Wednesday, November 29, 2006

 
Red for a reason

The University illuminated Robertson Hall with red lights Nov. 27 as part of a campus-wide World AIDS Week program that includes panel discussions, an address by George Carter of the Foundation for Integrative AIDS Research, and participation in an international videoconference with students in Africa, Latin America, and Europe.

Photo by Katherine Anderson ’08/The Daily Princetonian


Tourney time for men’s basketball, men’s and women’s swimming

Princeton men’s basketball travels to Milwaukee this weekend for the Blue and Gold Classic, the second of two in-season tournaments for the Tigers. Princeton (4-1) won two of three games in its season-opening tournament at Ohio State. Kyle Koncz ’08 has made nearly 55 percent of his three-point attempts and leads the team with 14 points per game. The Tigers will open this weekend’s play Dec. 1 at 6:30 p.m. against North Dakota State. The winner of that game will face either No. 9 Marquette, the tournament host, or Northwestern State.

At DeNunzio Pool, the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams will host Rutgers, Brown, Pittsburgh, Virginia, Columbia, and Tennessee in the Big Al Invitational Dec. 1-3. The event honors the memory of Alan Ebersole ’07, a Princeton swimmer who died in a diving accident in the ocean during a 2004 team trip to Florida.

Faculty in the news

In its December issue, Esquire magazine featured electrical engineering professor Claire Gmachl and her work with quantum cascade lasers in a story about laser technology. … Astrophysics professor J. Richard Gott *73 wrote about the potential for establishing human colonies on Mars in a Nov. 18 New Scientist piece predicting scientific developments in the next 50 years. … On Nov. 27, Washington Post columnist Jackson Diehl took a closer look at the Princeton Project, a Woodrow Wilson School initiative to examine post-9/11 policy led by Dean Anne-Marie Slaughter ’80 and Professor G. John Ikenberry. … Two of Princeton’s most prominent poets received national media attention. Professor Paul Muldoon, chairman of the University Center for the Creative and Performing Arts, was described as “the poet most likely to inherit [Seamus] Heaney’s mantle” as the premier Irish poet in a New York Times Magazine feature Nov. 19. And Professor C.K. Williams, whose collected poems were published in a 682-page volume last month, was interviewed by the Wall Street Journal. “When you’re reading poetry you are reciting it to yourself in your mind; that’s the way poetry is meant to be experienced,” Williams told the interviewer. “There’s nothing as intimate as that. … The other arts are as deep, but this is something that happens within you.”

Just for kicks

Norm Hunter ’78 has released his first film, Her Best Move, which focuses on a 15-year-old soccer prodigy as she juggles a boyfriend, school, overzealous father, and soccer, on her way to becoming the youngest player to qualify for the U.S. National Team. A former racecar driver, Hunter co-wrote the screenplay. His company, Summertime Films, produced the DVD, which is available through www.HerBestMove.com and rated G. In a press release, Hunter, a father of three and veteran soccer coach, said, “The first issue I wanted to address through film was the increasing professionalization of youth sports. In this movie, I wanted to empower the kids to lead their own lives.”

Collages ‘the old fashioned way’

New York artist Sara Sill ’73 is exhibiting her latest works at the West Chelsea Arts Building Studio 621 from Dec. 1-3. The studio is located at 526 West 26th St., between 10th and 11th Avenues, in New York City. For more information on Sill and her work, go to www.sarasill.com. Her Web site describes her artwork as collages made “the old fashioned way,” using scissors, glue, and paint. PAW profiled Sill in its Oct. 6, 2004, issue.

More at PAW Online

Looking for more letters? Read what alumni readers are writing about PAW stories in our online Letter Box.

Posted by Brett Tomlinson, with reporting by Katherine Federici Greenwood.
Princeton Alumni Weekly

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Wednesday, November 22, 2006

 
PAW Web Exclusive: 2006 Bonfire Video

CLICK HERE FOR A VIDEO CLIP OF THE 2006 BONFIRE.

The campus witnessed its first bonfire in 12 years on Nov. 17, marking the football team’s victories over Harvard and Yale on its way to a 9-1, Ivy League championship season. After a drenching rain forced a postponement from the previous day, the bonfire was held under ideal conditions the following night, with an estimated 2,000 people in attendance.

