Recently in Student Bloggers

Entering Ivy League play in 2012, the softball team had a 3-16 record, worst in the conference, and carried an eight-game losing streak. After finishing tied for last in 2011 and 6-14 in Ivy play the previous season, the Tigers probably weren’t feared much by their upcoming opponents.

 

But Princeton opened conference play with a sweep of Dartmouth and took three of four games on a road trip the following week, ending an Ivy League weekend with a record above .500 for the first time in three seasons. Even after dropping three of four games to Penn on Saturday and Sunday, the Tigers are 6-6 in the conference and at least on the list of contenders – a major improvement over what their non-league performance predicted.

 

“Our preseason schedule is difficult, trying to play as great of competition as we can,” head coach Trina Salcido said. “We knew it was going to prepare us and help us to be sharper when we came into the Ivy League.”

 

If the season ended today, Cornell would meet Harvard in the Ivy League Championship Series for a third straight year; the Big Red is 10-2 in conference play and the Crimson 11-1. If anybody is going to crash that party, the most likely contender is Penn, sitting at 8-4 after its visit to Princeton. But the Tigers are still alive and may even control their own destiny entering the final weekend of the season, when they will play four games at Cornell April 28-29.

 

Princeton’s success has been fueled by an improved pitching staff: After finishing seventh in earned run average in league play last year, the Tigers have cut their ERA by nearly a run and a half, currently ranking third at 3.67. Much of the development has come from within, as Liza Kuhn ’13 and Alex Peyton ’13 have logged most of the key innings. Before losing twice this weekend, Kuhn had won four of her previous six starts, though her most impressive performance may have come in a loss at Brown, when she threw nine shutout innings and was one out away from a tenth before allowing a homer to the league’s best hitter, Stephanie Thompson, and eventually losing 2-1.

 

 

The Mathey College spoken Latin table is an exercise in anachronism. Like the other language tables held in the residential college dining halls, it meets weekly to provide active language practice and something of the immersion of living in a foreign country. But the Latin table does more than transport students to a different place; it takes them back in time. Every Thursday night, students are bringing a dead language back to life.

 

The Latin table is led by Jason Pedicone, a Ph.D. student in the classics department. Pedicone attributes his passion for spoken Latin to the charismatic tutelage of Reginald Foster, former Vatican Latinist. For 23 years, Foster taught aestiva Romae latinitas, or Summer Latin in Rome, and inspired a generation of Latin scholars to speak the language of Cicero and Virgil.

 

This “living Latin” method flies in the face of traditional Latin pedagogy, which stresses translation, memorization, and recitation. Joseph Conlon, a classics graduate student and Latin table regular, criticized the traditional model as “exclusive” and overly pedantic. As a result, “people are scared of Latin,” he said.

 

The Latin table aims to change that by fostering fluency in speaking in addition to reading and writing. Conlon encourages students to view Latin as a “normal language, just another mode of human communication.” Students talk about a range of topics at the table — de die (about their day), de professoribus (about professors), de cibo (about food), and of course de lingua latina (about Latin).

 

A dead language poses unique problems for modern speakers. How do you translate a word for something that didn’t exist a thousand years ago? Pedicone’s answer: “By the seat of your pants.” Consider the modern word “computer.” One approach calls for “back-forming” the Latin translation from the English word to computatrum. Circumlocution is another strategy: “computer” could be described alternatively as machinamentum quod putat, or “machine that thinks.”

 

For Jews, a Passover seder is a time to reflect on the hardship endured by ancient Israelites as they left Egypt. This year at Princeton’s Center for Jewish Life (CJL), students led Passover seders that brought guests together to share the song and prayer of the Haggadah (the Hebrew text describing the delivery of the Jews from Egypt) in perhaps the most unorthodox way possible — over chocolate.

 

The chocolate seder, organized by Elliott Eggan ’14, Alex Jaffe ’14, and Jake Jackson ’14, was the last of nine seders hosted over two days at the CJL that catered to every manner of Jew and many goyim (Hebrew for non-Jews).

