Princeton's Left Political Publication Masthead
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Princeton's Left Political Publication Masthead Editor-in-Chief Beatrice Ferguson 21 Managing Editor Alec Israeli ‘21 Senior Editor Chaya Holch ‘22 News Editor Marc Schorin ‘22 Staff Editors Tori Gorton ‘21 Jane Markley ‘22 Joshua Judd Porter ‘21 Copy Editors Molly Cutler '23 Rebecca Han ‘22 Maryam Ibrahim '23 Design Editors Ameena Faruki ‘22 Emma Popham ‘21 Kai Tsurumaki '23 Digital Editor K Stiefel ‘20 Treasurer Chris Russo ‘20 Staff Writers JD Copeland '23 Cole Diehl ‘20 Joseph Feng '22 Braden Flax ‘21 Miguel Gracia-Zhang '23 Mary Alice Jouve '23 Liam Lonergan '23 Chase Lovgren ‘21 Rebecca Ngu ‘20 David Palomino ‘22 Tamica Perera ‘22 Nalanda Sharadjaya '21 Elliott Weil '23 Logo Design Maria Medrano '17 Cover Photo @user: Surreal artist rhodes / Wiki- media Commons / CC-BY-SA-3.0 www.theprincetonprogressive.com 2 The Prog Issue 23 - OctoberNovember 2019 2019 Table of Contents Politics of Space at Princeton 4 Liam Lonergan Disaster Capitalism: The Highest 6 Stage of Imperialism Mary Alice Jouve The Gaps in Princeton's Checks: How 7 Campus Jobs and Financial Aid Penalize Non-Nuclear Families K Stiefel Climate Fires and the Green New 9 Deal: Naomi Klein and Keenaga- Yamahtta Taylor on the Impending Climate Crisis Maryam Ibrahim In The Oven of YouTube, Bread 10 Rises Joseph Feng Tweets for Transformation 11 Elliot Weil Issue 32 - NovemberOctober 2019 2019 The Prog 3 Politics of Space at Princeton Liam Lonergan rinceton, as an educational institution, leaders, and politicians that speak there—may public spaces can be less welcoming. The same cultural symbol, and source of research reinforce existing biases. If a student from an af- Gothic architecture, social prestige, and orienta- and economic growth, defines and is fluent background views themself and others like tion pageantry can contribute to imposter syn- defined by its spatialization. The Uni- them as somehow more suited to attend Prince- drome that is, in part, class-linked. In detailing a Pversity’s constructed environment—its grassy ton, especially if they come from a community poor French family’s perception of a new, opu- courtyards, ornate arches, and Gothic halls—in- with strong connections to the University or to lent cafe as exclusionary, Harvey describes them fluences how students interact with each other elite education in general, stepping onto campus as “internalizing the gold that has been appropri- and the outside world, as well as how they view and being greeted by Blair Arch may feel like ated from them.” This phrase equally describes the University, their fellow students, and them- confirmation of this sense of exceptionalism. how some students may feel when confronted selves. Few other universities, of course, have compa- by Princeton’s concentrated wealth, which has In “The Political Economy of Public rable architecture and museums, corporate re- strong historical connections to slavery, imperi- Space”, human geographer David Harvey ana- cruiting, and colleges with names like “Rocke- alism, and labor exploitation. In addition, a net- lyzes the impact of Haussmann’s redevelopment feller,” “Wilson,” and “Forbes”. Similar to how work of tacit traditions and expectations await of Paris in the late 19th century on class conflict Haussmann envisioned the imposition of an ex- students on campus, most notably Princeton’s and politics within the city. Haussmann, com- travagant capital onto a reconstructed Paris as eating clubs, with their quasi-independence missioned by Napoleon III, demolished ancient, promoting French nationalism and obscuring the from the University, various restrictions on entry crowded sections of the city to make space for city’s oppressed working class, the character of via passes on different nights, and contradictory elaborate gardens, upscale cafes, and wide bou- public space at Princeton nurtures both a belief posturing as both exclusive and accessible insti- levards to facilitate the transportation of peo- in exceptionalism and a tendency towards insu- tutions—particularly the bicker clubs. Bringing ple, capital, and troops. This new “spectacle,” larity. The spectacle of campus space is central students from a greater diversity of backgrounds Harvey notes, to campus does had myriad im- not necessarily plications for the ensure they are political fabric of truly included. the city—which While Princeton had been the site has made some of several vio- efforts to reme- lent uprisings just dy the problem years before. New through new spaces were de- orientation pro- signed to promote grams, resolution imperial power of the conflict re- and facilitate mil- quires more fun- itary and com- damental, radical mercial control, change in how we and cross-class view the histo- interactions were ries, politics, and reduced, chang- present-day class ing how Parisians dynamics of insti- of different class- tutions like Princ- es viewed each eton. other. At a first- Like that year event this of Paris, Princ- September ti- eton’s spatiality tled “Princeton, impacts