On August 21, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Kimberely 
Tew released the results of PHS’s New 
Jersey Graduation Proficiency Assessment 
(NJGPA), which revealed disparities in 
pass rates between Asian, White, Black 
and Hispanic students. The NJGPA is a 
graduation requirement administered 
annually to 11th graders, though alternatives 
exist if a student does not pass the test. 


Though PHS has been known for its 
testing disparities since at least 2005, when it 
was the subject of a New York Times article 
titled “The Achievement Gap in Elite High 
Schools,” district officials, teachers, and 
students say they aren’t giving up.


This summer, the Princeton Board 
of Education approved a five-member 
Affirmative Action team tasked with 
updating the Comprehensive Equity Plan, 
a two-part document mandated by the state 
law that outlines the district’s plan to combat 
inequalities within the education system, 
including achievement gaps. 


“The work never ends; we have to explore 
and dive into data all the time. The data 
should help us make decisions about 
[whether] there are more programming 
or services that we can provide, and ... 
when we provide it. I think one of the 
foundational pieces of all of this work is 
building relationships with our students 
and with our families. [And] the more we 
know about our students, the more we can 
... excite them in their learning,” said Angela 
Siso Stentz, Assistant Superintendent for 
Human Resources and a member of the 
district’s Affirmative Action team.


The 2025 NJGPA data showed that 74 
percent of Black students and 50 percent 
of Hispanic students at PHS met the 
graduation requirements — compared 
to Asian, White, and students of other 
ethnicities having a 92 percent pass rate 
or higher. The report did not detail the 
NJGPA scores by income level. However, 
one of the priorities for Dr. Andrea Dinan, 
the director of the IDEAS center, is for all 
students to be able to access free, highquality tutoring — a service that can be 
unaffordable for many families.


“We’re working with the Pace Center 
[for Civic Engagement] at Princeton 
University, and we’re going to have five to 
seven tutors from Princeton University on 
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday,” said 
Dinan. “They’re going to provide SAT [and]
ACT help and AP prep, and we’re going to 
target lower-resourced families, but it will 
be open to everyone. I think that’s one of 
the ways that it really works well — if it’s 
open to everyone, but we make sure that ... 
lower income students ... know about the 
opportunities.”


In solving an issue as complex as the 
achievement gap, teachers are playing a 
role in changing the culture within the 
classroom. PHS Social Studies teacher 
Dr. Katie Dineen is an advocate for an 
educational philosophy known as the 
Universal Design for Learning (UDL). First 
designed in the 1990s based on research 
in neuroscience, UDL advocates for a 
curriculum in which students are provided 
with multiple ways to acquire information 
and multiple ways to demonstrate what they 
know. Dineen is also working to make her 
classroom more culturally inclusive.


“You know, regardless of where [students] 
come from, and especially with AP [World 
History] being such a transitory and 
international community, there’s so many 
opportunities for students to bring their 
own family’s artifacts into the classroom, or 
their family’s perspectives or speakers,” said 
Dineen. “I think I [have] created a place for 
each student to feel as though their story 
and their origin are important enough to 
be centered in that curriculum.”


Furthermore, many clubs at PHS are 
also working on fostering a supportive 
community among underprivileged 
students. This includes Generation 1, a club 
focused on helping students who would be 
the first generation within their family to 
pursue higher education.


“I know from my personal experience, 
my mom didn’t get to pursue a further 
education, [so] I struggled a lot trying to 
figure out resources for SATs or college 
[applications] or just finding things in 
general to help me throughout my school 
journey,” said Aimy Solares-Zacarias 
’26, who serves as the co-president of 
Generation 1. “Our main goal is to just 
help provide those resources for kids who 
are [first-generation students] on their 
pathway to [higher education].”


Solares-Zacarias recalls a period of 
academic isolation within her own journey 
where she was afraid to ask for help. Today, 
she encourages her fellow students to follow 
a path similar to her own by contacting 
Generation 1 to find a community of 
academic support. 
“If anyone is reading [this] and they’re a 
[first-generation] student, I want them to be 
able to reach out to us because I know it’s 
not embarrassing or a weakness to want to 
ask for help,” said Solares-Zacarias.

Graphic: Katherine Chen

NJGPA passing versus not passing rates for different races at PHS.

The achievement gap at PHS

### Whitney Davidson-Hinz

Whitney Davidson-Hinz has wanted to teach history 
since high school, crediting one of her own teachers as 
the inspiration behind her choice of career. 


