February 22, 2018

Founded 1876 daily since 1892 online since 1998

Thursday February 22, 2018 vol. CXLII no. 14

{ www.dailyprincetonian.com } U . A F FA I R S

Verdú placed on admin. leave pending review Associate News Editor

Electrical engineering professor Sergio Verdú has been placed on administrative leave from the University, pending a review into his conduct regarding University policy on consensual relationships with students.

Verdú was placed on leave before the beginning of the spring semester, according to Assistant Vice President for Communications Daniel Day. In June, Verdú was found responsible by a Title IX panel for violating the University’s sexual misconduct policy after he harassed one of his students and advisees, Yeohee Im. In the wake of this decision, further allegations arose from professors who stated that Verdú had had consensual relationships with at least two of his other graduate students in recent years.

Former assistant engineering professor Paul Cuff brought these allegations to Dean of the Faculty Sanjeev Kulkarni’s attention in March and to then-Dean of the Faculty Deborah Prentice in June. However, as the ‘Prince’ has previously reported, an official investigation into Verdú’s past behavior regarding consensual relationships did not begin until September of 2017.

According to Im, Title IX administrator Regan Crotty and

Senior Associate Dean of the Faculty Toni Turano told Im in a Sept. 19, 2017 meeting that they had received enough information to launch a new investigation into Verdú’s behavior. On Sept. 28, 2017, Im was notified that control of this investigation had shifted from the Dean of the Faculty to the Office of the Provost.

Verdú is now on leave pending the results of the investigation. According to the Rules and Procedures of the Faculty, administrative leave is not a disciplinary action, but a faculty member on leave does not teach, advise students, or carry out other professorial responsibilities.

Per University rules, the decision to place a faculty member on leave is made by the Dean of the Faculty, currently Kulkarni, in consultation with President Eisgruber.

The class that Verdú was scheduled to teach in the spring semester, ELE 528: Information Theory, was canceled. In addition, Verdú was initially slated to be a program director along with Professor H. Vincent Poor for the 2018 Conference on Information Sciences and Systems held at the University. Verdú’s position has been replaced by assistant professor of electrical engineering Yuxin Chen.

STUDENT LIFE

PHOTO COURTESY OF WHIG-CLIO

Students gather for a debate on Professor Rosen’s use of the word n****r in the Whig Senate Chamber.

Whig-Clio hosts Rosen Debate

By Rose Gilbert Senior Writer

The Whig-Clio society held a debate on whether or not anthropology professor Lawrence Rosen was wrong to use the N-word during class. Whig argued for the resolution “[This House believes that] Professor Rosen should not have been able to use the N-word,” while Clio argued against it.

Whig won the debate, with 34 votes to Clio’s 11.

Morgan Smith ’21, who gave Whig’s opening speech, explained that the debate raised awareness about the Rosen incident itself.

“I’m very happy that this happened because I want to see the momentum for

PHOTO COURTESY OF JACK FINLAY

Finlay plans to pursue oncology research at Cambridge University.

Jack Finlay ‘18 awarded Churchill Scholarship John (Jack) Finlay ’18 was one of sixteen students across the country to receive a Churchill Scholarship for the 2018-2019 academic year.

Established in 1959, the Churchill Scholarship

In Opinion

Program offers American students of “exceptional ability and outstanding achievement” the opportunity to pursue one year of graduate study in engineering, mathematics, or the sciences at the University of Cambridge.

See CHURCHILL page 3

Guest writers weigh in on Verdu allegations. Senior Columnist Liam O’Connor writers his second installment on Bicker, and Editor-in-Chief Marcia Brown responds to a critique of the ‘Prince’s coverage of the Verdu case.

PAGE 4

See DEBATE page 3

Trump’s budget would impact U. students, Pell Grants Senior Writer and Contributor

Associate News Editor

Over a hundred students and other community members attended the debate, demonstrating how much controversy and engagement this incident has generated on campus.

The Black Student Union originally planned to protest the debate, according to an email from WhigClio president Lena Hu ‘20.

However, the protest was cancelled.

Chair of the Anthropology Department Carolyn Rouse and Vice President for Campus Life W. Rochelle Calhoun were also in attendance, which is rare, according to President of Whig-Clio Lena Hu ’20.

Shafaq Khan ’21, who has

BEYOND THE BUBBLE

By Rose Gilbert and Mallory Williamson

By Audrey Spensley

this issue continue,” Smith said.

After the debate, Smith added, “to be very honest, I don’t think Clio gave anything that could’ve swayed me. Although any issue can be debated, and you can’t always find a resolution, a resolution was found here.”

“I think it’s always helpful to know the strongest arguments on the other side, even if it doesn’t change your mind,” said Theodore Furchtgott ’18, who gave Clio’s closing remarks. Furchtgott’s defense of Rosen centered on academic seriousness and whether or not it’s possible to have an open conversation about a word without saying the word itself in full.

On Feb. 12, President Trump unveiled his budget for the 2019 fiscal year. The proposed budget includes a host of changes to federal student loan programming, including the elimination of subsidized government loans, a reduction in incomebased repayment plans, cuts to Pell Grant subsidies for universities, and an extended period before graduate students can be eligible for loan forgiveness.

“We are very concerned that the president’s proposals would make college less affordable for students throughout this country,” said University acting spokesperson Michael Hotchkiss. “For example, just one of the president’s proposed cuts, elimination of the Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, would eliminate 1.5 million grants now going to help low-income students.”

These changes, which are likely to evolve as the budget moves through both houses of Congress, would not take effect until June of 2019.

Trump’s plan aligns with the priorities set forth by Republicans in the House of Representatives, who have previously supported cost-cutting measures like ending the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.

“They are trying to eliminate waste from other parts of the budget,” said Will Crawford ’20,

president of the College Republicans. “They are increasing money that goes toward school choice and making sure state and local governments have control over the money they’re getting from the Department of Education.”

Crawford’s statements were not made on behalf of the College Republicans.

“I don’t expect this budget to find much congressional support, and I don’t expect it to pass,” said Anna Macknick ’21, a first-generation and low-income student, in an email.

“Given that many first-generation, low-income college students today face substantial financial burdens, this budget would only exasperate [sic] those problems, likely turning away those students from higher education altogether,” she said.

Princeton’s generous financial aid programming means that students at the University are normally not subject to the same student loan burdens as many students nationwide.

Yet 17 percent of the Class of 2014 borrowed for their education, with an average debt burden of $6,600.

Further, many University students take advantage of Pell Grants, subsidies provided by the U.S. government. 21 percent of the Class of 2021 was Pell-eligible, and many students also rely on governmental programs like federal work study.

“Princeton is deeply committed to making higher education affordable and accessible. It is critically important to the country that the federal government assist all

Today on Campus 12:30 p.m.: Join fellow students, faculty, and staff in mid-week meditation. A light lunch will be provided. Murray-Dodge 104

institutions of higher education to achieve these goals,” Hotchkiss said. “Robust and sustained funding of the Pell Grant program, federal work study and campus-based financial aid programs, as well as access for students to affordable loans, are essential in making higher education affordable and accessible.”

The Trump administration’s budget also contains measures that would expand current student loan offerings. The breadth of the Pell Grant program would be expanded to apply to vocational programs, including certificate programs.

