RETHINKING OUR PRIORITIES

Aileen Nielsen
Princetonian Columnist

I'm not sure how long ago they installed the hand sanitizer dispensers in Frist, but I only noticed them last week. Perhaps the things went in two years ago when we had that miniature pinkeye epidemic, but then I think I would have noticed them earlier. I've got two questions about them. First, have the US News rankings gone to our heads so much that we now seek to eliminate that last controllable damper on campus life, the common cold? Second, and this thought was actually put in my head by an evolutionary biologist, don't those folks at McCosh realize that these hand sanitizers will makes germs become drug-resistant faster?

My guess is that these hand sanitizers are like so many other luxuries on campus that we mislabel as "necessary" to address some "problem." Yet, I'd say one of the biggest problems I've run into here is that I don't think I've ever heard the phrase, "Do we really need that?" uttered on behalf of this ,000-ahead Academic Nirvana on Earth.

Campus construction is my favorite brand of hell paved-with-the-best-intentions here at Princeton. For one thing, most of our construction "needs" have been caused by the decision to bring in an additional 500 undergraduates. And by the way, does anyone know anyone who thinks that was a good decision? That's supposedly why my academic home at Princeton, Aaron Burr, is being gutted this year — to create more and modern office space at the price of turning the coziest building on campus into a whorish imitation of Wallace Hall, sterile and vaguely corporate. That may personally inconvenience few people other than a few undergraduates and their slightly socially awkward anthropologist-professors, but it's the principle of the thing: Why spend money on a building people liked so much the way it was?

Observation indicates that the University spends a lot of money in stupid ways — like gutting buildings that are functional and well-loved, ripping out shrubbery senselessly to replace it with younger versions, and sending out thousands of color-printed fliers that no one ever reads. Then there are the more expensive endeavors like building a science library on a well-loved field near Fine Hall, a library where the books will be in the basement to make room for a café on the first floor.

People do joke about these things and recognize the posh environment for what it is (at least when we remember to notice it), but it's also slightly scary and more than a little strange in light of, well, the way the other, not 50 percent, but 99 percent of the world lives. Ever try to explain to someone who doesn't go to Princeton why students pay ,000-7,000 a year for food? Or explain that at that price it's not even steak every night? Ever told someone working full-time for minimum wage that student jobs here pay an hour or up? Or that we pay ,000 a year and then whine about 0 for Pequod packets?

You might ask what's wrong with well-paying student jobs? Or even paying for an eating club? Maybe nothing. I wouldn't advocate drastic changes all around. What I would like to see is some acknowledgement that the amount of money we're each costing the rest of the world is kind of high, and some thinking about this, and maybe even some talking. The proportions are certainly off somewhere, and I wonder how much intellectual honesty can be flourishing in a community where we don't actively recognize our own absurdities.

So often questions of "What should we do?" when asked at Princeton really mean something like, "What will make us more comfortable or more successful or more prestigious?" Or possibly, "How can we spend enough money to preserve our nonprofit status?" Maybe once in a while it wouldn't be so bizarre for the University to say, "What should we do?" in the sense of "What would be right to do?" Regardless of individual spending habits, the University could certainly change its spending policies a little.

I know we're not a humanitarian organization; our business is education. However, even if sending the excess interest from our endowment to hurricane victims in Florida or Haiti won't fly as far as the trustees are concerned, how about hybrid cars for public safety or higher salaries for University workers?

Aileen Nielsen is an anthropology major from Brooklyn, N.Y.

Tuesday, October 5, 2004 --- 08:28 p.m.

Mood: bored...
Ears upon: alicia keys is stuck in my head??!

...and a little sad that Lily won't be watching the Manchurian Candidate with me tonight. I'm wondering if I should just go and watch it by myself, but that's no fun. Why would I want to watch a movie alone?

And Alicia Keys... man. That's what I get for being a curious kitty and wondering what VH1 is like in the morning. *shakes head*

Time for a quizzie...
I've only selected the questions that I care about/find interesting.

1. Name: Charm Suen Tang
2. Birthday: 06.12.1985
3. Location: currently Annandale, VA, but really, it's Princeton. :3
4. Where else have u lived: Chicago & Lake Forest, IL; SLC, UT
6. Zodiac sign: Gemini
7. Shoe size: 6!
8. Height: hahaha, if you don't know this, poo on you.
9. Eyes: brown
10. Pets: my doggie Cai Cai!
11. Siblings: Crystal, you silly nugget.
12. Your mom and dad's name: Jonathan Kwok-Kwong and Pam Peng Peng
13. Hair color: brown-black
14. Hair length: longest layer is waist length.
15. Ever dyed your hair?: yup
16. What color?: a dark cherry red.
17. Grade: SOPHOMORE
18. Are you good in school: uhm...
20. Nicknames: whatever the hell people want to call me.
23. Where were you born? Chicago, baby.
24. Are you a night or a morning person? Nightnightnight.
25. Are you ticklish? shuddup.
26. Do you believe in God? No.
27. What's your screen name?: angry chibi!
35. What comes first in your life? Aesthetics
37. What are you most scared of? Pain.
38. If you had an extra set of eyes were would you put them: on a little plane so it can travel for me.

