One of my favorite moments every year in high school was receiving my yearbook and flipping through the pages, remembering all of the fun moments from the year. There was the first Friday celebration, Blue and Gold Night (our school’s big spirit night), Track and Field Day, Prom and so many other special memories. I loved having my friends and teachers sign it. I always read what they said and couldn’t help but smile as I reflected upon how fast the year went by.

However, rather than just being a photo collection, the yearbook serves as a reminder of where I was and where I am going. I look back at my preschool yearbooks with amazement, realizing how much I have grown since then (both literally and figuratively). I can see how my hairstyle has changed, how my friend groups have shifted and how the world as a whole has evolved. For example, I look at my yearbooks from middle school in comparison to now, and I recognize how gaucho pants and Juicy Couture track suits are no longer the “in” things. Plus, there is nothing better than a yearbook pick me up on a bad day. Reading back over all the nice things my friends and teachers have said about me over the years instantly puts a smile on my face. If you haven’t tried this yet, the next time life gets you down, I highly suggest trying this.

When I arrived at Princeton, I didn’t realize colleges actually had yearbooks. I should have known better because Princeton loves tradition and recording its history. The Nassau Herald, our yearbook, was first published in 1864. It was originally separated into two books. The first was the Bric-a-Brac, which focused on all aspects of undergraduate life. The second book was the Nassau Herald, which focused on the four-year experience of the senior class. The two books merged a few years ago to become one large Nassau Herald.

Once I learned that Princeton had a yearbook, I applied to the agency seeking a job as the graphic design editor. Once accepted, I had the power to create the very thing that holds the memories of the school. My team and I work to document the year so that future generations of Princetonians can look back and see all that happened. When His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama visited my first year, we recorded it. When former President Jimmy Carter came to speak, we included it as well. Other things such as the first snowfall and the results of athletic seasons are included in the book too. Now that I am co-editor-in-chief of the Nassau Herald, I oversee the entire production of the yearbook. Learning organizational and managerial skills has been very helpful in my time at Princeton, and I’m sure will continue to be beneficial after I graduate.

This year, I am excited to announce there are big changes in store for the Nassau Herald. We are adding 3D effects and links to movies so that the book comes alive as you read it. We hope that this will add to the experience so that current and future Princetonians look fondly upon their yearbook and smile when they reflect upon their Princeton experience. While we all have cameras on our cell phones and can print our photos inexpensively, there is something to be said for having a yearbook on your table at home.  

If you are a prospective student and were involved in yearbook in high school, rest assured, you can still be involved in college too. All it takes is an application, and then you can have one of the best jobs on campus! If you are interested in learning more about the Nassau Herald, please check out our website to see the ways in which we are documenting the Princeton experience. 

Every year in April the Arts Council of Princeton, Princeton undergraduates and the local Princeton community come together to host Communiversity ArtsFest. This event features more than 200 booths in which artists showcase their original artwork and crafts, local businesses sell fun and unique merchandise and chefs prepare delicious culinary treats. There are also six stages of continuous live entertainment highlighting local, as well as student, performers. Communiversity draws more than 40,000 people and is one of Central New Jersey’s largest and longest running cultural events.

This event is something Princeton students look forward to every year. It’s a great way for students to interact with and support the local community. It is also a way in which certain clubs on campus are able to highlight their work to a broader audience. For example, the Rocketry Club for the past few years has demonstrated rocket launches for visitors. Plus, there is always at least one club sponsoring a pie-in-your-face competition, which is always hilarious.

Another fun event that occurs in spring is TruckFest. The University brings in ten to twenty different food trucks for students to try. From gourmet hot dogs to cheesecake on a stick, TruckFest seems to have it all. Though the dining hall food here is delicious, there is nothing quite like trying fried mac and cheese or a nutella infused waffle. 

Lastly, the annual dodgeball tournament is a campus favorite. From 8 p.m. until whenever the last man standing is hit, student groups compete against one another in epic dodgeball games. There is pizza, music and lots of camaraderie as students try to win games for their team. Games are divided into large, medium and small groups, with a winner in each category. Residential colleges, eating clubs, sports teams and other student groups compete to assert their dominance in the grand game of dodgeball. Since most students are involved in many clubs and organizations, it is not uncommon to see someone running from one side of the gym to go play for another group he or she is a part of. It's a really fun event that most students look forward to each year. 

