October 24, 2001: Notebook
Tilghman
installed as president
A campus-wide party celebrates with lights, music, and food
School year opens with alcohol infractions
Photo by ricardo barros
Gary J. Bass, assistant professor of politics and international affairs, deals with the choice of treatment of war criminals in a new book, Stay the Hand of Vengeance: The Politics of War Crimes Tribunals (Princeton University Press).
His book, which has won glowing reviews — the New York Times called it “compelling . . . timely . . . exhaustive” — starts in 1815 with the fate of Napoleon after his defeat and goes through the Nuremberg war crimes tribunal after World War II, when Nazi war criminals were tried.
Among Napoleon’s conquerors, the Russians wanted to shoot him, but Britain’s Duke of Wellington said it would be uncivilized, so he was banished to the island of St. Helena.
The British, French, and Belgians wanted trials after World War I, but Woodrow Wilson, who wanted to work through the League of Nations, was cool to the idea. The other Allies were unsuccessful because Germany refused to hand over its leaders.
Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill were in favor of castrating German leaders and then shooting them. The view of Henry Stimson, Roosevelt’s secretary of war, who wanted trials, prevailed. The Nuremberg trials, says Bass, are the “jewel in the crown” of postwar justice.
Bass says the United Nations tribunal to try Bosnian war criminals at first was “weak and underfunded,” but now 75 war criminals have been indicted, 48 are in custody, and several have been convicted.
If we could bring Osama bin
Laden to a war crimes trial, Bass said, “we could make our case to
the world, to reveal bin Laden in all his cruelty and stupidity. But it
would be extremely difficult to arrest him.”
By Ann Waldron
Tilghman
installed as president
A campus-wide
party celebrates with lights, music, and food
Photos by Denise Applewhite
The applause rippled forward from Fitz-Randolph Gate as Princeton’s 19th president, Shirley M. Tilghman, processed with faculty, trustees, and dignitaries toward Nassau Hall on September 28 for her public installation ceremony. Her mother watched proudly and tearfully from the audience’s front row with some 3,500 others as Tilghman, officially sworn into office June 15 and the first woman to hold the job, repeated her oath, received welcoming words, and reflected on the university’s obligation in championing the free exchange of ideas.
“It is in times of national crisis that our true commitment to freedom of speech and thought is tested. History will judge us in the weeks and months ahead by our capacity to sustain civil discourse in the face of deep disagreement, for we are certain to disagree with one another,” Tilghman said, in an address she modified after the terrorist attacks of September 11.
She added, “With generosity of spirit and mutual respect, we must listen carefully to one another, and speak with our minds and our hearts, guided by the principles we hold dear. By conducting difficult discussions without prejudice and without anger, by standing for tolerance, civil liberties and the right to dissent, by holding firm to core principles of justice and freedom and human dignity, this university will serve the country well.”
Yale University president Richard Levin, who represented all of higher education in welcoming Tilghman, also stressed the academy’s commitment to freedom of expression and inquiry, urging those who lead educational institutions “to hold participants in the coming debate to the same standards of evidence and reasoned argument that have governed the advance of knowledge throughout Princeton’s 255 years.”
Balancing the serious moments were those that celebrated Tilghman’s accomplishments in her 15 years as a molecular biologist on Princeton’s faculty and offered her support for her new role. Dean of the Faculty Joseph S. Taylor said, “We welcome you so warmly because we are confident you will show the same qualities of wisdom, humanity, and willingness to tackle tough problems that you have shown us for so many years . . . We all work in a better place because of things you have accomplished while among us.”
Undergraduate Student Government President Joseph S. Kochan ’02 earned laughter with a survival pack he offered Tilghman, complete with a key lanyard, Hoagie Haven submarine sandwich, J. Crew catalog, and eating club passes.
