November 17, 2017

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Friday November 17, 2017 vol. CXLI no. 104

{ www.dailyprincetonian.com } BEYOND THE BUBBLE

U. and peers object to House tax legislation

ON CAMPUS

Women’s March organizers talk womanism, Trump

By Amy Abdalla and Talitha Wisner

By Mallory Williamson

contributors

contributor

After a vote largely along party lines, the United States House of Representatives passed a $1.5 billion Trump Administrationendorsed tax bill which would slash taxes in the short term, if ultimately passed.

“Princeton is deeply concerned about the damaging effects of the House-passed tax legislation on students and institutions of higher education,” wrote Joyce Rechtschaffen, a University spokeswoman, in a statement to the ‘Prince’. “At a time when the government should be encouraging students of all backgrounds to pursue higher education, this bill imposes new financial hurdles through changes in the tax code.

Instead of encouraging innovation that drives our economy and supports national security and health, this bill would have serious consequences for the groundbreaking research that results in new technologies and life-saving medicines,” she wrote.

The House tax bill contains several provisions to which colleges and universities object, including the removal of tax deductions for student loan interest. The bill would make graduate student teaching and research income taxable, and would tax endowments of private universities with at least 500 students and See TAXES page 3

TALITHA WISNER :: CONTRIBUTOR

Linda Sarsour, Carmen Perez, and Tamika Mallory, co-chairs of the Women’s March, served as panelists on campus.

On Nov. 16, three of the four co-chairs of the National Women’s March — Linda Sarsour, Tamika Mallory, and Carmen Perez — took part in a panel titled, “Silence Will Not Protect You: Womanism in the Age of Donald Trump.” The panel considered what went on behind the scenes of the largest singleday protest in U.S. history, the Women’s March.

Associate professor of African American Studies Ruha Benjamin, who moderated the conversation, began by explaining that she found the discussion to be necessary and pow-

erful.

“Knowledge is produced by doing things in the world,” said Benjamin. “We learn and we gain knowledge by actually getting our hands dirty. This is an opportunity for us to actually learn through the practice.”

Benjamin asked each of the panelists to recount their first experiences with feminism.

Sarsour shared her background as the daughter of Palestinian immigrants growing up in a very conservative and traditional Arab-American household. Sarsour was the oldest of several daughters, a trend that disappointed her grandmother and neighbors’ tradiSee WOMANISM page 2

BEYOND THE BUBBLE

Racism appears in middle school Google Sheets

By Ivy Truong contributor

A few days after the eighth grade class at John Witherspoon Middle School in Princeton traveled to the National Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., “racist, anti-Semitic, and sexual messages” appeared on a Google spreadsheet originally intended for an eighth grade science lab.

The eighth grade class had just returned from the trip on Oct. 30 when the spreadsheet

was shared with the class. On Nov. 3, staff members at John Witherspoon reported the messages, which had been posted by anonymous commenters.

According to The Princeton Packet, two teachers shared the spreadsheet with the entire eighth grade class after the trip. The Princeton Packet story notes that the district does not know who is responsible for the messages. Superintendent of Schools Stephen Cochrane ’81 implied during a school board meeting that the district may never know.

ON CAMPUS

This incident comes over a year after other racially charged incidents in the Princeton public schools, including Princeton High School students playing a drinking game they called Jews vs. Nazis in April 2016.

The investigation into the recent Google spreadsheet incident suggests that one John Witherspoon student had allegedly posted the spreadsheet on an online platform, which allowed the public to access it. Numerous individuals from across the country could have

posted the messages, Cochrane explained.

Former Princeton Mayor and recent school board-elect Michele Tuck-Ponder referred to her statement in The Princeton Packet story and declined to comment further for this article. She noted in the article that the district has to engage more with the “police, clergy, and others” to prevent the “poison that we have f lowing through [Princeton].”

“One of that things that we See RACISM page 3

ON CAMPUS

Painter, sculptor Titus Kaphar talks Former Prime Minister Fayyad discusses vision art, U. connections to slavery contributor

Titus Kaphar, an African-American painter and sculptor whose works are featured in the Museum of Modern Art, discussed the intersection between racism and the University’s history this Thursday in McCosh Hall.

Kaphar’s “Impressions of Liberty” will be featured for six weeks on the lawn next to Princeton’s historic Maclean House. The largescale wood and glass structure presents a bust of Samuel Finley, a slaveowner and the fifth president of Princeton, combined with the glass portraits of an AfricanAmerican man, woman, and child.

It is currently located under the American sycamore trees where Finley’s slaves were auctioned in 1766, ironically nicknamed the “Liberty Trees.”

At twilight, when the sun begins to set, the figures in the front appear brighter and blend with the figures in the background. Kaphar explained that the sculpture is supposed to be “visually confusing,” and that the sculpture’s impact is intended to be increased because it “is a struggle to see.”

