March 3, 2016

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Thursday march 3, 2016 vol. cxl no. 25

{ www.dailyprincetonian.com } BEYOND THE BUBBLE

George, POCC testify on free speech News editor

Princeton Open Campus Coalition co-founder Joshua Zuckerman ’16 and McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence Robert George testified at a House Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee hearing on Wednesday. The hearing centered on whether tax-exempt colleges and universities are using the tax code to avoid upholding their commitment to create an open marketplace of ideas on campuses. According to the committee website, the hearing was announced by Oversight Subcommittee Chair Peter Roskam (R-IL), following an incident at Georgetown University Law Center when a student was barred from distributing campaign material for a presidential candidate. In his testimony, Zuckerman said that his coalition believes that the protection of free speech is vital to the flourishing of the

university. Zuckerman noted the BJL sitins last November when protesters called for increased faculty cultural competency training, affinity housing for students interested in black culture and mandatory courses that present the ‘struggles of minorities.’ He noted that his coalition opposes these demands due to their destructive effects on the free flow of speech and thought. These demands, if accepted, may lead to University sanctioned orthodoxies, he said, and those who defy them will be labeled as racists and slandered publicly. Zuckerman also noted that many POCC members, since formally opposing these demands, have been subjected to ad hominem attacks. For instance, a black student and co-founder of the coalition, after expressing dissenting opinions in a Facebook post that the demand for affinity housing creates selfsegregation, was labeled as a See HEARING page 2

LECTURE

BEYOND THE BUBBLE

Lowery, Knowles talk hierarchy of privilege By William Liu contributor

When addressing social inequality, it is in the interest of people on the bottom to destabilize and those at the top to stabilize the system, Brian Lowery, the Walter Kenneth Kilpatrick Professor of Organizational Behavior at Stanford University, said. Lowery initiated the discussion with a focused analysis of the concept of hierarchy in modern society, particularly as it relates to racial issues and the concept of white privilege. According to Lowery, problems commonly addressed in psychology involve the existence of established hierarchies and why individuals at the bottom keep the status quo, rather than rise up against the establishment. Most psychological studies, however, focus on the costs to

COURTESY OF THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS

Zuckerman ‘16 and professor Robert George testified before the Ways and Means Oversight subcommittee.

the people at the bottom tiers of society, instead of addressing the downward pressure placed upon this class. Lowery used this lens to analyze the actions that the upper classes would take, such as granting concessions and bringing others into the system to increase the costs of rejecting the system. To explain this concept, Lowery utilized the example of when members of a lower status group are admitted into the University. “Are you less likely to protest and riot against inequality?” he asked. “Probably, since you are now part of the system and have more to lose from destabilization,” he said. Lowery explained that individuals are thereby more likely to strive to maintain the current establishment by virtue of reciprocity towards See PRIVILEGE page 2

U. Affiliates submit amicus briefs for abortion case By Marcia Brown staff writer

University faculty and alumni have written amicus curiae briefs for both sides of Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt, the first major case regarding abortion to come before the Supreme Court in years. The case was argued on Wednesday. The case arose in response to the 2013 Texas state law HB2 that set two new restrictions on abortion clinics. The restrictions require hospital admitting privileges to people performing abortions, and for designated abortion clinics to meet the standards of

Blumerman, Moffett discuss census By Hannah Waxman staff writer

A student is learning how to make a mug at Wilson Ceramics Studio.

