March 4, 2016

Founded 1876 daily since 1892 online since 1998

Friday march 4, 2016 vol. cxl no. 26

{ www.dailyprincetonian.com } U N I V E R S I T Y A F FA I R S

Students petition against nonrenewal of Michael Barry’s contract

By Andie Ayala staff writer

Undergraduate and graduate students have written two petitions and personal letters to university administration and department heads in protest of the non-renewal of Michael Barry’s contract to teach at the university as an experienced lecturer in the Department of Near Eastern Studies next academic year.

Barry has taught at the University for a total of 12 years. According to Barry, his contracts with the University would occasionally be for two- or three-year periods, and they were continuously renewed.

The first petition was circulated through email listservs last week and has since been signed by 280 students, according to Asmod Karki ’16, who signed the petition and is currently enrolled in Barry’s class on later Sufism. The petition is addressed to University President

Christopher Eisgruber ’83, Dean of Faculty Deborah Prentice and Chair of the Near Eastern Studies Department Muhammad Zaman.

Zaman did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Prentice noted that she was not in a position to clear up circulating rumors.

“My office is not allowed to comment on personnel matters of any kind. However, I can say that I have received many letters of support for Professor Barry and have been gratified to hear about his positive impact on the lives of current and past students,” Prentice said.

Prentice added that she never said that Barry would or would not be returning next semester, and that commenting on the matter would be a violation of the privacy of the individuals involved.

Ariana Mirzada ’18 said that when she found out that the See PETITION page 3

COURTESY OF GOOGLE

Near Eastern Studies professor Michael Barry has been teaching at the University for 12 years.

BEYOND THE BUBBLE

Kimberley Strassel ’94, journalist and author

By Abhiram Karrupur staff writer

Kimberley Strassel ‘94 is a Wall Street Journal columnist who recently moderated the GOP debate.

BEYOND THE BUBBLE

Cruz ’92, Rubio question Trump’s commitment to GOP in debate

By Annie Yang news editor

Businessman Donald Trump is a democratic sympathizer and will be incapable of winning the general election if he wins the Republican Party’s endorsement, Texas Senator Ted Cruz ’92 argued in the Republican debate on Thursday.

“For 40 years, Donald has been part of the corruption in Washington that you’re angry about. And you’re not going to stop the corruption in Washington by supporting someone who has supported liberal democrats for four decades,” Cruz argued.

Cruz continued to question Trump’s background and commit-

In Opinion

ment to the Republican Party, arguing that in the past he has written four checks to directly support Hillary Clinton’s campaign and foundation.

“I beat Hillary Clinton in many polls,” Trump said, stating that he would stand a better chance at winning the general election than Cruz or any other candidate would.

Debate moderator Megyn Kelly asked why Trump, in an off-the-record interview with The New York Times, said that he would be flexible in his plan to build a wall across the U.S.-Mexico border and to deport 11 million illegal immigrants.

Trump said that releasing the recorded interview was out of the

Columnist Imani Thorton advocates for constantly questioning the status quo, and the Editorial Board pushes for University Trustee Chris Christie to reverse his endorsement for Presidential candidate Donald Trump. PAGE 4

question, but that his words had been misconstrued. He added that his flexibility came from uncertainty over specifications of the wall and reiterated that he does not plan to stray from his promise to build a wall on the southern border and make Mexico pay for the construction.

“The border is a disaster; it’s like a piece of Swiss cheese,” Trump said.

Despite this, Trump announced that it is crucial to retain and attract skilled professionals from outside of the country, as well as help retain individuals who wish to continue working within the country.

This was a sharp departure from his immigrant-denouncing rhetoric in See DEBATE page 2

MARCH SUNSHINE

FILE PHOTO

Spring sunshine shines through the pillars outside Icahn Laboratory.

Today on Campus 2:30 p.m.: A panel discussion on queer identities in the Middle East and North Africa will be held, featuring activists and scholars. Carl A. Fields Center.

WEATHER

COURTESY OF BRADLEY PRIZES

Kimberley Strassel ’94 became a household name on Feb. 13, 2016, when she appeared with CBS anchors John Dickerson and Major Garrett to host the CBS Republican Debate in Greenville, S.C. “There was a moment when my brain was screaming, ‘Oh my god, there are 13 million people watching,’” she said.

Strassel explained that when the camera turned to her so she could ask the first question, she realized the gravity of what she was doing.

“For about five seconds I struggled to remember what I was supposed to be asking Donald Trump,” she said.

According to Strassel, CBS contacted her couple of months prior to the Republican Debate in February and asked if she wanted to moderate it. Strassel was told that media outlets have been looking for outside voices to ask the questions; she agreed to moderate.

“I was very f lattered to be asked,” she said. “The debate was one of the funnest things I’ve ever done.”

She went to South Carolina a few days prior to the event to practice asking questions and writing questions focused on domestic policy in order to steer the conversation away from unrelated topics. Her goal was to get more concrete answers from the candidates about how they would actually govern and what they would propose as future presidents, she added.

“In a presidential election that has been too much about personality, I was really hoping to ask tougher questions on policy,” she explained.

Strassel, a member of the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board, writes a weekly column for the paper, titled “Potomac Watch.” She is also a frequent host on the “Journal Editorial Report,” a weekly show on the Fox News Channel.