Among those on the platform with Tilghman were Robert F. Goheen ’40 *48 and William G. Bowen *58, Princeton’s 16th and 17th presidents. Her predecessor, Harold T. Shapiro *64, introduced her for the oath of office, conducted by Robert H. Rawson, Jr. ’66, chair of the executive committee of the trustees. Tilghman wore the official academic robe of Princeton’s presidents, trimmed with gold braid and bearing 19 gold-braided stripes — 10 on one side and nine on the other — to mark her position as the university’s 19th president.
In the evening, a transformed
Weaver Track and Field Stadium was dotted with white tents for a celebration
open to the entire university community, and part of the track turned
into a concert venue and dance floor. Jadwin Gymnasium became the base
for buffet service. Dining Services prepared for 10,000 diners; an hour
into the party approximately 5,000 dinners had been served. During a concert
by country singer Mary Chapin Carpenter h’49, a light show of orange
spiral designs suggesting DNA strands bounced off the stage’s backdrop.
Youngsters in strollers mixed with alumni in reunion jackets, students
in jeans with staff dressed in their party best. No alcohol was served,
and coffee was a popular drink as the evening’s chill set in. The
alternate route to keeping warm was to dance. Some could be seen sporting
orange and black buttons with a single word from Princeton’s shield
— Viget, “she flourishes.”
By Maria LoBiondo
Coping
with disaster
In the aftermath of September 11, activities range from
the academic to the musical
Within the sheltered, ivy-laden
walls of campus, faculty and students responded to the September 11 terrorist
attacks. Numerous events, from panels of distinguished professors, “break-out”
discussion groups, peace rallies, and even a charity rock concert at an
eating club, took place the second weekend of September and afforded members
of the university community a chance to express their views on the tragedy.
Even the simplest of responses – American flags adorning dormitory
windows – spoke to the unity of the community. One resident of Pyne
Hall, after unsuccessfully searching area stores for a flag, painted his
own, which he hung from a tree.
On Thursday afternoon, four university economists hosted a panel to examine the economic and financial aftermath of the attacks. Professor Peter Kenen, after giving a bleak overview of world economies in general, forecast that the U.S. economy could deteriorate further as a result of international repercussions associated with the attacks. Economist and former vice chairman of the Federal Reserve Alan Blinder ’67, as well as economics professors Paul Krugman, Jose Scheinkman, and Alan Krueger also spoke.
At another event on Thursday, four professors – emeritus professors Carl Brown (Near Eastern studies) and Richard Falk and Robert Gilpin (both in politics and international affairs), and Professor Robert Tignor (modern and contemporary history) – hosted a “teach-in,” offering divergent perspectives on the terrorist attacks. However, they all agreed that Americans must remain united.
Brown reminded the audience that terrorism has been around for a long time, and to remedy it will not be easy or quick. He also stressed a pragmatic and reasoned response.
Falk outlined three possible government responses: pacifism, the “just war” tradition, or the concept of a holy or sacred war. He discounted a pacifistic outlook as an entirely “unimaginable” response, given the enormity and viciousness of the attack. He likewise discredited the idea of a holy war, the argument that suggests that all who are unallied with the U.S. should be destroyed. He endorsed the just war theory, though not without offering cautionary words of moderation.
On Friday more than 400 students
and faculty convened at Frist Campus Center and marched to Palmer Square
for a peace rally.
Another group of students has formed the Princeton Committee Against Terrorism,
which has been asking people to turn their emotions into “constructive
energies to help combat the threat,” said Eric Wang ’02.
Perhaps more pragmatically,
members of Cloister Inn and the Tri-Delta sorority hosted an afternoon
of music to raise money for the September 11 Fund and the American Red
Cross.
By Patrick Sullivan ’02
Four more alumni have been
officially confirmed as victims in the attacks on the World Trade Center.
Robert J. Deraney ’80, who reportedly worked for Salomon Smith Barney,
was attending a meeting; Jeffrey D. Wiener ’90 worked for Marsh USA;
John T. Schroeder ’92 worked for Harvey, Young and Yurman; and Christopher
N. Ingrassia ’95 worked for Cantor Fitzgerald.
Remembrances of all alumni
killed in the violence will appear in the November 7 issue of PAW.