Kaphar created his first painting at age 27. His interest in art was motivated by his desire to impress his current wife, so he registered for art history and realized that he had untapped artistic potential.

“The idea that I had any type of intelligence was utterly shocking,” said Kaphar. “Art gave me a language to engage the world with.”

Although he received his MFA from the Yale University School of Art, Kaphar admitted that he never

In Opinion

did well in high school, boasting a mere 0.75 GPA. Kaphar recalls taking an art history survey course in which the professor purposefully skipped over the only section of the course that focused on Black artists. Kaphar, the only Black student in the class, calmly asked the professor and the dean why the section was skipped.

To his disappointment, Kaphar was told that he couldn’t force the professor to teach anything.

“If I wanted this information, I was going to have to seek it out myself,” Kaphar said. “I was going to have to find my own books, my own teachers.”

Kaphar’s quest for a better understanding of African-American art history ultimately inspired his body of work, “Visual Quotations,” which was composed entirely on dry-erase white boards. Starting with 18th and 19th century paintings that depicted Black people, he erased everything from original portraits except for the Black figures. The works were designed to draw attention to these marginalized figures, addressing a recurring representation of enslaved Black people as imperfect goods.

“All of my works have personal connections,” Kaphar said.

Khapar recalled a stop-and-frisk incident involving his younger brother that inspired his future artwork. He admitted that although he loves his younger brother, the two do not get along, mainly because they don’t have much in common. “[My brother] only cares about two things: women and shoes,” Kaphar joked.

However, Kaphar’s brother dem-

Columnist Ryan Born argues for the termination of ELE professor Sergio Verdú’s employment, and guest contributor Jacob Berman points out hypocrisy in student protesters’ tolerance of Linda Sarsour’s visit to Princeton. Page 4

onstrated an interest in art when he visited Kaphar’s exhibit in New York, staying nearly two hours to examine the paintings. Just as Kaphar was about to have a heartto-heart with his brother, two Caucasian police officers forcefully approached and patted down both members of the pair.

When the officer finally returned Kaphar’s driver license to him, he told Kaphar, “I hope you don’t have a moment when you need the police because we might not be there for you.”

That experience made Kaphar feel as if his citizenship was less valuable than someone else’s, inspiring his 2014 piece, “Yet Another Fight for Remembrance,” in which only the upper half of two Black figures’ faces are revealed. He explained that the covering of the face is meant to convey silence: “seeing what’s going on but silence nonetheless.”

His next large project involved “monumental inversions”: instead of taking down controversial sculptures entirely, Kaphar argued for their amendments. He explained that when a sculpture is taken down, the public will forget the process by which a community normalized the erection of a sculpture that degraded the existence of groups of people.

“We need to remember how these things take place, so it won’t happen again. It can become a form of dialogue,” Kaphar said. “Simply taking down the sculpture down is not conversation.”

Kaphar emphasized that he is not trying to demonize the foundSee KAPHAR page 3

for Palestinian future

By Jacob Gerrish contributor

“Self-empowerment as an instrument of liberation” remains central to Palestinian affairs, according to economist and politician Salam Fayyad.

Fayyad explained the psychological and political factors necessary for agreement between Palestine and Israel as part of the “Conversations on Peace” lecture series held by the Mamdouha S. Bobst Center for Peace and Justice and the Wilson School on Thursday.

As the former prime minister of the Palestinian Authority from 2007 to 2013, Fayyad expanded on his own efforts towards Palestinian independence and the two-state solution.

Noting the necessity of selfagency for Palestine, Fayyad promoted his national vision for the future of Palestine. To fulfill the “progressive values of equality [and] democracy,” Fayyad believes that Palestine must simultaneously accomplish full independence by establishing defined territorial boundaries with Israel.

“It’s more up to us, Palestine, than Israel or the international community,” Fayyad said. “Empowerment is needed to end the occupation.”

He said he wanted to “provocatively” signal a rejection of the notion that the efforts of the Palestinians under occupation are doomed to failure.

“We’re not looking to build a failed state, but an exemplary one,”

Today on Campus 8 p.m.:“From Darkness to Light.” A concert showcasing a variety of organ works, gradually moving from somber to joyful, performed by performance faculty organist Eric Plutz.

University Chapel.

he said.

During Fayyad’s prime-ministership, the government put forth a two-year plan to reach the threshold of statehood. The improvement of electoral institutions, government services, and the actualization of small- and medium-sized infrastructure projects formed the thrust of that 2009 platform.

According to Fayyad, the United States and other nations would only recognize the Palestinian right to self-determination with a “test” of statehood that Fayyad said his plan attempted to take.

“Fair or unfair, let’s take this test and pass it,” Fayyad said.

