Princeton Alumni Weekly

PAW has a new website, a project that’s been a year — or, you might say, 125 years in the making. Check out new features including games, historical collections, and Tiger Travels at paw.princeton.edu.

Stickers and flyers with anti-Palestinian and anti-Israel messages have been found on campus in recent weeks, prompting Princeton to open investigations and remind the campus community of its role in addressing harassment.

Read more:

Princeton Opens Bias Investigations Into Anti-Palestinian, Anti-Israel Flyers An administrator urged community members to report any similar incidents

Princeton’s trustees have opted to keep the controversial statue of John Witherspoon while a committee reviews the campus’s art, starting with the statue. Witherspoon is “worthy of recognition, but not canonization,” the naming committee said.

Read more:

Trustees Opt To Keep Witherspoon Statue, Call For Campus Art Review The board follows a recommendation by the Committee on Naming, which said Witherspoon is ‘worthy of recognition, but not canonization’

Princeton professor Ruha Benjamin is among the 22 recipients of 2024 MacArthur Fellowships. The foundation noted she demonstrates “the importance of imagination and grassroots activism in shaping social policies and cultural practices” through her “critical analysis of innovation with attentiveness to the potential for positive change.”

Read more:

Professor Ruha Benjamin Named Among 22 MacArthur Fellowship Recipients The grant recognizes ‘creative individuals with a track record of excellence,’ according to the foundation

Princeton University’s Resources Committee is encouraging students, staff, faculty, and alumni to provide feedback on the the proposal from Princeton Israeli Apartheid Divest to divest from companies and holdings with ties to Israel in response to Israel’s actions in the Israel-Hamas war.

Read more:

Princeton Community Asked to Weigh In on Israel Divestment Proposal The Resources Committee is seeking comments online through Oct. 11

Princeton University held onto the top spot in a trio of college rankings by The Wall Street Journal/College Pulse, Forbes, and U.S. News & World Report, where Princeton has been No. 1 for 14 consecutive years.

Read more:

Princeton Leads Rankings from U.S. News, Wall Street Journal, and Forbes | Princeton Alumni Weekly Academics Princeton Leads Rankings from U.S. News, Wall Street Journal, and Forbes Publications placed the University No. 1 on their latest lists based on outcomes, costs Members of Princeton’s Class of 2028 at the Pre-rade in early September. Kevin Birch By Brett Tomlinson Published Sept. 24, 202...

The cases against the 15 pro-Palestinian protesters who were arrested on Princeton’s campus in the spring are proceeding after Judge John McCarthy III ’69 declined to dismiss the charges at a pre-trial hearing.

Read more:

15 Campus Protesters Still Face Charges After Court Hearing The cases against the 15 pro-Palestinian protesters who were arrested on Princeton’s campus in the spring are proceeding after Judge John McCarthy III ’69 declined to dismiss the charges at a pre-t

Nawaf al-Sabah ’94 believes Kuwait Petroleum can address climate change even as it produces thousands of barrels of oil a day: “Any way you look at the energy transition, the end product is that there will still be a role for oil.”

Read more:

Pariah or Partner? The most popular attraction at the Ahmad Al-Jaber Oil & Gas Exhibition in Ahmadi, Kuwait, is a huge empty plexiglass cylinder.

The pro-Palestinian protesters at Princeton University held a rally this week reiterating their message from the spring, as the University rolled out a new website to clearly outline rules for protesting on campus.

Read more:

Pro-Palestinian Protesters Return With Rally, March to Nassau Hall Princeton Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) returned this fall semester with an inaugural rally and a familiar message fro

PAW’s September issue is now online, featuring Nawaf al-Sabah ’94’s thoughts about oil production in Kuwait and climate change, plus the launch of Tiger Travels with stories about Paris, Cyprus, and Shirley Tilghman’s travel musts. Read more at paw.princeton.edu.

In the storyline of “Peak Season,” co-director Henry Loevner ’11 explores the wealth divide he found in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, after his family moved there.

Read more about this Tiger of the Week:

Henry Loevner ’11 Leverages Wyoming Connections for New Independent Film For Henry Loevner ’11, the most challenging day of shooting Peak Season, the second feature film he co-directed with Steven Kanter, was a 7.4-mile roundtrip hike to Delta Lake in Grand Tet

In “Cowpuppy,” Emory neuroeconomist Gregory Berns ’86 heads to a Georgia farm raising miniature cows and takes a deep dive into the minds of these often misunderstood creatures.

PAW asked Berns to recommend three more books about animals and people. See what he chose:

Three Books: Gregory Berns ’86 on Relationships Between People and Animals (That Aren’t Dogs) Gregory Berns ’86 is the distinguished professor of neuroeconomics at Emory University, but he is perhaps best known for starting a project to train dogs to lie still in MRI scanners so that he cou

The Rev. Alison Boden has retired as dean of the Princeton University Office of Religious Life, and associate dean Rev. Theresa Thames is stepping up to fill her — pretty big — shoes. On the latest PAWcast, they discuss religious life at Princeton these days.

Listen:

PAWcast: Leadership Changes at Princeton’s Office of Religious Life Listen on Apple Podcasts • Google Podcasts

Mark Davidson *08 is sharing his love of the ocean — and 360º films he’s taken while scuba diving — in an unusual theater: An immersive, dome-shaped cinema on California’s Catalina Island.