In addition, the debt forgiveness timeline for undergraduate students would be condensed from 20 years to 15 years. The graduate debt forgiveness waiting period would be expanded from 20 years to 30 years, a move that could prove problematic for University students looking to enroll in postgraduate schools.

“Ultimately, the footprint of the federal government in education should be reduced on the whole,” said Crawford. “When, and if, they are going to be involved in education, they should be giving money without strings attached [to the states].”

“We are and will be actively working with Congress during the upcoming appropriations process to ensure robust funding for education and the cutting-edge research conducted at institutions like Princeton,” Hotchkiss said.

WEATHER

By Allie Spensley

ON CAMPUS

HIGH

46˚

LOW

35˚

Rainy. chance of rain:

90 percent

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The Daily Princetonian

Thursday February 22, 2018 U . A F FA I R S

U. announces this year’s young alumni trustee canidates

By Audrey Spensley

Associate News Editor

Twenty-one members of the Class of 2018 are vying to serve as the 2018 Young Alumni Trustee on the University’s Board of Trustees.

The Young Alumni Trustee position, established in 1969, was instituted to “ensure that the Board would always include four members with recent experience as undergraduates.”

The Board reasoned that younger members will ref lect “the needs, concerns, and interests of the current generation of Princeton undergraduates.”

Young Alumni Trustees are given equal responsibilities and powers as all other Board members.

Elected during their respective senior years, each Young Alumni Trustee serves a four-year term.

The selected graduating senior will serve alongside Achille Tenkiang ’17, Azza Cohen ’16, and Tumi Akinlawon ’15.

The seniors running, in alphabetical order, are: Tasha Brown, Jeremy Burton, Anyssa Chebbi, Sydney Cheong, Jackson Forbes, Mark Goldstein, Luis Gonzalez-Yante, Michelle Greenfield, Myesha Jemison, Anhar Karim, Brandon McGhee, Vojislav Mitrovic,

Soraya Morales Nuñez, Stuart Pomeroy, Miranda Rosen, Folasade Runcie, Catherine Sharp, Jillian Silbert, Wilglory Tanjong, Masako Toyoda, and Nick Wu. Wu is a former head opinion editor for The Daily Princetonian.

In order to enter voting, seniors must attend an information session and obtain 50 petition signatures by eligible members of the Class of 2018. Although 50 seniors picked up petitions — 14 more than the previous year — 21 students ultimately submitted.

Over the last eighteen years, the average number of candidates has stood at 25, making this year’s slate slightly smaller than typical.

Voting takes place over two rounds. From Tuesday, Feb. 27 until Thursday, March 8, members of the Class of 2018 will be able to vote, narrowing the candidate list down to three choices. From May 1 to May 23, members of the Classes of 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 will vote in the general round to select the final trustee.

Election results will be announced at the annual Alumni Council Luncheon at Reunions on Friday, June 1.

You could be this guy.

Write for the ‘Prince.’

Email join@dailyprincetonian.com

The Daily Princetonian

Thursday February 22, 2018

Schwarzbauer: [Finlay] proposed to do something completely new CHURCHILL Continued from page 1

.............

At Cambridge, Finlay will pursue a master’s degree in medical sciences, conducting neural stem cell and oncology research under Dr. David Rowitch.

Finlay, a molecular biology concentrator with a certificate in neuroscience, plans to eventually pursue a joint Ph.D./MD program.

“My research interests are primarily in molecular oncology, and more specifically in brain cancer biology,” said Finlay. “I love cell biology and think it’s cool how studying cancer brings together a lot of important concepts in the field, like development, genetics, and evolution.”

When Finlay was in high school, his father passed away due to brain cancer.

“I know exactly what it’s like for [cancer] patients and their families, which really helps motivate me to push through some of the tasks and experiments that can very easily seem monotonous,” Finlay said.

Finlay has conducted research in the lab of molecular biology professor Yibin Kang and in the Washington University School of Medicine’s departments of neurosurgery and molecular oncology.

“When I do research, I really like to ask myself ‘how will this help the patient?,‘” said Finlay. “It helps me remember the end goal and pushes me to at least try to exploit some of the basic science findings to serve a therapeutic or clinically relevant purpose.”

For his senior thesis, Finlay is working in the lab of molecular biology professor Jean Schwarzbauer, studying how elevated glucose conditions stimulate excess deposition of extracellular matrix by kidney cells.

“Jack did not want to simply follow up on previous results and take an

obvious path for his thesis research,” said Schwarzbauer in a statement to the University. “Instead, he proposed to do something completely new to my lab.”

At Cambridge, Finlay will be studying neural stem cells.

“The goal is to take advantage of unique properties of these cells and target them with therapeutics like drugs and possibly engineered viruses,” Finlay said.

For Finlay, the chance to study at Cambridge is appealing not only because of the university’s rich history, but also for the chance to spend a year living in another country.

“I am curious to see how medical research is conducted in different countries, whether the structure of how one gets funding for a project really changes the way people think and approach science,” Finlay said.

Finlay has completed an internship at the César Milstein Hospital in Buenos Aires, Argentina, publishing two case reports as a result of his research there.

A year with the Churchill Scholarship Program is also a chance for Finlay to gain direction before continuing his education in the United States.

“It’s nice to be able to have a year to try out a very specific niche within brain cancer biology and see if it’s something that I would want to work on for at least another four years,” Finlay said.

“Even though I’ll have seven to eight years of school in the US when I come back, for me this extra year at Cambridge will be well worth it,” Finlay said.

The Churchill Award covers full tuition, a stipend, travel costs, and the chance to apply for a $2,000 special research grant.

Staff writer Coco Chou ‘20 contributed reporting.

Khan: They got through this entire debate without using the N-word DEBATE

Continued from page 1

.............

attended several Whig-Clio debates, said that while Clio was able to make a decent argument, she remained unconvinced that Rosen’s use of the racial slur was justified.

“If anything, before this debate I was less sure of my position,” said Khan.

“Coming to this debate, seeing the turnout, especially from people of color, strengthened my belief that Professor Rosen should not have used the word.”

Khan added that, like Rosen’s anthropology class, this debate was an educational experience, and noted that both sides were able to make their cases effectively without using the slur in full.

“They got through this entire debate without using the N-word. Why didn’t they use the N-word? Because it’s not appropriate!

I don’t think that the professor had to use the word in order to have some kind of educational experience.

You can just say ‘the Nword,’” Khan said.

Ashley Hodges ’21 said that she found the debate very eye-opening.

“You can be at the number-one university in the country and still have people arguing that you should be able to use the N-word,” said Hodges.

Hodges added that, as a black student at a historically white institution, arguments defending the use of the N-word on campus made it easy to feel alienated. She further noted that the debate brought up broader issues about the way students of color experience community on campus.

“In the debate, they talked a lot about ‘we,’ but I think they ignored that for many students of color, this campus-wide ‘we’ is simply non-existent,” she said.

“I don’t feel [like we’re a] ‘we’ as a Princeton community,“ said Hodges. “I don’t feel that at all.”