However, the achievement of Fayyad’s proposal did not produce the hoped-for result, and the Israeli settlement policy has not ceased in the intervening years.

Reflecting on what went wrong, Fayyad mentioned that key actors in Palestine did not acquiesce to the government-sponsored project. Instead, the violent takeover of Gaza

by Hamas in 2007 severely hampered confidence in the two-state solution worldwide.

Fayyad added that the Israel-Gaza warfare weakened his statehood plan, damaging the political standing of the Palestinian Authority.

“This sort of introspection might be instructive,” Fayyad said.

Although he theoretically supports the two-state solution, Fayyad acknowledged that no ready solution exists in the current moment.

“To those concerned by the See PALESTINE page 3

WEATHER

By Isabel Ting

HIGH

48˚

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The Daily Princetonian

page 2

Mallory: Black womanhood is to be strong, to be bold, to be beautiful

Friday November 17, 2017 ON CAMPUS

New Yorker writer Als, poet Nguyen read passages from their recent work

By Rebecca Ngu senior writer

TALITHA WISNER :: CONTRIBUTOR

The Women’s March organizers each spoke about their early experiences and engagement with feminism

WOMANISM Continued from page 1

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tional hopes for a son.

“It really didn’t sit well with me, even as a young child,” said Sarsour. “So I started to have that conversation with my parents. Were we not good enough?

Why wouldn’t you be happy not to have a son?”

Mallory described her early engagement with feminism while growing up in an AfricanAmerican family.

“Black families, Black women, don’t necessarily identify with feminism. It’s just a struggle that we’re in with the men in our households, and we’re all fighting at the same time,” explained Mallory. “But, when I think about my childhood, I grew up in a family of strong-ass women … my understanding of Black womanhood was to be strong, to be bold, and to be beautiful.”

Perez explained to the audience that when she was growing up, her home wasn’t the comforting place that she wanted it to be. She ultimately developed a home outside of her nuclear

family, one that was rooted in her diverse community through her experience in basketball and hip-hop.

“What we created together was a pact that allowed us to be children, to be safe when we didn’t feel safe at home,” Perez described.

The panelists also delved into their experiences organizing the Women’s March.

“People think that collaboration means that it has to lead to unity, and that unity is uniformity. Unity is not uniformity,” said Sarsour. “So, if your expectations are to show up to a movement believing that we’re all going to believe the same things, then the movement has already failed.”

Mallory built on Sarsour’s sentiment, describing her experience welcoming new members into the movement.

“I asked often, ‘Where were you [before the march]?’ I don’t believe that people can organize without being honest about the fact that they were not there, that they have not been engaged in this, and the only reason why they showed up is because Donald Trump became president,

and somehow that scared them,” Mallory said.

Perez also weighed in on the discomfort she felt as a woman of color navigating the power struggle of racial dynamics within the march.

“When we were trying to lead, there was this tension that was happening because white women were like, ‘Well, what about us? Am I going to be able to do an interview? I’m also working along your side; I’m also here,’” said Perez. “What it reminds me of is that oftentimes we are comfortable oppressing others.”

Sarsour closed the discussion by pointing out that this shared discomfort was not only normal, but necessary for the sake of progress and growth.

“Being uncomfortable is okay in the movement because — guess what — it means that you’re doing something right,” Sarsour noted. “We are in a moment where it’s not about feeling good — we are in the most critical moment of your generation.”

The panel took place at 7 p.m. on Nov. 16 in the Carl A. Fields Center for Equality and Cultural Understanding.

Pulitzer Prize-winning critic and New Yorker writer Hilton Als and poet Hoa Nguyen read selections from their work at the Lewis Arts complex at the University on Nov. 15. Als and Nguyen were introduced by poets Tracy K. Smith — the 2017 U.S. Poet Laureate — and Michael Dickman, respectively.

Smith began her introduction by diving into the experience of reading one of Als’s New Yorker stories on June and Jennifer Gibbons, black identical twins in England who decided to speak to each other in a way no one else could understand.

Als’s story begins by referencing a metaphorical story from Plato’s Symposium of love as two halves becoming one. Smith noted Als’s preoccupation with twins. More than a great journalist or critic, Smith called Als an “artist of intimacy.”

“His sentences, no matter what they’re pointed to, invite [the] reader into a state of feeling profoundly accompanied,” she said. “They possess a companionability that is so immediate and so enrapturing, you feel as though something in him has been twinned into you.”

Als began reading from one of his essays, currently untitled, in which he dwells upon power, masculinity, and fear articulated through bodies, a commentary on what he calls today’s “climate of sexual fear.”

“And his eyes and teeth and power buried their way into their flesh,” he said. “As it did so, those bodies that perceived themselves as weaker clamped their mouths shut, and the words would not come to save themselves let alone other bodies.”