“It’s been 12 long years since we lit a match on Cannon Green,” President Tilghman told members of the football team gathered on the steps of Clio Hall, “but you guys made it happen.” She praised the team for “an awesome season.” This was the 24th time that the football team has defeated Harvard and Yale in the same season.

As the Princetoniana Committee wrote on its Web site: “Those who have been privileged to witness a proper bonfire will tell you that it is yet another bit of Princetoniana that stays with you all your life, as the entire campus seems huddled around the heat and light of a massive campfire. Few can forget the sight of Nassau Hall, West College, Whig, and Clio halls all bathed in a warm golden glow of victory, as they watch orange sparks float gently heavenward.”

Vintage clips of past bonfires

CLICK HERE FOR A VIDEO CLIP OF THE 1926 BONFIRE.

CLICK HERE FOR A VIDEO CLIP OF THE 1948 BONFIRE.

Posted by Brett Tomlinson, with reporting by W. Raymond Ollwerther ’71.
Princeton Alumni Weekly

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

 
Tigers, tigers, burning bright

On Nov. 18, a day after lighting the first Big Three bonfire since 1994, right, Princeton football staked its claim to a share of the Ivy League title for the first time since 1995, defeating Dartmouth 27-17 at Princeton Stadium. Quarterback Jeff Terrell ’07 completed 29 of 46 passes for 257 yards, tailback R.C. Lagomarsino ’09 averaged 5.4 yards per carry on the ground, and safety Kevin Kelleher ’08 made his team-leading fourth interception to end a key Big Green drive in the fourth quarter.

The Tigers (9-1, 6-1 Ivy) split the championship with Yale, which lost to Princeton but finished 6-1 in the league as well. Princeton’s only loss came in an Oct. 28 game at Cornell. The 2006 Tigers are one of nine Princeton teams since 1900 to win nine or more games in a season and the first nine-win squad since the undefeated 1964 season. The Tigers had been picked to finish sixth in the league’s preseason media poll. “No one gave us a shot,” Terrell said. “I think it makes it all the more sweet.”

Photo by Frank Wojciechowski


Moistened and mortified in McCosh 50

More than 90,000 people have viewed “The Princeton Watergun Revenge,” a 2001 prank that resurfaced on YouTube in June (below). For the story behind the soaking, read PAW’s story about the video from the Nov. 22 print issue.


Presidential pay reported

President Tilghman's annual compensation rose 5.5 percent to nearly $600,000 in 2004-05, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education, but that figure ranks her in the bottom half of Ivy League presidents. Seven university presidents topped the $1-million mark, including Cornell's Jeffrey Lehman, who left his post in June 2005. Reported salary and benefits figures for the eight Ivy presidents are collected below.

President, School2004-05 Pay2004-05 Benefits2004-05 Total Compensation
Jeffrey Lehman, Cornell$855,468$148,566$1,004,034
Richard Levin, Yale*$618,822$160,113$778,935
Amy Gutmann, Pennsylvania$675,000$92,030$767,030
Lee Bollinger, Columbia$664,180$21,750$685,930
Ruth Simmons, Brown$500,000$184,709$684,709
Shirley Tilghman, Princeton$542,875$53,107$595,982
Lawrence Summers, Harvard$563,119$32,752$595,871
James Wright, Dartmouth$400,000$79,233$479,233

*Figures are for 2004 calendar year.
Source: The Chronicle of Higher Education


Ten games, no losses for women’s hockey

Princeton women’s hockey is off to its best start in program history with eight wins and two ties in its first 10 games. Marykate Oakley ’08 (eight goals, four assists) and Kim Pearce ’07 (five goals, nine assists) lead the Tigers, who have averaged 3.6 goals per game. This weekend, eighth-ranked Princeton faces its biggest challenges to date, with home games against No. 6 Dartmouth (Nov. 24, 7 p.m., live audio at U.S. College Hockey Online) and No. 7 Harvard (Nov. 25, 4 p.m.).

