2007: The Year at Princeton

A month-by-month look at the headlines, with links to PAW stories

January
Gen. David Petraeus *87 is confirmed as the top commander of U.S. troops in Iraq. Three months later, Time magazine selects the Woodrow Wilson School Ph.D. recipient for its list of the world’s 100 most influential people. Sen. John McCain writes the brief essay on Petraeus, calling him “bright, studious, morally committed, physically brave, [and] willing to carry a ‘heavy rucksack’ without complaint and with clear-eyed resolve.” Petraeus has appeared in PAW several times - in a 2002 interview, a 2004 feature story, and most recently, in an On the Campus column about student reporter Wesley Morgan ’10, who was embedded with Petraeus and others in Iraq last summer.

February
In women’s squash, undefeated Princeton competes at the Howe Cup, the sport’s national championship, and tops Brown, Yale, and Harvard en route to a perfect season and its first national title since 1999. “It’s quite an honor to be able to put together a group of women to win the national title,” coach Gail Ramsay tells PAW. “[Squash] is very competitive. Small, but very competitive.”

March
Princeton chemistry professor David MacMillan and his colleagues publish a paper in Science March 29 outlining a new way assemble organic molecules without using toxic catalysts. The approach, which could speed the development of new drugs, is a “creative breakthrough,” according to John Schwab, a program director at the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, which helped fund the research.

April
Moshin Hamid ’93 releases his novel, The Reluctant Fundamentalist, drawing favorable reviews in the United States and abroad (The New York Times and Amazon.com both selected it as one of the year’s 100 best books). PAW profiled the author and published an excerpt of the book, which features the protagonist Changez, a native of Pakistan who attends Princeton, works in Manhattan, and develops a complicated view of the United States after Sept. 11. “Changez is not meant to be me,” Hamid tells PAW, “but I could imagine being him.”

May
Reunions 2007 draws about 20,000 alumni, family members, and friends to campus, starting on May 31, for receptions, family events, educational programs, and the annual P-rade. On June 5, 1,127 undergraduates and 716 graduate students receive their degrees and join the alumni community.

June
The University announces that Bill Frist ’74, the former Senate majority leader, will join the Woodrow Wilson School faculty in 2007-08 as the Frederick H. Schultz Class of 1951 Visiting Professor of International Economic Policy. A December PAW feature followed Frist and Professor Uwe Reinhardt into the classroom for their course, “The Political Economy of Health Systems.”

July
San Diego Padres right-hander Chris Young ’02 pitches in Major League Baseball’s All-Star game July 10, retiring one batter in the top of the fifth inning before giving up a two-run in-the-park home run to Ichiro Suzuki. Young is one of nearly a dozen alumni in professional baseball, including fellow pitcher Ross Ohlendorf ’05, who made his major-league debut in September with the New York Yankees.

August
On Aug. 2, Middle East studies scholar Haleh Esfandiari, who taught Persian language and literature at Princeton from 1980 to 1994, is released from a prison in Iran where she had been held on charges of espionage and endangering Iran’s national security. Esfandiari strongly denied the charges. She returned to work as director of the Middle East program for the Woodrow Wilson International Center in Washington Sept. 10.

September
Whitman College, the University’s newest residential college, opens its doors to students. The complex, named for lead donor and eBay CEO Meg Whitman ’77, was built at a cost of $136 million and houses about 500 students. Architect Demetri Porphyrios *80 aimed for a fresh take on collegiate gothic architecture. “The current architectural taste is neo-modern, deconstructive,” he tells PAW. “It’s centered on aggression, where these buildings are centered on beauty.”

October
The University Art Museum and the Italian government resolve ownership of 15 works of art from the museum’s collection at a meeting in Rome Oct. 30, ending nearly three years of inquiries and negotiations. The Italian culture ministry suspected that some of the museum’s artifacts had been acquired illegally. The University returned four works, transferred ownership on four others (but kept them on temporary loan), and secured permanent title to the seven remaining works under review. Museum director Susan Taylor maintained that all of the objects were obtained in good faith.

November
The University formally launches the largest fundraising campaign in its history — $1.75 billion over the next five years — with three days of events for alumni leaders, volunteers, and donors. Priorities in the campaign include Annual Giving; engineering, energy, and the environment; exploration in the arts; neuroscience, genomics, and theoretical physics; national and global citizenship; and the “Princeton experience.” Campaign co-chairman Robert Murley ’72 tells PAW that while Princeton’s goal may not be as lofty as the multi-billion-dollar campaigns at Columbia and the University of Pennsylvania, “on a per-capita or per-student basis it is a very large campaign. It certainly is large and important for Princeton.”

December
The Dec. 13 announcement of Sachs Scholar Pauline Yeung ’08 concludes a remarkable season of awards for Princeton seniors. Three members of the Class of 2008 were named Rhodes Scholars in late November - Sherif Girgis, Brett Masters, and Landis Stankievech - marking the first time since 1995 that three Princeton undergraduates were selected. Sarah Vander Ploeg ’08 was chosen to be a Marshall Scholar, while Yeung was selected for the Sachs Scholarship, a Princeton honor named for Daniel Sachs ’60. All five students will pursue graduate studies in Great Britain next fall.

A note to our readers
The Weekly Blog will not post on Dec. 26 but will return in the new year with more news and notes.

Better than sliced bread

In early December, Witherspoon Bread Company’s master baker, Denis Granarolo, taught students how to make ciabatta and foccaccia bread, baguettes, and croissants at two bread-making workshops sponsored by a new campus group called Slow Food. Formed this fall, the organization’s goal is to promote sustainable dining and locally grown foods through events like oyster-, cheese-, and bread-tasting workshops. Slow Food also plans on producing a local restaurant review and food guide. Photos by Julia Osellame ’09

Princeton’s top-10 team, 10 years later

In the 1997-98 season, Princeton men’s basketball was a national phenomenon. The Tigers went 26-1 in the regular season (an achievement celebrated on PAW’s March 25, 1998, cover), climbed as high as No. 8 in the Associated Press national rankings, and drew a group of devoted followers. After playing its last three Ivy League games on the road, coaches opened an intra-squad scrimmage to the public to give fans one more chance to see the team play at home. The Tigers went on to beat UNLV in the first round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to Michigan State and star guard Mateen Cleaves in the second round.
On Dec. 16, Princeton will honor members of the 1997-98 team at a reunion during a men’s and women’s basketball doubleheader at Jadwin Gym. The Tiger women (3-7) open the action against Syracuse (7-1) at 2 p.m., and the men (2-6) tip-off against Manhattan (5-4) at 5 p.m.

Princetonians in the Times

Kwame Anthony Appiah wrote about experimental philosophy, a trend of gathering data that is relatively new to the field, in a Dec. 9 New York Times Magazine story. Appiah is the Laurance S. Rockefeller University Professor of Philosophy and the University Center of Human Values at Princeton. … Women’s squash coach Gail Ramsay was quoted in another Dec. 9 Times story about the potential advantage that squash players have in Ivy League admissions. “Not only do the eight Ivy League schools — Columbia will turn varsity in 2011 — have teams, but there are another 21 of the top liberal arts schools that also recruit from this pool of squash players,” Ramsay told the Times in an e-mail. “I actually feel there are not enough players to fill those recruiting spots each year.” … Woodrow Wilson School Dean Anne-Marie Slaughter ’80 has been blogging for the Times this fall from Shanghai, where she is spending the academic year. Her latest post, filed Dec. 7, addresses climate change and international relations.