The debate took place on Wednesday, Feb. 21 at 9 p.m. in the Whig Senate Chamber of Whig Hall.

page 3

Opinion

Thursday February 22, 2018

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{ www.dailyprincetonian.com }

A step in the right direction

vol. cxlii

editor-in-chief

Marcia Brown ’19 business manager

Ryan Gizzie ’19

BOARD OF TRUSTEES president Thomas E. Weber ’89 vice president Craig Bloom ’88 secretary Betsy L. Minkin ’77 treasurer Douglas J. Widmann ’90

Jared Shulkin

Senior Columnist

Since its inception in 2013, the Princeton Pre-read has introduced incoming first-year students to pressing current events, societal, and campus issues. The Class of 2019’s Preread, for example, discussed how race affects mobility. It was aptly assigned in 2015 — a year that saw the rise to national prominence of black police shootings, a subject which received significant media coverage and sparked polarized protests across the country. We see from past trends that the Pre-read speaks to the current state of our society and may even serve as a larger symbol of campus events. Hitting on topics like equality, stereotypes, populism, and honor codes in recent years, the Pre-read educates and makes students aware of issues that may present themselves at the University.

President Eisgruber recently

announced “Speak Freely: Why Universities Must Defend Free Speech” as the Pre-read book for the incoming Class of 2022.

This decision was timely in that it was announced the same day several University students walked out of Professor Lawrence Rosen’s anthropology lecture after he — a white man — used the word “n****r” in a discussion on hate speech.

President Eisgruber stated that he respects Professor Rosen’s decision about how to teach the subject, stressing the importance of academic freedom which “allows people to make pedagogical choices on how to teach difficult subjects.”

In what has become a critical month for both free speech advocacy and opposition on the University’s campus, it is essential that incoming students understand the role of higher education institutions, like the University, in facilitating intellectual conversations and combating controversial issues through discourse.

Across the country, free speech on college campuses has certainly had its troubles, with censorship and suppression of ideas pervading. Last

spring, The Evergreen State College held an event called Day of Absence, in which white students who chose to participate were asked to go off campus to discuss race issues, while students of color remained on campus.” This outraged biology professor Bret Weinstein, who called the event “a show of force, and an act of oppression.” Following this comment, Weinstein was confronted by students who demanded he be fired. Protesting students took over the library and held Evergreen President George Bridges hostage for several hours. Violence was threatened by an anonymous caller, triggering a campus shutdown for three days. What simply began as a professor’s call for open discussion about a controversial event turned into a disruptive and illiberal protest.

Educating students on the benefits of free speech, especially at colleges and universities where people are brought together from vastly different backgrounds, is necessary to prevent futile violence and hostility. Perhaps if students at Evergreen State College were

to have read Professor Keith Whittington’s book — as the Princeton Class of 2022 will do this summer — the outcome of this situation would have been different. According to President Eisgruber, “inclusivity isn’t about protecting people from offense. Inclusivity is about creating an environment where people from all perspectives are capable and have the opportunity and support they need to be able to speak up in conversations,” reinforcing the value of this year’s Pre-read book discussing the necessity for defense of free speech on college campuses.

Without an environment conducive to freedom of expression, intellectual conversations and respectful exchanges of ideas will be replaced by disruptive protests and unruly behavior. Universities have a responsibility to protect the freedoms of its students and faculty, and President Eisgruber’s selection is undeniably a step in the right direction.

Jared Shulkin is a sophomore from Weston, Fla. He can be reached at jshulkin@princeton. edu.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

U.’s malfunction with recent sexual misconduct

S

exual misconduct, and the University’s inadequate response to it, has become a much-needed topic of discussion, in part because of Yeohee Im’s bravery to discuss it.

As was reported this week in the Daily Princetonian, I was one of the people who gave reports to the University surrounding this incident. Notably, the reports began even before Yeohee’s unfortunate incident.

The responses and calls to action by fellow students, faculty, and staff have been remarkable.

However, the University’s actions have been inexcusable. There are times when initiatives to educate and discuss, through meetings and training, are the appropriate response. And there are times, as now, when they are not only woefully inadequate, but possibly misguided and counterproductive. In context, this does not appear to be a situation where a professor did not understand what he was doing or was simply too casual with a student. One reason I answered questions about these events was to illuminate that point. The worst outcome of these last few months of activism on campus would be for the faculty to create a more sterile environment with students, as opposed to the warmth that is currently enjoyed, out of fear that they will be the next faculty member whose actions are misunderstood — or for the administration to simply add more meetings, training, and bureaucracy that will be resented.

There is no replacement for appropriate punishment of a perpetrator.

In my opinion, much of the blame for the University’s inaction falls on Deborah Prentice. Her decisions have substantially reduced the likelihood that future victims will come forward in the event of sexual misconduct. Who would want to report such occurrences knowing that even after enduring all of the collateral damage that occurs for coming forth with this information (loss of advisor and funding, to start with), and even after the Title IX office investigates and finds the accusations to be truthful and the violations severe, the dean of the faculty, who was Deborah Prentice at the time, does not take the situation seriously and essentially lets it slide.

She knew at the time all of the information that has now become public.

I visited Deborah in her office during the week after this decision was made in June. We had business to discuss regarding my decision to leave the University. I also mentioned Yeohee. Without me asking specifically, Deborah squirmishly offered justification for the mildness of the punishment to the professor — sexual harassment training — details she assumed I was aware of, even though I wasn’t. She described a range of severity of misbehavior, and explained that she couldn’t take away the professor’s tenure for this incident because “he stopped when she said stop.” Is this policy acceptable to Princeton?! Furthermore, she explained that this was being treated as an isolated incident for lack of evidence. It seemed to me that she had reached out to past victims and that they

had not provided incriminating information. Since the reports that I had given were second-hand reports, I suggested that she may want to reach out to the previously anonymous witnesses directly, professors at other universities, for whom I could supply contact information, to shorten the chain of information. She said, “I would need a reason to do that.” At that cringeworthy declaration, it was apparent she was in her lame duck stage, not wanting to deal with this as she was being promoted to provost the following month. But the damage in the wake of these actions will persist long after the change in leadership.

When Dean Kulkarni took office, a real investigation began in earnest. Unfortunately, as soon as Princeton’s general counsel got word that Dean Kulkarni had received reports of violations prior to Yeohee’s incident, he recused himself from the investigation.

Of all bad coincidences, it went straight back into the hands of Deborah Prentice as the provost.

Ask Yeohee how happy she is about that. I think I know the answer.

Various departments at the University are doing things to address, remedy, and avoid sexual misconduct within the University. However, more than talk is needed. As an example, the dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences made a statement assuring graduate students that they need not be afraid of losing research funding if they report sexual harassment. I recommend that graduate students ask exactly how those assurances

can be made. Yeohee did lose her funding, since in the electrical engineering department funding is provided by the research advisor. I know she lost her funding because I am now funding her with my research grants. The University’s support was underwhelming. She was offered funding through the summer after which she would be allowed to earn her financial support as a full-time TA in the fall. She was told that by the end of the fall she had to find financial support from a new advisor. For Yeohee, having already fulfilled the department requirement for TA’ing, and considering that most TAs are only half-time so they can still have time for research, this would have been a serious disruption to her research. Furthermore, funding constraints can be a hurdle in the way of selecting a new advisor. Is this the kind of assurance that the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences is offering? Will things be different next time?

