Volume LXXIV, Number 47
Harvest & Holidays
Pages 22-24 Sibling Duo From UK to Make Virtual Princeton Debut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Mills + Schnoering Architects Named AIANJ Firm of the Year . . . . . . . .8 Arts at PPS Flourish, With Creative Responses to COVID-19 . . . . . . . . . 10 McCarter Presents Online Festival of The Work of Adrienne Kennedy . . . 14 PSO Concludes Fall Virtual Season With Stellar Violinist . . . . . . 15 PU Coaches Focusing On Team Culture After Winter Season Canceled . . . . . .26 PHS Girls’ Cross Country Makes History with Sectional Crown . . . . . .28
Looking for Ronald Reagan in This Week’s Book/Film Review . . . 13 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Berkshire Hathaway Fox & Roach Realtors . .18, 19 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 21 Classified Ads . . . . . . 33 Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 32 New To Us . . . . . . . . . 25 Performing Arts . . . . . 16 Real Estate . . . . . . . . 33 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Topics of the Town . . . . 5 Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . 6
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A “Teachable Moment,” As Princeton Works to Rename Middle School In the ongoing response to a stormy conflict that arose last summer over the name of the former John Witherspoon Middle School (for now Princeton Unified Middle School), Princeton Public Schools (PPS) is undergoing a year-long “teachable moment,” involving students at all levels and engaging the whole community in the process of renaming the school. The culmination of the first phase of this project will take place this Friday, November 20, with a webinar panel discussion led by Princeton High School students and alumni, as they initiate a dialogue about the process of renaming and the social justice issues at stake. A highlight of Friday’s webinar will be the presentation of suggestions and research prepared by US History I students under the guidance of social studies teacher Katie Dineen. Among the proposed new names that have arisen from school policy meetings, meetings with alumni, and conversations with the Historical Society of Princeton so far are John Lewis, Betsey Stockton, Paul Robeson, Silvia DuBois, Shirley Satterfield, Albert Einstein, Michelle Obama, John Witherspoon, and Arthur Tappan, as well as Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Nation, Powhatan Renape Nation, Ramapough Indian Nation, and Princeton Unified. Emphasizing the “organic nature” of the “constantly evolving” process, Middle School Principal Jason Burr noted that other names may be added as the discussion continues. “A seventh grade student all on her own put together a compelling argument for Ruth Bader Ginsburg,” he said. “Based on her argument and the strength of her interest she has been invited to be part of the process on Friday, the only middle school representative. She stood out in the crowds and took a stand, so she’s going to be involved in this.” To confront the problem of a school named after Witherspoon, who, though a signer of the Declaration of Independence and the sixth president of Princeton University, was also a slave owner and opponent of abolition, the PPS Board of Education (BOE) in August charged Interim Superintendent Barry Galasso with the job of mobilizing a task force to develop the renaming project. Galasso and the PPS team have gone far beyond just changing a name. “It’s
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COVID Case Numbers, Hospitalizations Rise The Princeton Health Department reported on Monday, November 16 “a steady influx of new cases” over the weekend, with 18 new COVID-19 infections in the past week, 30 in the past two weeks, and 14 active positive cases in Princeton. New case numbers over the past weeks are the second highest in Princeton since the first-wave peak in early May. “The majority of these cases have stemmed from organized travel sports and household contacts associated with those cases,” said Princeton Health Officer Jeff Grosser. Noting New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy’s recent tightening of restrictions on gatherings, Princeton Press and Media Communications Director Fred Williams added, “The governor’s recent changes limiting indoor gatherings to 10 people and outdoor gatherings to 150 are due to contact tracing data that show public and private gatherings/parties/celebrations have played a role in our community spread of COVID-19.” In his Tuesday press briefing, Murphy also warned about the harmful effects of fatigue over COVID-19 restrictions, and he mentioned the possibility of another
state shutdown to combat the spread of the virus. “The rise we are currently experiencing is not likely to peak any time soon,” Williams continued. “As was the case with our spring and summer holidays, we have again experienced a spike in cases, this time subsequent to celebrating Halloween. The trend is expected to continue with Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and New Year’s celebrations all occurring within a six-week time span.”
Williams warned that Thanksgiving travel plans and traditions of family gatherings could lead to more cases. He pointed out that many colleges and universities are allowing students to stay on campus during holiday breaks, as well as providing testing and quarantine facilities for students who are traveling. Both Grosser and Monday’s Princeton COVID-19 Update from Mayor Liz Lempert and Princeton Council emphasize that the Continued on Page 7
Council Considers Creation of Electric Vehicle Charging Station Ordinance At its meeting on Monday evening, Princeton Council heard a report on the creation of an ordinance to allow the installation of electric vehicle charging stations throughout the municipality. The governing body also approved two ordinances and voted to introduce several others, most of which have to do with the continued effort to harmonize codes of the former Borough and Township that existed prior to consolidation seven years ago. Police Chief Chris Morgan delivered a brief report on activities
during September. A report on electric vehicle charging stations by Anne Soos, a member of the Princeton Environmental Commission (PEC), drew mostly enthusiastic responses from Council members, with a few reservations and suggestions for changes before the charging station concept is brought back to Council for a public hearing, probably early next year. Because transportation is responsible Continued on Page 7
HUNGER AND HOMELESSNESS AWARENESS WEEK: Representatives Emma and Vincent Traylor stand in front of HomeFront’s pop-up information and donation drop-off center at 63 Palmer Square . The center will be open on November 20 from 4 to 7 p .m . and November 21 and 22 from noon to 5 p .m . For more on the week’s events, visit homefrontnj .org . (Photo by Charles R. Plohn)
NOVEMBER NOVEMBER 28 28 Continued on Page 8
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