From twist-outs to wash-n-gos, black hair care is important to the Black identity. The Princeton community finds unique ways to bring students together to celebrate black hair and culture. For Black History Month, the Carl A. Fields Center for Equality + Cultural Understanding hosts a multitude of events; everything from panel discussions to community dinners designed to honor black culture. “Curlchella” was one of the events that I attended and participated in. Curlchella is an event that is dedicated to promoting self-care, with a specific emphasis on the ways in which black students can take care of themselves. The event features black barbers for haircuts, a DIY shea butter table, and includes skin, make up, and hair care stations. This is an important event to me as a black woman because it allows me to interact with other knowledgeable people about care that is particular to my hair and my skin. 

I collaborated with a friend to work the protective hairstyle and natural hair care station. We taught interested students the ins and outs of hair porosity, density and texture. We educated attendees on different hair care routines and the importance of using essential oils and wide tooth combs. Finally, we also instructed students on how to do protective hairstyles like Marley twists and box braids. The event was a great experience as it allowed students to connect with each other through their hair. I enjoyed speaking about wearing my silk bonnet because I basically live in it on campus.

I’m so excited to attend a school like Princeton where we have the space to talk about things that matter to the black community. It is especially important to have opportunities to learn more about black hair as it can be a controversial conversation as shown by the recent passage of the Crown Act. Black hair is kinky, beautiful, defined, but also undefinable. Having these conversations at Princeton is essential to my growth. These are the kinds of events that I find to be irreplaceable in black culture and necessary to continue to support Princeton’s focus on diversity.

Editor's Note: Dr. Keith Shaw, director of transfer, veteran and non-traditional student programs and Alex Bustin '08 , senior associate dean and director of transfer and military/veteran admission work together on Princeton's reinstated transfer program. Hear from them about their roles and their experience establishing and growing this program.

How has reinstating the transfer program impacted the Princeton community? 

Keith: Alex and I are very proud of the students in our young transfer program and we are excited to welcome a new crew of Princetonians. In building this program, it was so exciting to use transfer admission as an access and inclusion initiative, and you can see that in the students we’ve enrolled.

Through Alex’s stewardship of transfer admission, it’s been humbling to see and hear the stories of so many fantastic candidates from all over the world with such a range of backgrounds and experiences. The transfer program has helped us to see a rise in our student veteran population and they’ve been quick to form a tight community and become a visible presence on campus. We’re also thrilled with our community-college scholars – many of whom arrived on campus with inspiring academic achievements already under their belts, such as the Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship. 

We’ve had the opportunity to meet and understand the perspectives of students who have attended various colleges or have had non-traditional trajectories. Our students have worked in various industries or in the military, giving us just a glimpse of what kind of impact they can have in enriching the student body once they get to campus.

Are there any misconceptions regarding the transfer program? 

Alex: A common concern we usually hear from prospective students relates back to their academic history. Since reinstating the transfer program, we’ve seen a wide range of applicants. Some who have always done well academically throughout high school and college and others who didn’t hit their stride until much later – maybe even after multiple attempts at college. We recognize that different students reach their academic prime at different times for any number of reasons. You absolutely can be a competitive applicant for our transfer program if you have a strong record over the most recent semesters. We’re admitting our students and community members for who they are now and not necessarily who they used to be.

What has been one of the most rewarding parts of reinstating the transfer program? 

Keith: My favorite job responsibility has been teaching the incoming cohort of transfer students in their customized writing seminar each fall, where they cultivate the intellectual practices of emerging scholars. Just as important, this writing seminar enables our students to build a  community of their own. As their instructor I have the opportunity to watch a classics major from a local community college refine a thesis statement with a Navy intelligence analyst, or a Marine special ops veteran spar over the finer points of Orwell with the Miami-Dade Jack Kent Cooke Scholar. This provides a window into what makes the program so special. Our transfer students’ varied, informed and mature viewpoints are in high demand on campus. As we look forward to their academic and professional successes, we’re excited and curious about what Princeton will learn from them.

How has Princeton helped non-traditional students transition to campus? 