FAVORITE
44. Band/group: I think dredg has really been growing into this spot...
48. Vacation spot: HONG KONG
49. Ice cream flavor: tough... tough...
50. Fruit: everything
52. Car: currently - Mini Cooper
56. Color: black, burgundy, grey, cream
58. Name for a girl: Charm, or Sidney Claire
59. Name for a boy: Jonathan
61: Month: June, w/o a doubt
62. Male athlete: David Beckham, helloooooo~~~
66. Tv show: guilty pleasure = Nip/Tuck
68. Animal: penguins and baby things, esp. kitties and pandas and puppies, yeeeee!
71. Saying: Jesus monkeys.
77. Cd: Amy Mann, "Lost in Space" and Dredg, "El Cielo"
79. Salad: FRIST SALAD W/BRIE AND TURKEY, YUMYUMYUMYUM
80. Meat: SEAFOOOOOOD
81. Pizza topping: love
82. State: californ-I-A!
87. Smell: a wonderful smelling guy w/hot cologne.
90. Feeling: asleep.
91. College: PRINCETON
92. Number: 42.
97. Cereal: Kix!

DISLIKES:
98. Car: Chrysler's half-assed hearse and the Honda Element
102. Day of the week and why: Monday
105. Month: January
114. Web site: "timed-out error..."
115. Food: pork rinds (ewwwwww)
116. Drink: RED BULL
120. Animal: snakes
121. Store: gross stores, e.g. Ross
125. Saying: "for reals?"
134. Meat: pork chops
135. Pizza topping: hate
141. Smell: sewage and trash
142. Sound: alarm clock.
144. Feeling: rejection
145. Letter: Q

EVER:
170. Been in love? no
183. Jumped on a trampoline? oh yesssss
185. Colored in a coloring book? of course
186. Had a bubble bath? mmm, yup!
187. Been on a plane? yes
188. Been on a boat? yes
189. Been on a train? yes
190. Been in a car accident? uhm... erg...
191. Ridden an elephant? I WISH!
198. Watched jerry springer? for about 60 seconds, all of it in terror
199. Gotten in trouble for talking in class? yes
200. Been afraid of the dark? yes
207. Fallen asleep in class? the seats in McCosh 50 are so uncomfortable... ;_;
212. Hated yourself? yes
215. Wanted to kill someone? yes
216. Fallen off a chair? yes - age 3, Dad told me not to, I still did.
218. Been in a fist fight? do I have a little sister?
219. Been in a cat fight? see above

DO YOU:
220. Like to give hugs? yes
221. Like to walk in the rain? yes
222. Sleep with or without clothes on? with
223. Prefer black or blue pens? blue
224. Dress up on halloween? yes
225. Have a job? yes
230. Want to marry? still not sure... maybe yes.
231. Have a goldfish? not presently
232. Ever have the falling dream? does bouncing count?
233. Have stuffed animals? OMG YES
251. What did you do today: fade in and out of consciousness
255. Do you own a miniskirt: I do now! :3
257. What is the farthest you have traveled: China/HK
259. What kind of shampoo do you use: L'Oreal
260. What about conditioner: Finesse/Garnier Fructis
262. When you get mad, do you swear a lot: Of course.
263. Got milk: am I a cow?
265. Name something that comes in threes: CHARMS!

haha, get it?... charm...s...? ^^;;

Friday, August 13, 2004 --- 03:53 p.m.

Mood: Bothered
Ears upon: Ravel's Bolero is stuck in my head

What. Why. Stupid.

While Bush clearly stated his opposition to quotas, he also suggested that he was not opposed to affirmative action.
But he didn't explain what the distinction was.
"I support college affirmatively taking action to get more minorities in their school," Bush said as the audience laughed.

I've not been having a very good day. Things are upsetting me a bit. Dammit.

I think I'm awake, rolling on my blanket,
I am sinking

Into the bed, light around me,
Beautiful washes of pulsating color,
Buzzing white noise, it sounds like 100 bees

I, too, once thought the radio played,
Let's act like children while we sleep paralysed.
I, too, once thought the radio played,
Let's act like children while we sleep paralysed

Lucid, you control it, you're body's asleep,
Your mind is awake

I, too, once thought the radio played,
Let's act like children while we sleep paralysed.
I, too, once thought the radio played,
Let's act like children while we sleep paralysed

Friday, August 13, 2004 --- 10:17 a.m.

Mood: not enough coffee
Ears upon: nothing - I'm at work

I haven't updated in a really long time, and I don't like updating the xanga everyday just 'cause I'm at work, so voila. Yes. At the NPCA again, whee!

I don't have anything worthwhile to talk about. I did, but I totally forgot. I'm such a loser, yessss.

Why can't I just curl up and fall asleep??!?!