Daily Princetonian: Religion can blind followers to the truth

I am secular. In a society that is very religious this is an invitation for scorn. I was not always secular, however.  I was once a devout Christian. Up until my eighteenth birthday I would have described myself as a believer. I had started going to church as a young lad because my parents were too busy working to take me out. So when local church officials came knocking on my door and asked if I wanted to go to Sunday School – where there would be other kids to play with and, best of all, free food – I acquiesced. I was a very committed Christian. At one time I led the church youth group and headed a Bible study unit. Just as much, my social values were conservative: I summarily opposed abortions; I thought homosexuality was wrong. These were the norms I was taught at church. Now I see religious intolerance as one of the great challenges for a pluralistic and compassionate society. I say this because I see how religion is oftentimes used as a veil for hate: How is denying human rights (i.e., marriage) to gays seen as moral? Likewise, is it just to bring a…

Daily Princetonian: Assessing our responsibilities outside the Ivory Tower

Having a moral conscience is harmful to your wallet; it urges you to fight for social justice, often at the expense of a lucrative career.  For this reason, I wish that I were not held back by the mortgage of guilt in the inequality and destitution that I see in society. Although I have little sympathy for adults who make bad choices and end up on the short end of life, I cannot help but feel despair for those born into poor circumstances or saddled with bad luck in life. But why should I care about the welfare of strangers?  I am not burdened by the guilt of privilege.  I am neither tall, nor white, nor rich, nor blessed with beauty — traits that confer positive rewards to their owners.  If anything, the world has left me to die — literally and figuratively — more than once in my life (but I'm still kicking, although the lack of NHL hockey on TV is making me go insane!). Why should I fight against policies that will hurt the poor?  Regressive measures would have hurt me when I was young, when I was growing up as a poor immigrant child, but now…

Daily Princetonian: Talent comes from many economic backgrounds

If you are reading this article, you likely belong to the richest quartile of the country.  According to an April 2004 New York Times article, three quarters of Harvard's class of '03 came from the top quartile of the income distribution; only 6.8 percent came from the bottom.  The figures for Princeton are similar.  If Princeton is truly interested in being "in the nation's service," then not only is it failing its mandate, but it is also exacerbating inequalities.  For higher education to be a means of social mobility, the playing field must be made more level for the less affluent. Let's face it:  Princeton is a bastion of privilege.  The problem faced by elite institutions, then, is how to attract and admit qualified students from more diverse economic backgrounds. Growing up, I belonged to the bottom quartile.  Aside from the disadvantages of poverty, my parents also played no role in my schooling, and my teenage years were spent in and out of the courts.  I graduated from high school at the age of 20, after dropping out once and being expelled twice. My acceptance into Trinity College (University of Toronto) came as a surprise in spite of my eventual…

Daily Princetonian: Admissions policies unfair to Asians

Fifteen percent of Princeton undergraduates are Asian-Americans (among domestic students).  Compared with peer institutions, this is actually a low figure.  At Yale and Harvard, Asians make up 17 and 19 percent of the population, respectively.  Although these are high numbers, enrollment would actually increase if not for current legislation. What would happen to the number of Asians at elite schools if admissions were truly race-blind?  In the California school system, race is prohibited by law from being a factor in college admissions (although statistics still point to bias against Asians).  A simple back-of-the-envelope calculation based on the increased enrolment of Asian-Americans in California schools after they passed proposition 209, SAT scores and historical extrapolation based on quota-like discrimination against Jews pre-WWII, shows that if not for race-based preferences, Asians would account for about 30 percent of the population at schools like Harvard and Princeton.  This would certainly change the landscape of higher learning. Should schools like Princeton support programs like affirmative action?  First, let me critique affirmative action.  It should not be cloaked as a tool to overcome historical discrimination or slavery.  For one, this implies that Asians do not face discrimination or past prejudices (e.g., the Chinese Exclusion Act…

Daily Princetonian: Our peculiar northern neighbors

Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving Day in October.  How many of you knew that? If you are like most Americans, then you are probably unaware of this fact.  Indeed, ignorance of Canadian matters is an acute problem in the United States.  According to a dated CNN poll, only two percent of Americans know the name of the Canadian prime minister. Why are Canadians invisible in the eyes of Americans?  It seems rather strange since Canada is a prominent member of the international community — e.g., it is a member of the G7 countries.  It is also the second largest country in terms of land mass.  And being just north of the United States, it's hard to miss on the map, although one in four Americans did, according to the same CNN poll.  Also, if not for Canada, how would Americans satisfy their craving for maple syrup-coated pancakes on a Sunday morning? Canadians are everywhere.  They live among you.  They are your classmates, your professors and even 'Prince' columnists (gasp!).  They are also scapegoats for life's little annoyances — "Blame it on Canada!"  But for all the jokes and rivalry, Canada remains a mystery to most.  Yet oddly, this phenomenon has become a…