She has appeared on “Meet See STRASSEL page 2

HIGH

38˚

LOW

26˚

Cloudy with morning snow showers. chance of snow:

50 percent

The Daily Princetonian

page 2

Friday march 4, 2016

Strassel: The debate was one of the funnest things I’ve ever done STRASSEL Continued from page 1

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

the Press,” “Face the Nation” and “Fox News Sunday” to give her insight on domestic politics, and currently, the 2016 Presidential primaries.

Wall Street Journal Editorial Board member Joseph Rago said Strassel is an extremely thorough reporter and that she is able to stand up to political power.

“She always brings new information to the news of the day, as opposed to, ‘Here’s what I think,’” Rago said. “It’s a pretty rare quality among opinion journalists.”

Strassel grew up in rural Buxton, Ore., which was the center of the burgeoning logging industry at the time. Her father was an auto mechanic, and she explained that she and her family would often drag race on the rural roads.

“I even did demolition derby driving with my mother,” she said. “It was really fun.”

When the time came to apply for college in her senior year of high school, Strassel said that she wasn’t banking on getting into any of her top choices. No one in her family had ever gone to college, so she wasn’t sure what to expect.

“I ended up applying to a bunch of Ivy League schools, hoping just one would pay attention,” Strassel said. “I was remarkably surprised when I got into Princeton.”

She explained that she had decided to apply for early admission to the University largely because of having read novels by F. Scott Fitzgerald, who entered the University as a member of Class of 1917.

“I had this vision in my head of what a great campus this was, and it was just like that when I got there… When my parents and I arrived, I walked around for days with my mouth hanging open, sort of unbelieving that I was there,” she said.

Strassel graduated from Banks High School in 1990 and then attended the University, where she majored in Public Policy and International Affairs at the Wilson School, and obtained a Certificate in Russian Studies. During her freshman year, she joined the crew team as a coxswain.

She wrote for The Tory, the University’s publication for conservative issues and ideas, and joined Cottage Club in her junior year. She also worked in the Reserve Room at Firestone Library.

Regan Fletcher ’92, who was the student manager of the Reserve Room, noted that he and Strassel connected because they both came from

working-class backgrounds.

He explained that their friendship is similar to how Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsburg were best friends, despite being polar opposites.

“When I learned that Scalia and Ginsburg were best friends, the first thing that came to mind was that this is the kind of friendship Kim and I have always had,” Fletcher said. “We can talk about anything and still be completely civil, even though our political views are completely the opposite.”

In the classroom, Strassel enjoyed taking classes with European Literature Professor Emeritus Robert Hollander on Dante’s Inferno.

She noted that she took the class because Hollander was the head of Butler College, where she lived for her first two years as a student.

“He was sort of a mentor to me and encouraged me to apply to Woody Woo, which I did,” Strassel said.

Strassel was inspired to obtain her certificate in Russian Studies because of her cousin, who worked for the CIA. She originally wanted to pursue a career similar to that, and Russia became an interesting topic to study after the fall of the Soviet Union during her second year in college.

She explained that her senior thesis focused on the difficulty of transitioning the Soviet Union’s authoritarian intelligence agency into one that could operate in a democracy. Strassel explored the intelligence agencies of America and other countries and prescribed some advice based on her research.

“Clearly Russia didn’t read my thesis, because there is currently an ex-KGB agent serving as president,” she said.

In order to help pay for college, Strassel became an afterschool caregiver for a local couple’s children in Princeton. Coincidentally, the couple was Peter Kann, the publisher of the Wall Street Journal, and Karen House, the future President of Dow Jones International, the parent company of the WSJ. House said that in 1992, she and her husband put out an ad in the ‘Prince’ to find someone to look after their two kids after school. She noted that many students applied, but ultimately, she and Kann chose Strassel because of her unique background.

“My husband said to me that ‘here’s a kid from a place that’s as small as your hometown,’” House, who grew up in rural Texas, said.

“We were both born without a silver spoon in our

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: The Daily Princetonian is published daily except Saturday and Sunday from September through May and three times a week during January and May by The Daily Princetonian Publishing Company, Inc., 48 University Place, Princeton, N.J. 08540. Mailing address: P.O. Box 469, Princeton, N.J. 08542. Subscription rates: Mailed in the United States $175.00 per year, $90.00 per semester. Office hours: Sunday through Friday, 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Telephones: Business: 609-375-8553; News and Editorial: 609-258-3632. For tips, email news@dailyprincetonian.com. Reproduction of any material in this newspaper without expressed permission of The Daily Princetonian Publishing Company, Inc., is strictly prohibited. Copyright 2014, The Daily Princetonian Publishing Company, Inc. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Daily Princetonian, P.O. Box 469, Princeton, N.J. 08542.

Work for the most respected news source on campus.

E-mail join@dailyprincetonian.com

mouths,” she said.

Strassel was hired, and she traveled with the family all over the world, to places such as Hong Kong and Bali, when House had business trips.

She noted that when she was about to graduate, she originally thought about going to law school, but Kann and House convinced her to try something else.

“They suggested that I spend a year out doing something real in the world before making a decision like going to law school,” Strassel said.

“You’re going to go out there and give your opinions on things, and people are going to give their opinions on you.” kimberley Strassel ’94 journalist

After graduating in 1994, Kann and House gave Strassel a position at the Wall Street Journal as a news assistant for the European edition of the paper in Brussels, Belgium.

She worked on the Central European Economic Review, a magazine published by the WSJ, and helped check facts, set up interviews and copy edit.

