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Monday December 3, 2018 vol. CXLII no. 110
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STUDENT LIFE
USG presidential candidates speak on their platforms By Zach Shevin, Oliver Effron, and Ezra Zimble Contributors
The Daily Princetonian sat down with Undergraduate Student Government (USG) presidential candidates Zarnab Virk ’20, Electra Frelinghuysen ’20, and Nate Lambert ’20, who answered questions about themselves, their platforms, and their plans for the University. Polling opens on Monday, Dec. 3 at noon in Helios and closes at noon on Wednesday, Dec. 5. Though half of the elected positions are uncontested, elections for USG President, Social Chairperson, Class of 2020 Senator, Class of 2021 Senator, and Class of 2022 Senator are contested. The Daily Princetonian: Tell us about yourself. (Where are you from, what do you like to do in your free time, etc.) Nate Lambert: “I’m a junior in the Woodrow Wilson School pursuing a certificate in the Gender and Sexuality Studies program. My main extracurricular at Princeton has been working on the USG Senate since freshman year. I started as a Class of 2020 Senator and then this past year served as Vice President.” Zarnab Virk: “I was born in Pakistan. That’s where my whole family is from. I moved to Canada when I was really young, and that’s where I grew up. I moved in Michigan for high school, and that’s where I currently live. I am a psychology major. I came in as pre-med, and now I’m thinking of going into business development, and [I have] a certificate in neuroscience, since I’m really interested in that stuff. Some of my hobbies include playing tennis — I was on the tennis team in high school — and I’m really interested in photography.” Electra Frelinghuysen: “I’m from
New York. What do I like to do in my free time? Recently I’ve been interested in getting re-into knitting. I used to knit a lot in middle school and have lost it so I need to find a local place that sells knitting needles. But more practically, I play soccer and tennis, and I’m also involved in model congress on campus which is fun.” DP: Why did you decide to run for USG President? NL: “Working with [USG President] Rachel [Yee ’19] the past year was a really character-building and fun experience on USG, and I felt like I have a lot of energy left to give and really care about the issues we’ve been working on. Also, a lot of the projects we’ve worked on this year we’ve made progress on, but they’re the kind of projects that take more than one year to work on, and I feel like I’m in a good position to kind of continue working on those projects with everyone and hopefully get some strong deliverables next year.” ZV: “I decided to run for USG president because, coming into junior year, I noticed that there was a really big divide between students who were in an eating club and students who were not in an eating club. Not being one in myself, this was really strange for me. I was used to being with my friends all the time and doing everything together. Suddenly, I felt like, ‘What happened?’ I don’t think there’s enough to address that on campus, and I think it’s still relevant to people who are in eating clubs because a lot of the times friend groups get split up over the different clubs.” EF: “It originally stemmed this fall from a realization that Career Services was more geared towards jobs in finance and consulting and a See PRESIDENT page 4
STUDENT LIFE
STUDENT LIFE
SONYA ISENBERG :: PRINCETONIAN STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Lou Chen ’19 conducts the Trenton Youth Orchestra.
Chen ’19, Pace Center lead classical music accessibility movement in Trenton By Claire Silberman Contributor
An hour before the school bell would signal the end of Trenton Central High School’s (TCHS) day Nov. 30, around 200 eleventh and twelfthgrade music students packed the school’s auditorium for “Tigers in Trenton!”. The event involved performances by three University performing arts groups: Princ-
eton Bhangra, Princeton Chamber Music Society, and Princeton Pianists Ensemble (PPE). While the concert was the first of its kind performed for Trenton high schoolers, Friday’s event was the beginning of a larger outreach initiative to foster a connection between University students and the Trenton community through music.
