February 8, 2019

Friday February 8, 2019 vol. CXLIII no. 5

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STUDENT LIFE

Accidental transparency: Leak reveals 2017 Ivy Bicker comments

By Ivy Truong, Allan Shen, Warren James Head News Editor, Contributors

CHARLOTTE ADAMO :: PRINCETONIAN HEAD DESIGN EDITOR

A document containing all of the 2017 Bicker cards were uploaded to Tiger Confessions.

In the spring of 2017, Ivy Club attempted to streamline its Bicker process.

The club created a website where sophomores could sign up for Bicker, members could submit their cards about the bickerees, and officers could download and view the cards.

The cards contained a comment about each bickeree and a score that ranked the bickerees from a scale of one to five.

“There wasn’t a lot of energy in our conversation from the get go, but it was also stymied by the fact that it took about 10min for her to describe her day, and while I’m all for a wild story, i [sic] wasn’t super impressed by minutiae of lunch,” wrote one Ivy member, who gave their bickeree a score of three.

The cards were intended to be confidential.

On Monday, Feb. 4, however, it was initially reported that the Bicker cards stored on GitHub, a web-based hosting service, had been publicly accessible for an indeterminate period of time.

On Wednesday, Feb. 6, an anonymous person submitted a 276page document that contained each of the 1,460 Bicker cards from the February 2017 Bicker to Tiger Confessions, a Facebook group where members can submit anonymous confessions.

As of Feb. 8, there are 3,575 members in the group.

The files on both GitHub and Tiger Confessions have since been removed.

Ivy confirmed to The Daily Princetonian that the Bicker cards uploaded to Tiger Confessions were the same ones publicly accessible on GitHub. “In light of the private information that has become available, we deeply regret our failure to safeguard such data. We have taken steps to ensure that this can never happen again,” the

club wrote in a statement to the ‘Prince.’

In the statement, Ivy explained that a website was created in the spring of 2017 to facilitate the admissions process. The club emphasized that the included information “only represents a portion of the information used in The Ivy Club’s discussion process for admissions.”

The club did not elaborate on the other aspects of its discussion process.

The ‘Prince’ was able to identify the owner of the account, a former member of Ivy who spoke to the ‘Prince’ under the condition of anonymity.

“As a student, I contributed to the development of an application in 2017 to help streamline the process of Bicker,” the owner of the account said. “The logic and the code for the application were hosted on a GitHub account associated with my name. It was my and others’ understanding that no private data was stored there.”

See IVY page 2

STUDENT LIFE

Students, ICC president reflect on new Street Week processes

By Zachary Shevin Assistant News Editor

After five days of events at all eleven eating clubs, Street Week is drawing to a close.

At 9 a.m. on Feb. 8, eatingclub admissions will become available to students through the Interclub Council (ICC) website. A number of students have weighed in on whether or not they prefer Street Week to the processes of the past.

In a guest contribution to The Daily Princetonian, ICC Chair Hannah Paynter ’19 explained efforts to improve the eating-club selection process before Street Week. These efforts included “Sophomore Week,” a three-hour open house, and nightly Q&As in the Frist Campus Center in November. ICC also increased its social-media presence.

The new efforts also streamlined the selective process and sign-in process into a single week, in a hope to get more sophomores to consider the sign-in clubs.

Paynter, in a guest contribution to the ‘Prince,’ described the change to the Street Week process as “the biggest change to club admissions since the online portal went live in 2013.”

One way that the new process aimed to level the playing field between selective and sign-in clubs was by requiring bickerees to request invitations to Street Week events from at least one sign-in club, in addition to any selective clubs.

Avinash Boppana ’21 chose to bicker Cap and Gown Club.

However, he said that being required to request invita-

BEYOND THE BUBBLE

tions from at least one sign-in club definitely increased his interest in the sign-ins.

“The new branding definitely opened my eyes to other options,” Boppana said. “General awareness and exposure to other options is definitely, I think, a positive thing.”

Victor Hua ’21, another bickeree, echoed this sentiment. “If its goal was to get me to look more into sign-in clubs and kind of diversify my choices, it definitely accomplished that,” he said.

Hua is a staff writer for the ‘Prince.’

