SPIA continues domestic, international trips among some Trump administration concerns
By Sena Chang & Luke Grippo
Senior News Writer & Staff News Writer
Despite shifting concerns over how the Trump administration may affect trips both internationally and domestically, School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA)-sponsored travel will continue as normal.
During Wintersession, many students traveled to El Salvador and Cuba. In December, several policy task forces also traveled to New York City, Albany, and Washington D.C. to present their policy recommendations to partners.
Task forces bring together small groups of students to conduct analyses of public policy issues for clients, who are often public officials or experts in the not-for-profit sector. These task forces often take students beyond Princeton’s campus for fieldwork.
Alexa Marsh ’25, who was on the Cuba Wintersession trip, highlighted the social context obtained through the trips.
“I really appreciate that SPIA does create these opportunities for students,” Marsh commented. She also studied abroad last Spring in Cape
Town, South Africa, through the department’s international policy task force. “It’s nice to have a balance of both the academic side — engaging with these lectures and people who study and research these things — and then also talking to local people and hearing about their real experiences.”
In September 2024, Vivian Bui ’26 joined the inaugural AI policy task force for SPIA, led by Ali Nouri, a deputy assistant to former President Joe Biden. Four months later, she and her classmates met with Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) to present their policy recommendations on AI and national security during a day of studentled briefings on Capitol Hill, at the White House, and at the Department of Energy.
“Despite it being a requirement for my major, it was extremely formative and enriching to go on that trip because I got to develop an outof-classroom experience where I am not just researching and presenting policy recommendations to a blank void, but I was able to interact with professionals in the policy word and receive feedback on a semesterlong project,” Bui wrote to The Daily Princetonian.
Sol Choi ’26 was on another one of the policy task force trips to Washington, D.C. In a statement to the ‘Prince,’ Choi shared that “It was an incredible experience touring the inside of the White House, World Bank, and the Hill with SPIA alum. Listening to their career advice and their paths after Princeton was so gratifying.”
The Trump administration’s rhetoric on immigration and foreign students, however, has sparked concern among SPIA students about the future viability of these trips.
“I do think, unfortunately, that the unpredictability of everything under his administration will potentially lead to difficulties with continuing the trips, or maybe just extra hurdles and obstacles and things that need to be checked off of lists to make sure everything runs okay and smoothly,” Marsh said.
She recalled that during the third day of her Wintersession trip to Cuba, Biden eased sanctions on Cuba through executive action, only for Trump to reinstate the embargo immediately after taking office.
“It’s a bit of a tense situation, and I do think that might have an impact,” Marsh said.
Dining halls scramble to source eggs amid national shortage
By Tess Weinreich Senior News writer
As flu cases in New Jersey rise, another contagion, the avian flu, has caused an absence from students’ breakfast plates: shelled eggs.
Amid a national shortage, Princeton dining halls will not be serving shelled eggs in food preparations until further notice. At least one eating club, Cannon Dial Elm, has temporarily discontinued certain dining options with eggs.
As egg prices rise in New Jersey — consumers and grocery stores in the state report a dozen eggs selling for between $4 and $7 — cage-free eggs have borne the brunt of inflating prices. “Cage-free” refers to farm environments where chickens who lay eggs solely live in outdoor spaces, rather than wire cages.
According to Lauren Belinsky, the Assistant Director of Marketing and Communication for Campus Dining, cage-free liquid eggs are now being served in dining halls.
Signs posted in dining halls on campus on Feb. 15 notified students of this change, indicating that dining “will pause the use of all shell eggs in our operations until the national egg shortage stabilizes.”
Belinsky stated that the use of liquid eggs aims to ensure “minimal disruption” to the dining program and noted that dining has not yet received any feedback from students regarding the change.
Some students seeking their go-to egg orders in the dining halls reported initial surprise at the liquid egg alternative, but they found it to pose minimal problems to their breakfast experience.
Alexander Pereyra ’28 said in an interview with The Daily Princetonian, “I was really disappointed … I feel like that’s the one healthy thing you can really get here for breakfast. But it’s okay because they have the omelet mix and egg whites.”
“As we work with our suppliers, it has become clear that shelled eggs — particularly cage-free shelled eggs — are in very limited supply,” wrote Belinsky in an email to the ‘Prince.’
Alongside dining halls, Cannon Dial Elm Club has temporarily removed all eggs from its lunch menu due to rising prices, according to an email sent to the club from its general manager, William Conrad.
“Our egg price has increased $100 in the last 3 weeks for a case of 30 dozen and to -
day [Feb. 11] I was not able to get eggs at all,” Conrad said in the email. The yellow eye BLT and egg quesadilla were removed from the Cannon Dial Elm lunch menu, effective Wednesday, Feb. 12. While the change to liquid eggs in the dining halls may be temporary, its impact may be wide due to eggs’ popularity as a breakfast option.
“I’m appalled. I don’t understand. They were a staple in my breakfast,” said Emily Phillips ’28. “I love having my hard boiled eggs in the morning,” she added.
The move to liquid eggs marks the latest update in recently shifting dining hall practices pertaining to eggs. Last week, several dining halls temporarily shifted to using shelled caged eggs in light of supply issues — marking a break with a University commitment made in 2006 to serve cagefree eggs, a policy outlined in Campus Dining’s sustainability timeline.
The move toward cage-free eggs in 2006 was, in part, spurred by activism on the part of the student group Greening Princeton. The temporary reversal of this policy was not met with push back from student groups. However, not all community members approved of the decision.
Audrey Chau ’25, an international student from Vietnam, agreed that the actions of the Trump administration may make international trips more difficult to plan.
“I think international groups could be really hard logistic-wise. Thinking about the new administration, and what that means for immigration … Now, very few people know for sure what’s gonna happen,” Chau said. “I don’t think it would be viable logistically.”
These concerns follow new immigration policies from the Trump administration that threaten the ease of immigration into the U.S.
However, Choi added, “SPIA has the flexibility to adjust to the multiple challenges established by the Trump administration.”
As of Feb. 13, SPIA has not canceled any trips due to the new administration. Lipton noted that a trip to Taiwan scheduled for spring break was called off because only four enrolled students were able to participate. According to Lipton, international trips will not be substituted with national or local alternatives.
Bui told the ‘Prince’ that SPIA trips remain accessible thanks to an increase in “Policy Days,” which in-
troduce students with policymakers and alums in D.C.
“Access to trips through the department dramatically increased upon becoming an upperclassman. In September, SPIA invited juniors to take part in an Undergraduate Policy Day in D.C. to meet with policymakers and alums,” Bui said. Lipton told the ‘Prince’ that “SPIA majors studying abroad this semester in Cape Town, South Africa, are traveling to Botswana during their mid-semester break to conduct field research.”
“Our trips are but a small part of being a SPIA major,” Lipton said.
Sena Chang is a senior News writer for the ‘Prince’ from Tokyo, Japan. She typically covers campus and community activism, the state of higher education, and alumni news.
Luke Grippo is a staff News writer for the ‘Prince.’ He is from South Jersey and usually covers administrative issues, including USG, the CPUC, and institutional legacy.
By Lucien Chidester CONTRIBUTING CONSTRUCTOR
“Forest s ong ”
Peter Singer, author of “Animal Liberation” and an emeritus professor of bioethics, wrote in a statement to the ‘Prince,’ “I am shocked that any dining hall at Princeton University would consider serving eggs from hens who are forced to live miserable lives, perma
nently crowded into small wire cages. My goodness, even McDonald’s is now using 100% cage-free eggs. Can’t the university with the world’s biggest endowment, per student, do at least as well as McDonald’s?”
McDonalds met its goal of sourcing 100 percent cage-free eggs in the United States in Feb. 2024.
“Eggs from caged hens have no place in any Princeton dining hall,” Singer continued.
Tess Weinreich is a senior News writer for the ‘Prince’ from Washington, D.C. She typically covers University operations. She was formerly a Managing Editor for the ‘Prince’.
1 Singer Fiona
6 Toyota hybrid
7 “Swing for the fences!”
8 Last letter of the Greek alphabet
9 “Absolutely not!”
1 Garment worn at a barbecue
2 Cousin, in Colombia
3 Organ components
4 Brother of Mario
5 To be, in Madrid ACROSS
Attar and Nwokeji ’25 awarded Pyne Prize, highest undergraduate distinction
By Hayk Yengibaryan Associate News editor
The 2025 Pyne Prize, the highest general distinction given to undergraduates, was awarded to Avi Attar ’25 and Jennifer Nwokeji ’25. The Pyne Prize is given annually to students who have “most clearly manifested excellent scholarship, strength of character, and effective leadership.”
