Founded 1876 daily since 1892 online since 1998
Friday october 14, 2016 vol. cxl no. 87
{ www.dailyprincetonian.com } BEYOND THE BUBBLE
STUDENT LIFE
Graduate students discuss unionization at town hall meeting By Rose Gilbert contributor
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In 1970, Bob Dylan received an honorary doctoral degree in music from the University.
Bob Dylan H’70 wins Nobel Prize for Literature By Allie Spensley contributor
Bob Dylan, the famous American singer-songwriter and “rock poet,” was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature on Thursday. According to the Swedish academy’s press release, he was honored “for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition.” Dylan, who was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Music from the University in 1970, is the first musician to win the honor. He is also the first American to receive the Nobel in Literature since former University
professor Toni Morrison won in 1993. Dylan’s songwriting roots are from 1960s New York, where he paired lyrics protesting the Vietnam war with acoustic guitar. Influenced by both folk and rock genres, Dylan’s music has gained widespread popularity and a multitude of awards, including twelve Grammys. Throughout his five-decade career, Dylan’s lyrics have been recognized for their poetic images and surreal, long-form style. The surprise over Dylan’s selection centers around the perceived low odds he had at winning, as well as whether or not See DYLAN page 2
More than sixty University graduate students gathered to discuss whether they should unionize, and if so which organization to affiliate with, in a town hall meeting Oct. 13. After the National Labor Relation Board’s August 2016 decision ruled that graduate students at private universities could unionize, graduate students at the University started meeting to decide whether or not they wanted some form of collective bargaining. In the meeting, the students discussed two potential organizations to collaborate with in preparing their potential negotiation of a contract with the University. Two organizations — the American Federation of Teachers and the Service Employees International Union — reached out to the graduate students with offers to aid the graduate
students’ campaign to negotiate a contract with the University should they decide to unionize. Both the AFT and SEIU have made commitments to provide University graduate students with paid staff dedicated to their campaign, legal aid when they needed representation, and access to a meeting space. AFT’s promised commitments are more specific, pledging a paid campaign director, three to five full-time paid staff, and an established Princeton, NJ office. After reading and hearing summaries of both proposals, students voted to delay deciding which organization to affiliate with until Tuesday, Oct. 18th. The meeting was then opened to questions and commentary using a “stack” method. During this time students voiced their hopes for and concerns about unionizing. Students who were also parents worried that union dues would further stress their already stretched stipends,
though other audience members quickly reassured them that union dues would not be collected until after the students had negotiated a contract, which would potentially include a higher stipend. One audience member commented that to some, a closed shop union would feel like “getting caught in the gears of a device they have no control over.” A first-year graduate student who identified herself as a labor historian replied that closedshop unions have been the most successful. She said that allowing graduate students to opt out of the union without a fee could be a “disaster” for collective bargaining efforts. “My main concern is to make sure that graduate students have a place at the table when it comes to negotiating with the administration because, as others have mentioned at the town hall, there’s a sentiment among graduate students that in meanSee TOWN HALL page 2
BEYOND THE BUBBLE
University of Ghana to remove Gandhi statue contributor
In a movement that resembles the protests around the naming of the Wilson School and the Wilson College at the University last fall, activists and protesters have succeeded in convincing administration to remove a statue of Indian independence leader Mohandas Gandhi from the University of Ghana campus. The statue, which was unveiled this past summer as a gift from Indian president Pranab Mukherjee during a visit to Ghana, has had significant pushback during the past
few months from students and professors alike who see Gandhi as discriminatory toward black Africans and promoting the caste system in India. The activists sent a petition to the university council at the University of Ghana to remove the statue, and the Ghana Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which intervened on part of the university council, agreed last Thursday to remove the statue from campus. Mantse Ayikwei, a supporter of the movement who works at the cultural network ACCRA [dot] ALT in Accra, Ghana said “a Gandhi statue should not be anywhere on African soil.” See GHANDI page 2
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ROSE GILBERT :: CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
More than 60 graduate students gathered at the town hall meeting to discuss the potential unionization. LOCAL NEWS
Chris Christie receives criminal summons over “Bridgegate” scandal By Marcia Brown associate news editor
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie received a probable cause criminal summons Thursday regarding the closing of the George Washington Bridge in 2013 allegedly as punishment to Fort Lee’s mayor, a Democrat, for not endorsing the governor, NBCNewYork reported on Thursday. Christie is an ex-officio trustee of the University. The summons comes after The New York Times recently reported that Christie allegedly knew about the shut-down lanes prior to the incident occurring. The shutdown wreaked havoc on New Jersey-New York traffic flow, causing hours of delays. Activist Bill Brennan filed a complaint against Christie cit-
ing official misconduct a few weeks ago over the lane closures. The New York Post wrote that two Christie aides are currently on trial for their involvement in the lane closings. New Jersey Municipal Court Judge Roy McGeady allowed the official misconduct complaint to go forward, meaning that the case will move to Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office. Christie has not yet been indicted. Christie has recently denied any involvement in what’s been named “Bridgegate,” and he has fired the aides and political appointees who were directly involved. “This is a dishonorable complaint filed by a known serial complainant and political activist with a history of abusing the judicial system,” Brian Murray, the governor’s press secretary,
In Opinion
Today on Campus
The Editorial Board calls on Housing to reverse its new $75 charge for students locked out of their room three times, and contributing columnist Kaveh Badrei stresses the importance of maintaining interest in the UN. PAGE 4
4:30 p.m.: The LGBT center will celebrate its tenth year anniversary with stories from alumni speakers. Princeton University Art Museum.
wrote in an email. “If he’s indicted it could get worse,” Woodrow Wilson School Professor Stanley Katz said. “I don’t think there’s any doubt that this is really serious because even the current proceeding is terribly damaging and the more that comes out is terribly damaging but it’s reputational damage.” Katz said he does not know what the odds are, but he does not think indictment is likely. However, even without an indictment, this summons ties Christie closer to the “damage from Bridgegate,” according to Katz. “If he was convicted, he would be disbarred and he couldn’t practice law,” Katz said. “That would be a crushing blow, I think … When you See CHRISTIE page 1
WEATHER
By Mashad Arora
HIGH
65˚
LOW
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Sunny. chance of rain:
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