Though he ended up ranking a selective club as his top choice, Hua noted that simultaneously receiving event invitations from both sign-in and bicker clubs compelled him to explore options beSee STREET page 3

ZACH GOLDFARB :: PRINCETONIAN STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Colonial Club welcomes sophomores to the Street

BEYOND THE BUBBLE

NJ minimum wage U. alum accused Virginia lieuset to rise until 2024 tenant governor of sexual assault Staff Writer

On Monday, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed legislation that will increase the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2024. University students and the larger Princeton town community will not immediately feel the effects of the law.

New Jersey is the fourth state to enact the $15 minimum wage target, following California, Massachusetts, New York, and the District of Columbia.

The minimum wage will rise gradually over the next five years with the first increase from $8.85 to $10 tak-

In Opinion

ing effect on July 1, 2019.

According to Governor Murphy’s speech, the initial wage hike will impact hundreds of thousands of people working in New Jersey.

“Over the last six months of this year alone, these families will see $1,200 more right in their pockets,” said Governor Murphy.

The legislation is the result of years of negotiations.

In 2016, Republican Governor Chris Christie vetoed a similar bill. Governor Murphy, a Democrat, promised to achieve this wage increase by the end of his first year in office. He missed that goal by a month.

See WAGE page 4

Contributing Columnist Jae-Kyung Sim discusses the 2020 Presidential election and how voters consider candidates’ personal identities and columnist Hunter Campbell offers solutions for the next time a dangerous storm hits Princeton. PAGE 6

By Rebecca Han Staff Writer

Dr. Vanessa C. Tyson ’98, Associate Professor of Politics at Scripps College, released a statement on Wednesday describing an alleged sexual assault at the 2004 Democratic National Convention by Virginia Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax.

In the statement, Tyson wrote that “what began as consensual kissing quickly turned into a sexual assault.”

“Mr. Fairfax put his hand behind my neck and forcibly pushed my head towards his crotch,” Tyson wrote. “Only then did I notice that he had unbuckled his belt, unzipped

his pants, and taken out his penis.”

She wrote that Fairfax then forced her to perform oral sex on him. According to her, she was “utterly shocked and terrified.” She wrote that she tried to move her head away, but was unable to, as his hand was holding her neck and “he was much stronger than me.”

She wrote that she did not tell anyone about the assault for years, until in October 2017, when she learned of Fairfax’s campaign for lieutenant governor. She then “felt it was crucial to tell close friends of mine in Virginia, who were voters, about the assault.”

Watching the #MeToo movement unfold in that

Today on Campus 9:00 a.m.: “Redefining Old Nassau: Women and the Shaping of Modern Princeton,” a Mudd Manuscript Library exhibition Mudd Manuscript Library

same month, in which prominent actresses and other women revealed the stories of their sexual assaults, Tyson wrote that she felt empowered to speak to others about her assault.

“I felt a responsibility to myself, the beloved students I teach, and the brave women I’ve tried to help overcome their own trauma,” she wrote.

“By December 2017, I not only told many friends that Mr. Fairfax had sexually assaulted me, but I also reached out to a personal friend at The Washington Post and spoke to his colleague about the assault.”

No story was published, See GOVERNOR page 2

WEATHER

By Julia Ilhardt

HIGH

54˚

LOW

22˚

Cloudy chance of rain:

20 percent

The Daily Princetonian

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Friday February 8, 2019

In her response, Tyson called Fairfax’s attempts to discredit her “deceitful, offensive, and profoundly unsettling” GOVERNOR Continued from page 1

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however, because, according to the Post, they were unable to corroborate the stories of either Tyson or a mutual friend of Tyson and Fairfax.

Fairfax claimed in a written statement issued Monday that the paper had found “significant red flags and inconsistencies within the allegations.” The Post denied Fairfax’s assertions.

In her response, Tyson called Fairfax’s attempts to discredit her “deceitful, offensive, and profoundly unsettling.”

Tyson recalled her assault last week after many called for Virginia Governor Ralph Northam to step down after a racist photo from his medical school yearbook page emerged. The photo showed two men, one in blackface and another in Ku Klux Klan garb. Northam denied that he was in the photo but admitted to previously blackening his face for a Michael Jackson costume.

Tyson wrote that upon hearing the news and reading stories suggesting that “Mr.

Fairfax would be sworn in as Governor,” she issued a nowdeleted post on Facebook last week revealing that she had been sexually assaulted by a Democrat in a state office who would likely get a “BIG promotion.”

After news stories emerged Sunday night covering Tyson’s post, Fairfax issued a statement saying that he had a “consensual encounter” with her in 2004, after which she did not indicate that anything had made her uncomfortable.