The Prize was first awarded in 1922. Past recipients include U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor ’76 and former Princeton President Robert F. Goheen ’40.
Since 2014, there have been a few notable trends among Pyne Prize recipients. Both Attar and Nwokeji have received the Shapiro Prize for Academic Excellence. The award “recognizes outstanding academic achievement by Princeton undergraduates in their first or second years of study.” Of the past 25 Pyne Prize recipients, 15 have won the Shapiro Prize at least once.
Furthermore, both students served as Peer Academic Advisors (PAAs). Since 2016, more than half of Pyne Prize recipients have been PAAs.
Academically, students in the social sciences have been well represented. Attar is a School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA) major, becoming the fifth student in the department since 2014 to win the award. Nwokeji is majoring in molecular biology, a department that has not seen a Pyne Prize recipient since James Valcourt ’12.
Attar is a member of Cap and Gown, which has now seen five Pyne Prize recipients since 2014. Meanwhile, Nwokeji becomes the eighth recipient since 2014 without an eating club affiliation. In this period, Tower has the most Pyne recipients with seven. 25 total prizes have been awarded since 2014.
Attar, from Newton, Massachusetts, is majoring in SPIA and minoring in computer science.
“I certainly wasn’t expecting it at all so
it’s just like a big surprise and an honor,” Attar told The Daily Princetonian. “I’d love to thank my family and friends for supporting me through my time at Princeton.”
Attar also thanked his professors and the broader Princeton community for “being an excellent and supportive community where students can learn and explore new topics.”
Attar served as USG President in 2024, a period that included the ‘Gaza Solidarity Encampment’ and multiple contentious USG meetings, including one botched vote over amendments to a statement on behalf of USG. His tenure as President also saw the amendment of the Honor Code, the death of Dean’s Date, the introduction of extended passing periods, and the creation of various mental health initiatives.
“I was most proud to be able to provide some guidance and enable my fellow members of USG to pursue work that they found meaningful,” Attar said.
Prior to his election as President, Attar served as the chair of the USG social committee, bringing Waka Flocka Flame and Loud Luxury as Lawnparties headliners during his tenure. Attar said that his goal was to make the event accessible and enjoyable to a wide range of students whether it was through “the food or the music or the pictures or the merch.”
“We wanted to make sure that people with different interest[s] could have fun and enjoy the event,” he said.
Attar is also the co-chair of the Peer Representatives to the Princeton Honor Committee, co-chair of the executive board of the Pace Center for Civic Engagement’s Community House program, and was a part of the club sailing team.
Attar was nominated by Professor Harold James, who serves as Director of the Program in Contemporary European Politics and Society.
“Avi was a student in my financial history class, and I remember him as a terrific participator in class discussions, in the setting of a very large class — always
erudite, on the point, and picking up on details,” James wrote to the ‘Prince.’
Most recently, Attar has interned with Jane Street Capital in New York City. Following his sophomore year, Attar was a Siegel Public Interest Technology Summer Fellow in Washington D.C., where he worked on “consumer protection issues with an eye towards the role of technology, and AI in particular.”
During Attar’s first two summers, he interned through Princeton Internships in Civic Service. After his first year, he was a legal intern at the 11th Judicial Circuit of Florida court under former Florida Circuit Judge Alan Fine ’79.
His senior thesis — advised by professor Ethan Kapstein — focuses on how the “CHIPS and Science Act [of 2022] was developed and passed with an eye towards the importance of semiconductors and possibly of policy in the industry.”
According to the University’s press release, upon graduation, “Attar hopes to build on his interests in technology and policy in a way that leverages innovation to ‘improve people’s quality of life.’”
Nwokeji is a molecular biology major from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania pursuing minors in bioengineering and African studies.
Nwokeji has a variety of roles on campus. She is treasurer of the Scully co-op, a McGraw tutor, a PAA in Butler College, a Health Professions Advising Peer Adviser, and a Princeton University Mentoring Program (PUMP) mentor. Previously, Nwokeji served as President of the Black PreMedical Society and is a member of the Nigerian Student Association.
Nwokeji was also a gallery attendant for Art@Bainbridge and worked as a stylist for the TigerTrends fashion magazine.
Born to Nigerian immigrants, Nwokeji “went to a regular public high school that hadn’t really sent anybody to Princeton.”
“I just didn’t really know how I would fare,” Nwokeji said. “Coming from that background to here is definitely a big culture shock.”
Nwokeji found out she had won the
award on Monday, Feb. 10 in a meeting with Dean Regan Crotty ’00 and Dean of College Michael D. Gordin.
“I was just so shocked,” Nwokeji recalled. “They had to give me a tissue because I started tearing up because it just reminded me of [my] strong support system, both on campus and then back home.”
Nwokeji was nominated by Assistant Dean for Studies of Butler College Matthew Lazen.
Lazen wrote to the ‘Prince’ that he was impressed by Nwokeji’s PAA interview in March 2023. “She has lived up to that first impression, proving to be extremely dedicated to her zees and always willing to step up for the team.” Zees are underclassman students who PAAs mentor.
“For her zees, she has baked cookies on the night of their first major assignment,” he said. “She has earned the Pyne Prize by being a consummate scholar, mentor, and student leader.”
After her first year, Nwokeji did research in the Jimah Lab through the Office of Undergraduate Research Student Initiated Internship Program (OURSIP) where her inspiration for her senior thesis began. In the summer of 2023, Nwokeji worked at the Florida Depart-
ment of Health in an opportunity funded by the Summer Social Impact Internship (SSII) Fund.
This past summer, she returned to the Jimah Lab to continue research for her senior thesis, which aims to “understand parasitic malaria infection” through cryo-electron microscopes and biochemical tools. She hopes to eventually publish this research.
Upon graduation, she hopes to dedicate a year to research before matriculating into an MD/PhD program.
“This prize is honoring me, but really, I see it more as honoring the work that I do and what I hope to do in the future, and trying to give a voice and caring for people who feel like nobody cares about them,” Nwokeji said.
University President Christopher Eisgruber ’83 will present Attar and Nwokeji the award during the Alumni Day Luncheon and Awards Ceremony on Saturday.
Hayk Yengibaryan is an associate News editor, senior Sports writer, and Education Director for the ‘Prince.’
Norman Finkelstein GS ’87 returns to talk at Princeton, discusses Israel and Gaza
By Luke Grippo
Staff News writer
Political scientist and activist Norman Finkelstein GS ’87 returned to campus on Tuesday to discuss the war in Gaza with history professor Max Weiss. Throughout the talk, Finkelstein addressed the United States’ history with the Middle East from the early 2000s, the United Nations’ complicated history with the Israel-Palestine conflict, and the war in Gaza.
Finkelstein previously spoke on campus in March 2024, touching on similar themes and drawing a crowd of nearly 300. Tuesday’s event, billed as a ”second annual” conversation, was noticeably smaller, with about 75 to 100 people sitting interspersed throughout McCosh 50. In 2019, Finkelstein drew controversy at a campus event for invoking an antisemitic trope and having a contentious exchange with a student who had served in the Israeli Defense Forces.
The talk is the second in a series of events this week hosted by Princeton Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) for their
Israeli Apartheid Week. Weiss began by asking Finkelstein to provide some current context for the situation in the Middle East.
Running through a history of Israeli ceasefires, Finkelstein argued that Israel’s actions in Gaza constituted genocide, citing a 750 page document that South Africa presented to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Oct. 28, 2023.
“If you’re systematically, methodically, consciously, willfully depriving the population of water and food, you’re now squarely in the terrain of genocide,” Finkelstein said.
Referencing Daniel Goldhagen’s book “Hitler’s Willing Executions,” Finkelstein then compared the actions of the Israeli government with the actions of the Third Reich. Finkelstein is the grandson of Holocaust survivors.
“I think the Israelis are in a very different category, a much more egregious category,” Finkelstein said. “Maybe it’s better or worse. I’m not going to pass judgment, but the kind of sadism that’s so brazenly executed by the Israelis in Gaza is not
even in the Nazi category.”
Finkelstein then addressed whether reconciliation between Israel and Gaza was possible.
“I’m willing to stake somebody’s life on it: there’s no possibility whatsoever that [Israel is] going to allow for the reconstruction of Gaza because … their whole goal was to make it unlivable.”
As he began the Q&A section, Finkelstein first addressed a few students sitting in the back of the audience.
“I saw some respectful but disgruntled students in that corner, and I always believe that those who disagree — so long as they’re respectful — they get the first question or questions, so the floor is yours,” Finkelstein said.
Raphael Delgado ’28 was the first to speak, questioning Finkelstein about data that he had cited on the number of buildings in Gaza that had been destroyed.