Showing their moves

Naacho, the Indian dance troupe made up of Princeton students, performs a routine at “Your Moves,” a cultural dance festival and workshop hosted by Princeton High School Dec. 8. Photo by Frank Wojciechowski

More at PAW Online

Rally ’Round the Cannon - In his Princeton history column, Gregg Lange ’70 writes about Harold Helm ’20, the father of the University’s Annual Giving campaign.
On the Campus - Rough road for the Tigers’ self-driving vehicle in California; the University Band enlivens New York’s Village Halloween Parade.
Better late than never - After 27 years, monologist, filmmaker, and talk-show host Josh Kornbluth ’80 finally completed his senior thesis. Read Kornbluth’s story from PAW and watch an excerpt from his thesis/monologue “Citizen Josh.”

Print’s precarious future

“If you’ve got that relentless essential curiosity and you enjoy telling stories, then go into journalism; if you don’t, then go to law school,” joked Evan Thomas, editor-at-large for Newsweek, as he encouraged students at a Nov. 28 lecture about the future of print media.
Jim Kelly ’76, managing editor of Time Inc., joined Thomas as a speaker at the event, sponsored by the University Press Club, where the two journalists addressed the title question, “How Dead is Print?”
“It’s hard to believe that most people, 25 years from now, will be reading the material you find in a book on some kind of screen,” said Kelly, who believes that journalism eventually will be completely electronic.
Thomas, a Ferris Professor of Journalism at Princeton, said he hopes that there will always be some form of printed news. He also highlighted the disparity between online and print advertising rates as the biggest economic problem for both newspapers and magazines.
Publications cannot charge the same rates for Internet ads that they charge for print ads, Thomas explained, and easy-access to free Internet news further reduces the revenue that is used to pay for circulating issues.
“It’s increasingly hard to find people to pay for in print what they can get free online,” Kelly added. “Is print dying, then? I guess it’s changing.”
Though both Kelly and Thomas were optimistic about the future of good journalism in general, they did address the changing nature of telling stories.
“Readers don’t just want to use content, but they also want a hand in creating the content,” Kelly said, noting the prevalence of blogs. “This is about reacting and interacting with the people that write and edit.”
Overall, Thomas said he was confident that “what will never go out of business is the basic journalistic value of being relentlessly curious, wanting to get the story, and being able to tell the story in an animated way. We will have that until our dying day.” By Julia Osellame ’09

Brushing off the Big East blues

The Princeton men’s basketball team dropped to 2-5 after losses to Seton Hall and Rutgers Nov. 28 and Dec. 1, but the Tigers stayed close with both Big East foes, giving coach Sydney Johnson ’97 reason for optimism.
“We’ve got something,” Johnson said after the Seton Hall game, a 65-55 loss. “These guys are committed, and I like that. A couple loose balls here, another shot there, and we might turn the corner. So in one way you feel good, but obviously we’re left wanting.”
Seton Hall coach Bobby Gonzalez also saw something in this year’s Princeton team. Last season, the Pirates demolished the Tigers, 79-41, in a game that was decided well before halftime. This year, Princeton trailed most of the way again but stayed close, narrowing the gap to eight points with a minute remaining.
“I think that these kids look like they’re having fun playing for [Johnson],” Gonzalez said. “They’re playing with a little more confidence, a little more excitement, a little more energy. I think he’s going to do a nice job and be a very good coach for Princeton.”
The Tigers play at Evansville (Ind.) Dec. 5 and at Penn State Dec. 12 before returning home to play Manhattan at Jadwin Gym Dec. 16. The Manhattan game is part of a women’s and men’s doubleheader. The Princeton women open the action against Syracuse at 2 p.m., and the men tip off at 5 p.m.

Alumni in the news

On Dec. 3, former Major League Baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn ’48 became the first Princetonian (and the fourth commissioner) elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Kuhn was baseball’s youngest commissioner when he took the job in 1969 and presided over the game for 25 years. He died last March at age 80. … Mellody Hobson ’91, president of Ariel Capital Management, is one of 65 “achievers under 40” named to Black Enterprise magazine’s 2007 Hot List Nov. 26. In addition to young standouts in business and medicine, the list includes entertainers and pro sports stars such as Jay-Z, Alicia Keys, Will Smith, and Tiger Woods. … Marketplace, the business radio program from American Public Media, interviewed eBay CEO Meg Whitman ’77 about the Web site’s future and its role in holiday shopping as part of the “Conversations from the Corner Office” series Nov. 29. … Cornel West *80 joined Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on stage at a Nov. 29 fundraiser at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. The Associated Press reported that West defended Obama’s civil rights credentials, saying that the Senator’s candidacy “comes at an incredibly powerful moment in the year 2007, and we don’t expect him to be Marcus Garvey … or Martin Luther King.”

Carols for a cause

The Princeton University Chapel Choir has joined seven other local singing ensembles to create a new CD, “A Princeton Christmas: For the Children of Africa.” The project aims to raise funds for the school feeding campaign of the United Nations World Food Program in Africa. The Chapel Choir contributed six tracks to the album, ranging from the classic “The First Noel” to the lesser-known “Mariabaen,” a traditional carol from Iceland. Additional information is available at the Princeton Christmas Web site.

Tigers on the McCarter stage

Two alumni actors are performing in McCarter Theatre’s annual production of the Charles Dickens classic A Christmas Carol, which opened Dec. 2 and runs through Dec. 23. Karron Graves ’99 plays Scrooge’s sister Fan, and Jed Peterson ’06 is a member of the ensemble. Graves performed in Coram Boy on Broadway and has appeared in several off-Broadway productions and television shows. Peterson started his stage career as a young dancer in the New York City Ballet production of The Nutcracker and served as the artistic director of Princeton Summer Theater as an undergraduate.

Women’s volleyball jumps into postseason

Princeton women’s volleyball will face Delaware Nov. 30 in the opening round of the NCAA Championships at St. John’s University in Queens, N.Y. The Tigers won all 14 of their Ivy League matches and carry a 20-match winning streak into their meeting with the 30-4 Blue Hens.
Princeton (22-3 overall) features three All-Ivy first-team players (Parker Henritze ’09, the league’s player of the year; setter Bailey Robinson ’09, who led the nation in assists per game; and Lindsey Ensign ’09, the team’s top blocker), as well as a veteran coach, Glenn Nelson, who recently set the Princeton record for wins in any sport.
Nelson credits his players for this season’s magical run. “They have such physical talent,” he told PAW contributor Josh Stephens ’97. “I’ve said all along, if you can jump higher and hit harder than the team you’re playing against, you’re probably going to win.”
View the complete bracket for the 64-team NCAA Championships at ncaasports.com.

Faculty in the news

Mideast scholar and emeritus professor Bernard Lewis gave his thoughts about Israel and Palestine in advance of this week’s Annapolis peace conference in The Wall Street Journal Nov. 26 (subscription required). … In presidential politics, history professor Sean Wilentz made his case for Hillary Clinton on the Newsweek blog of Andrew Romano ’04 earlier this month. Meanwhile, colleagues James McPherson and Albert Raboteau signed on to the “historians for Obama” endorsement, released through the History News Network. … Chris Boucek, postdoctoral research associate and lecturer at the Woodrow Wilson School, spoke about his research on Saudi Arabia’s program to rehabilitate freed terrorism suspects in a Nov. 22 Boston Globe story. … In its December issue, Smithsonian Magazine profiled photographer Emmet Gowin, a professor of visual arts, and his “most enduring subject,” wife Edith.

