Recently in Alumni News

In Cairo’s Tahrir Square, “the list of demands has changed little” and popular protest continues to play an important role, Fullbright scholar Sarah Mousa ’10 writes in a recent opinion piece. [Al Jazeera.com]

 

Baruch College provost James McCarthy *77 will take over as the new president of Suffolk University in Boston Feb. 1. [Boston Globe]

 

Michael Griffith ’87’s second novel, Trophy, was named one of the 25 best fiction books of 2011 by Kirkus Reviews. [Kirkus Reviews]

 

Was the 2009 federal stimulus “money well spent”? Reporter Michael Grabell ’03 examines that question in a new book that he discussed with Fresh Air host Dave Davies. [WHYY]

 

San Francisco 49ers assistant coach George “Geep” Chryst ’84 was credited with designing the “Vernon post,” a pass to tight end Vernon Davis that provided the winning touchdown in the 49ers’ Jan. 14 playoff win over the New Orleans Saints. [San Francisco Chronicle]

 

Elaine James ’83, a doctor in South Carolina, spent the last two years as a live-in physician for blues singer Etta James, who died earlier this week. (Though they shared their last name, the two women were not related.) [The Item (Sumter, S.C.)]

 

Dan Biederman ’75, at right, the president of Biederman Redevelopment Ventures and a major player in the revitalization of Manhattan’s Bryant Park, wrote about his vision for urban parks. [The New York Times]

 

Americans should begin treating computer code like the alphabet or arithmetic, Douglas Rushkoff ’83 argues in an essay titled “Learn to code, get a job.” [CNN.com]

 

The CBS Early Show profiled Lauren Bush Lauren ’06 and her efforts to combat world hunger. [CBS News]

 

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels ’71 delivered his eighth and final State of the State address, drawing boos from protesters due to the state’s controversial “right to work” legislation. [Indianapolis Star]

 

Marc Ross ’95, college scouting director for the NFL’s New York Giants, is a finalist for the Chicago Bears’ general manager position. [Chicago Tribune]

Our annual look at the year at Princeton begins with highlights from PAW Online, including stories that sparked the most conversation, features that drew the most readers, and videos that attracted the most viewers.

 

 

Every story, letter, and blog post offers the chance to comment. These five stories were the most popular discussion points for our readers in 2011.

 

1. Pranks for the memories

Gregg Lange ’70’s countdown of campus pranks inspired alumni to reminisce about their own shenanigans.

 

2. Assessing a renewed focus on grad students, alumni

Graduate alumni shared their experiences and tips in letters and comments about the University’s goal of better engagement.

 

3. West *80’s views on Obama stir black-community debate
Valid points or personal gripes? Readers took both sides when examining Cornel West *80’s take on the Obama presidency.

 

 

Cornel West *80, one of Princeton’s most prominent faculty members — and a major draw for students — is leaving the University.

 

West, a provocative figure known for his advocacy for liberal causes — and frequent sharp tongue — will rejoin the faculty at Union Theological Seminary in New York, where he began his career in 1977.

 

“It’s a devastating loss for Princeton,” said Eddie S. Glaude Jr. *97, the head of Princeton’s Center for African American Studies, which West helped to create and grow, drawing other well-known scholars. “We’re losing a master teacher. His office hours are legendary — they last well into the night.”

 

Enrollment in West’s introductory African-American Studies course topped 400. A freshman seminar on “Great Books,” co-taught with conservative activist Robert George, was also popular. More than 100 students applied for 15 slots in his freshman seminar on how great thinkers have responded to the problem of evil. West is on leave this year.

 

Princeton Triangle Club’s new show, Doomsdays of Our Lives, is set to debut at McCarter Theatre Nov. 18. The musical comedy, directed by Glen Pannell ’87, looks ahead to 2012 and the end of the world – which in this scenario is capped by an all-male kickline of “lovely Mayan maidens.” (Frank Wojciechowski).

 

 

Counting down the days to winter means different things for different alumni. For those who work in the private sector, year-end bonuses may be on the way. For others, the bonus is time with family over the holidays.

           

Nathan Crumpton ’08 — a backcountry snowboarder, budding Olympic skeleton-racer, and self-trained filmmaker — looks forward to winter, too. But for Crumpton, the bonus is fresh powder on the mountains and fresh ice on the skeleton track.

           

The mountains have been a part of Crumpton’s life since his family moved to Switzerland from Tanzania when he was 5. Although he started on skis, Crumpton transitioned to snowboarding during his high school years, and he learned the mechanics over thousands of hours of rigorous “trail and error,” as he describes it.

           

“Trail and error” is a recurring theme in Alpine Nirvana, a 12-minute compilation of Crumpton’s 2010-11 skiing and snowboarding footage taken around his new home ski area in the Rocky Mountains. (See video below.)

 

 

The death of Apple co-founder and technology giant Steve Jobs Oct. 5 sparked an outpouring of tributes and analysis. Princeton alumni were among the voices represented on several popular websites.

 

Julia Boorstin ’00 of CNBC’s Media Money examined Jobs’s wide-ranging influence on technology, from music and movies to television and advertising.

 

Huffington Post tech blogger Bianca Bosker ’08 memorialized Jobs as an inventor and artist, adding that he was “that rare figure who really did leave an imprint as enormous as his outsized reputation.”

 

On The Washington Post’s Achenblog, Joel Achenbach ’82 called Jobs the personification of the tech industry, with star power and the ability to reinvent himself. “Jobs always seemed to be the innovator, the rock-star genius revolutionary,” Achenbach said.

 

Moira Forbes ’01 of Forbes.com recalled a line from Jobs’s 2005 Stanford commencement speech, when he referred to death as “life’s change agent.” Jobs was able to find a novel way to view “a universal, yet deeply personal experience,” Forbes wrote.

 

Timothy B. Lee *10, author of the Disruptive Economics blog at Forbes.com, also drew on the Stanford commencement address in his spirited defense of “Jobsian Megalomania,” the message of never settling that Jobs promoted. “Jobs’s advice isn’t good advice for everyone,” Lee wrote, “but it’s a message that unusually-talented 22-year-olds ought to hear.”

The Brooklyn Superhero Supply Co. is a serious business. Sandwiched between a florist and a farm-to-table restaurant, the unassuming Park Slope retailer is a one-stop shop for all your crime-fighting needs. You can find lamé capes, sonic blasters, and half-gallon jugs of invisibility. For the unbeatable price of $16.50, you can even take home an Evil Blob Containment Unit. But behind this gadget emporium, past the sliding bookcase, is where the real magic happens.

 

The secret lair of the Superhero Supply is 826NYC, a nonprofit writing lab and tutoring center for youth ages 6 to 18. Like its sister chapters across the country, it offers after-school homework help, creative writing workshops, and interactive field trips — all free of charge.

 

“The goal is to engage students,” says Joan Kim ’00, education director and co-founder of 826NYC. After graduating with a degree in English and a certificate in teacher prep, she worked at a small publishing house in Manhattan. A friend invited her to an 826 event, and the experience inspired Kim to join the organization fulltime. As education director, Kim has a variety of responsibilities that include teaching workshops, writing grants, planning fundraisers, and meeting with community partners. “No two days are the same,” she says. “You’re constantly on the move.”

 

There are eight chapters of 826 National, the brainchild of McSweeney’s editor Dave Eggers, and each offers hands-on workshops in a wide range of topics, including cartooning, journalism, and filmmaking. The chapters also operate their own storefronts, each with a unique theme; Valencia, in San Francisco, runs a pirate store, while Chicago’s sells spy equipment. The store serves as a “gateway” to the organization, attracting students, funders, and volunteers.