Although History professor Max Weiss had called him an “outside agitator” on the day of the arrest, Piegaro emphasized that he was not a counterprotestor. He described that he had tried to take pictures of the protest in various locations near Clio Hall, including from Edwards Hall and Whig Hall itself. Soon afterward, he saw Weiss, Strother, and Zia Mian, Co-Director of Princeton’s Program in Science and Global Security, talking together, although he only recognized Weiss.
At that point, Piegaro started taking a video and following the three men up the steps of Whig. What followed in the altercation at the top of the stairs was the main subject of dispute in Monday’s court hearing: whether Piegaro had accidentally tripped and fallen down the steps while attempting to get into the building, or whether Strother had pushed him down.
Piegaro explained in his testimony that Strother had lifted and thrown him down the stairs. He remembered his ribs feeling bruised and banging his head. Referencing the moment of his arrest after the fall, Piegaro stated, “I remember being puzzled. And I was thinking, how can I get arrested? I’m not doing anything.”
He expressed that some events of the day remain less clear than others, including why he ended the first video recorded on the steps of Whig.
Piegaro had four character witnesses: Abhishek Kumar, who knew Piegaro from his time in the army; William Nash ’25; Matthew Wilson ’24; and Emerson Tiwang ’25. They testified positively to Piegaro’s personality and emphasized that he had no history of aggression.
Wilson is a former columnist for the ‘Prince.’
The key witness of the trial was Sarah Kwartler GS. When called up to the stand, Koutsouris objected to her testimony, fearing it would cause prejudice due to what he called the “shocking” nature of the testimony. McCarthy overruled this objection, saying, “I’m speechless.”
Kwartler was the only defense witness who had seen the altercation. During cross examination, Kwartler shared that she first
met Piegaro on the dating app Hinge in 2022. They met three times — twice for what she called “dates” on Nassau street and once for a conversation in the Economics building. After these, there were no significant interactions between the two.
Kwartler described that on Apr. 29, she had just left Dillon Gym and was near Clio when she saw Piegaro following Strother, Weiss, and Mian. She recognized Piegaro, and watched as the men walked up the stairs. She then said that she looked away towards Clio due to commotion, and that by the time she looked back, Strother was holding Piegaro.
Kwartler described Strother as holding Piegaro “horizontally like an open pair of scissors,” with one hand under one of Piegaro’s legs and the other hand under Piegaro’s torso. She then said that Strother, who was standing near the stairs, had dropped Piegaro, who then rolled down the steps. Kwartler continued that she had tried to take a video, but by the time her phone was out, she had only captured Piegaro on the ground.
Kwarlter also stated that in the evening, she had sent the video to a group chat, where eventually the video reached Piegaro. The messages in this chat were submitted to the court as evidence. Soon after the incident, she said she was asked for a statement by Rabbi Eitan Webb, the director of Princeton’s Chabad House. The statement, which she wrote the following day and which eventually was sent to Piegaro, led the defense to subpoena her to testify.
At the end of the trial, Koutsouris motioned to drop the second count of trespass, which McCarthy agreed with.
In closing statements, Piegaro’s lawyer, Gerald Krovatin, argued that Kwartler’s testimony was “conclusive,” and that Strother had initiated contact at the top of the steps. Koutsouris, meanwhile, claimed that Piegaro violated New Jersey’s assault statutes in allegedly attempting to push past Strother.
A date for a verdict by McCarthy has not yet been set.
Christopher Bao is a head News editor for the ‘Prince.’ He is from Princeton, N.J. and typically covers town politics and life.
Luke Grippo is a staff News writer for the ‘Prince.’
As Street Week events continue, changes address trend of increased participation
By Justus Wilhoit Senior News Writer
Street Week 2025 kicked off on Sunday, Jan. 26 with clubs beginning to host events for prospective members. Building on the increased sophomore participation seen last year among the Class of 2026, the Class of 2027 is expected to continue this upward trend in participation in Street Week activities.
Higher participation has expanded Street Week festivities, but club spots remain limited, lowering acceptance rates.
During Street Week, which usually occurs in late January and early February, eating clubs hold events to recruit new members. Cannon Dial Elm, Cap and Gown, Cottage, Ivy, Tiger Inn (TI), and Tower Clubs conduct a selective membership process called “bicker,” whereas Charter, Cloister Inn, Colonial, Quadrangle, and Terrace Clubs allow students to sign in and join based on various lottery systems.
During bicker, which takes place over three days, sophomores, juniors, and seniors meet current members in various clubs through a series of formal and informal conversations. This is followed by member or committee discussions that determine which students each club accepts.
“We’re expecting similar numbers to last year,” Vincent Jiang ‘25, President of the Interclub Council (ICC), said in an interview with The Daily Princetonian this past November.
Historic firsts occurred last Street Week:
Tower accepted 165 bickerees in 2024, marking its largest class since at least 2001.
TI had the lowest acceptance rate of all 11 clubs, making it the most selective bicker club on the street, narrowly edging out Ivy. This is the first time TI has held this dis-
tinction since double bicker was established for all Bicker clubs in 2017. Double bicker allows students to bicker two different eating clubs in one cycle.
For the first time since at least 2001, more students bickered TI than Cap and Gown.
Nearly 80 percent of the Class of 2026 took part in Street Week last year, the largest number of sophomore participants the ICC has seen in the past decade. Higher participation has resulted in both signin and bicker clubs offering more opportunities for students to get to know current members and insight into the culture of each club during Street Week. There are 46 Street Week events this semester.
Changes during Street Week
2025
These decreasing acceptance rates have prompted the ICC, composed of the eleven undergraduate eating club presidents, to assess how to make Street Week more accommodating for more prospective members.
Charter Club has undergone notable changes to their selective sign-in process.
Charter is the only eating club that utilizes a selective sign-in process, in which points are awarded to prospective members when they demonstrate interest in the club by attending events.
During the inaugural sophomore eating club panel held by the ICC, former Charter Club President Anna Johns ’25 announced that while Charter will hold 14 point-earning opportunities as they have done historically, for the first time, the eating club will cap the number of points an individual can receive at nine.
“We hope that what this will do is reduce some pressure, you don’t have to go to all 14 events, because we stop counting at nine,” Johns said.
Charter’s process is non-evaluative, so if more students get nine
points and rank Charter first than there is space for in the club, membership will be selected via a lottery.
The change comes after Charter’s process was criticized last year by students who were left disappointed after ranking Charter as their first-choice club and attending at least 12 of 14 point opportunities, only to be denied membership.
The ICC is also hoping to ensure everyone is matched into an eating club, a goal initially proposed by the former ICC and Charter Club President Mia Beams ’24. Last year, the ICC’s computer system did not place a small number of students into a club.
“We are looking to require every potential member to rank all the sign-in clubs to make sure that we get 100 percent placements,” Jiang said. In previous years, students only had to rank two sign-ins in addition to any clubs they may have bickered.
The Group Sign-In feature, which allows a group of friends to sign into a club together, also serves as an option for bickerees. This option is not frequently utilized. In a statement to the ‘Prince’, the ICC reported that during Street Week 2024, a total of five groups were created, with 25 students opting to sign in as part of a group.
Registration for Spring Street Week 2025 opened on Sunday, Jan. 26 at noon. Selective Club choices must be made by Saturday, Feb. 1 at noon.
Bicker will be held from Sunday, Feb. 2 through Tuesday, Feb. 4. Students can rank their club preferences starting on Tuesday, Feb. 4 at 8 p.m. and no later than Thursday, Feb. 6 at 8 p.m. Club decisions will be available on Friday, Feb. 7 at 10 a.m.
Justus Wilhoit is a head Audience editor and senior News writer for the ‘Prince.’
Months after initial arrest, David Piegaro ’25 goes to trial
By Christopher Bao & Luke Grippo Head news Editor & Staff News Writer
David Piegaro ’25 appeared in court for charges of simple assault and criminal trespass on Monday, Feb. 3, months after he was first arrested last April. The case centered on an altercation with Assistant Vice President for Public Safety Kenneth Strother on the steps of Whig Hall in the aftermath of the occupation of Clio Hall.