Autumn ride

Most of the leaves have fallen from the trees, but students like this one in front of Whig Hall were still riding their bikes in sweatshirts earlier this week, thanks to mild late-November weather.
Photo by Frank Wojciechowski

A history of currency

A new exhibit at Firestone Library examines the early days of coin collecting, when renaissance scholars used coins and texts to decipher the monetary system of ancient Rome and answer other historical questions.
“Numismatics in the Renaissance,” at Firestone’s main gallery, opened with a daylong conference Nov. 9 and will remain on display through July 20, 2008. In addition to displaying ancient coins that bear the images of Julius Caesar, Augustus, Caligula, and others, the exhibit explains how 16th-century Europeans systematically studied the “material remains” of classical civilization, giving rise to numismatics, archaeology, and epigraphy (the study of inscriptions).
While the faces on coins were the primary source of fascination, the images on the reverse - of animals, goddesses, and symbols - also provided insight for the study of different time periods. The Firestone exhibit presents several books in which early drawings of coins were published and the actual coins represented in the illustrations.
The exhibit highlights the University’s Numismatic Collection, which contains about 60,000 items, including coins, medals, and paper money.

Up with oomph

Men’s basketball center Zach Finley ’10 muscles through the defense during Princeton’s 66-58 win over Iona Nov. 14. The Tigers won their first two games under new coach Sydney Johnson ’97 (profiled in the Nov. 21 issue of PAW) before falling to Duke 83-61 in the first round of the EA Sports Maui Invitational Nov. 19. Through the first three games, Finley led Princeton in scoring (14.7 points per game) and was tied for first in rebounding (5.3 rebounds per game).
Photo by Frank Wojciechowski

New book: Persuasion as art

Do you woo? You should, if you hope to succeed in business, according to Wharton professor G. Richard Shell ’71 and colleague Mario Moussa, the authors of The Art of Woo: Using Strategic Persuasion to Sell Your Ideas (Portfolio). “Woo-ing,” in this case, refers to “winning others over,” a concept coined by Marcus Buckingham and Donald Clifton in their bestseller, Now, Discover Your Strengths. Shell and Moussa dissect the important steps of wooing, from getting people’s attention to closing a deal, using anecdotes about some of history’s “greatest persuaders” and lists of things to keep in mind, including “10 questions for would-be wooers.”
For information about other books by alumni and faculty, visit New Books at PAW online.

More at PAW Online

Roman ambassador — In the wake of the Art Museum’s recent return of Italian artifacts, PAW revisits the post-World War II story of a well-traveled ancient goat head.
On the Campus — On the Street, the mood has swung from carefree to careful; the Office of Religious Life moves to “humanize” the Chapel.
Rally ’Round the Cannon — Gregg Lange ’70 probes the mystery of why the Cannon on the Green is slowly sinking.

Football fails to leash Yale

A year ago, Princeton football’s second-half comeback at Yale helped the Tigers secure a win and a share of the Ivy League championship. While the Tigers slipped out of the Ivy title chase early this year, they tried to pick up where they left off against the undefeated Bulldogs at Princeton Stadium Nov. 10, surging through the defense for 361 yards, compared to 272 for Yale. But a pair of early fumbles kept Princeton out of the end zone, and the Bulldogs eventually broke through with 24 second-half points in a 27-6 victory.
Yale running back Mike McLeod, who averaged more than 180 yards rushing in his first eight games this year, ran for just 107 yards against Princeton. “Our kids just played their tails off,” head coach Roger Hughes said. “I thought our defensive line as a whole did a great job against their offensive line.”
Yale’s defense also was impressive, holding the Tigers to two field goals. Cornerback Casey Gerald said that the Yale coaches made the players watch film of last season’s loss to Princeton during the preseason and a few days before this year’s game. “We’ve had those images of getting beat and giving up plays for about a year,” he said. “[But] it wasn’t a revenge game. It was just us going out and doing what we’re supposed to do.”
Princeton will finish its season at Dartmouth Nov. 17, while Yale will host Harvard in a game that will determine this year’s Ivy champion.
Above: The Princeton Tiger had a grip on Yale mascot Handsome Dan, but on the field, the Bulldogs were harder to contain. Photo by Beverly Schaefer

Princeton’s own ‘de’ Medici’

Peter B. Lewis ’55 was described by President Tilghman as “a modern-day version of Lorenzo de’ Medici” as the University recognized his $101 million donation by renaming the Center for the Arts after him. Lewis, a Princeton trustee and chairman of the board of Progressive Corp., was honored with a series of public and private events Nov. 8 and 9 for his gift in support of the arts.
Lewis received a portfolio of student and faculty art work and signed copies of books by noted faculty authors at a reception Thursday at 185 Nassau St. Thursday evening, and the Lewis family had a private dinner on the stage of Richardson Auditorium with Tilghman, trustees, friends, and faculty. The Lewis Center for the Arts — described by poet Paul Muldoon, the chairman of the center, as “a new iambic tetrameter destined for eternity” — was launched publicly with a celebration of the arts at Princeton Nov. 9 in Richardson. Students and alumni offered a series of music, theater, and dance performances.
“It is a real privilege to be able to do the things I’ve been able to do,” Lewis told the audience. “Princeton makes it a pleasure to give.” By W. Raymond Ollwerther ’71

Alumni in the news, sports edition

Fighting is on the rise in the NHL, and according to an Oct. 30 article in the Winnipeg Free Press, a Princeton alumnus is partly to blame. The Free Press quoted an unnamed NHL executive who said, “Lots of teams saw what the [Anaheim] Ducks went and did last year, getting bigger and fighting a lot and winning the Cup, so they’ve added some size.” Anaheim’s chief enforcer is 6-foot-5-inch, 230-pound defenseman George Parros ’03, “part of the new breed” of hockey tough guys, according to the newspaper. … Former women’s hockey goalie Megan Van Beusekom ’04 helped the U.S. Women’s Select Team to a second-place finish at the Four Nations Cup Nov. 7-11. Van Beusekom made 13 saves and allowed one goal in the Americans’ 2-1 win over Finland Nov. 10. … Men’s track alumnus Chris Banks ’00 placed 89th in the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in New York Nov. 3, completing the 26.2-mile Central Park course in 2:30.22. … San Francisco 49ers fullback Zak Keasey ’05 has spent the season moving back and forth between the team’s practice squad and its active roster, where he has become a key special teams player. The San Francisco Chronicle documented Keasey’s journey in two recent stories.

Hoops in Hawaii; cross country championships

Princeton men’s basketball will make its 2007-08 national television debut Nov. 19 against Duke at the EA Sports Maui Invitational. The Tigers, who won their opener against Central Connecticut State Nov. 12, face the 13th-ranked Blue Devils at 9 p.m. on ESPN2. All 12 tournament games will be televised on ESPN, ESPN2, or ESPNU.
Viewers also can watch runners from the Princeton women’s and men’s cross country teams on Nov. 19 as they compete at the NCAA Championships in Terre Haute, Ind. Beginning at noon, CSTV will air the first live broadcast in the event’s history, and the Princeton women, ranked No. 4 nationally, could contend for the title. The women have won every race they’ve entered this season, including an impressive victory at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional meet, where all seven Tigers finished in the top 25. Three Princeton men qualified for the meet as individuals: 2006 All-American David Nightingale ’08, 2007 Ivy League champion Michael Maag ’09, and talented sophomore Ben Sitler.

