Town Topics Newspaper, December 11 by Witherspoon Media Group

Volume LXXIII, Number 50

New Book on Sourlands Details Treasures of the Region . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Town May Be Close to Settlement on Affordable Housing . . . 12 Celebrating the Musical Extremes of Berlioz . . . 17 PU Orchestra Presents Romantic Symphonic Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Theatre Intime Continues Season with Measure for Measure . . . . . . . . . . . 19 D’Angelo Making Most of Senior Season for PU Wrestling . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Zammit Showing Finishing Touch for PHS Boys’ Hockey . . . . . . . 31

Dina Paulson-McEwen Named New Executive Director of LALDEF . . . 10 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Berkshire Hathaway Fox & Roach Realtors . .22, 23 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 26 Classified Ads . . . . . . 39 Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 36 Performing Arts . . . . . 20 Real Estate . . . . . . . . 39 Religion . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Topics of the Town . . . . 5 Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . 6

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Princeton Student Freed After Three Years Of Imprisonment in Iran The release last week of Princeton University graduate student Xiyue Wang, imprisoned in Iran for the past three years, was reason to rejoice for his family and members of the University community. Jailed on espionage charges after traveling to Tehran to study Farsi and do research for his dissertation on 19th and early 20th-century Eurasian history, the 38-year-old, third-year doctoral student was freed in a prisoner exchange with Masoud Soleimani, an Iranian scientist arrested last year and convicted on charges he violated trade sanctions against Iran. ““The entire Princeton University community is overjoyed that Xiyue Wang can finally return home to his wife and young son, and we look forward to welcoming him back to campus,” University President Christopher L. Eisgruber said in an issued statement. “We are grateful to everyone, at Princeton and beyond, who has supported Xiyue and his family throughout his unjust imprisonment, and for all the efforts that have led to his release. We would like to especially extend our thanks to the United States government, the government of Switzerland, and the students, faculty, and staff who continued to advocate for Xiyue’s freedom throughout this ordeal.” Wang’s wife Hua Qu also issued a statement. “Our family is complete again,” she said. “Our son Shaofan and I have waited three long years for this day, and it’s hard to express in words how excited we are to be reunited with Xiyue. We are thankful to everyone who helped make this happen.” Following his release, Wang was flown to Zurich in a Swiss government plane. He was met by Brian H. Hook, the State Department’s special representative for Iran, who had negotiated the exchange, and flown to Germany for medical evaluation. The checkup revealed Wang to be healthy and in good spirits. The University community kept Wang’s predicament at the forefront during his imprisonment. He was originally sentenced to 10 years. The most recent gathering was this past October on Chancellor Green, where Wang’s wife spoke and said she was torn between feeling optimistic about his release and being cautious, according to a December 10 article Continued on Page 10

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Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Students Combat Violence, Climate Change Combating both “generalized violence” and climate change, all in the same day, may have become the new normal for high school students. At least that’s what many at Princeton High School (PHS) faced last Friday, as students, slated to lead a mid-day climate strike in downtown Princeton, found that a call to the school threatening “generalized violence,” according to the Princeton Police Department (PPD), necessitated a shelter in place until the school’s 3 p.m. dismissal time. The announcement of a district-wide lockdown came at around 11:15 a.m. during lunch at PHS, where Junior Nate Howard, Princeton Student Climate Initiative member and a leader of the climate rally, was, ironically, attending a lunch meeting of the PHS branch of March For Our Lives, a student-led group that supports legislation to prevent gun violence. According to Howard, the threat was announced just as the group was discussing how a broad decision striking down gun control could lead to more shootings. “What you might expect when there’s an announcement that lunch is over and we need to be in locked classrooms is chaos,” Howard said. “Yet, in some ways, it’s a bad sign that, instead, staff and students

reacted calmly because we’ve been through this before.” He continued, “We’ve grown up normalized to the threat of school violence, and we do regularly-scheduled lockdown drills. The lack of hysteria shows that we’ve become normalized to this violence. Schools shouldn’t face these kinds of threats. They should be places of safety and learning.” The PPD determined that there was no current threat at PHS, but they remained on site at the high school and maintained a presence at other district schools as well. “The threat was nonspecific and our investigation continues,”

said PPD Chief Nick Sutter. After-school and evening activities on Friday went on as planned, with a police presence on and around campus. Police stated that the anonymous call, which reported a potential threat, originated outside of Princeton. The state chapter of March for Our Lives tweeted, “This is just a small reminder of what life is like for American students. We are not safe and we need change.” A March for Our Lives PHS statement added, “This is why we need commonsense gun laws, both in New Jersey and nationally.” The organization advocates Continued on Page 7

Schools Aspire to Achieve Equity, Staff Listens to Students’ Voices

Two years ago the Princeton Public Schools undertook an equity audit conducted by an outside expert. The results of that study continue to drive many of the district’s ongoing efforts in the quest for equity, most recently in a series of in-service training workshops that took place during a half-day professional day on Monday at all the schools. “It’s not a theme of the year. It’s not

an add-on to the work we are doing. It is the work,” said Superintendent Steve Cochrane at last week’s PPS Board of Education meeting. Describing the PPS as “an ideal environment in which ”to strive for both equity and excellence,” the audit report cited the PPS “stated commitment to equity, strong academic outcomes, and a budding commitment to culturally responsive Continued on Page 13

“GLICE” SKATING: Palmer Square’s first outdoor skating rink is now open on Hulfish Street behind the Nassau Inn . It features a non-refrigerated surface called Glice, which provides an eco-friendly skating experience . Participants share their impressions of the new rink in this week’s Town Talk on page 6 . (Photo by Erica M. Cardenas)

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