Als, who is gay, talked about the sense of helplessness that can come from living in the body of a woman or a gay man. “You’re just a body until you’re legitimized by the one body that counts or

says he counts,” he said. “But our bodies do count. They make things. They made me.”

Als, drawing upon the wisdom gained from his mother and sisters, emphasized the importance of interconnectedness and solidarity.

“I repeat,” he said. “Just because this shit hasn’t happened to you doesn’t mean it won’t. And even before it does, learn something from those who weren’t so lucky. Help them write it down, all of it. For the people who will come after us, make something out of it. Because as James Baldwin once said to his sister Angela Davis, ‘If they’re coming for you in the night, they’re coming for me in the morning.’”

Nguyen, a Vietnam-born and D.C.-raised poet, read selections from her two books of poetry, “Red Juice” and “Violet Energy Ingots,” as well as from some new work.

Dickman described the language of her poetry as slippery, eluding the easy meaning that comes from moralizing. “What a relief it is to get to participate in this way with a book of poems and not be told what to do or what to think all the time,” he said.

Nguyen’s poetry often touches upon the political — in particular, American crimes in Asian countries. Some of her poetry takes the form of notes, with all but the most salient details excised. In one of her poems, entitled “Napalm Notes,” she touches upon the invention and use of napalm in the Vietnam War. Eight million tons of bombs in Vietnam Burns at 1500 to 2200 degrees Fahrenheit One-fifth as hot as the center of the sun Very sticky Stable Also relatively cheap The reading was part of the Althea Ward Clark W’21 Reading Series presented by the Program in Creative Writing.

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The Daily Princetonian

Friday November 17, 2017

page 3

Fayyad: I am more Rechtschaffen: U. deeply concerned concerned by the trouble about damaging effects on students of a four-state reality and institutions of higher education PALESTINE Continued from page 1

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creeping one-state reality, let me say I don’t see one,” Fayyad said.

“Rather, I see what should be of even more concern, namely the creeping trouble of a four-state reality.”

Such an increase in division would lead to yet more bloodshed and war in the region, he said.

After his talk, an audience member asked Fayyad about the

“demonization” of Israelis in Palestinian textbooks. In response, Fayyad explained that the hostility is apparent in both parties and has contributed to the region’s conflict.

Tension between Palestine and Israel will endure, Fayyad said, so long as fear of the “other” keeps hold of the respective populations’ collective mentalities.

The lecture, titled “The Case for Palestinian Empowerment, Especially Under Occupation,” took place on Thursday, Nov. 16, at 4:30 p.m. in Sir Arthur Lewis Auditorium in Robertson Hall.

Kaphar’s interest in art was spurred by desire to impress current wife KAPHAR Continued from page 1

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ing fathers, but that he is also not trying to “deify” them. One of his works, “A Pillow for Fragile Functions,” is an impression of George Washington’s head, as represented by a glass cavity, resting on a marble pillow. Inside the glass cavity are molasses, rum, lime, and tamarind, all the items that Washington traded for a slave, who repeatedly attempted to run away.

Kaphar’s most recent work is the PostMasters project, which is invested in mentorship, professional development, and skills training

for the local arts community in New Haven, Conn. Through PostMasters, Kaphar hopes to introduce recent college graduates to professional development programs and even high school students to entrylevel curating.

Kaphar’s talk is one of several artistic events accompanying the Princeton and Slavery Project, a scholarly symposium taking place Nov. 17–18 to discuss the connection between the University’s history and the institution of slavery.

Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison will give a keynote address on Nov. 17, and McCarter Theatre will premiere the newly commissioned “Princeton and Slavery Plays” on Nov. 19.

Tuck-Ponder: Prevent the poison from flowing RACISM

Continued from page 1

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constantly struggle with is that the schools aren’t going to be able to address this issue alone. Everybody has a responsibility to respond to these bias incidents in the town,” TuckPonder said during a school board meeting. “The symptoms are being exhibited by our children, but the sickness goes through all levels in the municipality.”

“As the superintendent, as a community, we are grieved and

we are angered by these messages of hate,” Cochrane said at the school board meeting. He spoke in front of a screen that read, “Hate has no home here.”

Cochrane called on members of the community to stand up to injustices that they see, noting that some students had kept quiet about what they saw on the spreadsheet.

According to Planet Princeton, John Witherspoon principal Jason Burr sent a letter to parents on Nov. 13 asking for heightened awareness of their children’s internet activity.

Scott Newman contributed reporting.

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TAXES

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where the value of the school’s endowment is more than $250,000 per student, an elite group which includes the University.

The Senate version of the bill also includes a proposed tax on the royalties college and universities earn from use of their name and logo, eliminating them from universities’ general tax-exempt status.