Triangle toasts the Garden State

What do Bruce Springsteen, pharmaceutical companies, and cranberry bogs have in common? They’ve all called New Jersey home, and consequently, they’ll all be lampooned in the Princeton Triangle Club’s new revue, A Turnpike Runs Through It, playing Nov. 9 and 10 at 8 p.m. at McCarter Theatre.
The show follows a bus tour through the Garden State, led by two expert guides, and no subject is off limits - Thomas Edison, Woodrow Wilson 1879, even Washington crossing the Delaware. “We’re touching on just about everything we can find,” said club president Kelvin Dinkins ’09, “and ultimately, this writers’ workshop has made it all funny.”
Dinkins, back row, fourth from left in the photo above, will fill several roles, including a cheerleader, a first-grader, a talk-show host, and, in the club’s traditional all-male kickline, the most famous Jersey girl of all (though legally a resident of New York), the Statue of Liberty. In addition to a strong group of returning cast members, the fall show will mark the debut of 14 talented Triangle freshmen. Of the newcomers, Dinkins said, “I think the audience will be wowed.”
The professional staff of this year’s production draws on four accomplished Triangle alumni — director Glen Pannell ’87, choreographer Hans Kriefall ’87, music director Peter Mills ’95, and costume designer David Kaley ’97.
In late January, the club will take Turnpike on the road with a tour of the southeastern United States. Planned stops include Charlotte, N.C., and Atlanta, and four Florida performances in Tampa, West Palm Beach, Miami, and Naples.
Tour information is available on the Triangle Club Web site.
Photo by Frank Wojciechowski

Fresh starts for men’s, women’s basketball

At Princeton basketball’s media day Nov. 6, new men’s head coach Sydney Johnson ’97 was tight-lipped about his team’s starting lineup, focusing instead on his goal of continuous improvement. “If we’re better today than we were yesterday, you’re talking to a happy coach,” Johnson said. So is he happy now? “I’m fairly happy,” he said. “I do think I’d be worried if I felt like this is our best basketball right now.”
Three starters — Kyle Koncz ’08, Marcus Schroeder ’10, and Lincoln Gunn ’10 — return for the Tigers, along with key reserves Noah Savage ’08, Zach Finley ’10, and Mike Strittmatter ’09. Penn, the defending Ivy champion, lost three starters to graduation, including All-Ivy players Ibby Jaaber and Mark Zoller, and Cornell, Yale, and Columbia are positioned to be strong challengers this year. Princeton, which was 2-12 in the league last season, aims to join that group.
The men play two home games (Nov. 11 vs. Central Connecticut and Nov. 14 vs. Iona) before facing Duke at the EA Sports Maui Invitational Nov. 19.
On the women’s side, new coach Courtney Banghart named her starters for Princeton’s opening game at Maryland Nov. 9: Meg Cowher ’08, Whitney Downs ’09, Caitlin O’Neill ’09, Ali Prichard ’08, and Tani Brown ’10. Of the five, Brown has the least experience, appearing in just 11 games as a freshman, but Banghart hopes that her strong front line can carry the team in its early games.
Cowher had a record-setting season in 2006-07, scoring 496 points (17.7 per game) to break the Tigers’ single-season high, set by Sandi Bittler ’90 in 1989. Banghart thinks that her star forward’s best is yet to come, thanks to her improvement on left-handed post moves. “She has a much more diverse arsenal now,” Banghart said. “When someone who is your star also is one of your best workers and is very coachable, that’s a deadly combination. She is both of those things.”
This season, the Tigers will face a challenging non-league schedule as they prepare for Ivy play, with home games against California (Dec. 8), Rutgers (Dec. 12), Syracuse (Dec. 16), and Vanderbilt (Jan. 5).

Jadwin’s wild side

With the exception of the players themselves, few students are more excited about the start of basketball season than Jamie Blackburn ’08, Jakob Deitch ’08, and Dave Valentine ’08, leaders of the Jadwin Jungle student cheering section. In October and November, the three seniors canvassed the eating clubs and residential colleges to recruit this year’s crop of rowdy Princeton rooters.
Getting students to sign up is not too difficult (Jungle members get a free T-shirt — orange and white tie-dye this year), and getting them to show up for a few games is no problem (free pizza is served before tip-off). But to build a consistently strong cheering section, you need a strong core of fans who feel invested in the team, Blackburn said, and “winning helps.” Last year, the men’s team’s 2-12 record in Ivy games took its toll on turnout in the Jungle.
A new season and a new coach have restored some of the excitement, and even if championship play does not return to the court, the three stalwart cheerleaders have learned to devote their energy to more creativity in the bleachers. They’ve helped to develop a few lasting gimmicks — yelling “off the hook” when a Tiger sinks a hook shot, falling backward when a Princeton defender draws a charge, and waving cafeteria trays for 3-pointers (or “treys”) — but Valentine’s favorite idea has remained elusive. “We’d like to get a door so we can hold it up for backdoor [lay-ups],” he explained, “but we haven’t figured that one out yet.”

Early ‘Winter’

Kut Akdogan ’10, left, and Sara-Ashley Bischoff ’09, rehearse a scene from Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale, the fall show of Princeton University’s Program in Theater and Dance, which debuts at the Berlind Theatre Nov. 9. New York-based director and choreographer Tracy Bersley, a lecturer in the theater and dance program, will direct the production’s five performances, Nov. 9, 10, 15, 16, and 17, at 8 p.m.
Photo by Frank Wojciechowski

More at PAW Online

Math lessons - What Carl L. Heimowitz ’64 remembers about his days in the math department are the people - “alternately crazy and great” - doing work that changed the world.

War stories - E.B. Boyd ’89 profiles five young alumni who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Rally ’Round the Cannon - Gregg Lange ’70 describes how, in the days before the Nassau Herald or the Bric-a-Brac, the Senior Autograph Book spoke volumes.

Questions and answers with political blogger (and engineering grad student) Juan Melli

Juan Melli knows all about feedback. “If I write something that a politician doesn’t like, I’ll hear about it,” says Melli, the founder of BlueJersey.com, a blog devoted to discussing and debating New Jersey politics. Since the Princeton mechanical engineering graduate student from Washington Township, N.J., launched the blog in September 2005, traffic has grown to an average of 1,500 hits per day, and the site has been featured in The New York Times and on ABC News. With New Jersey’s legislative elections just a few days away, Melli sat down with The Weekly Blog’s Julia Osellame ’09 to discuss blogging and politics.

Where do you find time to keep up with graduate school and the blog?
I read the news all day - in the morning, at night, at lunch. I make the time. But writing the blog is usually something fast. I don’t spend hours writing a draft and revising. It may have delayed my graduation a bit, but I don’t regret it. It’s something I enjoy.
What should voters be looking for in the November election?
This year is legislative, next year presidential. What most students at Princeton don’t know is that in New Jersey, every year there are elections; in other states this isn’t the case. Usually, turnout is low and we get a lot of the status quo on the ballot sheets. But if all the students in the University voted, they could easily swing [a local] election.
What do you think is the most important political issue in New Jersey right now?
It’s not the issue I care the most about, but property taxes are politically significant each year in New Jersey. It’s not a hot button issue [for students], but it’s always there and never addressed appropriately. Personally, I think the most important issues are ethics and campaign finance reform. When people run for office and they are beholden to someone, policies coming from that arrangement tend to be bad. These aren’t really sexy issues, but they affect everything.
What’s your take on student involvement in politics on campus?
I was involved three years ago with the Filibuster campaign [at Frist Campus Center]. When that happened, it showed that students did care and participation on campus was huge. Princeton students can and will participate if there is an issue that appeals to them. Overall though, political participation is lackluster. It is disappointing because students should care about their government regardless. Part of this apathy could be because people, the legislative officials or the activists that care about the issue, aren’t doing enough to make issues appealing to students.