She also traveled to Poland, where she conducted an interview with Wojciech Jaruzelski, the former dictator of Poland.

“I also got to do some boar hunting in Poland, which was pretty fun,” she said.

Since she enjoyed the work, Strassel decided to look for a job as an actual journalist.

In 1996, she became a staff writer based in London and covered technology for WSJ Europe. She wrote about the development of the Internet in Europe and how the economies adapted to the new technology and business models.

In 1999, she returned to the United States to cover real estate news. She noted that ever since she joined the paper in 1994, she had always wanted to be on the Editorial Board.

Strassel heard from one of her friends that the Editorial Page was looking to hire an assistant features editor, and she applied for the position. She noted that the Editorial Board was surprised, since she had been on the news team.

“There’s a very strict divide at the WSJ between the news side and editorial page,” she said.

After interviewing, she

was offered the position; she was thrilled. She started out writing a couple of editorials, and, in 2005, was promoted to senior editorial writer and member of the Editorial Board.

Strassel began writing her first signed column in 2005, after repeatedly asking Paul Gigot, the new Chair of the Board, whether she could go down to Washington, D.C., and fill his old position writing “Potomac Watch.” Gigot agreed. Strassel moved to Washington and has been there ever since.

Rago and WSJ Editorial Board Member James Taranto said that Strassel brings a unique viewpoint to Editorial Board meetings, since she is the only member based in Washington, D.C., and is extremely plugged in to whatever is going on.

Strassel explained that the Editorial Board of the WSJ is different from other conservative newspaper boards. She explained that the board is very news driven, and tries to be timely.

“We feel that these days, when news is almost instantaneous, that readers want to know our thoughts on stuff that just happens,” Strassel said.

Strassel’s column “Potomac Watch” is specifically focused on current domestic events, domestic politics and an indepth look at how certain policies are implemented. For example, she noted that when the Editorial Board writes about a certain tax policy, her column focuses on the goal of the policy and the deals being made in Washington to make the policy happen.

“I like to explain this kind of politics to people outside of Washington,” Strassel said.

“Most of America has a day job, and I do what I can to explain politics to them.”

One of her most controversial pieces was related to the IRS Scandal of 2012. She wrote a column on Frank VanderSloot, who gave money to a Super PAC supporting Mitt Romney, and noted how the Obama administration posted his name on a website and wrote insulting things about him.

“I made the case that presidents shouldn’t do such a thing, because it puts a target on the back of private citizens who are taking part in elections,” Strassel said.

Taranto noted that the columns Strassel wrote on Vandersloot and the IRS have been the most important of all her columns, since they highlighted a scandal that otherwise went unreported in the media.

“We had an administrative

agency hijacked by a political movement, which is terrifying and outrageous,” Taranto said. “And yet we keep reading in other newspapers that the administration has been scandal-free.”

Strassel said the best part of her job as a journalist is getting to learn new things every day and being able to meet new and interesting people.

“I get the opportunity to talk every day to some of the smartest people out there who educate me,” she said. “I then pass the information on to the readers.”

She noted that one of the most difficult parts of her job is having to stand up to criticisms from people who disagree with her point of view.

She explained that it is particularly important for columnists to have a very thick skin — she said that her job is not for sensitive people.

“You’re going to go out there and give your opinions on things, and people are going to give their opinions on you,” she said.

Strassel started appearing on the “Journal Editorial Report” in 2005. Each week, she and Gigot interview people connected to a recent political or economic development.

“It’s very different from reporting, where you’re the one asking questions,” Strassel said. “When you go on TV, you’re the one the questions are being asked of.”

Rago said that Strassel is extremely generous and has a great sense of humor, and that she is extremely committed to her job. Fletcher noted that one of Strassel’s greatest strengths is her energy and her willingness to talk to anyone.

Strassel is also the author of two books. Her first published book was “Leaving Women Behind: Modern Families, Outdated Laws,” which she co-wrote with Celeste Colgan and John Goodman. The book is about how free-market policies help women in particularly useful ways. Her latest book “The Intimidation Game” will be released in the summer of 2016.

“The book is about how people are using intimidation tactics to keep their opponents out of office,” Strassel said.

Staying true to her rural roots, Strassel lives with her husband and three children in the smallest incorporated town in Virginia, outside Washington, D.C. She loves spending time outdoors with her family, often sitting around the fire pit in their backyard at night, camping and skiing.

Trump: The border is a disaster; it’s like a piece of Swiss cheese DEBATE

Continued from page 1

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

previous debates.

“I’m softening the position, because we have to keep some talent and brainpower in this country,” he said.

Ohio Governor John Kasich added that he has not gotten involved in many of the squabbles in the GOP debates and that he is the only candidate capable of bringing both parties to work together on areas of concern.

“I can get the crossover votes,” he said.

Kasich added that he has repeatedly been written off as an unlikely candidate in the media, but he will continue to persist in his convictions. He added that his attempts to balance the budget during the Clinton presidency required a great deal of finesse that no other candidate possesses.

“I’m the only person on this stage who actually was the chief architect of balancing the federal budget,” he said.

Cruz said he plans to abolish the IRS due to inherent corruption, while maintaining a Department of Treasury to collect revenue. He also

plans to have a flat tax.

Trump also took heat for manufacturing his clothing in China and Mexico when he had promised to keep jobs in America. He argued in defense that his clothing was being manufactured abroad because those countries had manipulated their currencies.