The student body should recognize and appreciate the cost of the decision Yeohee made to take this information public by talking to the media. These are heavy costs of time, emotion, career, and even money. Last fall, lawyers were jumping up and down to file a lawsuit on her behalf against the University, with the expectation of winning a lot of money. However, a likely requirement would have been to keep this out of public view. She decided that was not the right way to address a broken and harmful system. As a consequence of the publicity, lawyers have shied away. There are costs

Kathleen Crown William R. Elfers ’71 Stephen Fuzesi ’00 Zachary A. Goldfarb ’05 John Horan ’74 Joshua Katz Kathleen Kiely ’77 Rick Klein ’98 James T. MacGregor ’66 Alexia Quadrani Marcelo Rochabrun ’15 Richard W. Thaler, Jr. ’73 Lisa Belkin ‘82 Francesca Barber trustees emeriti Gregory L. Diskant ’70 Jerry Raymond ’73 Michael E. Seger ’71 Annalyn Swan ’73

142ND MANAGING BOARD managing editors Isabel Hsu ’19 Claire Lee ’19 head news editors Claire Thornton ’19 Jeff Zymeri ’20 associate news editors Allie Spensley ’20 Audrey Spensley ’20 Ariel Chen ‘20 associate news and film editor Sarah Warman Hirschfield ’20 head opinion editor Emily Erdos ’19 associate opinion editors Samuel Parsons ’19 Jon Ort ’21 head sports editors David Xin ’19 Chris Murphy ’20 associate sports editors Miranda Hasty ’19 Jack Graham ’20 head street editor Jianing Zhao ’20 associate street editors Danielle Hoffman ’20 Lyric Perot ’20 digital operations managerSarah Bowen ’20 associate chief copy editors Marina Latif ’19 Arthur Mateos ’19 head design editor Rachel Brill ’19 cartoons editor Tashi Treadway ’19 head photo editor Risa Gelles-Watnick ’21

NIGHT STAFF copy Cathering Benedict ’19 Jade Olurin ’21 design Quinn Donohue ‘20

to doing the right thing. Thank goodness some people are willing to pay those costs.

Paul Cuff was a University Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering from 2009-2017.

Editor’s Notes: This letter reflects an account of the author’s private meeting with Provost Deborah Prentice.

The ‘Prince’ cannot verify any of the allegations of what occurred in the meeting.

Deborah Prentice has not responded to request for comment after several days.

In a previous news story, the ‘Prince’ has attempted to corroborate the allegations against Verdú with other sources.

There is a news story with more details about Verdú’s administrative leave on page A1.

Opinion

Thursday February 22, 2018

page 5

{ www.dailyprincetonian.com } LETTER TO THE EDITOR LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

I

In defense of women affiliated with Sergio Verdú

would like to respond to a recent article in The Daily Princetonian detailing “new allegations’’ against my colleague and mentor, Professor Sergio Verdú. It is troubling how this article constructs its narrative by enveloping Verdú, as well as all the women associated with him, in a fog of rumor, suspicion, and supposition. By publishing an article with such sensationalism and general lack of concrete facts the ‘Prince’ appears to be driven by a tunnel vision desire to vilify Verdú, and not by journalistic integrity, duty to inform the public, or concern for the women involved.

There are many troubling aspects to this piece. For example, all the ‘’new allegations’’ mentioned seem to be based entirely on anonymous sources or hearsay.

Moreover, the one person willing to put his name to these allegations is a former University assistant professor who has recently gone through an unsuccessful tenure process in the Electrical Engineering department.

The apparent extensiveness of his involvement in this case should raise some serious questions. However, the truly shameful part is that, despite the quote — “Both of the graduate students named in these allegations also denied having any nonprofessional relationship with Verdú” — the ‘Prince’ sticks to its scandalous narrative. This quote should be the end of the story, yet this nonsense goes on for over a thousand more words and even makes the front page.

Why does the ‘Prince’ not offer the women named in these allegations the presumption of truthfulness that should be offered to all potential victims in sexual misconduct cases?

Why does the ‘Prince’ brush aside their voices in order to amplify rumors from anonymous and com-

promised sources?

Just like these women, I am used to not being believed about my experiences.

At times, I have been asked by a certain faction of our academic community a seemingly benign question about what it is like to work with Verdú, and have found that my responses elicit incredulous and disappointed looks.

What underpins these conversations is a clear sexist assumption that appears to also be shared by the ‘Prince.’

When a successful older man mentors a young man it is because he sees potential and talent in this individual; however, when a successful older man mentors a young woman, the default assumption is that it is for nefarious reasons. While our male counterparts get a bump up in their careers simply by being associated with a talented individual like Verdú, we, the women who have made the same intellectual connections with him as the men, have to fight an uphill battle to demonstrate through our work that yes, we too deserve to be mentored by the best.

By choosing to lend its platform to the regurgitators of gossip, the ‘Prince’ contributes to these inequalities and casts a shadow on all of our hard work. It positions itself as a supporter of young women; I am worried that it is actually being used as a tool by vindictive actors with professional slights and bruised egos. What’s worse, the ‘Prince’ is not above publishing confidential information, apparently without the permission of the alleged victims. The reckless disregard for the two women named in these allegations sends me, should send all women, a chilling message.

Since Sergio’s broader fitness as a mentor of women has been made an issue of public discourse I would like to persist in speaking to my personal experiences. From

where I stand, Sergio has done more to build up female researchers in our field than many of the self-designated “mentors of women in engineering.” Personally, I have come to Princeton specifically to work with Sergio and found him to be a genuinely supportive and inspiring mentor. Our interactions have been personable and intellectually stimulating. His knowledge, as well as his creative and original approach, has laid the groundwork for my research to flourish. The bottom line is that he has been an overwhelmingly positive force in my development as a professional, my champion, and my ally.

It is frustrating for me to see so many people in our community lose perspective and jump at the chance to become conduits for harmful rumors. It is frustrating for me to feel like my work, as well as the work of other intelligent and dedicated female scientists, has been reduced to collateral damage of a former assistant professor’s unsuccessful tenure case. I would like to make a plea to the ‘Prince,’ the University community, and the Information Theory Society community. Please, cease having this discussion on the level of innuendo and palace intrigue. Please, ground it back in facts and due process. It is important to continue a productive conversation about better professional norms.

However, this conversation should be based on empathy, understanding, and a quest to build a more diverse and resilient academic community, rather than rumor mongering and a singularly obsessive desire to bring down one particular individual.

Dr. Yanina Shkel is a postdoctoral scholar in the Electrical Engineering department. She was a postdoctoral advisee of Professor Verdú from 2014-2017.

In response to Shkel, in defense of the Prince’s reporting

S

ince the sexual misconduct allegations against Professor Sergio Verdú by graduate student Yeohee Im, The Daily Princetonian continued to cover the case.

Recently, the ‘Prince’ published a piece detailing additional allegations of sexual misconduct Verdú has had with his graduate students. In response, members of the University community have expressed support for both Verdú and for Im. Yanina Shkel, a postdoctoral scholar in the ELE department, wrote a Letter to the Editor today critiquing the ‘Prince’s coverage of this case.