“[She] changed my life and really inspired me ... I decided 
I wanted to do for others what she had done for me ... I had 
originally thought about history as a collection of facts and 
dates, and [my teacher] encouraged me to think about it as 
a discipline, the craft of a historian [as well as] a contested 
narrative that people fight over,” said Davidson-Hinz.


Over her past 20 years as a teacher, Davidson-Hinz has 
applied her craft across the country in places as wideranging as California, Iowa, and New York. However, she 
sees the Princeton community as uniquely encouraging 
towards developing meaningful connections between 
teachers and students.


“In speaking with many, many people in this community, 
I got the sense that this was a place that had a lot of shared 
values with me in terms of my own approach to teaching 
... on day one, emphasizing the importance of developing 
relationships with kids and keeping that central to my 
work was very inspiring, and you don’t always hear that,” 
said Davidson-Hinz.


This year, Davidson-Hinz will be teaching U.S. History 
I and AP U.S. History. In the classroom, she strives to 
encourage open discussion and careful source analysis, 
emphasizing the role history class plays in developing 
essential life skills.


“The skills we are reinforcing in history are critical 
toward any number of aspects of living a good life ... that 
would include the development of critical thinking skills, 
our media landscape [being] saturated with AI as well 
as misinformation ... you need to be able to distinguish 
between what’s accurate and what’s inaccurate. I think 
history [also] teaches empathy as we learn about other 
ways of life ... it gives you a way to think about why things 
are the way they are today,” said Davidson-Hinz.


Davidson-Hinz is also a singer-songwriter, and enjoys 
performing her original compositions at Open Mic nights. 
She also frequently visits national parks with her family 
and loves collecting stamps at each one for her national 
park passport.

### Prutha Patel

As a self-described adventurer and thrill-seeker, Prutha 
Patel’s newest adventure brings her from Minnesota to PHS’s 
math department to teach Geometry and Pre-Calculus 
Accelerated. Patel joins PHS after two years of teaching at 
Albert Lea Area schools in Albert Lea, Minnesota, where 
she served as both a technology teacher and robotics coach. 


“Two years ago, I was a first-year teacher and I accepted a 
role [to] teach technology instead of math. I really enjoyed 
teaching technology, [and] I was also teaching designing, 
robotics, 3D designing, [and] Python,” said Patel. “My 
students were very interested in robotics, [so] I decided to 
start a club and coach them [for robotics competitions].”


Growing up, Patel was inspired to become a teacher by 
her father, who was an educator himself. However, as an 
undergraduate at the University of Minnesota, Patel decided 
to pursue computer engineering — but later realized that 
path was not for her.


“I did take some computer classes in college, but I ended 
up liking the math part of computer science and not the 
computer part of it. So that’s why I decided to just major 
in math and become a teacher,” said Patel. 


Although Patel chose to teach at PHS for its learning 
environment, she also recognizes a certain competition 
between students that was not particularly evident at her 
former school.


“For students [at PHS], they are constantly looking 
for that competition. I think that’s the mindset that they 
have: ‘Oh, if my friend took Accelerated Geometry, I have 
to take that as well’,” said Patel. “Everyone’s different, and 
just because your friend is ahead doesn’t mean that ... you 
have to [be] as well.”


Thus, Patel hopes to create a more collaborative and 
engaging environment in her classes. 


“Oftentimes, it is working with someone and not having 
to submit any formal paper. Instead, [students are] working 
with someone on a board where ... you just have to write an 
answer. So [students are] freely thinking — and whatever 
is in their mind, they’re writing it down. It just helps them 
look at math in a different perspective.”

### Jessica Zhang

 Jessica Zhang, PHS’s newest art teacher, says she could 
have predicted half of her title — “teacher” — ever since 
she was a kid.


“I always knew that I was going to be a teacher because 
my parents always said that I was very bossy growing up,” 
said Zhang.


However, the “art” part would have come as a surprise 
to a younger Zhang.


“I was really bad at [art] when I was a kid — it was 
something that was forced onto me, so I never really liked 
it. But then I had some really good teachers in high school 
that really helped nurture my creative expression, and that’s 
where that passion came,” said Zhang.


This year, Zhang will be teaching four sections of Studio 
Art I, the introductory visual arts course at PHS which is 
the prerequisite for all other classes in the program. For 
her, one of the main attractions of PHS was its strong art 
program. 


