Freshman Issue September 2003 PRINCETON TORY

Special Report: Professors and Politics plus The Issues 2003-04 and THE RANT THE PRINCETON Notes from the Publisher Microwave-Safe Plato

TORY Mongers of the intellectual crisis, eat your hearts out: September 2003 This summer in Washington, where I worked at a conservative Volume XX - Issue IV think tank, I left the barbershop where I had trimmed up before the Tory Publisher Editor-in-Chief went on camera. (Tory editors, past and present, will appear alongside John Andrews ’05 Evan Baehr ’05 William F. Buckley and Justice Antonin Scalia in a celebration of the fifti- Managing Editors eth anniversary of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute.) Brad Heller ’05 Duncan Sahner ’06 Newly shorn and sauntering back to the train, I paused in a small, musty, second-hand bookshop. While browsing I found, gathering dust Web Manager Financial Manager and a bit of mildew, a 1937 edition of the Harvard Classics, Dr. Charles Eric Czervionke ’05 Ira Leeds ’06 Eliot’s “Five-Foot Shelf of Books.” The fifty-two volume set was priced, Graphics Editor and seemed to have been for many years, at fifty dollars. What a bargain! Deb Brundage ’03 Happily, I paid the full price. I returned after the taping, wheeling a large suitcase to collect the set. Pete Hegseth ’03, Publisher Emeritus The Classics cleaned up quite handsomely, making a wonderful Brad Simmons ’03, Editor-in-Chief Emeritus addition to my library. Sometime in my second-hand book-buying past, I Staff Writers learned that a good way to kill mildew spores is to heat the book in a microwave, and then give it a good dusting. The metaphor is felicitous: Jennifer Carter ’03 C.R. Mrosovsky ’04 The classics are undervalued at Princeton, as in that bookstore. Ryan Feeney ’03 Arvin Bahl ’05 They lie mouldering and neglected. Within their crumbling pages languish Nat Hoopes ’03 Julie Toran ’05 truth, nobility, friendship, love, beauty, contemplation, and freedom. Daniel Mark ’03 Powell Fraser ’06 A revival of these concepts, clasically understood, would benefit Nathaniel Norman ’03 Stephen Lambe ’06 the University intrinsically, and would also bring coherence to the campus Matt O’Brien ’03 Jurgen Reinhoudt ’06 debate. No more questions of individual life-style, but of virtue. No more John Ference ’04 Paul Thompson ’06 questions of political correctness, but of moral rectitude. None of iden- Betsy Kennedy ’04 Paul White ’06 tity politics, but of justice. Board of Trustees Alas, the contemporary Princetonian and his intellectual birth- right suffer seperately and silently. As in the bookstore, there is hope Peter Heinecke ’87 Anna Bray Duff ’92 here. I fervently hope that in this academic year, our focused energies David Daniels ’89 Brian Tvenstrup ’95 will, like microwave radiation, bring warmth and freshness to the great Mark Banovich ’92 Wickham Schmidt ’99 ideas of old. Timothy Webster ’99 Dr. Eliot, Harvard conservative and Eliot House’s namesake, is a journal of conservative chaired the famous Committee of Ten, which recognized the intrinsic and moderate political thought written, edited and produced by students and deliv- value of education. It recommended that high schools not simply ‘prep’ ered free of charge to all Princeton students and fac- students for future studies, but teach them the liberal arts purely for their ulty. The Princeton Tory is a publication of The edification. Eliot and his committee wanted to make the liberal arts acces- Princeton Tory, Inc. Opinions expressed herein are sible to everyone, particularly to those who would not attend college. those of the authors and not necessarily those of the editors, trustees, Princeton University, or the Likewise, Eliot created the Harvard Classics for the benefit of the Princeton Tory, Inc. common, practical man. After all, there are only five feet on the shelf, The Princeton Tory accepts letters to the editor. just as there are only four years till a degree. Quite like a Princeton Direct correspondence to: P.O. Box 1499, Princeton, education, in fact, the shelf is intended for everyday use NJ 08542; or by e-mail: [email protected]. Adver- tisement rates for The Princeton Tory are: $75 for a and pleasure (perhaps with just a smidgen of ostentation). quarter page, $150 for a half page, $250 for a full Because an education requires more than a mere page, and $350 for the back cover. Donations to The degree, it’s time to dust off the classics. Princeton Tory are fully tax-deductible. Please mail donations to: P.O. Box 1499, Princeton, NJ 08542. The Princeton Tory is a member of the Colle- John Andrews giate Network. The Princeton Tory gives special thanks [email protected] to the Intercollegiate Studies Institute and Princeton Alumni Viewpoints. The Princeton Tory, Inc. is a non-profit corpo- Letters to the Editors: ration registered in New Jersey. No part of this publi- cation should be construed to promote any pending [email protected] legislation or to support any candidate for office. No part of this publication may be reproduced without P.O. Box 1499, Princeton, New Jersey 08542 express written consent of the Publisher. Copyright © 2003, The Princeton Tory, Inc. The editors welcome, and will print, letters on any topic.

2 · THE PRINCETON TORY SEPTEMBER 2003 THE PRINCETON TORY September 2003 www.princetontory.com

5 Freshman Writing Contest: $100 Cash Prize! Book ‘im, Danno. Public Nuisance. THE ISSUES: AN OVERVIEW 4 What’s Important and Why, in the New Academic Year. The Editors offer talking points for a pivotal year: ¾ Intellectual Life ¾ Race and Educational Policy ¾ Faith on Campus ¾ Athletics and Voluntary Activity ¾ Feminism and Family Values

THE RANT 6 The Tory comments on: ¾ Summer Boondoggles ¾ The Ombudsperson ¾ Shirley Tilghman, Doctor of Tautology ¾ The Pornography Studies Department TONIGHT, ON NBC: LAW AND ORDER IV: and much more... When Princeton Professors Prevent D.C. Police From Fighting Violent Crime by Forcing THE ISSUES 2003-04: ARTICLES OF INTEREST Them to Waste Their Time on Silly Publicity Stunts and Throw Them in Jail for Nine Hours. 8 The Professor as Partisan 10:30 PM EST. The editors inquire and report the faculty’s campaign contributions. A New Report from the Tory Editors

10 Shirley Strikes Out The administration has ulterior motives for the moratorium. Jenn Carter ’03

12 ganked! Derek Bok’s diversity rationale is self-defeating. John Andrews ’05

14 God and Politics How liberals discredit the religious right with identity politics. Brad Simmons ’03

16 Killing Feminism The OWL keeps reminding Princetonians how irrelevant it is. Daniel Mark ’03 More at: www.PrincetonTory.com 18 Conservative Thinkers: A Photo Essay

SEPTEMBER 2003 THE PRINCETON TORY · 3 THE PRINCETON TORY WELCOMES THE CLASS OF 2007

WHAT’S IMPORTANT THIS YEAR, AND WHY Conservative Talking Points for the Campus Debate