Tyson earned a B.A. in Politics and a certificate in African American Studies from the University, where she was also awarded the Ruth B. Simmons Thesis Prize and the 1998 Spirit of Princeton award. She earned her master’s degree and Ph.D. in political science from the University of Chicago.

She has an extensive background in U.S. politics and policy formation and has advocated for sexual-violence awareness. Tyson was one of the founding members of the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center Survivor Speaker’s Bureau.

On Thursday morning, students released an online

statement, titled“Solidarity with Dr. Vanessa Tyson ’98,” to show support for Tyson.

The statement demands for Fairfax’s “immediate resignation” due to the “alleged assault and his vicious attacks on Tyson” being “disqualifying for a public servant.”

Zachariah Sippy ’22 drafted the statement with the help of Chaya Holch ’22 and Rafi Lehmann ’20 after learning from a tweet by Topher Spiro, vice president for Health Policy and senior fellow for Economic Policy at the Center for American Progress, that he had attended the University with Tyson as an undergraduate.

“That made me realize that Dr. Tyson went here, which is something I hadn’t heard,” Sippy said.

Sippy is an opinion columnist for The Daily Princetonian.

He recalled wanting to address what he saw as a lack of political action on campus, especially during U.S. Supreme Court justice Brett Kavanaugh’s hearings for sexual-assault allegations.

“I think people often talk about the orange bubble, and one aspect of the orange

bubble is ... political apathy,” Sippy said. “Princeton does a great job at privileging the academy above all else, and I think that’s a reason a lot of

us come here, and few institutions are as well-equipped to do so. I think that comes at a sacrifice.”

COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Fairfax claimed that there were inconsistencies in Tyson’s allegations

Account owner thought that no private data was stored on GitHub IVY

Continued from page 1

After graduation, the person “handed over the maintenance of the account and repository.”

The account owner only recently learned that the data was accessed and emphasized that the data was released without their knowledge or consent.

In a statement to the ‘Prince,’ Interclub Council president Han-

nah Paynter ’19 noted that each club is responsible for its own data privacy practices and that the ICC will prioritize discussion of data security and “help clubs review their data security if requested.”

“The privacy of student information is paramount, and publishing personally identifiable data would be considered a serious breach of individual privacy,” Paynter wrote.

Tiger Confessions published a partially redacted document of the Bicker cards. The individual who submitted the document intended to redact the full names of the bickerees and to keep the first names of the bickerers. Several names in the document and other identifying information, however, were left unredacted.

According to the document, the anonymous poster submitted the Bicker cards to Tiger

Confessions in order to allow the University community “to understand the eeriness of writing about one’s peers based on a circumstance not conducive to camaraderie, companionship, or community—what happens within the belly of an exclusive and judgmental system.”

The person also attached an excerpt of an Emily Dickinson poem at the end of the document.

“Hope is the thing with feathers, / That perches in the soul, / And sings the tune without the words, / And never stops, / at all,” the person cited.

Ty Ger, the pseudonym used by the moderator of the Facebook group, did not respond to multiple requests for comment by the time of publication.

The cards Approximately 1,460 Bicker cards comprised the partially redacted document submitted to Tiger Confessions.

An analysis of the data conducted by the ‘Prince’ reveals that Ivy members in 2017 overwhelmingly assigned scores of four or five — 70 percent of the cards featured these ranks. The average score was a 3.92.

Relevant statistics are listed at the end of this piece.

The reasons for giving a bickeree a certain score, however, varied by bickerer. The cards include not only comments on the bickeree’s appearance, ethnicity, and race, but also comments on the substance of the conversation and the bickeree’s potential involvement with the club. For instance, some club members attempted to predict whether bickerees would spend much of their time in the club if admitted.

“Talked religion... what it means to develop a close friendship, what it means to be scared, what it means to be vulnerable, what it means to have fun, what place region [sic] has in helping us figure out our morality. He was willing to shoot the shit and then discuss extremely personal topics… I so dearly hope he will be a member,” wrote one bickerer, who gave the student a score of five.

“This one was rough... It was very difficult to keep a conversation going with [REDACTED].

And even though she seemed like a sweet girl, I can’t imagine sitting next to her at an Ivy meal and having a deep or meaningful conversation,” another member, who gave this bickeree a score of one, wrote.