“I was very impressed [by] the Numina Gallery and I 
was very inspired and ... very motivated to work here,” said 
Zhang. “I get to develop a lot of one-on-one relationships 
with students [and] we do deeper engagement with the 
work rather than the fast pace of elementary school.”


Zhang is a recent graduate of The College of New Jersey 
and was previously an elementary school teacher in the 
South Brunswick school district. For her, the switch, while 
noticeable, has been worth it.


“I [taught] in elementary school before this, [and] it’s very 
different. I really like [PHS] so far because I get to develop 
a lot of one-on-one relationships with students, [and] we 
do deeper engagement with the work rather than like the 
fast pace of elementary school,” said Zhang.


In her free time, Zhang hopes to continue her various 
hobbies, both artistic — stained glass, working with yarn 
and fabric — and not, like cooking and long walks in the 
park. However, her biggest passion is her students.


“[I’m] passionate about seeing students’ confidence as 
they become more familiar and they develop skills in art,” 
said Zhang. “ I would say [it’s] always [about] the connec- tions that I get to make with students.” grow ... [it’s] always 
[about] the connections that I get to make with students.” 

Photo: Charley Hu


Zhang helps Markintosh Barthelemy ’29 with negative 
space drawings in Studio Art I. 

PHS new teacher profiles

As a new school year begins at PHS, the 
school administration is taking a different 
approach to the education system. Dubbed 
“Deep Learning” by Principal Cecilia Birge, 
the plan aims to bring a different perspective 
of what it means to learn at PHS. 


The backbone of this approach consists 
of the changes to the bell schedule. At the 
end of each typical Tuesday and Wednesday 
(B2 and B3 days, respectively), the 
administration has added a flexible learning 
lab time dedicated to getting school-related 
tasks done. This change also shortens the 
previously 90-minute instructional blocks 
to help take pressure off of students. 


The root of these changes lies in a 
Grawemeyer Award-winning book, “In 
Search of Deeper Learning: The Quest to 
Remake the American High School” by Jal 
Mehta and Sarah Fine. Assistant Principal 
Lauren Freedman notes the recurring 
themes of the book and relates it to the 
changes made to the bell schedule. 


“One of the things that kept popping up is 
that a lot of students learn through their own 
self-exploration and doing things that they 
love, and it’s not necessarily sitting in your 
class,” said Freedman. “It’s through going 
and meeting with your clubs and learning 
to work with one another and things like 
that actually help people grow more than 
necessarily just sitting in the classroom.”


Newly elected PPS Superintendent, Dr. 
Michael LaSusa, seconds the need for selfsufficient growth outside the classroom.
LaSusa hopes that PHS will provide and 
encourage an environment where students 
can learn to think critically and contribute 
to a wide variety of environments — 
whether it be in the workplace, civic life, 
or family life.


“I think we’re living in a very polarized 
society right now — not just in the United 
States, but all over the world — and it’s 
incredibly important that students develop 
a capacity to listen to people who might not 
share their exact viewpoint, and engage 
meaningfully in conversation and dialogue 
with diverse people [who have] diverse 
perspectives,” said LaSusa. “We want to 
try to provide everyone with experiences 
that create balance and perspective and 
appreciation for others, and, of course, a 
knowledge base and a skill set that prepares 
them to do whatever it is they want to do 
once they leave.”


The administration hopes that these 
changes will be used responsibly and to 
the fullest extent by the students. However, 
if modifications are needed, surveys and 
opinions from the students will be taken 
into account for the future. Birge expresses 
her satisfaction for the bell schedule change, 
but recognizes that the effectiveness will 
depend on students.


“I genuinely think that we reached a sweet 
spot after so many revisions. But having 
said that ... the Tuesday flexible learning 
time was designed with a lot of intention 
for targeted support. If students abuse it, 
then we’re placing that burden for teachers 
to teach more in the instructional blocks 
[of this] bell schedule,” said Birge. 


The PHS administration credits the 
development of the new schedule that fits 
deeper learning to the feedback provided 
by both students and teachers at the end 
of last year. 


“Trust me, we read every single thing 
that students present to us. We may or may 
not be able to modify the schedule or our 
approach for all kinds of reasons, but we do 
read everything. We really value everything 
you present to us. We think it through and 
we try our best to incorporate it so those 
surveys are important,” said Birge. 