Alex: Helping to make Princeton a comfortable home for transfer students with families has been a welcome and ongoing challenge. Several of our transfers moved here with spouses and children and that means a cultural transition for an entire family, not just an individual student. (In their first year, one student even welcomed a newborn into their family on the first day of classes.)  While there’s more to be done, we're grateful for the effort of so many campus offices that have invested to make this transition as smooth as possible for these families including Housing, Financial Aid and the Residential Colleges, who have all been working hard to provide the best possible options. 

We are looking forward to seeing how the transfer program will continue to grow in the coming years and we are excited to welcome the new class of transfer students to the Princeton community. 

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When it’s warm and sunny, my friends and I love to go the backyard behind Forbes College and toss around a frisbee. On weekends, we bring our brunch onto the patio, sit on the red lawn chairs and look out onto the golf course and the gothic spires of the Graduate College beyond, where at noon the chimes of its clock tower can be heard across campus. From our window, my roommate and I wake up to this wonderful view and a still sleepy sun.

In the evenings after dinner, we pass by the game room and are often tempted to go inside for an hour or more. Over games of pool, we watched James Holzhauer’s record-breaking run on “Jeopardy” here. On midweek afternoons, I cheer on my soccer team in the Champions League, and I am often joined by a member of the staff, many of whom are always willing to have a conversation, whether over a game of soccer or when swiping in for a meal.

Forbes is a small residential college, and it feels even homier because of its unique setup. As a repurposed hotel, it is the only residential college where you can walk from one end to the other in your pajamas without ever stepping outside. There are also so many cozy nooks and crannies: a TV lounge in the annex basement with murals on the walls; the sci-fi library adjacent to the sunken lounge; and the Forbes Café, always open late and offering a place to study, relax and get ramen for 25 cents a package.

No matter how early or late, Forbes always seems to be bright and warmly lit, and its “Forbesians” are always around. I love the community here, with a shared bond over our campus-renowned weekend brunches and the distances we have to walk – Forbes is as close as you can get to the Wawa, a local convenience store, the Graduate College, or art installations by Maya Lin and Ai Weiwei, but as the joke goes, a bit far from anywhere else.

Nevertheless, I’ve loved every second of living in my residential college and being a part of this community: Forbes really is worth the walk. And maybe I’ll see you around next year: I’ll be sticking around as a residential college adviser! I’d be happy to grab some chocolate covered strawberries at Sunday Brunch and talk over a game of pool.   

It is often easy to stay on campus for long periods of time without stepping out of FitzRandolph gates. Students at Princeton are busy with classes, extracurriculars and a social life. However, there are many things to do in the town of Princeton that I encourage current and future Tigers to make time for and enjoy.

The most common reasons to venture through the gates and onto Nassau Street involve a craving for food and drinks. Princeton has four ice cream shops in a very small vicinity. My personal ranking is Halo Pub, Kilwin’s, Bent Spoon and Thomas Sweets. Everyone has their own personal preferences for where they go to satisfy their sweet tooth.

The town of Princeton also has a variety of coffee options. Regardless of if you’re a Starbucks person or a Dunkin’ Donuts fan, you can get your favorite coffee. If you want a coffee that doesn’t come from a chain, I would recommend Small World Coffee, a local brand with two locations, one on Nassau Street and one on Witherspoon Street.

The Princeton Public Library on Witherspoon Street has a great selection of books available to students for free. I got a library card pretty soon after coming to campus. With that card comes access to the library’s collections, as well as free tickets to museums in New York City and Philadelphia.

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Princeton Garden Theater offers multiple movies per week at a discounted price for students. Princeton Undergraduate Student Government (USG) screens movies at the Garden Theater every weekend for no cost at all if you’re willing to wait in line for the free tickets.

While all the activities I described above are in walking distance from campus, there are also some fun destinations within driving distance. TigerTransit has a Weekend Shopper shuttle that takes students to shopping locations, such as Wegmans grocery store, Walmart and Trader Joe’s. The shuttles often get crowded as students refill their rooms with snacks and cleaning supplies.