In order to maintain transparency for our readership, I am taking the opportunity to detail how we proceeded in this investigation and how we report — all while preserving the confidentiality of our sources as well as on-background and off-the-record information.

As a journalistic institution since 1876, the ‘Prince’ has been dedicated to providing readers with the facts. Often, that involves digging uncomfortably deep into a subject in order to tell the truth. Shkel notes in her letter that the ‘Prince’ article “seems to be driven by a tunnel vision desire to vilify Verdú.” I intend to refute that by detailing how we investigated the story.

Our reporter corroborated the allegations made in her story with several sources and reached out to many of those with knowledge of the allegations against Verdú. In addition, the ‘Prince’ made every attempt to protect the anonymity of confidential sources in addition to protecting sources in order to use information on background. Although some sources are unnamed in the

Make bicker less personal

Liam O’Connor

Senior Columnist

“I

f you were to die tonight with no further communication to the outside world, what is that last thing that you want people to know?” an Ivy Club member asked me, no more than five minutes into our Bicker interview. I stared around at the glossy wood bookshelves in Ivy’s library for a few seconds as I contemplated a genuine response that would not give away too many personal details to a complete stranger.

One hour later, I was sitting with another club member near a pool table. As we were watching some students play 8-ball, she casually asked, “Have you ever been in love before?” I quickly responded, “no” and pivoted the conversation to a different topic. The question surprised me. I hadn’t expected Bicker interviews to probe so deeply.

Two weeks ago, the Bicker clubs released their decisions. Seventy-

four percent of bickerees made it into a new social circle. For the remaining quarter — which totaled about 200 students — getting rejected, colloquially known as “hosed,” crushed their dreams. After going through the process, I understand why being hosed is devastating for many students. Bicker’s deeply personal nature makes hosing feel like utter social and personal rejection. Eating clubs should alleviate this feeling by making the Bicker process less personal.

Bicker’s goal is to assess students’ personalities to see if they would be a good fit in the eating club. The clubs take varying approaches to accomplishing this task.

Some play games, some stick to interviews, and a few do both. But across the board, the sophomore sources I consulted encountered at least one club member who asked personal questions or expressed personal interest in a bickeree that breached the normal social boundaries between strangers.

With these questions, Bicker takes advantage of vulnerable students.

Loneliness is a problem

for Princetonians. With so many classes and homework assignments filling up our time, it can be difficult to meet new people and maintain old friendships.

Bicker comes along as a tantalizing opportunity to find new friends at a time when sophomores are beginning to feel locked into their social lives on campus. After talking to lots of members, students can walk away feeling like they’ve made dozens of friends in the Bicker process. But Bicker isn’t about friendships, it’s more like speed dating. Bickerees talk to club members, and the members choose whether to accept or reject the bickerees. The conversations’ depth, some of which involve very personal questions, feign intimacy. In this way, Bicker preys on students’ deepest fears and insecurities of exclusion or, worse yet, false inclusion.

Throughout the process, members appear eager to accept bickerees.

That’s why it can feel like a stab in the back when someone gets rejected.

One interviewer told a friend that she adored him. He was subsequent-

ly hosed. Many of my own interviews ended with lines like, “I want you to get in,” or, “You’re cool and I hope you make it.”

But individual members don’t have full control; one member being on a bickeree’s side may not be enough. For the hosed bickerees, though, it feels that much more personal because they are being judged on their personalities.

But there is still hope for improving Bicker.

Eating clubs should depersonalize the process by making it more like a job interview. Club members don’t need to know about a bickeree’s secrets, potential dying words, or relationships with parents to judge their personalities. They should instead focus on their goals, interests, classes, and experiences at Princeton. These are generic topics that almost any student would be willing to discuss with anyone, especially classmates. They give insight into a person’s life but don’t strike at the core of their existence.

Club interviewers should also maintain formalities. Getting too close to bickerees or saying something heartfelt only sets

reporting, they are known to and trusted by the ‘Prince’ as confidential resources.

The ‘Prince’ included that Cuff underwent an unsuccessful tenure process for the exact reason Shkel pointed out: it can raise questions.

Additionally, Shkel wrote that we included that when our reporter contacted other women named in the allegations, they denied “having any non-professional relationship with Verdú.”

We include such information in order to let the reader judge for him or herself. The responsibility of the news section is to fully and entirely present the facts.

Shkel asks why the ‘Prince’ does “not offer the women named in these allegations the presumption of truthfulness that should be offered to all potential victims in sexual misconduct cases?” By reaching out to these women, the ‘Prince’ worked to cross-reference and confirm their denials, without making any presumptions.

While it is wonderful that Shkel’s experience with Verdú is positive, her experience does not negate the experiences of women such as Yeohee Im and alleged others. As a newspaper, we think it’s important to share all of these experiences — which is also why we chose to publish Shkel’s letter in full.

In every story — including this one — we strive to fairly report the facts. Our reporter worked with integrity, and I stand by that reporting.

Marcia Brown is Editor-inChief of The Daily Princetonian.

This letter represents the views of the Editor-in-Chief only; she can be reached at eic@dailyprincetonian.com.

them up for feelings of betrayal should they later be hosed.

While this won’t eliminate campus loneliness, it will at least alleviate the rejection and hurt that hosed students feel.

Social rejection will continue to be intertwined with the eating clubs as long as they remain selective. But the Bicker clubs can set ground rules with their members to diminish the degree to which bickerees feel it.

Getting hosed from an eating club shouldn’t feel any worse than being rejected for an internship.

As Princetonians, we all face the same academic challenges and should take care of each other regardless of whether we accept peers into our clubs or not. Depersonalizing Bicker is a first step that we can take toward this goal.

This is the second in a series of articles about improving Princeton’s eating clubs.

Liam O’Connor is a sophomore from Wyoming, Del. He can be reached at lpo@ princeton.edu.

page 6

The Daily Princetonian

Thursday February 22, 2018

Princeton Winter Olympic Games Nathan Phan ’19

..................................................

Just kidding

Tashi Treadway ’20 ..................................................

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1011010001001010010100100101001 0010111000101010010111011010001 Join the ‘Prince’ web staff 001010010100100101001001011100 0101010010111011010001001010010 1001001010010010111000101010010 1110110100010010100101001001010 0100101110001010100101110110100 0100101001010010010100100101110 join@dailyprincetonian.com 0010101001011101101000100101001 0100100101001001011100010101001 0111011010001001010010100100101 0010010111000101010010111011010 0010010100101001001010010010111 0001010100101110110100010010100 1010010010100100101110001010100 1011101101000100101001010010010 1001001011100010101001011101101 0001001010010100100101001001011 1000101010010111011010100101001 0100100101001001011100010101001 0111011010001001010010100100101 0010010111000101010010111011010 0010010100101001001010010010111 0001010100101110110100010010100

Thursday February 22, 2018 P R I N C E T O N AT A G L A N C E

Want to see YOUR photos published in a newspaper?