Daily Princetonian: Economic inequality is unjust

I had a discussion with an economics professor about the growing inequality of American society last year.  My theme in that conversation was that the United States, like Brazil, is embarking on a path of becoming a nation of haves and have-nots. The Gini coefficient — familiar to economics students — is a widely quoted measure of the inequality in a nation.  A value of zero represents a perfectly equitable society, whereas a value of one describes an economy in which one person owns all the resources. Japan and the Scandinavian countries are the world's most income-equitable countries.  They have income Ginis of about 0.25. On the other hand, Brazil's figure is 0.61.  Closer to home, Canada has an income Gini of 0.32, while here in this country it was 0.41 when last measured in 1998 and it is growing quickly.  By most estimates, this number now probably stands close to 0.45. But all these numbers are really abstract.  What exactly does it mean for a country to have a Gini of .25 as opposed to .61?  To get a sense of the disparity between rich and poor, in Japan the richest 10 percent earns five times as much as…

Daily Princetonian: A budding academic’s take on why academics support Kerry

Your friends, as they say, are the best judges of your character. Indeed, a healthy dose of criticism is cathartic, and heeding the advice of friends is a quality we all need. Besides, as the Biblical verse says, people cannot see the plank in their own eyes. Recently, a poll cited by the BBC showed that worldwide support for the presidency favored Kerry. Among the 35 countries surveyed, only Nigeria, the Philippines and Poland preferred Bush. Regardless of differences in world opinion over Iraq and how the war on terrorism is being fought, Americans should remember that these disagreements are over politics, and not with Americans themselves. Among traditional allies such as Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, and Japan — of which, two backed the Iraq war — John Kerry was preferred by up to 66 percent over George W. Bush. In Canada Kerry is up 61 to 16 percent. In France, it's 64 to five. In the United Kingdom, Kerry leads by 47 to 16 percent, and in Japan, Bush is down 32 to 43 percent. But the margin is largest in Germany: Kerry outpaces Bush 76 to 10 percent. So why is the world so staunchly behind Kerry?…

Daily Princetonian: In politics, religious zeal can be blinding

One must tiptoe through the tulips of religion with twinkle toes. Recently, a colleague and I discussed the French ban on conspicuous religious displays. I argued that although not perfect, the ban was appropriate. My friend, who is originally from a Muslim country but not religious, deplored the law. In fact, he so fiercely opposed the ban that he became belligerent in what was supposed to have been a civil debate between two educated persons. I referred to some anecdotal evidence that demonstrated some French-Muslim women might actually be happier with this law in place. At this point he lost his composure and began yelling: "You are not Muslim! So how do you know what (French) Muslim women think? I am Muslim, and I can tell you that the vast majority of (French) Muslim women are opposed to the ban!" In any case, he became so bellicose that a friend stepped in to calm his nerves. With that said, let me plod my size nines through the garden. What makes some people so fanatical about religion? It has the power to turn otherwise intelligent people into irrational ideologues. And lest we think that this zeal is confined only to Muslims,…

Daily Princetonian: Can’t understand the preceptor, eh?

Ask anyone about his thoughts on the precept system and you will be sure to get an earful. For my part, I have precepted three undergraduate courses over the years. Although it can be rewarding, precepting does have its downsides. One annoying aspect is that every year I will read an opinion in the 'Prince' by someone who is unhappy with her preceptor. Invariably she will rail about her preceptor's dearth of talent in teaching and poor command of English. Some of the beefs that students have are legitimate, but sometimes they are just inane. I recall an incident several years back that amused and angered me. A former colleague of mine, John Woo (not his real name), related an interesting story to me. Born and raised in upstate New York, Woo is as American as apple pie. When Woo was "serving his time" he was a very popular teacher. Indeed, in the year prior to us meeting, he had won a distinguished award in teaching. Students would pack the classrooms where he taught, and there were always more students who wished to be enrolled in his section than the registrar's office would permit. One day, early in September several…

Daily Princetonian: A few of the many reasons to envy Canada

Admit it. All of you secretly wish that you were Canadian. From flag-waving American undergraduates to overseas graduate students, you are all envious of the Canadian mystique. I do not blame you for being jealous. I understand that it is this jealously that leads you to tease us "poutine" and "beaver tail" eaters. Some of you may be sheepishly asking what is so good about Canada that others would be envious. For sure, most of you are not envious of having winter nine months of the year, and neither is it that you care for eating mooseburgers or cod tongue (although they are tasty!). But if you think about it, Canada really is a great place. In addition to pristine wilderness and the best damn maple syrup in the world, Canada is a progressive country that produces progressive people. In what other country can you be in a part of a city known as Little Italy yet dining in an Indian restaurant that is owned by a Jew, albeit eating Vietnamese food and drinking "Maudite" with your half-Brazilian, half-Croatian date, while being served by a Chinese waiter, watching Anson Carter (who is black) score for team Canada to win the…