Piegaro, represented by Gerald Krovatin, was accompanied by his mother, his father, and his girlfriend. During the first day of the trial, which took over five hours, prosecutor Christopher Koutsouris, representing the state, called up several witnesses from the University’s Department of Public Safety (DPS) and one faculty member. Additionally, a variety of documents were submitted as exhibits to the court, and body camera footage from several members of DPS was shown. The trial was presided over by Princeton Municipal Court Judge John McCarthy III ’69.
Piegaro’s arrest on April 29 followed several chaotic hours of demonstrations around Clio Hall as pro-Palestine protesters occupied the building. After two protesters were arrested and led onto an awaiting TigerTransit bus on Elm Drive, students swarmed the bus en masse, banging on its windows and chanting “let them go.”
Professor Max Weiss and Zia Mian, Co-Director of the Program in Science and Global Security, attempted to de-
escalate the situation in consultation with Strother. The crowd eventually dispersed when the two arrestees were let off the bus.
Strother, who was the first witness to be questioned, claimed that he talked to Weiss and Mian in the hour after the arrests to try to pass messages along to the protesters. He also claimed that during this conversation, Piegaro attempted to listen in and record the conversation. When Strother asked Piegaro for privacy, the latter asserted his right to be in the space. Then, Strother, Weiss, and Mian walked up the steps of Whig Hall. Piegaro followed them, according to a 20-second video recorded by Piegaro and played at the trial.
The main controversy of the trial was what happened in the ensuing minutes between Piegaro and Strother. Strother alleged that Piegaro, while trying to enter the building, had grabbed his arm and that Piegaro had fallen down the stairs as a result of a subsequent scuffle. Piegaro maintains that Strother pushed him down the stairs. Piegaro sustained bruised ribs and a concussion as a result of the fall.
Strother claimed that Piegaro had attempted to make his way into the building, which he said was locked. In Piegaro’s video, presented by the defense, Strother can be seen using his prox to gain access to Whig Hall and opening the door for Weiss and Mian. Piegaro then moved toward the entrance, though he did not enter the building due to Strother’s prevention.
Another point of contention raised during cross-examination was the accessibility of Whig Hall. The defense and prosecution discussed at length whether in the hours after the Clio occupation, the sensor on the building that allowed entry would allow students to scan in with their prox, thus raising controversy on whether Piegaro would have been allowed to enter the building.
At the end of Piegaro’s video, Strother can be seen reaching for Piegaro as Piegaro says, “Don’t touch me, man.” Strother claimed that in an attempt to prevent Piegaro’s entry, he reached out his arm to block Piegaro, but the latter grabbed and pushed him. Strother described the interaction as “very uncomfortable and surprising.” In the video and at the trial, however, the defense maintained that Strother had initiated contact.
In the ensuing altercation, Piegaro fell down the steps of Whig Hall. Strother claims that this was a result of Piegaro repeatedly grabbing him at the top of the stairs. Body camera footage from multiple officers, however, shows Piegaro repeatedly saying that he was “thrown down the stairs.”
Officer Delvy Frias, who was on the scene, was called up as the next witness. Frias said that he had seen Strother from afar with two people and had seen someone else trying to squeeze into the Whig building. Frias saw Strother begin to grapple with the person trying to get into Whig.
Mian was called up for direct and cross examination, claiming to have
seen Piegaro fall and corroborating Strother’s story. He shared that he viewed Piegaro neither as an aggressor nor a protester, referencing his own previous interactions with many of the protesters.
The next witness to testify was Breh Franky, Security Operations Manager for DPS. Franky expressed that she witnessed Piegaro “charge” the door to Whig Hall. She had been watching from the bottom of the stairs, and at some point during the altercation between Strother and Piegaro, she began to walk up the stairs.
The court was shown Franky’s digital statement to Detective Martin Krzywicki, taped on Jan. 15 of this year. Strother and the University did not respond to emailed questions about why a seemingly key witness was interviewed months after the incident.
Franky additionally claims to have seen Strother fall and expressed that Piegaro was intentionally attempting to cause bodily injury.
The last witness for the day was Sergeant Richard Ross. The Defense presented the video of Piegaro’s statement to Ross to the court. In this video, Piegaro explains the events of the day, specifically Strother’s aggression towards him, and his intention to file a criminal complaint.
The trial is set to continue on Tuesday, Feb. 4 at 10 a.m., with the defense expected to call its first witnesses.
Christopher Bao is a head News editor for the ‘Prince.’ He is from Princeton, N.J. and typically covers town politics and life.
Luke Grippo is a staff News writer for the ‘Prince.’
Mice infestations spread to NCW and Yeh colleges, students voice concern
By Hallie Graham & Ben Goldston Staff News Writer & News Contributor
As students returned to campus after winter break, many in undergraduate housing were met with unwelcome guests: rats and mice. Reports of infestations spread quickly, with students spotting rodents in dorm rooms, hallways, and common rooms.
Rodents have been a documented issue in upperclass housing for years, notably in buildings such as Brown Hall. However, multiple firstyear students from both New College West (NCW) and Yeh College told The Daily Princetonian that they have seen rodents in their common rooms since before fall break, and the infestation issue has only gotten worse.
Yeh resident John Wallar ’25 told the ‘Prince’ that he returned to his dorm during Wintersession to find that he had a mouse under his bedside table. “I heard a little scurrying, and I was like, okay, something probably just shifted,” said Wallar. “And then it continued.”
After contacting the Public Safety (PSAFE) non-emergency number, Wallar was offered a bed in the infirmary or the option to stay in a friend’s room. “The next day, someone from Facilities … came and put two mouse traps,” said Wallar. “Since then, I’ve had no other encounters with the small furry critter.”
Another resident of Yeh College, Kai Harting ’28, informed the ‘Prince’ that there have been reports of mice on his floor since December. Once, Harting’s zee group resorted to catching a mouse by themselves in a cup before releasing it outside.
Lizzie Himmelfarb ’28, who is in the same zee group as Harting, said this mouse was one of two mice spotted in her room and one of many on her floor.
Facilities have since been contacted about the problem on Harting and Himmelfarb’s floor in Yeh. Complaints from other students have continued to emerge.
“It took a while for Facilities to bring traps,” said Olivia Perry ’28, who also lives in Yeh College. Perry continued that Facilities found “four baby mice who lived in my mattress
topper over break … it’s basically like seven mice died in our room.”
In an email to the ‘Prince,’ University spokesperson Ahmad Rizvi said, “It is normal to see an uptick in mice activity during colder months as they seek warmth.”
“It is also common to see an increase in such activity after a period of extended vacancy,” added Rizvi.
Undergraduates like Wallar and Gall reported calling the non-urgent PSAFE line or Facilities to reach out to the University for help in exterminating the pests in their rooms.
Rizvi told the ‘Prince’ that to keep buildings pest-free, “weekly exclusion work is also being performed. This work includes sealing up potential entry points around a building like cracks, gaps and holes to prevent pests from entering” in addition to regular maintenance.
Facilities, in partnership with Western Pest, keeps two technicians on campus Monday through Friday to handle routine work and respond to service calls. Facilities recommends a “clean environment with no food left out. Food should be stored
in glass or hard plastic containers and trash should be regularly emptied.” Students can contact the Service Point at thepoint@princeton. edu or 609-258-8300 if they encounter any pests.
Hallie Graham is a staff News writer for the ‘Prince’ from Portland, Tenn. She typically covers construction and architecture, facilities and housing, and University dining.
Ben Goldston is a News contributor for the ‘Prince.’
CHRISTOPHER BAO / THE DAILY PRINCETONIAN
The Princeton Municipal Courtroom on Tuesday. Piegaro and his attorney are at the left of the main table, while Strother and the prosecutor are at the right.
Roberts: Housing “removed that option without alerting students.”
mate, their flare-ups were met with support and understanding that would be devastating to lose.
