The Lost Privilege of Trust

I recall sitting against a tree at the E-Quad taking my final exam in Fluid Dynamics. I sat there with paper, pen, and privilege. The privilege of being trusted by the University. I didn’t earn that trust but I would not have considered violating it. It was part of the privilege of being admitted to Princeton. It was part of my education, along with our daily Princeton-out-of-South-Africa marches and our April 1978 Nassau Hall sit-in, tutoring in Trenton, and other outside-the-classroom education. It has had a lasting impact.

The University officially no longer trusts students. Without that trust, there is no Honor Code. Princeton is less.

(This is my first letter to PAW in 47 years since graduation.)