Culbreath ’10, Princeton outrun Cornell

Football coach Roger Hughes admits that for Princeton’s running backs, breakaway speed has been conspicuously absent in the last few seasons. Before the Tigers’ Oct. 26 game against Cornell, only quarterback Bill Foran ’08 had made a run of more than 50 yards, and a season and a half had passed since any Tiger had rushed for 100 yards in one game.
Against the Big Red, backup tailback Jordan Culbreath ’10 ended both droughts in the fourth quarter, busting through the defense for a 58-yard touchdown run. The play pushed him over the 100-yard mark (he would finish with 145) and put Princeton ahead for good in a 34-31 victory.
Culbreath had more carries against Cornell (11) than he had in the previous six games combined, and Hughes expects to continue putting the ball in his hands in the remaining three games. “He’s certainly earned it,” he said.
Until the day before the Cornell game, Culbreath was the third tailback on Princeton’s depth chart, but when a foot injury sidelined Kenny Gunter ’10, he moved into the backup role. Culbreath seemed prepared for the opportunity: On his first carry, early in the second quarter, he shrugged off two tacklers and sprinted down the right sideline for a 49-yard touchdown run.
“He had a great fall camp - he came into the season prepared,” senior quarterback Greg Mroz said of Culbreath after the game. “The audience may be surprised, but the players and coaches know what he’s capable of, once he gets his chance to shine.”
Photo by Frank Wojciechowski

Cross country leads the pack at Ivy meet

At the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships Oct. 26, the runners on Princeton’s men’s cross country team could not help being distracted from their stretching routine when the Princeton women began crossing the finish line. “We all were kind of craning our necks, just to see how dominant their performance was going to be,” said Michael Maag ’09, one of the top runners on the men’s team.
The women, ranked No. 4 nationally, entered the race as the clear favorites and did not disappoint. Liz Costello ’10 won the individual championship, running the 5-kilometer women’s course in 17:14.4. Christy Johnson ’10 placed second, and three more teammates finished in the top nine - Megan Brandeland ’09 (fifth), Jolee Vanleuven ’09 (eighth), and Ashley Higginson ’11 (ninth).
Princeton’s winning total of 25 points was the fourth-lowest in meet history, and the spread between Costello and Princeton’s ninth runner, Caitlin McTague ’ 08, was just one minute. “We’re that close on our times, which helps us train and helps us stay focused, individually and as a team,” Costello said.
In the men’s race, Maag was the star, becoming the first Tiger to win the Heps title since 1999, but teammates Ben Sitler ’10 (third) and Dave Nightingale ’08 (sixth) were not far behind. Nightingale was running his second race of the year after an injury kept him off the course in the first half of the season. Princeton’s other two scoring runners, Frank Tinney ’08 and James O’Toole ’08, finished 11th and 17th, respectively.
“What I was most excited about was how well everybody, top to bottom, ran,” Maag said. “There’s still room for improvement, but I feel like people were generally proud of how we performed.”
Both Princeton teams will run at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional, Nov. 10 in Bethlehem, Pa. The top two women’s and men’s teams at the regional meet earn automatic bids to the NCAA Championships.

New books: Back story

For people with back pain, exploring treatment options can be overwhelming, according to Dr. Nathaniel Tindel ’85, and many patients lack the information to ask the right questions. Tindel, a surgeon and an assistant professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, has tried to remedy that problem with his new book, I’ve Got Your Back (New American Library), written with health writer Tamar Haspel. Tindel addresses the basics, including how the spine functions and why back pain is so common, as well as specific treatment options and their risks. In a large majority of cases, he writes, there are alternatives to surgery. Exercise and stress reduction are among the simplest ways to quell back pain, but less intuitive lifestyle changes like quitting smoking can help as well.
For information about other books by alumni and faculty, visit New Books at PAW online.

Princetonians in the news

Emeritus professor and Nobel laureate Toni Morrison, former U.S. Sen. Bill Bradley ’65, and the late publisher Malcolm Forbes ’41 will join Bruce Springsteen, Frank Sinatra, and 10 other notable New Jersey residents in the inaugural class of the New Jersey Hall of Fame next May. Gov. Jon Corzine announced the list of 15 inductees Oct. 25. … University of Chicago economics professor Gary Becker ’51 will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom Nov. 5, the Chicago Tribune reported. Becker, a Nobel Prize winner in 1992, has written extensively on the economics of human capital and discrimination, among other topics. … No Country for Old Men, a new film from Ethan Coen ’79 and his brother, Joel, headlined the New York Film Festival Oct. 6. New York Magazine profiled the filmmakers in October.

Tigers look for double repeat at Heps

Last fall, the men’s and women’s cross country teams completed a rare double at the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships when both Tiger squads won team titles. On Oct. 26, Princeton will look to duplicate that feat and become just the second school to record back-to-back sweeps (Dartmouth did it in 1994 and 1995).
The Princeton women are clear favorites in their race. Ranked fourth in the national coaches’ poll, the Tigers have won every meet they’ve entered this season with a lineup that includes remarkable depth: At the Pre-Nationals Invitational Oct. 13, all seven of Princeton’s entrants finished in the top quarter of their race. Sophomores Liz Costello and Christy Johnson are the Tigers’ most likely contenders for the individual Heps crown.
Princeton’s men also have a pair of runners who hope to lead the Heps pack - Frank Tinney ’08 and Michael Maag ’09 - as well as David Nightingale ’08, the No. 3 runner at Heps last year, who recently returned from an injury. Cornell, which placed three spots behind Princeton at the Pre-Nationals, could be the Tigers’ top challenger.
Check the Oct. 31 post for a full recap.

Novelist examines Mexican history

In a wide-ranging lecture delivered Oct. 18, the novelist and Mexican diplomat Carlos Fuentes brought the history of Mexico alive, spanning from creation myths to the present day in one hour.
Fuentes grappled with difficult issues of religion, identity, and revolution while bringing his McCosh Hall audience from colonialism into the 21st century. The Mexican Revolution of 1910, he noted, “was a real revolution as deep and decisive for my country as was the French, Chinese, or American for theirs.” “A revolution is like an annunciation,” he said. “It is equally as important for what it achieves as what it promises.”
Fuentes’ comments included moments of levity (“Our Lady of Guadeloupe has become a symbol for Mexico, where even agnostics are Catholic.”), as well as an examination of contemporary issues. In response to an audience member’s question, Fuentes advocated the respect of immigrants in America as well as the greater responsibility of Mexico to provide for its people. He also told of the intellectual’s duty, as “a thermometer of the society,” to speak up in the face of injustice. “It is incumbent upon the intellectual to speak out for those that don’t have a voice,” he said.
The speech, which was part of the Spencer Trask public lecture series, marked a homecoming of sorts for Fuentes, who taught comparative literature at Princeton from 1997 to 1999. His best-known novels include The Old Gringo, The Eagle’s Throne, and Aura, a book studied in undergraduate Spanish classes at the University. And Fuentes journals, letters, drafts, and even some elementary school writings have found a home in Firestone Library as The Carlos Fuentes Papers. By Julia Osellame ’09

New books: Tough break

Breaking up is never easy, but Emma Taylor ’05 and co-author Lorelei Sharkey hope to dull the pain with their therapeutic new book, Buh-Bye: The Ultimate Guide to Dumping and Getting Dumped (Chronicle Books). The authors, better known as Em and Lo, have penned five other amusing but profane relationship guides. In Buh-Bye, they have created a cross-referenced A-to-Z glossary, covering break-up etiquette (“the face-to-face imperative” - after more than a few weeks of dating, you must call it off in person); pitfalls (the “groundhog dump,” in which a breakup stretches over several days, making each day seem dreadfully similar to the one before); logistics (how to split up things “acquired” during the relationship, like new friends or a favorite restaurant); and recovery (from “retail therapy” to the break-up makeover, or “breakover”).
For information about other books by alumni and faculty, visit New Books at PAW online.