If you’re willing to take a car share service and go a little farther from the campus, there are multiple malls in the area. I’ve seen a couple movies at an AMC movie theater at the MarketFair Mall and Quakerbridge Mall is also quite popular with students.

We have our own train station on campus with a one-car train called the "Dinky" to take us to the Princeton Junction station. From there, it’s an easy ride to New York City and Philadelphia. My friends and I have taken several fun trips to New York City to explore the museums and see shows on Broadway. 

The Princeton campus is often described as the “Orange Bubble,” but I do my best to get off campus every so often. Princeton is a great town with lots of fun activities. Pretty soon, you’ll have your own list of favorite spots off campus.

During intersession in January students embark on an opportunity known as the Halftime Retreat, an Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students (ODUS) -sponsored trip just for sophomores. Last year my experience on this two-night, three-day retreat was one of the best moments I’ve had since coming to Princeton. 

The whole point of the Halftime Retreat is to give sophomores a chance to relax and reflect on their halfway point in their Princeton career. We did all sorts of activities that made us think about how our time at Princeton compared to our expectations of what it would be like. Some activities were shared group discussions, while others were more private, such as guided journaling prompts. My favorite activity was when we chose ten of the most important pictures in our lives. ODUS printed out these photos for us to use in a sort of speed-friending activity. There was an inner circle of people and an outer circle that rotated around, so every couple minutes I got to share my photos with a new person. I found new connections with people who I might not have expected to have similarities with.

Halftime led to some important realizations. Because of the discussions and journaling, I became more confident in recent decisions I had made, such as my decision to concentrate in the School of Public and International Affairs. Although making the choice was difficult, I had chosen the path that was most aligned with my values. I also realized which parts of my life I was most satisfied with, like my extracurriculars and my relationship with my family, and which parts needed some improvement, such as time spent on community service and self-care. One particularly helpful part of Halftime was the journaling. I love to write, but it had been a long time since I had written about my feelings. I hope to continue this practice in the future. 

The best part of Halftime was coming out of the retreat with an amazing new group of friends. Halftime pulled students from all parts of the campus and gave me the opportunity to meet people who I might not have met otherwise. We bonded quickly through the guided discussions and activities, but the unplanned moments made us even closer. I stayed up late having fun conversations and playing games with my new friends. Some people didn’t even go to bed at all on the last night; the memories were worth the lack of the sleep. Because of Halftime, I now have a new community I can rely on when I need friendship and support. We have an active group chat that we use to schedule frequent meetups. I’m so glad I went on this trip, and I can’t recommend it enough.

This year, I watched Triangle Club’s premier show “Once Uponzi Time,” a comedy featuring an aspiring young businesswoman haunted by the ghost of her grandfather Charles Ponzi and the shenanigans that follow. The Triangle Show deftly pulls together humor, political commentary, and wonderful acting, singing and choreography. Their cast and scripting is incredibly diverse, including many underrepresented groups. But the strengths of Triangle Club are not unique; anywhere you look on campus, there are amazing student groups full of passion and talent. My friends and I loved seeing the Triangle Show just as much as other student performances.

Part of the fun of going to shows is cheering (and heckling) your friends. Last year, I went with a group of friends to cheer on a dancer in the student group, eXpressions during their spring show, particularly during the piece she choreographed herself. One of my best friends is a writer and starring role in the theater group PSAT or Princeton South Asian Theatrics, which features a late Saturday show that explicitly welcomes heckling. Going to these student performances is an intrinsic part of Princeton life: it’s at these shows where you realize just how closely connected the student body is.

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Every one of these shows forms a part of Princeton’s performing arts culture. During my Princeton Preview, I went to the annual Tiger Arts Showcase, which highlights many of Princeton’s performing arts groups. It was there that I first saw groups such as Sympoh, Princeton’s breakdancing group; Triple 8, one of campus’ most prominent East Asian dance companies; and Triangle Club, which performed a few of their most iconic songs. I was blown away by it all.