Photo: Katherine Chen


Chemistry teacher Janine Giamanco assists Alex Paul ‘27 in making up classwork 
during newly instituted Flex learning times. 


PHS administration envisions “Deep Learning” for upcoming school year 

Decades after the 26th Amendment lowered the voting 
age to 18, a new generation of activists are raising a 
familiar question: should 16 and 17 year olds be allowed 
to vote? At PHS, Carina He ’26 is answering this question 
by starting a chapter of the national Vote16 campaign. 
Vote16 is a national organization that, for over a decade, 
has worked to expand voting rights to 16 and 17 year olds 
in Board of Education elections at local, statewide, and 
national levels. The campaign has seen success in 12 cities 
across the United States, most recently in Newark, New 
Jersey. Through her club, Youth Civic Leaders of America 
(YCLA), He has partnered with co-leader Ash Nieman ’26 
to promote Vote16 and increase civic engagement in the 
Princeton community. 


The Vote16 initiative argues that since students at age 16 
and 17 years olds begin to take on more adult responsibilities 
— such as working a job and driving — they should also be 
granted the right to vote in local elections. This is especially 
relevant in Board of Education elections, since the decisions 
made by the Board primarily impact students. 


“The Board of Education is [like] the government to the 
students, [so] students [will be] able to understand how 
to vote in this ... more controlled environment ... rather 
than just going straight into voting when they’re 18 years 
old in a presidential election where the entire country [is] 
voting — [so] they’re able to see civics education take form 
in their local area,” said He. 


He and Nieman have also cited voting in school board 
elections as a beneficial way for young people to apply 
their knowledge of civics education outside the classroom. 
“[At PHS] we have this baseline of education about U.S. 
history and our teachers stress how important voting is as 
a democratic right. It’s not like we don’t know anything 
about voting, but [when you] start that process younger 
... [you’re] much more likely to turn out for state elections 
[and] representative elections,” said Nieman. 


According to Tufts University’s Center for Information 
and Research on Civic Learning & Engagement, a nonpartisan research organization focused on youth civic 
engagement, young voter turnout dropped from over 
50 percent during the 2020 presidential election to 42 
percent in the 2024 election. The top reasons for youth 
who had not registered to vote were disinterest in the 
election, lack of time, and absence of knowledge about 
registration deadlines. 


“Generally voter turnout is still not that great, especially 
in school board elections, the turnout is only like 10 percent 
— which is terrible. And since we’re in such a dire political 
climate right now, it’s very important that we teach the 
people who will be voting in the next presidential election 
[or] the Senate election ... We have to teach them the habit 
of voting, how important it is, how to vote, [and] how to 
register vote,” said Nieman. 


 YCLA has been working with several members of the 
PPS Board of Education and Brian McDonald, a Princeton 
town councilman, to propose Vote16. On September 8, 
YCLA spoke with the entire Princeton Town Council to 
introduce the initiative. Though the initiative received 
positive feedback from the Town Council, concerns have 
been raised over the rollout of the initiative. 


 “The other opposition we’ve seen comes down to money 
... The ballot for the school board is the same ballot as the 
[ballot] for a state election. So in order for [students] to 
vote ... new ballots have to be printed that only have school 
board members,“ said Nieman. 


The Council also expressed concerns regarding the 
maturity of 16–17 year olds and their eligibility to vote in 
school board elections. Unless the bill is passed through 
state legislation, legal barriers make it harder for 16 year 
olds from being given the right to vote in Princeton.
Unlike Newark, where Vote16 was successfully enacted, 
Princeton is not a Faulkner Act community. The Faulkner 
Act, which is also known as the Optional Municipality 
Charter Law, grants municipalities the right to choose their 
own form of government and gives a significant degree 
of power to the locality. Therefore, in order to get the 
Municipality of Princeton to pass Vote16’s proposal, YCLA 
has to overcome more legal hurdles than they would have 
had to in a municipality operating under the Faulkner Act. 
Despite this, several members of the Board of Education 
and the Town Council have expressed support for Vote16, 
believing it would be beneficial for the youth to express 
what they care about. 


