Volume LXXIII, Number 11
Princeton Spotlight Pages 26 - 31 Tenth Annual HomeFront ArtJam . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Former Charleston Mayor Shares Story of Revitalization . . . . . . . . .7 Council Introduces 2019 Budget . . . . . . . . .9 Exploring Corngold’s Epic Walter Kaufmann . . . .13 PU Orchestra Presents Concerto Competition Winners . . . . . . . . . . . .14 PU Men’s Hoops Stephens Has Emotional Jadwin Finale . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Wildberg Makes Historic Leap for PHS Boys’ Track . . . . . . . . 36
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Princeton Protestors, Experts at State House Press Peace Agenda
Calling for the option of U.S. military intervention to be taken off the table completely in Venezuela, about 30 demonstrators gathered on Nassau Street in Palmer Square on Monday, carrying signs reading “No U.S. War in Venezuela!” The event, sponsored by the Princetonbased Coalition for Peace Action (CFPA) in collaboration with Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), started at 5 p.m. and lasted about an hour. Demonstrators urged passers-by to write to members of Congress asking them to sponsor the Prohibiting Unauthorized Military Action in Venezuela Act. They also distributed fliers, which stated: “The U.S. is trying to overthrow the Maduro government with military threats, economic warfare, and diplomatic isolation. But the solutions for the problems in Venezuela are for the Venezuelans to decide. The peace movement must oppose U.S. intervention and support a resolution through peaceful dialogue!” CFPA Executive Director the Rev. Robert Moore applauded the collaboration with the DSA, which he called “an important force for progressive causes.” He added, “It’s important to seek synergy and do activities collaboratively. We all need each other.”
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Wednesday, March 13, 2019
Bill Introduced Opposing Choir College Sale Six members of the New Jersey Assembly have introduced a resolution that opposes Rider University’s sale of Westminster Choir College to a for-profit company partially owned by the Chinese government, saying it could jeopardize national security. Assemblyman Harold “Hal” Wirths, a Republican who represents Morris, Sussex, and Warren counties, introduced the bill on March 5. It is co-sponsored by fellow Republican Assemblymen Parker Space, Robert Auth, John Di Maio, Erik Peterson, and Kevin J. Rooney. The bill is also expected to be submitted to the New Jersey Senate. “Given that Kaiwen Education, formerly a steel company, does not have a history in higher education, particularly professional music training, and with the multitude of world-class scientists, researchers, and institutions located in Princeton, it appears that the Chinese government may be using the guise of academia to infiltrate the choir college for nefarious purposes, including the collection of United States intelligence and intellectual property theft,” their statement reads. The resolution is the latest effort to
block the sale of the Choir College, which merged with Rider in 1992. Rider president Gregory Dell’Omo announced in 2016 that Rider was seeking a buyer for Westminster. In October 2017, it was announced that the new owner would be a Chinese company, Kaiwen Education, which was offering $40 million for the Princeton campus, plus another $16 million to be invested in programs and infrastructure. While Rider has entered into a purchase
and sale agreement with Kaiwen, there are two lawsuits pending, as well as an arbitration case by the Rider chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP). A decision by the New Jersey Attorney General’s office on whether the sale is legal is expected in the next week, according to Constance Fee, president of the Westminster Foundation and an alumna of the renowned music school. Continued on Page 8
Ten-Year Renovation Transforms Princeton U’s Firestone Library After 10 years, Princeton University has completed the renovation of its main campus library, the Harvey S. Firestone Memorial Library, and the result is “a building to support modern library services and contemporary approaches to scholarship,” the University reports, with lots more light, open spaces, and flexible study and work areas. “In short,” a University press release states, “the goal was to transform Firestone Library into an innovative 21st-
century library,” and the transformations are dramatically visible on each of the six main floors. The classic Gothic exterior of the 70-year-old library, one of the largest open-stack libraries in existence, has been maintained, but the decade of renovations has changed virtually every space in the 430,000-square-foot interior. The renovation also incorporated a number of sustainable features to improve Continued on Page 10
Resolution 230 Karlie Lund and PU Women’s Hockey Headed to NCAAs . . . . . . . . . 33 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Berkshire Hathaway Fox & Roach Realtors . .24, 25 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 23 Classified Ads . . . . . . 42 Dining & Entertainment . . . 21 Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Music/Theater . . . . . . 15 New To Us . . . . . . . . . 19 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 40 Police Blotter . . . . . . . . 8 Real Estate . . . . . . . . 42 Religion . . . . . . . . . . . 41 School Matters . . . . . . . 7 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Topics of the Town . . . . 5 Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . 6
Earlier in the day Moore, along with Princeton University physicists and nuclear weapons experts Zia Mian and Frank von Hippel, testified in support of anti-nuclear Resolution 230 at a hearing before the New Jersey State Assembly Science, Innovation, and Technology Committee. Resolution 230, which urges the federal government to ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and pursue other measures to reduce the danger of nuclear war, passed the committee, which Assemblyman Andrew Zwicker chairs. He will be requesting that it go before the full Assembly later this month. “As a scientist who has colleagues who work on nuclear nonproliferation issues, this is a topic that deeply, deeply concerns me,“ Zwicker said. “I’m aware of the horrible destruction, devastation, loss of life, and change of environment that would occur if anyone were to use nuclear weapons.”
READY FOR SOME PIE: Area youths took their places for Saturday’s Pie Throwing competition, which began at 3:14 p .m . in Palmer Square . It was part of the 10th annual Pi Day Princeton celebration, which continues on March 14, Albert Einstein’s birthday . Participants share their favorite Pi Day activities in this week’s Town Talk on page 6 . (Photo by Charles R. Plohn)
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