Founded 1876 daily since 1892 online since 1998
Tuesday december 13, 2016 vol. cxl no. 117
{ www.dailyprincetonian.com } STUDENT LIFE
Jemison ’18 brings life experiences to USG presidency By Maya Wesby senior writer
On Friday, Dec. 9, Myesha Jemison ’18 secured the majority of votes to become the Undergraduate Student Government president-elect. When she begins her term in February, Jemison will be the University’s first Black female USG president. It’s a victory that is both well-deserved and exciting, according to Jemison’s friends and University faculty members, who say that the leadership and skills she’s developed throughout her life prepared her for this role. Jemison was born and raised in Virginia Beach, Va., in a predominantly Black and Puerto Rican neighborhood. Her hometown environment not only allowed her to practice and become comfortable with the Spanish language
— Jemison is now a Spanish and Portuguese concentrator — but it also gave her a chance to see the potential her neighborhood had in developing educational resources. According to Jemison, the quality of education in Virginia Beach neighborhoods, such as the structure of schools and how teachers interact with their students, depends on the quality of life people have in those neighborhoods. Consequently, lower quality schools correlate to negative stereotypes surrounding the students who attend. Jemison attended one such lower quality school, but soon moved to a gifted school in the third grade. She then won a scholarship to attend the local private school, which she attended for a year before See JEMISON page 2
LOCAL NEWS
COURTESY OF THE CIVIL WAR TRUST & IAS
IAS agrees to sell land to Civil War Trust
U N I V E R S I T Y A F FA I R S
By Audrey Spensley staff writer
University President Christopher Eisgruber ‘83 began the Council of the Princeton University Community meeting on Dec. 12 with a question-and-answer session. The meeting discussed faculty recruitment in American Studies, the University’s operating budget, general education designations, and financial aid. Eisgruber said that the implementation of the recommendations of the American Studies Task Force is currently underway. “Some of the important recommendations have to do with the movement of faculty lines into American Studies,” Eisgruber said. “There are also searches underway right now in the area of Asian-American and LatinAmerican studies.” He said that faculty searches may take multiple years because the University is unwilling to compromise on teaching quality. A second question asked of Eisgruber was to clarify the opinions he expressed in an email sent on Nov. 28, in which he explicitly ensured support for University students covered by Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. “Not only did [the email] include the relatively small population of students on campus who are undocumented but not covered by DACA, it also frankly covers not only students, but faculty and staff,” he said. “This university depends on being able to draw people from all backgrounds and have them flourish here, and we want to ensure these valuable members of the community are able to continue doing that.” Provost David Lee GS ’99 presented a report on the CPUC Priorities Committee, which is tasked with reviewing the University’s operating budget. For the 2017 fiscal year, the University reported a total revenue of $1.9 billion, 47 percent of which came from payout on the en-
dowment. “Half of our operating budget was supported by interest earned on that endowment. The $20 billion endowment is really the principal that, if we want to live for a really long period of time, we should not dip into,” Lee said. “It’s really important to be disciplined to balance the interest of future generations with generations today.” Expenses for the 2017 fiscal year also totaled $1.9 billion. Academic department expenditures totaled 35 percent of expenses and 15 percent were related to student aid, Lee said. “What I really want to highlight is the Committee’s focus on accessibility and affordability,” Lee added. “In terms of accessibility, 21 percent of the Class of 2020 was Pell-eligible.” The Pell grant is a federal grant for economically disadvantaged or low-income students. The University has tripled its percentage of Pell-eligible students since the Class of 2008. The Priorities Committee is also planning for expansion of the undergraduate student body by 500 students, according to is latest Strategic Plan Framework, published in Jan. 2016. This change will help the University respond to the increasing number of applications it receives. “There is an excess demand of students, really qualified students, that we’d love to let in,” Lee said. Dean of the College Jill Dolan, Associate Dean of the College Rebekah Massengill GS ’09, and Deputy Dean of the College Elizabeth L. Colagiuri presented highlights of the General Education Task Force’s recommendations. “We decided a balanced tweaking [of the general education requirements] would be more useful than a complete overhaul,” Dolan said. The committee’s recommendations included allowing courses to carry up to two general education designations, requiring all AB students to take foreign language courses, enSee CPUC page 3