“The number comes from the Palestinian government, essentially, so I was wondering, when we make claims, to what extent we can trust the sourcing that they come from,” Delgado said.
Finkelstein answered by expressing his belief that the government of Gaza was “exaggerating” the number of deaths in Gaza by ”41 percent less” than reality, citing a study published in The Lancet that estimated that the Palestinian Ministry of Health under-reported mortality by 41 percent.
Noura Shoukfeh ’25, a member of SJP, told the ‘Prince’ that she believed the event “went well.”
“It was a wonderful opportunity to hear Norman Finkelstein, with all of his scholarship
and wealth of knowledge on the subject of Palestine and Israel,” Shoukfeh said. “I think it was a great opportunity for Princeton students to learn about what is happening currently in Palestine from a very reputable scholar.”
Luke Grippo is a staff News writer for the ‘Prince.’ He is from South Jersey and usually covers administrative issues, including USG, the CPUC, and institutional legacy.
PHOTO COURTESY OF AVI ATTAR AND JENNIFER NWOKEJI Attar and Nwokeji were awarded the Pyne Prize on February 18th.
As class sizes expand, Bicker admits haven’t kept up
By Chima Oparaji Staff Data Writer
Each year, Street Week brings exciting opportunities, as hundreds of sophomores navigate the eating club selection process — but with Bicker clubs, on average, rejecting nearly two thirds of applicants, it also brings disappointment for many students.
Tower, in particular, had a drop of 17 percentage points in its acceptance rate — the lowest since at least 2018. No club had a significant increase in acceptance rate. This Street Week, 624 students were offered spots in Bicker clubs, compared to 629 in 2024 and 633 the year before. The Class of 2027, with 1,366 members, is the second expanded class year to participate in Street Week.
With hundreds of students vying for limited spots, some individuals felt daunted by the numbers. Olivia Bell ’27 held the perspective that Bicker felt less about personality and more about connections.
“Cap, I didn’t think I’d get in … I think it’s mainly about who you know, and not as much about your character and if they like you as a person,” said Bell. She ultimately joined Charter.
“I had trouble believing that out of the 400 people bickering Cap, they’ll like me over 300 other people — for a while, I thought to myself, is there even a point bickering?” added Melody Cui ’27. She is now a member of Cap and Gown.
Despite increasing interest in Cap and Gown, its accepted class sizes have remained relatively constant in recent years. While most clubs have increased membership to accommodate growing demand, Cap is the only Bicker club that has not substantially expanded since at least 2021. This lack of change has made an already selective process even more competitive, as more students apply for the same number of spots each year.
While Tower accepted one of its largest Bicker classes since 2000, its acceptance rate also dropped significantly from last year, making entry into the club more competitive than expected. This trend reflects growing interest in Tower.
Though double Bicker was instituted for all clubs in 2017, offering students more flexibility, the uncertainty surrounding admission still impacts how some students rank their club preferences.
“When I was ranking the clubs, I was thinking about what club I would want to go to the most, but also realistically what club would I have a chance of getting into,” Cui explained. But ultimately, she decided to trust her instincts. “At the end of the day, they’ll choose what they want, so I should choose what I want too.”
Some clubs, like Charter and Cap, have started accommodating for the size increase. Charter, for instance, is currently expanding its dining space, while Cap added a new wing to their dining room.
Overall, the number of newly admitted Bickerees hasn’t kept up with Princeton’s growing class size, leaving acceptance rates tighter than ever. For the coming years, students may expect to continue bickering with a mix of excitement, strategy, and uncertainty, hoping in the end to find a place that feels like home.
Chima Oparaji is a staff Data writer for the ‘Prince.’
ELISABETH STEWART
What does Black History Month mean to you?
Ava Johnson Columnist
Earlier this week I came across President Trump’s “Proclamation on National Black History Month.” Seeing his effort to attach himself to the event, given his history with racially insensitive comments, made me seriously consider the purpose and impact of the holiday. If one can claim to celebrate and honor Black History Month while ignoring, and even amplifying, the issues that harm Black communities, then something needs to change.
The general increase in Black representation each February is wonderful. I love the display of books by Black authors in the Labyrinth window, and I think it’s really funny when my friends Venmo me $5 for “reparations.” But I can’t help but wonder if this month has become a performative, mechanical ritual that we aren’t deeply invested in, rather than something in which we actively and intentionally participate.
The current political climate has made me realize that we cannot take things like Black History Month for granted. There won’t always be a principal to
hold an assembly or a president to give meaningful weight to events like this. The responsibility is on us. As one of the most prestigious educational institutions in the world, Princeton is a place where the thought leaders and influential voices of the world come to train their predecessors. This institution should be at the forefront of pioneering the next iteration of this educationally and historically important national holiday. It’s not enough to just know Black history: We have to engage meaningfully with it, or it will fade from the cultural and political imagination.
As Princeton students living in a time when higher education is not only a privilege but under extreme attack, we owe Black History Month its due and that means no longer treating it merely as the educational event it was founded to be. We need to carry its tradition with us into the current social and political climate, utilize the foundation of education as an opportunity to generate change and look to the future, and prioritize intentional and active defiance of the structures that confine all of us.
Black History Month started as “Negro History Week” in 1926, instituted by historian Carter G. Woodson’s Association for the
Study of Negro Life and History. The week’s purpose was to recognize the accomplishments of Black Americans and bring awareness to their history, which were otherwise excluded from school curricula and absent from public dialogue and awareness. President Gerald Ford extended the week into “Black History Month” in 1976 in an effort to “honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.”
The historical reasons for celebrating Black History Month aren’t as relevant today. There is not nearly the same massive societal gap in knowledge about Black experiences or history as there was at the holiday’s inception. It is always valuable to acknowledge and think about the contributions Black Americans have made to American society — but in modern America, this is not a daunting or irregular task, especially for educated, thoughtful Princeton students.
At Princeton, we don’t need a presentation on Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad or George Washington Carver and the peanut. But that doesn’t mean we don’t need Black History Month.
As an educated group of people at an influential institution,
we have a responsibility to the social institutions that better inform and push forward the society in which we live. We can’t let the tradition and legacy of Black History Month taper away.
Both Princeton and Princetonians have a great deal of social and cultural influence, which they have utilized historically to help create a more racially just society. When the Board of Trustees chose to rename Wilson College and the Woodrow Wilson School of Public Policy in June 2020, they participated in — and propelled — a movement that shaped the American perception of racial justice. Princeton’s changes drew local and national attention to the impact of idolizing racist figures and the capacity for these harmful traditions to be amended, sparking a larger movement that saw the same actions taken across the nation.
These changes don’t just need to be administrative: Keeping discussion and the push for active changemaking alive starts small. Professors need to mention Black history in classes and acknowledge the places where it intersects with their curriculum — I promise it almost always does. It’s up to students to ask insightful questions and make meaningful connections
Leave microeconomics alone!
between the racial dynamics of our society and whatever subjects they might be studying. It’s up to friends to check in with one another and open up genuine dialogue about race that can get so lost in our day to day. There is always more to learn, and we should be seeking it out. We shouldn’t look at Black History Month as a time to check off a box or send a nice text. We shouldn’t allow ourselves to be exempt from meaningful engagement with Black History Month because we already know about Black history. We need to push ourselves to do more. As a community, we have an intellectual responsibility to this month, not simply to pursue knowledge but to ensure that knowledge has a tangible impact. We have a responsibility to the Black leaders who have built so much of American society to maintain the tradition of having difficult conversations and pushing society to a better place. So I ask everyone reading, what does Black History Month mean to you, really? Should it mean more?
Ava Johnson is a sophomore columnist and prospective Politics major from Washington, D.C. Her column “The New Nassau” runs every three weeks on Thursdays.
Thomas Buckley & Jerry Zhu Senior Opinion Writer & Community Opinion Editor
This past semester, our colleague Eleanor Clemans-Cope argued that the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA) ought to replace its requirement that students learn introductory microeconomics with macroeconomics. As lovers of micro — one a SPIA student and the other in economics — we believe that ClemansCope’s dismissal of micro as a discipline greatly misses the mark.
Describing microeconomics as the study of “consumer preferences and variable costs” vastly oversimplifies a complex, beautiful, and highly practical subject. ClemansCope implies that the smaller scope of micro makes it less substantive and worthy of pursuit, but for students interested in making decisions that affect real people — the chief aim of most public policy students — it is better to think smaller. There are significant practical benefits for requiring SPIA students to learn micro. Only five economics courses require macroeconomics (ECO 101, 301, or 311) as a prerequisite, while 22 courses require microeconomics (ECO 100, 300, or 310). Many of these courses are connected directly to the kinds of policy problems that SPIA students tend to be interested in solving. Whether one is interested in law, healthcare, agriculture, or the environment, the economics department has classes that can grant new insights into these subjects, and all of them require an understanding of micro.
