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This Week in Princeton History for April 30-May 6
In this week’s installment of our ongoing series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, the College of New Jersey takes a step toward becoming a university, a woman is named Dean of the College for the first time, and more. May 1, 1989—The economics department is polling students…
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This Week in Princeton History for April 23-29
In this week’s installment of our ongoing series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, opponents and supporters of Richard Nixon clash, an undergraduate riot shocks the nation, and more. April 24, 1974—Students from the Attica Brigade in favor of Richard Nixon’s impeachment burn him in effigy in front…
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Comic Books, Censorship, and Moral Panic
By Zachary Bampton ’20 Previously on this blog we covered the educational and political aspirations of comic books in American popular culture. Keen interest in comics as teaching tools–or as propaganda–reflected a public awareness of the power of the medium. However, Americans did not always receive comics well. In the 1950s, creative expression came into…
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This Week in Princeton History for April 16-22
In this week’s installment of our ongoing series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, a young professor dies of AIDS, the Princetonian begins publishing every other day, and more. April 16, 1995—Assistant professor of English Walter C. Hughes, age 34, dies of AIDS.
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A Message from Valencia L. Johnson, Project Archivist for Student Life
By Valencia L. Johnson Hello everyone! My name is Valencia L. Johnson and I am excited to venture into a new role at Princeton University Library’s Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library, home of the University Archives and the Public Policy Papers. I have been a part of the Mudd team since June 2017 starting off…
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This Week in Princeton History for April 9-15
In this week’s installment of our ongoing series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, a group of undergraduate activists derail a segregationist group on campus, the Nassau Literary Review protests police abuse of firearms, and more. April 9, 1964—Activists in favor of integration carry out a coup in the…
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Acción Puertorriqueña and Divisions among Puerto Ricans at Princeton
By Mario Garcia ’18 Founded in 1972, Acción Puertorriqueña—later known as Acción Puertorriqueña y Amigos—was a student group initially consisting of Puerto Rican undergraduates and later allies who sought to create spaces for Puerto Rican cultures on Princeton’s campus through cultural events and student-led activism. Such celebratory events included the beginnings of Latino Graduation in…
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This Week in Princeton History for April 2-8
In this week’s installment of our ongoing series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, the Judicial Committee makes its first disciplinary decisions, the campus debates housing policies for same sex couples, and more. April 2, 1917—Senator Henry Cabot Lodge attacks Alexander Bannwart, Class of 1906, in the only…
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World War II “Trainwomen” of the Long Island Railroad
In 1942, The Long Island Railroad (LIRR) took the unprecedented step of hiring women as engine cleaners. World War II’s labor shortages had opened new doors for women, especially in the transportation industry. The engine cleaners performed well, so the LIRR hired many more women for positions previously held only by men, dubbing them “trainwomen.”…
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This Week in Princeton History for March 26-April 1
In this week’s installment of our ongoing series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, the debate team takes up women’s suffrage, a letter defends Russell Crowe’s behavior on campus, and more. March 26, 1957—Thanks to a local law prohibiting coin-operated games not requiring skill, the last of Princeton’s…
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