The House’s passage of the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” marks President Donald Trump’s most significant legislative victory to date, but before it becomes law, it must pass through a wary Senate. The Senate Finance Commit-

tee will likely vote on the Senate’s version of the TCJA Friday before it is referred to a vote by the entire Senate body. However, the Senate bill, unlike the House’s version, maintains the student loan interest deduction.

“Princeton has joined with universities through the country in strongly opposing a proposal in the bill that would eliminate a provision in current law that excludes certain forms of tuition waivers and reductions relating to research and teaching assistantships from taxable income for graduate students,” Rechtschaffen wrote. “We are gratified that the Senate proposal does not include this proposal.”

New Congressional analysis demonstrates that, while taxes would drop in the short run, by

2021 taxes would rise for families making less than $30,000 a year and by 2027 taxes would rise for those making less than $75,000 annually after the bill’s cuts expire in 2025.

In addition to unilateral Democratic opposition, 13 Republican representatives — from New York, California, New Jersey, and North Carolina — voted against the bill.

The former three states, along with Illinois, maintain the highest state taxes in the U.S. The bill which passed in the House today removes deductions for state and local taxes from the tax code, a provision which would disproportionately disadvantage residents of traditionally Democratic states.

This is a breaking story, and will be updated as more information becomes available.

Opinion

Friday November 17, 2017

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The hypocrisy of campus protesters Jacob Berman

guest contributor

T

oday, Thursday, Nov. 15, at 7 p.m., the Women*s Center and Department of African American Studies are hosting the three co-chairs of the Women’s March on Washington at the Carl A. Fields Center for Equality and Cultural Understanding. While all three women have a history of inflammatory remarks, the most controversial of the activists is Linda Sarsour, a virulent anti-Semite and terrorist sympathizer.

I look forward to hearing what Sarsour has to say on all kinds of subjects. I want to hear her defense of intersectionalist arguments — that one cannot be a feminist without supporting racial, economic, environmental, reproductive, and every other type of “justice.” I look forward to learning why pro-life women and Zionist women do not have a place in her feminist movement. I look forward to understanding how she thinks arranged marriages, like the one she had at the age of 17 and has spoken about as “normal,” are compatible with modern feminism.

Our campus has taken a strong stand against perceived hate. In November

2015, the Black Justice League led 200 Princetonians in a walkout and sit-in at President Eisgruber’s office to protest the legacy of Woodrow Wilson, Class of 1879, on this campus. In December 2016, 75 Princetonians led by the Anthropology Department staged a walkout of American Enterprise Institute scholar Charles Murray’s speech at Princeton. Last week, when Israeli minister Tzipi Hotovely was scheduled to visit, the Alliance of Jewish Progressives successfully pressured the Center for Jewish Life to rescind its invitation to Hotovely. The argument always goes something like this: This legacy or speaker will provoke hate and fail to positively contribute to discourse in our community. And yet, when anti-Semitic Sarsour comes to campus, the silence is deafening.

Mrs. Sarsour’s history of hate is as deep as it is long.

Sarsour has maligned human-rights activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali, tweeting, “I wish I could take [her] vagina away” and stated she doesn’t “deserve to be [a] wom[a]n.” She has minimized the struggles facing women in Arab countries — praising Saudi Arabia, of all places, as a paragon of women’s rights — citing paid maternity leave. Saudi

Arabia? A country where adult women must have a male guardian’s permission to travel, get a passport, or get married. Saudi Arabia?

A country where women are required to dress modestly and the only country in the entire world where, up until a few months ago, women were banned from driving a car.

Sarsour’s hatred doesn’t stop at women: She has said there’s “nothing… creepier than Zionism” and supports the anti-Semitic Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement that seeks to delegitimize Israel and the right for Jews to a national homeland. In a separate instance, on July 16, the official Women’s March Twitter feed posted “Happy birthday to the revolutionary #AssataShakur!

Today’s #SignOfResistance, in Assata’s honor.” However, Shakur — also known as Joanne Chesimard — is a convicted first-degree murderer who killed a New Jersey cop in 1973, escaped from prison in 1979, and fled to Cuba in 1984. Sarsour’s hero is on the FBI’s list of most-wanted terrorists. This April, Sarsour honored another one of her heroes, Rasmea Odeh — a terrorist convicted in Israel of killing two Hebrew University students. Odeh was sentenced to life in prison,

but released after 10 years in a prisoner exchange. Odeh lied to U.S. immigration services when entering the country, was recently stripped of her U.S. citizenship, and is being deported to Jordan.

Where is the outrage over the fact that Sarsour is being invited to speak at Princeton?

Do these campus protesters care at all about hate or is this really an insidious effort to silence different viewpoints?

Is there only room on American campuses for a left-wing agenda? I hope not, but I fear so.