Join ‘Prince’ photo! join@dailyprincetonian.com

The Daily Princetonian

page 7

Sports

Thursday February 22, 2018

page 8

{ www.dailyprincetonian.com } WOMEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING

Swimming and Diving comes 3rd in Ivy Championship

COURTNEY TSENG :: PRINCETONIAN CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

Princeton earned third place at the Ivy League Championships. While the Tigers were unable to catch Harvard, who reclaimed the Ivy League title, Princeton ended the meet on a high note. Co-captain Joanna Curry ’19 claimed first in the 200 fly while the quartet of Isabel Reis ’19, Claire Mcilmail ’18, Alisabeth Marsteller’ 18 and Madelyn Veith ’18 grabbed the top spot in the 400-free relay. The Princeton Diving team also made a strong showing on the final day with Sine Scribbick ’21 and Natasha MacManus ’20 both making the A-final. The team showed remarkable improvement from last season. The Tigers will surely be a team to watch in the coming years.

Tweet of the Day “Your @PUSCDT team will host the @IvyLeague Men’s Swimming & Diving Championships starting tomorrow, right here at DeNunzio Pool. Lucky fans on Friday and Saturday who come early will receive free cheer gear!”

PrincetonTigers(@PUTigers)

Stat of the Day

1:44.83 Junior Cole Buese won the 200 Fly at the HYP meet with a time of 1:44.83--the best by any Ivy League swimmer this season.

Follow us Check us out on Twitter @princesports for live news and reports, and on Instagram @princetoniansports for photos!

The Daily Princetonian

Thursday February 22, 2018

page S1

PAGES DESIGNED BY ASHLEY CHANG & WILL RANDALL

SECRETS

STREET EDITORS: JIANING ZHAO, DANIELLE HOFFMAN, LYRIC PEROT, LUCY CHUANG

This week the Street shares some secrets...shh...

A Review of Triple 8’s Moonlit Show (and perhaps, a review of myself) Allison Huang Contributor ‘21

I remember once walking into Whitman, I greeted the staff member on swipe-duty and asked him why he looked so cheery, to which he replied, “Your face is like a big beautiful moon in the sky.” Despite the innocuous nature of this statement, I cringed inwardly: Was my face really that chubby, circular, pale?

When I first saw the Triple 8 Moonlit publicity posters hanging on lampposts, I gasped in soft shock. This was how the moon should be invoked—cast dramatically across East Asian faces to play on the depths of our features and ref lect off our dark, dark hair—and I was proud that photographer Vincent Po ’18 knew how to photograph East Asians to look fierce. I walked into the Triple 8 show with great excitement and wonder.

The show began with a piece

by Kathryn Wen ’20 and Melita Piercy ’20 spotlighting women in bold blue t-shirt dresses and men in blue shirts of the same hue and white pants. I did not realize I would react to the piece so viscerally (this was not my first time at a dance show), yet I fought to hold back tears as I witnessed East Asian bodies being glorified on stage. To be clear, they were

East Asian and non-East Asian bodies alike, but I saw bodies like my own—Asian women with big thighs and imperfect f lexibility—hovering in the spotlight, elevated by movements. People cheered from the crowd, screaming, in all their pride, ethnic names.

The piece ended, the mood shifted, and I swallowed the happy lump in my throat. Chinese battle music f looded the stage. Dancers walked onstage with long, f loor-length white sleeves and I remembered how a friend of mine, Jessica Fan ’20, had captioned her Moonlit profile picture: “Come watch me play...with giant sleeves.”

I had not known what she meant, and now I was discovering a kind of dance in which the focus honed in on the effect of the whole. Sleeves shot in unison to the left, to the right and up in the air to create the effect of a silk-sleeved octopus and then f lowed in staggered, elegant waves. Flailing pieces of cloth became startling and theatrical. It recalled an ancient tradition that went beyond my time, yet it echoed of values I saw carried out in Asian culture contemporarily: a focus on the unity of the group, an attention to the overall effect, and a melding of individual talent to contribute to the collective presentation.

I did not understand the concept of diaspora until I

came to this show. I did not think much of the importance of dedicating a dance group to the celebration of East Asian cultural dance and East Asian dancers—I thought it the product of those who cared more about preserving their own culture than I did—but now I felt deeply stirred, not only by the sacredness of a space in which East Asian people were unashamedly the focus of the

event, but by the very reality that an individual cannot tear her identity away from herself, no matter how hard she tries to hide it away. The exclamations like “[insert Asian name here] you’re beautiful!” were, to me, public affirmations not only of the individual’s beauty, but of the salience of the individual’s Asianness. In my everyday life when I am not in this diasporic space, I experi-

ence what Dora Zhao tells of in her article, “What a letter can mean.” I omit my last name completely when introducing myself, signing documents, or performing any task where I identify myself. I have grown accustomed to putting away my Asian self in public whenever I can—if not my face, the foreign sound of who I am.

I have spent my whole life avoiding myself, and here this self was being celebrated, poured out, on stage. The theme ‘Moonlit’ suited the show well. The variety and precision of lighting design and operation (Nathan Yoo ’18 and Ivy Xue ’20) shocked the audience; people ooh-ed and aw-ed at the lighting throughout the show. I remember a particular moment at the end of a number called “Pillows” when a soft yellow light descended over everyone as they lay down to sleep and just before the song ended, a red light shot out from the right like the last burst of a sunset before the fiery sun descends behind earth. The attention and thought shown through.

The unity of costumes within each piece—from velvety hoodie crops to skin-hugging red tops—and the diversity of costumes over the course of the show reminded me of the moon changing faces as it waxes and wanes.

The superior quality of every aspect of the show reminded me that where I had failed, others had taken up the mantle. Here, Triple 8 reinforced the sanctity of an East-Asian space. Here, we embraced the many facets of the individual, not leaving behind for a moment the Asian self. For this, I (especially) am eternally grateful.

Images courtesy of Vincent Po

The Daily Princetonian

Thursday February 22, 2018

page S2

ART ON MY AGENDA

THURS 2/22

FRI 2/23

SAT 2/24

SUN 2/25

WED 2/28

HEARST DANCE THEATER’S “THE NAME OF THE GAME: A COLLECTION OF WORKS CHOREOGRAPHED BY CLARK GRIFFIN ‘18” @8:30PM

THEATER INTIME’S “ME TOO MONOLOGUES” @ 8PM

THEATER INTIME’S “ME TOO MONOLOGUES” @ 8PM

THEATER INTIME’S “ME TOO MONOLOGUES” @ 8PM

“2017 ART OF SCIENCE EXHIBITION” @9AM

“HEATHERS” MUSICAL @8PM

“HEATHERS” MUSICAL @2PM AND 8PM

THE ASIAN AMERICAN STUDENT ASSOCIATION’S “SPRING ART SHOWCASE” @5PM

THE ASIAN AMERICAN STUDENT ASSOCIATION’S “SPRING ART SHOWCASE @5PM

MENTAL HEALTH INITIATIVE AND ARCH & ARROW “OPEN MIC NIGHT” @7PM

HEARST DANCE THEATER’S “THE NAME OF THE GAME: A COLLECTION OF WORKS CHOREOGRAPHED BY CLARK GRIFFIN ‘18” @8:30PM

HEARST DANCE THEATER’S “THE NAME OF THE GAME: A COLLECTION OF WORKS CHOREOGRAPHED BY CLARK GRIFFIN ‘18” @8:30PM

THURS 3/1 “2017 ART OF SCIENCE EXHIBITION” @9AM “SENIOR ART SHOW BY MIHIKA KAPOOR” @9AM

NAACHO DANCE COMPANY’S “UTSAV” @6PM

TOP 10 SECRET STEPS TO AVOID THE FRESHMAN 15 Kamila Radjabova Contributor ‘21

1. Live in Forbes.

2. Wake up at 9:50 a.m. for a 10 a.m.

class and sprint to the lecture hall.