Intellectual Life

In April 2001, the Atlantic Monthly published “The Organization Kid” by David Brooks. Brooks, smug in U. Chicago snobbery, interviewed a group of Princeton undergrads and con- ture from Hell.” The Tory has even The ad hoc Varsity Student-Ath- cluded that they were all tools: giving called for the resignations of several “au- lete Advisory Committee effectively mo- undue deference to authority and failing thority figures” on campus. Surpris- bilized alumni opposition to the morato- to engage in anything but mindless ac- ingly, the Tory didn’t feature in the At- rium. VSAAC questioned why athletes, tivity once outside of the classroom or lantic. On the contrary, Brooks assumes but not other voluntary associations like their “structured, resume-building extra- that any “angry revolutionaries” would groups of amateur musicians, would be curricular activities.” He bemoaned the come from the left, perhaps because he, regulated. They noted that although lack of “angry revolutionaries, despon- like Tilghman, has equated “conserva- Tilghman promised the moratorium dent slackers, or dark cynics.” tive” with “tool.” would be assessed in a year’s time, she Brooks’ survey was problem- “The Organization Kid” should admittedly had no system for measur- atic. To begin his project, he went to provide a warning to those who would ing its effect, since any rise or fall in the professors to solicit names of “a few allow themselves to be intimidated by the athlete GPA’s could be used to justify dozen articulate students.” (How’s that label of “anti-intellectual.” People who further restrictions. for undue deference to authority?) Did tell you that you’re not intellectual enough This summer, President Brooks seriously think that he would get generally have their own plans for what, Tilghman reduced the moratorium, elimi- any “despondent slackers” from profes- exactly, you ought to be thinking. (See nating the contiguous-week provision. sors’ recommendations? “The Professor as Partisan,” p. 8.) This year will tell how this revision will The “dark cynics” in the Tory, affect athletes and whether the VSAAC however, responded with the skepticism Athletics will accept the compromise or continue and disdain one might expect from in- to fight the moratorium on principle. tellectuals. Jenn Carter, in “The Intellectualism and athleticism Princeton Non-Experience,” blamed the are, in the ’s amateur tradi- Faith lack of student engagement on the ex- tion, intertwined. As George Will writes, cesses of relativism and multiculturalism “Greek philosophers considered sport a Originally founded for the edu- in the University’s curriculum. Eric religious and civic - in a word, moral - cation of ministers and statesmen, Wang blamed the administration for its undertaking. Sport, they said, is morally Princeton has been downright hostile adulterous wooing of Harvard’s African- serious because mankind’s noblest aim towards traditional religious groups in American Studies department, shifting is the loving contemplation of worthy recent years. (See “The Religious the focus (and finances) from long- things, such as beauty and courage.” Right,” p.14.) standing professors in traditional disci- Thus, it’s not surprising that Princeton Evangelical, Catholic, and Jew- plines. It seemed cheeky, writers ob- athletes tend to have strong values and ish groups each took issue with incidents served, for the administration to osten- faith, as well as a conservative inclina- on University grounds last academic sibly gather the nation’s best and bright- tion. (See “College Sports & Educational year. The Wilson School exhibited a col- est, and then to blame them when they Values,” p.10) lection of Catholic imagery titled didn’t meet standards of intellectualism Remember the “intellectual cri- “Shackles of the AIDS Virus” (see (or green hair-color) in the structured sis”? The Ivy Presidents found a scape- “Rant”). The Office of Religious Life environment for which the administra- goat: athletes. Harnessing the anti-anti- kicked Rev. Pat Robertson and students tion is responsible. intellectual furor, they agreed on a mora- out of Murray-Dodge’s prayer room. In fact, the Tory has a twenty- torium to reduce the practice commit- The held a “poetry” year history of standing up to profes- ments of athletes. In addition to exist- reading by Amiri Baraka, then-Poet Lau- sors and administrators, through both ing strict regulations on the athletic regi- reate of New Jersey, blaming the Jews serious argument and lighthearted mock- men, athletes could no longer participate for complicity in the September 11 at- ery, with titles such as “Shirley at the in coach-supervised activities for seven tacks. In one instance, the use of facili- Bat,” “West-ward, Ho,” and “The Lec- weeks, each contiguous, per sport. ties was denied to a minister by Univer-

4 · THE PRINCETON TORY SEPTEMBER 2003 THE ISSUES 2003-04 sity religious officials, and in the others, sity of Michigan” and to “respect the in- legislatures. Expect the dull roar to secular administrators spread bigotry on stitutional competence and academic louden once the next old guy croaks. campus. Quite a year. freedom” of public universities. Since a 1990 cover story, “The After the 20-point bonus was The Big Picture Politicization of the Chapel,” the Tory has ruled unconstitutional, Tilghman claimed followed the Office of Religious Life’s victory by repackaging the amicus brief The crisis at Princeton is not wake of outrage, whether non- or anti- as a reaffirmation of Bakke, which the intellectual but moral. Contrivances like religious. However, there is cause for Court delivered, instead of an explicit affirmative action, Prospect Street inva- hope: In the February 2003 issue, we endorsement of the 20-point system, sions, and the athletics moratorium, mea- noted that the departure of Dean Sue which it rejected. sures implemented to enhance the qual- Anne Steffey Morrow, who once joined Most conservatives accept the ity of intellectual life, compromise the two atheist male students in holy matri- legality of these racial preferences at pri- University administration’s higher mony in the Chapel, provided an oppor- vate universities like Princeton. Rather, charge, that of protecting the ideals and tunity for better relations between Chris- they often question the wisdom of such institutions of our Western civilization. tian conservatives and the Religious Life policies, arguing that racial preferences As seen in the ostensible Chapel and in staff, should Dean Breidenthal appoint a have a condescending and segregating student organizations like OWL, this de- more moderate successor. Our best effect. (See “ganked!” p. 12.) Public pravity is manifest in contempt for our wishes go to Rev. Paul Raushenbush as universities, though, are restricted by the common heritage of American values. he takes over as Associate Dean of Reli- Fourteenth Amendment (theoretically), The year 2004 will be pivotal gious Life. and the nebulous Gratz and Grutter rul- in the culture war raging across America. ing has returned the controversy to state Stay tuned. Feminism

Alpha Upsilon Lambda is in fact not a sorority, though it is understand- FRESHMAN WRITING CONTEST able that Princetonians would take OWL for one. Last year, the Organization of The Peter B. Hegseth ’03 Award Women Leaders, in addition to typically Greek activities, has shown a penchant for Conservative Journalism for hosting autoerotic “pleasure work- shops,” vandalizing Tory issues, send- shall be given to the member of the Class of 2007 ing chocolate vaginas (“labeled ‘Eat who submits the best original article. Me’”) to Tory editors, and baking cup- The Award includes a medal and cakes with little pink sprinkles to accom- pany the criticism sessions they invite upon themselves. (See “Live Female Entertainment,” p. 16.) $100 Cash Prize Fortunately for many disaf- fected Princeton women, OWL’s grip on Each entrant shall have the opportunity to revise his article with the the campus feminist banner has slipped. Tory editors to prepare for possible publication. Articles shall be judged At the end of a massive two-year oper- by the qualities of the original submission and finished work. ating grant, the fledgling OWL must now face the newly formed Independent Everyone is strongly encouraged to enter, especially those who have Women’s Forum, which can more cred- ibly claim the mantle of Susan B. An- never written an article or opinion piece. The Tory editors are committed thony. Expect feathers to fly this year, to help everyone, particularly novices, through the editorial process. especially on Valentine’s Day, now an annual battle between devotees of An- Submissions will be accepted until Monday, 10 November. Articles thony and those of Eve Ensler (of Va- should be between 1,000 and 2,500 words in length. For further gina Monologues notoriety). inquiries, email Evan Baehr, Editor-in-Chief, at [email protected].