how stu- Money and Me,” dents see them- University alum- selves in relation ni discussed the to others, includ- photos credit: Michael Hauge challenges of be- ing both other Princeton students and the mem- to Princeton’s exclusive mystique and promotes ing a low-income student on campus. This in- bers of the communities from which they come. buy-in to this mentality among applicants, stu- cluded the intersection of wealth with social life For some, the University’s prestige—physically dents, and the public. on campus and the strange situation some stu- embodied in the grandeur of structures like the For other students, especially first-gener- dents may find themselves in of having neces- 125-year old Richardson Auditorium, and ex- ation students or those from communities where sities on campus provided via financial aid but hibited by the array of media figures, business higher education is less accessible, Princeton’s knowing their family is struggling to make ends 4 The Prog Issue 23 - OctoberNovember 2019 2019 photos credit: Beatrice Ferguson meet back home. The dialogue, however, avoid- communities do not, either because they are in social hubs on campus, continue to disadvantage ed looking at the underlying class politics and the workforce, at a two-year college, at a less low-income students who attempt to join. Princ- causes of this conflict in favor of surface-lev- affluent four-year college, or for some other rea- eton’s timeworn structures, which primarily tell el, feel-good remarks and a general sense that son. Being exposed to the wealth at Princeton, the narrow, whitewashed story of an elite, often low-income students would be alright by vir- including both the school’s wealth and the per- violent ruling class, carry forward their own pol- tue of lucrative careers that the Princeton brand sonal wealth of many of its students’ families, itics and history across the centuries, creating a would provide them in the future. One alumnus, may also prompt resentment. sense of dissonance when these intersect with for example, remarked that his community sees In discussing the politics of public space modern realities. his academic journey as impossible, and that he in Paris, Harvey focuses on the blending of pub- Space holds power. This is especially always tries to tell them that they too can work lic and private space. Whereas pre-renovation true of Princeton’s campus, which has such a hard and get to Princeton. The hard work of Paris was home to significant mingling between long, somewhat obscured history of violence. many students to overcome obstacles of class classes, who lived in the same buildings and Enslaved people were once auctioned in front and background to obtain spots at top universities shared the streets, Haussmann segregated much of Nassau Hall. A majority of students and like Princeton is certainly praiseworthy, howev- of the city and encouraged the construction of alumni who fought in the Civil War joined the er even offhand remarks like this contribute to cafes and department stores along major streets, Confederacy, and, as Richard Anderson of The a culture that places the onus of accessing col- turning much of this space over to private in- Princeton Slavery Project notes, the Universi- lege on poor youth, considers difficult-to-access terests. This newly commercialized space, reg- ty’s Civil War memorial omits the allegiances of higher education as acceptable, and lets wealthy ulated by owners and commercial institutions, the student-soldiers it records, implying a moral communities and institutions off the hook for created new tensions as the lower classes saw equivalency between the two armies. Princeton upholding barriers to economic and educational themselves being shut out and the upper class- has long maintained connections to a variety of mobility. es grew to expect class homogeneity. While the institutions that perpetuate wealth inequality In addition to feelings of reinforced su- space inside a store is public, it is public in a and labor exploitation. The resultant dynamics periority or of not belonging, resentment or guilt different way than a space owned by the peo- of space on campus can elicit feelings of resent- can also contribute to the complex personal re- ple is public. Much in the same way, Princeton’s ment, unworthiness, or degradation. Students actions that students have to Princeton’s spati- campus is an example of what Harvey describes should be empowered to more accurately exam- ality. The contrast between Princeton and other as contested public space, “where ambiguities ine the University and their place here. Only by spaces where students come from—and where of proprietorship, of aesthetics, of social rela- students and the University doing work to de- their friends may be attending school, working, tions… and the political economy of everyday construct these hierarchical spaces and the forc- or otherwise living—can induce new examina- life collide.” Only in 1991 did the Ivy Club and es behind them can these conflicts begin to be tions of oneself and where one comes from.