To the Class of 2020,

One of the things that I love most about Princeton’s campus is its huge variety of architectural styles and beautiful spaces: neo-Gothic dorms and classrooms in the upper part of campus, glassy science laboratories, and grassy sports fields bordering Lake Carnegie on the south side of campus and a whole lot more in between. With such a variety of beautiful places on campus, each with its own vibe, I’m always curious to find out what other people’s favorite spaces are on campus.

So, last week, I asked my fellow bloggers about their favorite spots on campus! Here’s what they shared:

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Avaneesh: “My favorite place in Princeton is the Lake Carnegie Dam. It is located at the end of the lake along the Tow Path, which is one of my favorite running tracks. It has a mill on one side, and on the other side you can look at the entire lake. The water falls over slowly and it's calm and serene. I love running on the tow path, and the dam is my mental goal. Reaching the dam is associated with great sense of happiness and calmness in my head.”

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Ricardo: “Fittingly situated in the backyard of the best residential college ever, which also happened to be a world-class resort in its earlier years, the Forbes backyard has to be one of the best spots on campus … a gorgeous backyard decked with countless vibrant red lawn chairs and sprinkled with a few hammocks, this lawn is a hidden gem kept secret by the Forbes community. Tan in the sun, read your favorite novel, or just enjoy the gorgeous view of a renowned golf course; you'll question whether you're staying in a res college or a resort hotel!”

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Michelle: “When I am in need of a good study spot, my go to place is Guyot. While most may not frequent this building or even know how to pronounce its name (“Gee-yoh,” it’s French), Guyot is my home as an EEB (Ecology and Evolutionary Biology) major. It is where many of my classes are, where there are interesting posters about animals and plants to distract me while I’m studying, and most importantly, where the Antrodemus dinosaur roams. There is nothing better than looking up after a difficult reading to see the fossils of some of the most ancient creatures on the Earth, inspiring me to keep pushing on. From the upper floors, you get a bird’s eye view of the campus, and from below, you can tunnel through all of the connecting science buildings, avoiding the nasty weather that sometimes plagues New Jersey. This once museum, now laboratory-filled building is a true gem on Princeton’s campus, and I hope you get a chance to visit if you come to Princeton.”

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Makenna: “One of my very favorite places on campus is the East Pyne library. I love this gorgeous library for so many reasons! First, East Pyne is home to the language departments at Princeton, including my own beloved French department, so it feels like home. And studying in such a beautiful space (and in such comfy chairs) just makes writing and reading that much easier! I definitely consider it to be one of the best study spots at Princeton.”

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Aliisa: “If you have a chance, swing by the north Whitman courtyard and have some fun shouting at yourself! Just find this circle of steps, stand right in the middle of the black plaque, face out into the courtyard, start talking really loudly, and you'll be pleasantly surprised by an echo ringing back to you. I should note: If you're standing on the sweet spot, you will be the only person who can hear the echo. I usually only try it out when I have a friend with me because otherwise, I'm just standing there alone, shouting happily at nothing. But that's totally okay too! You got into this school, so what do you have to prove?”

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Serena: While not very hidden or secret (and quite popular for wedding photos and all kinds of photoshoots), Holder Hall is the quintessential Princeton living experience and a wonderful reflection of residential life at Princeton at any time of day. I personally think that it’s most beautiful and peaceful at night, when dim lamps cast a shadowy glow in the cloistered corridors, and all around the courtyard, windows glow with students quietly studying inside their dorm rooms. I was lucky enough to live Holder Hall for one year during my time in Rocky College. All students live in one of the residential colleges – Rocky, Mathey, Wilson, Butler, Whitman, or Forbes – during their first two years at Princeton. As a proud Rockyite, I will always consider Holder Hall to be my home and my favorite place on campus.

Thank you so much for sharing, bloggers!

If you want to see more of Princeton’s campus, check out our new virtual tour.

Once upon a time, a bright-eyed, freshman me was scouring the diverse entries on Princeton's student employment website.

At college, life often revolves around books, friends, coffee and our favorite treats! The good news is that Princeton has the perfect eclectic café that meets all of these needs in one place. If you're a fan of fair trade coffees, specialty beverages and homemade treats--and you're wondering where you will find that favorite study spot--I think that we have just the place for you. Chances are that you will fit right in with Princeton students' collective love of Small World Coffee, a hip coffee shop just outside of Princeton’s gates on Witherspoon Street!

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Small World is where so many of us students go to study, chat and write. I love that it lets us get into the “real world” without going very far from campus; there’s something so refreshing about getting off campus and doing homework in a place that’s full of not only students, but also families, businesspersons and friends. Small World also has neat events like open mic nights on Mondays and periodic art shows.

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And let’s not neglect the fact that their menu is great too. They sell not only all of the warm and cold beverages to fuel you through any season, but there’s also delicious oatmeal bowls, fresh-baked granola, cookies and the like! You'll likely find yourself as excited about Small World as most of us students are. If so, Witherspoon Café in the Frist Campus Center on campus also sells Small World coffee. So, on those mornings that you are craving your favorite drink on your way to class but don’t have time to get to Nassau Street, you don’t have to miss out!