Talk of the town

Next week promises to be a busy one on Princeton’s lecture circuit. U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan will deliver a policy address at Richardson Auditorium Nov. 28 at 4:30 p.m. The Woodrow Wilson School plans to Web-cast the event for off-campus viewers. Academy Award-winning actress Meryl Streep, this year’s Belknap Visitor in the Humanities, will speak on Nov. 30 at 5 p.m. in McCosh 50, sharing her thoughts about acting, both on film and in the theater. And filmmaker Peter Kubelka, an Old Dominion Fellow in the visual arts and the subject of a Books and Arts profile in PAW’s Nov. 22 print edition, will give a public lecture about his work at the James M. Stewart Film Theater Nov. 28 at noon.

A new take on New Year’s Eve

Valerie Vigota ’87 and her band Groovelily are performing their “alternative holiday musical” Striking 12 at The Daryl Roth Theatre in New York City at 101 East 15th St. The show runs through Dec. 31. Striking 12 is a musical Vigota has called a “rewired” version of Hans Christian Andersen’s “Little Match Girl.” Groovelily remade the depressing tale into an upbeat one. According to Striking 12’s Web site, the story focuses on “a grumpy overworked, New Yorker who resolves to spend New Year’s Eve alone” when “an unexpected visitor brings some much needed cheer.” Vigota and her band members, husband Brendan Milburn and Gene Lewin ’84, play themselves and other characters in the musical. Click here for more information.

More at PAW Online

Under the Ivy – Contrary to rumor, the Tiger lacrosse program doesn’t predate the founding of the College, Gregg Lange ’70 says as he looks back at the role of sports at Princeton.
Portrait of a ‘hero’ – Miriam Bocarsly ’06 profiles Edward C. Taylor, professor of chemistry emeritus, who recently won the 2006 Hero of Chemistry award from the American Chemical Society for his role in developing a cancer drug.

Posted by Brett Tomlinson, with reporting by Katherine Federici Greenwood.
Princeton Alumni Weekly

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

 
Princeton football: En fuego

For the first time since 1994, Princeton will set a stack of celebratory wood ablaze on Cannon Green to mark the Big Three football championship, secured last weekend in New Haven with the Tigers’ dramatic 34-31 comeback win over Yale. The bonfire, set to start Nov. 16 at 9 p.m. [UPDATE: Due to the weather forecast, the bonfire has been rescheduled for Friday, Nov. 17 at 6 p.m.], also will serve as a pep rally for the Nov. 18 home game against Dartmouth. With another win, Princeton will earn at least a share of the Ivy League football championship. If Princeton wins and Yale loses to Harvard, the Tigers will win the title outright.

The reasons for Princeton’s win against Yale are many — quarterback Jeff Terrell ’07’s career-high 445 passing yards, a stifling second-half performance by the Tigers’ defense — but alumnus J. Michael O’Neil ’64 credits his own secret weapon in a poem that he submitted to PAW:

“Report from the Bowl”
By J. Michael O’Neil ’64

Thirty-one to Thirty-four,
That was this day’s final score,
Sitting in that storied Bowl,
One reflects on games of old,
Princeton Tiger, Yale bull pup,
Running down the field and up,
Sunlight graced this place today,
As dog and tiger fought the fray,
Tiger clawed — sent bull pup running,
Was it ’cause of Tiger cunning?
Was it ’cause of coach’s rants?
Twas ’cause I wore my lucky pants!
Orange pantaloons so bright,
They can light the blackest night.
Hideous talisman of power—
That’s what won the final hour.
And though my wife might just say poof,
I wear the pants — and there’s the proof.

Top, the 1985 Big Three bonfire, pictured on PAW’s cover; bottom, last weekend’s postgame celebration in New Haven, courtesy of Randy Meadows ’71.


Minding the trees

Thursday’s bonfire might seem like fun for all on campus, but for Jim Consolloy, the University’s grounds manager, the prospect of seeing tall flames near the canopy of treasured ash trees on Cannon Green is a little unnerving. To protect the trees, this year's fire will be moved slightly to the southeast of the spot where it was held 12 years ago, and the recent rain will help to guard the trees from the bonfire's heat, according to Consolloy, who said he is a fan of both Princeton football and Princeton traditions. Of course, thousands of students standing on the grass for hours is not a groundskeeper's dream. “It would have been great to have a frozen turf, as in ’94,” Consolloy said, “but that is not likely to happen this week.”