 

But the chocolate seder stood alone in many respects — most notably in that it was the only seder to replace traditional foods like charoset (a fruit and nut spread eaten with matzo) with chocolate charoset made of bits of dark, milk, and white chocolate eaten atop chocolate-covered matzo. Even the traditional wine was replaced with chocolate milk.

 

Inspiration for the seder came from Jackson, who was the only of the organizers who had ever been to a chocolate seder before the CJL event. In addition to rethinking traditional foods, Jackson assembled a list of readings to guide the service with references to traditional foods replaced with references to their chocolate counterparts. For example the blessing of the wine, that praises God for the “fruit of the vine,” was replaced in Jackson’s Haggadah with the blessing of the chocolate milk, and praises God for the “juice of the cow.”

 

When Conor McCullough ’14 launched a hammer throw that landed 242 feet, 10 inches away at Weaver Stadium on Friday, he shattered the Ivy League record by more than eight feet – a record he had set two weeks earlier. In other words, it was business as usual for the men’s track and field team, which has erased an astonishing number of rows in various record books in 2012.

 

 

The Tigers’ magic started in the indoor season, which culminated in a third straight Ivy Heptagonals championship. McCullough set a league record with a weight throw of 76 feet, 1 inch at the Harvard-Yale-Princeton meet Feb. 11, which held up as the nation’s longest toss of the indoor season. The same weekend, Donn Cabral ’12 and Joe Stilin ’12 set conference records in the 5,000 meters and 3,000 meters, respectively.

 

The list goes on: Peter Callahan ’13 became the third Ancient Eight runner ever to break four minutes in the mile – and he was very nearly joined by Stilin and Cabral later in the season. The distance medley relay set yet another league record March 4. Several other meet and program records have been reduced to footnotes in a historic season for the Tigers.

 

“This is an exciting time of the season, and it’s an exciting year in general for us, because we’re having so much success,” Cabral said. “We’re making sure to enjoy the big PRs [personal records], but we want to stay hungry for the big meets at the end of the season as well.”

 

Not only did McCullough’s weight throw at the Sam Howell Invitational set a league record, it is currently the farthest mark in the nation by a good seven feet. The sophomore reportedly had another throw that landed two or three meters beyond his record-setting toss, but he fouled ever so slightly on that attempt.

As New York City was assaulted by an abnormally high tidal wave and the world rapidly began to freeze into a new ice age, laughter erupted in the Frist Campus Center basement.

 

The laughter came from an audience of students, faculty, and community members viewing the 2004 blockbuster The Day After Tomorrow, a film often criticized by scientists for its unrealistic portrayal of geologic events.

 

In the film, a rapid climate shift turns today’s conditions into a new ice age in a matter of days. To most viewers, the plot is both frightening and thrilling. To a group of geoscientists, it’s ridiculous, at best.

 

The screening was the first installment of “Hollywood Science Gone Bad,” a movie series organized by the newly formed Princeton Undergraduate Geosciences Society (PUGS). According to Christine Chen ’13, the group’s president, the series is “dedicated to debunking all the awful science seen in Hollywood blockbuster movies.”

 

The inaugural event, held March 29, attracted more than 70 viewers who watched The Day After Tomorrow and listened to short lectures and critiques from geosciences professor Daniel Sigman.

 

Sigman, whose research focuses on nutrient cycling and ocean biochemistry, led the group through a crash course in ocean-atmosphere interactions before the movie began. He explained that even the extraordinarily inaccurate scientific details of the film were inspired by “actual kernels of evidence,” or actual past events studied by geoscientists as well as global processes known to happen on much longer timescales.

 

“Up to a certain level,” Sigman said, “it’s entertaining to watch the portrayal of natural processes … and to recognize the things I know about the system and see mistakes. And then, at a certain point, you just go, ‘Oh my God.’”

 

 

There’s an old Jewish saying that’s used to simply describe the celebration of Jewish holidays: They tried to kill us, we survived, let’s eat. In my family, we observe the principles of that saying, and more: Eat now, talk later, the tradition of my father’s family. Eat now, talk now, the tradition of my mother’s family. Talk now, eat when everyone else is finished eating, the tradition of my youngest brother.