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One important thing to know about Small World is that they only take cash, so plan accordingly if you are visiting campus this spring and want to enjoy a treat at one of my favorite cafés!

Hi, friends!

I just wanted to check in a bit after my trip to Israel during Intersession.  Also, I just had my last first day of class, so there's that to talk about too.

So my trip was great.  It was so nice to see my sister again.  Also, one of the girls I lived with when I lived in Israel four years ago has a family now.  Like a husband.  And a daughter.  It was pretty crazy to see all that can happen after four years.  I have some pretty great selfies with her baby, but I feel like she wouldn't appreciate my posting pictures of her kid all over the internet.  Trust me though, she's pretty cute.  Here's an awesome picture of Jerusalem at night to make up for it.  I really missed that place.

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I landed back in America last night and had my first class at 11:00 a.m. today, which is like the equivalent of 6:00 p.m. in Israel, so the jet-lag wasn't too bad.  I'm pretty much sleeping as I'm writing this though, so the jetlag is definitely real right now. 

I had two classes today, as per my beautiful second-semester-senior-schedule which only has me in two classes in total.  It's great.  Struggling pre-frosh, this is what you have to look forward to at the end of the tunnel.  I also have a thesis, but we won't talk about that. 

As far as first days of school go, this one was pretty good.  No class until 11:00 a.m. is a sweet deal.  Also I'm in a seminar entitled, "Touching Books: An Introduction to the History of the Book," and got to spend three hours this afternoon talking about bookmaking and illuminated manuscripts.  As you may recall, I'm a psychology major, not an English or history major, so it's always fun to take classes totally out of my area.  I'm a big fan of wacky seminars like this one.  I took a seminar on color last year in the visual arts department, which I also loved.  Definitely take advantage of things like this in college. 

Alright friends, it's now 5:00 a.m. in Israel, where my body thinks it is, so I'm going to turn in for the night.

(day?)

(help...)

I’m back! After eight months off campus (the summer, plus the fall semester abroad), I am happy to be back in the den with my favorite Tigers. After a busy weekend of unpacking my bags, buying books, and catching up with friends, I’m ready for classes to start.

One new thing this semester that I’m excited about is that I’ve moved into the Edwards Collective. It’s a group of about 40 undergrads that live on two floors of a Edwards Hall, which is part of Mathey College. It's intended for students who are interested in the arts and humanities. As a French major and someone who loves photography and reading, I was thrilled that there were still some rooms available for me to join the Collective this spring!

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Well, I’m still a new member, but I’ve so far learned that there are weekly dinners on Sundays at 6:00 p.m., coffee and pastry discussions on Friday mornings, and various events like free spring and fall break retreats for members to get off campus and work on their artistic endeavors together. Sounds neat, huh?! I've been kindly welcomed by two of my 4th floor neighbors already, Matt and Alicia, so things are off to a good start. 

The other thing that I love so far about the Edwards Collective is that we all have single rooms, but there are several common spaces for us to study and work together, including a kitchen and lounge in the basement. I really value having a quiet space to do homework in the evenings, but I also love being near friends, too, so this is a great balance for me. Edwards Hall is also quite conveniently located in the center of campus; nothing is too far away. I especially love how close it is to Dillon Gym, since I’m there most mornings. Plus, it’s super close to the U-Store and Frist Campus Center, which means that snacks and friends are always just a few steps away!

I'll keep you posted with Edwards happenings this spring!

One of the highlights of this year has been my roommates. After living in a single last year, I am rooming with three of the loveliest, smartest and most inspiring people I have had the opportunity to know at Princeton. Our room has become one of my favorite places to be, home to the best of friends and the most delightful of conversations. While I have a lot of fun with my roommates at "home," I was curious to know what my roommates are up to when they were not in our dorm. Thus, I visited each of them on campus in a space where they love to spend time--outside of our room.

Kenny Hubbell

Kenny is a senior from Alaska, studying chemical and biological engineering. Kenny is a pre-med student, but is also interested in drug development, having worked in pharmaceutical companies during the summers. Kenny has been a leader for Outdoor Action for three years, and he has led many camping trips all over the country!

Kenny is also a master potter. In our room, we exclusively use mugs that Kenny made, among other ceramics that Kenny fabricated. When anybody asks us where we got such wonderful mugs, we proudly declare that they are “Kenny Hubbell originals.” Kenny is also the manager of the ceramics studio on campus, which is free and open to all members of the community. If you head there on a Sunday, you can get a lesson on the art of ceramics — from molding to glazing — from the one and only Kenny.

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Neeta Patel

Neeta is a senior from New Jersey, studying Visual Arts. Neeta is interested in graphic design and has created many master pieces, which are on display all over the campus. She also designs books and album covers Neeta wakes up at 6 a.m. She has gone on a run, cleaned the room and got dressed, before any of the rest of us wake up. Neeta ran a marathon with Claire, my third roommate, last year in Philly, and she loves to go on long bike rides and runs around Princeton. Neeta is also interested in economics and computer science, often combining her art work with her abilities with computers.

