2006 Princeton Summer Journal

NEWS ARTS SPORTS Harlem’s Why ‘World Liberty continues identity crisis Trade Center’ losing streak fails against Fever Page 2 Page 10 Page 12 s ummerThe Princeton J ournal cation of The Princeton University Summer Journalism Program Vol. SJP, No. 5 Princeton, New Jersey, Monday, August 14, 2006 © 2006 Residents react to London arrests of suspected terrorists By Feruz Erizku DEWITT CLINTON HIGH SCHOOL One day after British authorities arrested 24 suspects – SUMMER PRINCE in an alleged plot to blow up as many as 10 passenger jets heading for the United States, many travelers leaving the Dinky train Friday remained concerned, but not overly POINT OF NO RETURN? worried about terrorism. For the afternoon commuters interviewed, the constant For Oxford degree, illegal immigrant risks option to come home news reports on terrorism during the past fi ve years seem to have dulled the senses, making these threats somewhat By Dilruba Parveen During the past few months, Padil- Despite the publicity, his high easier to bear. la’s love for knowledge has come to H. S. FOR ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES achievement and the drama of his own Jennifer Wilkinson is a case in point. Wearing brown, touch the hearts of many Americans. narrative, Padilla remains a modest stu- oversized sunglasses and slowly rocking her legs, the 21- Dan-el Padilla Peralta, 22, the Uni- His story — Padilla is an illegal im- dent committed to fusing his love for year-old New York student said the best thing people can versity Class of 2006 salutatorian, has migrant who won a scholarship to classics — his major at Princeton and do in the face of a terrorist threat is “to live their lives.” spent much of his life burying himself Oxford University but may not be the subject he will continue to study at The arrests of the 24 British citizens, who allegedly have in books. To Padilla, books have been able to return to America because of Oxford — with helping others. links to Al Qaeda, prompted the U.S. government to enact an escape from the trials of real life immigration laws — has been told in “He’s so humble,” said Kelly stepped-up security measures such as requiring passengers to — a childhood of fi nancial hardship The Wall Street Journal as well as on be hand-searched and the checking of all passenger hand bag- and a fractured family life. CNN, ABC and NBC. CONTINUED ON PAGE 9 CONTINUED ON PAGE 4 At local event, bicyclists give Graphic by Catherine Kirk their spin on doping scandal By Angela Fabunan See page 4 for HIGH SCHOOL OF AMERICAN STUDIES T more on the HAMILTON — The laid-back atmosphere at Princeton Mercer County Community College on Aug. 5 was a cyclists far cry from the cheering masses along the Champs- Élysées in Paris 13 days earlier. On the last day of the Tour de France, the most prestigious cycling competition in the world, Ameri- can Floyd Landis toasted his extraordinary victory and smiled triumphantly as hordes shouted his name. Only three days later, a dark shadow loomed over the much-celebrated comeback win after the International Cycling Union announced that Landis’ drug test had shown high levels of testosterone/epitestosterone. CONTINUED ON PAGE 4 Nets benefi t? Darfur and Princeton Brooklyn debates basketball arena, development project By Onyebuchi Chilaka and Parija Sharedalal this month. University pledges no investment in “The Ratner machine has failed to convince BRONX ACADEMY OF LETTERS AND people in this neighborhood,” said Raul Roth- LONG ISLAND CITY HIGH SCHOOL companies doing business with Sudan blatt, a spokesman for the Atlantic Yards Task NEW YORK — The proposed $4.2 billion Force, a group that opposes the project. By Angela Fabunan Forty colleges and universities nationwide Atlantic Yards project aims to rise higher than The proposal, which includes an 18,000-seat HIGH SCHOOL OF AMERICAN STUDIES have active divestment campaigns, ac- Brooklyn’s tallest building — the Williams- arena for the NBA’s Nets, will face a fi nal vote cording to the Sudan Divestment Task burg Savings Bank Tower. The development by Empire State Development Corp.’s board this Students on campuses across the Force, a national organization. company, Forest City Ratner, promises to build fall. If it is approved, the state Public Authorities country are clamoring for an end to the The Republic of the Sudan, in north- affordable housing, create jobs and generate tax Control Board will vote on it. rape, murder and destruction in Darfur. eastern Africa, has a population of about revenue. But critics charge that as the new Frank The Atlantic Yards project encompasses Princeton University is among the schools 41 million, according to a U.S. govern- Gehry complex rises, residents — particularly 16 buildings on 22 acres over Long Island that have listened. ment estimate. After rebel groups in Dar- low-income families — will see their quality