Sept. 22: Danielle Allen ’93’s Love for the Constitution

The U.S. Department of Education opened an inquiry into whether Princeton violated civil rights law, pointing to President Eisgruber ’83’s recent condemnation of systemic racism at Princeton and beyond. The University replied: “It is unfortunate that the Department appears to believe that grappling honestly with the nation’s history and the current effects of systemic racism runs afoul of existing law.” — The New York Times
 
Harvard economist N. Gregory Mankiw ’80 supports paying people to get a COVID-19 vaccine. “Spending, employment, and production won’t fully recover until the fear of catching the virus dissipates,” he wrote, and for that we need herd immunity. — The New York Times
 
Novelist Jennifer Weiner ’91 took Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s trip to a hair salon as a sign that, unfortunately, restrictive beauty standards for women will return after the pandemic. — The New York Times

The University of California system has taken a $2.2 billion hit this year, between lost revenue and increased expenses including online teaching technology, said Chief Financial Officer Nathan Brostrom *89. — The Los Angeles Times

“It’s ours, an adaptable instrument used to define self-government among free and equal citizens — and to secure our ongoing moral education about that most important human endeavor. We are all responsible for our Constitution, and that fact is empowering.”

— Danielle Allen ’93 explaining her love for the U.S. Constitution despite its clause counting her great-great-grandfather as three-fifths of a free person. — The Atlantic

Trump campaign official Ed Cox ’68 said a law proposed in New York, aimed at stopping the president from avoiding state-level criminal prosecution, would be struck down as unconstitutional. — The New York Post

Research by James Heckman *71 into self control during childhood is featured in a new book about major cohort studies that could foretell the pandemic’s impact on children. — Nature.com
 
David Michaelis ’79, author of a forthcoming biography of Eleanor Roosevelt, said the first lady was always thinking of ways to help others. — Yahoo
 
The European Parliament called on the Philippines’ government to drop charges against journalist Maria Ressa ’86, whose “cyber libel” conviction is widely seen as a deliberate strike to the country’s free press. — CBS News
 
The Sacramento Kings are hiring Monte McNair ’06 as their head of basketball operations. McNair has been with the Houston Rockets for 13 years, the past three as assistant general manager. — The Athletic

Actress Brooke Shields ’87 talked about living with a balance of confidence and humility and said she doesn’t Google herself. “What idiot reads the comments?” she said. — Today.com