-
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…
-
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…
-
“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…
-
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.…
-
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…
-
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…
-
A Campus Divided: The Iraq Wars and Princeton University
This post is part of a series on education and war related to our current exhibition, “Learning to Fight, Fighting to Learn: Education in Times of War,” on display through June 2018. Please stop by to learn more. We will be hosting a panel discussion on February 28, 2018 at 1:00PM featuring Robert Rivers ’53, Bob Durkee ’69,…
-
Training for Love and Family: Princeton University’s Marriage Course
In 1927, Ernest R. Groves developed a groundbreaking new course at the University of North Carolina focused on comprehensive preparation for marriage and family life. By the mid-1930s, scattered colleges throughout the United States were offering similar classes to undergraduates, but Princeton joined the group a bit late. The first serious discussions of the possibility…
-
Princeton University and the Spanish American War
This post is part of a series on education and war related to our current exhibition, “Learning to Fight, Fighting to Learn: Education in Times of War,” on display through June 2018. Please stop by to learn more. When the United States intervened on behalf of Cuba in 1898, the naval ship USS Maine sank in Havana Harbor.…
-
Solitary Internment: Kentaro Ikeda ’44
This post is part of a series on education and war related to our current exhibition, “Learning to Fight, Fighting to Learn: Education in Times of War,” on display through June 2018. Please stop by to learn more. On February 19, 1942, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which authorized the Secretary of War…
This blog includes text and images drawn from historical sources that may contain material that is offensive or harmful. We strive to accurately represent the past while being sensitive to the needs and concerns of our audience. If you have any feedback to share on this topic, please either comment on a relevant post, or use our Ask Us form to contact us.