Other club members had asked their bickerees to perform certain tasks.

“I did a double bicker and made her enact what she would do if

she were to aggressively hit on a guy on the TI [Tiger Inn] dance floor, and she gave a stellar performance,” a member, who gave the bickeree a score of five, wrote.

“Double Bicker” involves two members interviewing two bickerees.

In another case of double Bicker, one member commented that a bickeree would do great in the club, since, when asked “to roast” the other bickeree, “he had some great material.”

This bickeree received a score of five.

Students had mixed reactions to the leak itself.

Jack Edmondson ’21, who plans on signing into an eating club, was not surprised that the information was leaked.

Mikkey Clarke ’19, however, said that the leak was a violation of students’ privacy. Clarke is a member of Cannon Dial Elm Club.

“The leak is kind of a breach of privacy for both the bickerees and the [interviewers]. I don’t think this leak will directly influence Cannon’s bickering process, but I do know that it will help to keep all of the Bicker clubs in check,” Clarke said.

Some students view the cards as reflecting an unavoidable aspect of the Bicker process.

“I’m not morally opposed to the [Bicker] process, but there’s only so much you can do to evaluate someone in a short period of time, and I think that it blends itself naturally to issues of stereotyping,” Edmondson said.

Evelyn Karis ’19 echoed Edmondson. Karis believed that other eating clubs that rely on a Bicker system likely possess similar material.

Karis is currently a member of Colonial Club and a previous member of the Princeton Tower Club. She also participated in a co-op and was independent.

“I wasn’t really surprised by the contents of any cards,” said Karis. “If you were to look at the contents of other Bicker clubs’ discussions, they would probably have similar sentiments.”

The ‘Prince’ refrained from publishing the leaked document to respect the privacy of students either named within the document or identifiable based on unredacted information.

Scoring statistics: Mean Score: 3.92 Standard Deviation: 0.92 Number of Cards: 1460 Percent of 5s: 29.38% Percent of 4s: 40.96% Percent of 3s: 22.60% Percent of 2s: 6.10% Percent of 1s: 0.96%

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ICC doubled the time to rank clubs and implemented a new “matching system,” requiring sophomores to rank all five sign-in clubs STREET

Continued from page 1

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yond Bicker to a greater extent than he would have done under the old system.

The ICC also doubled the window of time to rank clubs and implemented a new “matching system.” The system, which required sophomores to rank all five sign-in clubs, in addition to any clubs that they bickered, sought to “guarantee that every sophomore receives an offer on Friday morning,” according to Paynter.

“It takes the emphasis away from a binary ‘yes or no’ and makes it more of ‘varying degrees of yes,’” Paynter said.

Though considering getting into a second-choice sign-in club to be “pretty much the same” as participating in late sign-in, bickeree Lawrence Chiang ’21 still prefers the new system. Chiang noted that the new system forces bickerees to consider their full range of options before the release of Bicker results. This, he said, makes sign-in clubs feel like less of a last-resort.

“You have to put in a little

more thought. I think it makes [sophomores] look at [the signin clubs] a little more than just like ‘Oh crap, I didn’t get into anything. Let me see what my options are now,’” Chiang said.

“It actually gives the sign-in clubs a chance ... [e]verything’s more on equal grounds.”

Masha Muira ’21, another sophomore who participated in Street Week, said that though the matching system may have positive effects for some students, she does not plan on joining a sign-in club if “hosed” from the clubs she bickered.

“Being ‘double-hosed’ would be devastating, so at the very least, if an eating club is something you wanted, it’s nice to have the option available,” she said. “It’d be nice, on the other hand, if not only the eating clubs, but independent and co-op options, are advertised ... as well.”

She noted that “there’s just generally less information available” about dining options beyond the Street.

Earlier in the year, however, the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students (ODUS), the Undergraduate Student Government (USG), and the

ICC attempted to spread information on different sophomore-dining options by creating and distributing a USG Guide on Upper Class Dining Options. The Guide contains descriptions of what it is like to be on a meal plan, to be independent, or to be a member of each of the 11 eating clubs and five co-ops.

ODUS also held an info session on that matter on Jan. 10. Paynter estimated that approximately 50 students attended this info session.

“At the end of the day, the ICC is an organization that just wants the sophomore class, or the student body in general, to feel confident in where they’re getting their food and where they’re spending their time,” Paynter said.

“Obviously, we want the Street to be that home for them, but we understand that it’s not for everyone.”

