MONTH-IN-REVIEW


250TH ANNIVERSARY

After defending the university from the challenge of mighty Trenton State, the administration set out to throw a bash for good old Nassau. The celebration included the largest ice sculpture ever produced in New Jersey (wow!) as well as a performance by Sheryl Crow (yeah!) to celebrate its bicesquinquagenary.

With the fanfare of a 12th century royal wedding, Hal et. al. marched through Fitzrandolph Gate looking like a bunch of Beefeaters. When they weren't begging Princeton alumni to donate more money, the administration screened the film Images from Princeton which commemorated some of the most important events in Princeton's history, like the founding in 1746, and the establishment of the Women’s Studies and Afro-American Studies programs.

ICC AND CLOISTER

In a controversial stand Cloister Inn has decided--at least for now--to remain the only club on ‘The Street’ to have an early Sunday sign-ins process. The eleven other clubs, through the auspices of the Inter-Club Council (ICC), have censured Cloister members by invoking a meal-exchange sanction that prevents Cloister members from trading meals with students at other clubs.

The other clubs claim that they are punishing Cloister because the early sign-in process is supposedly detrimental to unity on the street. The truth is that the ICC is a bunch of jealous whiners. As Economics professor Beth Bogan has written in a letter to the ‘Prince’, "The ICC's actions strike me as similar to anti-competitive forces in many less developed countries, where innovators are treated as social deviants in an effort to block all change."

Is there really unity on the street? There are five different sign-ins procedures (bicker, ‘nice bicker,’ snicker, early sign-ins, and regular sign-ins) among only 12 clubs. Tiger Inn often employs a members and guests only admission policy. Cottage is almost always on passes only, which makes it difficult for freshmen and first term sophomores to visit the various clubs.

FIRST AMENDMENT

At the end of this past month’s LGBA Awareness Week, which was provocatively titled 'Faith and Sexuality,' October 11 was supposed to be the culmination of a week spent reconciling conflicts over sexuality and religion. Instead, the infamous Gay Jeans Day (GJD) once again managed to inhibit rational discourse on campus. While there is no need to rehash the inherent dishonesty of GJD, one incident typifies the obnoxious thinking of the LGBA.

At the end of a lunchtime rally in Firestone Plaza, the LGBA offered an 'open mike' for those wishing to express their feelings on any related matters. Sentinel staffer Ilya Shapiro ’99 got up and began to discuss the distinction between supporting individual homosexuals and complying with GJD. Ten seconds into this statement, LGBA Public Relations Commissar Suman Chakraborty ’97 grabbed the (open) mike and demanded that Shapiro "leave the stage and take [his] anti-gay rantings back to the pages of the Sentinel." Chakraborty was not swayed by entreaties to civility or appeals to open expression.

One LGBA member later apologized for Chakraborty’s unconscionable actions. (This person wishes to remain nameless -- probably for fear of reprisal from the LGBA's radical leadership) The issue remains unresolved, although the University Ombuds Office is currently reviewing it.

COMING OUT TO GOD

One discussion during LGBA Week focused on 'coming out to God,' with two gay seminarians explaining their personal growth since coming to Princeton.

The theology expounded at the discussion included the profound observation that, "in my first week, I realized I was gay and also started drinking." The student’s partner discussed the "opportunity to incarnate Christ as a gay man to other gay men." (Perhaps some theologian has advanced a theory of Christ as sexual libertine to validate this student’s mission in life) While the Sentinel respects these students’ right to their sexual preferences, we find their theological justification a bit ridiculous. The clear teaching of almost all Christian faiths is that homosexual acts are immoral. If the LGBA wishes to be taken seriously, it should at least be honest.

RECORDOPHOBIA

At the same 'Coming Out to God' meeting, a freshman tried to tape the session. Though there is no written prohibition against taping a University sponsored meeting, all hell broke loose when it became known that the student had a tape recorder.

