Issuu

Volume LXXVIII, Number 42

Lou Chen, Founder of PU’s Trenton Arts Program, Is Moving On . . . . . . . . .5 PU-led Research Team Maps Fruit Fly Brain . . . 8

www.towntopics.com

Despite Controversy, Witherspoon Statue Will Stay at University

Documentaries in IAS Film Series Share Theme of “Critical Biography” . . . . . . . 12 Happening Now — Oscar Wilde, Eugene O’Neill and Ruth Wilson’s Jane Eyre . . . . . . . . . 16 Princeton University Concerts Presents Multifaceted Singer . . 17 Passage Theatre Opens 40th Season With Alma . . . . . . . 18 Sophomore Star Sykes Scores OT Goal as PU Field Hockey Tops Delaware 2-1 . . . . . . 26 Kalra Battles Through Illness to Win at First Singles as PDS Girls’ Tennis Advances to NonPublic South Final . . . 32

Phoebe Decker Helps PHS Girls’ Tennis Make Sectional Final . . . . . 30 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . 22, 23 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 24 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . 36 Mailbox . . . . . . . . . 13, 14 New To Us . . . . . . . . . 25 Obituaries . . . . . . . 34, 35 Performing Arts . . . . . 19 Police Blotter . . . . . . . 11 Real Estate . . . . . . . . 37 Religion . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Topics of the Town . . . . 5 Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . 6

In 2022 more than 300 petitioners called for removal of the large statue of John Witherspoon that stands atop a pedestal in front of East Pyne Hall and towers over Princeton University’s Firestone Plaza, but after more than two years of ensuing debate and deliberations on campus, the University’s Board of Trustees has decided that the statue will remain. Witherspoon, who made many significant contributions to Princeton University (then known as the College of New Jersey) as its sixth president (1768-1794) and to the country as a founding father and signatory of the Declaration of Independence, also owned slaves and spoke out against the abolition of slavery. “We do not believe that questions about John Witherspoon’s legacy provide sufficient ground for removal or relocation of the statue,” the trustees wrote in an October 2 statement. The trustees response followed a deliberation process that began in November 2022 when the University administration announced that the Committee on Naming of the Council of the Princeton University Community was considering the proposal of the petitioners to remove the statue. The discussion of Witherspoon’s legacy and its implications for Princeton University continues, as the debate over other historical figures goes on at Princeton, in national media, and throughout the U.S. The Naming Committee’s report, issued in March 2024, culminated a twoyear process that included many listening sessions with a range of different individuals and opinions, considerable input from the University community, and two half-day conferences featuring panels of experts from inside and outside the University. The committee recommended that the University consider relocating the statue, stating that “John Witherspoon is worthy of recognition, but not canonization.” The committee also recommended that “the glorification of Witherspoon” should be reduced by presenting to viewers of the statue a “more complex and accurate history” than the laudatory account currently displayed on the statue’s base. The t rustees’ statement cited Continued on Page 11

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Wednesday, October 16, 2024

Council Approves Second Ordinance Related to Westminster At a meeting Monday evening, October 14, Princeton Council approved the bond ordinance to finance the town’s acquisition of the former Westminster Choir College campus. The second of two ordinances related to authorization of the acquisition, it would appropriate $50 million and authorize the issuance of $49.5 million in bond or notes. In response to concerns that Councilmembers have heard from the public about the impact this would have on Princeton’s ability to respond to other needs, Municipal Administrator Bernie Hvozdovic said the town’s bonding capacity is almost $330 million “There is still plenty of capacity to us after this purchase,” he said. Mayor Mark Freda said he wanted to reassure the public that this has been taken into consideration. “We’re not looking to run out and use up our bonding capacity, because there would be an impact on everybody,” he said. “We’re well aware of that. We looked at this and other projects coming up. We will be looking at all of them in total, and we will not be looking at things without the impact of everything

together, and what we hope to do over the next several years.” Another concern of the public is the future tax impact of the acquisition. Hvozdovic and Chief Financial Officer Sandy Webb are studying the issue, and will address related questions “at the appropriate time,” Freda said. Council introduced three ordinances having to do with solid waste and recycling, loading zones and parking on Palmer Square East, and parking

regulations for Princeton High School students, faculty, and staff. All will be given public hearings at the Council meeting on October 28. Considerable time was given to a presentation about the Stormwater Utility Feasibility Study, currently in the second of three phases. With consultants from Princeton Hydro, the town is exploring policies regarding the benefit of funding the stormwater utility as opposed to operations supported by the general Continued on Page 11

Coalition for Peace Action Issues Voter Guides, Prepares for Upcoming Events As the weather cools and Election Day approaches, the Coalition for Peace Action’s (CFPA) efforts are heating up. The Princeton-based organization is culminating its 2024 Peace Voter Campaign in the coming weeks; co-sponsoring the Sunday, October 20 Supreme Injustice Rally at Hinds Plaza; and preparing for its Multifaith Service for Peace and Afternoon Conference for Peace on November 17.

Led by Executive Director the Rev. Robert Moore, the CFPA has recently completed its Peace Voter Guides, comparing the positions of major party candidates on key peace issues in three target races in the Central Jersey region. The CFPA is aiming to keep peace issues on the radar of voters and to make sure those voters are as educated as possible before they go into the voting booths Continued on Page 10

AMAZING PUMPKIN CARVE: Matt Derby created “Deception,” one of the many giant pumpkins carved by local artists that were on display at the 10th annual festival presented by the Hopewell Valley Arts Council. The event, held October 9-13 in Woolsey Park, Hopewell Township, also featured live music, fire pits with storytelling, games, pumpkin painting, and more. Attendees discuss their favorite pumpkins in this week’s Town Talk on Page 6. (Photo by Sarah Teo)

American Repertory Ballet

WONDERMENT

LAGREE + PILATES

New Brunswick Performing Arts Center Featuring work by: Lar Lubovitch, Ethan Stiefel (World Premiere), Antony Tudor, & an excerpt from Swan Lake

COMING TO PRINCETON

October 18-20, 2024

arballet.org