“You ask him a question and he doesn’t answer back; he tries going back to ‘this little guy’ argument,” Rubio said.

One moderator argued that Trump’s proposed cuts in the Department of Education and Medicare don’t add up, but Trump dismissed this as incorrect.

Florida Senator Marco Rubio argued that Trump never answers the questions because he doesn’t have any answers, to which Trump answered by pointing out Rubio’s inexperience in managing other individuals. He also said that Trump’s foreign policy experience only consists of business negotiations.

However, this is not valid foreign policy experience, both Rubio and Cruz argued.

“I think the American people understand that yelling and cursing at people doesn’t make you a tough guy,” Cruz said.

Cruz invoked sentiments from Reagan’s presidency, arguing that he would rebuild the military so that terrorist cells would fear consequences that might arise from any further attacks on a stronger United States.

Kasich noted that although Cruz talked about Reagan’s presidency, he did not have direct experience in working with Reagan. He continued to argue that he is the most qualified presidential candidate.

Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson did not take part in the debate.

However, he has not officially announced any plans to withdraw from the race.

“I do not see a political path forward in light of last evening’s Super Tuesday primary results; however, this grassroots movement on behalf of ‘We the People’ will continue,” he said.

The debate, which took place at 9:00 p.m. EST in Detroit, Mich., was moderated by Fox News’ Megyn Kelly, anchor of The Kelly Files, along with Fox Chief Political Anchor Bret Baier and Fox News Sunday Anchor Chris Wallace. The debate was sponsored by Fox News.

The Michigan Republican primary will be held next Tuesday.

Friday march 4, 2016

Barry’s courses among most popular in NES PETITION Continued from page 1

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

department had not decided to offer Barry’s course on Afghanistan and Great Powers, she, together with Hassan Ejaz ’18, organized a second petition, specifically requesting that NES 307: Afghanistan & the Great Powers, 1747-2001 be restarted next spring with Barry as the continued lecturer. She said that this petition has accumulated over 150 signatures and has been sent to the NES department, as well as Prentice and Eisgruber.

“The lack of transparency regarding this matter is honestly shocking to me. I’m not sure how anyone could have expected for students to passively accept Dr. Barry’s dismissal. He is loved and admired by many students. This isn’t something that can be swept under the rug,” Mirzada said.

“In the past, NES 307 has been one of the most popular classes in the NES department.

The seats in the class have been filled, if not overenrolled, almost every semester that it has been taught. In addition, the course has had great ratings on EasyPCE and TigerHub,” the petition read.

While most classes in the NES department have between 6 and 190 students, Barry’s class NES 354: Granada and the Fall of Spanish Islam currently has 118 students enrolled and his other class, NES 324: Introduction to Later Sufism, has 172 students enrolled.

She added that Prentice replied two weeks ago saying that she would respond to the letter, but has not yet done so.

More than 80 alumni have expressed interest in participating in Barry’s defense through both letter-writing and other avenues, Kelly Roache ’12 GS ’15 said.

“On a personal level, his investment, empathy, perceptivity as an advisor are rare and praiseworthy amid the breakneck pace of a place like Princeton,” she said.

An additional letter, co-written by 18 students who are majoring in the NES department, was published in the ‘Prince‘ as a letter to the editor on Wednesday.

“We strongly protest the impending dismissal of Dr. Barry from the Princeton faculty. Dr. Barry is a tremendous asset to the University, as well as a leading expert in his field,” the letter read. “His loss would be irreplaceable and his dismissal, just two years from retirement, decidedly unjust… Above all else, Dr. Barry exemplifies Princeton’s commitment to undergraduate teaching.”

All of the groups involved in writing these petitions and letters said that Barry was not in any way involved in the making of these documents.

Barry said the NES administration and Nassau Hall told him that the reasons for his non-renewal had nothing to do with his teaching performance.

Instead, the reasons had more to do with the department’s future hiring plans and the administration’s expressed interest in hiring a “junior person, at entry level.”

According to Barry, the only issue that has been raised about his teaching by the administration was that he had been too generous in giving out As. “I’m sorry these students have produced such extraordinary work that I can’t look them in the eye and not give them below the A level,” he said in response.

Barry noted that according to procedures of administration, decisions regarding the dismissal or hiring of faculty usually belong to a departmental head, with approval from the Dean of the Faculty.

Near Eastern Studies concentrator Preston Lim ’16 said that Barry’s class on Afghanistan is likely popular because of the topic’s relevance to modern day international relations.

He added that people are likely drawn to his classes on Sufism and Spanish Islam because people have heard about how life-changing the classes are, based on how Barry approaches the material and draws connections.

Mirzada said that as an Afghan-American, she is forever grateful for Barry’s selflessness and influence on her course of study and her career path.

“Dr. Barry has inspired me and he restores my faith in humanity’s goodness,” she said.

“All I can say is that the consequences of the decision that is being taken now are going to affect my personal life very badly. But I cannot allow that in anyway to affect the quality, if it such, of teaching that I give to my students, or the quality of the written work that I publish regularly. I cannot allow that, because it’s one’s backbone, it keeps one standing, alive,” explained Barry.

Mirzada said that the Princeton Muslim Advocates for Social Justice will be holding an informational table in the Frist Campus Center on Friday for those who would like to write a letter in solidarity with Barry. She explained that these letters will be delivered to the NES department and to Nassau Hall, with the hope that upper level administration will be able to override Barry’s dismissal from the NES department.