In Opinion

Today on Campus

CHIARA FICARELLI :: ASSOCIATE PHOTO EDITOR

Contributing Columnist Luke Gamble examines the polarizing nature of the U.S. presidential candidates, and an anonymous contributor reflects on how the Princeton environment has taken a toll on their mental health. PAGE 3

or-break-it case,” Trussell said. He explained that if the plaintiffs lose, the case would set a nationwide precedent that shortsighted restrictions could be put in place. If there is a tie, the restrictions may still stay in effect in Texas, but not for the country as a whole. In the situation that the plaintiffs win, similar restrictions in other states would be struck down. The case will define “undue burdens” previously established in the landmark 1973 case, Roe v. Wade. Jennifer Dalven, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s See BRIEF page 2

LECTURE

In the 2020 census, the US Census Bureau plans to use new technologies to tackle challenges such as a declining response rate and economic restraints, Lisa Blumerman, associate director of the Decennial Census Programs said at a lecture on Wednesday. The Census asks ten basic questions about age, sex, race and other identifiers. Blumerman said that the 2020 Census will be unlike any that has been taken before. Other topics and questions will be submitted to Congress in 2017, but in the meantime, cognitive testing is being conducted to consider including a separate Middle Eastern and North African category. “We’ve had a unique opportunity to test, to research, to look at how we can use data in ways that we’ve never used it before,” she added. She explained that the Census’ purpose is to conduct a census of population and housing and disseminate results to the President, the states, and the American people. The overall goal for the census is to count everyone once, only once, and in the right place. The Bureau is currently working to enumerate 330 million people, living in 140 million housing units, at a lower cost than required by the 2010 methodology. Blumerman said that

ARTS

ambulatory surgical centers, according to Professor Emeritus of economics and public affairs and the Charles and Marie Robertson Professor emeritus of Public and International Affairs at the Center for Health and Wellbeing at the University, James Trussell GS ’75. Trussell, along with several University graduates, including Diana Foster GS ’98 and former postdoctoral fellow in the Office of Population Research Kelli Hall, co-signed an amicus brief in support of Whole Woman’s Health, the plaintiffs of the case who provide abortion services. “This case is clearly a make-it-

the Bureau expects to have a cost reduction of $5.2 billion, and estimates that it would have cost $17.8 billion to conduct using old 2010 methods. “We’ve designed a census to take those cost-drivers into account, to bring technology into the life cycle and to allow us to ensure that we have high quality data,” Blumerman said. Nonetheless, the Census faces several challenges moving forward, she said. Most significant of these challenges is the presence of rapidly changing technology. In fact, plans for the 2020 Census began before the 2010 Census was conducted. A second challenge that the Bureau faces is taking into consideration the constraints of the economic environment. In 2010, it was easy for the Bureau to hire the 600,000 numerators employed by the Bureau due to the 2008 financial crisis. For this census, an estimated 300,000 to 500,000 will be hired. Furthermore, the Census has seen a declining response rate over the last 20 years. To counterbalance these declining response rates, the Bureau has identified ways to maximize efficiency and address the problems facing the Census. One such method addresses the reengineering of address canvassing, that is, ways to counteract people who do not respond. Secondly, the Bureau will use a technology that allows them to do a full sweep of the nation

4:30 p.m.: Eileen Claussen, first president of the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, will present a lecture titled, “A History of Climate Change Policy: Evolution, Devolution, Revolution.” Robertson Hall.

in office rather than having employees go house to house, according to Blumerman. “What we’re looking to do here is to use technology to more efficiently and effectively manage the 2020 Census field work,” Blumerman said. The 2020 Census will become mobile; using the COMPASS Mobile Application, numerators will be able to collect data from non-response citizens who do not fill out the census either online, by phone or by mail, according to Evan Moffett, assistant division chief for the Census Bureau. The Bureau has also identified other ways to streamline and modernize the Census. New technology will allow the Census to provide up to 11 language choices online, including those that use non-Roman alphabets such as Chinese and Korean. Finally, Moffett noted that the Bureau is also looking into how to deal with issues of fraud. “Fraud is not going to be a significant problem for the 2020 Census, but we have to put in place some intelligent systems to allow us to detect systematic problems that are going on,” he said. The lecture took place in 300 Wallace Hall at 4:30 p.m. It was sponsored by the Princeton Survey Research Center and Office of Population Research.

WEATHER

By Jessica Li

HIGH

41˚

LOW

28˚

Partly cloudy. chance of rain:

0 percent


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March 3, 2016 by The Daily Princetonian - Issuu