Founded 1876 daily since 1892 online since 1998
Wednesday November 8, 2017 vol. CXLI no. 97
{ www.dailyprincetonian.com } ON CAMPUS
BEYOND THE BUBBLE
Justin Tanner talks networking, youth activism, politics
Princeton elects school board, town council
By Linh Nguyen
Princeton played its part in the sweep of elections across the country on Tuesday night. Princeton’s own competitive race was one for seats on the Princeton Public School District Board of Education as well as the town’s council. Beth Behrend, Michele TuckPonder, and Jessica Deutsch won the three vacant seats on the board. Democrats David Cohen and Leticia Fraga ran uncontested with no Republican challengers for the town council. “I’m excited to have been elected, and I’m very thankful for the support shown to me by the voters,” said Tuck-Ponder. “I’m looking forward to serving on the school board and addressing some of the issues I’ve
On Nov. 6, former President Barack Obama’s presidential appointee Justin Tanner visited the Carl A. Fields Center as a part of University podcast Woke Wednesdays’ first event of the season. In 2015, Obama appointed Tanner as Associate Director for Legislative, Education & Intergovernmental Affairs at the Department of Commerce. Eighteen students congregated in the Class of 1985 Room in the Fields Center at 7 p.m. to engage in a small group discussion with Tanner. Tanner spoke about his experiences prior to his work for the Obama presidential campaign as well as his professional aspirations afterwards. His visit was sponsored by the Office of Religious Life and Dean Theresa Thames. A Howard University alumnus and Vanderbilt Law School graduate, Tanner credited his passion for social justice and race relations to his educational experiences and interactions with various communities. “I had never had a teacher or professor who looked like me until my freshman year,” said Tanner. “I went 12 years without having a black teacher, male or female. Howard was the most culturally enriching experience of my life; I found myself there.” During the conversation, Tanner focused on the oppor-
tunities that University students hold, and gave students pointers for maximizing success in undergraduate years. “Study up on people who you look up to,” Tanner recommended. “People pay so much for networking alone. Soak it in and take advantage of all of your opportunities. What you do now is setting you up for the next step; it all starts here.” Tanner also encouraged students to embrace failure wholeheartedly as a growing experience to enhance solidarity and collective determination. “This generation has never lost,” said Tanner. “Losing brings people down. This is a struggle, and it’s a continuous struggle. You have to work at it, because it’s not going to be roses all the time.” At the conclusion of the talk, students interviewed by The Daily Princetonian held mixed opinions about the subject matter of the talk. Nathan Poland ‘20, Multimedia Committee Head of Woke Wednesdays, found Tanner’s presence to be a much-needed voice connecting students to the reality of politics in this day and age. “I was really honored to have him speak to us because it’s not often that we get someone who actually knows what it’s like on the inside,” commented Poland. “Hearing his perspective definitely cemented the idea See TANNER page 3
COURTESY OF DEAN THERESA THAMES
Justin Tanner speaks to students at Carl A. Fields Center.