Sin duda, el Día de Acción de Gracias es mi fiesta favorita. Implica calabazas, otoño, hojas crujientes, y tiempo con la familia. Además de todo esto, me encanta este día porque es el mejor momento para dar gracias por todas las cosas maravillosas de la vida. Este año, el equipo que escribe este blog quisiera expresar su gratitud, así que aquí están nuestras respuestas a una pregunta muy relacionada con el Día de Acción de Gracias: como un(a) estudiante de Princeton, ¿qué te hace sentir agradecido/a este año?

Comienzo por decir que estoy muy agradecida por la comunidad comprensiva que he encontrado aquí en Princeton – realmente siento que es mi segundo hogar. Este año, voy a pasar el Día de la Acción de Gracias en casa por primera vez desde que empecé mis estudios en la universidad. Como estudiante de último año, he tenido que hacer malabarismos con todas mis clases, mi tesis y varias decisiones importantes de la vida. Doy gracias por mis amigas y la comunidad aquí que me apoya y motiva. Me hace sentir muy agradecida darme cuenta de que, a lo largo de los cuatro años que he pasado aquí, he creado buenas relaciones con muchos profesores, miembros de la comunidad y tutores que me han aconsejado y motivado. También tengo muchos amigos muy queridos que me apoyan y me hacen sonreír--aún después de nuestra graduación. Cambiando de tema, también agradezco el vivir en el campus hermoso de Princeton, ¡especialmente dado a la belleza de este otoño – con hojas que cambian de color y un clima maravilloso!

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Avaneesh Narla ‘17: “Estoy muy agradecido por el asesor de mi tesis, Ned Wingreen, un profesor de biología molecular del Instituto Lewis-Sigler para Genómica Integrante, con quien escribí un ensayo el año pasado y llevé a cabo investigaciones durante el verano. He estado disfrutando mucho mi tesis, y he aprendido mucho sobre cómo realizar investigaciones científicas y crear preguntas e ideas interesantes. Ned ha sido extremadamente alentador y me da realimentación continua, ¡y no sé cuán tranquilo sería el proceso sin él!”

Jordan Brown ‘19: “Estoy muy agradecido por la gran cantidad de oportunidades que Princeton ofrece, especialmente con respecto a oportunidades en el extranjero. Princeton pagó toda la matrícula de la clase de español que tomé en Toledo, España, tanto como mi pasantía en Abomey-Calavi en Benin, en el oeste de África. Es fantástico tener la oportunidad de aprovechar de todos estos lugares, con clases y pasantías que están disponibles a nosotros como estudiantes.

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Briana Pagano ‘18: “Yo doy gracias por el cielo eternamente cambiante de Princeton: por las nubes de algodón de azúcar, por las siluetas del atardecer y por las agujas góticas que guían mi mirada hacia el mapa de constelaciones de medianoche. Doy gracias por el hecho de que, aún como estudiante de tercer año, no puedo evitar mirar hacia arriba, y perderme en mis alrededores.”

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Kevin McElwee ‘17: “¡Doy gracias por los viajes que he hecho con el Glee Club (un grupo de canto), y por los amigos que he hecho a través de él! Gracias a la generosidad de nuestros antiguos alumnos, podemos cantar música bella por todo el mundo.”

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Peyton Lawrenz ‘19: “Aunque no podré viajar a casa para el Día de Acción de Gracias (no hay ningún vuelo directo a Nuevo México), pienso mucho en no poder estar con mi familia durante una fiesta tan valiosa, pero igualmente estoy felizmente sorprendida por el sentido increíble de “hogar” que he encontrado aquí en Princeton. Habiendo recibido varias invitaciones de amigos a pasar el Día de Acción de Gracias con ellos y sus familias durante esta temporada de gratitud, me acuerdo de cuánto valoro la bondad y la generosidad de las comunidades que he descubierto en Princeton.

Serena Zheng ‘17: “Este año, ¡doy gracias por mis amigos! Después de casi nueve meses lejos del campus (entre estudiar en el extranjero y vacaciones de verano), sobre todo, estoy tan, tan alegre de ver a mis amigos. Antes de graduarnos y dispersarnos por el mundo “real”, me emociona pasar un año más con ellos, riéndonos, llorando juntos, y aprendiendo y aventurando con la gente que ha hecho que Princeton sea un hogar para mí.

