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Tuesday February 2, 2016 vol. cxxxx no. 2
{ www.dailyprincetonian.com } ALEXANDER HALL
{ Feature }
Office of Disability Services expands reach By Gladys Teng staff writer
RACHEL SPADY :: PHOTO EDITOR
Although the winter storm is over, snow remained outside the Alexander Hall on the first day of classes. U N I V E R S I T Y A F FA I R S
Hidden Minority Council receives Journey Award staff writer
The University presented the Journey Award on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day to members of the Princeton Hidden Minority Council for their efforts to foster a community for first-generation and low-income students, faculty and administrators on campus. The award recognizes a member of the Princeton community who are continuing the legacy and journey of King by contributing to the improvement of civil and human rights on campus, according to the award website. “Through dinners that bring
together first-generation students with faculty and staff… and with the development of a website to share resources, opportunities and networks, the Hidden Minority Council has achieved its goal to give voice to the needs and experience of our first-generation and low-income students,” read the award citation presented by Vice President for Campus Life W. Rochelle Calhoun during the award ceremony. The students recognized on the part of the PHMC include founding members Thomas Garcia ’16, Kevin Lopez ’16, Dallas Nan ’16, Lea Trusty ’16, Brittney Watkins ’16, Tula Strong ’15 and Kujegi Camara ’16. Michele Minter, Vice Provost for
BEYOND THE BUBBLE
U. email provider faces privacy violation suit By Abhiram Karuppur staff writer
Four students at the University of California, Berkeley, filed complaints against Google Inc. for privacy violations relating to Google’s Apps for Education program, which provides Gmail and other Google products to educational institutions, on Jan. 27 to the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. The University, along with other institutions such as University of California, Berkeley, utilizes Google’s Apps for Education. Each institutions administer and supervise these accounts. University Vice President for Information and Chief Information Officer Jay Dominick said that although the University as an institution is not participating in the case, it is up to the individual students if they want to participate. The four plaintiffs in the case, Ryan Corley, William Dormann, Shannon Mehaffey, and Teddey Xiao, alleged that Google illegally intercepted and read their university emails without their consent and then used information found in those emails to create tailored ad-
vertising profiles. Corley, Dormann, Mehaffey and Xiao declined to comment. Representatives from Google did not respond to a request for comment. “Google’s unauthorized interception of Plaintiffs’ email in that manner and for that purpose violated the Electronic Communications Privacy Act” the complaint reads, “until April 30, 2014, Google denied that it was scanning Google Apps for Education users’ emails for advertising and misled Educational Institutions into believing their email was private.” Among other demands, the plaintiffs sought an order requiring Google to purge information gathered from their messages and statutory damages of greater than $100 per day of violation. According to Ray Gallo, Senior Partner at Gallo LLP and the legal representative for the plaintiffs, it is important to note that the suit only impacts students at universities whose privacy statements did not include a statement from Google notifying users that Google planned to use their emails for advertising purposes. See CORELY page 3
Institutional Equity and Diversity and head of the Martin Luther King Journey Award committee, explained that candidates are nominated by members of the University community who write letters of support. “For the Hidden Minority Council, several members of the staff wrote letters. My staff reads all the materials submitted, consults with other offices as appropriate and makes recommendations to President Eisgruber, who makes the final decision,” she said. In November, Calhoun said that King has always regarded working with student activism as a strong See COUNCIL page 3
Providing Academic and Recreational Support Minter noted that when requesting an accommodation, students go through an “interactive process” in which they submit documentation related to their disability and then work with staff and outside clinicians to review and determine appropriate options. Sofia Gallo ’17, who is visually impaired, said that the office asks students what accommodations they have had in the past. The University then provides comparable accommodations, she explained. “I get extra time on exams and I get my class materials in an alternative format, usually electronically,” she said. She added that math-centric classes such as statistics are particularly challenging because math, unlike most reading-heavy subjects, does not translate properly if it is simply scanned and then put into a text file. “They had to get the book in braille, instead of just scanning a regular book, and they hired someone to take an extra set of notes for me and also someone to go over the material with See DISABILITIES page 2
HENRY HOUSE
RACHEL SPADY :: PHOTO EDITOR
BEYOND THE BUBBLE
Ted Cruz ’92 wins Republican Iowa Caucuses By Jessica Li News Editor
Texas Senator Ted Cruz ’92 took victory for the Republican party at the Iowa Caucus on Feb. 1, claiming 27.7 percent of the electoral votes in a heated competition, CNN reported. According to the New York Times, Cruz walked away with eight out of the 30 possible delegates. Donald Trump, the Republican forerunner who sat
atop the polls since he announced candidacy, fell short with 24.4 percent of the votes, claiming second in the race. Trump did not participate in the Republican debate at Des Moines last Thursday, leaving Cruz the highest polling candidate among those who participated. Cruz clinched victory with 81 percent of the precincts reporting as of 10:30 p.m. Monday, according to CNN. Florida Senator Marco Rubio came in third with nearly
In Opinion
Today on Campus
Guest columnist Brian Zack ‘72 questions the value of the new affinity rooms, and columnist Imani Thornton emphasizes the continued need for Black History Month. PAGE 4
4:30 p.m.: The Spanish and Portuguese Language and Culture Department will host an info session about the Princeton in Spain Program. East Pyne Building Auditorium 010.
23 percent of the votes. New Jersey and ex officio University Trustee Governor Chris Christie claimed approximately 1.5 percent of the votes. Florida Governor Jeb Bush collected 2 percent of the votes. Former Governor of Arkansas Mike Huckabee withdrew his bid after collecting 1.8 percent of the votes. As of 11:58 p.m., the polling results for the Democratic party were not final. The two See CAUCUS page 2
WEATHER
By Andie Ayala
The number of students who are permanently registered with the University’s Office of Disability Services has increased by 80 percent between 2011 and 2015, a growth that mirrors a national trend, according to Associate Director of the Office of Disability Services Elizabeth Erickson. Particularly, in the 2013-14 academic year, the ODS registered and accommodated the largest number of students with sensory, mobility and diagnosed psychological disabilities, she added. Vice Provost for Institutional Equity and Diversity Michele Minter noted when she first arrived at the University in 2011 that most of the accommodations provided by the ODS tended to be focused on students with learning disabilities. “Since then, we have seen an increase in the number of students requesting accommodations related to psychological disabilities, and we are very glad that those students are finding their way to the office so that they can be accommodated,” she said. Subsequently, Minter explained that the primary challenges of the ODS since its establishment in the fall of 2006
have come with the expansion and the transforming nature of accommodation requests.
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