Once eating club admissions become available at 9 a.m. on Feb. 8, sophomores will decide whether or not to accept admission to any of the clubs.

Then, the sign-in clubs will adjust their capacities accordingly. Once the “caps” have

been adjusted, depending on availability, students not already in a club will be presented the opportunity to fill the spaces.

On Monday, Feb. 11, according to Paynter, the ICC website will reopen to facilitate this reshuffling. Paynter noted an uncertainty as to how this “reshuffling” would pan out logistically.

“It’s a little ambiguous.

We’ve never really been there before, because it’s the first time we’ve had this different ranking system,” Paynter said.

Muira noted that some issues with the Street that were not addressed by the Street Week changes.

“Obviously there are a bunch of problems with bicker and eating clubs as a whole,” she said. “I think it can be hard because a lot of people face a dilemma of ‘Do I want to be a part of a system that’s propagating these negative effects?’ versus wanting to pursue their own social life.”

Though acknowledging that concerns exist, the ICC decided to leave the bicker process “pretty much alone.”

“In the early stages of brainstorming, we talked about

what our biggest problems were as the entire Street,” Paynter said. “We talked about making the bicker process as fair as possible in the early stages, so what I think a lot of us were concerned about were these self-selective processes that were happening.”

These self-selective processes, she said, included students’ preconceived notions that certain clubs were too exclusive for them or catered to specific demographics that they are not part of.

To challenge these assumptions, Paynter said, the ICC placed an emphasis on having more open events earlier in the year.

Christian Flores ’21, a sophomore who chose not to participate in Street Week, was still pleased with what he has heard of the new system.

Flores is an associate copy editor for the ‘Prince.’

“It’s great that we’re shifting away from a ‘bicker-centric’ rhetoric to something that promotes more sign-in clubs,” he said. “Even though I didn’t bicker, and even though it’s a small step, I think it’s a small step that’s making good change.”

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Hourly rates for U. employees are already aligned with the pending increase, so no immediate impact will be felt WAGE

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“We have talked long enough about putting New Jersey on a responsible path to $15 an hour minimum wage,” said Governor Murphy in his speech. “Today we make our economy both fairer and stronger.”

According to the Economic Policy Institute, if the minimum wage were set at $15 across the country, pay would increase for nearly 40 million workers, or 26.6 percent of the national workforce.

Although some expected that the legislation would exclude teens under 18 from the minimum wage increase, they are on the same path towards $15, according to NJ.com.

The new legislation is

not without complications.

NJ.com also reported that seasonal workers and businesses of five or fewer employees are on a slower timeline to raise the minimum wage, and farm worker wages will increase to only $12.50.

Business owners have raised complaints that this bill may force them to raise prices, fire workers, or shut down. Farm workers have called the bill “discriminatory.”

Currently at the University, the lowest wage for a student employee in a non-sitting position is $10.90 an hour.

“The hourly rates for employees at Princeton are aligned with the pending July 1, 2019, minimum wage increase, so there will be no immediate impact,” said University spokesperson Ben Chang. “That said, we are

evaluating the impact of the planned incremental increases in subsequent years.”

For people working in the town of Princeton, the effect of the legislation will also be delayed.

“A lot of off-campus restaurants and retail shops match Princeton’s on-campus wage so as to remain a competitive option for students,” said Hannah Pouler ’21, who works at Jules Thin Crust, a local pizzeria. “In a few years, though, future employees at Jules will definitely benefit from the minimum wage increase.”

After Governor Murphy, surrounded by families and politicians, signed the new minimum wage bill, he lifted it in the air and smiled.

“This is the law of the land,” he said.

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COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Governor Murphy declared the legislation to be the “law of the land.”

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The snowstorm solution Hunter Campbell Columnist

W

e are in the middle of winter, and it is no secret that the University is hesitant to cancel class during dangerous weather.

To an extent, that is understandable. Students and donors pay significant sums each year so students can attend class, and the University is paying professors to, in part, show up and teach these classes. With some courses meeting only 12 times a semester, a single missed class can be disruptive to the whole course. It is not, however, a binary choice between missing class and risking harm to students and faculty by having them walk around campus in a snowstorm. It is essential that the University finds a solution to this dilemma before any severe weather events occur — it would be unwise to hold off on discussions about the topic until we know a storm is coming.