Dinner as a movie

Students, faculty, staff, and alumni have been invited to a free private screening of Fast Food Nation, a new film based on a book of the same title by Eric Schlosser ’81, Nov. 15 at the James M. Stewart Theater. Schlosser and director Rick Linklater will be on hand for a question-and-answer session immediately following the film. The screening prefaces a major conference on campus, “Food, Ethics & the Environment,” in which Schlosser, Professor Peter Singer, and others will examine a range of ethical dilemmas related to food production and consumption. To read a 2003 PAW interview with Schlosser, conducted shortly after the release of his book, click here.

Photo courtesy of Matt Lankes/Recorded Picture Company


Students on stage

Irene Lucio '08 and Tyler Crosby '09 rehearse a scene from John Millington Synge's play, "Playboy of the Western World," to be performed at the Berlind Theatre Nov. 16, 17, and 18. The production is sponsored by the Program in Theater and Dance.

Photo by Frank Wojciechowski


Enrollment facts and figures

Princeton’s total enrollment at the opening of the fall term was 7,242, up from 6,935 the year before, according to Polly Winfrey Griffin, the University registrar. A change in policy at the graduate school was responsible for most of the increase: This year, 214 Ph.D. students who have completed five years of study but are still working to finish their dissertations opted to enroll under Dissertation Completion Enrollment, or DCE, status. The growth in the student body also reflects Princeton’s gradual expansion of the undergraduate population. Each of last two freshman classes has included more than 1,230 students, while the previous three averaged 1,175 students.

Looking fabulous (while sweating)

On Oct. 28 and 29, members of the women’s ultimate Frisbee team donned pastel polo shirts and dresses, strapped on their spikes, and let the Frisbee fly at Haverween, an annual tournament at Haverford College in which the players compete in full Halloween costumes. Princeton chose to play as the “Princeton Preps” – “Bermuda shorts, lots of pink and green, and fake pearls, [since] we didn’t want to play with real ones,” said captain Rachel Sachs ’09 – a theme that allowed them to outmaneuver opponents dressed as rappers, ninja ballerinas, doctors, and various types of fruit. The young Princeton team, composed entirely of freshmen and sophomores, was seeded last in its pool but managed to play well enough to beat higher-ranked foes and move on to Sunday’s elimination round.

Photo courtesy of Rachel Sachs ’09


Posted by Brett Tomlinson
Princeton Alumni Weekly

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

 
Football aims for a bonfire and a title

With a win over Harvard in hand, the Princeton football team can clinch its first H-Y-P bonfire in more than a decade by beating Yale Nov. 11. But a win in New Haven would also go a long way toward another goal: the Ivy League title. The Bulldogs, with a 5-0 Ivy record, need two wins to clinch the crown, but Princeton, close behind at 4-1, could secure at least a share of the championship with wins at Yale and at home against Dartmouth Nov. 18. “We’ve changed the culture of the program, and now we’re in a position to play for the championship,” said head coach Roger Hughes, who is in his seventh season at Princeton. “This is what everyone has dreamed of.”

On with the show

Rehearsing a song called “Don’t Tell Mom” from
the new Triangle Club show, “Heist Almighty,” are, from left: Faaria Kherani ’09, Caroline Loevner ’08, Hannah Barudin ’10, Katie Seaver ’10, Katie Benedict ’10, and Laura Hankin ’10. The show will be performed at McCarter Theatre Nov. 10 and 11. Triangle's December tour will include stops in New York, Boston, Washington, D.C., and Richmond.