Racial Preferences At the suggestion of members of the Class of 2003, the Freshman Writing Contest award has been named to honor In February, the University (i.e. Lieutenant Pete Hegseth, United States Army, whose exceptional Tilghman) signed an amicus brief ask- service to the Tory as Publisher, rendered at a crucial time in ing the Supreme Court to “uphold the the magazine’s history, is hereby commemorated. affirmative action policies at the Univer-

SEPTEMBER 2003 THE PRINCETON TORY · 5 THE RANT ¾ The Tory hails President Tilghman for Princeton’s to the GOP; Simmons was quoted in The New York Post worst commencement address in recent memory – and as replying, “I’m much more interested in having a that’s saying a lot. (Bill Clinton stumped at better relationship with God than with the Democratic Commencement in his ’96 re-election campaign.) This Party.” Word. June, the Presidential address defended Tilghman’s decision to put the University’s endorsement on the U. ¾ The un-great un-American filibuster-fest enters its Michigan undergrad admissions policy (now ruled second year as Democrats block two key judicial unconstitutional). She also wished grads the courage to nominations on the Senate floor and more in committee. bravely uphold the leftist orthodoxy on race, In effect, this unprecedented obstruction requires a homosexuality, and foreign policy. “Courage is hard,” sixty-vote supermajority for any confirmation. The Tilghman intoned, for which the Tory awards her an Senate seems unable to return the spirit of deference to honorary Doctor of Tautology. Even harder, it seems, Presidential nominations enjoyed before the pro-choice is bringing substance and thoughtfulness to the last and affirmative-action lobbies met Robert Bork and lecture Princeton students will ever hear. Clarence Thomas. However, the Senate can, and should, return procedure to its Constitutional intent ¾ “What did you do over summer break?” There are two through a ruling from Senate president Cheney and answers you’re unlikely to hear from anyone. First, “I backed by 51 votes, a move fear-mongering Dems label went to the Frist Summer Concert Series.” (Doesn’t it “the nuclear option.” Said Frist, “It is the Democrats make more sense to waste thousands of dollars on free right now who are engaged in a nuclear option in music and snacks for townies when the tuition-gouged attempting for the first time in the history of this students are actually there to benefit from the largesse?) country to change the operating precedent of the United Second, “I went to the School Junior States Senate.” Disregarding the law and will of the Summer Institute.” The University terminated the majority, forcing your enemies to acquiesce through program after receiving a threatening letter from the nuclear blackmail. Remind you of any other leftist we Equal Opportunity Center and the American Civil Rights know? Fuzzy hair, thick glasses, goes by “Kim”? Institute, though University officials say they were already reconsidering the program. Why all the fuss? ¾ So much for “living history.” Conservative shock jock There was a 100% racial quota for the program; whites Ann Coulter has reanimated dead, white Senator Joseph and Asians need not apply. The Institute encouraged McCarthy in her latest book, Treason, which bumped undergraduates to study public policy in grad school – a Hillary’s sob story on the Times and Amazon charts. worthy purpose. It’s a shame that affirmative action Apparently, Bill is even less loveable than Joe. The irony spoiled it. Let’s hope that our other race-based summer here is that Clinton blames a “vast right-wing programs, like the Princeton Summer Undergraduate conspiracy” of “sexual McCarthyism” for her hubby’s Research Experience and the Minority Undergraduate demise. Despite Hillary’s advantage of newly-fabricated Summer Research in Molecular Biophysics Program, material over Coulter’s re-hashed “dead history,” the will maintain their academic roles but become more readers have spoken: they prefer one conspiracy theory inclusive. and one McCarthy: that of Coulter’s Treason. Or perhaps they just find the “cover girl” more appealing. ¾ Always out-heroding Herod, Princeton’s administration has replaced the once politically correct Office of the ¾ Like its buddy Josef Stalin, the American left doesn’t Ombudsman with the (ever-so-much-more-so, as Willy exactly love dissent within the Party. So, it’s no Wonka says) title, “Office of the Ombudsperson.” surprise that the ‘mainstream’ media have been quick to Incidentally, “ombudsperson” is not a word. Although, pounce on “Neo-conned; A Call to Arms,” as Professor Fleming will tell you, Swedish loans are Representative Ron Paul’s (R-TX) critique of the Bush invariably cool, we can’t help wincing as ostensible administration. “Government is bigger than ever, and scholars splice a Latin suffix onto an Old Norse root. future commitments are overwhelming…Total U.S. This sounds like a job for… Superperson! government obligations are $43 trillion, while total net worth of U.S. households is just over $40.6 trillion. The ¾ Hip-hop big shot Russell Simmons is under fire from country is broke, and no one in Washington seems to New York Democrats for advising Governor Pataki in notice or care,” argues Paul. Non-discretionary, non- negotiating long-overdue reforms to the state’s drug defense federal spending, increasing at its fastest rate in laws. Andrew Cuomo accused Simmons of selling out 35 years, is leaving classic liberals wishing for a little

6 · THE PRINCETON TORY SEPTEMBER 2003 less taxpayer-subsidized compassion and a little more ¾ The Woodrow Wilson School is in the news for another fiscal conservatism. For foreign policy conservatives, reason: University lawyers battling relatives of donors in wide-scale intervention entangled the US in too many order to keep the Robertson Trust at Princeton. The countries. Social conservatives, accustomed to fell Robertsons claim that Princeton illegally attempted to blows from the O’Connor Court, are now faced with absorb the Trust, which supports most of the WWS, the Presidential endorsement of Title IX. Such internal into the University endowment and violated the intent of disputes, so long as they retain proportionality, are the the trust by shifting the funds away from an sign of a healthy, intellectually engaged, international, undergraduate focus. They filed suit to socioeconomically broad movement. The media , keep their managers, as opposed to the Princeton notably Vanity Fair and The New York Times, churn out Investment Corporation, in control of the fund. This articles of dubious scholarship on Straussians and summer, the Robertsons defeated a major University “neoconservatives,” always with the assumption that motion for dismissal. According to donors’ son ideological diversity is a weakness. Quickly: name any William, “Princeton has been more concerned with difference between the nine candidates running for the control of the Robertson Foundation endowment than Democratic Presidential nomination (except for the with fidelity to the original intent and charter of the percentages by which John Whats-his-name and Carol donor. This is a losing policy for Princeton—for if a Daschle-Sharpton want to raise taxes). Disagreements donor with a $550 million endowment gift cannot capture the attention of the left. So do shiny objects. expect the University to act with integrity and fidelity, what donor can?” As future alumni and potential ¾ It’s been a long, dry summer for the right, but one not donors, students should watch this case closely. without its moments. For example, the furor over Senator Rick Santorum’s sound byte from an April ¾ Finally, a peep-show of the Women’s Studies courses Associated Press interview: “If the Supreme Court says offered this semester. Dim the lights for Pornography that you have the right to consensual [gay] sex within 101, officially known as “History of Photography.” your home, then you have the right to bigamy, you have According to the course catalogue, “This course will the right to polygamy, you have the right to incest, you explore responses to the undressed human form across have the right to adultery. You have the right to a wide range of photographic practices. Of particular anything.” Unlike most sound bytes, Santorum’s interest will be the dialogue among fine arts, contained a valid argument, that protecting sodomy as a pornographic, and medico-anthropological photographs; private expression of sexual love destroys any rationale artists’ changing responses to commercial or self- for keeping consensual Singer-cest illegal. Of course, generated photographic studies of the nude; and the role the rainbow brigade represented his statement as a of sexual practices and orientation in the production and simple declaration of moral equivalence. One of the consumption of photographs of the nude.” The milder soubriquets attached to Santorum’s name was, Student Course Guide’s reviews of this fall’s Women’s from the new executive editor of The New York Times, Studies courses are unanimously disdainful. Along with Bill Keller, “Catholic theocrat.” Gee, Bill, any pent-up the poor quality of instruction, students take issue with anger at those who choose to follow your own the closed-mindedness of professors. Describing Church’s teaching on sexual morality? another course, one says: “The course was supposed to be designed around women’s bodies and we ended ¾ Dean Slaughter and her Wilson School are feeling the up spending a good majority of the time looking at giant summer heat after National Review, MSNBC and Fox slides of penises and other phallic objects. The course News discovered the WWS gallery’s latest “art”: A turned into ‘name that penis.’ We were even told that a cross, a rosary, the Sacred Heart, and other objects of slide of a naked female body was phallic because it was Catholic devotion, mutilated and titled “Shackles of the shaped like a penis. The professor was quite AIDS Virus.” Tory alumnus Matt O’Brien ’03 made the argumentative and discussion was only valid if it agreed case for concerned religious groups, local and national, with her opinion.” Another student on another WOM on “The O’Reilly Factor.” This isn’t a question of free course: “This class was a HUGE disappointment! … It speech; Princeton sponsored this exhibit, which always seemed like [the professor] was waging her presents two problems. First, as Slaughter surprisingly own personal campaign against men in this class. ... admitted to the press, the School would likely never even for a feminist like myself, the emphasis on female sponsor art similarly abusing other religious groups’ oppression/victimization was more than I could symbols. Funny, Princeton advertises that it does not stomach.” The Young America’s Foundation reported discriminate on the basis of religion. We don’t expect that Princeton is the only Ivy League school where the Officers of the University to observe norms of human number of courses in economics still exceed that of decency, but we may legally require that they abide by feminist studies. It’s not hard to see why: If students their stated policy. Second, anyone who demeans wanted porn, they could simply go to the U-Store. another’s religious beliefs is “subject to University We’ll pass. disciplinary standards.” Thus, we’re waiting for Slaughter to receive her “Dean’s Warning.” -- Compiled by the Editors

