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Debating Race at Princeton in the 1940s, Part I: Francis L. Broderick ’43
This is the first post in a two-part series examining Princeton University’s debates over admitting African Americans in the 1940s, which began in earnest partly due to the dedication of one undergraduate in the Class of 1943, Francis Lyons “Frank” Broderick. By April C. Armstrong *14 and Dan Linke At first glance, Francis Lyons “Frank”…
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Faculty Wives and the Push for Coeducation at Princeton University
Coeducation brought female students to Princeton, but it didn’t bring the first women. There have always been women connected with the institution. Nonetheless, coeducation did change the lives of the women who were already here. Esther Edwards Burr, Sarah Pierpont Edwards, and Isabella McCosh, wives of three Princeton presidents from earlier centuries, have all received…
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Whatever Happened to “The Vigil”?
By Iliyah Coles ’22 I have been looking for information about The Vigil, a minority newspaper that the University published in the late twentieth century. As a black student at a predominantly-white institution, I wanted to see what the newspaper would be about and how effectively it incorporated voices not usually heard. After researching and…
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Princeton’s Bulletin Elm
By Zachary Bampton ’20 with April C. Armstrong *14 On September 29, 1882, one writer for the Princetonian (then published every other week rather than daily) remarked that the Bulletin Elm was “fast filling out its days” and would soon be “a thing of the past”. Almost 140 years later, few remember the role the…
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Suicide, Princeton University, and Emotional Labor in Public Services
Though it may not be obvious to most of the people who use our library, work in special collections often includes playing a role in someone’s grieving process. Archivists have begun talking about the ways in which interacting with donors puts them in the position of providing comfort to the bereaved, but this is also…
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Princeton’s Summer Trips Across North America
Although traveling significant distances is routine for many Princetonians these days, traversing North America was not always as easy as it is now. Our records reveal a variety of both academic and pleasure trips over the years that have used horses, trains, cars, and bicycles to reach their destinations. Most of the lengthy North American…
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“Studying Is Fine, but Living Has Been Another Problem”: Mary Procter *71 and Coeducation at Princeton
Earlier this year, I began telling the story of the female graduate students who paved the way for undergraduate coeducation at Princeton University starting in 1961. This blog continues that story with a focus on Mary Procter *71 (often misspelled as Mary Proctor *71) and her unusually influential role while a Princeton graduate student. Procter…
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An American University: An Audio Portrait of Princeton in 1946
By: Abbie Minard ’20 Abbie Minard ’20 is a history concentrator with a primary interest in early American history. On campus, she is a research associate at the Papers of Thomas Jefferson, music director and a DJ at WPRB, artistic director of the TapCats (tap dancing group), and a member of the Princeton Laptop Orchestra.…
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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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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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