The reality is that most of the work of policymaking is not deeply concerned with, nor affected by, the balance of trade between nations or the economy’s place in the business cycle — the core concepts of macroeconomics. If you, like previous SPIA students, want to understand the impact of inclusionary zoning on cost of living in Colorado, or the effect of Universal Primary Education on educational mobility in Uganda, micro, not macro, is the best tool for the job.
Many fundamental questions in policymaking are motivated by microeconomic analysis. A classic topic of analysis is the Earned Income Tax Credit, which has been cited as “one of the most effective tools in supporting working families with low incomes” and is “one of the federal government’s largest antipoverty programs.” For those studying the economics of poverty, a critical question in analyzing interacting antipoverty programs is the problem of benefit cliffs, which are situations where workers receiving multiple government benefits may receive a lower take-home income when accepting higher paying jobs. Though macroeconomics cannot easily answer the questions of how a change in benefit policies will affect individual behavior, microeconomic models are frequently proposed and used to guide the exploration into these questions.
Microeconomics is also useful for analyzing the forces that drive environmental injustice — the sort of existential issue that demands the “existential governance” ClemansCope highlights. Polluting firms tend to relocate to the areas with the lowest land values which — thanks to decades of endemic discrimina-
tion such as redlining — tend to be primarily occupied by people of color. The presence of these companies tends to further drive down land values, which can trap those living there in cycles of pollution. Understanding how to address such environmental injustice requires us to understand some of the forces that drive environmental inequality, specifically the forces of supply and demand that shape the market and dictate the decisions of firms — something that only micro gives us the tools to do.
Clemans-Cope has also previously argued that ECO 100: Introduction to Microeconomics relies on perfect competition as a model of individual and firm behavior, which assumes that no one firm or individual can affect the market. This ignores the substantial proportion of the class dedicated to the behavior of monopolies, game theory, and externalities, all of which are crucial concepts for policymakers. In Fall 2022, only two lectures in ECO 100 were dedicated to perfect competition — the same amount of time spent on monopolies and externalities. Together, these topics provide a useful foundation for anyone interested in understanding how markets behave. While ECO 100, like any intro class, does not have time to explore every nuance of the discipline, the starting point that it provides is useful for thinking about real-world policy issues.
Though an introductory microeconomics course cannot hope to address all of these diverse topics, ECO 100 succeeds in providing the foundations for in-depth analysis of these complex, important, and policy-relevant problems. Macro fails to do so because its aims are
too narrow. The focus of macroeconomic analysis on the massive machinery of the global economy is too blunt a tool to be easily applied in areas outside its original intention. While micro attempts to understand the forces that govern the behaviors of humans and firms — which can be readily applied to a variety of policy problems — macro is primarily useful to macroeconomists and those policymakers who do the admirable work of keeping the great wheel of the global economy spinning.
The policymaker who wishes to limit the pollution generated by companies must understand the reasons why they are polluting in the first place, and the policymaker who is trying to improve the structure of tax credits and benefits programs to increase workforce participation has to begin with an analysis of how individuals make decisions. These tools are not taught in macro, but they are core to micro.
For policy students, macro is simply a much less relevant discipline
for policy making than micro. Unless you want to work at the Federal Reserve, understanding the “systemic forces that drive economic recessions” is frankly much less important than understanding how to use economic tools to effect change. The future policymakers that SPIA is supposed to produce need to understand microeconomics. And for many, that starts with ECO 100.
Senior Opinion Writer Thomas Buckley is a junior from Colchester, Vt. majoring in SPIA. He is a former associate Opinion editor and would be perfectly happy if he never saw another long-run aggregate supply curve in his life. You can reach him at thomas. buckley[at]princeton.edu.
Jerry Zhu is a sophomore from Beijing intending to major in Economics, with (perhaps unsurprisingly) a focus on microeconomic theory. He serves as the community Opinion editor of The Daily Princetonian, and encourages you to submit a response to this piece or write an op-ed for the ‘Prince.’ You can reach him at jfz[at]princeton.edu.
By Helena Richardson Staff Features Writer
It is a quiet Tuesday night. The room is filled with red light, cold air, and low murmurs of attendees lined up in anticipation of their chance to look. Above, an expanse spanning the domed ceiling’s diameter previews the sights ahead: the lights of the sky.
This room — the observatory at Peyton Hall — is just one of several spaces where the Princeton community turns its eyes to the stars.
Weather permitting, the observatory is open to the public once a month. Camryn Phillips GS organizes and promotes the showcases, directing fellow astrophysics graduate students and postdocs who volunteer to usher visitors, operate the telescope, and answer questions about the night’s viewings.
Phillips, who has engaged in science outreach since high school, is upfront: looking through the telescope at deeper-sky objects can require a leap of faith. “It’s this fuzzy blob, and you just have to trust that this little fuzzy blob is something cool, right?”
“[But] it’s still more than a lot of people have ever seen,” Phillips noted. “You can’t see it with just looking at the sky. You need a telescope for it.”
Ann Zhou GS described seeing Saturn through the telescope for the first time as “mind blowing.”
For community member John O’Connor and his kids, one time was not enough. “It’s one of our favorite things,” he said. “[The kids] look forward to it every month.”
The enthusiasm goes both ways. Charlotte Ward, a Postdoctoral Research Associate in Astrophysics who volunteers at the public observing nights, said, “When we get to just look at our local solar system, our local neighborhood, with people who don’t get to look at that every day, it reminds us how cool [our work] is.”
Phillips and their colleagues aim to connect the dots for visitors. “Oftentimes people have questions that I will try to tie to whatever we’re looking at,” Phillips explained. For example, while looking at Andromeda: “If someone asks me, ‘How do stars die?’ then I can talk about how Andromeda was the first galaxy that we saw individual stars in, and one of the ways we can figure out distances to the other galaxies is by stars going into supernova and dying.”
In fact, for Phillips, answer-
How Princeton sees the stars
ing questions is a key part of the night. They said, “A lot of us are terrified of looking like idiots and asking stupid questions… [but] curiosity is the best thing you can do.”
“I think kind of the best response is, ‘Oh, that’s fascinating,’” said Phillips. “I always hope that I can give them some information that they really enjoy or can walk away with. And I try to explain it in such a way that, when they repeat it, it’s not too factually incorrect,” they added with a laugh.
Phillips views this as a scientist’s responsibility: “Science is useless if you don’t tell it to other people… One of the moral things as a scientist is, you do research and then you tell it to other people.”
The Amateur Astronomers Association of Princeton (AAAP) likewise uses Peyton Hall to expand access to astronomy education.
On the second Tuesday of each month, September through May, AAAP holds meetings which are open to the public — including Princeton students, community members, and Zoom attendees. Many lectures are also recorded and made available online.
The first half of each meeting features a lecture from a professional in the field. The second is dedicated to handson astronomy — the “nuts and bolts of optics and cool stuff that’s going on in the science,” said AAAP Director Rex Parker. Parker also encourages members to participate in what he calls “un-journaling,” in which someone presents on a journal article, a trip, or something they’ve read in a publication like Sky and Telescope (which Parker calls the “bible of amateur astronomy”).
On the fourth Tuesday of each month, AAAP hosts meetings for a subgroup dedicated to the technology and techniques of astroimaging — capturing and processing images of the skies. For Parker, astronomy’s overlap with real-world technology is one of the discipline’s strengths. “Even though it’s a very esoteric science, it sort of blends into all the other things that are going out there — computer technology and software and physics and energy and all the other things that people are interested in.”
Parker himself came to his passion for astronomy from a career in biochemistry. “When I turned 40, my wife bought me a Celestron telescope, and that kind of changed my life. We joke about [how] some guys
have their midlife crisis and get the red sports car — but I got the telescope. So I started doing real astronomy.”
Parker and his wife even moved from Lawrenceville out to Titusville, which rests along the Delaware River, in pursuit of darker skies. Parker now does astrophotography from his backyard, which he posts on his personal website.
Through AAAP, Parker helps facilitate the observation experience for others. In addition to its monthly club meetings, AAAP hosts viewing parties at schools and scout troop events as well as public observing nights at its observatory in Washington Crossing State Park.
The AAAP observatory is open to the public every Friday night, April through October, if conditions are at least partly clear.
According to Parker, the group has “concentrated on equipment that can break through the light pollution” that “robs the sky of contrast” in the area.
