely Castor canadensis.
Public Enemy #1
Princeton Animal Control Officer Mark Johnson will be tried “in the near future” by the Ewing Municipal Court for shooting two beavers back in May, according to a Princeton Packet article. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has issued two court summonses to Johnson, who did not acquire a permit to shoot the State-protected beavers.
Oh no he din-uhhnnn.
Of course, the shooting awakened the wrath of Princeton-town’s vitriolic animal rights bloggers (read: the wrath of Princeton-town’s only animal rights bloggers), who have dubbed Johnson everything from “cruel and sadistic” to an “‘Animal Control Officer’”. Note the double quotations, oh man, the blogger may have used sarcasm! Bam.
In other news, life works. According to a study led by Professor of Molecular Biology Ned Wingreen, the first few minutes of life are a wave of calcium away from complete chaos.
Individual cells in an embryo may develop at different rates or may cease development altogether if they were not regulated by waves of calcium that traverse the ball of cells at regular intervals. The waves essentially serve as an atomic clock for the developing embryo, making every cell divide and grow at the same time. James Ferrell, a researcher at Stanford whose formulas on the cell cycle Wingreen and McIsaac used in their models, said:
“One of this group’s conclusions is that chaos lurks not far from where the system normally functions, like a monster in the corner, and that it matters to have synchronicity established quickly to prevent it.”
So, moral of the story: if it wasn’t for periodic element number 20, life as an embryo wouldn’t be tranquil–at least, not as tranquil as this video.
And lastly, former America’s Next Top Model contestant and history major Jane Randall ’13 had her picture taken … by the New York Times. Randall received the Times treatment this week in an article entitled “Beautiful Minds.” Randall talked about the U Store’s odd range of products (you grab the cheese puffs, I’ll get the Vera Bradley wristlets!), the awesomeness of egg sandwiches at Olives and the weirdness of Princeton traditions. Read the interview here.
Remember the anthrax scare of 2001? Well, white powder worries has hit once again. This time, packages of suspect contents were mailed to the Princeton University Medical Center and a Princeton-based manufacturer in what police call two unrelated events.
Cheesy, yes, but better than the other images that turned up for 'anthrax'
The Princeton Packet reports that on Monday morning, an employee at Church & Dwight (famous for producing household products) opened a letter containing a white powdery substance, thus triggering a lock-down of the building and quarantine of 120 employees for more than an hour. Shortly after, a Princeton University Medical Center employee reported seeing white powder in his mail as well.
Authorities rushed to address both scares in a timely manner, with the police, Fire Department, and Princeton First Aid and Rescue squad alerting national authorities (think Department of Homeland Security and the FBI) and conducting prompt substance tests. They soon revealed that the packages contained nothing more than…powdered sugar and a crumbly, low quality adhesive?!
Yes, that’s right. Church & Dwight received no more than a package of confectioner’s sugar. And of the hospital threat, Roy James, deputy chief of the Princeton Fire Department, said:
“When you looked at it, it was some sort of yellowy substance on the box and on the stuff inside. It is like an adhesive, but when you put your finger on it, it turns powdery.”
(Phew! Close call.)
The troubles for Princeton, however, didn’t end there.
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 (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.
Our friends at the Daily Princetonian provided an update on the Tony Kadyhrob saga: after incidents at several Mercer County campuses, the 68-year-old has been indicted on one count of second-degree attempted kidnapping and one count of third-degree luring. While many students might recognize the face, fewer are familiar with the peculiar tragedy of Mr. Kadyhrob, who suffers from schizophrenia and was overheard telling himself that he was a 21-year-old graduate of Princeton. No date has been set for the trial.
In an overzealous post-admission shopping spree, this was purchased
We’ll turn now to a less serious, much broader kind of identity crisis, one that has seized many students (or at least the internet-list-reading subset). The past week has given me pause, has forced a more careful interrogation of Princeton’s essence. What are the defining values of this school?* A year ago, you might have looked around and unwaveringly answered: our douchebaggery and our preppiness, celebrated both as discrete virtues, and also in their sublime union (see left; see also Lawnparties, the general phenomenon of).
This year, you might answer exactly the same way, because neither of thosetwo values appears to have waned in the last year. But the public recognition of them has. Despite our prominent #3 ranking on GQ’s last “Douchiest Colleges” list, we are conspicuously absent from the 2011 edition. Ivy-wise, Princeton and Harvard have been supplanted by Cornell and Yale — which might itself call for some intra-Ivy douchiness, but I’ll let you fill those punchlines in yourself. Princeton did manage a tangential mention on Yale’s page, serving as the “robot” foil to their “passion.” (Incidentally this entire list is excerpted from the “groundbreaking new book” The Rogers & Littleton Guide to America’s Douchiest Colleges. It doesn’t take a Princeton douche to gawk at the fact that this book exists — maybe we lurk somewhere in its 176[!] pages.)
This news arrives just weeks after another surprising omission: Princeton was left out of The Huffington Post’s “Preppiest Schools” list. Last time we were represented by this somewhat cryptic tableau of not-particularly-preppy-looking silhouettes in a random Whitman arch, but this time, nothing. This is very unfortunate because I was looking forward to an even more confusingly irrelevant photo this year.