Photo by Frank Wojciechowski



Alumni in the news: Spitzer leads Princeton candidates

“Spitz blitz buries Faso” a Nov. 8 New York Post headline blared, announcing the gubernatorial election win of Democrat Eliot Spitzer ’81, the New York state attorney general. Spitzer’s share of the vote was projected to break the record of Gov. Mario Cuomo (64.6 percent, set in 1986) according to The New York Times (registration required). In Maryland, Democrat John Sarbanes ’84, son of the retiring Senator Paul Sarbanes ’54, won a seat in the House of Representatives, according to the Baltimore Sun. But not all of the November results were positive for Princeton alumni. Longtime Republican Rep. Jim Leach ’64 of Iowa was unseated, the Des Moines Register reported, and two other incumbents – Democratic Rep. Jim Marshall ’72 of Georgia and Maryland Gov. Robert Ehrlich ’79, a Republican – found themselves in races that were too close to call on election night. Ehrlich conceded the race to challenger Martin O’Malley on the morning of Nov. 8, the Baltimore Sun reported.

Back on the hardwood

Men’s basketball opens its season Nov. 10 against Loyola (Ill.) in the Black Coaches Association Classic at Ohio State, and women’s basketball tips off at Jadwin Gym against Wagner Nov. 11 at 7 p.m. Both teams enter the year with Ivy League title hopes, but that may be where the similarities end.

Head coach Joe Scott ’87’s men’s team, which runs a methodical offense and plays stifling defense in a 1-2-2 matchup zone, likely will rely on two freshmen, former California high school teammates Marcus Schroeder and Lincoln Gunn, to join veterans Luke Owings ’07, Noah Savage ’08, and Justin Conway ’07 in the starting lineup. Freshman Zach Finley, a 6-foot-9-inch center from South Dakota, could see significant playing time as well. “It’s going to be a year of seeing those guys grow up,” Scott said. “But if our older guys are consistent and have the stamina and play well, game after game, that always helps the younger guys grow up faster.”

Women’s head coach Richard Barron, on the other hand, expects to rely almost entirely on veteran players for the first time in his six seasons at Princeton, and his offense will provide a notable contrast to the men’s system. Barron spent part of the offseason with coaches from the NBA’s Phoenix Suns, and he plans to install elements of the Suns’ fast-breaking approach to take advantage of the athleticism of returning starters Meg Cowher ’08, Casey Lockwood ’07, and Jessica Berry ’09. “We’re certainly going to try to increase the tempo,” Barron said. “We’re looking for a lot more ‘early offense.’ ”

Family circle

In author Jodi Picoult ’87’s 13th novel, The Tenth Circle (Washington Square Press), released in paperback last month, the members of a family in Maine must deal with their demons. Teenager Trixie Stone’s life begins to unravel after she breaks up with a boyfriend. Her father, comic book artist Daniel Stone, doesn’t pay much attention to his daughter’s emotional trauma. But after she is raped, Stone and his wife, Laura, a college professor, must deal with their daughter’s problems and their own, including Laura’s affair with one of her students and Daniel’s difficult childhood. The novel is a metaphorical journey through Dante’s Inferno as told through the eyes of this family. For information about other books by alumni and faculty, visit New Books at PAW online.

More at PAW Online

Under the Ivy – Former president Robert F. Goheen ’40 *48 was the “right man in the right place at the right time,” says Gregg Lange ’70.
On the Campus – For some students, the observance of holy days during October meant a time of fasting on campus, Joy N. Karugu ’09 writes.
Reflections on Iraq – The “bare-minimum approach” is not working, writes First Lt. Pete Hegseth ’03 in an Online Exclusive essay.

Posted by Brett Tomlinson, with reporting by Katherine Federici Greenwood.
Princeton Alumni Weekly

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

 
Music for art’s sake

The Princeton Laptop Orchestra performs at the Arts Council of Princeton’s gala fundraiser, held Oct. 28 in the Carl Icahn Laboratory. President Tilghman received the council’s first Arts Vision Award, recognizing the University’s initiative in the creative and performing arts announced in January.

Photo by Frank Wojciechowski




Guthrie ’84 looks at information and the academy

What role will university libraries play in a world increasingly influenced by Google, Wikipedia, and other online research tools? Alumnus Kevin Guthrie ’84, the president of the online academic journal archive JSTOR, explained his take on the future during a “Lunch ’n Learn” seminar on campus Oct. 25, sponsored by the Office of Information Technology.