3. Take a trip to the

zodiac circle of heads outside the New South building, jog in circles around the heads, then sit down and chant a ritual for help from the zodiac gods: “Gods, please give me the superpower to eat without weight gain.”

4. Do not stay up

Image courtesy of Kamila Radjabova

5. Maybe think

6. But do go to

7. And now that

9.You have a super-

Hunger leads to the

over to the gym,

every two months

have the courage to

member?

WaWa. The WaWa

but decide not to

to tell yourself that

say no to ice cream

leads to food. An-

by telling yourself

you’re staying fit

in the dining hall.

other night, another

that you have a lot

and that you do

quesadilla.

of work.

have the motivation.

late. Staying up late leads to hunger.

about heading

the gym about once

as virginity, deciding to have ing in anal sex, be sure to use

you’re so motivated,

8. Eat the ice cream anyway.

power, don’t you re-

10.Re-perform the ritual at the zodiac

heads. You are now forever fit and healthy.

line of communication that sexual intercourse is to have communication with periences. your partner, to respect each For some with a vulva, pe- other’s boundaries, and unnile-vaginal intercourse may derstand each other’s comcause pain and bleeding as fort zones. No matter how the the hymen (a thin tissue near first time goes, as long as both the vaginal opening that is of you are willing to explore stretched during intercourse) and work with each other to is penetrated. For others, improve, the experience will the hymen may be naturally hopefully be better each time! more open or has already been ~The Sexpert stretched due to activities such as sports, and thereby cause Information regarding sexual no pain. With manual stimu- health retrieved from Go Ask lation or penile-vaginal sex, it Alice, Planned Parenthood, is also possible to experience and AVERT. some irritation due to vaginal dryness (as in, the area is not For more advice from The Sex“wet” enough). In this case, pert or to submit a question, it may help to engage in more visit thesexpert.princeton. foreplay (such as kissing, mas- edu. saging, or touching different areas of the body) to ensure that the partner is aroused enough to have more comfortable sex. Additionally, lube can be used to supplement vaginal lubrication. If either partner has a penis and is using an external (male) condom, only water-based lube should be used (not oil-based lube – i.e., massage oils and petroleum jelly) to prevent the breaking down of latex condoms.

All that said, the most important aspect of first-time

THIS WEEK ON THE SEXPERT: sex for the first time is a per- a barrier method, such as a will lead to better sexual ex- open

FIRST TIME Dear Sexpert, I am a virgin, and I think I am ready to have sex for the first time with my partner. But I am feeling a little nervous.

What should I expect? What should I do to prepare?

-Nervous First-Timer Dear Nervous First-Timer, It’s natural to feel nervous when engaging in something for the first time — whether it is a new sex act or with a new partner — since there are plenty of unknowns. But it can also be exciting, especially if you approach it with accurate information, open communication, and some preparation.

Virginity can mean very different things for people, depending on their sexual orientation, religious, cultural, or familial background (e.g., absence of vaginal intercourse for some, or lack of any intimate acts for others, such as mutual masturbation, manual sex, oral, and/or anal sex for others). Whatever you define

sonal decision. Factors like your peers, family, societal expectations, curiosity, beliefs, and/or desires can inf luence whether you feel you are “ready.”

Assess your emotional readiness by asking yourself some of these questions: -What does losing my virgin ity mean to me?

-What do I expect from sex with my partner?

-What sexual activities am I comfortable doing?

-Will I feel comfortable voic ing my concerns or limits to my partner?

-What possible outcomes – wanted or unwanted – might s ex entail?

In terms of physical readiness, you should consider both the possibility of unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections.

If engaging in penile-vaginal sex, while contraceptives such as the pill or the IUD (intrauterine device) are highly effective as birth control, only condoms are effective at preventing both pregnancy and STIs. Make sure you know how to put on a condom properly before intercourse. If engag-

condom (internal/female or external/male). If you plan to engage in oral sex, use a dental dam to prevent any possible STIs. For information on how to properly use these barrier methods, here are some useful tips by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Regarding knowing what to expect, although this may not be the exact answer you are looking for, one’s experience of first-time sex truly varies.

While it can be sensual and passionate, it can also be awkward and disappointing. The most important aspect to understand is that pleasurable sex is something that can be worked on as you and your partner better understand your individual and each other’s bodies. One suggestion is that before sex, you and your partner can experiment with other intimate acts (such as finding erogenous zones other than the genitalia, cuddling, or massaging) to maximize the pleasure from this first-time experience. Moreover, you may want to talk to each other about what feels good and where you’d like to be touched; this will encourage an open

Fashion Secrets for Exhausted Students The Daily Princetonian

Thursday February 22, 2017

page s3

How to not look like you just woke up at 5PM

Lydia Gompper Contributor ‘21

Oh, God. Is that the time?

You just woke up from a twelve-hour hibernation, and yes, it’s five in the afternoon.

You groan, mumble incoherently, and try in vain to wipe the delirium from your eyes.

Before you crawl out of your room and impose yourself on the world, you must make yourself at least semipresentable. Even if you don’t feel like you have a corporeal form, you should always look like you do.

First, makeup. It has transformative properties, truly, and can twist even the palest, pimpliest face into something worthy of the public. Of course, you’re probably already late for something and don’t have time to achieve that perfect contour. Just focus on the powder; really pack that stuff on, until your face is so caked with it that no one would be able to tell whether you have a nose, let alone circles under your eyes. If you have a faint halo of primer hovering around

your head, you’re doing it right.

Next, choose the perfect outfit. I’d suggest throwing on some Princeton gear — anything fluorescent orange.

Everyone will be so blinded by the dazzle of your school spirit that they won’t notice you haven’t washed your hair in three days. A sur-

Just pop one of those babies on, and poof! It’s like the disgusting cesspool that is your forehead disappears.

Next, pick your cutest shoes.

Your loudest, brightest, most “Ooh, where’d you get those?” pair. If you can get everyone you meet to stare at your feet instead of your face, you’re golden.

Finally, drench yourself in perfume. As much as you can pour on without throwing up — that’s your sweet spot. You want that justspent-twelve-hours-marinating-in-bed stench buried under as much sickening floral sweetness as possible. Don’t worry about people going into anaphylactic shock; you don’t want anyone getting too close, anyway.

And that’s it! Go face the prise bonus? If you ever feel be washed until you drop at world, and if anyone asks yourself about to pass out, least three different types of where you’ve been all day, all you have to do is glance food on them (four types, if tell them you were doing down to shock yourself into one fell in a place where the homework. consciousness. stain can be easily hidden by As for your bottom half, the hem of your shirt). just pick up the same pair of Accessories: no outfit jeans you’ve worn every day is complete without them. for the past week. No, there’s You’ll need two things. First, no need to wash them. We a headband — God’s gift all know jeans don’t need to to people with greasy hair.