The frailty of these excuses raises the question of whether Housing changed this policy because supporting disabled students took more effort than they were willing to put forth.
If Housing is really concerned about the safety of disabled students, they should recognize the tangible detriments this change will have on disabled students’ wellbeing. Getting a random roommate increases the likelihood that the disabled person will be treated poorly or their needs will be ignored — for example, in Jack and Jills, having a roommate who understands the necessity of bathroom access is essential.
Indeed, one student who I talked to experienced their roommate locking them out repeatedly, although this student’s disability accommodations specifically involved bathroom access. With a self-selected room -
Being housed alone is not a good solution either. Placing disabled students in unwanted solitude cuts us off from our support networks, which has disastrous consequences for mental health. Although peers should not be made responsible for the entirety of another student’s health, having one’s support network immediately accessible is comforting to those experiencing psychological distress.
Separating students from their support networks also endangers their physical health.
My first year, before I had developed an on-campus support network, I had a three-week-long autoimmune flare-up, leaving me in extreme pain and incredibly dizzy. I lived with the terrifying knowledge that I was alone in my dorm room with nobody to check on me.
Unable to even walk to the
dining hall, I went multiple days without eating, simply because I had nobody to bring me food while my body destroyed itself. In contrast, during a similar flare-up last year, my support network brought me food and medicine and regularly checked on me. I rested more, healed faster, and returned to class sooner.
When I expressed concerns about this policy change to the Office of Disability Services, they suggested that disabled students tell their friends to “prioritize selecting a room near [them].” This recommendation is out of touch with the highly competitive reality of Princeton housing, which has significant disparities in accessibility, particularly for upperclass student housing. The newness of accessible dorms increases their popularity, making it less likely that friends of disabled students can room near their disabled friend.
Drawmates aren’t a special
privilege. Students without disabilities can select up to seven drawmates with whom they are almost guaranteed to live, while disabled students have no say in our dorm: The “pre-draw” process assigns us a room. If that room doesn’t meet our accommodations, we must “either accept the assigned room or … participate in the regular room draw process.”
Denying the opportunity to room with your friends — a quintessential part of the college experience — on the basis of disability is unfair and discriminatory, and exacerbates the isolation of disabled students.
Many cornerstones of student life at Princeton are already harder for disabled students to access and enjoy. Dining halls are overstimulating and full of allergens. Eating club alcohol culture is unwelcoming of people with histories of addiction or certain health conditions. Health flares and inaccessible club locations limit extracurricular attendance.
Among all these limitations, roommates or suitemates promise disabled students regular social contact within their dorm rooms, spaces with guaranteed openness and accessibility. Some disabled students need a single room, while others need a roommate. All would strongly benefit from retaining the agency to make roommate decisions for themselves, like every other student.
If Princeton is serious about their commitment to accessibility and upholding values of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, they should not subject disabled students to retrogressive housing policies. Instead, Princeton should continue building more accessible buildings and develop more opportunities for disabled students to build community.
August Roberts is a senior from Waco, Texas studying English and Gender & Sexuality Studies. You can reach them at ar1798[at]princeton.edu.
Secular Opening Exercises? Don’t throw out the baby with
Frank C. Strasburger
Contributor
The following is a guest contribution and reflects the author’s views alone.
As a former Princeton chaplain, I’m eager to respond to Sasha Malena Johnson’s thoughtful Opinion piece urging that Opening Exercises be made secular. While I’m sympathetic to much that she says, my own understanding of Princeton’s religious pluralism leads me to a different conclusion.
Let me begin personally. As I didn’t become a Christian until I was 24 years old, I sat in the University Chapel for Opening Exercises in 1963 with the entirely Christian ceremony falling uncomfortably upon my Jewish ears. Such experiences have impelled me both as a Christian and as a priest to avoid the assumption that everyone believes as I do — or if they don’t, they should. Fortunately, many of Princeton’s faith leaders during the final quarter of the last century and the first quarter of this one have harbored similar sensibilities, and throughout that period, they have overseen an evolution in the nature of Opening Exercises.
In the early 1980s, Dean of the Chapel Frederick Borsch ’57 “de-Christianized” Opening Exercises, welcoming representatives of non-Christian faiths to help lead the ceremony and including a wide variety of spiritual texts. Though the ceremony was still held in the Chapel, he made a point of
placing a banner in front of the cross behind the altar, realizing that, sacred though it was to Christians, the cross was a frightening symbol of persecution for many non-Christians and would therefore undermine all of his attempts at inclusivity.
Anyone who was around then will recall the uproar that erupted in the alumni body and the brave and characteristically reflective way Dean Borsch stood up to it, with the full backing of thenUniversity President William Bowen ’58 GS. As chair of the Chapel Advisory Council and later a denominational chaplain, I, too, was in the midst of the fray.
Today’s Princeton, as Johnson rightly observes, is a different place. Pluralistic as we may have begun to be in the 1980s, the University is further along that path today — perhaps not to the extent we hope to be but moving with substantial intention in the right direction.
Johnson notes the 2025 Frosh Survey in which over half of the respondents described themselves as “‘not at all’ or ‘not very’ religious.” No surprise there.
However, a 2023 Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll found that roughly half of American agnostics and two-thirds of those with no religious identification nevertheless claim some sense of spirituality. I wonder how many Princeton first-years would have responded favorably had they been asked, “Do you consider yourself at all spiritual?”
Johnson is correct that though Princeton was founded by Presbyterian clergy, it has been nonsectarian from the
the bath water
beginning. That said, I don’t believe the founders thought of Princeton as “secular.” Certainly, the University’s third president, Jonathan Edwards, had nothing secular in mind as he reputedly delivered what was already by then the most famous fire-and-brimstone sermon ever written, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” to a congregation of bleary-eyed students in the Prayer Hall of Nassau Hall at 5:30 in the morning (a story I learned as an Orange Key guide). Princeton has changed, indeed.
The secular makes no room for the spiritual. But while Princeton has never been Presbyterian or even Christian by charter, I would argue that the
University has always been spiritual at its core. And what Opening Exercises are meant to convey is the spirit of the institution so that it may be kept alive from generation to generation.
It’s the spirit of intellectual discovery, scientific inquiry, and artistic creativity. It’s the spirit of the personal and communal quest for identity and purpose, the spirit that urges us to lead our lives for the benefit of others, the spirit of friendship and fellowship endemic to Princeton’s residential life, the life-long spiritual bonds that tie us to this place and to one another, indeed the spiritual bond between me and Sasha and with all of
our readers — the spirit that makes us, singularly, Princetonians.
Opening Exercises are Princeton’s rite of passage, welcoming the newest Princetonians into a culture that is both grounded and ever-changing, both ancient and new. Spirit is its essence. The message is too important not to communicate it in language that can be universally received, and the service should certainly be accessible to the entire University community. But you can’t remove the spirit, because the spirit is the message.
The Rev. Frank C. Strasburger ’67 was the Episcopal Chaplain at Princeton from 1986 to 1997.
Voters then and now: How different roads led to the same vote
By Coco Gong Head Features editor
It’s 2008. The Jonas Brothers and Carrie Underwood are playing over the radio. “Iron Man” has just been released as the first film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The Olympic spotlight lands on Michael Phelps as the swimmer wins gold in all eight of his events and shatters World Records in seven.
And, a few months ahead, the 2008 presidential election looms.
On Princeton’s campus, students prepare to vote for the first time as November draws near. An abundance of political issues guide their electoral decisions. The bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, for example, has just kicked off one of the most devastating financial crises since the Great Depression. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan continue to weigh heavily on the minds of the American people.
In interviews with The Daily Princetonian, alumni who were on campus during the 2008 presidential election expressed experiencing substantial changes in life experiences, social media, and the way they now approach politics — yet, they all cast their support for Harris in the 2024 election. While the ‘Prince’ reached out to prominent independents and Republican supporters on campus back then, they either declined to comment or did not respond to multiple requests.