The academy and the networked information economy are on a collision course, according to Guthrie, who jokingly likened the situation to the 1950s sci-fi classic When Worlds Collide. While the academy nurtures the creation of knowledge, it does not always drive innovation, which he said is the “currency” of the networked information economy. The information economy thrives on a start-up mentality, but with new organizations rapidly growing and rapidly receding, it lacks the academy’s stability. As competing forces converge in academic publishing, Guthrie said that established practices like peer review are likely to remain, but printed journals might not have the same staying power. In the future, he expects to see libraries “transition from a world dominated by collections to one dominated by services.”

Football continues Ivy League title chase

After falling to Cornell in Ithaca Oct. 28, Princeton football dropped out of first place in the Ivy League standings. But the Tigers still can guarantee at least a share of the league title with wins in their final three games against Penn, Yale, and Dartmouth. The Tigers open that stretch against the Quakers at Princeton Stadium at 1 p.m. Nov. 4. Penn has lost its last two games in overtime, including a 17-14 loss to first-place Yale Oct. 21.

At Princeton’s midweek press conference, head coach Roger Hughes said that for the players, the Penn game is a rivalry in the same class as the Yale and Harvard games. Quarterback Jeff Terrell ’07 added that poise and patience would determine the Tigers’ success. “We trust our skill, and we trust our schemes,” Terrell said. “But we also trust that Penn is going to be prepared for what we have. We’re going to have to make adjustments and just play solid, mentally sound football.”

Three other Princeton teams face Penn this weekend as well. Field hockey hosts the Quakers Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. at Class of 1952 Stadium. Men’s soccer plays Penn in its season finale Nov. 4 at 1 p.m. at Lourie-Love Field, and women’s soccer faces the Quakers at 4 p.m., also at Lourie-Love.

Life on the links

Former Golf magazine editor George Peper ’72 bought a townhouse beside the 18th hole of the Old Course at St. Andrews, Scotland, in 1983. He rented it to university students and visiting golfers for years until 2003, when he and his wife decided to sell their New York suburban home and move to Scotland. In Two Years in St. Andrews: At Home on the 18th Hole (Simon & Schuster), Peper recounts his wife’s efforts at renovating their new home, playing golf on the Old Course, getting to know the locals, and adjusting to a new culture. Publisher’s Weekly wrote of the book: “Golf fans … will savor this walking-speed appreciation of their greatest shrine.”


Faculty in the news

On Oct. 30, The New York Times and the Associated Press published features about Robert Fagels, the Arthur Marks Professor of Comparative Literature, emeritus. He recently authored a new edition of The Aeneid, Virgil’s epic poem, which Fagels called “one of the saddest poems I know of in any language. It is hard, heroic, heartbreaking.” … The Philadelphia Inquirer explored the work of geosciences professor Gerta Keller, and her opposition to the theory that a meteor strike in the Yucatan peninsula 65 million years ago led to the extinction of the dinosaurs, in an Oct. 25 story. Science writer Tom Avril reported on Keller’s presentation at the Geological Society of America conference in Philadelphia, in which she explained data that disputes the connection between the meteor’s impact and the mass extinction of dinosaurs. ... Emeritus philosophy professor Harry Frankfurt, author of a new book called On Truth, spoke about the search for truth in the Oct. 22 New York Times Magazine. “Recognizing truth requires selflessness,” Frankfurt said. “You have to leave yourself out of it so you can find out the way things are in themselves, not the way they look to you or how you feel about them or how you would like them to be.”

The little ghost of Cottage Club

At right, 3-year-old Sophie Neale, daughter of James Neale ’78 and Tamara Loomis, tests one of her Halloween costume ideas on the Cottage Club steps during an October visit to campus. The younger Neale is the author of her own blog, called Baby’s First Blog: Dispatches From an Outspoken 3-year-old, which is posted on the Web page of Cookie magazine. Loomis, a contributing editor to the magazine, plays the dual role of Sophie’s mom and scribe.

Photo courtesy of Tamara Loomis


Posted by Brett Tomlinson with reporting by Katherine Federici Greenwood.

Princeton Alumni Weekly

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