Volume LXXIV, Number 40
Autumn Arts & Happenings Pages 28-29 PU Announces Design for New Art Museum . . 5 W-J Historical and Cultural Society to Host Fundraiser . . . . 10 All in a Day’s Work with Dago Villanueva of The Meeting House . . . . . 12 Singer Katie Welsh Launches Autumn Songs Project . . . . . 18 PU Men’s Lax Alum Schreiber Making Impact On and Off the Field for PLL . . . . . . . . . . . 31 PHS Boys’ Soccer Working Hard to Build on Strong 2019 Campaign . . . . . 34
Orson Welles is Harry Lime in This Week’s Celebration of The Third Man . . . . . 17 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Berkshire Hathaway Fox & Roach Realtors . .22, 23 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 24 Classified Ads . . . . . . 37 Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 36 New To Us . . . . . . . . . 30 Performing Arts . . . . . 19 Real Estate . . . . . . . . 38 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Topics of the Town . . . . 5 Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . 6
www.towntopics.com
Wide Support for PU In Countering DOE Charges of Racism Princeton University has received widespread support in its recent clash with the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) over its announced investigation of “systemic racism” at the University. More than 80 college and university leaders signed onto a September 24 letter urging the DOE to drop its civil rights investigation into Princeton University. The University received a letter on September 16 from the DOE reacting to President Christopher Eisgruber’s September 2 letter to the Princeton community in which he outlined steps the University was taking to address racism at Princeton and beyond, including plans to increase the diversity of the faculty and to make Princeton more welcoming to students of color and other marginalized groups. The DOE letter alleged that, “based on its admitted racism,” Princeton University had violated federal civil rights law and may have received more than $75 million in federal funding under false pretenses since 2013 when Eisgruber became president. “You admitted Princeton’s educational program is and for decades has been racist,” the DOE wrote. In his September 2 update to the Princeton community — in the national context of the killings of African Americans by police officers and Black Lives Matter protests throughout the country —Eisgruber pointed out that despite efforts to eradicate it, racism does continue to exist at Princeton and in the larger society, “sometimes by conscious intention, but more often through unexamined assumptions and stereotypes, ignorance or insensitivity, and the systemic legacy of past decisions and policies.” In a September 17 statement, Princeton University said that it would respond to the DOE in due course, but “it is unfortunate that the Department appears to believe that grappling honestly with the nation’s history and the current effects of systemic racism runs afoul of existing law.” The statement asserted that the University “stands by its representations to the Department and the public that it complies with all laws and regulations governing equal opportunity, nondiscrimination and harassment ... The University also stands by our statements Continued on Page 8
75¢ at newsstands
Wednesday, September 30, 2020
Election 2020 Voting Starts This Week As election campaigns heat up in the month before the November 3 Election Day, local voting in this mainly vote-bymail election is beginning this week. As officials issue ballots and prepare to monitor voting and tally the results, controversies over voting are becoming increasingly intense throughout the country. With the White House casting doubt on the integrity of the election process, many concerned citizens worry that democracy itself is at stake in the 2020 election. “Every election is important,” said Chrystal Schivell of the League of Women Voters of the Princeton Area, “but for this one, during a pandemic, the League urges voters to plan now. County clerks and the New Jersey Division of Elections want every vote to count. Voters can help by following instructions and acting promptly.” Mercer County Clerk Paula Sollami Covello has announced that ballots will be going out this week to all registered Mercer County voters. Sample ballots are available now on the Mercer County Clerk’s website. “There’s no overstating the importance of this election,” she said in a press release Monday. “The presidency and several congressional seats are up for grabs, but so too are important state and local races.” The Rev. Robert Moore, executive director of the Princeton-based Coalition for
Peace Action (CFPA), was even more adamant about the urgency of this election. “To claim that ‘this election is the most important in our lifetime’ is often hyperbole,” he said, “but this time I don’t think it is. We’re at a place where we have an utterly incompetent right-wing ideologue in the presidency. He has no respect for democratic norms or the Constitution.” Moore continued, “It is clear that this is somebody who should not be president of the United States, on so many counts.
Among them is his position on gun violence and peace issues. This is a very dangerous period, and he’s impulsive, irrational, anti-science. There are so many things troubling about Donald Trump’s leadership.” CFPA initiatives this year include the Peace Voter Campaign, conducted by the CFPA since 1995 and this year focusing on Bucks County, Pennsylvania, which Moore described as “a swing area in a swing state.” The CFPA Peace Voter Continued on Page 7
Switching to Electric Vehicles Is Focus of Sustainable Event When Jenny Ludmer first decided to purchase an electric vehicle, her husband was not enthusiastic. “He had a lot of anxiety about it not working, not being reliable, and just not being a good idea,” said Ludmer, who is Sustainable Princeton’s community outreach manager. “Now, we literally fight over the car.” Ludmer and other proponents of switching gas-powered to electric vehicles will be on hand Friday, October 9 for “EVening at the Princeton Shopping Center, an Electric Vehicle and E-bike Ride & Drive Event,” presented by Sustainable Princeton, the shopping center, and NRG Energy, Inc. The family-friendly gathering, from 4-7 p.m., is designed to
demonstrate how making the transition is not only environmentally friendly, but easier than most people think. “With one third of greenhouse gas emissions coming from transportation, the transition to electric vehicles is a very important way to help combat climate change,” said Molly Jones, Sustainable Princeton’s executive director. “By shifting to an electric vehicle, you make a substantial reduction in your emission footprint.” Electric cars are “peppy, responsive, and have instant torque — no delay when you step on the pedal,” said Ludmer. “Our car has a range of 150 miles.” Continued on Page 8
MAKING A STATEMENT: The Arts Council of Princeton’s new mural, “Vote,” can be found on the corner of Witherspoon and Spring streets in downtown Princeton . (Photo by Weronika A. Plohn)