At the time, activism around larger, more sensitive issues, like the financial crisis and the ongoing wars, was rare. According to Aku Ammah-Tagoe ’11, now a search consultant at Isaacson, Miller, most students went to populated places like New York or Philadelphia for protests. The bulk of political discussion on campus was formal, taking place over campus publications such as the ‘Prince’ and the Tory and in debate societies like Whig and Clio.
“The prevailing attitude at the time was that Princeton was somewhat apolitical and less open to robust political debate than other college campuses,” Ammah-Tagoe said.
A 2004 ‘Prince’ article described political apathy as a “perennial complaint” at Princeton.
However, not all students were politically averse. Ammah-Tagoe recalled being invested in “the horse race aspect of politics,” keeping track of winning and losing candidates, strategies, and
political trends from the physical newspapers that residential colleges delivered every day. She and her friends often sat together in the dining halls, reading The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, and other blogs.
Some students involved themselves in class government. One alumna, in particular, has been in the thick of politics since her first year on campus: Lindy Li ’12, a current political strategist and commentator. Li was elected class president at age 17 and held the position for all four years as a student — the first woman at the University to do so — and continued to serve as alumni class president. Li, a frequent guest on cable news and personality on X (formerly Twitter), recently garnered headlines for switching allegiances from a staunch Democrat to supporter of President Donald Trump.
Others aligned themselves with political parties or specific issues. Rob Weiss ’09, the president of the College Democrats at the time and a current associate at Latham and Watkins, recalled “a ton of enthusiasm and real engagement” despite Princeton’s reputation of being politically muted.
“There was a vibrant set of groups on campus that were doing everything from animal rights to the wars we were fighting overseas,” Weiss said. “Everybody had their own passions that they were really focused on.”
In particular, Weiss mobilized the College Democrats, donating to political causes, knocking on doors to get votes out, and registering new voters. According to Weiss, they visited over 20,000 doors in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Virginia. On campus, their membership nearly doubled and the College Democrats became the largest student group.
In addition to students, professors also participated in the wider political discussion, recalled Carly Guerra ’10, a family medicine resident in El Paso, Texas.
“Tons of professors from my time, like Cornel West, were always very vocal about how they felt politically, which I appreciate. I think that’s a really important thing to do, especially on a college campus,” Guerra said.
A lot has changed since 2008, one of the most significant societal transformations being the advent of social media. Digital platforms like Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram have surpassed traditional media as the most popular avenue by which Americans get their news.
Elise Tremblay ’09, a pediatric endocrinologist at Boston Children’s Hospital, noted that this change deviated significantly from the main purposes of social media during her Princeton years. Facebook, she recalled, was mostly used to connect with friends she already knew and stay in touch with people from high school — far from the “echo chamber of political drama” it seems like today.
“I recognize — and this became starkly apparent with our recent election — that who you see on social media reinforces your narrative and what you think is going on,” Tremblay said. “I think it really helps to silo us in a way that is not necessarily productive.”
Guerra echoed the sentiment. In college, she remembered being able to read a newspaper, listen to a radio, or log onto social media and get reliable information without having to “wade through miles and miles of garbage.”
“[Social media] was a way [for] people to engage and share ideas, but it wasn’t this cesspool,” Guerra said. “Twitter is like a cesspool — you go on there, and it’s nothing but negativity [and] toxicity.”
However, not all 2008 voters view social media in a negative light. Jasmine Jeffers ’11, Managing Director of Institutional Giving at StoryCorps, said she spends a lot of time on TikTok and would classify herself as chronically online.
“It’s been interesting both to be exposed to new ways of thinking that I might not have considered based on my own lived experience,” Jeffers explained. “It’s been useful for putting my own experiences into context.”
Like other alumni, Li recalled social media having little influence in 2008 but acknowledged its central role in her career today. A longtime registered Democrat, she recently raised over $2 million for the Harris campaign and represented Philadelphia as a delegate at the Democratic National Convention. Over the past few years, many of her political opinions have played out on X.
However, days after President Donald Trump’s victory in 2024, Li re-emerged as a vocal critic of the Democratic Party, labeling the Harris campaign as a “$1 billion disaster” on Fox News. In January 2025, she was named to the TrumpVance inaugural committee and expressed later on X that she is “excited and optimistic” to work with the new administration.
Reflecting on social media’s impact, Li noted its reach: “I just woke up the other day and I saw that Elon Musk pushed my story up to 213 million people,” she said. “He’s been tweeting my story to all of his followers, and his PAC is retweeting it as well.”
Regardless, social media and the alumni’s broader life experiences have both affirmed and challenged their political beliefs, shaping their decisions four election cycles later.
“My political views are more nuanced, less aligned with any particular orthodoxy, and also, naturally, I’m more jaded,” Ammah-Tagoe said. “In some ways, that cynicism is helpful.”
As an undergraduate, Ammah-Tagoe interned with the House of Representatives. She later worked as a journalist, volunteered for political campaigns, got involved in more local activism, and also experienced periods with little political involvement. While sharing her support for Obama in 2008, she declined to comment on who she voted for in this election year.
“I believe much more deeply in the power of local elections, statewide elections, and also just in the ways that individuals can help each other and communities can bolster each other even when the government is actively attacking us,” she added.
Weiss shared a similar sentiment. Although most of the enthusiasm from his days with College Democrats followed the national elections, he recently spent time at the local level, seeing the policies there and “[talking] to people whose lives and livelihoods are directly impacted.”
Weiss expressed that his political beliefs have remained the same since his time at Princeton: He supported Obama in 2008 and voted for Kamala Harris in 2024. Among his friends and others that he had spoken to since the election, Weiss described feeling a “real sense of loss.”
“There’s this real sense of sorrow and fear that such a huge portion of the country was willing to overlook the really flawed human being that was selected, and accept, not only the things he said, but the things he’s done,” Weiss said.
Two other alumni also supported Harris this past November. Though leading different lives, they both acknowledged the impact of their personal life experiences on their political views.
Tremblay, who grew up in a Democratic household, gradually participated in political student groups and affirmed for herself the policies that her parents discussed. Rather than understanding why things matter on principle, she sought to understand why things mattered “in the real world.”
“In college, I would have said it’s important that every person has health insurance coverage because that’s a human right,” Tremblay said. “Now, as a doctor, a parent whose children have needed health care, and a person who’s had friends with terrible health crises, I have a more nuanced understanding of what that means.”
Jeffers, who voted for Obama in 2008 and “[blue] all the way down the ticket,” has consistently supported Democrats in every presidential election since — including Harris in 2024. Her career gave her first hand exposure to stark economic inequalities, reinforcing her political beliefs.
“I’m in a field where I spend a lot of time with billionaires and very poor
people, and I see both incredible wealth and crushing poverty,” Jeffers said. “Seeing and knowing that we have the collective resources as a city to end those things, there’s no reason why, in my opinion, why we should have so many people sleeping on the streets when there’s so many vacant luxury apartments.”
Other alumni supported Harris far more reluctantly.
“I voted for Kamala, [but] she had not even just minor red flags — she had a whole thing that I did not agree with her, which is the genocide in Palestine,” Guerra said, citing the war in Gaza. “In today’s climate, all of the candidates felt like an unsettling situation.”
Furthermore, Guerra expressed that the presidential election system has also “backed [itself] into a corner” where only candidates from the two main political parties have a chance to win. Any voter who supports a third party, Guerra noted, “either feels, or is made to feel like they split a vote and ruined everything.”
“The last few elections have felt like this desperate clambering,” Guerra said. “I know this country has never been perfect, but the idea of democracy, sinking claws [in] and just trying to keep hold in desperation — it just feels more and more dramatic every time.”
For some alumni, their frustration with the political landscape led to more than reluctance for Harris — it powered a deeper shift in allegiance. Describing her transition from the Democratic Party to supporting President Trump, Li noted she was “disenchanted with what the Democratic Party has become.”
“Too much of the Party has lured so far to the left, and it’s not the party that we knew in 2008,” Li said. “It’s just not the party that we grew up with.”
