Campus legends, old and new

I enjoyed the article on Orange Key (cover story, Nov. 18), but must point out that if some campus myths are now cloaked with “according to legend ...”, new myths are replacing them. Last April I took granddaughter Kate to visit campus. Our tour ended at Frist Campus Center, and our guide told us that “down that hall is the room where Einstein used to teach.” Kate had to see that, so off we went. As soon as I opened the door I realized we were in old Palmer 206 (lovingly and wonderfully preserved in its mid-century grandeur), where generations of freshmen were taught introductory college physics. But while their lecturers included Nobelists and future Nobelists, surely they were never taught there by the iconic physicist of the 20th century!  

The presence of Einstein at the Institute for Advanced Study surely helped Princeton build one of the top physics departments in the world, so he definitely contributed to the role of physics at Princeton. It’s possible, I suppose, that Einstein once gave a popular lecture in Palmer 206, but it seems less than honest to tell visitors that Einstein “used to teach” in the freshman physics lecture hall.