November 11, 2015

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Founded 1876 daily since 1892 online since 1998

Wednesday november 11, 2015 vol. cxxxix no. 101

{ www.dailyprincetonian.com } U N I V E R S I T Y A F FA I R S

U N I V E R S I T Y A F FA I R S

Judge: U. must defend taxexempt status By Jessica Li staff writer

ANNA MAZARAKIS :: STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

The tiger statues outside of Whig and Clio Halls were vandalized with graffiti on Tuesday morning.

Tiger statues, cannon vandalized with graffiti By Jessica Li staff writer

The tiger statues between Whig Hall and Clio Hall, along with the cannon on Cannon Green, were found to be vandalized with red paint early Tuesday morning. Perpetrators had painted the body of the tiger statues with expletives against Princeton and Pennsylvania State University. According to University spokesperson Martin Mbugua, on Tuesday around 2 a.m., a Department of Public Safety officer on patrol duty noticed that the cannon had

been painted. He subsequently noticed that the two tiger statues were covered in red graffiti. The DPS officer immediately sent a work order for maintenance to repaint the statues, Mbugua said. He said that the graffiti is in the process of being removed. Mbugua noted that the DPS officer did not find any suspects at the scene. As with every case, the DPS will be conducting an investigation into the incident. Mbugua further explained that according to the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate

Students, when matters such as cases of vandalism are referred to ODUS, the outcome of each case is determined on the basis of the specific circumstances surrounding the matter. There is no general penalty. Stephanie Karp, director of operations of Public Safety, deferred comment to Mbugua, and Kathleen Apgar, communications coordinator of Building Services, did not respond to a request for comment. The tiger statues outside Whig-Clio have frequently been targets of vandalism, according to Mbugua.

The burden of proof for demonstrating its tax-exempt status falls on the University, according to a decision by tax court judge Vito Bianco last Friday. The decision follows a motion filed by the University to the State Tax Court in July and marks the latest development of the four-year lawsuit initiated by several residents of the town. The University had previously filed a motion to dismiss the case and to re-assign a judge. University General Counsel Ramona Romero declined to comment. Robert Durkee ’69, vice president and secretary of the University, said that in a lawsuit the burden of proof falls mainly on the plaintiffs, and that it is unusual for defendants to have the burden of proof. He added that there was some indication in earlier hearings that suggested the judge may not see it that way in this case, and that now that it is aware of what the judge has decided, the University will proceed accordingly. Bruce Afran, the plaintiff counsel, stated that multiple precedents in New Jersey courts have established that in taxexemption lawsuits, the burden

of proof falls on the part of the property owner whose tax-exempt status is challenged. Afran added that tax exemption statuses have always been very strictly interpreted and narrowly applied. “The person who owns the property and wants to be free of paying taxes must prove to the court that they deserve the exemption. The University tried to shift that burden to the taxpayers, in this case, the retired senior citizens,” Afran said. “The basic idea is that the person who owns the property knows best what they do with it. The University knows its operations best, these retired people can’t know the in and out of the University.” Afran added that he believes it will be difficult for the University to prove its nonprofit status and retain the exemptions in face of documented commercial engagements. According to Afran, such engagements include entering into biotechnology partnerships with faculty members who’ve received intellectual patents, expanding real estate involvement in Forrestal and participating in various hedge funds. However, Durkee said that he believes there is no question that See TAX page 3

ACADEMICS

U. professors recognized for work in physics By Abhiram Karrupur contributor

Associate physics professor Bogdan Andrei Bernevig and former University professor Arthur McDonald were recognized for their work in physics on Sunday – Bernevig was awarded the 2016 New Horizons in Physics Prize, and McDonald was awarded the Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics. McDonald, who completed his postdoctoral work at

the University, received the award for his work on neutrinos. He was also awarded the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physics on Oct. 6. McDonald did not respond to a request for comment. The Breakthrough Prize was founded in 2012 by four married couples – Google co-founder Sergey Brin and 23andme co-founder and CEO Anne Wojcicki, Alibaba founder Jack Ma and Cathy Zhang, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and See AWARD page 4

COURTESY OF GOOGLE.COM

Bogdan Bernevig (left) and Arthur McDonald were awarded for their work in physics on Sunday.

BEYOND THE BUBBLE

LECTURE

Li ’12, Cheng ’16 discuss racial, Cruz ’92 proposes dissolution of IRS, Department of Energy at presidential debate gender barriers in politics staff writer and contributor

U.S. Senator for Texas Ted Cruz ’92 proposed the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service, Department of Energy, Department of Commerce and the Department of Housing and Urban Development in the fourth Republican presidential debate on Tuesday. The eight current GOP frontrunners — including businessman Donald Trump, Ben Carson, U.S. Senator for Florida Marco Rubio, former Florida governor Jeb Bush, former tech executive Carly Fiorina, Cruz,

Ohio Governor John Kasich and U.S. Senator for Kentucky Rand Paul — offered up their strategies for fostering economic prosperity in the U.S. The debate took place in Milwaukee, Wis. The discussion centered on taxes, job creation, minimum wage, illegal immigration, trade, healthcare and military spending. “The Obama economy is a disaster, and the IMF is telling us this is a new normal,” Cruz said. “It doesn’t have to be.” His policy was centered on tax reform, regulatory reform and sound money. “I have rolled out a bold and

simple flat tax: 10 percent for every American that would produce booming growth and 4.9 million new jobs within a decade,” Cruz said on his plans for tax reform. He proposed a 16 percent flat tax for all corporations. His policy would be border adjustable, with exports exempt from the tax, but all imports subject to that same 16 percent, he said. He called for “pulling back the armies of regulators that have descended like locusts on small businesses.” In response to Paul’s assertion that you cannot be a conservative if you favor heavy See DEBATE page 2

By Caroline Lippman contributor

Students should become involved in politics and pursue issues that are important to them despite possible racial or gender obstacles, Lindy Li ’12 argued in a panel discussion with Undergraduate Student Government president Ella Cheng ’16 on Tuesday. Cheng is a former staff writer for The Daily Princetonian. Li, who was class president during her four years at the University, is running for the Democratic nomination for Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional district. If successful, she will be the

In Opinion

Today on Campus

Contributing columnist Paul Kigawa comments on the reactive nature of the university’s mental health initiatives, and contributing columnist Pranaya Anshu discusses the roles of social media activism. PAGE 5

4:30 p.m.: The Princeton Student Veterans Association, the Wilson School and the Center for International Security Studies will host a panel discussion about the role of veterans in academia in recognition of Veteran’s Day. Dodds Auditorium 100.

youngest woman ever elected to Congress. When Cheng asked about the challenges associated with gender when running for office, Li said that sometimes women are perceived as aggressive when they are only speaking affirmatively. She added that women, unlike men, sometimes need an extra word of encouragement to pursue their passions. “Let’s encourage our women,” Li said. ”What’s the worst that can happen to you, honestly? Someone says no? You lose an election? So many people lose elections. It’s going to be okay.” An audience member asked See LECTURE page 4

WEATHER

By Nahrie Chung and Myrial Holbrook

HIGH

62˚

LOW

45˚

Cloudy skies. chance of rain:

20 percent


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