She cited issues like immigration, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, open borders, and a lack of a clear party leader, and instead stated that she wanted to be a part of “a party that supports common sense.”
“I’m not going down with that ship,” Li said.
Despite the uncertain political climate, the alumni still offer a few words of wisdom for current students facing political discussion and engagement. Some advised students to involve themselves in politics and underlined the importance of community.
“Get involved, and once you do get involved, you have a greater sense of how much of a difference you can make,” Weiss said. “It takes away from the hopelessness and the sense that democracy is something that happens to us rather than something we participate in.”
“Think about the why and how of how you live your life, as opposed to just what is on your to-do list,” Jeffers added.
“I think the way that we fix this country is by valuing people who aren’t us,” Geurra said. “Don’t lose heart.”
Finally, some encouraged students to expand their perspectives on different viewpoints.
Tremblay invited students to improve the political dialogue: “Take the opportunity to engage in discourse with your peers that you don’t agree with.”
“Read widely, read broadly, listen to a variety of things. Don’t get too entrenched in any one viewpoint too quickly,” Ammah-Tagoe said.
Coco Gong is a head Features editor for the ‘Prince.’
the PROSPECT. ARTS & CULTURE
Vintage uniforms, progressive play
By
Historic. Magical. And now… vintage. Men’s basketball has been described in several special and unexpected ways over the past three years following a Cinderella run in March Madness 2023 and an outright Ivy Title in 2024. Now, the team is confidently redefining themselves yet again with a retro-style uniform. Team stars Dalen Davis ’27, Caden Pierce ’26, and Xaivian Lee ’26 were featured in a promotion displaying the vintage-style uniforms on the team’s Instagram on Thursday, Jan. 16.
Missing an automatic bid to the 2024 NCAA tournament after losing to Brown in the Ivy League Tournament semifinals, this style statement comes as the team aims to vy for an Ivy League tournament championship and clinch a spot in March Madness 2025.
The retro-style uniforms follow a trend in professional and collegiate sports featuring early versions of jerseys or vintage elements. Columbia, Brown, and Yale have all featured throwback jerseys for various sports to honor school or championship anniversaries. Princeton appears to be the first in the Ivy League to introduce a jersey with vintage-inspired elements instead of an exact replica of a previous uniform.
The white jersey features “Princeton” in an orange script outlined in black meant to combine tradition and innovative style. The shorts feature arch-shaped piping in orange, black, and white, modeled after Princeton’s iconic campus architecture.
The “Sailor Tiger” logo is stitched under the arch is a long time in the making: Among the many American sports teams that call the tiger their mascot, Princeton is the first and oldest. Football players wore orange and black stripes on their jerseys in the 1880s, prompting sportswriters to dub them “tigers.” In 1896, the trustees adopted orange and black as Princeton’s official school colors, and the tiger became a symbol of campus athletics and culture as a result. Nationwide, mascots featuring a hat and scowling expression are a popular version of college football logos. Princeton uniforms have featured the “Sailor Tiger” since the 1990s.
Reviving the old-school Princeton logo also connects the men’s basketball team with the program’s revered history — headlined by the 1964–65 squad, who, led by Bill Bradley ’65, reached the school’s only Final Four. Bradley later achieved professional and senatorial fame. Pete Carril brought the Tigers back to national prominence during his 30year tenure as head coach, popularizing the “Princeton offense” and terrorizing opposing offenses with a vaunted Tiger defense, which is frequently ranked the best in the country.
Although the current team possesses neither the stifling defense nor the steady tempo of the Tigers of yore, the Princeton faithful can still be delighted by the back-
door cuts to the rim synonymous with Princeton basketball. And, Tiger fans will watch as Lee and Pierce aspire to add to their team’s legacy of NCAA tournament upsets.
The now dynamic duo, then freshmen, were critical in the Cinderella run of the 2023 team in the NCAA Tournament, in which Princeton defeated second-seeded Arizona and routed seventh-seed Missouri. That team drew comparisons to the almost mythical first-round NCAA Tournament victory by the 1996 team over the defending national champions UCLA.
The Tigers opened Ivy play with three straight wins, and the vintage uniforms paired old memories of Princeton basketball excellence with present-day success — a match that aims to propel the Tigers back to the NCAA Tournament. After recent back to back losses to Cornell and Yale, the Tigers will need to channel that magical past.
The team sported the new uniforms at their Ivy League home opener 71–67 victory over Columbia on Monday, Jan, 20.
Helîn Taskesen ’28, an attendee at the Columbia game, told The Daily Princetonian: “I mainly liked the fact that it was more minimalistic, and you could see the numbers, but it wasn’t bright orange.”
Wendy Wang ’28, wrote to the ‘Prince’
that the uniforms were a “classy throwback.”
After tip-off, the team faced trouble as Columbia broke away on a 14–2 run in the first four minutes. “[The atmosphere] honestly started out a bit rough,” Taskesen told the ‘Prince.’ The Tigers were trailing 18 points at halftime and continued to trail by double digits halfway through the second half, but a comeback was imminent.
“As Princeton started scoring, it was sort of like an underdog moment, like people started getting really excited and sort of started cheering on more,” Taskesen said to the ‘Prince.’ Xaivian Lee hit a three-pointer outside the arc with 10 seconds on the clock. Senior guard Blake Peters also hit two free throws in the final second to secure the win.
Following the uniforms’ debut, the Tigers dropped one against Cornell in an 85–76 loss on Saturday, Jan. 25.
Looking to come back in their next game against Yale on Friday, Jan. 31, the Tigers wore their retro-style uniforms for the third time. “The script is nice,” Elisa Gonzalez ’27 told the ‘Prince.’
The team had a difficult start as the Tigers trailed by 20 points, but they were eventually able to recover to a five-point deficit. Ian Mann ’28 told the ‘Prince’ the game “definitely got better at the end.”
Ultimately however, the team’s efforts were not enough to best the Bulldogs this time.
In a postgame interview with the ‘Prince,’ Larkin Macosko ’28 said, “I think they should have matching shoes because they’re coordinating with their outfits, but then the shoes are different. I mean it’s kind of cute, but I think it would be better if it was more consistent.”
The team did not wear their new jerseys in their 69–49 win against Brown on Saturday, Feb. 1.
The vintage-elements of these new uniforms tell a story of tradition and excellence, boldly defining Princeton’s legacy in Ivy basketball. After a somewhat rocky past couple of games in Ivy play, men’s basketball will be looking to personify their rich history and polish their play ahead of the Ivy Championship tournament. Men’s basketball is now 1–2 when wearing the retro-style uniforms. Their next game will be on the road versus Penn this coming Friday.
Ysabella Olsen is a member of the Class of 2028. She is an assistant editor for The Prospect and copy editor at the ‘Prince.’ Harrison Blank is a head Sports editor at the ‘Prince.’
PHOTO COURTESY OF @PRINCETONMBB / X
Junior forward Caden Pierce dons the fresh threads on his way to 21 points. The vintage uniforms combine throwback orange script, arch-shaped piping along the sides, and the old-school Sailor Tiger logo.
Ysabella Olsen & Harrison Blank
Assistant Prospect editor & Head Sports editor
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Men’s basketball falls to rivals Yale before bouncing back against Brown
“I think we’ve developed a small rivalry with them over the years,” Yale guard John Poulakidas told The Daily Princetonian postgame.
Coming off a loss to the Cornell Big Red (13–6 overall, 5–1 Ivy League), the Tigers (15–6, 4–2) needed to bounce back against rivals Yale (13–6, 6–0) to create a three-way tie atop the Ivy League standings.
On national television in front of over 3,200 fans at Jadwin, the Bulldogs got off to a strong start and never looked back en route to a 77–70 win, handing the Tigers their second Ivy loss.
The following day, the Tigers beat Brown 69–49 in one of their best defensive performances of the season. The win — their most complete game of Ivy League play so far — avenged their 2024 Ivy Madness loss to the Bears.