Min Pullan, University Media Relations Specialist, said that decisions to make a term appointment or renew an appointment at the end of a term are made on a case-by-case basis.

The last time that the university was publicly implicated in the question of the dismissal of faculty was in 2011, when Antonio Calvo, a senior lecturer in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese Languages, committed suicide, because he had been suspended and was on trial for his contract not to be renewed.

Oop s, sorly, Dos theeS butherr u?

Join the ‘Prince’ copy department.

Email join@dailyprincetonian.com

The Daily Princetonian

page 3

CHAPEL

FILE: PHOTO

In an afternoon, the lights enter the chapel through the stained glass, coloring the grey stone walls.

T HE DA ILY

Are you interested in Driving around campus in a golf cart, delivering the paper the campus wakes up to, AND getting PAID to do all of this?

Email

bm@dailyprincetonian.com

Opinion

Friday march 4, 2016

page 4

{ www.dailyprincetonian.com }

EDITORIAL

Denouncing Governor Christie’s endorsement of Donald Trump

L

ast Friday, New Jersey Gov. and ex officio University Trustee Chris Christie endorsed Donald Trump in his bid for the Republican nomination and the White House. This Board believes that this action runs contrary to both democratic and University values and calls on Christie to renege on his endorsement and remove any affiliation to Trump and his campaign.

Trump has made several statements antithetical to values that the University holds dear. Section 1.1.4 of Rights, Rules and Responsibilities states that while the University “acknowledge[s] the difficulties inherent in creating a community of” differing backgrounds, beliefs and experiences, it is committed to supporting the creation of such a diverse community.

Trump has not conducted his campaign in accordance with this value. He has argued that he saw Muslim-Americans “celebrating” following the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, a claim that has not been substantiated and simply serves to stoke animosity towards Muslims living peacefully within America’s borders. Similarly, his refusal to immediately disavow the support of former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke speaks to his lack of regard for the millions of minority group members that the KKK has harmed with violence and hate. Trump has also embraced a broadly xenophobic and intensely ignorant view of Hispanic-Americans and Hispanic immigrants in order to divide the country and propagate his campaign’s image. Section 1.2.1 asserts that while the University seeks to foster vigorous de-

bate, “alienating … individuals” whose diverse perspectives enrich this debate “harm[s] the whole community.” Even if Trump doesn’t believe what he says, that does not change that fact that his comments insult and demean large portions of the Princeton community. Christie should recognize what 2012 Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney and other politicians have termed “disqualifying [and] disgusting” remarks and recant his endorsement accordingly.

Beyond his affronts to University standards, Trump’s comments further run contrary to the values of a democratic society. We refer to his response to criticism that he’s faced in the media. Trump has stated his willingness to “‘open up’ libel laws” and make it easier to sue news organizations. This type of legislation would create a chilling effect on free press, weakening one of the most important rights afforded to American citizens.

Again, whether or not Trump, the man, believes what Trump, the candidate, says is immaterial. His willingness to directly flout the tenets of the Constitution in response to simple critiques does not inspire confidence in the reaction a Trump administration would have to criticism in the face of controversy. Christie should have taken this into consideration before he endorsed Trump, and we call on him to rectify his poor judgement.

Christie may join Trump supporters and argue that Trump “tells it like it is,” and that we should hold this unabashed commitment to the truth above the concerns stated above. Even if the

vol. cxl

University placed such little weight on these concerns, the Board rejects this argument on the basis of fact. Pulitzer Prize-winning fact-checker Politifact rates 76% of Trump’s statements that it has reviewed as “mostly false,” “false” or “pants on fire” — the latter refers to a statement that is willfully misleading or egregiously incorrect. Trump’s statements are not just ideologically offensive — they are objectively untrue.

This Board does not make a partisan objection to Trump’s political stances, nor do we fault him for changing his view on several issues. Many candidates share some of Trump’s views, and almost all of them have changed their position on issues during this election cycle. We recognize that vigorous discussion of the merits and flaws of various candidates and platforms is necessary for the flourishing of the American political system. Different candidates can present incompatible yet sincerely held beliefs that should be discussed in the open. However, we find a trustee’s endorsement of a candidate who holds no regard for University and American values unacceptable and urge Christie to reverse his endorsement immediately.

Connor Pfeiffer ’18, Theodore Furchtgott ’18, and Paul Draper ’18 recused themselves from the writing of this editorial.

The Editorial Board is an independent body and decides its opinions separately from the regular staff and editors of The Daily Princetonian. The Board answers only to its Chair, the Opinion Editor and the Editor-in-Chief.

