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The Church at Princeton, Part I: Najib Nicholas Khuri ’82
In the spring of 1982, Najib Nicholas Khuri—then a senior in the Slavic Studies department—decided to skip his final exams and consequently failed to graduate from Princeton. Khuri wasn’t alone. Eight other students followed suit, either failing to show up to their final exams or filing formal withdrawals.
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“He Decided to Conquer the Place that Had Conquered Him”: Peter Putnam ’42 *50’s Princeton, Part II
In Part I of this two-part series, I told the story of how Peter Putnam ’42 *50 lost his sight in a suicide attempt and fought for the right to return to Princeton University and finish his degree. In this second installment, I detail the life Putnam lived as a student, an employee, and an…
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“A Fairyland and Hell to Me for Years”: Peter Putnam ’42 *50’s Princeton, Part I
This is the first in a two-part series on the life of Peter Putnam ‘42 *50 in Princeton, before and after he lost his sight. This first installment focuses on the events leading up to the incident in which he was blinded and his fight to return to Princeton University afterward. Peter Putnam entered Princeton…
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A Look Into Asian American Writing at Princeton and Its Focus on Interracial Dating: Racial Preferences of Campus Couples in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s (Part 2)
By Christina Cho ’24 This is a continuation of a two-part series that broadly explores how discussions of “Asian American” identity and interracial dating overlap in student publications found in the University Archives. In Part 1, I examined a magazine called The Seedling and attempted to contextualize its underlying motive and somewhat ambiguous language. Here,…
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A Look Into Asian American Writing at Princeton and Its Focus on Interracial Dating: The Seedling (Part I)
By Christina Cho ’24 This is a two-part series that broadly explores how discussions of “Asian American” identity and interracial dating overlap in student publications found in the University Archives. In Part 1, I examine a magazine called The Seedling and attempt to contextualize its underlying motive and somewhat ambiguous language. Finding The Seedling After…
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Secret Societies at Princeton in the 19th Century
by Iliyah Coles ’22 A couple of decades after The College of New Jersey (which became Princeton University in 1896) was first established, there were only two known social clubs in existence at the school. These were “the well-meaning club” and “the plain-dealing club,” which eventually evolved into the Whig and Cliosophic societies that we…
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A Brief History of Latinx Students at Princeton, 1880s-1990s
Although we are always continuously learning and expect to have more to say on this topic in the future, in honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month we are presenting this brief history of Latinx students at Princeton University prior to this century. It’s never clear who the “first” person of a given demographic might be,…
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West Meets East: Japanese Themes in Princeton’s Graphic Arts of the Late 19th Century
If you spend as much time immersed in the University Archives as I do, at times you will see intriguing patterns emerge. I have seen repeated examples of an unusual theme in the graphic arts associated with the College of New Jersey (as Princeton University was named until 1896) in the late 19th century and…
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10 Movies Filmed on Princeton University’s Campus
By Iliyah Coles ’22 Princeton is known for is its aesthetically-pleasing architecture. To some producers, the campus environment makes it an ideal location for shooting a movie. Here is a list of 10 movies that were filmed on Princeton’s campus. Varsity (1929) One of Paramount’s first dialogue films (a “talkie”), Varsity was directed by Frank…
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How Bicycles Changed Princeton, 1860s-1910s
Bicycles are seemingly ubiquitous at and around Princeton University in our time. The ever-present sight of bicycles parked near campus buildings or cyclists making their way across campus or along the D & R Canal raises no eyebrows; their absence, as with the absence of other forms of traffic, was one of the most noteworthy…
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