‘We have a problem on our team’
Since the 2014–15 season, Princeton and Yale have dominated the Ivy League. The two squads have combined for nine Ivy League regular season titles, five Ivy Madness titles, and four NCAA tournament wins, with three of them occurring in the last two seasons.
However, Yale has won 12 out of the last 15 games, including Friday night’s contest at Jadwin where Princeton had won 41 out of its last 48 games.
“That’s the best team we’ve seen this season, and hopeful to see them two more times,” Henderson said postgame, referencing a potential Ivy Madness matchup to come in March.
Poulakidas led the Bulldogs with 23 points, while the Yale defense held junior standout guard Xaivian Lee to two points and junior forward Caden Pierce to five.
Notably, Head Coach Mitch Henderson ’98 benched his upperclassmen duo for the final 7:36 of the game.
“We did a great job defensively, individually,” Yale Head Coach James Jones said. “Nick Townsend on Pierce and Bez [Mbeng] on Lee, they had just tough nights.”
The Tigers only led for 25 seconds on Friday night. It was all Yale early on as a triple from Poulakidas put the visitors up 22–12 within the first eight minutes. The Tigers responded as consecutive triples from sophomore guard Jackson Hicke cut the lead to six.
The Bulldogs — who came
into the game as three-point favorites — opened up a 14-point lead with just over four minutes remaining in the half after Poulakidas drained his second threepointer.
After a three by sophomore guard Dalen Davis with seven seconds left in the first half, it looked like the Tigers were garnering momentum. However, Yale guard Bez Mbeng drained a three of his own as time expired to give Yale a 44–34 advantage at halftime, ending the half on a bitter note for the Tigers, who needed to enter the locker room with energy.
Yale shot an impressive 62.1 percent from the field in the first half, including seven of nine from beyond the arc.
“It’s just unacceptable how many games in a row we’ve just dug ourselves a hole,” Hicke noted.
After both sides exchanged buckets to start the second half, a 22–10 run by Yale gave them a 20-point lead with just over seven minutes remaining.
This is when Henderson made a bold coaching decision, benching his starting five for the remaining eight minutes and putting out a lineup with four first-year players. The decision paid off as eight consecutive points by first-year guard Jack Stanton made it 71–61 Yale with four minutes remaining. In under 10 minutes of play, Stanton finished with a career high 17 points.
Despite cutting the lead to five points with 27 seconds remaining, the Bulldogs held on for a 77–70 victory.
“We have a problem on our team, for sure,” Henderson said.
‘We looked like us’
When the Tigers returned to the court on Saturday against Brown, they looked very different.
Coach Henderson mixed up the rotation, giving Stanton 17 minutes after his breakout game. Aside from a garbage time cameo, he also benched senior forward Phillip Byriel, with first-year forward CJ Happy logging a careerhigh 21 minutes. Henderson’s changes were rewarded, and the Tigers put forth one of their best performances of the season in a 69–49 win.
The Tigers have been crushed by starting slowly all season long. Against the Bears, they had one of their best starts of the year. After a three by Stanton, the Tigers took a 37–23 lead into halftime. That 14-point advantage represents the Tigers’ second best first-half performance of the season.
“We set the tone early on,” said junior forward Caden Pierce.
After the break, it briefly looked like the Tigers’ old problems might be returning. Princeton failed to score during the first three minutes of the second half, and a layup by Brown guard Aaron Cooley made the score 37–33.
However, the Tigers responded. Jackson Hicke nailed a tough and-one layup to end the 10–0 Brown run, and the Tigers led by double digits for the final 12 minutes of the game.
The Tigers continued to extend their lead, and a three by senior guard Blake Peters gave them a 20-point cushion with just over two minutes remaining in the game.
Peters was excellent for the second straight night, and he
finished the weekend with 30 points on 53 percent shooting over two games.
“He played like a senior,” said Henderson.
Princeton star Xaivian Lee bounced back after a brutal two-point showing against Yale. Lee led all Princeton scores against Brown with 16 points and notably scored his 100th career triple. Moreover, he played excellently on defense. Henderson called the game his “best defensive game this season, which we really needed.”
It wasn’t just Lee who played great defense. The Tigers put forth a complete showing on that side of the ball, holding the Bears to 49 points, the fewest the team has allowed in any game this season. The Bears shot just 33 percent from the field.
The Tigers ended their weekend with a split against last year’s Ivy finalists and gained some momentum as the conference season heats up. Henderson’s mood after the game was very different from what it had been the night before.
“A long 24 hours, but really like months. And finally, I feel like we looked like us,” he said.
The Tigers will return to Ivy play on Friday night when they travel to play Penn (6–13, 2–4) at the iconic Palestra.
Hayk Yengibaryan is an associate News editor, senior Sports writer, and Education Director for the ‘Prince.’
Zachary Meisel is a Sports contributor for the ‘Prince.’
RYLAND GRAHAM / THE DAILY PRINCETONIAN
First-year guard Jack Stanton had a career high 17 points in under 10 minutes of play against Yale.
FOOTBALL
Football duo Will Reed and Tommy Matheson to transfer for fifth year of eligibility
By Lily Pampolina Associate Sports Editor
Despite what proved to be a disappointing three-win season for Princeton football, two senior offensive linemen are turning the page on the Ivy League and taking their collegiate careers to a new level. Using their fifth years of eligibility, Will Reed is set to join the Mountaineers at West Virginia University, while Tommy Matheson will suit up as an Eagle for Boston College.
Unlike many other schools across the nation, the Ivy League has not allowed athletes to use their fifth year of eligibility outside of their four years of undergraduate studies, with the exception of the 2021–22 season, when the rule was waived due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
As a result, Ivy League athletes who wish to continue their athletic endeavors after their senior year, with a fifth year of eligibility, must transfer outside of the conference. Recent big names that have gone outside the Ivy League for a fifth year include Jalen Travis ’24, Ozzie Nicholas ’24, and Liam Johnson ’24. For Reed and Matheson, this process has also earned them roster spots on teams with established professional pipelines.
“I was honestly pretty surprised with the attention I was getting from schools,” Reed told The Daily Princetonian. “I ended up with 10 to a dozen offers from other schools, which was really fun.”
Entering the transfer portal does not guarantee that an athlete will be picked up by a new school. As of 2022, only about half of Division I athletes who wanted to transfer were picked up by a team.
“I put my name in [the transfer portal] when our season ended, then started talking to coaches,” Matheson told the ‘Prince.’ “It’s all very hectic in that December window.”
Both Reed and Matheson received transfer offers from multiple schools. Their decisions came down to what they were looking for most in one academic year and a single season of football.
“I wasn’t expecting to be able to get a lot done academically with only having one year of eligibility,” Matheson said. “So when Boston College said they were able to get me into their master’s program, that was a kind of difference maker.”
For Reed, transferring was all about getting time on the field.
“My front runners were Virginia, Georgia Tech, and West Virginia,” Reed told the ‘Prince.’ “It came down to the coaching and the opportunity to start.”
Both West Virginia and Boston College are a part of conferences in the FBS, or Football Bowl Subdivision, which is the highest level of Division I football. Princeton and the Ivy League sit in the FCS, the Football Championship Subdivision, which is the secondhighest level.
FBS schools typically have larger student populations and greater athletics budgets compared to FCS schools. Although teams in both conferences can compete amongst each other, they differ in their playoff format. The FBS playoff, better known as the College Football Playoff, is the most widely watched college football postseason, culminating in a championship game that draws in over 20 million viewers yearly.
While it is possible to make it to the professional level after playing for an FCS team like Princeton, both Reed and Matheson note that the possibility becomes greater as a result of their transfer to larger schools.
“The offensive line coach at West Virginia has almost a decade of NFL experience,” Reed said to the ‘Prince’. “[The NFL] is still a dream I’m holding onto. I think it’s more possible now than it ever was before.”
“It depends on how the next season goes, but playing in the NFL is the ultimate goal,” Matheson told the ‘Prince’. “For now, it’s just seeing how far I can take football.”