In fact, Parker is calling for action to reduce the barrier that light pollution poses to broader observing. Parker sees the night sky as one way to get kids excited about science — but, according to him, “a kid growing up in Trenton looking up is not going to be inspired by the night sky. That’s a problem of our days.”
To that end, Parker described, he joined the Hopewell Township local government’s environmental commission and helped create their first outdoor lighting ordinance.
“I think it’s really a consciousness-raising thing,” said Parker. “If more people began to realize that we could get rid of three quarters of the lights that are across our country — that we’d be equally safe, and we could all see the sky — we could get to that point, but we’re a long ways away right now.”
In the meantime, AAAP will keep looking at what it can.
Bob Vanderbei, AAAP Associate Director and Professor Emeritus in Princeton’s Operations Research and Financial Engineering Department, is proof of AAAP’s reach. After Vanderbei began teaching an introductory computer course at Princeton in 1999, he noticed an astrophotography calendar on the office wall of the computer lab’s tech manager. That manager was none other than Kirk Alexander, then-Director of AAAP. At Alexander’s invitation, Vanderbei attended an observing event — and he was
hooked.
Like Parker, Vanderbei runs a website for the astrophotography he does from his backyard. While he may photograph things more than once, supernovas and variable stars keep things interesting. Through his work, Vanderbei has tracked change over time.
Vanderbei has also co-authored Sizing Up the Universe: The Cosmos in Perspective and New York Times Bestseller Welcome to the Universe in 3D: A Visual Tour. In addition, he teaches a freshman seminar on “Sizing Up the Universe.” He shared with the ‘Prince’ that the course was preparing to welcome Neil DeGrasse Tyson for a guest lecture on questions regarding extraterrestrial life the following day.
Princeton students interested in engaging with amateur astronomy also have the opportunity to do so with Princeton Astronomy Club (PAC). According to PAC treasurer Aryan Gupta ’27, the club hosts events around twice a month, ranging from guest lectures in Peyton Hall, to space-themed study breaks, to star parties with telescopes in the Forbes backyard.
Gupta recalled pointing out certain constellations to a friend at a star party and then watching the friend passing on the information to others. “It was really cool — people were taking an active stake in it,” said Gupta.
More generally, the attendance at star parties tells Gupta “that people really do care about just coming out and see-
ing the night sky for the sake of loving astronomy and learning more — and just looking up.”
Like Phillips, Gupta has been involved in science outreach since high school, and like Parker and Vanderbei, Gupta uploads his astrophotography online. They are united by their belief in the capacity of the stars to inspire.
“Astronomy is really special in the sense that you can do science outreach and talk about these ideas — planets, galaxies, [...] huge gas clouds, or if other worlds of aliens exist — and kids can comprehend that in their mind. The public can comprehend it in their mind,” commented Gupta. “And they’ll naturally draw a fascination or curiosity towards it.”
“I think that’s a real gift that astronomy has,” said Gupta. “You’ll bring out a telescope, you show it to people, and they can instantly look and do something.”
To Parker, that instant look is powerful. “There’s something about the experience of photons from millions of light years away — or at least thousands of light years, depending on the object — striking your retina. There is a physical, biological exchange going on there that connects you with the universe that’s really profound.”
Helena Richardson is a staff Features writer for the ‘Prince.’
Features contributor Katie Thiers contributed reporting.
HELENA RICHARDSON / THE DAILY PRINCETONIAN
People viewing the night sky through the Peyton Hall telescope on a Tuesday night.
‘My Little Princeton Tiger’: The purrfect roomate
By Raphaela Gold & Mira Eashwaran Head & Associate Features editor
For a short period of time, Princeton had a live tiger on its campus. The tiger resided at Princeton for several weeks in 1923, its stay coming to an end when meat bills got too pricey.
But today, our campus boasts a different type of tiger: a fluffy orange emotional assistance cat by the name of Wrenjamin. The Daily Princetonian spoke with Via Matthews ’26, Wrenjamin’s owner, to learn more about the little tiger.
Daily Princetonian (DP): How did Wrenjamin get his name?
Via Matthews (VM): My mom actually started calling him Wrenjamin. Wrenjamin Norris III is his full name. It’s just that thing when you see a cat, and you know their name, but you can call them whatever because they don’t really care. These days, he’s been going by Baby Cat.
DP: How were you able to bring him from home to Princeton?
VM: I got him in October of 2021. I’m a Questbridge scholar, so I knew very early that I was going to Princeton — like, December 1. I had already been meeting with a therapist to get myself prepared to go to college and go away for the first time for that long. Then, I just immediately felt a connection with this cat. He was so tiny, and I raised him. So, I started going through the process of asking, “what would it be like if I could take him to college?” He’s just my baby, and I need him. So, I talked to my therapist about that. I didn’t even know that you could register emotional support animals, but it was a wonderful process. My thera -
pist was so patient and kind and helpful with that. He has official paperwork I have to renew, but he’s all up to date.
DP: How does Wrenjamin help you?
VM: He is wonderful emotional support. When I’m having a stressful day, he’ll lay on my chest and just purr. If I’m crying, he’s right there on my lap somewhere. Being able to show up for him is also healing for me, in a way. It’s just so wonderful to know I can go home and I’m never alone, because I have this little guy who’s my whole world, and I’m certainly his whole world, and we just look forward to seeing each other every day.
DP: Was it difficult to go through the process?
VM: On my end, it was not hard to get the documentation I needed. I feel like I had a very supportive team behind me, and I knew what I wanted, so I also was able to advocate for myself. In my case, once you are approved for an emotional support or assistance animal, it’s approved for all four years. Thankfully, it’s a one and done.
DP: What has it been like to have him? Have there been any challenges?
VM: Honestly, the only challenge is travel — not because of him, he’s a gem. He’s quiet on the plane. He flies so perfectly. When we go through TSA, he sits on my shoulder and doesn’t make a peep. But it costs $150 just for one way to travel with him, and that definitely adds up. Obviously, I never leave him, but it’s always a hard decision, and it takes a few months of preparation to know that I can travel with him so I can save up and take care of that. But having him on campus directly — he’s wonderful, and I
made so many friends because of him.
DP: How did he help you make friends?
VM: Being able to mutually bond over such a sweet creature who loves everyone was so good for making friends [during my] first year. Anytime I name-drop him or tell people I have a cat, they’re like, “Oh my god, can I come meet him?” And [I say], “Of course you can!” He just loves attention so much.
DP: Do you ever find it difficult balancing being a student and having a cat?
VM: Definitely, yeah. I’m always thinking, “I have to go home and feed him,” because obviously he’s on a routine. He knows when he’s getting to bed. Sometimes I have to leave an event early, but sometimes it works out in my favor — it’s a great excuse sometimes. Obviously, I want the best for him, and I always prioritize him first, but it definitely takes more planning every single day to make sure that I can be home at a certain time to feed him. I never try to stay out of my dorm for too long, because I don’t want him to get under-stimulated, or start feeling sad, or like he’s being left [behind]. I try to spend a lot of time with him.
DP: Where on campus do you live and what is that like for having a cat?
VM: I’ve been in New College West all three years, which has worked out because the dorms are quite big. I’ve been in a Jack-andJill setup every year, so I’ve been able to put the litter box in the bathroom, which is wonderful to have that shared space. I also have to factor in walking [to my dorm]. It’s never just a quick thing, like “Oh, I’ll go feed him and I’ll come
back.” Because personally, once I’m in my dorm, I’m done for the night. And unfortunately, a lot of the upperclassmen dorms are just not suited for an animal. [For example], if there’s no AC, I would be terrified about leaving him in the warm months at the beginning of school.
DP: Have you found a community of people with emotional support animals on campus?
VM: I wouldn’t say a community, but I’ve definitely seen people’s cats in the window of their dorm just walking by. I’ve seen some people walking their cat a few times, which is very cute. One of the rules of having an emotional support animal is that they’re only confined to the dorm, so I’m not sure what that would look like. If there was — oh my god — a cat meet-and-greet … I think that’s a really good idea. [Wrenjamin] grew up with cats, and I think it can get lonely if you’re just one creature by yourself.
DP: So he hasn’t been anywhere on campus besides NCW?
VM: No, he’s always known NCW. For his birthday, actually, on September 21, I took him out on Poe Field and had a little birthday for us. There were people playing frisbee and football all around. I think he was very nervous, but he enjoyed stepping in the grass and hanging out.
DP: Did your friends come?
VM: Yeah, of course! He also had a little tuna cake. He turned three.
DP: He kind of looks like you!
VM: Oh yeah. He has green eyes, like his mom. I feel like I birthed him.
DP: What would you say to those on campus considering getting an emotional assistance animal?
