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Ice Hockey and More / Baker Rink More Than Just a Hockey Heaven

March 8, 2023 Articles, Letters
Letter to the Princeton Alumni Weekly (March 8, 2023) IN RESPONSE TO:  For 100 Years Baker Rink Has Been Hockey Heaven It was great to read about the role that Baker Rink has played at Princeton over the years (Sports, January issue). I was part of the Noontime Hockey group when I was a student back in the early 2000s. I also played intramural hockey at Baker during my time. One year the team I organized (named “A Bunch of Grad Students”) won the championship, surprising our undergraduate opponents who thought that they would walk over us — we were a team of mostly Canadians. When I went back several years ago for Reunions, I made it a point to take my skates with me so that I could get back on the ice. The article did, however, forget to mention another notable activity at Baker Rink: broomball. Not sure of its status now, but back in my time it was the most popular intramural sport on campus, with perhaps two dozen teams registered. It was played in sneakers but on the ice, and with a “broom” and a large soft ball. The ice was a great equalizer, as athletic…

Talent can be found everywhere

September 1, 2021 Articles, Letters
A letter to the Princeton Alumni Weekly (PAW). IN RESPONSE TO:  PRISON TEACHING INITIATIVE HELPS INCARCERATED STUDENTS EARN DEGREES   I went through the criminal justice system in Toronto when I was a teenager. Luckily I have no criminal record by grace of laws pertaining to young offenders in Canada. I was supposed to have spent six months in juvenile jail but was fortunate enough to have been sentenced to community service in lieu of prison time. Nevertheless, I did spend a brief period behind bars as part of that process. Most of the people in my prison block were childhood friends and friends of friends. (I grew up at a time when youth gangs were prevalent.) All were definitely street savvy, if not book smart. Indeed, many of the people in detention with me seemed just as sharp minded as people I would go on to meet a decade later as a graduate student at Princeton. Professor Jeff Dolven noted in the article (“Prison Teaching Initiative Helps Incarcerated Students Earn Degrees,” June 2021) that “much intelligence and talent and imagination is locked up in prisons.” I would add also that for the most part the talent is also wasted…

Living in Dubai

September 13, 2018 Articles, Letters
A letter to the Princeton Alumni Weekly (PAW) IN RESPONSE TO: VOICES: ‘A DEEPLY INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE’ There are many misconceptions and a general lack of knowledge of the Middle East by those outside of the region. It was thus refreshing to read Paulette Singley *98's take on her experience at the American University of Sharjah. I spent over five years in Dubai, having recently relocated (back) to Canada. Though the UAE -- of which Sharjah and Dubai are among the seven emirates that make up the federation -- are remarkably different than the rest of the Middle East, living there definitely opened my eyes to gain a better appreciation of that part of the world. Although there are serious issues in the neighboring countries, the UAE, and in particular Dubai, is a modern and liberal society with a highly diverse population that also counts a thriving Princeton alumni community. In my time in Dubai, there was no shortage of boozy parties or women dressed in seductive clothing. Most ironically, and a testament to the diversity and dynamism of the UAE, is that I now play less ice hockey and at a lower level while living in the Mecca of hockey (Montreal)…

PAW Class Notes (April 22, 2015)

April 22, 2015 Articles, Media / Op-ed
ECONOMICS: Dr. Kai Chan *08 (in photo) writes from Dubai, where he is working as a policy adviser for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) federal government. Kai and his wife, Dominika, have been in Dubai since September 2011, shortly after their marriage in New York’s City Hall. They have immersed themselves into life in Dubai and have taken advantage of the location to travel extensively to Europe, Asia, and Africa. For this academic year Kai is a distinguished fellow at INSEAD at the Abu Dhabi campus. INSEAD, with campuses in Paris, Singapore, and Abu Dhabi, has as its motto “the business school for the world.” Kai was also on the team that was successful in getting the 2020 Expo for Dubai. While Kai was in New York, he was active in the Princeton Club as a graduate-alumni representative, hosting several alumni get-togethers. A proud Canadian -- and playing more hockey in Dubai than he did  in New York -- Kai is continuing to work to build up the Princeton alumni presence in the UAE, hosting quite a few visiting alums. Written by Timothy J. Butts *72 (Princeton Alumni Weekly Class Notes (April 22, 2015))

Hunger Banquet sends wrong message

November 17, 2005 Articles, Letters
By Daily Princetonian Staff Published: Thursday, November 17th, 2005 Hunger Banquet sends wrong message Regarding 'Lobster, steak and plain white rice' (Tuesday, November 15, 2005): This article gave me an unsettling feeling in my stomach.  As a person who ate "plain white rice" for many years in the parlance of the article (I ate chicken bones and rotten vegetables tossed away by local grocers), I must admit I felt uneasy about how the SVC chose to raise awareness of this matter.  For one, I am not sure how much awareness is really brought to the problem, and surely empathy is not on the menu as participants know that after the meal they can resume with their regular lives.  I certainly didn't have the option of walking away from the "plain white rice" dinner when I was growing up in poverty.  Secondly, one of the hardships of eating "plain white rice" is the loss of dignity that cannot be captured in a smug gesture.  Although the event was rooted in good intentions, as a person with a perspective growing up in poverty I found it condescending and bordering on mocking, especially given that this is the same school that hosted Ralph…

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