West Virginia University is part of the Big 12 conference, whereas Boston College is part of the Atlantic Coast Conference, or ACC. Each finished in the middle of their respective conference’s rankings during the 2024–25 season.
In terms of goals for the season, both Reed and Matheson are looking
to make large-scale impacts for their teams.
“I think that [West Virginia] has a big need for offensive linemen right now,” Reed told the ‘Prince.’ “I want to help the team win games, and hopefully I can play well enough to get some type of all-conference mention or honors.”
“I knew I wanted to go somewhere where I’d have a really good chance to start,” Matheson noted to the ‘Prince.’
“That’s first and foremost my goal, then it’s seeing if I can be an All-ACC player.”
At Princeton, the duo began to see frequent time on the field starting their sophomore year. During their junior year in the 2022–23 season, their contributions helped the Tigers rank No. 1 for passing offense in the Ivy League.
By their senior year, both Reed and Matheson were consistent starters for Princeton. Matheson was named Blue Bloods Second-Team All-Ivy and Phil Steele Third-Team All-Ivy.
For Reed, though, the road to a starting position was difficult after missing his first-year season due to injury.
“In Washington, we played our COVID season in the spring, and in the last game I was having one of the best games of my life,” Reed explained. “In, like, the last minute of the game, I tore my shoulder and I had surgery in the May of my senior year.”
As such, coming to Princeton in August, Reed was limited in his athletic participation.
“I didn’t play a single down of football my freshman year,” Reed told the ‘Prince.’ “I couldn’t have the type of role that I felt benefited the team.”
From here, Reed was determined to make his mark. His sophomore year, he appeared in five games.
For Matheson, although injury was not a battle, challenges came in other forms, like time management.
“I like to have a lot on my plate,” he told the ‘Prince.’ “I like that challenge, just being able to do a lot of things at once. It’s like [having] multifaceted goals, you know.”
During Reed and Matheson’s time at the University, Princeton Football earned various different rankings within the Ivy League. Nonetheless, the players each feel that Princeton has taught them lessons that they will bring with them to their new schools.
“You talk about the brotherhood at Princeton and it’s a real thing for sure,” Matheson told the ‘Prince.’ “I think about beating Harvard at home in 2023 and away in 2022, which is always a highlight.”
Reed and Matheson will graduate this spring before they transfer for their final year
Lily Pampolina is an associate Sports editor and a staff Audience creator for the ‘Prince.’
GRAPHIC BY MALIA
Tommy Matheson (left) and
Reed (right)
WOMEN’S HOCKEY
Women’s hockey dominates in back-to-back wins at home
By Lily Pampolina & Leila Eshaghpour-Silberman
Sports
This weekend, Princeton women’s hockey (16–8–1 overall, 10–7–1 Ivy League) secured back-to-back conference wins, defeating Dartmouth (4–16–3, 2–12–3) 3–2 in an exciting overtime battle on Friday night, and overcoming Harvard (2–20–2, 1–16–1) the next afternoon 2–0.
Defeating Dartmouth
The Tigers are no stranger to overtime, having had five games this season that forced an extra period of play. On Friday night, the team outlasted a strong defensive Dartmouth squad thanks to a late goal from junior forward Emerson O’Leary.
The Big Green were the first to strike, scoring a goal in the opening period in a scramble in front of the net. Going into the first intermission, Dartmouth led 1–0.
But Princeton found their rhythm in the second, dominating possession and earning their first power play of the night. Junior forward Katherine Khramtsov took full advantage, burying a shot to even the score at 1–1.
Just seven minutes later, Dartmouth pulled ahead again, scoring off of a secondchance shot deflected off of the Princeton defense. Entering the third period, Princeton trailed 2–1.
Midway into the final period of play, the Tigers tied the game for a final time. Split-
ting the Dartmouth defense and skating confidently into a central gap, junior forward Issy Wunder struck a deep shot into the back of the net. The match was tied at 2–2.
“It’s nice when the goals come, because they don’t always come,” Wunder told The Daily Princetonian. “You got to just appreciate them when they do.”
As the clock wound down, both teams locked into a defensive battle, keeping the score tied at the end of regulation.
But Princeton wasted no time in overtime. Less than a minute into the five minute overtime period, Princeton netted their golden goal off of a pass from junior forward Sarah Paul to O’Leary.
After winning the game in overtime, team vibes were at a high.
“Everyone’s really excited,” Wunder said of the win before reflecting on the task of facing Harvard the next day. “We just want to be happy and end the weekend off on a good note.”
Handling Harvard
The Tigers returned to the Hobey Baker Rink on Saturday afternoon to face the Harvard Crimson, beating them 2–0.
The Tigers came out aggressive, keeping the puck deep in Harvard’s defensive zone and pressuring the Crimson from the start. Three minutes into the period, the Tigers took advantage of a sloppy early penalty awarded to the Crimson for having too many players on the ice. Thirty seconds later, firstyear right wing Mackenzie Al-
exander scored a power-play goal, slipping the puck past Harvard goaltender Ainsley Tuffy to put the Tigers up 1–0.
The Tigers doubled their lead just three minutes later, as Alexander set up Wunder, who slotted the puck past Tuffy for her 22nd goal of the season.
“We just have a lot of good chemistry on and off the ice,” Wunder told the ‘Prince.’ “It makes it really easy when we’re having fun and we all know where each other is going to be.”
While the Tigers wouldn’t add to the scoreboard again for the rest of the game, they maintained their dominant play over Harvard, continuing to test Tuffy with scrambles in front of the net as well as shots from far away. While Harvard gained a bit of momentum toward the end of the first period, they were no match for the Princeton defense and were only able to find two shots on goal all period to Princeton’s thirteen.
Moving into the second period up by two, the Tigers suffered an onslaught of Crimson pressure. Harvard found seven shots on goal in the first ten minutes of the second period, forcing saves from senior goaltender Jennifer Olnowich.
Five minutes into the period, Harvard lobbed a shot at Olnowich, who blocked the puck with her shins, keeping Harvard from adding to the scoreboard. Two minutes later, the Crimson tested Olnowich again with two back-to-back shots, which she deftly struck away from the net.
Around eight minutes into the second period, Princeton was charged for their first penalty of the afternoon as firstyear center Angelina DiGirolamo was charged for hooking. Harvard’s Ellie Bayard joined her in the penalty box a moment later, called for the same offense for Harvard’s fourth penalty of the game.
The period turned chippy, with both teams exchanging penalties and Harvard’s frustration spilling over when forward Ella Lucia shoved junior center Jane Kuehl after the whistle.
Harvard improved upon their performance in the previous period, testing Princeton by sending 12 shots on goal, 10 more than they had during period one. For their part, the Tigers struggled to find as many chances, putting only seven on goal.
Heading into the third period, the Tigers hoped to stall Harvard’s growing momentum. While the beginning of the period saw the puck traverse much of the ice, both teams failed to get a single shot off during the first few minutes of the period.
Around eight minutes into the third period, Princeton was finally able to find a shot, which was blocked by Tuffy. Princeton found a few more shots during the rest of the period but wasn’t able to crack through.
In a last-ditch effort to salvage the game, Harvard replaced their goaltender with an extra attacker, pressing high with all six players as they
lobbed shot after shot. However, their attempts were ultimately in vain as they failed to break through Princeton’s staunch defense, and the score remained at 2–0 as the buzzer sounded, announcing the Tigers’ win.
Despite the win, head coach Cara Morey was frustrated with the gameplay. “I mean we did fine, we won, we didn’t let any goals in, but I felt like we should have dominated the whole game,” she told the ‘Prince’ in a post game interview.
“I thought we were cheating the game offensively,” she explained to ‘Prince.’ “But a win’s a win, and they’re finding a way to get the points we need.”
Wunder provided a more optimistic perspective. “This was a big weekend for us to get a hot streak going heading into playoffs.”
Going forward, Princeton is looking to build on the momentum of two important wins as they play four final games before entering the playoffs.