Sneaks up every time rita fang ’17

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

Do-Hyeong Myeong ’17 editor-in-chief

Daniel Kim ’17

business manager

EDITORIAL BOARD chair Cydney Kim ’17 Allison Berger ’18 Elly Brown ’18 Thomas Clark ’18 Paul Draper ’18 Daniel Elkind ’17 Theodore Furchgott ’18 Wynne Kerridge ’16 Jeffrey Leibenhaut ’16 Sergio Leos ’17 Carolyn Liziewski ’18 Sam Mathews ’17 Connor Pfeiffer ’18 Ashley Reed ’18 Aditya Trivedi ’16

BOARD OF TRUSTEES president Richard W. Thaler, Jr. ’73 vice presidents John G. Horan ’74 Thomas E. Weber ’89 secretary Betsy L. Minkin ’77 treasurer Michael E. Seger ’71 Craig Bloom ’88 Gregory L. Diskant ’70 William R. Elfers ’71 Stephen Fuzesi ’00 Zachary A. Goldfarb ’05 Joshua Katz Kathleen Kiely ’77 Rick Klein ’98 James T. MacGregor ’66 Alexia Quadrani Jerry Raymond ’73 Randall Rothenberg ’78 Annalyn Swan ’73 Douglas Widmann ’90

NIGHT STAFF 3.3.16 staff copy editors Jordan Antebi ’19 Noah Hastings ’19 Isabel Hsu ’19 Katie Peterson ’19

Privilege and the status quo Imani Thornton

contributing columnist

L

et’s be honest: many of us love the status quo. I hate the status quo, but it sustains me and if you happen to be affiliated with this university, it may also sustain you. This sustenance, however, is no justification for its maintenance.

The student protest in November was a fight against the oppression that this system — not solely Princeton University — has amassed for centuries. But the idea that Princeton students can be oppressed is baff ling to some. Can students who attend an Ivy League institution, who own MacBooks, who can read and write theses, be truly oppressed?

It is true that I am not oppressed in the traditional sense. Certain parts of my identity afford me privilege that has no parallel among the vast majority of the “global south” and even some peers who walk by me every day. But even if I were a white, cisgender, heterosexual, Prot-

estant, upper-class male, I would still carry with me the vestiges of oppression. This should not be a radical thought. More than a century ago, Frederick Douglass wrote, “No man can put a chain about the ankle of his fellow man without at last finding the other end fastened about his own neck.” Put another way: your privilege may save you from surface-level threat, but that is it. Your white privilege may, among other things, grant you easier access to jobs. If you are cisgender, you may not be killed as a result of your gender identity. If you identify with these brackets, this should not make you feel threatened or less entitled to the resources you have.

Instead it should indicate something else: in the end, regardless of our privilege, we all suffer. Imagine all that is lost when we decide that the comfort of our status quo means keeping our fellow humans down so that “we” can stay af loat.

What does that mean for us?

How much do we share with disadvantaged communities both here and abroad? Maybe not much, yet

we should think of their fate as attached to ours. It is difficult for us to do this, even when we join service-oriented student organizations. Many of us are dedicated to promoting energy efficiency at the University or prison and education reform, but ultimately this work may mean less to us due to the privilege we have gained upon entering Princeton. From the moment we walked through the FitzRandolph Gate, we were inundated with the idea that this is the “best damn place of all,” cloaked with the sentimentality of “Old Nassau.” While this serves to make us proud of our school, it contrasts Princeton with the “real world” where suddenly so many things are not possible. We may go from student government to national governments, but some of us become jaded. The real world we join does not take kindly to protests or protesters, often deeming them rioters. Thus the “real world” upholds a status quo that tells our fellow human beings to stop being offended and maintains a white supremacist, patriarchal framework

that has existed for far too long.

So what can we do with the four years we have at Princeton? We are privileged in the sense that we attend an Ivy League institution. This cannot be stressed enough, as recognition of this is not justification for why our work on campus should be just another resume-builder.

Rather, it should be used as motivation to be understanding of the ways we can use our positions at the University to push the boundaries of what is acceptable. We must never become complacent in our understandings of our place in the status quo, even if our battles on campus appear small and irrelevant to what occurs in the “outside world.” It’s the fight that matters, as well as the willingness to believe that the change we make here on campus will translate to change in the “real world.” We should challenge ourselves to question everything, even if we are told there are no answers.

Imani Thornton is a sophomore from Matteson, Ill. She can be reached at it4@ princeton.edu.

Friday march 4, 2016

Tigers face Clarkson to open postseason play M. HOCKEY Continued from page 6

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

itself to be a formidable force on the ice. Clarkson managed to take the win in its second match against Princeton earlier this month with a 5-2 victory over the Tigers. This time it would be the Knights, who surged late in the last period with three goals, who iced the tight match.

The Knights and Tigers have already met 11 times in the ECAC playoffs. Clarkson currently leads the tally 8-3, having knocked the Tigers out of contention in their last four meetings.

Making matters more difficult is Clarkson’s recent momentum. While the Knights failed to capture a single win in 2015, they came out of the New Year determined and ready to play. Since then, Clarkson has skated its way to fifth place in the ECAC, winning 10 matches. Indeed, they ended the regular season with a weekend sweep of Harvard and Dartmouth.

While Clarkson may have history on its side, a Princeton

The Daily Princetonian

victory would not be unprecedented. In fact, the Princeton squad pulled off an away win during its match-up against Clarkson in the 2014 ECAC tournament. The Tigers won the hotly contested match in overtime.

Although the Tigers have struggled as of late, the opening of the ECAC tournament provides a great opportunity for the Princeton squad to revitalize its campaign. With the regular season behind them, Princeton will try and focus on winning vital conference matches and moving past earlier defeats.

In fact, while its record might not show it, the Princeton squad has shown itself capable of forcing tough matches. Indeed, the Tigers have had four overtime encounters this season and played many games determined by a single goal. The team will now be looking to string these moments together for a road victory in the first round of the ECAC. As the first round of ECAC starts, we should see some thrilling action as the Tigers try to extend their season.