Nearly one year ago, I wrote a column expressing dismay at the University’s decision to not cancel class early enough during an nor’easter, which caused serious hazards around campus. That column explained why the

University should err on the side of caution when faced with severe weather events.

There are alternatives to canceling class — using Blackboard to upload a recorded lecture by a professor and using Skype or Google Hangouts to make up for precepts are two that come to mind.

The former would entail a professor recording the same lecture they would have given in class and uploading it in time for it to be viewed by the students before the next lecture. Recorded lectures will never be as useful as in-class lectures, especially considering the lack of audience participation and the inability to use a chalkboard.

Regardless, these lectures are better than having none at all. Professors with concerns that students may not actually view the lecture could just require them to send in a paragraph or two commenting on the material. Even though in-person lectures are preferable, recorded lectures are a viable alternative when weather simply makes being outside too risky.

However, some seminars, language courses, and precepts require participation from students, so merely uploading the lecture to Blackboard would be insufficient.

In these circumstances, the preceptor or professor, along with the students, could have a Skype or Google Hangouts session at the regularly scheduled meeting time. It

is not as personal as meeting face-to-face, but it is better than not being able to meet at all.

Students could still discuss the week’s material and receive instruction and assistance from their fellow students and the instructor. Unfortunately, labs and precepts involving University equipment or producing something physical to turn in would still not be possible using online communication. For these situations, it would be best to try and reschedule the meeting for as soon as possible. There is also a final alternative to canceling classes — pushing classes into reading period, subsequently extending reading period itself as well as the exam period.

Pushing classes back complicates scheduling too much to be a viable solution to snow days. Reading period is essential to completing Dean’s Date assignments as well as preparing for examinations, so pushing even one day of class into reading period would necessitate prolonging its duration. A longer period for exams would follow, which would push back the latest date a student could leave campus. This shift could interfere with jobs, internships, and travel plans, especially if they had to be made well in advance of the semester’s end.

Scheduling issues would also be present throughout the rest of the semester before

crosslisted daniel te ’21

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vol. cxliii

reading period. Some courses choose to bring in guest lecturers, and they may be unable to attend if their proposed lecture time is pushed to a later date. Courses that plan trips may need to cancel them if students do not receive the proper amount of instruction by the scheduled departure date.

Such massive rescheduling endeavors would unnecessarily strain the University’s resources and faculty when it would be far simpler for professors to record lectures and to use Skype for precepts.

I think few would argue that these alternatives to in-person lectures would be superior to the traditional classroom experience, but it is clear that they are better alternatives to both missing class altogether and risking serious bodily harm to students. There are times when we just have to make do with what is available to us at the given moment — so while it will never be an easy decision to cancel classes, we should not act as if switching a day of classes for recorded lectures and a bit of rescheduling for labs is not worth the safety such a cancellation ensures. Let us adopt these changes now instead of repeating the disaster from last March’s nor’easter.

Hunter Campbell is a junior from East Arlington, Vt. He can be reached at hunterc@princeton.edu.

editor-in-chief

Chris Murphy ’20 business manager

Taylor Jean-Jacques’20 BOARD OF TRUSTEES president Thomas E. Weber ’89 vice president Craig Bloom ’88 secretary Betsy L. Minkin ’77 treasurer Douglas J. Widmann ’90 trustees Francesca Barber David Baumgarten ’06 Kathleen Crown Gabriel Debenedetti ’12 Stephen Fuzesi ’00 Zachary A. Goldfarb ’05 Michael Grabell ’03 John Horan ’74 Joshua Katz Rick Klein ’98 James T. MacGregor ’66 Alexia Quadrani Marcelo Rochabrun ’15 Kavita Saini ’09 Richard W. Thaler, Jr. ’73 Abigail Williams ’14 trustees emeriti Gregory L. Diskant ’70 William R. Elfers ’71 Kathleen Kiely ’77 Jerry Raymond ’73 Michael E. Seger ’71 Annalyn Swan ’73 trustees ex officio Chris Murphy ’20 Taylor Jean-Jacques’20

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Opinion

Friday February 8, 2019

page 7

{ www.dailyprincetonian.com }

Leave out identity politics in the primaries Jae-Kyung Sim

Contributing Columnist

J

ust a week ago, New Jersey’s very own Cory Booker announced his bid for the presidency with an energetic video titled “We Will Rise.”

And he is not the only one — as 2020 approaches, many other Democratic candidates are also gunning for an opportunity to challenge Trump in the next presidential election.