Railroad’s Vanderbilt Rail Yards near downtown Princeton, joining seven other elite fur, a region of western Sudan, staged an of life collapse. Brooklyn along a strip of Atlantic Avenue from schools, decided July 9 to “disassociate” uprising in 2003, the government ordered Controversy continues to swirl around the from companies in Sudan in the hope of a massive retaliation that included acts of proposal, which is in a public comment period CONTINUED ON PAGE 5 pressuring the Sudanese government to stop the mass killings in the Darfur region. CONTINUED ON PAGE 4 Page 2 THE PRINCETON SUMMER JOURNAL August 14, 2006 As Harlem moves forward, some feel left behind Efforts to revitalize community raise economic, housing concerns among long-time residents By Tasnim Shamma redeveloped areas. Redevelopment of Harlem BROOKLYN TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL “You have to hold a second job. My mother and father worked full-time and part-time to pay the bills,” said NEW YORK — Empty water bottles. Rat poison Wanda McThee, 57, a lifetime resident of Harlem who is threatens area’s cultural identity signs. Chains. Boarded windows. Vacant lots. Shattered unemployed and seeking a job. “The rent is too high.” glass. These have been some of the common sights But Tyisha Davis, 18, a student at the High School for By Natalie Shields But despite its deep historical around Harlem’s “Main Street” — the 125th St. corridor Health Professions and Human Services, said she was BENJAMIN CARDOZO HIGH SCHOOL roots, Harlem is a neighborhood in — over the past few decades. grateful for the transformation of a rough neighborhood fl ux, with new development raising New York’s efforts to revitalize Harlem and fi ll into one where there was an increase in the number of NEW YORK — Walking along serious questions about the direction vacant lots with the signs of development and progress schools and police offi cers as well as better possibilities the streets of Harlem, a visitor will of its future. — condominiums, high rises, upscale businesses — have for home ownership. see an everyday community bustling In the late 1980s, “[Harlem] already transformed parts of the corridor. But some Davis is studying to become a midwife. Her parents with residents and shops. But then looked like it had been bombed,” said residents worry about the impact of these developments recently bought a brownstone. it sets in: This is the place that gave Flores Forbes, chief strategic offi cer on the future of the community. Flores Forbes, 54, chief strategic offi cer of the Ab- birth to one of America’s most pro- of the Abyssinian Development Corp. To address these concerns, Deputy Mayor of Eco- yssinian Development Corp. — which is developing lifi c cultural and literary movements in Harlem. nomic Development and Rebuilding Daniel Doctoroff commercial, residential and community space in Har- — the Harlem Renaissance. According to the city’s Depart- has created a working group to discuss future develop- lem — noted that the changes have made his neighbors From famous poet Langston ment of Housing Preservation and ment that brings together representatives of city agencies happier. Hughes to jazz composer and musi- Development, Central Harlem’s and community advocates such as elected offi cials, civic “I feel at home,” he said. “I feel comfortable. It’s cian Duke Ellington, many infl uential population plummeted by 37 percent groups, stakeholders and community boards. something that makes us smile. There are kids playing artists and writers emerged during the between 1970 and 1990. Whenever the city develops a neighborhood, there in the street. It’s safe.” Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s. “Over time it has evolved,” will be complaints, Doctoroff said. Despite the city’s attempts to forge a relationship The neighborhood currently is Forbes said. “There has really been “It’s the fl ip side of prosperity. Change in New York between itself and Harlem’s residents, there remain celebrating Harlem Week, the annual an up-tick.” is just a fact of life,” he said. “The alternative is so some cultural barriers that have yet to be penetrated, festival aimed at commemorating During the last decade, Harlem’s much worse.” Forbes said. the community’s rich history and population has increased by eight Among residents’ top concerns are affordability, de- “There are some people who don’t want to see Cau- culture. percent and is still growing, ac- cline in the cultural atmosphere of Harlem and fear that casians and other people moving into this community,” “Harlem is where everything cording to city statistics. And city they will be pushed out of the community, as wealthier he said. “Like a phobia or something.” is,” said Gloria Jackson, 57, a local New Yorkers who are not African-American move into Despite residents’ concerns, the city shovels on.

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