Volume LXXVIII, Number 17
Therapy Dogs, Horses, And Maybe a Goat . . . . 5 Local Author Day Returns To Princeton Public Library . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Two Princeton High School Teachers Create Programs in Mexico . . 10 Tauckus Shines on Senior Day with 4 Goals, Helping Tiger Women’s Lax Top Dartmouth . . . . . . . . . 24 PHS Baseball Showing Batting Punch, Ignited by Winters in the Leadoff Spot . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Pulitzer Prize-winner Thornton Wilder and His Connection to Princeton . . . . . . . .13 Art . . . . . . . . . . . .17, 20 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 21 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . 32 Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . 11 New to Us . . . . . . . . . . 22 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 31 Performing Arts . . .15, 16 Police Blotter . . . . . . . 10 Princeton PorchFest . . 18,19 Real Estate. . . . . . . . . 32 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Topics of the Town . . . . 5 Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . 6
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Morven Museum Marks Twentieth Anniversary With Untold Stories Contemplating how to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Morven Museum & Garden, staff at the historic house on Stockton Street came to the conclusion that digging into their own collections was the way to go. “Morven Revealed: Untold Stories from New Jersey’s Most Historic Home,” a show of rarely exhibited objects and newly discovered photographs, opens Friday, April 26 and remains on view through March 2, 2025. A lit-up Baby Jesus, a lavish inaugural gown, a child’s ring uncovered during archaeological work, and a history of all the pets who lived at the house are among the curiosities on display. Way before it became a museum, Morven was home to numerous notable residents — Richard Stockton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence; Robert Wood Johnson Jr., Johnson & Johnson heir; and five New Jersey governors have occupied the property. All had families and staffs. And over the centuries, the house has hosted its share of celebrities. “What do George Washington, Grace Kelly, and Buzz Aldrin have in common? They were all guests at Morven, a home that has played a role in the history of New Jersey and the nation for more than 200 years,” reads a press release on the exhibition. Elizabeth Allan, Morven’s deputy director and curator, said the process of preparing the show has yielded many surprises. “We don’t have a huge collection, but everything we do have is connected to people who lived here. And we have been growing our archive over the years,” she said. “We thought this would be a great way to make this a fun birthday party for Morven. We went into it with a relaxed, fun feeling. What are the things people can relate to? We came up with all sorts of great stuff.” One of the first-floor galleries focuses on furnishings, with some objects from the 18th and 19th centuries, but most from the 20th. “We look at how it was decorated in the 1920s and 30s, when Robert Wood Johnson and the governors lived here,” said Allan. “There were a lot of different trends. We pulled out pieces of wallpaper, furniture from when the house was refurbished in 1957, and lots of great photos starting with the 1910s.” Another gallery is devoted to dressing, with wigs, corsets, elaborate gowns, and Continued on Page 9
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Wednesday, April 24, 2024
P.U. Grad Students File for Union Election Graduate students at Princeton University have filed for an election with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), claiming to have a “strong majority” of graduate students who have signed union cards. They are hoping for an election in the next month. The Princeton Graduate Students United (PGSU) is currently in discussions with the University administration and the NLRB regional office in Newark to arrange elections and set a date for voting. If recognized, the PGSU would be affiliated with the United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers (UE) and would be the largest union at Princeton University. Except for the University of Pennsylvania, where graduate workers are holding a union election next week on May 1 and 2, Princeton is currently the only Ivy League school that has not formally recognized a graduate student union.
“I’m excited,” said PGSU organizer Gaby Nair, a fourth year graduate student in the Princeton University politics department. “I think we’re going to win. We have a strong majority of graduate students who have signed authorization cards and we’re hoping to turn all those people out to vote in the election.” Nair did not provide an exact count of how many of the 3,225 graduate students had signed cards, but if more than 50 percent of voting graduate students concur, the union will be legally recognized and can create a bargaining committee to negotiate with the University. “If we win we will be guaranteed a seat at the table,” said Nair. “That means we get a say over our working and research conditions, something that we don’t yet have. Right now we have avenues for graduate student advocacy, but we haven’t yet won the right to a real say over our compensation, our benefits as employees, and
other rights that come with recognition as workers, like workers’ compensation in case of injury on the job. That would be a change.” She continued, “Just getting contract negotiations on the calendar is going to be huge. Now, when you’re a graduate student at Princeton you don’t get a contract. You get a re-enrollment letter and all the terms in the letter are decided by the University.” Depending on the department, graduate students are generally expected to teach during a certain number of semesters and also possibly to serve as research assistants in a lab or as part of a research group. Principal goals that the PGSU hopes to achieve through unionization include “fair and effective cross-campus grievance procedures,” “improved support for international students,” “comprehensive, inclusive, and funded healthcare and Continued on Page 9
The Jewish Center Celebrates 75 Years In Princeton
RECORD NUMBERS: Princeton Record Exchange was one of thousands of independent record stores around the world to celebrate Record Store Day on Saturday, April 20. Fans of the iconic store known as PREX turned out to browse and buy from the slate of titles, many of which have limited production runs. (Photo by Sarah Teo)
Last week at The Jewish Center Princeton, about 30 men and women over the age of 85 gathered for the “Seasoned Souls” lunch group, with bag lunches and desserts provided by volunteers. Later that day, sixth graders and their families met for a program and had dinner together. The age range in the building was typical. The Jewish Center seems to have something for everyone: Yoga, Torah and Tea, knitting with Interfaith Stitchers, a book club, adult education, programs tied to religious holidays, weekly Shabbat (Sabbath) services, and more. As its mission statement says, in part, “Our congregation includes children, parents, grandparents, and friends – families who have been here more than seven generations and recent college graduates. We embrace interfaith families, Jews by choice, people of color, and LGBTQ individuals. We provide a home for teens, empty-nesters, and seniors.” The Jewish Center has been a spiritual, intellectual, and social home for a diverse Jewish community since 1949. On May 4, the congregation will embark on a gala 75-year, Diamond Jubilee event with a cruise ship theme (“The Chai Seas, referring to the Jewish number 18 — chai in Hebrew — which means life). Four Continued on Page 9