Selling The Dream I guess my “secret” isn’t that I feel this intense pressure to be perfect, or that I don’t actually just wake up like this; the real embarrassment here is that I modeled my social behavior off of the main character from a collection of books aimed at tween girls that came out in 2004.

Chisom Ilogu Contributor ‘21

It’s no secret that in the grand tradition of iconic literary characters, a few names instantly come to mind: characters who overcame tremendous obstacles, charmed us into loving them, or perhaps were so notoriously awful that their names would simply live in infamy.

We’re talking about literary giants here, folks: Odysseus, Lady Macbeth, Gatsby … the list goes on. However, in all of my well-read, Ivy League life, no character has had a larger effect on me than Massie Block, the protagonist of a 14-book, “young adult” series called The Clique.

From kindergarten until eighth grade, my parents didn’t allow me and my brothers to watch TV during the week, save so-called educational programs from PBS. So, along with developing a lifelong love of Cyberchase, my brothers and I all became avid readers. I breezed through the Nancy Drew mysteries and had a year-long historical fiction phase (fifth grade was a weird time), but it was when I hit middle school that I first discovered tween-girl lit, and was introduced to The Clique and the character that has shaped so many of my ideas of how people work and the importance of “the image.”

At the start of the series, Massie Block is a spoiled thirteen-year-old girl living a charmed life in Westchester County, New York as the

Image courtesy of Amazon

leader of her “clique” at her posh private school, the selftitled “Pretty Committee.”

Her life gets turned upside down when Claire, a “LBR” (loser beyond repair, for all you laymen out there), comes to town with her family and moves into Massie’s guesthouse. As expected, the two girls eventually become best friends, mostly because Massie can be her true self around Claire, rather than put up a mask like she has to do around the other girls.

To be honest, though, I didn’t really care about the whole “heartwarming friendship” thing or everyone’s various flaws and insecurities being uncovered as the series went on. You can’t build an empire on that fluff.

What drew me to Massie was her hard exterior, how she made her life look so perfect and effortless even if she was falling apart on the inside. She refused to let anyone ever see her sweat, and even when the Pretty Committee ditched her for being a control freak, this girl hired actresses to play her friends, proceeded to make her old crew jealous, and eventually won them back.

Her consistent motto was “sell the dream,” and from the time I first read those books up until last year or so, I was convinced that to be successful, you had to sell yourself and do the most, but make it look easy. You needed to put up walls and wear masks so everything looked put together on the surface.

“The Clique” was released in 2004 and inspired awkward tweens across the nation

We’re all familiar with the pressure that comes from the expectation of “effortless perfection.” Most of us have fallen victim to putting up some sort of front so people have an idealized but ultimately unrealistic perception of us. I guess my “secret” isn’t that I feel this intense pressure to be perfect, or that I don’t actually just wake up like this; the real embarrassment here is that I modeled my social behavior off of the main character from a collection of books aimed at tween girls that came out in 2004. In fact, the biggest issue here is that I took all of the negative qualities of this character, Massie Block, and transformed them into

a guide for how to move through the social minefield that is middle school, and maintained the mantra of “selling the dream” for a good portion of high school.

To this day, I still find myself trying to put up a front every once in a while, especially when I’m around new people and I want them to see me a certain way, when in reality you already know I’m “uncool” on some level because I go to Princeton, duh.

There are a billion and one reasons I chose to ignore the humanizing elements of Massie and focus on what made her a socially revered but cold “alpha,” but aside from my own personal power-hungry agenda, there are

Image courtesy of Itunes

definitely a ton of societal expectations that push us to “sell the dream” rather than be content with reality. I’m just grateful that I’ve read other books and met other people who have shown me different perspectives and given me the support I need to be vulnerable and honest with myself and the world.

The Daily Princetonian

Thursday February 22, 2017

page s4

Bound By June:

Autonomous Robots, Unfair Jail Time, and Violent Cafes Carson Clay Contributor ‘19

This week the Street is featuring the beginning of a new column “Bound by June” by Carson Clay ’19 that will highlight senior theses projects in the spring, and other projects of students and professors in the fall. Inspired by deeper probing into some of her senior friends’ projects in an attempt to learn a bit more than the one-sentence byline that is often given by seniors, Carson will share a glimpse into some of the amazing senior theses that are being written this spring! Feel free to reach out to her at ceclay@princeton.edu if you know of seniors working diligently on projects that the Princeton community should know about!if you know of seniors working diligently on projects that the Princeton community should know about!

Jan Bernhard, Trevor Henningson, and Viveque Ramji Seniors Jan Bernhard, Trevor Henningson, and Viveque Ramji are combining their expertise and interests within the mechanical and aerospace engineering department to create an autonomous quadruped robot with a tilting head. The robot will be able to navigate different environments independently without human supervision — a feature that will allow robots to be more helpful in daily life. Without human control, the dog-like robot can walk around any environment and use machine learning to avoid obstacles and label objects for future understanding. For example, interacting with a door once will allow the quadruped to identify the next door it finds and know the door will open to another room or hallway. Although this project can be applied in many important ways, one immediate advancement is in the field of search and rescue missions. Bernhard is excited to see where Princeton robotics is headed in the future, especially with its new robotics lab at the Forrestal Center. Maybe in the future, autonomous robots can write the seniors’ theses for them, too!

Mary Claire Bartlett

Image courtesy of Carson Clay

Image courtesy of Carson Clay

Mary Claire Bartlett, a senior in the Woodrow Wilson School, is analyzing a progressive 2017 bail reform law in New Jersey that has the potential to completely reinvent the concept of bail in America. Incredibly, two-thirds of people sitting in jail right now are not yet convicted, and are simply unable to pay their bail. In fact, they could remain unconvicted in jail for years, while others who committed the same crime walk free. As it stands, this system is disproportionately unfair for those with lower incomes, especially since not making bail is associated with higher rates of both conviction and longer sentence time. The New Jersey reform uses an algorithm with nine non-socioeconomic criteria (instead of the current system of full judge discretion) to determine whether or not a defendant is a f light risk. It recommends varying levels of pre-trial monitoring instead of full detainment. Bartlett was inspired by her internship last summer, where she witnessed a defendant serve five years of prison time before his trial, only to be found not guilty. The New Jersey law, she believes, has the potential to prevent similar situations and reduce injustice in our criminal justice system if applied across the country.

Sara Krolewski

Sara Krolewski ’18 is taking a unique angle on an English thesis. Instead of analyzing themes or literary theory, she is looking at how setting itself impacts literature. Even more interestingly, her setting of choice is the Parisian café and its effect on modernist literature in the ‘20s. Beyond Hemingway-esque carefree partying, she calls attention to the fact that the café was a place for racial and gender conf licts of the time. By day, writers and artists grappled with issues such as women’s clothing standards and sexual norms, and by night, they partied and engaged in violence and promiscuity. Asked what Princeton’s modern café equivalent would be, Krolewski describes the way Prospect Avenue hosts studying and discussion over lunch during the day, but transforms into a completely different and scandalous venue at night. Who knew that eating clubs were the new French cafés? In fact, Hemingway might have some wisdom for the seniors who continue to work on their theses: “There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.”

Image courtesy of Carson Clay