They’re not just a chill creature who’s fine on their own — that’s why I’m very intentional about going to spend time with them, because I know that they’re social creatures. At the end of the day, they thrive off of people and interactions. My two cents if you’re going to try to go through this process is to make sure that you are prepared to take care of an animal. I’ve also heard in conversation, people being like, “Yes … I want to get a pet. I want to bring a pet.” Sometimes I get asked, “Oh, how did you get a pet on campus?” But he’s not a pet, and that needs to be made very clear.
DP: If Wrenjamin could rate Princeton, what would he say?
VM: I think he would go 10 out of 10, maybe nine out of 10, because sometimes I’m hard on him about completing his degree and doing his homework. If I have to sit here and do this stuff, he’s gonna do it, too. My little Princeton tiger is going to graduate with me, for sure.
Raphaela Gold is a head Features editor for the ‘Prince.’
Mira Eashwaran is an associate Features editor for the ‘Prince.’
VM: I don’t want to say that the system is abused, but I also have known some people who don’t give their emotional assistance animal proper care while they’re at school. That might come from people never owning a cat before — or a dog — but there are specific needs that a cat requires that can’t be overlooked.
the PROSPECT.
‘To Dream About Wings’: A new play soars onto Wallace Theater stage
By Annika Plunkett | Prospect contributor
Family, grief, religion, and love take center stage in a new play written by Steph Chen ’25 and directed by Wasif Sami ’25 that debuted on Feb. 14 in the Wallace Theater. From script to stage, “To Dream About Wings” is the culmination of a two-year effort that between the playwright and the director.
Chen started writing “To Dream About Wings” during her junior fall semester in THR 205: Introductory Playwriting - taught by Nathan Davis, a former Lecturer in Theater at Princeton and Berlind Playwright-in-Residence - which she took with limited theater experience.
Chen says that the initial concept for the play centered on Leonardo da Vinci and his ornithopter, a flying machine.
“I had this vision of a boy who was trying to fly, and … that evolved into this story about Asian Americanness, ambition, the American dream. Families, grief, love, loss, religion — all those things that are contained in this play are sort of underlined with this element of magical realism,” she said.
“To Dream About Wings” follows two teenagers: Leo, an optimistic dreamer, and Anna, a realist searching for religion and the meaning of love.
The play is “the arc of [Anna’s] grief and acceptance as she mourns the loss of a very dear friend of hers, someone that she loves very much, as well as the anticipatory grief of losing her father and generally navigating the difficulties of the relationships in her life,”
said Seryn Kim ’27, who plays Anna.
Performed in a small theater with a small cast, the show feels exceptionally intimate and relatable. It has a simple beauty, with its magical plot and intentional stage design. From your seat, you feel the actors’ and crew members’ camaraderie as tragedy, love, and community unfold.
In short, the play is cathartic: You will cry but be glad to do so.
The play was chosen by the theater department to be part of the performance season and Chen was paired with Sami to direct the play. They’ve been working together since the summer and have become a close team.
“It’s basically like having a sibling on an artistic project. We’re able to be thought partners, we’re able to disagree, we’re able to lift each other up, buy each other coffee, stay hours after to talk about it,” Sami told The Daily Princetonian.
“To Dream About Wings” is Sami’s ninth and final play that he has directed on campus, an occasion that he describes as bittersweet.
“I love directing because it’s basically a series of collaborations with people. You’re collaborating with a player, you’re collaborating with each designer, you’re working with each actor, and you’re … like a coach weaving these people together and trying to tell a story,” Sami said.
Indeed, these collaborations played a key role in bringing the story together. Chen and Sami underscored that playmaking could not happen without a group effort. Numerous conversations with each other, the faculty,
production staff, designers, and cast went into the process of playwriting and production.
“Theater making is a team effort,” Sami said. “It requires the time, creativity, and effort of so many people. It’s like an ecology. And it’s not just students, it’s also the production staff of the Lewis Center.”
This collaborative approach is apparent throughout the show. Actors and crew work together to imply the magical act of flying and convey the emotion of powerful scenes to the audience from a funeral, to parents worrying for their child, to the terror and heartbreak that Anna feels over losing someone she loves.
The cast and crew, most of whom were selected during the Theater Department’s “Try on Theater Days” at the beginning of the academic year, have been working on “To Dream About Wings” since the fall semester.
“We were looking for actors who are willing to play with empathy and love and joy,” Chen said.
They succeeded. The actors told the ‘Prince’ they make it a priority to get to know their characters and draw out the nuances of their emotional arcs.
Vincent D’Angelo ’28, who plays the priest, described his role to the ‘Prince’: “The priest is the glue that holds the play together. In my mind, he’s the guy who brings the two main characters to their eventual revelations towards the end of the conclusion of the play.”
It’s easy for the actors to embody their characters’ emotions. Kim described one powerful scene between her character and the priest as a scene “that always makes me cry, I never have
Rangapravesha: Kalaa debuts at Princeton
By Princess Fodeke | Prospect contributor
On the small stage of the Class of 1970 Theatre in Whitman, dark blue lights flood the room. Four shadows emerge from stage right and step into view. The sounds of bells — attached to the dancers’ ankles — follow them as they walk. Gradually, the lights fade away, and the faces of the dancers emerge. As a melodic tune rings throughout the room, the dancers start rhythmically stomping their feet, holding flower petals in their hands.
This striking scene marks the opening of the new Kalaa dance troupe’s debut recital of the Bharatanatyam dance style. Bharatnatyam, also known as Rangapravesha, is a classical dance style that originated in South India and is now practiced worldwide. Being my first time attending a Bharatanatyam show, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I was utterly amazed by the final result.
Before Kalaa officially started their debut performance, titled Pushpanjali, Treasurer Vaishnavi Murthy ’28 and Operations Chair Jaya Choudhary ’28 entered the stage with a brief introduction.
“In this dance, we give our salutations to Nataraja, the Hindu god of dance, our gurus, the musicians, and the audience. What makes this piece unique is the flower petals we carry in our hand throughout the dance as an offering to Nataraja,” Murthy explained.
As the performance began, the dancers rippled across the stage, their legs jingling with each shuffle, kick, and step. At one point, the four performers briefly stopped their dancing to deposit their flowers at the stage’s nearest point to the audience and resumed their dance seamlessly. The transitions and moves in the program were smooth, as every beat felt
intentional and contributed to the performance.
Witnessing the sheer artistry of the performance, I was all the more surprised when Costume Chair
Anika Mehrotra ’28 told me preparation for the show had only started two weeks earlier.
“[The show was] completely student-produced … We did one week of just teaching the pieces to everyone, and then the last week was just, grind, grind, grind,” Mehrotra told The Daily Princetonian.
Eventually, Pushpanjali progressed into the centerpiece of its repertoire and the fourth event overall: varnam, meaning “colors.” Mehrotra, Publicity Chair Laahini Addagatla ’28, and member Justin Shields ’25 then took a moment to introduce the piece, explaining the dialogue the dance represented.
“This particular varnam, titled Roopamu Joochi, praises the deity Sri Thyagaraja Swami, a particular form of Shiva who is well decorated with flowers and wears a golden thread across his chest,” Mehrotra explained. Shiva is a god in the Hindu trinity.
In the opening of Roopamu Joochi, two performers glided across the floor to the center of the stage. After a pause, the first two dancers exited in the same graceful fashion. When all four dancers exited, six new performers came into view, bursting into synchronized motions. With their energetic movements and joyful expressions, the dancers’ commendation of Sri Thyagaraja Swami was clear.
“We also portray some important stories about Shiva and how he protects the good and defeats evil,” Mehrotra continued. In one scene, a performer artfully mimed striking down another performer, emulating the deity Sri Thyagaraja Swami and eliminating a source of evil.
“Amidst all of this praising of Shiva, we as the narrators of the varnam also have a direct dialogue with
Shiva, for despite his greatness, beauty, and protective nature, he appears to be personally indifferent to the Nayaki, the main female character — or in this case, characters played by all of us — who tells the story,” Addagatla said.
As varnam unfolded, I saw this narrative illustrated with the dancers’ steady and varied moves. Each dancer added a facet to the Nayaki, painting the story of a devoted follower longing for the love of her God.
Pushpanjali culminated in a mangalam, a piece in which the entire company paid respects to their teachers, gods, and audience. As the dancers moved fluidly in tandem, their chemistry was evident on stage. There were many moments when every dancer was on stage simultaneously, forming an amalgam of movement.
Mehrotra reflected this sentiment in her inter-
to work up tears, they just come out,” she said.