SEPTEMBER 2003 THE PRINCETON TORY · 7 THE ISSUES 2003-04 THE PROFESSOR AS PARTISAN A Catalogue of Faculty Campaign Contributions

Imagine a world where social- But if more liberals like Holt attain con- In fact, Democratic donors out- ist Ralph Nader receives more campaign gressional seats, Princeton’s opportuni- number or equal Republican donors in contributions, from more donors, than ties for aerodynamic research will be in every academic department except one, all Republican candidates and commit- serious (ahem) jeopardy. Holt opposed and in most administrative departments tees. A nightmare? Perhaps, but you House bills authorizing arming airline pi- as well. They also outspend, and in most could also call it the Princeton English lots, the Nuclear Penetrator Weapons cases vastly outspend, GOP donors in Department. System, use of military force against every academic department except two, Money matters. There are four- Iraq, and withdrawal from the Soviet- and in most administrative departments. teen registered Democrats and three reg- era ABM treaty in preparation for a bal- Why should freshman take no- istered Republicans on the Woodrow listic missile defense program. tice of this development? In theory, Wilson School’s (WWS) faculty. Reg- Princeton bills itself as a university where istering an affiliation with a political party, Politics at Princeton students are exposed to a variety of ideas. however, is effortless and of little sig- In practice, that spectrum starts some- nificance. It is much more telling if pro- Committees Donors Total where in the middle and spans to the left. fessors financially support a party and In reality, the odds are alarmingly high its candidates: On the WWS faculty, Democrat 101 $144,080 that you will go through Princeton with- Democratic donors dominate Republican out ever experiencing a single conser- donors by fourteen to one; furthermore, Republican vative professor… especially if you’re the Democrats outspend GOP donors by 16 $ 51,500 an English major with a certificate in almost twenty-six to one. African-American Studies. We’re not going to name each Though a few members of the Aside from these revealing po- professor and list his causes and contri- science and engineering departments litical comparisons, we must examine the butions. (If we did, we’d get carried supported political conservatives, rang- relationship between political contribu- away with clever but off-color double ing from Mississippi Senator Trent Lott tions and quality of instruction. Of entendres, like how Professor Deborah (ACU: 93) to moderate New Jersey Con- course, it does not necessarily follow that Nord keeps the abortionists in business.) gressman Rodney Frelinghuysen (ACU: any professor who expresses support for Rather, we will provide a broad survey 63), forty-five members supported a political party through campaign do- of the Princeton departments and the Democratic candidates and causes. Al- nations is an ineffective teacher or slants degree to which their political balance is though scientists and engineers became his or her course material to correspond skewed. Republican donors in slightly higher pro- more closely with a political ideology. You’ve heard this platitude on portions than members of the other de- Princeton’s renowned conser- campus: “Scientists and engineers are partments, about 15% versus 12%, they vative Politics professor Robert George more pragmatic and hence more con- can hardly be described as bastions of makes it clear that in his courses mere servative, whereas humanities scholars conservatism. ideology is worth little, and effective ar- are more utopian and hence further left.” And in the humanities depart- guments and cogent analysis is re- Not quite, the results of our study dem- ments? A whopping three professors, warded. He warns his class that “you onstrate. Princeton’s Congressman or nine percent of donors, gave to Re- will not get a good grade unless you iden- Rush Holt received a score of eight (out publican causes. Mathematics and so- tify and engage the strongest possible of a possible one-hundred) from the cial sciences? Not a single Republican counter-arguments.” He encourages his American Conservative Union (ACU), donor. students to pretend that they were writ- the second lowest score for any New Jersey congressman. Holt, Departments With Greatest Total Numbers of Donors former Assistant Director of the Total Democrat Committees Republican Committees Plasma Physics Lab, enjoys tremen- Department Donors Donors Total Donors Total dous support from Princeton’s sci- entists and engineers, who donate Woodrow Wilson School 15 14 $ 25,550 1 $ 1,000 liberally and display proudly the Plasma Physics Lab 12 11 19,500 3 10,050 bumper sticker, “My Congressman Astrophysics 8 7 2,750 1 500 IS a Rocket Scientist.” Fine, so he holds a patent and cleans up on History 6 6 11,800 0 0 “Jeopardy!” every now and then. Physics 6 5110,250 200

8 · THE PRINCETON TORY SEPTEMBER 2003 THE INTELLECTUAL AND THE ACADEMY ing the opposite decision in their moot examine required readings like Charles think we could begin to attract students court cases. He notes that when stu- Murray’s The Bell Curve, how might a with green hair. We will take pink and dents try this exercise, they often actu- student discuss the book’s merits when blue and orange hair, too.” Tilghman ally change their original opinions. she is armed only with hate-filled litera- has made some progress in importing Unfortunately, there are profes- ture from Eugenics Societies? Or how radicals, particularly by bringing a noted sors who do abuse the lectern. Take can someone argue against racial repa- rapper to the faculty. However, I would one of the women’s studies professors rations when the course literature is cen- remind this biologist of the effects of discussed in the Rant. (“Please, no, re- tered around a book titled The Debt: several insecticides: Though they kill a ally!” as the Princeton Band likes to joke.) What America Owes to Blacks? Thus a vast majority of the targeted species, the Or take economics professor Paul political bias plays out not only in the surviving bugs gain enormous strength Krugman, darling of the New York Times form of snide remarks about Bush, but and resistance to the toxin. Then, they editorial page; we encourage the reader more importantly through limiting the do- breed until the problem is worse than to examine his equally damning student main of acceptable arguments and au- before the pesticide was used, and the reviews. thors. When immersed within the lit- plant dies because it has developed no A survey from the natural defenses against them. Chronicle of Higher Educa- The radical University is an in- tion reports that at private uni- tellectual pesticide. Tilghman’s protected versities, 57% of faculty iden- green-haired kid will, upon graduation, tify themselves as “far left” or be hip at setting Noam Chomsky to some “liberal,” but only 13% of fac- funky beats, but little else. The conser- ulty identify themselves as vative student, strengthened by the criti- “right” or “conservative.” Maxing out: President Tilghman gave the largest cal thought required to defend his phi- Our findings, over the sample legal contribution to candidate Bill Bradley. losophy against every leftist professor, of Princeton donors, are con- will quickly find a place in the elite – not sistent with this survey. Thus, if there erature of a course, there is indeed a because the elite wants conservatives is indeed a reason to suspect a political clash within course readings and even (quite the opposite) but because the elite slant in certain courses, it is reasonable between the professor and readings. wants critical thinkers. For proof of this to argue that it is almost certainly a lib- However, such debate can easily remain phenomenon, note the rise of conserva- eral leaning, particularly when given the left of center, thus appearing balanced tive American intellectuals after the sti- tradition of leftist professorial activism yet actually biased. fling academic environs of the sixties and at Princeton. There is no seventies. In seeking the Professors and Abortion left-wing con- How should Tilghman and other truth in any discipline, in- Type of PAC Donors Total spiracy among liberal intellectuals combat this growing tellectual honesty requires our professors. swarm of young conservative intellec- considering all reasonable Right-to-Abort 6 $4,250 Left-bias is not tuals? To quote (of all people) Noam arguments within the pur- Right-to-Life 1 $ 500 ubiquitous. But Chomsky, “Drain the swamp and there view of the subject. if we are indeed will be no more mosquitoes.” If However, despite Princeton’s ostensibly reaching for the highest level of intellec- Tilghman were to competently promote high standards for its faculty, tenured tual exploration, a strong and pervasive her leftist agenda, she would encourage professors are not accountable for be- political affiliation among professors is a little “conservative action” program to ing thorough or balanced. There are reason to be facially suspect of their mo- desiccate the conservative counter-cul- many routes by which a professor’s tives for choosing course readings and ture. Such a measure would have the political leaning can seep into course: lec- directing lectures. Faculty bias also robs added benefit of eliminating the tures, precepts, assigned books, and the student of real understanding – in administration’s hypocrisy on “intellec- course packets. While most professor’s Prof. George’s terms, the ability to see tual diversity.” In the meantime, the Tory encourage, if not outright require, en- both sides of the issue and engage the and all conservative students will con- gaging counter-arguments, strongest counter-argu- tinue to gain strength from their diffuse most are satisfied with pit- ments. adversaries – but please, don’t tell her ting center-left against ultra- We have argued that a that. left. Especially in courses balanced faculty is in the About the research project: that require students use interests of the student The statistics cited are from a comprehensive study conducted by specific readings from the body. Finally, we would The Princeton Tory in July 2003. Those interested in obtaining a copy of the report should email [email protected]. A donor qualifies for course packet, students also like to suggest that the report if he contributed the federally reportable minimum of $200 may not be able to make such a faculty is in the to any candidate or committee during any election cycle since 1997, listed Princeton University as his employer (or could now do so), and thoughtfully-articulated and Darlings of the left: Professor interests of the liberal ad- was listed in the University directory at time of survey. Committees were classified as Democrat or Republican based on the affiliated nuanced arguments which Cornel West, here with ministration as well. candidate or party supported. The study included unrestricted cam- with they are comfortable candidate Al Sharpton, Upon taking the Presi- paign committee contributions, or “soft money.” Note that since the passage of McCain-Feingold, these unrestricted contributions are elimi- or agree. maxed out for Bradley in ’99. dency, Tilghman de- nated, but the maximum contribution has been raised to $2,000. Copy- For example, to clared, “I would like to right 2003, The Princeton Tory Inc. All rights reserved.

