By April C. Armstrong *14
In this week’s installment of our recurring series, alumni reflect on their experience integrating Princeton, student writers receive praise, and more.
November 17, 1969—Robert F. Engs ’65 and John B. Williams ’66 write in The Nation about being part of Princeton’s first decade of integration.
A few who felt the infringement upon their style and personalities most strongly, made an entirely honest decision—they left. Others of us managed to so deceive ourselves as to think that our goals and values really were the same as those of the white students and professors. The overwhelming evidence to the contrary was carefully and painfully ignored. The majority of us made compromises between the two courses. None of the compromises were entirely satisfactory, and all were at least partially dishonest.
November 18, 1943—Cross-country runner Gil Totten ’46 aids police in apprehending a suspect believed to be responsible for a months-long rash of thefts of typewriters, cameras, and other items from civilian dormitories at Princeton University. After the suspect’s escape through an open window, Totten gives chase on foot and catches him on Witherspoon Street.
November 20, 1891—The New York Herald reports that Princeton students are reselling tickets to the Princeton-Yale Thanksgiving game for $10 each (about $350 in 2025 currency).
November 23, 1859—A local writer cites some recent prose in the Nassau Literary Magazine for examples of students’ poor skills (what the local calls “un-English”), but overall praises the publication: “Many passages we should like to quote, as specimens of not merely good English, but writing of a high order.”
Did you read the previous installment in this series?
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