The Researcher encourages scientific awareness

Focusing on current scientific discoveries, achievements, and events, The Researcher is PHS’s new student-run monthly science magazine. The editors are currently publishing the magazine online, with seven sections: biology, physics, chemistry, psychology, student research, guest speakers at the school, and a section for logic puzzles.

Editors-in-Chief Ben Baumgartner ’21 and Sanyukta Mudakannavar ’21, who were inspired to create the magazine by their experiences in PHS’s research program, organized a group of editors to begin creating the first issue of the magazine.

“[In my freshman year], I felt that there was no outlet at PHS for me to read more into the sciences. I was unaware of the fascinating ongoing scientific research underway in both the broader scientific community and by high school students,” said Mudakannavar. “I felt that if I was exposed to the research world earlier, I would have greatly benefited from it and explored more of the different fields in the sciences.”

Mudakannavar and Baumgartner wanted to educate the community by creating a magazine that would discuss and share recent scientific discoveries, both at PHS and in the greater scientific community.

“The Researcher is a magazine that students and faculty can access if they want to read up on all of the interesting discoveries happening in science in the world, and the speakers and experiments happening at the school,” said Baumgartner. “One of our goals is that this would help to promote high school student research and raise awareness about the student-led research in the PHS research program to the Princeton community.”

Through the creation of this magazine and the need for coverage of a multitude of scientific fields, Baumgartner and Mudakannavar became interested in many different sciences that they had previously not known much about. They hope to do the same for other students at PHS who read their magazine.

Beyond research conducted by professional scientists, Baumgartner and Mudakannavar are also planning to share the scientific work of students at PHS. Because Baumgartner and Mudakannavar have seen the dedication of time and effort put into the PHS Research projects, they hope that the accomplishments of these students can be seen and appreciated by their peers.

“One of the challenges that [Ben and I] faced [before we started the magazine] was that [we] were unable to effectively publicize and share [the Research students’] findings or research projects [with] the community,” said Mudakannavar. “This magazine is [unique because] it showcases interesting and awesome PHS student research, which isn't really known to many students in the school.”

The magazine comes out monthly, having published its first issue in February. In the future, its editors hope to publish more articles and enlist more students as writers to continue their pursuit of informing the community about scientific research and events in the world and at PHS.

“Eventually, when the magazine gains more recognition, we plan to approach local businesses who would be interested in placing ads on our website, [to be able to publish a physical version as well],” said Mudakannavar. “Our main hope is that this will raise awareness in the school about events in the scientific community happening today.”

Link to website: https://www.theresearcherphs.com/

Career speakers promote student opportunities

Throughout this school year, the Ideas Center hosted career speakers in the Learning Commons during F-Day community service times instead of the usual Career Fair. The first event took place on February 27, and the Ideas Center Board originally planned for them to continue through mid-May. Because of the switch to remote learning, the Ideas Center was only able to host one more session on March 9.

In an attempt to present a multitude of career options and ideas for students, the Ideas Center Board, along with advisor Dr. Andrea Dinan, invited speakers of different careers to advise and offer their own experience to the students.

“[Having the speakers come is beneficial] because [students will] see that there are so many opportunities and [different] ways that you can [be successful],” said Moriah Eley ’21, a member of the Ideas Center Board.

Based on her prior experiences with listening to career speakers in college, Dinan believes that having experts come in and talk is more effective than a career fair because the communication of real information is more direct.

“I wanted to do something [other] than the Career Fair [because] I don't think students get an opportunity to ask a lot of questions or find out any in-depth information about any careers,” Dinan said.

Eley hopes students will be able to see what the careers are like in practice by learning more about the duties and benefits of the jobs. The board carefully chooses the speakers to address the interests of the student body and the practical applications of each job.

“We started with a really big list. We want to make sure we have a diverse group that represents a diversity of people, careers, [and] interest for all the students,” Dinan said.

They especially hoped to encourage students to participate and ask questions to the speakers, to ensure that the students would learn something from the presentation. Additionally, with the many choices they had, they were able to choose jobs that were beneficial for students to learn about.

“I really wanted students to understand that these careers are [attainable], and [what] their futures would look like,” said Dinan. “Having these career speakers come in and talk about their [experiences] really helps students to diversify their [ideas] about what [career] they want to pursue in the future.”

The speakers also explained to students what challenges came with their careers and how to overcome them, as well as introduce them to careers or even entire fields that they might have never had the opportunity to learn about.

“What I think [students] can benefit from here is to listen to different points and different perspectives,” said one of Johnson & Johnson’s Senior Finance Director Eduardo Gonzalez and one of the career speakers. “There are a ton of opportunities for [students] right now, and I want [them] to be [aware] of those opportunities and [begin] thinking more about [their] futures.”

Although it is currently not possible for speakers to deliver presentations in person, the Ideas Center is finding new ways to continue offering these opportunities to students, and is considering hosting speakers over Zoom during the period of remote learning.

Princeton’s new affordable housing plan will increase PHS enrollment

Princeton’s new affordable housing plan calls for construction of several developments to meet Princeton’s required number of affordable housing mandated by the state. However, this would increase enrollment at PHS, which is already high and steadily rising.

“We're very mindful that there are enrollment concerns [and the] district has [been] sensitive to that,” said Mayor Liz Lempert. “We know that the school district is having some challenging discussions right now, [and] we’re also having conversations about the benefits of affordable housing in [Princeton].”

Soorya Baliga ’22, a member of the Youth Advisory Committee, believes there should be a balance between the increasing class size and the preservation of more personalized education.

“On one hand, [the addition of more students leads to a] less individualized education. However, having more students also means more perspectives to add to the school community,” Baliga said.

Although the Affordable Housing Plan will increase the overcrowding at PHS, Lempert believes there are benefits to it as well.

The mayor has already set a goal to make sure the locations of these housings can maximize the benefits in the community by helping local businesses.

“[We wanted the developments to be] walkable to shops, jobs, [and] transit. [The] buildings [will be] sustainable,” said Lempert. “[But] we also had to make sure that the developments were going to be feasible.”

This affordable housing will increase the level of income diversity in Princeton Public Schools, which is relatively low in comparison to other districts. Additionally, one of the developments will be reserved only for senior citizens.

“[We want to] lower the negative impact of this affordable housing application on the schools and the community,” said Lempert. “[Senior housing] is important because we hear all the time from seniors in the community that they need to have more housing options that will be more affordable.”

Currently, the township has reached half of the approximately 750 affordable housing units needed by 2025. To reach this number, the municipality will use two methods to build new developments, aimed to satisfy the affordable housing mandate while still helping out the people receiving affordable housing.

“First, there is the method where the township builds affordable housing. [The other way is with an] inclusionary project, [where] an outside developer comes in, and they are required to make 20 percent of their development affordable,” said Lempert. “What the [Princeton] plan tries to do is strike the balance between the two methods.”

On February 19, the Princeton Council approved the Thanet Road development, moving the affordable housing plan forward. This was one of the first steps in continuing the development of more affordable housing in Princeton.

“The truth is that the town is growing, and we want to plan for the municipality, [while also making sure] it has a good relationship with the district,” said Lempert. “We’ve been working together on questions about how the schools might grow, [and we hope] that we can sustain that growth.”