 

When, over winter break, I entered the 6th Annual Man-O-Manischewitz Cook-off, my entry was resting on more than the fact that all it seems my family does is eat and talk—my entry of “Mod” Matzo Ball Soup, a hearty vegetarian version of the traditional Jewish penicillin, chicken soup with matzo balls, rested on the fact that eating and talking, just like Manischewitz and matzo ball soup, are Jewish traditions that have continued throughout the years, and will continue for many years to come.

 

But, like certain Jewish foods, especially if they contain prunes, my excitement about entering the competition passed quickly, and by the time I was driving down the highway in Tennessee (visiting a friend over intersession) and received a call from the public-relations company associated with Manischewitz, I had long forgotten that I had even entered. I was quite surprised to hear that I had been named a semifinalist in the competition, which meant that I would be one of five contestants up for online voting to become the fifth of four pre-selected finalists in the live cook-off.

 

And so I realized that if I wanted to move on in the competition, I would have to do a lot of, well, talking. So thanks to my generous listserv spamming, the campus quickly became acquainted with the matzo ball—the “mod” matzo ball, that is. During the two-week voting period, my spamming became such a time-intensive extracurricular activity that I considered putting it on my résumé. Instead, I won the voting, and was soon named the fifth finalist in the competition, an accomplishment in and of itself! 

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert spoke about his country’s future to a packed audience in McCosh 50 on March 28. Olmert discussed the necessity of Israeli territorial concessions, encouraged American and international efforts to stop Iranian nuclear development, and answered some controversial questions from the audience.

 

President Tilghman introduced Olmert, who served as prime minister from 2006 to 2009 and the mayor of Jerusalem from 1993 to 2003, as well as in the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, for nine terms beginning in the 1970s. A former head of the liberal centrist Kadima party, he resigned from his position in 2009 while under investigation for corruption.

 

Olmert began his talk with humor, saying, “It’s always amazing to see how sexy is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in almost every corner of the world.”

 

He discussed the intense difficulty of making decisions “in a position where you are the last stop,” adding, “It is more difficult to be the mayor of Jerusalem than the prime minister of Israel.”

 

To the Jewish people, he explained, Israel’s territorial possessions, particularly its historic and religious capital of Jerusalem, are “indelibly linked” to their history and experiences. However, according to Olmert, holding some disputed territories has butted against has butted against Israel’s core liberal values of equality and democracy.

As right-handed pitcher Matt Bowman ’13 dominated Harvard on Sunday afternoon, a half-dozen men with clipboards stood underneath the netting behind home plate. As the professional scouts flared their radar guns with every pitch, Bowman gave them a show, striking out nine batters and allowing only one meaningless run in a seven-inning complete game, the best Ivy League pitching performance of his career.

 

The poor weather and uncertain schedule likely prevented more scouts from visiting Clarke Field this weekend, but the Tigers should see their share of them this season. Bowman, who also has pro potential as a shortstop, was rated the Ivy League’s top prospect before the season by Baseball America; catcher Sam Mulroy ’12 ranked second and southpaw Michael Fagan ’14 was fourth.

 

Historically, it's not unusual for Princeton’s program to draw scouting attention; two years ago, people routinely came to see Dan Barnes ’11, who was drafted and signed by the Toronto Blue Jays after the season. But the number of scouts watching the Tigers in this decade pales in comparison to the early 2000s, the golden era of Princeton baseball talent.

 

The Ivy League is not exactly a baseball hotbed; the Ancient Eight champion has drawn a four-seed in the NCAA Regionals every year since the four-team regional system was instituted in 1999.

 

But the Tigers of 2003-04 were not typical Ivy League teams. In 2004, Princeton traveled to Old Dominion for its very first game of the season; as usual, its opponent was already warm after starting a couple weeks earlier. The Monarchs’ Friday starter was a well-known right-hander with a blazing fastball who would be the second overall pick in that June’s draft – you might know him as the 2011 American League MVP, Justin Verlander. Princeton hammered Verlander for 10 runs and 11 hits in five innings, including two homers in the first frame.