Princeton performances are a constant reminder of the huge mix of passions and dedications that make up our student body. As much as campus is a place of study, it’s also a place where all of our talents and interests come together to make cool and inspiring things like these shows, and that’s yet another reason why I love it here.  

New Jersey can be one of the most weather-confused states. Whether it's 60 degrees in January or 35 degrees in April, New Jersey has some interesting weather patterns. Season-relevant attire is important because Princeton is a walking campus and I don’t know about you but who wants to be caught in the rain with socks and slides? Here are some tips I find helpful to have throughout the school year.

• Coat with a hood: Any hat plus coat combo is fine, but a hood keeps you warm, is easy to put on and can’t really be forgotten. No worries if your coat doesn’t have one. Water Resistant Shoes: Rain is a pretty common forecast on campus. Rain boots work perfectly. Snow boots would also fall into this category for the colder months.
• Gloves: Gloves are also necessary for a cold winter breeze or an autumn downpour! Your fingers can get cold holding up your multipurpose umbrella or sometimes your pockets are full and your hands can’t fit into your jacket pocket. Regardless of the reason, gloves are pretty handy. No pun intended.
• Warm Socks: I thought ankle socks would be fine, but turns out fuzzy socks and crew socks keep you warmer. Fuzzy or thicker socks are great for comfortable walking sneakers because your feet can get cold from walking everywhere. New Jersey often has some vicious winter winds.
• Umbrella: This works not only in the rain, but also in the snow. A raincoat is an alternative, but an umbrella can also protect your bookbag. 
• Scarf: Scarves are a nice touch to your look. They can be repurposed as a head covering to warm your ears or cover your face during windy, cold days.
• Stay Hydrated: This includes your skin and hair. Many people find the winter months to be dehydrating, so make sure you keep some moisturizer, water bottles and hair products close.
• Short & Sandals: Although New Jersey can be a pretty cold state, when it's warm, its WARM. I would highly recommend bringing some clothes for warm weather in the early fall, because it can be notoriously hot and humid.
• Sun____: Sunglasses, sunscreen and other sun-related items like hats are also nice to have in the fall for protection from the sun's harsh rays.

This is an opinion-based article and none of these items are an absolute necessity. These are just a few useful tips I find helpful to keeping warm, dry and comfortable during the school year. I hope these tips help to prepare you for your time at Princeton.

The senior thesis. What is it? Where did it come from? Why do I have to do it?

You might be asking yourself these questions. Maybe you’re waiting to hear back from the Office of Admission and you just read about the thesis online. Maybe you’ve already been admitted, and the thesis is making you question whether or not you want to matriculate. If you only remember one thing from this post, I hope it is this: don’t let the thought of a thesis scare you!

Almost every student at Princeton has to write a senior thesis in order to graduate. It’s basically just a long(er) research paper on a topic of your choice. Since most students have to write one, pretty much everyone will be familiar with the process at some point during their Princeton career. This means that you are never struggling through it alone.

When I was a prospective student, I remember being a little intimidated by the senior thesis. I had never written something so long in my life! I had no idea where to even begin. However, as the semesters started flying by, my interests began solidifying themselves, and it became apparent to me what I wanted to focus on at Princeton: a combination of policy, the criminal-legal system and race/discrimination.

Once you know what you are interested in, choosing a thesis topic becomes much easier. I knew I wanted to go to law school after Princeton and I’ve always been interested in criminal justice reform. So, I made sure to choose a topic that encompassed all of that! I applied for funding from the Woodrow Wilson School⁠—the department I’m majoring in⁠—and planned a trip to Norway. While there, I spent two days at a men’s maximum-security facility in order to learn about their prison system. I conducted interviews, took pictures and observed the individuals who have been incarcerated along with the staff (read this post to learn more about my thesis!). Honestly, it didn’t even feel like work⁠—since it’s a topic I’m genuinely interested in, I really enjoyed the research.

I think that’s the key to conquering your senior thesis: make sure you choose a topic that you are genuinely interested in, and the research won’t feel so much like work. Keeping this in mind, don’t let the senior thesis scare you. As a senior, I feel so much support from my classmates, since I know they’re going through the same process. I’m excited to see the final product of all my hard work and I’m so glad I didn’t let it scare me away from committing to Princeton!

