Be careful with removal of assistant master positions

By Daily Princetonian Staff Published: Friday, September 15th, 2006 Be careful with removal of assistant master positions Regarding 'RCAs debate removal of assistant master position' (Friday, May 19, 2006): I read the article about the abolition of the assistant master position with a sad heart.  I served as assistant master at Butler College in 2002-03. In my short tenure there, I made many friends and worked with an exceptionally bright group of undergraduates.  Though having served definitely delayed my academic progression, I have no regrets about my choice.  As for my duties, it wasn't so much that my presence in Butler enriched the students' lives; rather I was fortunate enough to have learned many things from people more junior than I. Giving more graduate students the chance to interact with the wider college community is to be lauded, but I hope that the diminished responsibilities with the new graduate positions do not lessen the scope for interaction.  After all, it was the fact that the position consumed so much of my time that made it special. The group of shy 18-year-olds that I met in September 2002 have now left the orange bubble — good luck in your new endeavors!…

Hunger Banquet sends wrong message

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…