November 10, 2015

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Founded 1876 daily since 1892 online since 1998

Tuesday november 10, 2015 vol. cxxxix no. 100

{ www.dailyprincetonian.com } BEYOND THE BUBBLE

Froman ’85: TPP negotiator, political advisor By Christina Vosbikian staff writer

Michael Froman ’85 studied in the Wilson School before negotiating the TPP. ACADEMICS

Study finds rising middle-aged mortality rates By Betty Liu contributor

Mortality rates have been increasing for middle-aged white Americans since 1998, according to an Oct. 29 study by Woodrow Wilson School professors Angus Deaton and Anne Case. Deaton was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science for his work on consumption, poverty and welfare on Oct. 12. The paper noted that mortality rates had been steadily decreasing for decades prior to 1998, but that this trend reversed for white Americans aged 45-54. No other developed country or racial group in America has seen a similar turnaround.

Morbidity rates – rates of illness and pain – have risen along with mortality rates, according to the paper. Middle-aged white Americans have shown higher levels of drug use for pain, beginning in the 1990s, and they have also seen higher instances of suicide and drug abuse. This study shows that the major causes of death for middle-aged white Americans are suicide, drug poisoning, chronic liver disease and cirrhosis. Though white males among all levels of educational attainment saw an increase in mortality rates, those of a lower educational background saw the most marked increase in mortality rates. Deaton and Case conducted this study by analyzing See STUDY page 3

STUDENT LIFE

Listserv analysis shows free food distribution By Christina Sue contributor

Free food is most likely to be distributed on Friday at either Frist Campus Center or at former Murray-Dodge Café, according to an analysis of free food listserv emails conducted by Felix Xiao ’16. Xiao published a blog post on the Data Science Club website on Sept. 30 predicting where free food is most likely to appear on campus. The article says he analyzed over 900 emails during the 2014-15 academic year using the programming language R. “The chief idea is that there are certain times and locations where the probability of free food is higher, and you

can take the past history of emails and analyze them to come up with which target days are good for finding free food,” Xiao explained. Findings indicate that Frist and Murray-Dodge have been some of the most popular locations for free food. The results also showed that the listserv experiences more traffic on Fridays than on any other day. “I didn’t expect that there’d be many more emails sent on a Friday than Monday,” Xiao said. “Why would the weekend mean there’d be more emails sent out? There was nothing that would have led me to expect that.” Another question that the analysis might answer is See FREE FOOD page 2

Trans-Pacific Partnership According to the United States Trade Representative website, the TPP is a trade agreement that intends to open markets, set high-standard trade rules and address 21st century issues in the global market. The TPP will eliminate over 18,000 taxes that various countries impose on exports made in the United States, according to the White House, which added that import taxes on U.S. auto products will now be cut in member nations. Froman said that the TPP is the most ambitious trade agreement in decades, noting the challenge of coordinating

and working a diverse array of 12 developed and developing countries from across the Asian and Pacific regions. “Collectively, we have set new, higher standards for the global trading system and so we’re breaking new ground in various 21st century areas like digital economy and stateowned enterprises,” he explained. ”We are raising labor and environmental standards around the world with this agreement, and we’re making sure that we tear down barriers to U.S. exports so that our workers and farmers and ranchers here can benefit from the global economy.” Froman noted estimates that the TPP will produce hundreds of billions of dollars of additional economic activity for the global economy, and it is estimated to increase U.S. exports by over a hundred billion dollars. See FROMAN page 4

FALL BREAK

KERITH WANG :: CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

The Daily Princetonian’s photography staff documented fall break in a photo spread on page 5. U N I V E R S I T Y A F FA I R S

Faculty meeting approves proposal for new music theater certificate By Christopher Umanzor contributor

The Committee on the Course of Study recommended approval for an undergraduate certificate in music theater, which was presented by Deputy Dean of the College Elizabeth Colagiuri during the faculty meeting on Monday. According to the working papers released at the meeting, the certificate would be a collaboration between the Program in Theater and the Department of Music. The proposal explained that the University should not create a music theater track within the certificate program in theater because the University wishes to signal a more robust collaboration between the music and theater units. A certificate program in music theater would signal to prospective students and the world that the University sup-

ports musical theater, the proposal said. The proposal stated that Stacy Wolf from the Program in Theater is prepared to head the program, but added that someone from another department could follow her. Because the proposal came from a standing committee, the floor was quickly opened to vote. The faculty unanimously voted to pass the motion with no members opting against. Dean of the Graduate School Sanjeev Kulkarni also discussed the recent changes in curricula for a series of doctoral programs. Kulkarni particularly suggested adding new courses in Art and Archeology, Chemical and Biological Engineering, East Asian Studies, Electrical Engineering, Finance, Geosciences, Music, Religion, Sociology and the Wilson School. Kulkarni’s proposal, which also came from a standing

In Opinion

Today on Campus

Columnist Beni Snow argues that free speech protects even unflattering thoughts, and columnist Will Rivitz recommends talking to, rather than past, our intellectual critiques. PAGE 6

7 p.m.: Engineer Jason Walters teaches students about Kinect APIs and how to use Kinect in building projects in a development workshop hosted by Microsoft. Lewis Library Bowl 138

committee, also received a unanimous vote with no faculty members voting in opposition. After being called to order by University President Christopher Eisgruber ’83, the faculty turned their attention to physics professor A.J. Stewart Smith for special remarks on the late Val L. Fitch, professor of physics emeritus who passed away last February. “We shall never forget Val Fitch, by any measure the most exceptional scientist and human being,” Smith said as he finished his speech. Eisgruber moved for a moment of silence in name of the late professor. Registrar Polly Griffin presented the report of opening enrollment for the 2015-2016 academic year. The report includes the sizes of each class as well as their corresponding gender, ethnic and degree candidacy ratios.

WEATHER

FILE PHOTO

U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman ’85 announced on Oct. 5 that the United States and 11 Pacific Rim Nations had reached an agreement on the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Froman was nominated by President Barack Obama as the U.S. Trade Representative on May 2, 2013 and stepped into the position on June 19, 2013. Froman received an A.B. in Public and International Affairs from the Wilson School in 1985. He then earned a Ph.D. in International Relations/Affairs from Oxford University in 1989 and a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1991. Economics professor Alan Blinder ’67, who met Froman during the first part of the Clinton administration when Froman was on the National Economic Council Staff under Robert Rubin, said that Fro-

man is very smart and serious. “He’s very well organized and the kind of person you’d meet and say he’s a very solid citizen, somebody with judgment, who’s trustworthy and has focus,” Blinder added.

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