staff writer
The Institute for Advanced Study and the Civil War Trust have reached an agreement to expand the Princeton Battlefield State Park, according to a press release jointly issued by the Institute and the Trust at 3 p.m. on Dec. 12. Under the agreement, the Civil War Trust will purchase 14.85 acres of land from the Institute for $4 million. The plot of land will be conveyed to the State of New Jersey as
an addition to the Princeton Battlefield State Park, and includes about twothirds of Maxwell’s Field, a primary subject of dispute in previous interactions between the Institute and the Trust. This agreement will enable the expansion and preservation of the park while also allowing the Institute to construct faculty housing. Previously, the Institute had announced a plan to construct 15 units of faculty housing on Maxwell’s Field despite moves to preserve the field. Most
notably, in November of 2015, the Civil War Trust attempted numerous times to acquire the property from the Institute, eventually offering to buy the 22-acre Maxwell’s Field tract for $3.3 million. In September 2016, the Institute reaffirmed the plan by continuing to place bids for housing unit construction. However, under this new agreement, seven single-family-home lots in the original project plan will be replaced with eight additional townSee FIELD page 3
Q&A
LECTURE
Q&A: Ambassador Juan Carlos Pinzón
BristolLeverett discusses human trafficking
By Emly Spalding staff writer
Juan Carlos Pinzón is the Ambassador of Colombia to the United States. On Monday, he sat down with The Daily Princetonian to discuss U.S.-Colombia relations, the role of democracy, and peace in Colombia. The Daily Princetonian: How would you describe the United States’ relationship with Colombia today, and what is the significance of the status of this relationship as it pertains to Colombia’s pursuit of peace? Juan Carlos Pinzón: I think it is one of the strongest relationships that Colombia has in the world, and I think it is one of the strongest relationships that the U.S. has in the world. It has become a strategic partnership and, according to some, even a special relationship. The United States plays an important role in support of Colombia through Plan Colombia to defeat terrorism and crime, to transform the country, and to promote recovery. The US has played an interesting role in supporting the peace and the efforts that we have been in the recent years. And now…the United States plays an important part as well
in being the partner choice of Colombia in the process of, you know, making peace sustainable. Also, we work together, you know, in Central America, the Caribbean, South America, and parts all over the world trying to contribute with the Colombian experience on security efforts. Because of that, I think we have a very broad relationship. I will end by saying that the way these relations have been working is in a bipartisan way, and that’s a very, very strong element of our relationship. And second, it has been sustained a long time, so we have…change of governments in both countries, change of leaderships in Congress in both countries, but we always have been able to keep the relationship effective. And it works from issues of national security to issues of trade, to issues of economic development, to a broad agenda from location, science and technology, culture, etc. DP: What has been democracy’s role in the process of reaching such peace, and do you believe that role is being played effectively today? JCP: It’s very important to recognize that Colombia has been the longest standing democracy in Latin America.
By Katie Petersen contributor
“Human trafficking is a widespread issue that requires people to fight from where they are with what they have,” Mandy Bristol-Leverett said on Dec. 12 in a lecture entitled “Abolishing Modern-Day Slavery.” Bristol-Leverett is the Executive Director of the New Jersey Coalition Against Human Trafficking. “What if I told you, ‘the number one weapon we have to fight human trafficking is you’?” Bristol-Leverett asked. Bristol-Leverett is also Founder and Executive Director of the Church and Community Abolition Network, and a sub-committee member of the Attorney General’s New Jersey Human Trafficking Task Force. Bristol-Leverett stated that there are many misconceptions
See Q&A page 2
In Opinion
Today on Campus
Columnist Leora Eisenberg discuses accuracy in the media, and guest contributor Kat Giordano argues for the importance and ease of utilizing gender-neutral language across campus. PAGE 4
4:30 p.m.: Sponsored by Princeton Tonight and the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students, an evening with Art Garfunkel will take place as part of the show’s programming. Richardson Auditorium in Alexander Hall.
See LECTURE page 2
WEATHER
CPUC discusses operating budget, financial aid
By Samuel Garfinkle
HIGH
43˚
LOW
28˚
Mostly cloudy. chance of rain:
10 percent