 

At the NCAA Regionals in June, the Tigers stunned host and No. 1-seed Virginia in the first round, as Ross Ohlendorf ’05 recorded 26 outs while allowing only two runs in a 4-2 victory.

 

“We were a pro team at that point,” Bradley says. “Those teams, physically, were unbelievable with their speed and athleticism. We went to regionals, and we would have more pro prospects than whoever we were playing against.”

 

Ohlendorf and outfielder Will Venable ’05 have both spent the last four years in the major leagues, while catcher-turned-pitcher Tim Lahey ’04 made the Phillies’ roster but never appeared in a game – and they weren’t even the best pro prospects on those Princeton teams.

Last week, Harvard’s student newspaper, The Harvard Crimson, ran a piece describing 2011-12 as “A Historic Run for Harvard Sports.” While reading about how Harvard is now “King Midas of the Ivy League,” thanks to its success in college and professional sports, I couldn’t help but remember one thing: In the middle of possibly its best athletic year ever, the Crimson has won five Ivy League championships. Princeton has eight so far, with a few more likely coming in the spring.

 

(In case you’ve lost count, Princeton’s Ivy titles are in field hockey, men’s cross country, men’s squash, men’s fencing, women’s fencing, women’s basketball, men’s indoor track and field, and men’s swimming and diving.)

 

This isn’t exactly a new phenomenon. Last year, Princeton won 15 Ivy League titles, setting a conference record. (Harvard had five, two behind Yale.) The year before, the Tigers took 12. According to the athletics department, Princeton has placed first in the Ivy League all-sports points standings for 25 consecutive years. (For the breakdown by program, check this PAW graphic.)

 

Sure, Ivy League titles aren’t the only measure of success. Harvard drew national attention largely for dominating the two marquee sports, football and men’s basketball. But Princeton’s fingerprints were all over the latter story: The Tigers erased Harvard’s national ranking in February, then gave the Crimson a bid to the NCAA Tournament with a victory over Penn a month later. (And let’s not forget what happened the last time these two teams met on a neutral court.)

 

Princeton also provided perhaps the most dramatic triumph in any Ivy League sport this year, coming from behind to end Trinity’s streak of 13 national squash championships.

 

Admittedly, Harvard’s sports success has not all come at the collegiate level. With three players currently in the NFL and Jeremy Lin tearing up the NBA, Crimson alumni have been making plenty of national headlines. But Princeton can claim three pretty good marquee-sport professional athletes as well, including one in a major market. Ross Ohlendorf ’05, now with the Red Sox, might not match the hype of Linsanity (Ross-steria?), but he, Will Venable ’05 (an outfielder for the San Diego Padres), and Chris Young ’02 (who last pitched for the New York Mets) have been solid major-league baseball players for several years.

 

This spring, Princeton expects to be among the Ivy League’s top contenders in men’s track and field, baseball, men’s and women’s lacrosse, men’s and women’s tennis and various crews. Some Tigers likely will compete for national championships in a few of those sports.

 

All of which highlights one apparent truth: Top to bottom, this is still Princeton’s league.

Bridgeport, Conn. – Moments before the women’s basketball team’s NCAA Tournament game against Kansas State on Saturday, head coach Courtney Banghart looked much more nervous than usual. Playing not as a long-shot underdog but in the proverbial first-round toss-up game, 9-seed vs. 8-seed, Princeton came in with the highest expectations of Banghart’s seven trips to the Big Dance as a player and coach.

 

And in the opening minutes, the Princeton players seemed tense as well. Showing a lack of poise and patience early on, the Tigers committed sloppy turnovers and gave up open shots, allowing the Wildcats to take a 5-0 lead that could have been twice that. Sitting in nearly the same spot from which I watched Princeton’s previous two tournament games, all I could think was, “Oh no, it’s happening again.”

 

Last March, Princeton brought a team of tournament-tested players to Maryland, where they faced fifth-seeded Georgetown in the first round. After scoring first, the Tigers were blitzed by a 22-3 Hoyas run that virtually ended the game before the second media timeout. Two years ago, in Tallahassee, Fla., Princeton lasted a little bit longer, but a 13-2 run by sixth-seeded St. John’s turned a one-possession game into a comfortable lead midway through the first half.