The irony of Sarsour’s being invited to speak at the University’s Center for Equality and Cultural Understanding is not lost on me. Every American should be offended by Sarsour’s anti-Semitic and anti-feminist advocacy. Yet the answer isn’t to ban Sarsour, or her Castro and Farrakhanloving colleagues, Tamika Mallory and Carmen Perez.

More than ever, free speech is critical on campus. Although Sarsour’s arguments are indefensible, the bigotry and prejudice that she espouses will only be eradicated with dedicated and rigorous discourse.

Jacob Berman is a sophomore from New York, N.Y. He can be reached at jb53@princeton.edu.

Stop co-opting social justice language: A response to “hypocrisy of campus protesters” Imani Thornton

senior columnist

Guest contributor Jacob Berman ’20 voiced strong opposition to Linda Sarsour in his recent column for The Daily Princetonian, highlighting what he saw as an inconsistency in the reaction of students who usually protest against the invitation of speakers preaching hate.

Yet, at the time of writing, Berman does not appear to have any plans of his own to protest Sarsour’s appearance on the panel hosted by the Women*s Center and Department of African American Studies. Despite his personal reluctance to protest on the grounds of engaging in “rigorous discourse,” Berman has no problem insinuating that the University’s “campus protesters” ought to do so. But Berman’s use of Islamophobic and racist dog whistles rescinds his right to offer “advice” to leftist protesters. Furthermore, his article represents a troubling trend wherein certain individuals co-opt social justice language and attempt to shame the oppressed and their allies into doing activist work that has reactionary purposes.

Berman’s article features a critique of Sarsour that is unnuanced, which is interesting because intellectual discourse should aim to nuance controversial figures. In terms of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions move-

ment, it would be wrong to characterize all supporters of BDS and BDS itself as inherently anti-Semitic. Such characterization does little to consider the concerns for the liberty and livelihood of Palestinians suffering under Zionism. What is most salient in Berman’s work, however, is his intent and consistent use of language to describe Sarsour and her actions, as well as his paternalistic “advice” to progressive student protesters.

To deride Sarsour’s viewpoints, Berman manages to use the Islamophobic dogwhistle of “terrorist” and “terrorist sympathizer” to describe both Sarsour and Rasmea Odeh. He also casually posits Ayaan Hirsi Ali as the moral foil to Sarsour, who in addition to advocating against female mutilation, also makes statements that veer towards Islamophobia. I argue that these crass characterizations of Sarsour and Odeh would not be employed by someone who is a genuine advocate of the morals of free speech and protest.

Employing Islamophobic dog whistles to undercut Muslims like Sarsour is not only a tactic used by controversial figures like President Trump, but also serves to expose Berman’s article for what it is: a personal attack on Sarsour rather than an expression of deep concern for the state of protest on Princeton’s campus.

In addition, Berman’s provocative mention of Assata Shakur ignores the fact that she was a revolutionary member of the Black Panther Party who, according to Shakur herself as well as scholars such Manning Marable and Howard Zinn, was repeatedly harassed by organizations such as the FBI’s COINTELPRO until her arrest in 1973.

This is the same FBI that harassed several members of resistance groups, such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, for their roles in disrupting and questioning the hypocrisy of American values.

Perhaps most striking in Berman’s piece is his almost oblivious employment of a paternalistic tone towards student protesters. It is at first difficult to assess who Berman is even referring to — which protesters and why? He refers to students who protest against hate, and highlights the walkout and sit-in led by the Black Justice League, as well as a walkout planned by the Alliance of Jewish Progressives to protest a talk by Charles Murray. He neglects to mention that the BJL and its supporters spent hours and days planning and protesting against the racist legacy of the University (which is most iconically symbolized by the pervasive name of the racist former University president Woodrow Wilson, Class of 1879). It is also important to note that

Murray, in addition to being a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, is also an advocate for racist pseudoscience, and is responsible for such wonderful theories as the Bell Curve, which threaten to usher neo-eugenics into our 21st century. Instead, Berman offers a watered-down assessment of the reasons behind the latter protest, and uses this assessment to draw an equivalence to that which Sarsour espouses.

It is not lost on me that Berman expects left-wing protesters to take up the cause that has him so obviously impassioned.

Ostensibly requesting that a predominantly black group like the BJL take up his cause has racist undertones. It is not the responsibility of black people to do the bidding of someone who makes Islamophobic and ahistorical arguments (and who manages to demonize a revolutionary figure in the African-American canon). It is not the job of black people to fulfill Berman’s free speech purism. Rather than think of Berman’s article as a critique of hypocrisy in campus protests, we can reasonably understand it as an appeal to conservative ideals while hiding behind social justice language and employing Islamophobic and racist rhetoric.

