<p>This column has been circulating around Princeton's campus and presents a criticism of Princeton's social climate. It is a bit pessimistic but I think somewhat true in general. </p>
<p>Princeton’s</a> Brats Need a Vegas Makeover | jessieye</p>
<p>I have no idea regarding the accuracy of her observations, but would agree with one of the comments below that the article was likely rejected because it is not well-written. It’s more suitable for a blog or could be shortened for a letter-to-the-editor. That said, given how she describles her background, she might be encountering some classism. That would be consistent with the stereotypes about Princeton.</p>
<p>^ That is interesting because I actually had the impression it was very well written. What was wrong with it? Do you write professionally? </p>
<p>I actually thought the snotty remark about her writing ability was right on the mark with the culture she is trying to portray. Seemed pretty obnoxious to me. I mean one thing for us to comment on it, but to write that on her blog seems pretty pathetic (not to mention defensive).</p>
<p>The social environment and prevalence of too many students who were full of themselves is one of the reasons DS would not even consider applying to Princeton [ same applies to H too].</p>
<p>I also thought it was very well written. Are you from Princeton TheGFG?</p>
<p>Has a bit of a flavor of an Asian Ralph Nader, only without the “causes”.</p>
<p>And with the exception that I don’t think Ralph cared that no one liked him.</p>
<p>Before I used the word “censorship”, I’d ask what percent of the personal opinion articles submitted by freshmen get printed in the Princeton newspaper. I would imagine that there would be competition to get an article printed.</p>
<p>As someone who has lived both in the Southwest and the Northeast, I think, this is a North South thing. People in the Northeast generally do not look each other in the eye, smile and make small talk, to be polite. In the Northeast you don’t have to say, "excuse me, but would you happen to have the time? The person does not have to look you in the eye, smile and tell you the time, if he has a watch. In NJ you say, “hey what’s the time?” The person you ask, may or may not respond. If they are busy preoccupied with something, they may not respond. On the other hand, if they are not preoccupied they tell you the time. Either way, nobody’s feelings get hurt. It is the way things hang in NJ. I think the writer here needs to spend a little more time and become familiar with the ways of Jersey.</p>
<p>Does it really qualify as “censored by the school newspaper” if The Daily Princetonian won’t run it? The Prince is an independent daily, with no official connection to the university.</p>
<p>I hesitate to jump in here, because it feels like gossiping/judging without first-hand experience but…I also think articulating hearsay is valuable if only to have it quashed and put to bed in favor of the “real truth” (as my kids used to say).</p>
<p>1) My D once told me that among the Ivies, Princeton students are known for their arrogance. </p>
<p>2) I personally know 5 local students who went to P. One is and always has been a humble, pleasant guy. One was very unhappy at P for the first semester due to social issues. The other 3 acquired a verbal affectation that supports the P rep (think Thurston Howell III). It was almost funny.</p>
<p>"It is the way things hang in NJ. I think the writer here needs to spend a little more time and become familiar with the ways of Jersey. "</p>
<p>perazziman, this might be the case if most of the students at Princeton were FROM New Jersey. But that is clearly not the case, as any quick evaluation of where students came from will show that most were not from NJ, or even the EC…nice try though.</p>
<p>And as someone who has travelled back and forth from Calif to the east coast hundreds of times in the past 30 years, there is no “east coast” type of behavior that explains the degree of snobbish rudeness endemic at one college. On the contrary, since 9/11 plain old NYers have become some of the friendliest people I have ever met.</p>
<p>perazziman, I wrote the same thing, then hesitated to post it for some reason (don’t want to start the Civil War again). But when my son, from Maine, went down to UT-Austin for school, he was shocked at how friendly everyone was. “Mom, strangers actually talk to me here!” It took quite awhile for me to adjust to the north when we moved here 25 years ago. People just aren’t friendly to strangers. For example, in Texas if you accidentally bump someone and say, “Oh, sorry!” the reply is usually, “That’s OK, honey!” Up here, the reply is usually a stone-faced glare!</p>
<p>the school paper may have rejected the story because it really wasn’t all that well-written. it was sort of high-schoolish. i liked the line about “don’t stick a second straw in my smoothie” though. that was cute.</p>
<p>if i recall, michelle obama wrote that she also had a chilly experience at princeton. maybe race has something to do with it.</p>
