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A Critique of Life at Princeton Janice Dru Preliminary Words As a graduating senior, I have accumulated strong opinions about being a Princeton student which have evolved throughout my eight semesters here. Since I live off of the main campus, my experience probably does not reflect that of most undergraduate Princetonians. So the reader of this critique must understand that these opinions may reflect a skewed perspective but, nevertheless, are based on evidentiary observations. I will remark on personal experiences that fall under three categories: University Administration, Academic Education, and The Princeton Student. While I find certain aspects of each of these categories particularly peeving, I will do my best to also offer positive feedback since Princeton has provided excellent learning experiences and generous grants that have sustained me throughout the years. A Tangled Web... First I must thank the University for having an administration that has supported our education and allowed us to live relatively comfortably. Administration and staff have always been tremendously helpful to me when I asked them questions, so I will only briefly mention some points that I have found difficult to navigate. Like any bureaucracy, there are many people running this institution and sometimes it is difficult to find who does what. Clear job descriptions and roles may help students be able to find who and what they need more quickly. Better communication between offices (such as between Housing and Parking) may facilitate the processing of documents. Computerized scheduling at the Health Center that actually links to the internet might encourage students who are sick to actually go to McCosh and help avoid long waits. These are a few suggestions, but in general it seems that the University has been improving its processes and developing efficiencies. I also think that the University still needs a much stronger ongoing feedback system. For example, when I was a sophomore, I wanted to run a business at the University and learned that all entrepreneurial endeavors need to go through the Student Agencies. Becoming a manager of a Student Agency required going through a number of interviews and applications, and getting selected was a rather opaque process. Also, based on conversations with other students, I discovered that the Student Agencies lacked a strong accountability system. Once I finished my one-year term as manager of the Student Agencies, I filed a complaint regarding the bonus structure -- and still have not received a response. I am sure other students have had similar experiences in other areas, and simply had no venue to voice their grievances (or commendations). Theses, Transcripts, and Teachers Princeton has a reputation for being a good school. A good school obviously provides a good education. However, there are some aspects of education at Princeton that can use improvements and some that I flat out abhor. Constructively speaking, professors at this University tend to be extremely intelligent and generally attentive to undergraduate student needs. Professors also have different teaching styles and grading formats. Each department expresses different expectations, assigns different deadlines for major projects, and attracts a different number of students. Due to this “decentralization” of educational standards, the grading policy makes no sense to me. For some classes I feel that I worked harder and produced better work than other classes, but sometimes I received higher grades for the latter courses. By forcing a set grading standard, the University encourages competition within classes to a greater extent than it fosters continual learning and development. Many professors have told their classes that more students “deserved” A’s but did not receive the higher grade because only a percentage could receive it. I sometimes have chosen not to talk as much in precepts because it seemed that other students were so eager to talk and more likely to get a higher grade -- so while I may have been able to contribute the same information to the class that someone else may have spoken, only a limited number of people can “get credit” for making “significant” comments during a one-hour class period. The point of learning should not necessarily be how much a person talks, but how well a person improves in synthesizing the material and grasping the content of a course over the semester. The grading policy “deflates” excellence, by assuming that only a certain number of students can achieve the “highest level of standards.” Instead of trying to reduce the number of A’s, teachers should be allowed to try to maximize the number of students who are trying to reach those standards. If students know that only a certain number will receive that highest grade, then they will be less likely to put forth all of their efforts to achieve something where they only have a 35% or 55% “chance” of receiving. To be fair to the University, perhaps only 35% of students deserve A’s. However, perhaps it is not in the best interest of students to have such a grade-focused mentality. While our transcripts help us to get a job and our teachers write our recommendations, students will probably succeed if they work hard and adapt to either graduate school or a career sometime after graduation. Princeton already provides an individualized aspect by mandating a thesis advisor for each senior, and the process of writing a thesis provides a superior form of learning. So there may be excellent forums and venues for research and scholarship, but education can still be improved -- even at Princeton. The Spoiled Rich Kid? One of the striking things I have discovered after speaking to a number of Princeton alumni is the enthusiasm with which they support current students and other graduates. All of the alums I have encountered have been nice, down-to-earth people -- working hard and trying to help others when they can. Of course, these people might be the exception rather than the rule, since they are the ones who have gone out of their way to return to Princeton and meet students or talk to classes. Based on the huge alumni network available through the Career Services Center and the fact that many alumni consistently donate to the University, the average Princeton graduate probably is NOT a spoiled rich kid. Unfortunately, the occasional one slips in and gives the rest of us a bad rap. Who is this "spoiled rich kid," the one that outsiders describe as the Princeton student? I have not met him or her, but I have heard certain stories... For example, did you hear about the person who shopped instead of studying, got Ds and Fs on tests, but the granddad called each semester and made sure the student graduated? Or how about the student who got into XXX Eating Club, who refused to eat anything but caviar and drink bottles of Chateau Mouton-Rothschild. Okay, so these might be exaggerations, but there are tell-tale signs of pampered upbringing that I have observed when traversing the town of Princeton. These are some of my peeves: ● People running out in front of cars, anytime and anywhere. Sure, pedestrians have right of way (which is a silly law) -- but not in the middle of the street or at a green light. And do students realize that if they are wearing dark clothes at 11 PM, the people in the cars probably cannot see them preparing to dart across Nassau Street or Washington? Some people call it stupid, some people call it suicidal, but I call it spoiled. Note that I must confess to the occasional darting, and apologize to any driver I might have spooked. I promise to stop doing it when I graduate. ● Students who do not know how to clean. Some have never used a broom. Some feel entitled to leave a mess for others to tidy up after them. If you need instructions on how to wash the dishes in a shared kitchen or how to throw out an empty bottle, please e-mail me or my mother. ● The lack of politeness. It seems some students were taught never to say thank you or to always let the door slam on the person behind them. Remember that if you are the guest, you should let the host or hostess clean up after you, and if you are hosting the party, the guests should be the ones to clear up the mess. Also, make sure to walk purposefully from class to class staring straight ahead, never smiling, and never saying hello to people who you might recognize. In truth, the spoiled rich kids are probably the exception rather than the rule. Sometimes, however, their careless demeanor and self-aggrandizing expectations rub off on the others. Remember also that Princeton students are not the only people who are not well-mannered. I have observed plenty of less-than laudable behavior by people who live in town, and nastiness seems to be a trait that pops up universally. As a competitive student, I have learned that it does not always pay to be nice, since people might step on top of you or take advantage of your trust. This is not a lesson I want to take away with me, but it is a reality in many spheres of life. Hopefully when I work in the corporate world, I will remember that nice people can find satisfaction simply in being nice, and that they can also move up without stepping on others. Concluding Remarks Life at Princeton University has had its ups and downs. Anyone can probably say this about life anywhere. I think it is important for people to speak up when things bother them, and make a point to dwell on the happy things. For example, if you call the number on the back of a truck to report a good driver, that person may get a bonus. If you get a B in a class, someone else probably got an A. And next time, maybe you will be the person getting that bonus and that A. At the end of the day, the issues that have bugged me about Princeton will no longer bug me because I will no longer be here. If I say something about them, perhaps future students will see improvements. Since I have already used plenty of clichés to present my arguments in this article, I have no reservations about quoting Martin Luther King's "I have a dream." Because King had a dream, Senator Barack Obama could be our next President. Because women and minorities challenged their status in America, perhaps even I could be President in ten years. Now that my life at Princeton is coming to an end, I hope that future students will continue to speak up about their lives as I move forward to accumulate more opinions about life outside of Princeton. Janice Dru is a senior in the Politics Department. |
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