The play can be a tear-jerker. One member of the crew even admitted to crying over a scene during dress rehearsal. It also contains moments of childlike wonder, humor, and fun, including a scene in which Leo, the boy who dreams of flying, is suddenly surrounded by flying objects while his grandmother naps.
It’s not just the acting that makes the show magical. The props, lighting, set design, and actors’ performances are intentionally designed to play with the audience’s wonder and draw them into the story and its magical realism over time.
“You’re telling that story in three dimensions, with the actors’ performances, with the lights, with the space,” Sami told the ‘Prince.’
“We really want to be thinking about: How are these elements of design making the audience feel the story you want to tell for them?” Sophia Vernon ’27, the stage manager, added. For Chen, it is a magical experience to see her work come to life through the actors and design on stage. She says, once the show begins, “It becomes more than just me. So it’s a surreal experience to know that I wrote these words, but also to know that now they don’t belong to me, and they belong to everyone who’s a part of the process, and also the audience.”
“To Dream About Wings” runs Feb. 14, 15, 20, 21, and 22 at 8 p.m. in the Wallace Theater.
Annika Plunkett is a contributing writer for The Prospect and a member of the Newsletter team. She can be reached at ap3616@princeton.edu.
view. “I definitely think this community is the most different thing you can get out of this kind of dance team,” she said. “These people have been thinking about dance for, you know, years … getting to work with that kind of dedicated group of people and build that community is really nice.”
When asked about Kalaa’s future, Mehrotra said, “We definitely want to keep performing. We’re aiming to try one [show] per semester for future years, but I do think there might be a possibility of another this year.” Whether this year or the next, I am confident Kalaa will continue to highlight the extraordinary stories Bharatanatyam offers.
Princess Fodeke is a contributing writer for The Prospect from Valdosta, Ga.
‘While it might seem intimidating to enter as a student with no reserved room, I’d argue that their choice of a welcome mat gives you plenty of assurance that you’re in the right place.’
GRADUATE
Continued from page 1
welcoming environment. The staff and baristas working at the coffee bar, in particular, were extremely friendly.
Additionally, as they explained little details to interested guests, I witnessed their familiarity with the University’s history and ties to the Graduate. For example, there used to be a University Shield on the desk I was sitting at, but later down the line, it was removed for unknown reasons.
During the day, the lobby was active and bustling with work as guests checked in and out. At night, the coffee bar and restaurant were quiet. If you’re not there to share a drink or enjoy a meal, the cozy hall to the right serves as a comforting working spot for patrons wanting to take in the richest parts of the Princeton brand. Stacked bookcases lined with aesthetic antique books separate the space from your usual hotel lobby. Upon closer inspection, the bookcases are lined with classic literary texts such as Harvard Editions of the Odyssey. When asked about whether these copies were available to be used by patrons, the man at the front desk informed me the volumes were, in fact, allowed to be touched as long as they were put back. However, his vaguely
sarcastic tone, coupled with his playful smile, made me hesitant to look into the pages.
Beyond the books, display cases of eating club blazers going as far back as the 1920s are neatly displayed side by side on the bottom row of every other bookshelf. The blazers are accompanied by the logo of each respective club. It reminded me of a hidden, historic library that would be buried further on the main campus. It put me at a comfortable ease as I explored more of the lobby as a student, not as a guest. Looking away from the stacked shelves, a handful of students and guests found themselves comfortable on the deep brown leather couches and refined upholstered chairs. I took a seat at a lone dark oak desk lit by a small lamp; the warm, ambient lamps fill the dimly lit space with a soft assurance.
As I took in every detail, I observed both clear and subtle connections to the University’s history. Aside from the eating club blazers, there are subtle tiger motifs scattered throughout both the library and bar sections of the lobby.
The most obvious are four unique wooden tigers acting as distinct pillars on the corners of the coffee bar. They are featured behind the lobby desk used for check-in. Other subtleties hinting at Princeton include the use of orange, black, and white in both the carpet and curtain fabrics. The use of layers for their carpet and a wide range of curtain textures fill the large volume
the space offers, letting the cozy vibes speak for themselves. Given the grandness of the design, it doesn’t feel busy or overwhelming as smaller spaces would struggle to balance.
Overall, the Graduate Hotel offers students a luxurious study spot, especially for those looking for a new change of scenery. With simple
coffee contrasting sophisticated taste in decor, the lobby and coffee bar of the hotel makes a welcoming addition to the streets of Nassau.
Amanda Hugas is a member of the Class of 2027 and a contributing writer for The Prospect. She can be reached by email at ah0942[at]princeton.edu.
With multiple possible storylines, ‘Safe Harbor’ gives agency back to the audience
By Mackenzie Hollingsworth | Head Prospect Editor
When you go to a play, you expect to see one story play out. Opening night, closing night, any days in between, you expect the story to be the same. The ending will always be the ending.
This is not the case with “Safe Harbor,” an original play by Dominic Dominguez ’25. It is an interactive experience. From the start, the audience finds themselves in a postapocalyptic world, seeking shelter in a bunker for years after nuclear fallout. As the play opened, everyone in the audience became an active participant. We were encouraged to read the papers scattered around the floor as “privacy is a thing of the past” according to Hassan Khan ’27, who played the shelter bureaucrat.
From poetry to equations to a list of the top ten things about the apocalypse — a list that didn’t make it past the first four — the scattered papers gave an image of people struggling to survive, awaiting inevitable death. Then, someone came into the bunker and invited us all to Safe Harbor, a place where we would be protected, as long as we followed the rules that were established by “Father,” the creator of Safe Harbor. Those who took the “Safe Harbor Missionary” up on the offer became an integral part of the story, making individual decisions that changed the course of the play.
Those that remained in the bunker died, becoming passive audience members. From there, the story took place in Safe Harbor.
At first, Safe Harbor seemed to be a welcoming place. There was a meditation ceremony meant to connect the active audience to one another. Each audience member was assigned a new name and job. On Wednesday night’s test show, I was a passive audience member, but on Thursday I became active, and I was given the name OW.
The names and jobs were listed on cards. These were given out by Father, played by an animated Gabriel Higbee ’26. One of the highlights of the show was the accent Higbee gave the character: classic southern gentry tones, something out of a Civil War era film — more of a drawl, less of a twang. It added a layer of entertainment and complexity to Father: It was as if the character himself, not the actor, were performing this accent.
Very quickly, it became apparent that Safe Harbor, and Father himself, were not as kind as they initially appeared. With violent rhetoric that demonized the people stuck in the wasteland — starving, desperate, and in pain — the audience was told that they couldn’t be let in. “Scabheads,” as the audience was called, would only disrupt the peace of Safe Harbor’s way of life. We couldn’t let them in for the good of the community, we were told. We had to do as we were told — marry who we were told, work the jobs we were told. Safe Harbor was not a place where you could step out of line.
We were then introduced to the rebellion, standing up to Father’s authoritarian control. The rebel leader quickly became my favorite character with her poem “Pleasing Daddy,” critiquing Father’s rules, restricting individuality or freedom of any kind for the sake of “the community.”
As an audience, we had a choice to make: Long live the revolution, or long live Safe Harbor.
Those that supported the revolution went up on stage to hear the rebel plans — to kill Father in his office the night before the Badge of Honor ceremony. As everyone left the meeting, Father caught them. He told them to give up rebel plans and be spared, or stay silent and be sent to the wasteland.
If no one gives up the plans, Father is murdered.
In the first show, no one gave up the plans. The rebellion won, and Safe Harbor was free. In the second show, however, someone stepped forward to tell Father that the rebels
planned to kill him. Another person — me — also stepped forward to stand against the rebellion. Who can blame me? I wanted to see the other ending.
And with this decision, the rebellion was doomed.
Walking into the show, I didn’t know what to expect. But Dominguez, the cast, the crew, and the audience together paint a picture of authoritarianism: between “Scabheads” and those in Safe Harbor who didn’t always care about them, Father and the rebellion. A story where personal comfort could outweigh the right thing, with many people making that choice right in front of you.
Of course, it was just a play, and there were no real stakes to the story other than seeing how it ended. But art is political, and the message of Safe Harbor is impossible to miss: Long live the revolution!
Mackenzie Hollingsworth is a head editor for The Prospect. She is a member of the Class of 2026 and can be reached at mh5273@ princeton.edu.
CALVIN GROVER / THE DAILY PRINCETONIAN
The lobby area filled with Princeton-themed decor and interior design.
CALVIN GROVER / THE DAILY PRINCETONIAN
The front facade of the Graduate by Hilton hotel.
CALVIN GROVER / THE DAILY PRINCETONIAN
The coffee bar in the lobby of the Graduate Hotel.