<p>MaineLonghorn, that is completely false. As it happens, a woman in a store and I accidentally bumped into each other last night. She turned, smiled, and said “I’m so sorry!” I smiled and said “That’s quite all right!” And we parted ways. True, we didn’t drip fake sugar all over each other and call each other “honey.” But I’ve never in my life given someone a “stone-faced glare” if they bumped into me, and I’m a New Englander born and bred. Nor does anyone else I know behave that way.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Also completely untrue. I would NEVER address someone in this boorish manner. Nor would any of my friends or family. People definitely DO ask for the time politely, and respond in the same manner, in the circles I move in, anyway. I don’t know who you’ve been hanging out with.</p>
<p>If you don’t want to start the Civil War again, why not give this kind of crap a rest. It has been done to death on CC.</p>
<p>BTW, I was recently at my 40th HS reunion, and had dinner with a group including the 2 classmates who attended Princeton. They both disliked it.</p>
<p>yeah, those regional stereotypes are pretty silly. god knows there’re plenty of rude u-know-whats here in southern california! unfortunately, you can find rudeness everywhere.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>It does not matter where the students come from, just like it does not matter where you come from, when you get to England you have to drive on the left side of the road. One can go half an hour north on 27 to Rutgers and experience the same thing. What is their excuse? The point is they are not being rude, once you learn they have a system for driving on the left side.</p>
<p>Perazziman–Your analogy is not apt. </p>
<p>A driver in England must drive on the left side of the road because it is illegal to drive on the right side of the road and because driving on the right side increases the chance of an auto accident.</p>
<p>There is no law in America against friendliness, and politeness to fellow students on a college campus is highly unlikely to cause death, injury or property damage.</p>
<p>Sikorsky–You are right; declining to print an article doesn’t constitute censorship. Newspaper editors must constantly decide whether to print articles. The rejected articles aren’t censored; they are just rejected.</p>
<p>Perceptions about the arrogance/snobbery of Princeton students have been floating around since I was a high school student in the early '90s. Not only was this from frequent negative accounts of the social scene/snobbery, but also from one older friend whose experience at Princeton was so negative he strongly identified with MIT*…his grad institution and avoided any mention of his being a student there until his sister randomly blurted it out. </p>
<p>From the impressions I’ve gathered…unless you were comfortably upper/upper-middle class and from one of the more fashionable suburbs/wealthy NYC neighborhoods, you were treated almost as if you were an “lower-class” interloper to be tolerated at best.</p>
<p>I would have thought things would have improved since then based on what I’ve heard from friends who were recent grad students/newly hired faculty. However, grad students do seem to be segregated some distance from the undergrads and faculty may be too busy with research and teaching preparation obligations to delve into Princeton’s undergrad social life. </p>
<ul>
<li>He was so gung-ho about MIT that even his closest friends thought he went there for his undergrad and grad school.<br></li>
</ul>
<p>
</p>
<p>Those are the exact type of comments I’d expect to hear from obnoxious cutthroat contingent at my urban public magnet high school or similar type students from private boarding/prep schools. </p>
<p>As far as I’m concerned, if undergrads need to resort to snark on a writer’s writing ability…they’re probably so defensive they’re grasping at whatever straws to get back at the critic in question. It also further proves the critic’s point about the arrogance issue among Princeton students.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I’ve lived in Texas most of my life, and if you bumped into me and apologized, I would smile and say “no problem.” It would not be my style to call you or anyone else “honey.” That said, endearments used in the south are not necessarily “fake sugar.” There really is an open friendliness in the south which is genuine and just part of the culture, particularly in the smaller towns. That’s why I love getting out of Dallas and out to our weekend home several hours away.</p>
<p>As to the OP, I don’t think I know any Princeton grads, though one really nice girl in D1’s class is a student there. I know numerous Harvard grads and they are all pretty cool. One Harvard alum I know calls me “honey” a lot, and I kind of like it. She hails from Louisiana, though :)</p>
<p>I’ve spent quite a bit of time in Texas, but I live in the northeast. One thing I have noticed, if I ask someone to do something - whether it be job related or personal - in Texas, the person is oftentimes polite and friendly, but they never do “the thing.” In the northeast, I may not get the smile, but the “thing” is usually taken care of. I do think there is a better sense of timeliness in the northeast.</p>
<p>I thought the article was quite readable: it flowed, and I was left liking the writer, even though she was critical - sometimes difficult to do.</p>
<p>I spotted a few mistakes, but overall, I thought it was a nice article. Perhaps there is a bit of anti-asian sentiment at Princeton?</p>