Good grief; campaign chatter

Schulz and Peanuts, David Michaelis ’79’s new biography of cartoonist Charles Schulz, has been called one of the fall’s “must-reads” by the Houston Chronicle. But for those who might not have the time to pore over the book’s 655 pages, there is an alternative. PBS’ American Masters series will focus on Schulz Oct. 29. The 90-minute program will include home movies and photos of Schulz as well as interviews with family members, fellow cartoonists, and Michaelis.
Marty Moss-Coane, host of Radio Times (WHYY-FM 90.9, Philadelphia), will be on campus Oct. 24 at 6 p.m. to record a conversation about early trends in the 2008 presidential race. Princeton professors Julian E. Zelizer and Brandice Canes-Wrone are slated to join Rutgers professor Cliff Zukin in a panel discussion that will be taped and re-played on Moss-Coane’s show, which airs in the Philadelphia area and online weekday mornings from 10 a.m. to noon.

More at PAW Online

Rally ’Round the Cannon - Gregg Lange ’70 surveys the list of professional sports champions from Princeton.
Cardboard - It was easy to be angry at the tall man she saw begging near her home, Barbara Risk de Boinville ’74 writes. Then she got to know him.
On the Campus - Jocelyn Hanamirian ’08 takes a closer look at Princeton’s “other” club.

Madden ’03 takes a hike

In September, hiker David Madden ’03 strapped on his backpack in New Brunswick, Canada, and began what he hopes will be a 3,000-mile trek, ending in the Florida Keys sometime in February. Madden, who passed through Princeton Oct. 13, said that his plans have elicited one of two responses from the people he’s met on the trails and roadways he’s traveled: “Wow, that’s terrific,” or “You’ve got to be out of your mind.”
Madden, for the record, places himself in the first camp. Since graduation, he has won hundreds of thousands of dollars on Jeopardy!, earned a master’s degree in international relations, compiled a catalogue of works by artist Richard Anuszkiewicz, and eluded the Monday-through-Friday work week. That likely will change next year - Madden plans to become a teacher - so he decided to use this year to pursue a dream he’s had since he first set foot on the Appalachian Trail as an 8-year-old.
In northern Maine, near the start of his journey, Madden hiked mostly on the Appalachian Trail, but after walking about 98 miles of a 100-mile stretch in complete solitude, he decided to give roadside hiking a try. The move helped him meet people throughout New England and make progress toward the hike’s other goal, raising money for Fisher House, a charity that builds and manages temporary residences near military hospitals for the families of wounded veterans. The group’s mission resonated with Madden, whose former roommate, Army 1st Lt. Alex Wilson ’03, was wounded in Iraq earlier this year. So far, Madden has raised about $3,000 dollars. He’s hoping to reach $20,000.
On country roads, or even on city streets, Madden’s hike tends to be a lonely journey, so he has been listening to CD-based courses on headphones, covering the Civil War, Bach, and philosophers. His overnight accommodations range from tents to guestrooms and sofas offered by relatives and complete strangers who post offers on the Web site couchsurfing.com. (“I admit it does sound a little sketchy when you put it like that,” Madden said, “but it’s been good so far.”)
For friends and family members tracking his trip, Madden has been keeping a blog at usahiker.blogspot.com, updating his progress and posting photos. In Princeton, roughly a third of the way to Florida, Madden remained energetic and excited about the road ahead. “It’s good exercise, it’s a great way to see the country, see old friends, meet new friends,” he said. “And there’s definitely a goal to this - it’s not aimless wandering.”
Photo by Frank Wojciechowski.

We have a winner

Ross Liemer ’08 correctly identified all four photos in the Oct. 10 blog quiz and earned a vintage PAW poster. The answers, for those of you keeping score at home:
1. Princeton Stadium; 2. Chancellor Green; 3. Bloomberg Hall; and 4. McCosh 50.

The house that Princeton built

For about 20 students at Eastside College Preparatory School in East Palo Alto, Calif., Princeton already is part of their daily lives. The students live in Princeton House, one of the eight wings of a new dormitory that opened this fall. Each wing will be named after a college and funded by alumni from the school.
Eastside provides housing and a rigorous college-prep curriculum to children from low-income or minority backgrounds. Princeton alumna Jennifer Wythes Vettel ’86, a former teacher who earned her master’s degree with Eastside principal and founder Chris Bishchof, led the fundraising campaign for Princeton House, and last spring, President Tilghman spoke at the dormitory’s dedication. Tilghman is pictured at right with, from left, Wythes Vettel, Paul Wythes ’55, Bishchof, Linda Knoll, and Marcia Wythes.
Photo courtesy of Liz Gaither.

Bhangra boogie

Students from the Princeton Bhangra dance troupe perform at the Mela festival outside Robertson Hall Oct. 13. The festival, sponsored by the South Asian Students Association, celebrated South Asian culture and cuisine with live music, dance performances, henna artists, and a fashion show.
Photo by Frank Wojciechowski.

A Weekly Blog photo quiz

How well do you know the Princeton campus? Test your knowledge by naming the locations of these atypical views, and e-mail your responses to The Weekly Blog. One lucky winner will receive a vintage Princeton Alumni Weekly poster. Answers will be revealed in the Oct. 17 blog post.

Questions and answers with a Jeopardy! champ

The clue: A $75,000 winner on the Jeopardy! Teen Tournament last year, he walked through FitzRandolph Gate at this year’s annual Pre-Rade. The answer: Who is David Walter ’11? Walter, a Wilmington, Del., native, earned teen champion honors on the popular game show last spring. On campus, he is a member of Mock Trial and hopes to write for The Daily Princetonian this year. In September, he spoke with The Weekly Blog’s Julia Osellame ’09.

How did you become a Jeopardy! contestant?
First, I took an online test and then I got an e-mail from the show saying that I was invited to New York for the next round. There, they had us play a fake game and then interviewed all of us. A month after that, in December, I was on a school trip and when I came back, my dad told me I made it. They taped 10 shows over two days. I was on four … . They had us change clothes for each episode to make it look like it was a different day.
What was your winning question?
The category was Greek mythology and the question was, “Fittingly, the name of this Titan may be derived from the Ancient Greek meaning to bear or to support.” The answer was, “Who is Atlas.” I wagered $5,300 and beat the other contestant by $100.
Do you keep in touch with the other contestants?
Yes, we’ve all been keeping in touch through e-mail and Facebook. Even though we were thrown together randomly to be on the show, they had us together a lot so we bonded pretty fast.
What did you gain from being on the game show that you think might help you at Princeton?
First, confidence in handling myself under pressure. I was able to still function and think and speak really well in a situation that I had never faced before. Also, I hadn’t slept at all during the whole time that I was in L.A. If I can win Jeopardy! with no sleep I think that bodes well for any other situations that I might encounter while studying at Princeton.
What made you more nervous - waiting to find out the Final Jeopardy answer or waiting for your Princeton acceptance letter?
The Princeton acceptance letter for sure. I’ve actually discussed this with my family before and they’ve asked me if I could only have one, winning Jeopardy! or getting into Princeton, which would it be? It would definitely be Princeton.
Photo courtesy of Jeopardy! Productions Inc.