Lacrosse confronts Johns Hopkins in key contest M. LAX

Continued from page 6

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

fifth straight year the road team has won the matchup between the two teams. The path to victory this year will be more difficult, however, as Currier has been suspended for the game. In last year’s meeting, he had two goals, three assists, won six of his eight faceoffs and had eight groundballs. He, along with Ambler, is also on the

Tewaaraton Watch List, the award given to the best lacrosse players of the season in the NCAA. During the season, Ambler has compiled four goals and seven assists and will be looked at more frequently with Currier on the bench. Hopkins, ranked 13th in the nation, is in the middle of a tough stretch for the Tigers in which they play three ranked Big 10 teams straight. Following this game, the Tigers will face off against No. 8 Maryland.

Women’s water polo to continue strong showing against the Crimson W. WOPO Continued from page 6

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

came against Bucknell, the only team Princeton has lost to this season. In last season’s contest, Princeton prevailed 10-5 in Cambridge, largely behind the strength of thengoalie Ashleigh Johnson’s 16 saves. With Johnson no longer in net and Marist coming in with much more experience in close games against strong opponents, Princeton will have to play a great game to repeat last year’s convincing victory.

After taking on Marist, the Tigers play the hosts, No. 16 Harvard (8-1), in a game not only for rivalry bragging rights but also seeding in the end of year CWPA championships. Like Marist, Harvard has also fallen to Hawaii this season, but apart from that lone blemish has seemed dominant, convincingly disposing of a talented California Baptist University squad at the Princeton Invitational and scoring a tight victory against No. 13 Indiana, another contender for the CWPA crown. Last year Princeton won both matchups by a combined score of 27-13, but Harvard’s improvement and performances so

far this season suggest that this weekend’s matchup will not be so one-sided. If the Tigers are to prevail, they will need to slow down Kristen Hong, who has 32 points through the Crimson’s first nine games.

Princeton closes out the weekend on Sunday against No. 26 Iona (2-4), a team it has already beat 15-8 once this season. In that previous meeting at the Princeton Invitational, sophomore utility and leading scorer Haley Wan had a huge game, scoring four goals and assisting four more on the way to being named National Player of the Week. Junior center Morgan Hallock also a had good day, scoring three goals in addition to tallying three steals and drawing four ejections.

A similar performance from those two offensive standouts would go a long way toward Princeton’s overcoming the Gaels and ending the weekend on a strong note.

In one of its biggest weekends of the young season, Princeton will learn a lot about itself as a team and go a long way toward determining how the rest of its season unfolds. The games will be available to stream on the Ivy League Digital Network.

T HE DA ILY

Think beyond broadsheet. Work for web.

join@dailyprincetonian.com

page 5

COURTESY OF PRINCETON ATHLETICS

The wrestling team will take on a tough schedule at the EIWA tournament this weekend.

Men’s wrestling looks to finish season strong while hosting home invitational WRESTLING Continued from page 6

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

Princeton has defeated Ivy League rivals Penn and Columbia, it suffered a close 18-16 loss to Navy earlier in the season.

For every Princeton wrestler, the EIWA championship is a special moment, the culmination of a season’s worth of hard work. For some, the reason may be even more significant: throughout the tournament, 51 bids to the prestigious NCAA wrestling championships, where EIWA wrestlers will face off against the best wrestlers nationwide, will be given out.

The Tigers hope to claim at least one individual title; the last time a Princetonian placed first in an EIWA event was in 2003.

One of the exciting weights to look at is the 174-pound category, where 20-11 Jonathan Schle-

ifer, a finalist last year, will go against some of the strongest wrestlers nationwide in his category, including Penn’s Casey Kent, who narrowly defeated Schleifer earlier this season. At the 141-pound bracket, Laster, also a previous EIWA finalist, will face stiff competition from Randy Cruz of Lehigh and Todd Preston of Harvard; Laster lost narrowly to both opponents earlier this season and will be looking to earn his revenge on the mat this weekend. 18-9 Ayala, who has qualified for the NCAA tournament twice prior, faces one of the most stacked categories at the 184-pound.

Though seeded relatively low, he’ll have the chance to play underdog against a few wrestlers who won narrow victories over him earlier in the season, including Lehigh’s nationallyranked Nathaniel Brown, and possibly be able to face off

against reigning NCAA national champion Gabe Dean of Cornell. 23-9 O’Donnell, in the 275-pound category, is one of the highest-ranked wrestlers in his weight category, while perhaps Princeton’s best chance of clinching an individual title is 28-3 Brett Harner in the 197-pound category. Harner, the top seed in the tournament, is ranked 12th nationally and has only suffered one loss to a wrestler in the tournament, Navy’s Michael Woulfe.

Though they have traditionally been unable to reach the top ranks of the ferocious EIWA conference, the Princeton men’s wrestling team looks to cap off this groundbreaking season with an impressive finish in the EIWA tournament. The skill, confidence and maturity that the team has earned this season look to pay dividends on the mat this weekend.

Did you know... that the ‘Prince’ has a Facebook page?

Like our page!

Procrastinate productively!