Imani Thornton is a politics major from Matteson, Ill. She can be contacted at it4@princeton.edu.

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Friday November 17, 2017

Opinion

page 5

{ www.dailyprincetonian.com }

Terminate the professor who committed sexual harrassment Ryan Born

O

columnist

n Wednesday, Nov. 14, The Daily Princetonian broke the news that on June 9, a Title IX investigation found engineering professor Sergio Verdú responsible for sexually harassing his advisee, graduate student Yeohee Im. The article reports that “penalties were imposed” by the University, but these did not include termination.

But these penalties were not severe enough. It is in the interests of the safety of graduate students and the general student body, as well as a matter of justice, that Verdú be terminated from employment.

This would be a protective measure and would dem-

onstrate that this behavior is not tolerated. Verdú cannot be allowed to exist as a danger to the educational environment of the school and the honor of our institution.

What are Verdú’s punishments? According to University spokesman Hotchkiss, “We require counseling and training for every individual found to have violated our policy, with the goal of stopping inappropriate behavior.”

This seems to me to be no more than a gentle pat on the wrist and a preventative measure that should have been put into place before the sexual harassment occurred, not after. Why aren’t all faculty members already trained to prevent sexual harassment? If they are, why is this training not enough?

Verdú operated in a manner antithetical to the goal of education at Princeton, which is to create a productive and safe environment for education. As the article published on Nov. 14 states, “The Title IX panel determined that Verdú’s behavior had ‘unreasonably interfered with [Im’s] educational conditions by creating a hostile or offensive environment.’” This is inexcusable behavior.

What’s worse, Verdú has also shown that he is unrepentant. “I unequivocally deny any allegations of advances, let alone sexual harassment,” Verdú wrote in an email response to a request for comment. This does not sound like a man who has been humbled by the harm he has caused or his punishments. This is a danger, for someone who

does not think they have done wrong can act badly again in the future.

As the ‘Prince’ article notes, Verdú will be teaching again this spring, leading a course on information systems. According to the Princeton University Office of the Registrar, this is ELE 525: Information Systems. Graduate and undergraduate students deserve to know the professors who are teaching their classes and the possible danger that they represent. More importantly, students should not be exposed to such danger at all. The University is acting wrongly in allowing Verdú to teach a class or operate in the bounds of this institution.

One may argue that dismissing accused faculty may be a sharp blow to the

University. Please. Princeton receives several hundred applications every year from incredibly talented postgraduates and professors looking for positions. I cannot fathom how Princeton might struggle to replace sexual harassers.

Surely the University can find faculty with not just high academic standards, but also acceptable moral ones.

Verdú and any other professors found guilty in Title IX investigations must be terminated in the interest of the students. Anything less is sheltering of misconduct and damaging to the institution both professionally and morally.

Ryan Born is a philosophy concentrator from Washington, Mich. He can be reached at rcborn@princeton.edu.

The Thanks-Giving Break Tree Nathan Phan ’19 ..................................................

Sports

Friday November 17, 2017

page 6

{ www.dailyprincetonian.com } RUNNING CLUB

Princeton Running Club bursts onto the scene at nationals

By David Xin head sports editor

Just a handful of years ago, the Princeton Running Club team was a relative unknown on the club running scene. Since then the team has rebranded itself, finding new talent and revitalizing the running culture at the club level. Last year was the Tigers’ breakout moment.

Princeton burst into the limelight at the NIRCA Cross Country National Championships with the women’s and men’s team placing second and fifth, respectively.

“In the last four years something really cool has happened at Princeton,” explained senior Zartosht Ahlers. “We went from not having a girls’ team and not having a great men’s team to being one of the top club running programs in the country.”

This past Saturday, PRC returned to the national scene. This time they traveled to East Lansing, Mich., for the national championships. The Tigers once again put their stamp on the competition, with the men’s team placing fifth and the women’s team claiming the third spot behind powerhouses University of Michigan and Penn State.

On the women’s side, senior Lindy Zeng led the charge, finishing in ninth place in the championship race. Junior Yuzki Oey was

second on the Princeton squad with a 13th-place finish. The men’s effort was spearheaded by junior Liam Collins, who squeezed into the top ten with a 10th-place finish.

Ahlers came second on the Princeton team, finishing 18th overall.

Princeton probably does not come to mind when one thinks of top club running programs. For starters, Princeton’s student body lacks the sheer size that many of its rivals boast, putting it at a significant disadvantage in terms of squad depth.

However, the PRC are more than happy to be outliers. With its recent success, the running club is being hailed as a Cinderella story in club running. But the team is also putting a stamp on NIRCA with its unique culture.

“When we show up at races everyone has coordinated outfits and everything,” Ahlers noted. “We don’t look good. We really look bad. But I love that.