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Michelle Greenfield ‘18: “Estoy muy agradecida por la comunidad del Centro para la Vida Judía de la cual he sido una parte durante los últimos tres años. Cada vez que entro en el edificio, caras conocidas me dan la bienvenida instantáneamente, y siempre sé que si necesito un amigo o necesito ayuda con mi tarea, alguien va a estar allí para mí. El Centro me ha ofrecido oportunidades de liderazgo, experiencias de aprendizaje, conversación genuina y sobre todo, amistades duraderas que aprecio todos los días.”

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Kevin Wong ‘17: “Como estudiante de último año, estoy particularmente agradecido por todas las maneras en las que Princeton me ha cambiado. Cuatro años aquí han hecho que mi pensamiento sea más agudo, que mi mundo sea más amplio, y que mi vida sea más rica. Estoy agradecido por las experiencias extraordinarias que Princeton me ha ofrecido como un escritor, un académico incipiente, y un legislador aspirante. La generosidad de la universidad, tanto con respeto a sus recursos financieros como a sus recursos humanos, no tiene equivalente, y cuando sea hora de irme, voy a extrañar profundamente este lugar.”

Traducido por PULP, Princeton University Language Project. 

View the post in English.

Often times on my Orange Key tours, visitors question me about what Princeton students do for fun. “You don’t study all day, do you?” they ask. To this I laugh and respond that while we do study, we also know how to relax and have fun.

One of the ways my friends and I socialize is through the events hosted by the Princeton Student Events Committee (PSEC). Nearly every week, PSEC hosts an event to bring the community together. Over the past year, I’ve attended bingo, a fall carnival, a painting class, open ice night at Baker Rink, stuffed animal making (one of the biggest events of the semester) and so many other fun events. For instance, at Winterfest, I had the opportunity to stuff my own penguin, nosh on hot chocolate and tasty cookies, take photos in a photo booth with my friends, and even make my own snow globe. PSEC events are great because all of the supplies are free, and it’s a chance to take a fun study break and relax with my friends.

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In addition to PSEC events, the undergraduate student government hosts free movies at the Garden Theater every Thursday, Friday and Saturday evening. The movie changes every week, but it’s always completely free and includes popcorn and a soda. When the movie was “La La Land,” more than 200 students attended each showing.

There are also multiple student productions occurring every week. Between attending my friends’ a cappella arch sings, theater performances and dance recitals, I am kept quite busy.

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Eating clubs and student groups also host activities and other events for their members. This past year, Quad, (my eating club) hosted a trip to Six Flags, had a Nerf gun battle, went to the local apple orchard and even brought a ball pit into the club.

If all of these events and performances aren’t enough, the class governments will also host study breaks occasionally with fancy food and giveaways. There is also the annual dodgeball tournament, Truckfest (where we have lots of food trucks come to campus), visiting lecturers, Broadway trips, improv shows, 5k runs, fashion shows, dances and so much more!

Needless to say, there are always lots of things happening on campus to relax and have fun.

Cochabamba is a city in Bolivia known for its water. Ever since the 2001 Water War, the struggle for fair access to water enveloped the city in a brutal back and forth between national police and citizen brigades. In fact, Cochabamba’s Water War is one of the only examples of a united populace forcing the de-privatization of a public good since the 1980s, when global institutions started enforcing neoliberal policies in developing countries. Fundación Abril, an organization that fights for water and sanitization for all, was both birthed from the Water War and named for it — Abril meaning April as that was the last month of fighting in 2001 before the water was given back to the people. Oscar Olivera founded the Fundación after serving as the face and voice of the popular revolt. This context has been key to my experience volunteering for Oscar and Fundación Abril.

Fundación Abril’s main goals are to increase access to clean water as a common good and to collectively support labor and community. This mission takes many shapes, from rainwater catchment in schools without running water to urban gardens and workshops on organic farming. As a volunteer, I have been lucky enough to work on a variety of the small projects that make up the Fundación’s larger vision: I have helped students harvest vegetables in their own school garden, poured cement for water tank construction and translated grant applications from Spanish to English. No day is average; I enjoy running around to different parts of the city. I have been able to meet incredible people and discover a new set of passions because I have such a diverse portfolio of responsibilities. I think the breadth of Fundación Abril’s vision comes from its origins. After the Water War, how could one separate a community’s connection to the land from their resistance to foreign corporate interest? The Water War brought seemingly disparate issues into scope as part of the same wider conflict.