I signed up to write for The Daily Princetonian as soon as I could my first year. Through this experience, not only have I improved as a writer, but I have also found a community to call my own.

The Daily Princetonian, or The Prince for short, is one of the longest-running college newspapers in the country. It prints daily, as the name suggests. I often see people reading The Prince at breakfast, learning about the latest news as they start their day.

I’ve written a lot of interesting articles since joining the paper. You can pitch any story you want; the opportunities are endless! The second article I wrote covered Ellie Kemper’s '02 keynote speech at the She Roars conference for female alumni in October 2018. I talked to her for several minutes and took a picture with her! I commented on her Instagram post from the event, and she followed me back on Instagram. She even likes and comments on some of my posts! When she came back for Class Day 2019, I emailed her through our alumni network about setting up an interview. I talked to her on the phone for almost a half hour to learn about how her time at Princeton prepared her for her acting career.

Ellie Kemper is not the only famous alumni I’ve talked to because of The Prince. This fall, I interviewed seven members of Congress who all graduated from Princeton, including Senator Ted Cruz '92, Congressman John Sarbanes '84 and Congresswoman Terri Sewell '86. These members of Congress came from all over the country and were members of both political parties, but they all had in common a desire to serve their country. It was an eye-opening experience and taught me about talking to people whose opinions differ from my own.

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While it’s fun to interview politicians and celebrities, I’ve also enjoyed covering student life and campus affairs. I interviewed a student who started Letters to Strangers, an international nonprofit dedicated to combating the stigma of mental health. I wrote about Tiger Treks, student-led trips to New York City and Tel Aviv that explore the burgeoning start-up industries in those cities. I talked to the founder of J-Lats, the first-ever club for students of Jewish and Latinx heritage, about the group’s first Latinx Shabbat

Over the past three semesters, I’ve learned how to develop my own pitches for stories, how to interview sources, how to structure a news article, and much, much more.  I recently became an Associate News Editor, and I'm excited to expand my role in the Prince. While the writing skills are important, so is making new friends that will stay with me long beyond my tenure on the Prince. I always look forward to my time in the newsroom. 

In the fall of my first year, I took my soccer ball to Poe Field one afternoon looking to get some practice in. A wide concourse of grass curving around one corner of campus, Poe Field is wedded between the colorful gates of Butler College’s Bloomberg Hall and the glass walls of Carl Icahn Labs.

That afternoon, I’d anticipated only some solitary practice with the all-weather-worn goal posts. But to my surprise, there were already a dozen or more people in the middle of a pickup game. I recognized none of them but took a gamble and asked if I could join. Within minutes, I was right in the thick of it.

Writing this provokes another memory: The first day of my time at Princeton, I wandered by the gentle slopes in front of Whitman College where some other first-years were playing an improvised game of soccer with their shoes marking the goals. To this day one pair of my socks are still stained faintly green.

In high school, I’d never found a soccer community. With the exception of my best friend, very few people were as invested in the game as I was, and when he moved away after sophomore year, I no longer had anyone to talk to about one of my greatest passions.

I now play games of pickup at Poe Field nearly every Saturday. With a few friends I met during these games, we also formed an intramural team called the Poe Fielders. When the weather gets too cold, I have one-on-one training sessions with one of my best friends in the squash courts of Dillon Gym, an improvised location that we’ve found highly rewarding, nonetheless.

It seems like such a small thing – people who treat soccer as more than just an after-school sport but, instead, as a lifestyle; people who I can watch games and play FIFA video games to unwind. Soccer may be big where you come from, and this may seem unremarkable to you. But I guarantee that if you have a passion that you’ve been aching to share with those around you, you’ll find that community here at Princeton. There are so many clubs here; more than that, it’s impossible not to find groups of people who share your interests.

For me, it was as simple as wandering past a soccer scrimmage, asking if I could join, and having the ball at my feet seconds later.