contributor
raised in [the] campaign and some of the issues already on the table.” According to unofficial sent to the Prince by the Princeton Clerk’s Office, Behrend, Tuck-Ponder, and Deutsch ran in a field of six candidates, winning with 3199, 2983, and 2773 votes, respectively, although about 800 mail-in ballots have not been counted yet. Other candidates included Jenny Ludmer, Julie Ramirez, and James Fields. “Princeton Schools are in good hands with Beth, Jess and Michele,” Ramirez wrote in an email. “Princeton is very lucky to have them and I’m sure they will each make an impact in their own way.” This school board election was of particular importance with impending decisions regarding over-
ON CAMPUS
ON CAMPUS
Richman discusses power of storytelling
Hawkins speaks out against abortion
By Victor Hua contributor
Storytelling is dominated today by electronic and print media, such as television, the Internet, and magazines, said Ferris Professor of Journalism Joe Richman. According to Richman, however, radio documentary and audio storytelling offer a unique, intimate perspective to the art. On Nov. 7, Richman shared his many years of experience in audio storytelling with high school students, undergraduates, graduates, and professors at the University. Over the years, he has produced works featured on National Public Radio programs such as “All Things Considered,” and he has founded “Radio Diaries,” an NPR documentary series devoted to sharing the stories of ordinary people. “Radio storytelling is all about intimate voices and characters,” Richman said. “Because of that, it is more emotional as the listeners create their own pictures of the stories they hear.” In 1996, Richman’s series “Teenage Diaries,” which
documented the stories of various teenagers across the country using sound, aired for the first time on NPR’s “All Things Considered.” Before then, Richman had started out in the world of journalism as a freelance reporter and learned about utilizing the radio to deliver news and long-form documentaries. “The turning point in my career was in ‘96, when I started recording for ‘Teenage Diaries’,” Richman explained. “It was then that I began to turn the microphone towards other people to listen to their stories instead of focusing on mine.” To share some of his podcasts with the audience, Richman played five different recordings of conversations between people of all ages and backgrounds during the event, including the lives of a seltzer man in New York, a teenage boy living with Tourette syndrome, a female boxer who would go on to win gold at the Olympics, the granddaughter of a black man who was executed by an electric chair in the fifties, and a female teenSee RICHMAN page 3
U . A F FA I R S
Endowment to be affected by tax reforms By Audrey Spensley senior writer
“We are strongly opposed to this provision and are in the process of letting Congress know of our deep concerns,” said Director of Government Affairs Joyce A. Rechtschaffen ’75 in an email. Endowments are currently tax-exempt and are subject to few financial regulations. The government sees fit to make these endowments tax-exempt because of the ostensible
In Opinion
public good they are providing, since they are considered part of a university’s educational and charitable mission. “This proposal would overturn that time-tested policy solely to add revenues to the federal treasury,” Vice President and Secretary of the University Bob Durkee ’69 said in a New York Times article. Assistant Vice President for Communications Daniel Day said in an email that the measure could open the door to See TAX page 5
Guest contributor Joel Finkelstein calls on the CJL to foster tough discussions after it cancelled a visit by Israel’s deputy foreign minister, and contributing columnist Sabrina Sequeira critically evaluates the justice system’s treatment of drug offenders. PAGE 6
crowding and the acquisition of the Westminster Choir College campus. Just last week, the entire faculty at Westminster received layoff notices, and in March, the school board unanimously decided to allow the district to look into acquiring the 23-acre campus. A former mayor of Princeton, Tuck-Ponder says her two main priorities coming in will be to address educational equity and overcrowding. But, because she is not an educator, she first wants to learn the lay of the land. There are 10 members on the school board, as well as two student representatives. Both the town council and school board positions have a term of three years.
VICTOR HUA :: DAILY PRINCETONIAN
Joe Richman discussed some of his most meaningful radio interview series in a lecture on Tuesday.
Today on Campus 12 p.m.: NYU historian Ben Kafka presents “The Work of Interpretation” at 12 p.m. at 301 Julis Romo Rabinowitz.
By Neha Chauhan contributor
“Abortion is and always will be the opposite of empowerment,” said Kristan Hawkins during her pro-life lecture Monday night. Hawkins was invited to speak by Princeton Pro-Life. She has been the president of the Students for Life of America since 2006 and is the organization’s official spokeswoman. In introducing her role as spokeswoman to her audience, Hawkins emphasized that conversations around the life of a fetus are hardly ever easy. “We [often] can’t even have a rational conversation about [abortion] because it’s personal,” she said. Nevertheless, these conversations are happening with greater frequency with students nationwide, as exemplified by Hawkins’s lecture itself. Hawkins’ talk at the University was a part of an national tour, “Announcing the Lies Feminists Tell.” As part of the tour, Hawkins will also speak at UC Berkeley, Dartmouth, Harvard, University of Kansas, the Benedictine University of Kansas, UC Irvine, and University of Southern California. At the University, Hawkins lectured for approximately 90 minutes before playing a video promoting defunding of Planned Parenthood and answering her audience’s questions. Throughout its segments, Hawkins’s talk was anchored in an examination of feminism. According to Hawkins, a discussion of abortion is judicious in the current U.S. political climate. Abortion, she said, is being brought up more and more, especially with the election of President Trump. In this climate, said Hawkins, it is important to analyze what See HAWKINS page 8
WEATHER
contributor
By Ivy Truong
HIGH
52˚
LOW
31˚
Cloudy. chance of rain:
10 percent