I love people being like that’s Princeton, they look horrible but they are fast.

We like our reputation of being weird.”

In part, the success of the Tigers comes from the tight-knit community the running club has worked to build over the years.

“We are a small group of people, but we are really close,” Ahlers said. “Our running club doesn’t feel like a club. It feels like a

COURTESY OF PRINCETON RUNNING CLUB

“That’s Princeton, they look horrible but they are fast,” says senior Zartosht Ahlers.

close friend group. And when you have a friend group like that it is really easy to motivate people to come out every day and train hard every day.”

The team meets on a regular basis. Every day after classes, the members assemble in front of Dillon Gymnasium before splitting into groups based on intensity and pace. On the runs, members will actively engage in vigorous debates, shout, and chant to help encourage one other.

Despite being a hardworking, passionate group, PRC is also committed to welcoming members of all backgrounds and athletic ability.

“The cool thing about running club is how inclusive we are. Everyone shows up together, but some people run 10 to 15 miles a day and some people do only 3 to 4 miles a day,” Ahlers explained.

“It is really the complete spectrum. We have some people who just started

and others who started in eighth grade. We have people who show up once a month, people who show up once a week, and people who show up every day religiously.”

Now a senior, Ahlers sees his experiences with PRC as among his fondest memories at Princeton.

“Running alone is okay,” Ahlers said. “Running with a group of people regardless of your pace is one of the most exhilarating experiences.”

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Women’s basketball season starts strong at GW, goes on to Seton Hall

COURTESY OF GOPRINCETONTIGERS.COM

First-year Carlie Littlefield was named Ivy League Rookie of the Week.

By Molly Milligan contributor

Last Friday night the Princeton women’s basketball team opened its season with a 72–52 win against the George Washington Colonials at home.

Four Tigers scored in double figures, including senior guard Tia Weledji, who paced the team with 18 points.

After the game, speaking with the Ivy League Network, Weledji explained that the Tigers came out

Tweet of the Day “Maggie O’Connell is the 2017 @IvyLeague PLAYER OF THE YEAR! Congrats, Maggie! She joins 4 teammates on the All-Ivy team!”

PrincetonVolley (@ PrincetonVolley), Volleyball

of the locker room ready to attack, outscoring GW 27–9 in the third quarter.

Weledji gave freshman point guard Carlie Littlefield high marks, noting, “She’s tremendous … she’s so dynamic; we’re lucky to have her this year,” said Weledji. Head coach Courtney Banghart also spoke highly of Littlefield in her weekly podcast “The Court Report,” commenting on the freshman’s “supreme confidence” and day-today consistency.

In her first game as a Tiger, Littlefield went for 14 points, five rebounds, and four assists, while shooting four of six from the floor and six of seven from the charity stripe.

For such a stellar performance, she was named Ivy League Rookie of the Week on Monday.

The team also also 27 for 56 from the floor, good enough for a 48.2 shooting percentage, and senior forward Leslie Robinson contributed a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

On Thursday night, the

Princeton Tigers will play their second game of the season at Seton Hall in South Orange, N.J. The Tigers and the Pirates met last year, with the Tigers pulling off a convincing 94–67 win. Last season’s Ivy League Rookie of the Year, sophomore forward Bella Alarie, will look for another strong showing in this game. Last year, she put up 26 points, 15 rebounds, and six assists.

Turnovers will likely be a key statistic in Thursday’s matchup. The Tigers committed 19 against George Washington, but Seton Hall ranks third nationally in steals per game, at 33. The Pirates are also No. 16 in turnovers forced per game, at 28. Princeton’s mishaps last Friday led to 13 points for the Colonials, so controlling the ball against Seton Hall will be key in the Tigers’ quest to minimize points off turnovers. Banghart did note that “if you’re going to play as fast we’re going to play … [turnovers] will happen.” Her team that went 30–0 in regular season

Stat of the Day

5 Tigers Five Tigers from both the men’s soccer team and women’s volleyball team received All-Ivy League honors this season.

play in 2014–2015 and made it to the second round of the NCAA tournament averaged 17 turnovers per game.

Thursday night, the Tiger defense will be charged with containing guard/ forward Donnaizha Fountain. The graduate student transfer from Temple has been Seton Hall’s star so far this season, averaging 20.0 points and 9.5 rebounds.

Apart from this, Banghart called Seton Hall a “really interesting challenge” in general for the Tigers. The Pirates play with much more pressure and speed than George Washington, so maintaining a high level of defense will be important for the Tigers in slowing down Seton Hall’s attack. The Tigers held GW without a field goal for 6:28 last Friday, though, so it seems as though a good system is in place.

Banghart noted in her podcast that “this team [has] something pretty special about it.” And if things go as planned, now may be the time for the Tiger faithful to tune in.

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