Read about this Tiger of the Week:

Inside a Dome, Mark Davidson *08’s Film Immerses Viewers in the Ocean For as long as Mark Davidson *08 remembers, he has been fascinated with the ocean.

Anxious about dropping off your kid for their freshman year of college? Mental health columnist Jess Deutsch ’91 has three tips.

(Spoiler alert: #3 is “Keep your cool.”)

Read more:

The Whole Student: College Dropoff 101 As an adviser working with pre-meds and athletes (sometimes both at once), I am no stranger to the anxiety that can accompany the pursuit of excellence: Am I good enough?

PAW is remembering Landon “Lanny” Jones ’66, a writer and former editor of PAW and People magazine, who died Saturday with his wife Sarah and their three children by his side.

Read more:

Remembering Journalism Giant Landon ‘Lanny’ Jones ’66 Landon “Lanny” Jones ’66, a writer and former editor of PAW and People magazine, died Saturday, Aug. 17, with his wife Sarah and their three children by his side.

An employee at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory is facing a third-degree felony charge of making a terroristic threat. Court documents say he told coworkers on July 10 that he was “ready to shoot” his supervisor or someone else.

Read more:

Plasma Physics Lab Employee Charged With ‘Terroristic Threat’ A Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) employee has been charged with a felony after allegedly threatening to shoot his supervisor.

Mark another win for liberal arts education: Journalist Erisa Apantaku ’14 credits her career — with a Pulitzer Prize and a Peabody Award — in part to Princeton University’s distribution requirements.

“I really loved how we had to take classes outside of our major,” the ecology and evolutionary biology concentrator says. “Each semester I was like, ‘Oh, which distribution requirement am I going to cover this time?’ And so I saw this class being offered and I just thought, ‘Oh, this is interesting.’”

The class in question was a course in audio journalism taught by NPR executive producer Steve Drummond, and it opened a new door of possibility for Apantaku’s career.

Read about this Tiger of the Week:

Erisa Apantaku ’14 Wins Pulitzer for Podcast About a Hate Crime Mark another win for liberal arts education: Erisa Apantaku ’14 might be able to credit her career — with a Pulitzer Prize and a Peabody Award — to the University’s distribution requirements.

Hannah Scott ’21’s gold in quadruple sculls was the first medal for a Princetonian at the Paris — but it wasn’t the last.

Read about how the Tiger students and alumni fared in PAW’s Olympics wrap-up:

Medalists in Rowing, Fencing Lead Record-Setting Group of Tiger Olympians Hannah Scott ’21 and her Great Britain team trailed the Netherlands for about 1,980 of the 2,000 meters in the Olympic quadruple sculls final before sprinting to a photo finish at Vaires-sur-Marne

Do the have you contemplating a trip to Paris?

Check out the first destination guide in PAW’s new Tiger Travels series and get tips on visiting the City of Light from Princetonians who know their way around.🇫🇷

Read more:

Tiger Travels Destination Guide: Paris, France Paris is a good idea in any season. Spring is the stuff of song and legend, when the cherry blossoms awaken and strolls along the Seine resume.

Ugonna Nwabueze ’18 is expanding access to African films with a streaming platform, Ugonna Village, and an initial focus on the nostalgia of “Old Nollywood,” the Nigerian film industry.

Read about this Tiger of the Week:

Ugonna Nwabueze ’18 Brings Old ‘Nollywood’ Nostalgia to Streaming Growing up in Brooklyn, Ugonna Nwabueze ’18 was introduced to Nigerian films by her parents. “That’s how they stayed connected to the continent and their childhood memories,” she says.

A lifelong advocate for reproductive rights, Rachael Jeck ’89 created the nonprofit Register Her to get more women to the ballot box.

Read about this Tiger of the Week:

Rachael Jeck ’89 Is Registering Women to Vote In 2016, Rachael Jeck ’89 promised her two daughters that Donald Trump couldn’t win the White House. His victory, then, came as a shock.

Princeton’s first medalist in the Paris is Hannah Scott ’21 of Great Britain, who won gold in the women’s quadruple sculls final.🚣🐅

Read about it and catch more updates in PAW’s ongoing coverage of Tiger alumni and students in the Games:

Tigers Take on Paris: Daily Updates on Princeton’s 2024 Olympians Hannah Scott ’21 Strikes Gold for Britain (posted July 31)Hannah Scott ’21

What’s it like to be competing in the 2024 ? The Princetonians descending on Paris say there’s excitement in the air and famous athletes around every corner.

Read more:

For the 25 Tiger Olympians in Star-Studded Paris, the Games Begin Surprising things can happen in the Olympic Village — like meeting tennis stars Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz.

How do Olympians care for their mental health?

Jess Deutsch ’91 talked with Deborah Saint-Phard ’87, who was a thrower in the 1988 , about the “whole student,” elite athletics, academics, and Princeton University.

Read more:

The Whole Student: Talking Mental Health with Olympian Deborah Saint-Phard ’87 I first came to know Deborah Saint-Phard ’87 when I invited her to be the keynote speaker at a student-athlete wellness leader dinner.