 

But this year, things were supposed to be different. With the highest seed and first national ranking in Ivy League history, these Tigers were supposed to be tougher to keep down. And, as it turned out, they were: Princeton responded with a 12-2 run on Saturday, taking a five-point lead at the 12-minute mark.

 

“Before the game, Coach Banghart kept reminding us that it doesn’t matter what happens in the first three minutes, we’re going to be out there for the full 40 minutes,” guard Lauren Edwards ’12 said. “It took us a few minutes to get into our rhythm, but when we finally did, we played well and executed our game plan.”

 

After the Tigers loosened up, the contest became, as Banghart said, “a game of alternating currents.” Kansas State scored seven straight points to re-take the lead, Princeton grabbed the advantage back with four points of its own, and so the rest of the game went. The Wildcats held a four-point lead at halftime, but the Tigers flipped it with a 10-2 run, taking the lead when center Devona Allgood ’12 ripped a missed free throw from a defender’s hands and laid it in while being fouled.

This week was filled with milestones for the women’s basketball program. On Monday, Princeton was rated No. 24 in the Associated Press poll, becoming the first Ivy League team ever listed in the national rankings. And that evening, the Tigers earned a No. 9-seed in the NCAA Tournament, the best seeding ever for a team from the Ancient Eight.

 

But those feats will not be well remembered unless the team achieves another milestone on Saturday: the first NCAA Tournament victory in program history. After losing by double digits to St. John’s and Georgetown in 2010 and 2011, respectively, this season marks the best chance yet for Princeton to win in the postseason.

 

Head coach Courtney Banghart summed up her view in the Ivy League postseason media teleconference earlier this week: “If we do what we do well, we’ll be a really good team.”

 

Fans tuning in to the Tigers’ first-round game against No. 8-seed Kansas State (11:20 a.m. Saturday, ESPN2 or ESPN3) who are expecting a flowing, pretty game of basketball likely will be disappointed. Both teams are defense-oriented and will try to make Saturday’s game as ugly as possible. Kansas State enters the game allowing 56.7 points per game; Princeton holds teams to 35 percent shooting and has not given up more than 60 points in a game since the calendar read 2011.

 

The typical profile of an Ivy League team is “soft,” but that does not describe this year’s Tigers, who rebound better than they do anything else. Over the course of the season, Princeton grabbed 59.6 percent of total missed shots, the third-best mark in the nation; Kansas State was near the average at 49.6 percent, though against tougher competition. Princeton already broke the Ivy League mold by putting up even rebounding numbers against Georgetown and St. John’s, but they’ll need a sizable advantage this year.

 

That is largely because Kansas State should be able to overcome the next-biggest strength of Princeton’s defense, a swarming press designed to force turnovers. The Tigers induced 19.4 miscues per game, but the Wildcats gave it away only 14.5 times and have experience facing high-pressure defenses.

When Princeton’s Rhodes scholars headed off to Oxford, they expected to find historic buildings, world-class scholars, and the intellectual tools with which to tackle some of the world’s most complex problems. But they got one thing they hadn’t bargained for: free time.

 

“I just have so much time to use however I want,” Henry Barmeier ’10 said. “My perception of time is radically different [from before].”

 

For Barmeier, one of the greatest luxuries of the Rhodes experience has been an abundance of time for unstructured learning outside of the classroom. He has used the space in his schedule to learn the guitar, visit art museums, and have long conversations with friends.

 

“I feel more at liberty now to pursue interests for no other reason than because they’re interesting,” he explained. “That really is the heart and soul of the Oxford experience for me: a shift in what I think it means to learn.”

 

Scott Moore ’08, a D.Phil. candidate in politics, said he felt his Oxford lifestyle was a good departure from the pressurized, harried culture at Princeton.

 

“Compare Firestone’s opening hours with those of the Oriental Studies Institute at Oxford, where I did much of my research: 9 a.m. until 6:45 p.m.” he said in an email. “That’s right, you can’t do any work after 6:45 p.m. even if you wanted to. How healthy!”