The Friend Center for Engineering Education was dedicated September 29.
Designed by Henry N. Cobb, of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners in New York,
it was established through a gift by Charter Trustee Dennis J. Keller
’63 in memory of Peter W. Friend ’63. Keller sees the Friend
Center as a magnet for engineers and students in sciences, social sciences,
and humanities. “In this century, every citizen will be better served
by an understanding of how technology can enhance our daily lives, and
how it can work in the future,” he said.
Former professor Michael Francis
Jiménez, a distinguished scholar of Latin America who specialized
in the history of Colombia, died of kidney cancer on September 1. Known
for his inspiring classroom lectures as well as for his scholarly articles
and dedicated community service, he was most recently a member of the
Department of History at the University of Pittsburgh. Jiménez
taught at Princeton from 1985 to 1993 and was a Visiting Professor at
the New School for Social Research in New York in the early 1990s.
A memorial service at Princeton is expected to take place in June 2002.
Li Shaomin *88, a scholar of Chinese business management strategy who
was imprisoned in China earlier this year, spoke on “Chinese Legality
and My Experience Under Arrest” on October 1.
“Fundamentalism and Modernism
in Islamic Political Thought: A Histori-cal Perspective” was the
talk given October 2, by Antony Black, a member of the politics faculty
at the University of Dundee in Scotland.
Bangladeshi diplomat Anwarul
Karim Chowdhury gave a talk entitled “The U.N. Security Council:
A Third World Perspective” on October 2. Chowdhury was the permanent
representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations from 1996 until recently,
when he was transferred to the Bangladeshi ministry.
President Tilghman and past
president Harold T. Shapiro gave a lecture, “Stem Cell Research:
The Great Divide,” on the scientific and ethical debate over stem
cell research on October 1.
Matthew McKinzie, staff scientist
at the Natural Resources Defense Council, a national, non-profit organization
of scientists, lawyers, and environmental specialists dedicated to protecting
public health and the environment, gave a lecture entitled “Dr. Strangelove
Is Alive and Well: U.S. Nuclear Targeting Plans and Their Implications”
on October 3.
John Bruton, former prime minister
of Ireland and current vice president of the European People’s Party,
presented “A First-Hand Report on the Irish Peace Process” on
September 25.
School year opens with alcohol infractions
As Princeton’s first full week of classes came to a close, a number of incidents involving alcohol violations were reported, adding fuel to the debate over alcohol consumption at Prospect Street’s eating clubs.
In the wake of the violence at the World Trade Center on September 11, Princeton’s InterClub Council postponed Lawnparties, the traditional semester-opening club festivities.
“It was obviously not a time for celebration,” said Cloister Club President Brian Romanzo ’02.
With the clubs’ official opening put off until the next weekend, all clubs were officially “off tap” – not serving any alcohol – during the first weekend after classes began, according to ICC President Cindy Drakeman ’02.
Although the clubs were not serving alcohol, Princeton Borough Police still reported a number of alcohol-related infractions over both weekends.
“There were several Borough ordinance violations on Thursday the 13th, including infractions for open containers while walking on the street sidewalk and offenses for underage people consuming alcohol,” said Borough Police Captain Anthony Federico.
Borough Police issued 17 ordinance violations on the 15th. One student was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and obstruction of the law after police apprehended him for an open container violation, according to Federico.
Police found three underage students in various campus locations late Saturday night severely inebriated. All three were transported to Princeton Medical Center for treatment.
Between opening on September 6 and September 24, McCosh Health Center admitted 21 students for treatment after overconsumption of alcohol, up from 14 admissions at this time last year, according to Dr. Pamela Bowen, director of the Health Center.
“It certainly is of concern
that we’ve had more admissions in one sense,” said Dr. Bowen.
“Does that mean there is a change in the amount of alcohol being
consumed? Perhaps there are more people willing to seek help, which would
be positive for us.”
By Lauren E. Brady ’02