A new home in old Stanhope

Valerie Smith, middle, the director of the Center for African American Studies, joins students, faculty, and staff at the Oct. 2 dedication of the center’s new home at the refurbished Stanhope Hall. Smith said she hopes that the center will be a “gathering space for intellectual exchange” about issues of race in America.
Photo by Frank Wojciechowski

Tigers in October

For Princeton’s major-league pitchers, Chris Young ’02 and Ross Ohlendorf ’05, the postseason was short-lived. Young’s San Diego Padres lost a one-game playoff for the National League’s wild-card berth, and Ohlendorf’s New York Yankees were sent home by the Cleveland Indians in the American League Divisional Series. But two Princeton alumni will continue to play a role in baseball’s playoffs: Indians general manager Mark Shapiro ’89 and Boston Red Sox president Larry Lucchino ’67. Their teams will face off in the American League Championship Series, starting Oct. 12.
In 2004, Lucchino helped the Red Sox win their first World Series in 86 years, and Shapiro is hoping to end another long streak of futility. Cleveland has not won baseball’s top prize since 1948 and likely will be the underdog against Boston, but Shapiro has confidence in his young team. “We’re going to put up a fight,” he told MLB.com. “You can bet on that.”

Sheinkman ’85’s latest, in New York

“Concourse” (96 by 175 inches; oil, alkyd, and graphite on linen), pictured above, is one of several new works that artist Mark Sheinkman ’85 will be exhibiting at the Von Lintel Gallery in New York (555 West 25th St.) from Oct. 11 through Nov. 24. Earlier this year, when the Philadelphia Inquirer reviewed a previous show, critic Edith Newhall wrote that the smoke-like lines in Sheinkman’s recent pieces have “an appealingly mysterious character.” The new exhibition is Sheinkman’s 10th solo show in New York.
Photo courtesy of Chris Burke.

More at PAW Online

Rally ’Round the Cannon - In his Princeton history column, Gregg Lange ’70 tells how University visitors can journey back into China’s past.

On the Campus - For some grad students, a home in the residential colleges; for others a “boot camp” in math.

Organic produce comes to Princeton

A John Deere tractor, an apple cider stand, and crates of lettuce and tomatoes are not usual attractions on the walkway outside Firestone Library, but because of the efforts of the Greening Princeton dining group and the Garden Project, every Tuesday this fall they will be.
“The food is fantastic - and the prices are good,” English professor Benjamin Widiss told the students in his 11 a.m. lecture Sept. 25, the opening day for Greening Princeton’s Farmers Market. “Don’t all jump up now,” Widiss added, “but after class, go out and get some food that’s not from the dining hall.”
From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Tuesday through Oct. 23, seven local organic food vendors will be selling their goods to students and community members at the market in Firestone Plaza. The organizers, Kathryn Andersen ‘08 and Ruthie Schwab ‘09, hope that the market will appeal to independent students who cook on their own. The market also could help to build the community’s relationship with organic farmers.
“From what I saw, the market was a resounding success,” Schwab said. “I couldn’t have dreamed that the first market would go any smoother than it did.”
Schwab said that the responses from the vendors were all very positive. In fact, many were excited to see their products selling out way ahead of schedule and plan on bringing much more of the popular items to future markets, she said.
University Dining Services, which is collaborating with Greening Princeton on the project, will host a chef at the market each week to demonstrate cooking tips for products sold by the farmers. Also, University representatives from the Office of Sustainability will be on hand to answer questions and discuss projects dealing with campus environmental issues.
Offerings at the market stands range from organic cheeses from Valley Shepherd Creamery to bacon, beef, and eggs from Cherry Grove Farm. Vendors familiar to students, like Small World Coffee, the Bent Spoon, and the Witherspoon Bread Company, have sold treats as well. By Julia Osellame ‘09
Photos by Julia Osellame ‘09

Alumni in the arts

Singer/songwriter Tina deVaron ‘78 will share her mix of jazz, blues, and pop tunes in a show called “Moms and Dads Night Out,” Oct. 6 at 8 p.m. at the Yardley Community Center in Yardley, Pa. The show will include selections from deVaron’s upcoming musical, Mom is Not My Real Name. … Los Angeles-based poet and actor Joe Hernandez-Kolski ‘96 will perform his show, “Refried Latino Pride,” at William Paterson University in Wayne, N.J., Oct. 11 at 12:30 p.m. In the production, Hernandez-Kolski combines comedy, spoken-word poetry, and dance to explore his mixed Polish and Mexican heritage. … The Rockae, a new musical from composer and lyricist Peter Mills ‘95 and director Cara Reichel ‘96 based on Euripides’ The Bacchae, will run through Oct. 14 at the Hudson Guild Theatre in New York.

Cutting the ribbon

Meg Whitman ‘77, CEO of eBay, was on hand Sept. 27 when the University dedicated Whitman College, Princeton’s newest residential college. Whitman was the lead donor for the Demetri Porphyrios *80-designed dormitory complex, which President Tilghman called a “seamless integration of residential, academic, and social life.” Whitman and college master Harvey Rosen cut an orange ribbon at the ceremony, but the college actually opened its doors to students in early September.
Photo by Frank Wojciechowski

History in the making

In its 138 seasons, the Princeton football team has done just about everything, winning national championships, completing undefeated seasons, and facing off against more than 70 different opponents. But the Tigers’ Oct. 6 game against Hampton Oct. 6 will be something new: the first time that Princeton will play against a historically black college. The University is marking the occasion with several alumni events, including a lecture by English and African American studies professor Daphne Brooks at 11 a.m. in McCormick Hall, an open house at the Center for African American Studies, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., and the annual Association of Black Princeton Alumni tailgate, near the observatory, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. The game, which starts at 3:30 p.m., has attracted local interest as well. Trenton Mayor Doug Palmer, a 1973 Hampton alumnus, taped an advertisement for the Princeton athletics Web site, promising a “battle of the titans” between the Pirates, last year’s Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champions, and the Tigers, 2006 Ivy League co-champions. Hampton (3-1) suffered its first loss, to Delaware State, last week, while Princeton (2-1) is coming off a 42-32 win over Columbia.

