June 30: President Eisgruber ’83; Danielle Allen ’93 on Civic Strength

President Eisgruber ’83 explained in a guest column why trustees decided to remove Woodrow Wilson’s name from what will now be called the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, saying, “Princeton is part of an America that has too often disregarded, ignored and turned a blind eye to racism.” — The Washington Post
 
Villanova University professor Vincent Lloyd ’03 said this is a time for universities to open a conversation about campus police, and invest less in diversity officers and more in academic programs like African American studies. — National Catholic Reporter

CNN analyst Laura Coates ’01 asks why Harriet Tubman isn’t yet on the $20 bill, arguing the delay speaks to “the subjugation of women, the subjugation of people of color, and the subjugation of history.” — CNN

Steve Adler ’78, mayor of Austin, Texas, said President Trump’s confusing messaging is “one of the chief causes of the spread” of the coronavirus. — NPR
 
Illinois Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi ’95 said fraudulent coronavirus antibody tests were taken by hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people after the FDA decided not to police the market. — 60 Minutes
 
Harvard University professor Michael Porter ’69 says U.S. politics is dysfunctional in part because “the Republican and Democratic parties make up an industry duopoly with high barriers to entry and low consumer power,” creating a lack of competition where both can avoid compromise. — Harvard Business Review
 

“I was shocked, at the beginning of COVID-19, how quickly people moved into this way of thinking, ‘Oh, maybe we should just let the elderly go’ or ‘Maybe we should just let young people get it and see what happens. … The willingness to abandon parts of our society is the definition of a broken social compact.”

— Danielle Allen ’93, 2020 winer of the Kluge Humanities Prize from the Library of Congress, on her “civic strength” initiative. — The New York Times

The June 21 backyard wedding of Peter Bass ’85 and Nuala O’Connor ’89 was featured in The New York Times’ Vows section. As many as 500 people from across the globe joined by video. — The New York Times

After giving himself a crew cut, Bill Eville ’87, managing editor of the Vineyard Gazette, reflected on his annual haircut in Boston that reminds him of his wife’s fight with cancer. — The New York Times 

David Lieb ’03, product lead for Google Photos, explained the new “map view” designed for “this idea of nostalgia, and reminiscing, and looking back on your photos.” — The Verge
  
Ilya Shapiro ’99, director of the Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies at the Cato Institute, said the courts will likely green-light university requirements that students wear masks indoors. — Campus Reform
 
University of Missouri president Mun Choi *92 said a statue of Thomas Jefferson would not be removed despite requests, saying, “Jefferson’s contribution to this country and the world was seminal and should be celebrated.” — The Columbia Missourian