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Articles by Raphaela Gold
Choose community, not consumerism
The following is a guest contribution and reflects the author’s views alone. For information on how to submit a piece to the Opinion section, click here. When was the last time you found yourself craving a petite bonsai tree Lego set or a giant bear plushie? You could have gotten either at the “Mini or Mega” event hosted by the Princeton Student Events Committee (PSEC) this past February. It was a frigid month and snow was still coating a sleepy campus.
Trump’s Plan for “Energy Dominance” in Alaska Is a Pipe Dream
Trump’s Plan for “Energy Dominance” in Alaska Is a Pipe Dream A natural gas pipeline has been proposed once again in the 49th state, but advocates and critics alike are skeptical. Ad Policy President Donald Trump speaks to the press in October after signing an executive order to allow construction of an access road to the Ambler mining district in Alaska. (Sarah L.
S.C.R.A.P. Lab pausing some composting efforts in wake of scrapped U. funding
The Sustainable Composting Research at Princeton (S.C.R.A.P.) Lab is pausing some composting operations for the 2025–26 academic year because of staffing shortages due to the University-wide hiring freeze. In previous years, the facility has composted coffee grounds from campus cafes and food scraps and compostable dinnerware from the Frist Food Gallery and small department events. This year, the Lab will no longer accept waste from Frist or events.
Princeton wants to help students in mental health crises. Can it succeed?
In December 2023, a first-year sat on a Zoom meeting with her parents, and University administrators including her deans of college, weighing a hefty decision. She was given a choice: Complete her end-of-term assignments in the remaining two days before Dean’s Date, Princeton’s deadline for all end-of-term work, or take a leave of absence from the University.
Right tree, right place: Branching into tree management with arborist Taylor Sapudar
Legend has it that when General Hugh Mercer was injured in battle in 1777 on the Princeton battlefield, he refused to leave his troops, instead laying in the shade of a sturdy white oak tree to await the victory. Today, we know this tree as “The Mercer Oak,” named for General Mercer like the county in which it resides. While General Mercer died nine days after the battle, the tree lived on for many years, until it was struck by lightning in 1973 and further damaged by a windstorm in 2000.
The Night Shift: campus study spots after dark
9 hours ago
The Night Shift: campus study spots after dark
Today, we take you inside late-night study culture on campus. Our team explored no fewer than eight popular campus study spots—from the high, arched ceilings of Lewis Library to the cozy blue couches in Addy Coffee Club.
Four tales of four-legged friends on campus
On the weekends, Princeton’s campus is often visited by families and their furry companions. As the weather begins to warm up, green spaces are filled with dogs of every breed playing frisbee, chasing squirrels, and enjoying the architecture. The Daily Princetonian spoke with the families and owners of four of these fuzzy visitors. First the ‘Prince’ found Honey, a five-year-old Puerto Rican pandemic puppy, and her owner, Per, a member of the class of 1987. DP: Is she friendly?
Geo-exchange, explained
Remember your childhood piggy bank? You know, the one that sat on the edge of your bookshelf, swallowing your 25-cent-weekly allowance in its belly until it finally held enough to purchase your dream lego model? Scale that system up by 13 miles and you get Princeton’s geo-exchange. Instead of quarters, geo-exchange stores heat in a sprawling, mostly underground network of district hot water piping, to be released when needed.
‘My Little Princeton Tiger’: The purrfect roomate
For a short period of time, Princeton had a live tiger on its campus. The tiger resided at Princeton for several weeks in 1923, its stay coming to an end when meat bills got too pricey. But today, our campus boasts a different type of tiger: a fluffy orange emotional assistance cat by the name of Wrenjamin. The Daily Princetonian spoke with Via Matthews ’26, Wrenjamin’s owner, to learn more about the little tiger. Daily Princetonian (DP): How did Wrenjamin get his name?
Oh S*** Look Out: They might be coming to Lawnparties
USG doesn’t know, and we don’t know either. Still, we spoke to the band. Two days away from Lawnparties, the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) has yet to announce a student opener. A long-held tradition for the concert event, a student ensemble performs an opening act for the celebrity guest(s), bringing a slice of Princeton’s art scene to the star-studded affair.
‘A pretty tough group of hardass women’: The women who propelled Princeton rowing to Olympic glory
When Carol Brown ’75 arrived at Princeton in 1971, she was not an athlete. Five years later, Brown would go on to row for Team USA in the Montreal Olympics, becoming the first of 16 female Princetonian rowers to do so. The summer before arriving on campus, she received a letter in the mail from Amy Richland ’73, a transfer student from Smith College who was starting a rowing team. At the time, the only other women’s sports at the University were tennis and field hockey.
“I’m not getting pushed out”: Indigenous students advocate for a place at Princeton
Before 2021, Indigenous students did not have an affinity space at Princeton. Native at Princeton (NAP), in their search for a space, first requested a room in the Carl A. Fields Center, the renovated eating club on Prospect Ave. home to many of the campus’s affinity spaces. However, their request was denied due to a lack of room.
Finding an ‘academic home’: The push for Native American and Indigenous Studies at Princeton
In March 1970, the University invited Native scholars, professionals, artists, and historians to campus for the First Convocation of American Indian Scholars. At the convention, chaired by Alfonso Ortiz, assistant professor of anthropology, attendees discussed Indigenous Studies and its future in higher education.
‘We Can Fix Princeton’: Inside TIGER, the University’s new geoexchange facility
When I toured the West Energy Plant last year, Energy Plant Manager Ted Borer promised that he’d show me the new energy plant when it was complete. Borer stayed true to his word, and just over a year later, I found myself striding past Prospect St. and down Broadmead St. on a chilly February afternoon to see the building for the first time.