The participants at the presentation -- including several LGBA officers as well as LGBA coordinator Michelle Seldin -- demanded the destruction of the tape. A dean was also called in to confiscate the tape. When the student protested that he had broken no rule, one LGBA member stated, "I don’t understand. This is a dean ordering you to turn over the tape. You don’t argue with a dean, you obey." Of course, the LGBA doesn't have a radical agenda to hide or anything.

UNSAFE IN ANY PARTY

Ralph Nader ’55 visited campus this month to give an extremely articulate and detailed explanation as to why we shouldn’t "grow up corporate." Nader described the time he nearly ran his car into Albert Einstein as a formative experience in his life. He said it taught him the importance of ethical conduct in society. No doubt, this is the reason why Nader refuses to release his tax returns or disclose his relationship with trial lawyer’s lobbies.

We could not help but notice the "Ralph Nader for President" banner behind his gawky figure. If we understand FEC regulations, that qualifies this speech as a campaign event. That means that, if money was spent on the event, and he is aware of his political purpose, he is required to count that money towards his campaign expenses. Has Saint Ralph disclosed it as a campaign stop?

WASH OUR HANDS OF IT

In a rare occurrence, the Housing Authority addressed a student concern, installing hand soap and paper towel dispensers in dormitory bathrooms over fall break. We applaud this move. For once, the University is half-way home. Now, if they can just provide some soap and paper towels, we’ll be in business.

While we’re at it, we have another suggestion to Building Services. Why not clean public bathrooms more than once a week? And why not provide separate cloths to the janitors for cleaning toilets and cleaning sinks?

FOUR MORE YEARS

William Jefferson Clinton has been returned to office. We at the Sentinel could not be more pleased. If Month-In-Review had only the zany shenanigans of the Prog trogs to keep us busy for the next four years, there would be far fewer of the subtle witticisms you have come to expect. The reelction of the Kickback Kid ensures a fertile field of amusing news.

We are equally glad to see a Republican Congress returned to Washington. This is the first time in American history that a man has been elected President despite allegations of corruption, simply because there are too many allegations for the electorate to make sense of them all. Sorting through the mass of charges against Clinton will take time. A Republican Congress assures that the spotlight will remain trained on the ethical violations of our Pander-in-Chief.

PC IN TURKEY

While explaining currency arbitrage during a recent ECO 102 lecture, Professor Uwe Reinhardt alluded to a scene from the film Midnight Express - which depicts an American imprisoned in Turkey - as an example of the stiff criminal penalties some countries impose for illegally "trading dollars."

Samim Erdogan ’99, a Turkish student, sent an email to Reinhardt complaining that his mention of the movie reflects "a possible hidden prejudice against [his] people and [his] country. Midnight Express is accepted by many be [sic] a modern revelation of the centuries old Western prejudice about the ‘Turk as the villian.’" Erdogan requested an apology from Reinhardt during the next lecture.

Reinhardt - refusing to bow to the forces of political correctness - forwarded Erdogan's e-mail to the entire class, along with his response. "If a professor cannot even mention a movie like Midnight Express in a class without standing accused of political incorrectness or outright prejudice," Reinhardt wrote, "then we are burdening teaching with a psychic cost that may not make it worthwhile anymore."

ETHNIC HERITAGE

November is Latino Heritage Month, the first of several programs which dedicate a particular month to the celebration of a particular minority ethnic group. Though these events purport to celebrate diversity, an incident last April during the Asian Pacific American Heritage Month suggests that they are more interested in advocating a racist agenda.

On April 23, University of Connecticut professor Paul Bock delivered the keynote address for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. Speaking to an audience of fewer than 20 students, he asserted that "white Princeton professors perpetuated the intellectual foundations for white racism in countless humanities and western civilization courses."

After the speech, Bock was asked by an audience member to name some of these "white Princeton professors." He replied, "I don’t know." He did, however, encouraged students to investigate the issue as a senior thesis topic.


Copyright 1996
The Princeton Sentinel
P.O. Box 369
Princeton, NJ 08542
sentinel@princeton.edu
www.princeton.edu/~sentinel/