Having studied the Water War, working with Oscar has felt like working alongside a piece of history. But the vibe in our office has always been one of equal partnership. I am just a volunteer, but the staff at Fundación Abril has made me feel included from the beginning. On my first day, I walked in on a meeting with Fundación’s leadership,  so I asked if I should sit outside until it was over. They told me to pull up a chair and listen. Everyone there understands that we need to work side by side in order to achieve the organization’s ambitious goals.

My time at Fundación Abril has taught me that the mission and intention of who I work for is more important than organizational resources or size. It’s a question of values, and I finally understand where my values lie. I will always choose listening before speaking, local activists before foreign NGOs, and on-the-ground solutions before worldwide plans. I guess I can add that to the long list of things I am taking away from my Bridge Year experience. At Princeton, I will be sure to incorporate what I learned from Oscar and Fundación Abril into what I choose to study and pursue.

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Princeton University boasts nearly 300 student organizations, meaning that there is something for everyone. If poetry was your thing in high school, there’s a poetry and spoken word club waiting you. If you preferred singing or dancing, there are dozens of a cappella and dance groups that will suit your need. We even have clubs you never thought you needed to be a part of until now. One of those clubs is the Cheese and Bad Movie Club.

This club arose when the Cheese Club was looking for a way to bring in more members. What could possibly be better at attracting new members than bad movies? Soon enough, the Cheese and Bad Movie Club was born. Although the club might sound a little crazy at first, growing their numbers is exactly what they did.

The premise of the club is exactly as the name suggests: you eat cheese while watching bad movies. However, this cheese is no ordinary cheese. The club serves only the finest of cheeses. From Gouda to bleu to sheep to Brie, the cheese and bad movie club serves it all. The movies don’t disappoint either. Some highlights from this past semester include "Repo Man: The Genetic Opera," "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes," "Battlefield Earth" and "Sharknado." If you haven’t heard of any of these movies before, I promise you, they are some of the best-of-the-worst bad movies you will find. Plus, the films are screened in the classroom where Albert Einstein used to guest lecture, which makes everything even more exciting.

Co-presidents of the club Brigid Ehrmantraut and Zach Feig comment, “CaBaM may be the least orthodox student organization at Princeton, but we're certainly one of the most down to earth. Come for the cheese; stay for the movies!”

Cheese and Bad Movies is one of the many fun clubs and organizations Princeton has to offer. Click here to see a list of other clubs.

To an onlooker, it must have looked like I was auditioning for a Life Alert commercial — “Help! I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.” With a sickening crack, my right foot twisted beneath me, sending me tumbling to my dorm room floor. Curling up in pain, I played the sound over and over in my mind, watching with wide eyes as my foot swelled up and adopted a green tinge.

December 10, 2016. The calendar had said it was almost time for break — but clearly, I’d taken it a little too literally.

A few hours later, I found myself hobbling across campus with pain shooting through my right foot and absolutely no idea of what was to come. I had only ever broken one bone before: a pinkie finger back in 2003, when my bike veered into a mailbox and ever-so-inconveniently crushed my right hand during the second grade cursive unit. Away from home, I’d never had an injury — or anything more than the common cold, for that matter. Now, having arrived in the lobby of McCosh Health Center, I stared dejectedly at the hours sign before me. Of course, my freak accident had occurred on a weekend — and after-hours, at that. Noting an emergency after-hours buzzer on the wall, I weighed my options. However, hopping on one foot back to my residential college wasn’t too appealing, so I eventually mustered the courage to press the button. Immediately, the voice on the intercom welcomed me into the after-hours clinic, and I was hit with a wave of relief. As so many times before, Princeton was here to look out for me.

Upstairs, a nurse examined my foot in the after-hours clinic. Noting its swollen appearance, she presented me with two options: I could wait to get x-rays on Monday, when the McCosh x-ray technician would be back, or I could skip the wait and have Public Safety (PSAFE) transport me to the local emergency room. After a second glance at the Frankenstein of a foot before me, I immediately chose the latter. While I waited for PSAFE to pick me up, the nurse brought me a water bottle and some vanilla yogurt. “Here, honey,” she said, smiling sweetly. “Snack on this. You might be in there for a while.”