SEPTEMBER 2003 THE PRINCETON TORY · 9 THE ISSUES 2003-04 COLLEGE SPORTS & EDUCATIONAL VALUES The Athletics Debate Reconsidered

tional values at stake. Still, the authors by Princeton University; both seem to Jennifer Carter ’03 throw enough sidelong glances in this be underprepared for Princeton and direction that we can make some sig- underperform at Princeton despite spe- Much more than blatant unfair- nificant observations. cial opportunities. ness, misused statistics, and 23 percent For example, central to the We must ask, then, why does of the academic year is at stake in the book’s argument are the conclusions that Bowen frown upon affirmative action for debate over the Ivy League Presidents’ athletes arrive at selective colleges less athletes in The Game of Life but not for June 2002 declaration of a mandatory academically prepared than their non- Blacks and Latinos in The Shape of the seven-week rest period (“moratorium”) athlete peers, and that they underperform River? The answer he offers in The for all varsity athletes. in college relative to their non-athlete Game of Life is unsatisfactory. Bowen The philosophy behind the new peers. insists that minority students bring policy comes from the findings of The If we accept these conclusions something extra that is of value to the Game of Life: College Sports and Edu- (and there are certainly good reasons not educational mission of universities but cational Values, co-authored by former to), let us consider this truly remarkable implies that athletes do not. Princeton president Will- passage from The Game of A better explanation comes from iam Bowen. Bowen and Life: “Look first at the Harvard Law professor Hal Scott: “In co-author James Shulman message sent to the ath- important respects, the attack on ath- are now President and Fi- lete. She or he may well letes is part of a culture war pitting con- nancial and Administrative be confused as to the true servative values against liberal values, Officer, respectively, of reason for the offer of ad- professional values against academic val- the Mellon Foundation, mission. Even if she had ues, competitive values against commu- which gave $15 million in an excellent academic grants to Ivy League record, she might rightly schools in 2001. conclude that she was ad- The book has mitted because she is an come under heavy criti- outstanding athlete. This cism from scholars and cheapens her academic social scientists, and I accomplishments and sug- would refer interested gests that her athletic readers to those critiques. Many are achievements in college will be more methodological in nature, challenging, highly regarded than anything she ac- for example, the authors’ unexplained as- complishes academically.” sumption that high school SAT scores Now substitute “Black” or and college GPAs are good predictors “Latina” for “athlete” in that paragraph, and quantifiers, respectively, of academic and you have one of the most frequently success in college. cited criticisms of affirmative action I wish to offer a different sort admissions policies for underrepresented of critique here, one that gets at the heart minorities. of the ideology underlying President Ironic? Yes. Coincidence? No. Bowen’s work and presents evidence In 1998, President Bowen, along with that there are more profound issues at former Harvard president Derek Bok, work here. The Game of Life largely published The Shape of the River: Long- ignores its subtitle, drawing plenty of Term Consequences of Considering Race quantitative conclusions about college in College and University Admissions. Playing games with our lives: A sports but declining to confront head- And the parallel is unmistakable: both ath- contradiction in Bowen’s philosophies on on the qualitative merits of the educa- letes and minorities are actively recruited minorities and athletes.

10 · THE PRINCETON TORY SEPTEMBER 2003 ATHLETICS nal values, the blue collar against the lihood to work full-time during their ing and says much about how the Ivy privileged and so on. This battle has been childbearing years. Presidents view their role, it contradicts waged around athletics for a long time.” The clash of values here is, as more than thirty years of Princeton his- Affirmative action for minori- Professor Scott noted, profound. It is tory. Before William Bowen’s presidency, ties has long been a liberal value, while not so simple as liberal presidents pitted Princeton saw its role as educating men conservatives are committed to judging against conservative student-athletes; of character, not just men of intellect. not “by the color of their skin but by the rather, it gets at the heart of what an Ivy Since the radical Bowen years, the Uni- content of their character.” Academics League education is supposed to mean. versity has abandoned in loco parentis, like Bowen deny any intrinsic value of The liberal academy is in crisis. and with it the (now conservative) no- collegiate athletics, but a business school It is caught between past and present, tion that a liberal-arts education should admissions officer quoted in his book between the liberal-arts project of total cultivate the mind, the body, and the education and spirit. the postmodern Today’s Princeton is a place The attack on athletes is part dearth of moral where the University closely governs stu- values. dents’ academic life but gives them free Princeton Uni- rein in every other aspect of their cam- of the “culture war” on versity finds it- pus existence. Ivy League athletics is al- self clinging to ready highly restricted, but the morato- conservative values. the liberal arts, rium policy is unprecedented: not in thirty resisting the years has the administration legislated its “always liked athletes” because they trend toward becoming a professional values so directly into the day-to-day af- were “confident, team-oriented, and had or trade school, but it is hard to see what fairs of student life. the interpersonal skills to do well in a is so special about the liberal arts tradi- President Tilghman, you have corporate environment.” Bowen distin- tion when its traditional moral compo- brought us to a crucial juncture and it is guishes between knowledge for its own nent is removed. time to take a stand regarding the proper sake (the usual liberal arts aspiration) and Student-athletes have been role of the academy. If you wish to uni- education for leadership (“Princeton in made the scapegoats for what is a much laterally decree what Princeton’s values the nation’s service”). And the moral larger problem in which all members of are to be, please do so and let those who relativism so prominent in the modern the University community have a stake. disagree flee to Stanford and Duke. If academy is at constant odds with the Indeed, the debate athletic community’s measures of win- over athletics and the ning and losing, success and failure. debate over anti-in- Given a coherent curriculum, The prominence of liberal po- tellectualism go hand litical values among the Ivy Presidents in hand, and we students would less likely is self-evident, but the following finding would do well to re- in The Game of Life comes as more of call the words of shun the lecture halls. a surprise. The authors note that both former University of men and women athletes are more po- Chicago president Robert Maynard you wish students to share the same set litically conservative than non-athlete Hutchins: “If the curriculum were ratio- of values, please choose a new Dean of peers from similar backgrounds, and nal and intelligible, the students might not Admissions who will handpick a new their relative conservatism is increasing run from it in such large numbers to generation of homogeneous, unquestion- over time. devote themselves to extracurricular ing Princetonians. If, on the other hand, The authors also note that ath- activities.” Princeton students clearly you are committed to the liberal arts tra- letes’ values differ in one more signifi- find something of more value, more ap- dition, please do not hesitate to hire fac- cant way: male athletes are much more plicable to the challenges of the real game ulty who would not keep silent about likely to believe that it is very important of life, in athletics. moral values. If you believe in the diver- to “be very well off financially.” Female President Tilghman’s responses sity that you preach, please give the stu- athletes, however, are less likely than to criticisms of the moratorium policy dents of Princeton University the free- non-athlete women to value financial have utterly failed to address the ques- dom to define and pursue their own val- success. This observation leads to the tion of educational values. ues and play their own version of the book’s most puzzling paradox. Conser- Instead, she defers to The Game game of life. vative male athletes who see college as of Life’s academic-underperformance “a means to an end” are criticized for theory while asserting her own hypoth- Jennifer Carter ’03 is a their “concomitant ambition to maximize esis that athletics differs from other time- Spanish and Italian major their earnings potential.” Conservative consuming extracurricular pursuits in its from Tracy, California. female athletes who do not share this aspect of psychological coercion. She enters Harvard Law drive are singled out for their lesser like- While this paternalism is touch- School this fall.

