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The Daily Princetonian: April 19, 2024

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Friday April 19, 2024 vol. CXLVIII no. 11

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GRADUATE SCHOOL

Graduate students file for union election, marking last Ivy to do so

Opinion

Black Princeton is fragmented. Let’s consolidate. Luqmaan Bamba

Contributing Columnist

AMMAAR ALAM / THE DAILY PRINCETONIAN

The Graduate College at night.

By Meghana Veldhuis & Miriam Waldvogel Assistant & Associate News Editors

Graduate students seeking to unionize filed for an election with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on Friday afternoon, potentially making the University the last Ivy League school to have a recognized graduate student union. The move by Princeton Graduate Students United (PGSU) comes two weeks after postdoctoral workers at the University filed for an NLRB election. If recognized, PGSU would

be affiliated with the United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers (UE), and become the largest union on campus. There are currently 3,225 graduate students enrolled at the University. UE has also represented graduate workers at the University of Chicago and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “The University agrees that a secret-ballot election is the most inclusive, fair, and secure method for those eligible to express their preference whether to be represented by the United Electrical, Radio and Machine

Workers of America,” University spokesperson Jennifer Morrill wrote in a statement to The Daily Princetonian. “It is important to note that by design, union representation would change some aspects of graduate students’ relationship with Princeton, and the University has concerns about how such representation would affect graduate students’ education and experience here.” Gaby Nair GS, an organizer with PGSU, told the ‘Prince’ that a “strong majority” of graduate students had signed union cards. The threshold for See UNION page 3

BSU, PASA, PCC, PEESA, PNSA, PABW, PBMA — call it the alphabet soup of Black student organizations. These are groups intended to cater to specific niches in the Black community and serve to represent its diversity. These organizations serve critical communitybuilding needs that Princeton’s diverse Black population needs. Yet, informal conversations with Black students reveal that these groups highlight the dissolution of Black union due to its fragmentation. This piece seeks to uncover this dynamic, suggest tips for increased cohesion amongst Black student groups, and propose a novel formal consortium model for the centralization of Black Princeton. Black affinity groups are a crucial part of Princeton’s fostering of diverse communities. Nevertheless, students have revealed dissatisfaction with how isolating they can be. Indeed, the complicated nature

of Black identities makes this a more nuanced problem. In 2022, the Generational African-American Students Association (GAASA) was founded, seeking to create a space for Black students who are descendants of enslaved people. These were a “minority within a minority,” as Christopher Butcher ‘25, the founder and president of GAASA, remarked in a piece for the Daily Princetonian. Black students who were descendants of enslaved peoples held little direct personal connection to the African continent in a way that international, immigrant, and recently immigrated Black students do; they needed a space of their own to foster a sense of inclusion, Butcher argued. Though this specific demographic of Black students understandably desired to find a sub-community with shared experiences, this necessitated what constituted a break from the established Black Student Union, arguably the premier Black student organization on Princeton’s campus. See CONSOLIDATE page 9

Please send any corrections requests to corrections@dailyprincetonian.com.

ON CAMPUS

‘She’s such a builder:’ Kauanui appointed to Indigenous Studies professorship By Elizabeth Stewart Assistant News Editor

In the Native Hawaiian culture, tī leaf leis are a symbol of protection and welcome, and professor J. Kēhaulani Kauanui keeps every lei she receives. One of these leis was gifted to her by Ila Nako ’26, a student leader in Natives at Princeton (NAP), and two other Native Hawaiian students when the anthropologist visited campus last October. During her visit, Kauanui, a Native Hawaiian who teaches at Wesleyan University, gave a talk on Hawaiian decolonization and feminism. She also met with Native American and Indigenous students about filling the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Professor of Indigenous Studies position at Princeton.

’82 ALUMNUS GIVES HIGH POINTS OF HIS DAY, HAZING, IMPORT OF HALLS, AND DAILY CHAPEL APRIL 16, 1929

gather together the day before and create something for her, by hand, with something that grew in the soil in Princeton.” “I think that’s a pretty powerful symbolism of the potential of what can grow here,” he continued. Growing Indigenous Studies Through the Effron Center For the past several years, the Effron Center for the Study of America (previously the Program for American Studies) has housed several Indigenous Studies initiatives on campus. In 2020, the Effron Center funded the creation of a website for the Native American and Indigenous Studies Initiative at Princeton (NAISIP). “To be in a space …where they’re bringing in cutting-edge researchers who are engaged in critical ethnic

studies within an American Studies context, and [who] understand the importance of Indigenous Studies — that is something that really excites me,” Kauanui told the ‘Prince.’ Effron Center chair Professor Aisha Beliso-De Jesús also confirmed that faculty is “working towards the launch of a minor in Indigenous Studies,” and plans to “prioritize future faculty appointments across the university within this vital field.” According to Beliso-De Jesús, the process of filling the Indigenous Studies professorship was “thoroughly collaborative” between the Dean of the Faculty and various academic units, along with engagement from students, faculty, alumni, and community stakeholders. Last fall, representatives from NAP and Native Graduate Students of Princeton (NGSP) expressed that

they felt “left in the dark” during previous attempts to fill the faculty position and did not have a formal role in the search committee. “We’ve been more aware of everything this time, which has been so much better because it’s felt like we’ve both been involved in the process itself and also afterward we’ve been kept informed,” NGSP president Brandi Bushman GS told the ‘Prince.’ She added that Kauanui was particularly attentive to students’ interests during her visit. “Kauanui was only here for a couple [of] days, but she really developed relationships with the Native Hawaiian students, specifically, and the Native community generally,” Bushman said. Kauanui has taught in the AmeriSee INDIGENOUS page 2

This Week In History

In light of the prevalence of hazing incidents in recent years, resulting suspensions, and University initiatives aimed at eradicating these practices, The Daily Princetonian examines the account of a member of the Class of 1882 reflecting on his experience with hazing as an undergraduate. He recounted a culture of public violence and the once-notorious “Cane Sprees” involving the latest fashion of the era — the walking cane. FLIP TO THE BACK PAGE FOR MORE

1929

“I found the students dynamic, invested, really sharp — they asked such important questions. There’s a really exciting vibe,” Kauanui said in an interview with The Daily Princetonian. The Board of Trustees approved Kauanui’s appointment to this position last month. Effective July 1, she will assume positions in both the Department of Anthropology and the Effron Center for the Study of America. While this hire ends the search for the Indigenous Studies professorship, first announced in December 2020, it is only the beginning of a continued effort to build up Princeton’s Indigenous Studies program at Princeton. Anthropology Professor Ikaika Ramones said of the students’ gift to Kauanui, “[Students] took time to


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