Men’s lacrosse beats Penn State in overtime to win first game of the season 11–10
By Doug Schwartz Associate Sports Editor
No. 5 Princeton men’s lacrosse (1–0 overall, 0–0 Ivy League) beat No. 10 Penn State (2–1 overall, 0–0 Big Ten) in a thrilling 11–10 overtime victory to kick off the season.
Star senior attackman Coulter Mackesy led the team with a dominant performance, scoring five goals and placing himself in the fourth all-time spot for goals scored at Princeton with 128. Mackesy should continue to climb through the record books this season as he looks to catch Mike MacDonald ’15 (132), Chris Massey ’98 (146), and Jesse Hubbard ’98 (163).
“At the end of the day, I want to be remembered as a good teammate and a good leader,” Mackesy wrote to The Daily Princetonian after the game. “I think milestones are a healthy reminder that I need to continue pushing myself and my teammates to be the best we can be everyday. My goal is to win a national championship with this team and nothing more.”
In addition to Mackesy, junior goalie Ryan Croddick and soph-
omore attackman Colin Burns started their seasons well. Although it was Croddick’s first career start, the junior looked calm and collected in front of the net as he racked up 21 saves, a Princeton record for a goalie in his first start. Burns scored four goals on the day, including the overtime winner.
The game started off great for the Tigers. After securing the opening faceoff, junior attackman Chad Palumbo found Burns open, who then whipped a shot past Penn State’s goalie for the first goal of the season.
Throughout the rest of the first quarter, it was all Burns and Mackesy, with the pair scoring three more times to put Princeton ahead 4–3.
To start the second, Princeton’s defense came out looking strong. In what became a common theme on the day, impressive holds on defense translated into scores for the offense — including sophomore midfielder Carson Krammer’s first career goal — with Croddick making an array of impressive saves throughout.
“The defense played fast and physical,” Head Coach Matt Madalon wrote to the ‘Prince.’ “They
played picks well and made timely slides.”
With 6:51 to play in the first half, Croddick found sophomore short stick defensive midfielder Jackson Green for Green’s first career goal, making it 6–3. On top of that, Croddick picked up his first career assist on the play.
At halftime, Princeton led Penn State 8–6 following Mackesy’s four-goal half.
“As a group, we’ve seen the potential of this team since day one in the fall and my goal has been to instill the confidence and belief in every teammate that we can accomplish something very special this year,” Mackesy told the ‘Prince.’
In the second half, the Tigers’ fiery offense cooled off a bit, only scoring two more times in regulation. Despite the lack of offensive production, Princeton’s defense refused to be worn down, shutting out the explosive Nittany Lion offense in the third quarter.
Heading into the fourth, Princeton held a 9–6 lead. Unfortunately for the Orange and Black, two quick scores to start the quarter put Penn State within striking distance.
When asked about the second half slump, Madalon pointed towards sloppy plays.
“We need to be cleaner in the clearing game and we made a few bonehead plays,” he said. “PSU made us pay.”
While momentum had shifted away from the Tigers, Mackesy refused to let his team lose focus, ripping a low fastball into the net and putting Princeton up 10–8.
After two more Penn State goals, it was looking like the Nittany Lions might complete the comeback. However, after a couple of crucial stops from the defense down the stretch, Princeton was able to stop the onslaught and force overtime.
Princeton’s defense once again made a big stop, with Green forcing a turnover and sophomore defender Jack Stahl recovering the ground ball and clearing up the field for the offense.
From there, the Tigers moved the ball well before finding Burns for the game winner.
“All game, I was just trying to play off of guys as much as I could,” Burns told the ‘Prince’ postgame.
“I wasn’t sure if it went in because it was pretty quiet in their
bubble,” Burns recounted to the ‘Prince.’ “I remember looking up at Coulter and seeing him run to me and that’s when I knew, so I ran immediately to our goalie Croddik. It was a special moment celebrating with my teammates, but we know we have a lot more in us, especially with a big week ahead.” Princeton takes on No. 6 ranked Maryland (3–0 overall, 0–0 Big Ten) on Feb. 22 at home. The Terrapins ended the Tigers’ season last year with a 16–8 victory, so this game serves as an opportunity to end an eight-game losing streak to the program.
“We have a gauntlet of a schedule, which makes it really fun for us because every week is like playing an NCAA tournament game,” Burns explained. “I’m really excited about the group we have this year. I’m eager to keep getting after it with them in practice and on game days, and it starts with this upcoming week which is massive.”
Doug Schwartz is an associate Sports editor and staff News writer for the ‘Prince.’ He is from Annapolis, Md. and typically covers town and gown, facilities and housing, and health for News.
Men’s squash falls to Penn in bout for the Ivy League title
By Harrison Blank Head Sports Editor
Tensions were high at the Penn Squash Center early Sunday afternoon, as No. 2 men’s squash (9–1 overall, 5–1 Ivy League) faced off against the No. 1 Penn Quakers (16–0, 6–0) to determine the Ivy League champion. The Tigers fell 6–3 in a hard-fought energetic affair that served as a more than entertaining undercard for the Super Bowl.
Head coach Sean Wilkinson offered an optimistic takeaway from the day. “Sunday showed that we are good enough to win Nationals in four weeks,” he wrote to The Daily Princetonian after the game.
“We have a lot of work to do, and Penn has clearly set the standard this season,” Wilkinson continued. “It’s up to us to take the next four weeks and work hard. We can’t hide from a tough loss, but Penn should be congratulated.”
The Quakers, who defeated the Tigers in the national semifinals on their way to a national championship last year, have continued their success this year. Throughout their undefeated season, they are yet to drop more than three matches against any school.
Princeton struggled at the top end of the lineup, losing all five of the top lines 3–0. However, the Orange and Black showed valuable depth further down the lineup — taking three of the last four lines.
At line seven, first-year Aly Ibrahim emerged victorious in the only five-game match of the day, a rousing back-and-forth affair. He knocked off Abdelrahman Dweek of Penn 3–2
(10–12, 11–7, 7–11, 11–6, 11–5).
Ibrahim attributed his win to the huge amounts of training and practice the team puts in throughout the year.
“Competing at this level means every game is demanding, so I had to push past the nerves and trust the extensive training we had put in over the past months,” he told the ‘Prince.’
The Penn Squash Center was full of parents, students, and fans for the most anticipated matchup of the season. Ibrahim, however, had been preparing for this type of environment the whole season.
“Penn made the conditions particularly challenging for us, but I remained focused on my goal — playing my best against a formidable opponent,” he explained. “At the start of the season, I was determined to maintain consistency throughout every match, striving to be a player my team could rely on in any situation.”
Ibrahim fell behind two games to one in a match that was highlighted by long points, exquisite drop shots, and frequent tense exchanges with the referee over let calls and stroke calls. He found his form in the fourth game and was able to grind out a win.
Wilkinson raved about Ibrahim’s performance, writing to the ‘Prince’ that “Aly is simply underrated. He’s a very unassuming, humble guy, but he can flick a switch and become intensely competitive.”
“He was incredibly impressive on Sunday against a very good Penn player. It was an emotional, highly physical match and he came through brilliantly,” he continued. “Very impressive first year so far.”
The Tigers also received a strong showing from sophomore Hollis Rob-
ertson, playing at the number five line. He took down Penn’s Dana Santry in a quick three-game match.
Robertson has been dealing with injuries and had not played since the Tiger’s Jan. 17 match against Cornell. He was moving cleanly on Sunday, controlling the point from the middle of the court using deft touch on shots into the corners.
“He’s had a tough year with injuries and Sunday was one of many steps to get him back to full fitness,” said Wilkinson to the ‘Prince.’ “He came through with flying colors, but we’ve got to manage him carefully through the rest of the year.”
The Tigers will have one final regular season match against the No. 5
University of Virginia Cavaliers (8–3 overall) at home on Sunday, Feb. 23. Looming over that match will be the Collegiate Squash Association nationals two weeks later.
“Looking ahead, I believe our team has the potential to make a deep run at nationals in March, and I am eager to put in the work necessary to prepare for what will be a highly competitive tournament,” said Ibrahim to the ‘Prince.’
The Tigers will likely be the secondseeded team, which could potentially set up a rematch with the likely oneseeded Quakers in the national finals — the fourth matchup in the past two years.
For now, the team will be focused on
the upcoming match at home against Virginia and on building energy into the last stretch of the season — and not dwelling on the recent loss.
“The energy within our team — both among the players and coaches — remains at an all-time high, and we are eager to come back even stronger,” wrote Ibrahim to the ‘Prince.’ “Our season has been exceptional so far, and the progress we have made collectively is undeniable; one setback does not define us.”
Harrison Blank is a head Sports editor for the ‘Prince.’