Booker thus joins a unique Democratic field, one in which the sheer diversity of the candidates’ identities and backgrounds is incredible. And while Democrats should take pride in showcasing such diversity in the primaries, it should not cloud their judgment. It is imperative that voters make their decisions based on candidates’ substantive views on policy makinAg — not the identity or group that the candidate purports to rep-

resent.

Voting for politicians solely because they share some aspect of our identities or backgrounds is, simply put, poor decision-making. Although it is true that such a candidate may better understand the experiences and struggles that accompany certain backgrounds and characteristics, that comprehension does not automatically translate to tangible commitment to resolving those same struggles at hand.

What may seem like the right rhetorical and visual choice may not necessarily lead to positive changes.

This truth has been empirically shown in various elections. Cory Booker — one of the projected front-runners for the Democratic party — has experienced this dissonance firsthand. In the 2002 Newark mayoral elections, he lost, in part because his opponent, Sharpe James, who is also Af-

rican-American, cast him as ‘not really black’ or ‘not black enough’ to know the challenges of living in Newark. These rhetorical claims gained traction, overshadowing the fact that as an incumbent, James had been extremely corrupt.

Such questions about identity are almost guaranteed to garner just as much, if not more, attention in the upcoming Democratic candidates’ race to the top. Five women have already announced their bids, and many of them show strong numbers in the polls.

An openly married, gay candidate named Pete Buttigieg has also set up an exploratory committee. A Latino candidate and an Asian-American candidate have also set up platforms.

And while divisive controversy has yet to emerge, signs of nasty battles ahead are already beginning to surface.

For example, many critics have raised Kamala Harris’s contro-

versial record as a prosecutor.

I believe that record should be the sole criterion for questioning her level of commitment to criminal justice reform. Unfortunately, her romantic life has attracted the same level of scrutiny. Some pundits have claimed they are less willing to vote for Harris due to her alleged “affair” with Willie Brown, and attention has been paid to her marriage to a white husband.

Centering debates over presidential candidates on identity and, by extension, whether someone’s lived experiences as a member of that identity are ‘legitimate,’ would only disregard the rational assessment of candidates’ platforms.

By nature, we tend to be attracted to people who are more “familiar” to us or those who are more “like us.” But when it comes to elections — especially presidential elections — we must remember that the

candidate we choose will determine the general direction of almost all policies over the next four years. If you think that the future is important, it is necessary to vote after a thorough reading of a candidate’s voting records and proposed platform, instead of whether that candidate is ‘really black’ or ‘actually one of us.’

As an Asian, I would love to see an Asian-American giving the State of the Union address someday. Nonetheless, I wouldn’t automatically vote for the Asian-American candidate in this election. Instead, I would dedicate my attention to the tangible policy platforms of each candidate, then make a rational and civically responsible decision. You should do the same.

Jae-Kyung Sim is a first-year from Sejong City, South Korea. He can be reached at j.sim@princeton.edu.

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Sports

Friday February 8, 2019

page 8

{ www.dailyprincetonian.com } WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Women’s basketball to face Yale and Brown for alumnae weekend

By Alissa Selover

Associate Sports Editor

Princeton’s women’s basketball (10–8 overall, 2–1 Ivy) will be facing Yale (13–6, 3–1) and Brown (9–11, 1–3) in Jadwin Gym during its alumnae weekend Friday, Feb. 8 and Saturday, Feb. 9. After coming off of a successful and, for some, a record breaking weekend against Cornell and Columbia, the women are looking to sweep their conference opponents this weekend.

Yale is ranked eighth nationally for defensive rebounds, making them the best defensive rebounding team in the Ivy League. The Tigers need to be big below the basket, both offensively and defensively, to outwork the Bulldogs. The Bulldogs are led offensively by junior Roxy Barahman who is currently ranked 33rd nationally in scoring. The teams met three times last season, with Princeton winning two games, including in the semifinals of the Ivy League tournament.

Brown has the No. 47 overall scoring offense in Divi-

sion-I women’s basketball.

Junior Justine Gaziano is a potent three-point shooter, which should prove to be a threat against the Tigers’ defense on Saturday. Princeton defeated Brown convincingly in both games between the two last season.

As the Tigers look to beat both Yale and Brown this weekend, there are going to be many key elements and players that help pave the way.