She was right. In the ER, I was wheeled back and forth from the exam room to the waiting room, where I sat envisioning the months ahead. Finally, the doctor walked over and delivered my diagnosis: I’d fractured my fifth metatarsal bone, and would need to see an orthopedic doctor immediately for casting. The recovery time was eight weeks. She splinted my foot as this information sunk in, and then another staff member came over and gave me a crash course in how to use crutches. A half an hour later, I was dropped off in the parking lot with a second PSAFE officer, who helped me out of my wheelchair and into his car, slid my crutches onto the adjacent seat, and shut the door behind me — a routine that was entirely foreign to me, but would soon become second nature.

Back in my residential college that night, I was faced with a startling realization: my familiar routine was now Mission Impossible. I never take the elevator. Now, I could not take the stairs. Normally, when I miss a meal in the dining hall, I can pop over to WaWa, a convenience store on campus, or the University Store — both of which are less than a five-minute walk from my dorm room. Now, such a walk was out of the question. Luckily, my home-away-from-home continued to look out for me with motherly care. Shortly after I returned to my room, there was a knock at my door as my best friend delivered me dinner from a restaurant on in downtown Princeton While I ate, she helped me in any way possible: polishing the newly exposed toenails on my right foot, laughing as I recounted my freak accident for the tenth time, and brainstorming a game plan for the following day. When she left, I called my parents, who decided that they would drive to campus to pick me up. There were three days of classes remaining before break but, having been medically excused by the ER, I was heading home to see a doctor on Long Island.

At home, I quickly learned that humor was the best — and only — way for me to deal with my injury. Immediately, my younger sister stationed me in my favorite blue armchair and placed a cowbell at my side. My voice wasn’t injured — I could simply call out if I needed something — but the cowbell fit my personality. It was whimsical. It was outrageous. It made us laugh. Since I could no longer carry items around (crutches have a sneaky way of stealing the use of your feet and hands), my mom gave me sweatshirts with built-in “kanga-pouches” where I could store a water bottle, my phone and whatever snack I not so surreptitiously crutched my way into the kitchen to retrieve.

My injury gave me newfound appreciation for things I had previously taken for granted. After a month on crutches, my four weeks in a walking boot rendered me a child again. Suddenly, walking was the most exhilarating task imaginable. I walked outside to watch stars dot the night sky; I walked down the shoreline of my favorite beach; I walked from one end of the living room to the other simply because I could. I walked (at a snail’s pace, granted — but I was pacing nonetheless). 

Arriving back to campus for second semester — my walking boot and crutches 100 miles behind me in my home on Long Island — I couldn’t help but laugh when I spotted a bright blue wristband in my dorm room. There, in block letters, were the two once-dreaded words: “PAGANO, BRIANA.” Smiling, I reached out for a thumbtack and pinned the emergency room bracelet to my corkboard. When I’d first broken my foot two months prior, I’d torn the wristband off in frustration, desperate to banish all proof of the injury from existence.  

No, it wasn’t the break I’d imagined — but it was a great winter break nonetheless.

And now, I was ready to remember.

One of Princeton’s newest clubs is the Conservation Society. The club is made up of students who are passionate about making a large difference in protecting the planet. It is involved with various projects including summer internship opportunities, bringing speakers to campus, organizing nature hikes, and most importantly, encouraging students to think about how we can work towards greater conservation of the animals and plants on this earth.

So far, the club has seen great success. In October, we held a conservation fair where more than 200 students attended. Various club members had posters highlighting some of the unique volunteer opportunities available for students. These included Projects Abroad, Round River, the National Parks Service, and even working at the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB), a penguin rehabilitation center (see my blog about penguins here.) In December, the club brought in a speaker from the New Jersey Marine Mammal Stranding Center to give a lecture about the marine mammals in the New Jersey area. Students learned what they can do to help these animals and what to do if they ever see a stranded animal. Most recently, the club partnered with the BBC Network to have a special prescreening of "Planet Earth II" at the Princeton Garden Theatre and a moderating a talk with the CEO of the World Wildlife Foundation.

In this day and age, where our environment is changing every minute, promoting conservation efforts is critical to improving our future world. Noah Mihan '19, club president, describes the impetus behind starting the Conservation Society: “When my friends and I came to Princeton, we searched so hard for a club that would focus on large-scale conservation, one that would send students on research trips in the summer, repair trails and raise awareness about conserving the massive biodiversity on our planet. We never found one. So we decided to, well, just make our own!”

The club is always growing and improving. In the near future, the Conservation Society hopes to host a talk on climate change, send students on Princeton-funded research trips to Africa and do a club-wide trip to the American Prairie Reserve in Montana.