On the Campus - April 5, 2000
Juniors go abroad, partly to fight
malaise
Presidential politics played on the panes, and student opposition
to closing Chancellor Green
by Jeremy Weissman '01
Out the Gate
Springtime brings attrition in the junior slums. Realizing it's their last real chance to get away, looking for release from the stress of the JP, or chafing under the sameness of the Princeton social scene, second-semester juniors account for an overwhelming majority of study abroad cases.
This year, of the 107 students who participated in the study abroad program, all but 18-two seniors and 16 sophomores-were juniors. Of those 89 juniors, 67 are away for the spring term, including eight on full-year programs.
Among them is Laura Vanderkam '01, who took her concentration in the Woodrow Wilson School to Australia this semester. "Around junior year a certain malaise sets in," she said in an e-mail. "This isn't just a phenomenon at Princeton-most of the Americans I've met over here are juniors."
Many students find that sophomore spring-the time to join a club, choose a major, apply for summer internships and adviser positions-is too important to miss. "Socially, it's going to be a downfall to do it sophomore year," said John Whitaker '01, who spent last spring studying in Chile and lives this year as an independent in Brown Hall. "I felt very much disconnected from many of the people who went into eating clubs."
Stick 'em up
It could be said that the fates of the presidential candidates played out in the placement of window stickers in university dorm rooms. As Bill Bradley '65 gained momentum in the fall of 1999, Bradley window stickers cropped up all over campus. But as Bradley's campaign wound down in early 2000, the sticker support came down with it.
Even in early February, student followers of Bradley knew the end was near. "I don't think there's a lot of energy left," said Alex Rawson '01, who joined a College Democrats trip up to New Hampshire to work on the Bradley campaign over intersession.
Sentiment on the largely apathetic but idealistic Princeton campus then shifted to Republican upstart John McCain. The tall windows of Butler's 1942 hall boasted two McCain stickers. One of them belonged to Joe Facchini '02, who recently applied for funding to begin an independent political group on campus called Generation America.
To date, there hasn't been an outpouring of sticker support for the two mainstream, non-Princetonian candidates left in the race-just cleaner windows.
Cafe to go
Tensions brewing since a university decision last fall to convert the
Chancellor Green café into an academic space boiled over at a meeting
in late February. Administrators struggled to maintain order and get to
other items on the agenda. Student leaders were concerned that administrators
had not sought student input before announcing the decision. Students were
concerned about losing a place to watch Seinfeld reruns and sip java between
classes.
This tempest in a coffee pot began at the end of November, when the university announced plans to rechristen Chancellor Green as a study space and reading room for the Humanities Council. With Chancellor Green slated to close in 2001 for renovations, as well as the opening later this year of the Frist Campus Center, the administration maintained that its plans did not constitute a change in policy.
Students saw things differently. While the Undergraduate Student Government struggled to understand where communication with the administration had broken down, a group of students circulated a petition in early December to keep the café open. They got more than 700 signatures.
In the face of overwhelming student opposition, the university conceded that more discussion was necessary before a final decision could be made. The administration, in conjunction with the USG, plans to hold a public forum on the matter and has developed a Web site to collect student opinion.
Student dissent centers on a belief that the new Frist Center, for all its modern marvels, will not capture the particular feel of the Gothic Chancellor Green rotunda.
Another concern for students is the Frist Center's location. While the old Palmer Hall is the geographical epicenter of the campus, academic life for many students is concentrated around Firestone Library, McCosh Hall, and the East Pyne building.
"This is where people go to class," said Patrick Sullivan '02 on the way to an English lecture in McCosh, a cup of Chancellor Green coffee in his hand. "It's more central than Frist will ever be."
Jeremy Weissman is vice president of the Press Club.
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