SEPTEMBER 2003 THE PRINCETON TORY · 11 THE ISSUES 2003-04 GANKED! How Administrative Racial Preferences Promote Segregation and Negate Diversity Derek Bok is one of the least regenerate Board. First, “the blacker, the better” John Andrews ’05 liberals in academia. Along with does not recognize the Western canon – Princeton counterpart Bowen, he is the the Dead White Males – as “diverse.” The online edition of Black En- co-author of The Shape of the River, Rather, “diversity” is skin deep, and only terprise magazine features, as does the the famous apologia for racial prefer- certain groups on campus are “diverse.” print version, a “spotlight” on “The Top ences in admissions. His advocacy of The Prince quoted Brittani Kirkpatrick, 50 Colleges and Universities for African- “diversity” has, post-Bakke, supplanted president of the Black Student Union Americans.” Prominently displayed “past discrimination” as the academic (BSU) in response to the Top 50: there, one finds a cartoon of a college justification for racial preferences in ad- “Princeton brings diverse students here campus, with students walking to the mission. Although I harbor serious res- but doesn’t really make them part of the library, to the gymnasium, and so forth. ervations as to the existence of a com- campus.” Contrapositive: if you’re part One notices that on this cartoon cam- pelling governmental interest in this “di- of the campus, you’re not diverse! What pus, every single cartoon kid is black. versity,” I would like to make a socio- Kirkpatrick really means is that blacks There are no Asians, Native Americans, logical argument, using him and own a monopoly on the buzzword “di- Hispanics, or Caucasians. Everyone is Tilghman, who signed an amicus brief verse.” Conversely, whites lack “diver- exactly the same color. That vision is endorsing Michigan’s 20-point system, sity” and fail Black Enterprise’s – though an artist’s rendering of the best college as examples of the prevailing liberal ide- not Derek Bok’s – value test. for an African-American. ology at elite Universities. I hope to Second, because this segrega- If you read the list itself, this show that the self-segregationist phe- tion is University-sponsored and not gov- vision becomes clearer. The very Best nomenon violates Bok-Tilghman’s ernmental, students don’t realize that College for African-Americans is theory of diversity and finally that both they’re missing out much as pre-Brown Morehouse College in Atlanta. This and the segregationist mentality and Bok- schoolchildren. Black Enterprise stan- other historically black schools take the Tilghmanism are bunk. dards actually encourage segregation de top several spots. Then, Florida A&M jure: Stanford University, which placed takes sixth – and Stanford seventh. Segregation de jure seventh, segregates students by ethnicity Princeton does not appear on the list. according to the house system. I spoke Without a doubt, Princeton Uni- Even unregenerate Bok would with Niraj Bhatt ‘03, a Minority Affairs versity provides a better education than disagree with “the blacker, the better,” Advisor (MAA), about this practice over Morehouse College. But according to since an all-black dinner in his Butler Col- Black Enterprise, the Best College for college would be as lege. He deplored the African-Americans is determined by four racially diverse as “balkanization pro- factors, subjective “environmental fac- an all-white one. moted by Stanford in tors,” none of which directly relate to Rather, Bok ar- establishing these education. The final factor was simply gues, the various color-coded dormito- the “percentage of African-American un- races benefit sim- ries.” A black col- dergraduate students.” The more black ply from coexist- league of mine at The students, the higher the fourth factor’s ence. Black En- Cornell Review, an rating. terprise would have excellent campus con- So much for Brown v. Board. “The blacker, the better.” This us believe that the servative newspaper, criterion is clearly the reason that African descen- was forced, despite his Morehouse College, Hampton University, dants are better off without the Euro- protests, into the Ujamaa house, Cornell’s and Spelman College are ranked at the pean – but is Europe’s legacy so bank- all-black dormitory. Cornell also placed very top; it is hard to imagine these rupt that blacks can gain nothing from in Black Enterprise’s Top 50. schools beating Stanford by any other it? And is Africa’s legacy so rich that means. To extend this argument to its African-Americans need to draw only Segregation de facto logical conclusion, an all-black college from it? is the best possible college for blacks. What Black Enterprise is ad- Bhatt was hanging out with Whatever happened to Brown v. Board vocating through its formula is segre- friends when he received a University- of Education? gation. But it is a form of segregation wide email from housing director Adam Harvard’s President Emeritus more subversive than that of Brown v. Rockman concerning next year’s inde-