Friday march 4, 2016

Sports

page 6

{ www.dailyprincetonian.com } W O M E N ’ S W AT E R P O L O

Women’s water polo to take on rival Harvard

By Alan Balson contributor

This weekend, Princeton women’s water polo will travel to Cambridge to play its first Ivy League opponent, Harvard, as well as Marist College and Iona College. After suffering its first loss of the season at the hands of No. 20 Wagner this past weekend during an otherwise successful trip to the Bucknell Invitational, the No. 15 Tigers (6-1) face one of their largest

tests of the young season, as all three of their upcoming opponents are ranked in the top 30 in the country. On Saturday morning, Princeton takes on No. 27 Marist (3-9).

Despite its below .500 record, Marist is not a team the Tigers will take lightly. Most of its losses have gone to ranked opponents, including a narrow 8-9 defeat to Harvard and a 6-10 setback at the hands of No. 6 Hawaii. Furthermore, one of the Foxes’ three wins See W. WOPO page 5

COURTESY OF PRINCETON ATHLETICS

Women’s water polo will attempt to continue its early season succcesses when they take on the Crimson.

MEN’S LACROSSE

Men’s lacrosse faces huge game against Johns Hopkins

By Chris Grubbs contributor

After getting snubbed at last year’s NCAA Tournament, men’s lacrosse (1-1 overall, 0-0 Ivy) looks to make a statement this season. Led by senior captains Matt O’Connor, Austin deButts, Ryan Ambler and junior captain Bear Goldstein, the Tigers started the season with a victory. The Tigers played New Jersey Institute of Technology at home, the program’s second year, and defeated them by a score of 21-4. Junior Zach Currier had career highs in goals, assists and points, with four, three

and seven, respectively. Additionally, eight of the twelve players who scored in the game recorded their first career goal, including electric sophomore midfielder Austin Sims and freshman Charlie Durbin.

After the convincing week one victory, the Tigers travelled to Long Island to face Hofstra University, who dismantled University of North Carolina just the week before, moving Hofstra from unranked to No. 12. The Tigers suffered a tough overtime loss after rallying from a 10-8 deficit in the fourth quarter thanks to goals from senior midfielder Bobby Weaver and

junior attacker Gavin McBride. Hofstra proceeded to win the overtime faceoff and buried a goal 14 seconds into the period. Sims extended his goal streak to two, while Currier had 11 ground balls and four forced turnovers while winning five of nine faceoffs. Goldstein limited Sam Llinares, a Tewaaraton Watch List candidate, to only one goal and one assist.

This Saturday, the team travels to Baltimore to face Johns Hopkins (1-2) for their 86th meeting in their illustrious histories. The Tigers beat Hopkins last year in overtime in Baltimore 16-15, the See M. LAX page 5

COURTESY OF PRINCETON ATHLETICS

Lacrosse will play top-ranked Johns Hopkins this Saturday.

MEN’S HOCKEY

Hockey to begin ECAC tournament on Friday

By David Xin associate sports editor

JACK MAZZULO :: SENIOR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Men’s hockey will head into the postseason this weekend as it faces off against the Clarkson Golden Knights.

This Friday, the men’s hockey team will travel to Clarkson for the first round of the Eastern College Athletic Conference tournament. The Tigers will be looking to outplay their longtime rivals in a best-of-three series, featuring game two on Saturday and a third game, if necessary, on Sunday.

Despite a difficult season, the No. 12 Tigers have shown that they are more than ca-

pable of beating the Golden Knights. Indeed, in their first meeting of the season, Princeton shut out the Knights in a convincing 3-0 victory. The Tigers controlled the rhythm of that match, scoring a goal in each period. In addition, junior goaltender Colton Phinney earned his first shutout with 31 saves.

The Orange and Black will need to replicate their performance at Clarkson this week if they hope to beat the Knights.

The Clarkson squad has shown See M. HOCKEY page 5

WRESTLING

Wrestling will host EIWA tournament, hope for top-five finish

By Michael Gao contributor

In 1978, a dominant Princeton men’s wrestling team captured the EIWA title. In the history of Princeton wrestling, this was perhaps one of the strongest squads of all time: the 1978 team went on to claim 14th in the NCAA championships

that year.

Since then, the Tigers have not placed within the top five of the tournament. After all, the EIWA features some of the toughest and most highlyranked wrestling teams nationally, like Bucknell, Lehigh and perennial Ivy League champion Cornell. But after a tremendously successful season,

Tweet of the Day “I watch too much House of Cards to trust any politician. That being said, I’d vote for Frank Underwood.” jason ray (@ YJ43rd), senior linebacker, football

including taking down rival Penn for the first time in 24 matchups and wrestling for the Ivy League championships for the first time in 30 years against Cornell, the Tigers are imbued with confidence and will.

Though coming off a tough 1716 loss to in-state rival Rider, Princeton hopes to make this year’s EIWA championships a

historic one, as well as an auspicious beginning to the wrestling postseason.

The Tigers will be represented by freshmen Pat D’Arcy, Noah Ajram and Mike D’Angelo; sophomore Jonathan Schleifer; juniors Jordan Laster, Brett Harner and Ray O’Donnell; and seniors Adam Krop, Judd Ziegler and Abram Ayala. Re-

Stat of the Day

11 meetings The Princeton hockey team has faced rival Clarkson 11 times in the postseason.

alistically, the Tigers probably won’t be in contention for the EIWA title: Cornell and Lehigh, both top-ranked squads, will be the overwhelming favorites.

But the Tigers are looking for a high, top-five spot, meaning they must overcome tough teams from Navy, Drexel, Penn, Columbia and American. While See WRESTLING page 5

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