Junior Bella Alarie has been a force the past two conference games, both offensively and defensively, and could lead the team to a sweep if she keeps her scoring, block, and rebound statistics up.

After her recordbreaking weekend, Bella Alarie picked up three different honors. On Monday, she was named Ivy League Player of the Week, on Tuesday she was selected as the United States Basketball Writers’ Association (US-

BWA) Player of the Week, and on Wednesday she was named to NCAA.com’s Starting Five honors for the week of Jan. 30 - Feb. 5.

Alarie broke three different records in her game against Columbia on Friday, Feb. 1. She broke the Ivy League Si ng le-Ga me record for points a n d f ield

goa l s, scoring 45 points in 20 baskets, the Princeton Si ngle-Ga me Record for points and

field goals, and the Princeton All-Time Leader in Blocks.

Sophomore Carlie Littlefield will also be an offensive threat, shooting a .380 field goal percentage, with senior Gabrielle Rush not far behind, shooting a .349 percentage. Both Littlefield and Rush combine for an average of 10 rebounds per game, posing a threat to Yale’s strong rebounders.

The game vs. Yale will be held at 6 p.m. on Friday, February 8th in Jadwin Gymnasium but can also be seen on NBC Sports Philadelphia+ and on the ESPN+ streaming service. The Brown game will be held on Saturday, February 9th at 5 p.m. and can also be streamed on ESPN+. Saturday is also a National Girls and Women in Sports Day celebration and the 2014-2015 undefeated regular season team, and all other alumni, will be honored at halftime.

Blake Dietrick ’15 will be celebrated for her WNBA successes between the third and fourth quarters of the Brown game as well.

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Carlie Littlefield and women’s basketball continue their conference schedule this weekend against Yale and Brown Wednesday.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Men’s basketball to take on Yale and Brown in weekend doubleheader

By Tom Salotti

Associate Sports Editor

Men’s basketball (12—5 overall, 4—0 Ivy), currently in first place and undefeated in the Ivy League, will play Yale (13—4, 3—1) and Brown (13—7, 1—3) this weekend in what will be a crucial test to its Ivy League domination.

Princeton faces Yale on Friday in New Haven in what should be a contentious match between the two top teams of the Ivy League. Last year, both of the Tigers’ games against the Bulldogs headed into overtime and were very close until the end. When the two teams met at Jadwin Gymnasium last year, Princeton rallied in OT to defeat Yale 76–73. In the last game of the season at Yale, however, the opposite happened. After senior guard Myles Stephens tied the game with a last-minute drive, the Tigers pulled ahead in OT, only to be overcome by Yale and lose the game 94–90.

Friday’s game against Yale presents one of the biggest challenges for the team this season. Yale currently sits in second place in the conference, and a loss would mean both teams would be tied for the top spot. The all-time record between the two teams is 150–89 in Princeton’s favor, although the Tigers remain negative in their record of games played away versus the Bulldogs: 59–60.

The next day, Princeton will head to Brown University, tied for fifth in the Ivy League,

to close out its doubleheader weekend. Last year, like with Yale, the Tigers went 1–1 with the Bears. Princeton lost its first match in a hotly contested OT at home with a score of 102–100. It was the secondhighest scoring game for the Tigers in the regular season.

A few weeks later, though, the team followed up with a sweeping 78–63 win in Provi-

dence, R.I., Brown’s hometown.

Princeton and Brown first met in 1908 and have an alltime record of 106–28 in Princeton’s favor. If history is on the Tigers’ side, they should have no problem in Providence with an away record versus the Bears of 44–22.

The Tigers’ 4–0 run in the Ivy League this season brings

back memories of their championship 2017 season, which saw a NCAA tournament appearance and was the last time the team had an Ivy League record as good as this.

Head Coach Mitch Henderson ’98 has seen three of these 4–0 runs in his eight-season tenure at Princeton, the other being in 2013.

Even if the Tigers topple

both teams this weekend, they still have to face every single Ivy League team again, including Harvard (10–7, 3–1), who is tied for second in the League with Yale, and Dartmouth (10–10, 1–3), who is tied for fourth in the League, twice more in the regular season.

Tip-off at Yale on Friday is 7 p.m., and on Saturday at Brown is 6 p.m.

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Myles Stephens and men’s basketball will be on the road this weekend, looking to stay unbeaten in the Ivy League

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Yale, women’s basketball’s opponent Friday night, is ranked No. 29 in the nation in rebounding