12 · THE PRINCETON TORY SEPTEMBER 2003 RACE pendent applicants for housing in In Black Enterprise’s segregated insti- missions standards exert a surprising Spelman. “It jumped out at me, that there tutions, even the most liberal academ- amount of influence on how were so many draw groups comprised ics’ ideals of educational diversity have Princetonians choose to associate, or not of a single ethnicity,” he explained. gone by the wayside. Color, not diver- to associate, with one another. “Have we achieved, de facto, the segre- sity, has become the goal of social engi- Bhatt agrees that there are trou- gation institutionalized at universities like neering at these schools. bling connections between race-con- Stanford?” It means little to say that scious admissions and self-segregation. Bhatt’s frustration with self- Princeton is better than these “Top 50” “I can see how holding different groups segregation led him to post a statement schools at promoting an instrumentally of people to different standards might on the popular file sharing sever “gank,” diverse student body. Princeton stu- make it more difficult for those two the server which Niraj owns. Niraj’s dents have simply replaced institutions groups to identify with one another,” he major is Electrical Engineering, and like Stanford’s all-Asian Okata House or said. “Gank” is a hobby of his. “aZn self- Cornell’s all-black Ujamaa House with It is clear that racial binaries, segregation? Spelman internment camp? institutions of their own. Spelman draw emphasized by administrative prefer- Why do we bother with diversity?” the is not the only prominent example: this ences, restructure social interaction to site asked. Each of these phrases linked past Bicker, the leaderships of the Black form proxy groups with less common- to relevant articles from various view- and Hispanic student unions decided to ality of interests and experiences. This points on diversity – concentrate their mem- problem is absent from other preferred including one by bership into Campus groups like legacy and athletes. Were it Derek Bok on the last club. There are race- not for race-based distinctions in recruit- of these questions. He based summer pro- ment, admissions, summer pre-orienta- also posted a list of the grams, and then there tion programs, orientation, and heavily all-Asian groups in the are the race- and advertised student organizations, would Spelman draw. ethnicity-based student minority students still form a tightly-knit The next groups themselves. social group, even though each might morning at eight, Ed- This segregation is in- share more in common with students of ward Champlin, the consistent with the lib- other races? Master of Butler Col- eral philosophy on By eliminating the University’s lege, telephoned Bhatt. A humble server spawns outrage. race. If students of official racial distinctions, particularly in He required Bhatt to one race are separated the admissions standards practiced and attend an impromptu gathering of the from those of another, none of Bok’s otherwise endorsed by the Tilghman ad- college staff. Bhatt was told to speak to hypothesized learning could possibly oc- ministration, Princeton would move a meeting of the outraged Asian-Ameri- cur. Herein lies the problem: Bok and away from the Stanford model, where can Students’ Association (ASA) that Tilghman’s admissions philosophy rein- the student body is racially “diverse” by night and was assigned a counselor at forces this segregation and prevents the percentages but segregated in actuality, McCosh Health Center – for “sessions alleged rewards of diversity from being towards a more interactive, and thus on sensitivity,” according to an email to conferred upon the student body. more diverse by Bok’s standards, learn- from Champlin (or “Mas- Tilghman, both for Princeton ing environment. ter Ted,” as he is fondly known). and for the now-unconstitutional admis- Thus, even if Derek Bok is right Compared to the diversity po- sions policy at the University of Michi- and strictly racial diversity does enhance lice at other universities, Butler College gan, staked Princeton’s reputation on the learning, then President Tilghman should responded reasonably. Master Ted made notion that race-based demarcation of oppose race-based admissions in order it clear that since Bhatt was an MAA, students will promote their interaction to decrease self-segregation and permit the issue was not of free speech and the with members of other races. Sadly, a higher-level interaction of students of substance of Bhatt’s message, but of ob- her means are incompatible with her different ethnicities. ligations as an advisor and the words and ends, and this premise can only lead to Of course, if Derek Bok is names included in the Gank posting. failure. wrong, Tilghman should still oppose Having issued several apologies, Bhatt At institutions like Princeton, race-based admissions, because racial will finish his senior year as MAA. Col- where race is a deciding factor in ad- considerations become obsolete; it would lege officials were quick to emphasize mission, it makes perfect sense to as- no longer matter if we’re as white as the frank discussions on self-segrega- sume that members of certain minority or as black as tion that the incident has promoted. groups are admitted under laxer stan- Morehouse College. dards than nonmembers. To define one’s Where do admissions come in? interaction with these groups based on John Andrews ’05 is an this assumption is not racist – it is a ra- ORF major from Oliver Compare Butler College’s atti- tional practice perpetuated by racist and Springs, Tennessee. tude toward diversity with that of unfortunate admissions standards. This summer, he worked Stanford, Cornell, or Morehouse – in- Thus, by defining one’s initial assump- at the Center for stitutions on Black Enterprise’s Top 50. tions about people one meets, dual ad- Security Policy.

SEPTEMBER 2003 THE PRINCETON TORY · 13 THE ISSUES 2003-04 THE CHRISTIAN RIGHT Mixing Politics and Religion

ing the “joys and toys of gay sex,” an rectness. And the Office of Religious event at which Dean of Undergraduate Life, a presumed safehaven for religious Brad Simmons ’03 Students Kathleen Deignan spoke, illu- expression, has in practice managed to minates the University’s de facto stance ignore the last two words of its official According to a 2001 survey by on issues of concern to the student reli- title, emphasizing instead the importance the Graduate Center of the City Univer- gious community. of “spirituality.” It selectively provides sity of New York, 76.5% of Americans The list of sucker punches con- financial support to student groups, even identify themselves as Christian. Recent tinues. Residential advisors are encour- helping to sponsor one campus publica- election results suggest that, by a 6-point aged to make condoms available to stu- tion whose professed purpose is the margin, voters preferred Republican can- dents at all times of the day, prompting spread of secularism. didates for Congress. some concerned RAs to engage in non- Recall that these examples only Christians and Republicans distributive protest. McCosh Health Cen- relate to the role played by the adminis- abound – in the nation, that is. But pur- ter brochures warn pregnant students to tration in furthering hostility toward re- veyors of conventional wisdom at stay away from manipulative “pro-life” ligion; left out are the abundance of dis- Princeton have defied national trends pregnancy counseling centers. Passages paraging off-hand remarks by students and, as it happens, the laws of language, read at University-run religious services, and faculty about religious zealotry, so transforming “Christian Right” into a including the recent one on September frequent that even students of faith tend four-letter word. 11, habitually alter gender pronouns and to shrug them off. As Jenn Carter explained in the other portions of established hymns and All of this begs the question: October Tory, the University, despite its biblical texts to ensure their political cor- what exactly is so horrifying to deeply rooted religious traditions and even Princeton administrators about a believer a motto emphasizing scholarship “under in Christ promoting conservative ideals? God,” generally frowns on religious ac- Underpinning this hostility to Christian tivity. Or, more precisely, administra- conservatives, I submit, are three things: tors might accept that religious expres- reluctance to accept Christianity itself, sion is a permanent aspect of campus reluctance to accept conservative ideas life, but almost explicitly insist that those and – most critically – a deep aversion expressions adapt to modern social to combining religion and politics. trends else they risk illegitimacy. This Set aside the first two. There’s is threatening to someone who has been nothing wrong with a reluctance to ac- brought up as a devout Christian, and I cept ideas or beliefs. The last point, can understand why. though, deserves more attention. A religious student looks around Like any religion, an essential te- campus and sees that the University has net of Christianity concerns the proper clearly taken sides on vital Christian (and way to live one’s life and prioritize things many other faiths’) issues. The very in the world. Given this, it would make existence of “Lesbian Gay Bisexual little sense for a Christian person to ap- Transgendered Student Services,” with proach politics, in which a crucial task its own hired voice in the administration is assigning value to various propositions and a wealth of institutional support and about the quality and sanctity of life, encouragement, suggests as much. The “Whoever is an avowed enemy of God, without consulting her religious prin- director of this group is payed by an I scruple not to call him an enemy of ciples. As evidence, take any faith less endowment from the Office of Religious his country.” Witherspoon, considered overwrought with political overtones Life. Using the organization’s funds – a liberal in his day, embodied the than Christianity – Buddhism, let’s say stemming partly from tuition payments combination of ministry and – and ask its followers about a pressing – to place a full-page advertisement in statesmanship that was 18th-century political issue. The specifics of the is- the Prince heralding a lecture concern- Princeton. sue probably won’t matter all that much:

14 · THE PRINCETON TORY SEPTEMBER 2003 FAITH ON CAMPUS whether abortion or welfare reform, the of the argument presented here, and pro- Put aside the references to “your approach to life garnered from Bud- ceed with business as usual. It should morality” and “my morality” that pervade dhists’ religious convictions will invari- not be lost on these readers how dra- much of the hostility to religion at ably play a crucial role in their responses. matically acceptance of this argument Princeton, as it would be a great disser- Even an unwillingness to pass moral would change the nature of political dis- vice to secularism to equate it with that judgment on others course on cam- brand of moral relativism. Focus instead – the response that pus. on the obvious mockery and condescen- would engender the Significantly, sion emanating from the construction most praise from a it would be an ad- “just…because you’re Christian.” It’s typical Princeton mission that the eerily similar to that other oft-heard dis- student – would it- administration is claimer that students offer on behalf of self be influenced not, as a practical conservative friends: “Oh, I know she’s by religious dogma. matter, neutral conservative, but that’s only because Analo- toward religious she’s Christian.” (To which, presum- gously, atheists and nonreligious ably, the other discussant nods with la- probably view hot- groups when it ment for the brainwashed, backwards button issues like comes to divisive religious conservative.) vouchers and political issues. If those who instinctively lapse school prayer, To favor those into this sort of rhetoric accept my ar- among many oth- groups who (not gument, then they understand a few ers, from an angle so subtly) flaunt points. To begin with, the irony sur- that can be traced in their dissociation rounding the “just…because you’re part to their rejec- from religion is to Christian” claim is that it is not wholly tion of God. And, ignore that every false; as I’ve argued, religious perspec- counterintuitively, approach – reli- tives do inform political views in a very those declaring neu- gious, nonreli- substantive way. That being the case, trality toward reli- gious, anti-reli- however, it would be wrong to conclude gion – secularists – gious – has al- from this that Christian doctrine neces- have already taken ready made criti- sitates a specific political alliance. If you an important stance Secularism successfully misrepresents cal faith-related don’t trust me, ask Cornel West or Al through their desire itself as neutral ground on religion. assumptions that Gore. not to take one. bias them. This Princeton students’ manner of To see why, think of a person means that taking sides is inevitable, attributing conservatism to Christianity, during wartime claiming neutrality by nei- whether the administration likes to ad- then, is a half-truth of the worst kind. ther taking up arms nor joining with paci- mit it or not. Not only is the crux of the claim easily fist protestors. As a theoretical matter, The nature of campus discus- disproven by pointing to secular conser- he’s neutral; as a practical matter, of sions is also implicated by this argument. vatives and Christian liberals, but its only course, he’s plainly not fighting. Inac- Take the November 19th Prince column smidgen of accuracy – that views on tion is often as ideological as action it- by Robin Williams ’04, a classic example religion play a necessary role in all po- self, just as refusal to take sides on reli- of artificially divorcing religion from litical orientations, conservatism being no gious issues is every bit as dogmatic – moral and political issues. In an effort exception – is saturated with condescen- and consequential – as preferential treat- to defend homosexuality and dismiss its sion toward the “religious right.” ment for or against it. religious critics, Williams invokes ACLU It’s not clear how to relieve the This is a long way of pointing 1:1: “As for God and religious concerns, burgeoning tension between religious and out a reality that is obvious to all, but is we all know about the separation of nonreligious elements on campus. But, acknowledged by few: when formulat- church and state.” The good news for surely, these half-truths and unproduc- ing policy, which inevitably requires religious folks is that the “separation” tive labels are non-starters, as are ad- moral assessments, one’s attitude toward applies to specific government policies; ministrative policies whose ideological religion is germane. This isn’t meant to it was never meant to stamp out all moral thrust is not altogether different. With suggest that religious grounding, or lack thought that had religious foundations. all due respect, Ms. Bazarsky, Dean of it, is the only way to arrive at certain Or consider exchanges students Deignan and – yes – President Tilghman: ethical precepts. Rather, it is to say that, have with religious conservatives. Typi- please take notice. secular or religious, atheistic or theistic, cally, they end on a note closely resem- Brad Simmons ’03 is a the influence of religion on politics is un- bling this: “You’re just arguing that be- Politics major from San avoidable. Faith matters. cause you’re Christian. Not everyone Jose, California. This fall, Sadly, those who regularly ridi- shares your sense of morality, so avoid he becomes an investment cule any hint of a mix between religion basing your opinions on religious con- banking analyst at and politics will probably concede much victions.” Goldman Sachs.

SEPTEMBER 2003 THE PRINCETON TORY · 15 THE ISSUES 2003-04

“LIVE FEMALE ENTERTAINMENT” OWL’s Identity Crisis Entertains Princetonians

pecially to the men who Ippolito chides women because it equates female for their chauvinist lexical bias. sexuality with male entertainment. Last Daniel Mark ’03 Moving beyond the semantics, I checked, that’s exactly what Hoot- Ippolito surprises readers by informing ers is about, and therefore by reclaim- Let’s try for a moment to un- them that the feminists’ self-described ing the Hooters symbol, OWL is rely- pack what occurred on the “Editorials “Hooters campaign” was not based on ing precisely on the shock value it pur- and Opinions” page of the Prince on shock value. Instead, she argues, OWL ports to abhor. To be sure, there is March 8. The gem was Nancy is “reclaiming the ‘Hooters’ symbol.” some redeeming value to the Hooters Ippolito’s guest column that criticized Now, to me it remains a mystery why symbol when it is used for a pro-women the now-famous “Man Show” ad that in the world they would want anything campaign. However, the Maxim cover mimicked a Maxim to do with Hooters – was not being used in its originally in- cover. Ippolito, a symbol of objectifi- tended manner, either; it was used to president of OWL cation – or at what advertise an all-male show. In its rush (Organization of point they possessed to condemn manhood, OWL missed the Women Leaders) this symbol such that joke. and self-proclaimed they are currently re- And that’s just the beginning feminist, opens by la- claiming it. menting that the Somehow, words “sexy, power- Ippolito manages to ful, and strong” are distinguish the Hoot- “typically masculine ers campaign from adjectives.” the Man Show ad. Most read- Apparently, unlike the ers probably got lost Hooters campaign, right there, since the Man Show ad “sexy” seems quite plays precisely to the the feminine trait, es- objectification of

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16 · THE PRINCETON TORY SEPTEMBER 2003 FEMINISM of the hypocrisy. At the same time near-intimidating image from Maxim is that OWL must accept that men are Ippolito wrote her column, the campus only a symbol of objectification if capable of seeing women as sexy with- was covered with flyers that read “Live Ippolito chooses to see it that way. If out seeing them as sex objects. Female Entertainment” which had a women, as Ippolito declares, should I’ll close by letting the Man border that depicted drawn curtains and “feel empowered, to own their femi- Show-haters in on a little secret: Men a lit stage – for an event sponsored by nism and own their bodies,” then what are attracted to women. In light of that none other than OWL. The irony is piece of informa- almost unbearable. Ippolito actually at- tion, OWL would do tacks the Man Show ad for “bring[ing] well to consider the to mind seedy images of men ogling ramifications of women in strip clubs,” while her own their reclamation ads do the same thing even more ex- schemes. As a plicitly. matter of biology, You may need to reread those men are aroused by last two sentences. I’ll summarize: In images of sexy the same week that OWL criticized a women. The sug- Man Show ad for displaying a woman gestion that women in a bikini, they advertised their show should use their with flyers that focused on the image sexuality as a of a strip club. (I won’t even go into means of empow- the other flyer for an all-female per- erment encourages formance that read “Ladies Night” over the notion that a an illustration of three alluringly clad woman’s sexuality women.) is her defining char- I’d like to turn to a more subtle is to stop this particular model from acteristic. Perhaps if women leaders irony, now, that was evidently lost on pursuing empowerment through sexu- focused on non-sexual roads to em- Ippolito and her cohorts as well. ality? powerment, they would perceived less OWL’s “What is a feminist?” cam- The obvious answer to all of objectification by men. But as long as paign, according to Ippolito, asks if a this is the insidious double standard that women don “revealing bathing suits” person can be a feminist and, among has infected some wings of the femi- to embrace their sexuality, men will al- other things, a model. The implication, nist movement and other assorted lib- ways notice. of course, is that anyone can be a femi- erals. Women have every right to por- nist because sexiness need not be linked tray their own sexuality as “sexy” if Daniel Mark ’03 is to objectification. Why, then, are they choose, but as long as that sexu- a Politics major OWL’s feathers ruffled over the sexy ality is on display, it is hypocritical to from Englewood, and powerful pose on the Maxim demand that men refrain from relating New Jersey. He cover? to those images in the same way. That hopes to become a Ippolito wants “revealing bath- is not to say that men ever have any high school teacher ing suits” to “empower” a woman. The right to objectify women, but it is to say in New Yory City. The Joys and Toys of Conservative Thought princetontory.com

SEPTEMBER 2003 THE PRINCETON TORY · 17 FRESHMAN ISSUE 2003

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