Volume LXXVI, Number 20
Best of Princeton Pages 2-3 Spotted Lanternfly is Back . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Local Youngster to Appear Onstage with New York City Ballet . . . . . . . . 10 Area Residents Tour Historic Sites on LHT . . . . . . . . 11 Exploring The New Princeton Companion . . . . . . . . . . 16 Passage Theatre Presents Group! . . . . . . . . . . . 17 PU Softball Wins Ivy Playoff, Headed to Arkansas for NCAA Regional . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Hun Boys’ Lacrosse Rallies Past Hopewell Valley to Win MCT Title . . . . . 31
George Baughan Helps PU Men’s Lax Win NCAA Opener . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 24 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . 36 Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . 14 New To Us . . . . . . . . . 25 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 34 Performing Arts . . . . . 18 Police Blotter . . . . . . . . 8 Real Estate . . . . . . . . 36 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Topics of the Town . . . . 5 Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . 6
www.towntopics.com
Appellate Court Hears Challenge to Dismissal Of Westminster Lawsuits Attorneys for Rider University and the Westminster Foundation presented oral arguments Monday related to two lawsuits that were dismissed two years ago, and then appealed. Designed to keep Rider from moving Westminster Choir College from its longtime home in Princeton to Rider’s Lawrenceville campus — which it did in 2020 — and selling the valuable, 22-acre Princeton site, the lawsuits were combined into a single hearing and heard in Trenton before Superior Court Appellate Judges Allison E. Accurso, Lisa Rose, and Catherine I. Enright. If the judges agree with the Foundation’s appeal, the next step would be to go to trial. “If that happens, I feel very strongly we will win,” said attorney Bruce Afran, who represents the Foundation, a coalition of students, alumni, and faculty. The Foundation’s goal is to return Westminster to the Princeton campus, some of which remains in use for classes and concerts. Rider and Westminster merged in 1991. The terms of the merger dictated that Rider maintain Westminster’s Princeton campus and programs. Citing financial woes, Rider announced in 2016 that it was seeking a buyer for Westminster that would keep the school in Princeton. When a $40 million deal to sell the choir college to a for-profit company based in China fell through, Rider opted to move the school to its Lawrenceville campus. The original lawsuits brought by two groups — one of faculty, alumni, and donors; the other of students — were dismissed two years ago by Judge Robert Lougy of the Superior Court Chancery Division. In that case, Rider argued that the students did not have the right to use the courts to protect the school. Only Rider is permitted to make decisions regarding Westminster, the university claimed. Rider was represented in this week’s hearing by attorney Angelo Stio of Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders. According to an article in the Rider News, Stio said Lougy had made the right decision in dismissing the Foundation’s claims. “Stio also maintained that the litigation focus must remain on the decision-making process, rather than the consequences, as well as comparing the plaintiffs’ facilities concerns to educational malpractice.” Continued on Page 12
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Wednesday, May 18, 2022
Pandemic’s New Phase “Will Test Us All” With COVID case numbers rising again in Princeton and throughout the state, mask mandates have returned for Princeton Public Schools (PPS), as well as a number of other schools, in following New Jersey Department of Health (NJDOH) guidance. It’s another troubling development in the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic. “We’ve entered new territory recently that will test us all,” said Princeton Board of Health Chair Dr. George DiFerdinando in an email on Monday. He went on to describe the current situation that has left many confused. “We’re at a moment of broad risk of infection and yet reduced incidence of severe illness,” he continued, “This situation can be confusing because during much of the pandemic, even after vaccination, infections and severe illnesses have tracked together. That’s no longer the case, at least for now.” Noting that reported case numbers are increasing locally and throughout the country, he added, “Hospitalized and ICU-hospitalized patients are way down, which says that the severity of the pandemic is down, even if the number of infections may not be.” The Princeton Health Department on May 16 reported 107 new cases in the previous seven days, 200 in the previous 14 days. May 9 totals were 108 for the previous seven days, 168 for the previous 14 days. Princeton recorded its highest
totals in early January this year, with 287 cases reported in a single week, 568 in a two-week period. The latest NJDOH COVID-19 activity level map shows five out of six regions in the state, including Mercer County in the Central West region, are at “high” risk for COVID-19 activity. An email sent out last Friday to all PPS families, students, and staff, announced that, because of an increase in COVID-19 cases, starting on Monday, May 16, “the
district will return to universal masking for all indoor activities and classes. Masks will also be required on PPS buses.” The letter continues, “PPS does not want to be in a position where the district would be required to move to a remoteonly option for any of our schools, which would have a negative impact on students’ social-emotional and educational needs. Please bring a mask to school Monday morning.” Continued on Page 8
Hundreds Gather to Protest at Hinds Plaza On “Bans Off Our Bodies Day of Action”
The pouring rain did not deter them or dampen their enthusiasm as more than 500 demonstrators gathered at Hinds Plaza in downtown Princeton on Saturday, May 14, to support abortion rights and protest in response to a leaked Supreme Court draft decision that would overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that legalized abortion in all 50 states. One of more than 380 demonstrations taking place throughout the country, Saturday’s “Bans Off Our Bodies Day of Action” rally in Princeton, organized by the Planned Parenthood Action Fund of New Jersey (PPAFNJ), featured more than a dozen speakers — politicians, community leaders, activists, reproductive health providers — and drew abortion rights supporters from across the state.
Emphasizing how access to reproductive health care can impact lives, the speakers called on legislators to take action to protect and expand access to abortion care. The block of Witherspoon Street alongside Hinds Plaza was closed to traffic for the duration of the event, as demonstrators spilled out into the street. Many carried homemade signs bearing a variety of messages such as: “Abortion is health care,” “Abortion is a human right,” “Protect American women’s rights,” “This is government-sponsored misogyny,” “Vote as if your rights depended on it,” and, even more creatively, ”Our wombs have more regulations than your guns,” and “Keep politics out of my uterus.” Continued on Page 13
“BANS OFF OUR BODIES”: More than 500 demonstrators gathered at Hinds Plaza in the rain on Saturday morning to rally for abortion rights in the face of the possibility that the Supreme Court may soon overturn Roe v. Wade, the ruling that legalized abortion almost 50 years ago. (Photo by Weronika A. Plohn)