100 YEARS AGO: ‘Bicker Week Denounced’
Introducing ‘This Week In History’ Editor's Note: The Daily Princetonian is introducing “This Week in History.” This section will highlight an article from the ‘Prince’s archives that brings to light shocking, exciting, or interesting topics from this week in history. Going forward, “This Week in History” will be an exclusive feature of the ‘Prince’s print edition.
Forbes College dogs bring smiles to students
In a festive, wreathed home just down the street from Forbes College, Head of Forbes College Maria Garlock and Dean of Forbes College Patrick Caddeau sit amidst a tornado of fur. Fonzie, a one-year-old golden retriever, and Lionela, a black Puerto Rican street dog, occasionally approach their humans for nuzzles. Lionela eventually races off after the toy in Fonzie’s mouth.
‘Welcome to Princeton, and welcome to the Millstone Watershed’: Exploring Princeton’s backyard wilderness
Underneath the Princeton Public Library flows a hidden river. Before Princeton was settled and developed, the river comprised the entirety of Spring Street, where the public library is now situated. Today, the river runs via a concrete culvert beneath the streets of town. If someone were to put their ear to the pavement of the library’s parking lot, they might hear the river burbling away beneath. But this body of water is not contained underground.
IT office steps away from reuse, sends 1700 faculty computers for destruction
The University has sent 1,700 computers to be destroyed since June 2023, according to University spokesperson Ahmed Rizvi in an email to The Daily Princetonian. In previous years, University-distributed computers were wiped and resold to members of the University community, non-profit partners, and the general public for lower prices. A new policy sends the devices to an e-recycling center, stepping away from reuse. Faculty are also now required to replace their devices every four years.
‘Once in an Institutional Lifetime’: Before and Beyond Princeton’s 2026 Campus Plan
Picture the Princeton University of the early 1900s: the Dinky drops you off right before Blair Arch and, of course, there is no Wawa in sight. You stroll through the numerous Oxbridge-influenced courtyards, admiring the Gothic architecture around you and find yourself on the grassy lawn before Nassau Hall. The pairing of open green space with this building inspired the first known use of the word “campus,” derived from the Latin word for field, to describe University grounds.
The Interclub Council, explained
Across Washington Road, there is another center of power that has significant influence over students’ social life, the Interclub Council (ICC). The Daily Princetonian looked at the history of the body and its role on campus today. In 1896, five of Princeton’s current eating clubs — then just called “the clubs” — signed the first Interclub Treaty, a set of regulations that would govern their admissions.
‘A hotspot of interdisciplinary interactions’: Students leap at environmental careers
More and more students are pursuing the environmental sciences. According to a Keystone Student Recruitment Survey, Environmental Science majors have increased in enrollment by 24 percent since 2016. Students pursuing environmental careers is following the same pattern, having increased by six percent in 2021 alone. Additionally, the average age of workers in environmental fields is declining, indicating that many young people are entering into these careers soon upon entering the workforce.
‘A very special time of year’: Lent, Ramadan, and Passover on campus
This past April was a month of festivities across campus with three major Abrahamic holidays briefly overlapping from April 5 to April 9. Muslim students celebrated their Ramadan fasts together in Murray-Dodge with large iftar meals. The Center for Jewish Life (CJL) hosted multiple Passover seders, where students enjoyed matzah (unleavened bread) and sang late into the night.
Scraps to soil: How Princeton’s food waste is recycled on and off campus
Every day, Princeton students eat food in dining halls, dutifully scrape their leftovers into metal chutes labeled “Food Waste & Napkins,” and move on with their days. What journey does this food waste take? “A food scrap actually has a lot of value when you return it to the earth in a responsible way,” Food Systems Project Specialist Gina Talt ’15 emphasized.
Late-night bus for students returning from parties sees decrease in use post-pandemic
The UMatter bus, a bus that provides weekend late-night service for students to ride home from the eating clubs, has faced a significant decrease in ridership since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some bus staffers attribute the decrease in readership to the pick-up location and a lack of awareness about the bus. After the pandemic sent students home in March 2020, the eating clubs opened and alternately closed with different waves of the pandemic.
Princeton’s energy grid transforms right beneath our feet
“We’re literally changing the wheels on the bus while we’re going down the road at full speed,” said Energy Plant Manager Ted Borer. Borer’s metaphor succinctly captures the complex process of transitioning Princeton’s cogeneration plant to a geo-exchange system while simultaneously running the cogeneration plant. Cogeneration, also known as Combined Heat and Power (CHP), burns natural gas to produce both electricity and thermal energy.
‘A physical place of transition’: Inside Princeton’s natural gas plant
On a chilly day, as students meander down Elm Drive heading south to the new colleges for a meal, or perhaps rushing to class, they might be consumed in conversation or music. But if any of the passersby happened to look up, they might notice a plume of water vapor billowing from a nearby pipe attached to a squat, rectangular building.
In high-emitting construction, Princeton Art Museum aims for sustainable building
Students hurrying to class may find their paths impeded by construction sites, their sleep interrupted by loud machines, and their walks around campus marked by bold orange signs with slogans such as “Princeton Builds Sustainability” or “Princeton Builds Energy.” These are the signs of construction proceeding apace on a number of projects across campus.
Anti-Racism Can’t Succeed Without Advocacy
It is APA’s responsibility to advocate for anti-racist policies across the multiple levels of care in which underserved populations, particularly communities of color, are disproportionately impacted.
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