UPC weekly roundup: North Korean human rights, deer of Princeton, free speech controversy

 Your Monday evening briefing: Press Club's activity over the past week

 

Times of Trenton, NJ.com

Experts examine North Korean puzzle at Princeton human rights conference | Asian Correspondent

Sophia Cai ‘21 reports on “The North Korean Puzzle: Putting the Pieces Together,” a conference organized by a Princeton student group advocating North Korean human rights. The conference featured a panel of professors, activists, and a North Korean defector. Sophia includes her major takeaways. An excerpt:“North Korea’s attempt to rebrand itself at the Winter Games with Kim Jong Un’s younger sister Kim Yo Jong and its army of 230 female cheerleaders marks the elder Kim’s first foray into the charm offensives that were frequently used by Kim Jung-il.Klingner, however, was sceptical about the effectiveness of this inter-Korean reconciliation engagement.”

Princeton readying lethal force to deer overpopulation | The Times of Trenton 

Ben Weissenbach ‘20 reports on how Princeton became an ecological “deer haven,” posing public safety risks. For years, the town has facilitated killing the deer population by recruiting volunteer and hired hunters, causing controversy. An excerpt:“‘Dropping nets over deer at feeding stations, and then trying to stun them with a captive bolt gun, which requires the gun to be held to the forehead of a struggling, kicking animal, is bound to be inhumane,’ said Princeton University ethics Professor Peter Singer, who publicly denounced Princeton's deer management tactics in the early 2000s.”

Free speech class cancelled after professor uses racial slur 

Ethan Sterenfeld ‘20 wrote this blog post about Lawrence Rosen’s course on free speech, which Rosen cancelled after protests of his use of the “n-word” during class. The Trenton Times referenced the blog post as the first report of the cancellation.

Honor Code Conflict | Princeton Alumni Weekly   

Francesca Billington ‘19 covers the honor code referenda from December, when students voted by a wide margin to reform Princeton’s honor code. However, university administrators said three of the four reforms would not be enacted without further review, causing student outcry. Some excerpts:“Students ‘should be outraged at this act of student disenfranchisement,’ Micah Herskind ’19, a member of the USG academics subcommittee that proposed the referenda, wrote in The Daily Princetonian. ‘Princeton’s administration has communicated to its students that it will only play by the rules so long as those rules maintain the status quo.’”…“While the Prince editorial board endorsed the December referenda, nine alumni who had chaired the Honor Committee wrote that it would be a ‘grave mistake’ to reduce the standard penalty from a one-year suspension to academic probation for a first offense.”---Check in next week to read more Press Club coverage. / Somi Jun