The psychology of decision-making

Can’t make up your mind between becoming an architect or a pastry chef? Don’t know whether to live in Los Angeles or London? Author Daniel Gilbert thinks he has a way to help you make the right decision.
Gilbert, a psychology professor at Harvard, told a packed McCosh lecture hall on Sept. 20 that the key to making the right choices lies in a simple mathematical formula developed by Blaise Pascal and Pierre de Fermat in the 17th century: The expected value of any action equals the odds of getting what you want times the value of getting what you want.
Though easy to understand, the formula is much more difficult to follow. “Sometimes our intuitive ways of thinking get us to the wrong answer,” Gilbert said. Mistakes in calculating odds or estimating the value a decision will bring to our personal happiness can lead people astray, he explained.
Gilbert’s studies in psychology and behavioral economics show why humans have such difficultly following the formula. First, we overestimate the chances of good events, like winning the lottery, actually happening to us. Second, we often mistakenly compare a present situation with a similar past experience when deciding what something is worth. And third, we vastly overestimate unhappiness and the effect one bad event or decision will have on our life.
To arrive at his point, Gilbert illustrated everyday misconceptions and flawed reasoning that drive people away from making successful decisions. “You are not always in the slowest lane at the grocery store,” he explained. “It just seems that way because that’s what you remember. You don’t go home and tell your wife, ‘Honey I was in the most efficient line at the store today.’”
To use Pascal and Fermat’s formula successfully in today’s world, Gilbert believes the human mind will have to be trained to ignore certain gut decisions and first impressions, while favoring a more analytical approach to decision-making. “Our brains are designed for the Pleistocene,” Gilbert said of the way we think when making a split-second decision. “We’re operating in a world we are not designed for.” By Julia Osellame ‘09

Princeton and ‘The War’

The War, Ken Burns’ 14-hour documentary on America’s role in World War II, which debuted on PBS Sept. 23, features two notable Princetonians. Emeritus literature professor and author Samuel Hynes, who was a Marine pilot in the Pacific, has been cited by several reviewers as one of the series’ most eloquent voices, and Ward Chamberlin ‘43, a former American Field Service ambulance driver, is featured in the documentary’s segments on the North African and Italian campaigns. Chamberlin, who spent much of his post-war career in public broadcasting, first met Burns in the early 1980s, when the filmmaker was chronicling the life of Huey Long. In an e-mail to PAW, Chamberlin called the new film “an unblemished account” of the war, dealing with the battlefield and the home front. “It is not all guns and battles. The story is told by those of us who were there and there is little about the political and military leaders,” he wrote.
Photo: Princeton’s memorial to the more than 350 alumni who died in World War II, at Nassau Hall. PAW

For Gunter ‘09, bruises are welcome

Princeton football player Kenny Gunter ‘10 is getting hit a lot more this year, and that, he said, is a good thing. As a backup quarterback last season, Gunter never took a snap outside of practice, where defenders are forbidden from tackling quarterbacks. Now, as a kick returner and one of the Tigers’ top two tailbacks, he is a frequent target for opposing defenses. In Princeton’s 20-14 win over Lafayette Sept. 22, he carried the ball 13 times, caught a team-high six passes, and returned three kickoffs. “Believe it or not, I actually like the contact,” Gunter said. “It’s making football fun again.”
Gunter’s transition from quarterback to tailback started late last spring, when he seemed headed for the third string. Coaches asked him if he’d ever thought about trying out as a running back. He had just two practices to audition, but with a thorough knowledge of the playbook and a nose for open running lanes, Gunter made a strong impression. At 225 pounds, he did not have to add bulk to switch positions, so during the summer months, he devoted his workouts to speed and explosiveness, losing a few pounds in the process.
Coach Roger Hughes called Gunter’s number a few times in the season opener against Lehigh, but the game at Lafayette was the sophomore’s first in the spotlight. When starter R.C. Lagomarsino ‘09 broke his nose, Gunter became the go-to tailback during a key second-quarter series. Princeton marched 80 yards in 16 plays, and Gunter capped the drive with a two-yard touchdown run, the first of his collegiate career.

Walk the line

Hannah Grimm ‘09 tests her balance walking on a “slackline” affixed to two trees near Blair Arch while friend Denali Barron ‘09 looks on.
Photo by Frank Wojciechowski

More at PAW Online

Rally ‘Round the Cannon - Gregg Lange ‘70 looks back at the 1932 football team - “the greatest 2-2-3 team in Princeton history.”
On the Campus - A group of student dancers found their personal rhythm in New York City this summer, Laura Fitzpatrick ‘08 writes.
A second act - Bruce Cogan ‘73 tells how the tastes and values of his Princeton years helped prepare him for retirement.

Deconstructing America’s founders

Historians in Europe may explain national legacies in terms of sweeping social or political movements, but in the United States, collective explanations do not resonate. “We think of individual actions by individual actors,” said Alan R. Gibson, a professor at California State University, Chico, who spoke at Robertson Hall Sept. 18 as part of Princeton’s commemoration of Constitution Day. For America’s founding fathers, reverential best-selling books are only part of the story. Detractors tend to view the founders, particularly those who owned slaves, as hypocrites or worse. Some academics have taken sides in the debate, Gibson said, selectively framing the stories of figures like Thomas Jefferson and George Washington to support specific viewpoints. To get past divisive debates, Gibson urged taking a comprehensive view of the founders and understanding the context of their words and actions. Some details, such as Jefferson’s writings on race, may be unsettling, but they cannot be ignored, Gibson said, invoking the words of Immanuel Kant: “Out of the crooked timber of humanity, no straight thing was ever made.”

The James Madison Program and the Program in American Studies co-sponsored Gibson’s talk as well as a Sept. 17 lecture by Professor Stanley Katz of the Woodrow Wilson School titled “Who’s Afraid of Senator Byrd? Constitutionalism, History and Academic Freedom.”

Headless no more

When Herb Hobler ‘44 snapped a picture of wife Randy, center, in Magdalena Abakanowicz’s sculpture Big Figures outside the University Art Museum last spring, his camera picked up one detail that the artist hadn’t intended. Hobler does not know the identity of the young man planting his face on the shoulders of the figure on the right and has no idea how he got there. “We didn’t even see him at the time,” Hobler writes.

Faculty in the news

New York Times “Economics Scene” columnist David Leonhardt spotlighted economics professor Orley Ashenfelter in a Sept. 16 book review about how statistical analysis tends to draw skepticism in fields that typically eschew numbers. Ian Ayres’ new book, Super Crunchers, features several examples, including that of Ashenfelter, who developed a method for predicting the quality of Bordeaux wines by using weather data. … In the wake of the Minnesota bridge collapse, architecture professor Guy Nordenson dissected the structure of bridges in an August broadcast of NPR’s “Studio 360.” Bridges have “bones” (towers) and “muscles” (cables), he said. “Without the muscles, the skeleton is a heap,” Nordenson explained. “It has to do with the fact that there is compression and tension. The compression goes into the bone and the tension goes into the muscle.” … Uwe Reinhardt, the James Madison Professor of Political Economy, wrote an Aug. 28 opinion piece for Forbes about solving the problems of America’s healthcare system. … Chemical engineering professor T. Kyle Vanderlick will become the first female dean of engineering at Yale University, the New Haven Register reported Sept. 7. Vanderlick, who has taught at Princeton since 1998, will begin her new job Jan. 1.

Tiger time

Football fan Lauren Nigro ‘09 shows her stripes during Princeton’s Sept. 15 opener against Lehigh. The Tigers, who shared the Ivy League championship with Yale last year, got off to an inauspicious start when tailback R.C. Lagomarsino ‘09 fumbled the ball on the first play from scrimmage. Princeton would commit three more turnovers in the first half - two interceptions and another fumble - and fall behind 23-0. The Tigers recovered with three touchdown drives in the second half, but it was too little too late. Lehigh won, 32-21. Defensive back Dan Kopolovich ‘10 called the Lehigh game a “real eye-opener” in a Sept. 19 press conference. “Everyone is eager to get out on the field now to show that what happened Saturday isn’t consistent with how Princeton plays football,” he said. Princeton faces Lafayette Sept. 22 at 6 p.m. in Easton, Pa.
Photo by Frank Wojciechowski

More at PAW online

Revisit Reunions 2007 through PAW’s exclusive video clips and slide shows. Student filmmaker Noah Arjomand ‘09 and photographers Ricardo Barros, Beverly Schaefer, and Frank Wojciechowski captured the color and tradition of Reunions and Commencement, from alumni sporting events and the P-rade to the procession of graduates.