Neeta's art studio is filled with her own wonderful masterpieces. She once copied an entire novel by hand, and she has built some of her works around photocopies of this novel. She has a portable manual typewriter, which she uses for some of her works. 

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Claire Zarakas

Claire is a senior from Massachusetts, studying Geosciences. Claire is interested in understanding climate change: how it affects us and how we can prepare for many of the drastic changes we are going to witness. She also loves to run marathons (casually), having run one in Chicago, in addition to the race she ran with Neeta last year. She also ran the Sustainable Energy and Development Scholars (SEADS) program for Engineers without Borders, where she hosted many small group sessions to discuss sustainability with important and influential people in the industry.

Over the summer, she studied nitrogen cycles in South America, and she recently even got the chance to present at the American Geophysical Union on her research. She often works in Guyot Hall, the home of the Geosciences Department, where she can devour plates of cookies in no time. It's a weakness she shares with me.

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If architectures had seasons, the clean crisp lines of modernism would be emphasized by the sobriety and sparseness of the winter. The budding confidence of the Renaissance finds itself in the spring; the boisterous confidence of the summer is Baroque. For the transition between the hot celebration of life and the cool retreat to come, for autumn in other words, its architecture is Gothic. Though the gargoyles of Princeton have overlooked no monks, nor have the crenellations been posts for defensive forces, collegiate Gothic shares something of an older Gothic spirit. There is a certain chaste sensuality to the stone that offers itself to the wandering hand, though no warmth will be reciprocated. In a similar way, autumnal trees stripped of foliage appear austere, but also gain a new sensual body due to its shape, which is hidden in the color and heat of spring. 

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About half of Princeton’s undergraduates work part-time jobs for a variety of reasons: to help contribute to their financial aid package, to save up for personal/future expenditures, or simply to do something they enjoy outside of their schoolwork.

I've written before about my races. I got involved in Team U last fall and ran the Princeton half marathon. It's fun to write about all of the finish lines and the training, building up to a huge feeling of accomplishment at the end. But, unsurprisingly, running that many miles in a row isn't always smooth sailing. 

I ran my third race in Princeton this fall. It was the Princeton half again, but this time I was just tired. I was finding it harder to get excited about the idea of running 13.1 straight miles, and I knew I wasn't as well trained.

I got through the race day, don't get me wrong, but I finished 10 minutes slower. One bonus this time around was the presence of my parents, who drove down, and a few friends who came to cheer me on. The last time I ran the Princeton half, it was the tail end of fall break, so campus was pretty empty.

It was a funny combination, my exhaustion with the whole process combined with that fan-group I had always hoped would be there. 

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I took a break from running after Oct. 4, when I crossed my most recent finish line. I ran again for the first time today. This time though, I didn't use the running playlist I'd crafted during my first week of training two summers ago and had been using since. I didn't clock my miles either. I just ran comfortably by the canal until I was done. I've been listening to Sia this time on Spotify; did not realize she was this great.

I think I'll try to get back into half marathons. I like them, I really do. It's exciting to get through such an intense process. But I think that to do that, I have to dial down the intensity for the while. To get excited again, it's almost as if I need to stop being so intense so that I can start looking forward to regaining my intensity.

I'll let you know how the process goes.

I am no stranger to alienation. I grew up as a white Mexican in a Texas border town where classmates and teachers openly labeled me as a “foreigner.” I was a hidden minority in all respects: A Hispanic who few considered to be Hispanic, a barrio boy who some surmised inherited money from a “rich white father/uncle/grandfather/person,” a first-generation college student who most believed went to Princeton because my parents went there.

At Princeton University, my visible persona does not reflect my invisible identity. People wouldn’t guess I’m Hispanic unless they read the surname “Garcia” on my student ID, and even then, how could they ever figure out my status as a first-generation, low-income, almost transnational student? And if they did, would I feel proud or ashamed?

This is why the Princeton Hidden Minority Council (PHMC) exists.

PHMC aims to eradicate the stigma of being a first-generation and/or low-income student. Furthermore, it consolidates academic and financial resources, spurs dialogue on the hidden facets of our identity, and fosters an inclusive campus community. Alienation has no place here.

At the 1st annual First-Generation Freshmen Welcome Dinner, I sat at a table with one of my professors and several fellow Gates Millennium Scholars. We were all brought together by one common thread: We are first-generation students. The conversations were sincere and the atmosphere was optimistic, the way it should be.

When the Princeton University Class Confessions Facebook page was launched, I empathized with the plights my fellow low-income classmates anonymously revealed to the world. It didn’t surprise me to realize how similar my experiences were compared to theirs, but it may have been a shock to other Princetonians who sit next to us in class every day, oblivious to our struggles.

I’m only a small part of a growing movement that will change the prevailing campus narrative for the better. A 21st-century Princeton University must not only support its underrepresented student body, but also embrace it. These students will be the trailblazers of this generation; PHMC epitomizes that.