“I think if we can use the next four games to sort of sharpen up and make sure that we’re using every second and every minute to try and win,” Wunder explained, “that’ll help us when it comes down to it.”
Lily Pampolina is an associate Sports editor and a staff Audience creator for the ‘Prince.’
Leila Eshaghpour-Silberman is a Sports contributor and contributing Features writer for the ‘Prince.’
WOMEN’S SQUASH
Zeina Zein ’27 brings home squash glory in national championship win
By Bryant Figueroa Assistant Sports editor
GRAND CENTRAL, N.Y. — After a grueling five rounds and 15 games across four days, sophomore Zeina Zein has been crowned as the best collegiate women’s squash player in the country, emerging victorious at the College Squash Association (CSA) national championship on Tuesday afternoon.
“I’m very happy to be able to win the title and clinch the trophy. It’s been a really tough tournament,” Zein said in an interview with The Daily Princetonian. “I had no expectations, so of course winning this tournament was something huge. I’m overwhelmed with a lot of emotions.”
Zein, who hails from Alexandria, Egypt, did not just win all five rounds — she swept all five of her opponents 3–0 in an impressive showcase of her talent and hard work. In her road to the final, not one opponent forced her past the standard 11 points, and only one, Stanford’s Marianna Dardon, came even close with one 11–9 game in the round of 16.
“She’s an amazing squash player. She’s also just an amazing teammate. She’s so talented and works incredibly hard,” senior and women’s squash captain Josephine Klein told the ‘Prince.’ “I don’t think any of us were surprised. We know how amazing a player Zeina is, and it’s just really awesome to see her hard work pay off.”
Zein is just the sixth Princetonian to bring home the women’s squash national title, with her win being the twelfth in all of program history and the first in 24 years since Julia Beaver ’01 won her third straight Ramsay Cup in 2001.
“Zeina was magnificent all weekend, and it means a lot to the program, bringing [the title] back
to Princeton with a really, really dominant number one,” women’s squash Head Coach Gail Ramsay said to the ‘Prince.’
In the quarter-finals, Zein defeated Harvard’s Saran Nghiem, the reigning national champion. Zein had narrowly lost to Nghiem in the 2024 semi-finals during her Ivy League Rookie of the Year season, three matches to two. This time around, she dominated Nghiem, winning three games in a row, 11–2, 11–4, 11–4.
“She was on the verge of winning last year, but, I think, a year under her belt and her maturity has really helped her through this event and hopefully through the rest of this season,” explained Ramsay.
“I saw her the day she moved in for international orientation,” Klein reflected. “I watched her grow as a squash player, as a student at Princeton — she’s just such an amazing person and she deserves this and so much more.”
After a brutal three days of squash, Zein faced off against Stanford’s Riya Navani on Tuesday for the national title. In the first game, she trailed every point after the opening play until she was down 10–6, needing four straight points to not lose.
“I had a slow start, so it took me a while to get into the game,” Zein commented. “Even if I’m going to lose the game, I just try to make it as long as possible, and I think it paid off. I just try to be mentally tough, and of course winning the first game is really, really important, especially when it’s the final.”
In a determined showcase of support, Zein’s teammates scrambled to get to the championship game in the middle of a class day.
“I was on the train with my teammates coming to New York and the train got stuck, and so we were running from Penn Station
to Grand Central during the first game, watching on our phones,” Klein said. “Zeina is just really tough on the court, and she’s also tough mentally, so it didn’t surprise me that she was able to come back. She had four game balls against her. That’s just who Zeina is.”
“All of them had an amazing impact on me, always believed in me, supported me,” Zein said of her teammates, also thanking her coaches and her family.
Zein fought all the way back to a 12–11 lead, her first since the opening point, but Navani herself did not back down. The game turned out to be Zein’s longest in the tournament by far, ending in a crucial 16–14 victory that propelled her game going forward.
“Winning the first game just gave me a lot of confidence for the rest of the match,” Zeina added. Indeed, she played her best squash in the next game, dominating Navani in an 11–4 win for a 2–0 lead. Navani fought hard in
the third game to challenge, but Zein fought harder, winning her final game of the day 11–8 to complete the tournament sweep.
Zein’s title comes in the middle of a strong start for the No. 1 women’s squash team (7–0 overall, 3–0 Ivy League), the momentum from which they hope can carry them to a national title.
Last year, they lost the CSA national team championship final to the Trinity Bantams (7–1 overall, 4–0 New England Small College). They have already claimed revenge over Trinity this year with a 5–4 win at home and will have another rematch against No. 3 Harvard (7–1 overall, 4–0 Ivy League) this weekend.
“We have a really, really important match coming up when we play Dartmouth and Harvard,” Zein explained. “We lost to Harvard last year 5–4 so they were able to take the Ivy title from us.”
“I just want to keep the momentum going, the positive mindset, try to clinch the wins this week-
end, try to look for the Ivy title and for the national team title as well,” she continued.
Zein’s dedication undeniably showed at the tournament, and her teammates hope it will continue to radiate throughout the team.
“She brings a positive mindset and an unmatched work ethic to practice every single day — her energy isn’t just inspiring, it’s been contagious for the entire team this season,” senior and women’s squash captain Katherine Sapinski wrote to the ‘Prince.’
“But what truly sets her apart is her selflessness and humility. She’s not just an incredibly talented player; she lifts up everyone around her, always putting the team first and leading by example. Simply put, we love Zeina for so many reasons, and no one deserves the CSA national title more than her. We couldn’t be more proud.”
Bryant Figueroa is an assistant Sports editor for the ‘Prince.’
A “very cursory and subjective evaluation of their personality”
By Ifeoluwa Aigbiniode Head Archives Editor
On February 7, 1975, Jay Carroll ’77, a sophomore at Princeton University, wrote an op-ed in The Daily Princetonian titled “Bicker ‘in the nation’s service’?” In his piece, Carroll asks, “Do we fulfill Princeton’s responsibility to the nation when we encourage students to compete against their peers in a senseless and sometimes destructive quest for social brownie points?” Carroll explained his decision to opt out of the Bicker process that year, arguing that while Bicker was often regarded as one of the finest traditions at Princeton, the selection process perpetuated social exclusivity and open discrimination.
Carroll’s arguments still remain relevant to present-day discussions about the Bicker process, along with exclusivity, status, and social life on campus. Fifty years later, many sophomores in the Class of 2027 are still lining up on Prospect Avenue to bicker and determine how the remainder of their social life at Princeton will look. However, skeptical views towards the process still remain among some sophomores.
Taibat Ahmed ’27 plans on remaining with the undergraduate dining plan. In her view, Bicker clubs today are diverse, but an inherent exclusivity remains because sophomores are expected to be familiar with upperclassmen in these clubs.
“I already have to know someone in this eating club in a way that
they can vouch for me … If you don’t already know people, that excludes you automatically,” she noted. In 1975, Carroll challenged the notion that bickering was a harmless way for sophomores to decide who they would eat and socialize with during the upperclassman years, arguing instead that it enabled counterproductive notions of superiority and elitism. He also criticized Bicker for openly excluding students on the basis of sex, family background, secondary education, political beliefs, and what he described as a “very cursory and subjective evaluation of their personality.” Although Princeton became co-ed in 1969, Tiger Inn, Ivy Club, and Cottage Club remained male-only for a long time, with Tiger Inn being the last to accept
women in 1991.
As an alternative to a process that cultivated social climbing and open discrimination at the time, Carroll suggested an alternate process that was “partially voluntary, partially random.”
Now, six out of the eleven eating clubs still operate on a Bicker system. Today, sophomores have varying reasons for why they opt out of the Bicker process.
Clara Steege ’27 chose to sign in to Terrace Club because she views bickering as a stressful time commitment.
“I’m happy to not have to devote my energy towards that process,” she added.
Ifeoluwa
Aigbiniode is a head Archives editor.
PHOTO COURTESY OF @TIGERSQUASH1 / X Zein swept all five of her opponents 3–0 throughout her national championship win.