STUDENT LIFE
The student spearheading this initiative is Lou Chen ’19, outreach director of the Princeton Chamber Music Society and director of the Trenton Youth Orchestra (TYO). Founded in 2016, TYO aims to make classical music more accessible to local high school students. Over the past two years the program has grown to include 13 See ORCHESTRA page 6
STUDENT LIFE
PSRJ, PSGE host annual Bat invades Menstruation Celebration Frist, third Contributor
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Obama ’85 spoke about her U. days at the Wells Fargo Center on Sunday, Dec. 2.
Obama ’85 recalls time at the U. in Philadelphia trip By Karolen Eid Contributor
Thousands of people lined up at the entrance to the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia an hour before Michelle Obama’s ’85 book tour event on Thursday, Nov. 29. Nearby, peddlers sold t-shirts with the former first lady’s picture printed on the front. Attendees clutched copies of Obama’s memoir “Becoming.” Inside, feel-good pop songs from Obama’s playlist blasted
In Opinion
through the speakers as the seats quickly filled up. Before long, comedian and writer Phoebe Robinson, the moderator for the event, welcomed Obama on stage. Among the people in the audience were several University students, many of whom attended as Carl A. Fields Fellows, receiving the tickets through the University. During the conversation, which discussed Obama’s life See OBAMA page 2
Contributing columnist Priya Vulchi discusses the bittersweet end of a tradition in her courtyard, and senior columnist Madeleine Marr evaluates women candidates’ sweeping entrance into the next Congress. PAGE 8
Many students walking through Frist Campus Center on Friday, Nov. 30 paused when they saw cupcakes decorated with labia and chocolate covered pretzels designed to look like bloody tampons. The desserts were part of Princeton Students for Gender Equality (PSGE) and Princeton Students for Reproductive Justice’s (PSRJ) third annual Menstruation Celebration, an event that aims to destigmatize conversation about periods. “It’s not just about raising awareness about several problems around menstruation like the lack of access to menstrual products, but also just trying to reduce some of the stigma around periods,” PSRJ co-president Mabel Felix ’20 said. In addition to the creative food decoration, the celebration included a game of “Pin the Ovaries on the Uterus”, a “Tampon Toss” with the aim of throwing a tampon into an oversized vagina, and a station for watercolor painting. “It’s a really important issue and I think it’s great that there is such an open platform to talk about it,” Kirsten Keels ’21 said.
There was also a box where students could donate menstrual products to homeless people who menstruate through Support the Girls, an organization dedicated to distributing bras and menstrual products to women in need. After donating, people could enter a raffle to win a diva cup, cramp care oil blend, an echo dot, or the event’s featured book, Jennifer WeissWolf’s Periods Gone Public: Taking a Stand for Menstrual Equity. All of the activities were meant to educate University students about menstrual equity and the stigma associated with menstruation. Organizers said menstrual equity is a movement for equal access to menstrual products for everyone with periods, especially homeless, incarcerated, and economically insecure people. According to Felix, University students are less informed on the general topic of menstruation than some would think. “The two previous menstruation celebrations, we had videos of some of the officers going around asking people — mostly men, who don’t get periods — asking them what menstruation was and it’s reSee MENSTRUATION page 3
Today on Campus 4:30 p.m.: Former governor Christine Todd Whitman will speak on “What’s Next for Democracy.” Robertson Hall/Bowl 016
floor gets evacuated By Rebecca Han Contributor
At approximately 6 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 2, students evacuated the third f loor of Frist Campus Center in the McGraw Center due to a bat sighting. University spokesperson Ben Chang confirmed the existence of the bat. “Public Safety was alerted and identified the bat, cleared students out of the area, and has closed off the space until our contracted pest control service can come to capture and remove it,” Chang said. Christopher Umanzor ‘19 walked up to the third f loor around 7:15 p.m. and saw a barricade of chairs with a note that said, “This area is closed off. There was a bat.” Umanzor is a former staff writer with The Daily Princetonian. Umanzor did not see the bat but noted that he “felt it emotionally.” According to the CDC, See BAT page 3
WEATHER
By Marissa Michaels
HIGH
52˚
LOW
34˚
Partly Cloudy chance of rain:
0 percent