“Youth are the most invested demographic in [the] sort 
of the issues that I think local government needs to be 
taking the most decisive action on, like climate change 
and active transportation ... I think those are issues that are 
the most important issues for society as a whole, but older 
voters don’t always get it. That’s why I think it’s positive 
for society to have, for the community as a whole, to have 
youth engagement,” said Cohen

Photo Courtesy: Carina He

PHS students campaign for 16 and 17 year olds to vote in school board elections


PHS students campaign for 16 and 17 year olds to vote in school board elections

The PHS technology department made significant 
changes for the 2025–2026 school year, including issuing 
new MacBooks for all students and with them, a ban on 
several popular sites like ChatGPT.


Towards the end of last school year, students returned 
their old MacBooks and chargers. Then, in August, students 
had to schedule an appointment in the afternoon to pick 
up their new device, the 2022 MacBook Air. PPS Chief 
Technology Officer Todd MacDonald explained that this 
cycle occurs every few years.


“The devices have significant battery deterioration [over 
time which is] the major issue. [And] as you can expect, 
students do beat up the devices over time. These devices 
... require a lot of maintenance as battery life diminishes 
[and] it [eventually] becomes a situation where it’s a lot 
easier for us to replace the whole fleet [of MacBooks] than 
support one type of device over time,” said MacDonald.


The old MacBooks were sold to a third-party vendor, 
and the tech department used money acquired from that 
sale to buy the new devices. However, because the Apple 
brand is costly, the district had little flexibility in which 
model they could buy. In part to account for the cost of 
the MacBooks, the technology department switched device 
managers from a relatively expensive program called Jamf 
to a less costly manager called Mosyle. 


Mosyle gives the technology team a better view of what 
sites are being accessed, and through this, they can decide 
which sites can be whitelisted for students to view. However, 
as MacBook distribution has only recently been finalized, 
the technology team has not had the opportunity to begin 
adjusting the filtering system of the device manager.


“[PHS students] may have experienced that they feel 
like the devices are locked down more. It’s not necessarily 
true. There’s a new filter in place, and some filters have 
different categories ... It hasn’t been tweaked yet based on 
what’s being requested. If students are requesting access 
[to a website] ... they should let us know because we review 
that [request] with the administration, with the curriculum 
office, and we’re in the business of trying to make learning 
accessible,” said MacDonald.


PPS has, however, decided to implement Mosyle’s 
academic dishonesty restrictions, resulting in many AI 
or AI-related sites being banned, including ChatGPT. 
Assistant Principal Rashone Johnson said that the ban is 
a result of complaints and conversations among teachers, 
administrators, and the Board of Education.


“We want you to be able to think critically. We want 
you to know how to do the proper research to be able to 
support whatever it is that you’re writing about or your 
opinion on something. [And] we want those thoughts to 
come from you,” said Johnson.


However, not all students are in complete agreement 
with the decision.


“I think [the new system] is a net positive in the sense 
of security, but it can also ... be used in an oppressive way. 
[Though] banning ChatGPT does stop students from using 
generative AI for school assignments, [it] also ... cuts off 
students’ capabilities for more creative uses of AI, similarly 
to how stopping students from using a calculator [in] math 
class just leaves them not being able to understand the full 
function of a calculator,” said Shriram Joshi ’28.


The PHS administration has installed AI usage posters 
specifying different levels of acceptable AI use, ranging 
from “none” to “AI-generated with editing,” in many 
classrooms, with the vast majority of teachers enforcing the 
“none” category. They administration created the posters 
based on feedback from teachers on AI usage by students.


“It gives us a common language that helps teachers 
discuss what level of AI is acceptable in their class, and 
it allows students to also think about how they’re using 
AI, whether they’re using it as a tool to supplement and 
enhance what they’re doing, or they’re using it as a crutch,” 
said U.S. history teacher Dr. Rick Miller. 


Anna Soriano currently has her English I and English 
III students write essays in class to prevent the usage of 
AI, though she does acknowledge the power of the new 
technology. 


“We use all sorts of assistive technology to help us 
throughout the day. I think that we need to prepare students 
for what’s coming, and they’re going to walk into a world 
where AI is everywhere,” said Soriano.

photo: Katherine Chen

Agatha Patten ‘27 and Benji Caswell Klein ‘27 work 
on their computers during Tiger Time.

PHS tech department distributes new MacBooks, with new restrictions, to students

“Charlie the Chocolate Factory” takes
a twist at the Odyssey of the Mind World
Finals, as Chef Oopsie Doopsie (an oompa
loompa) overthrows Willy Wonka and
decides to use the factory for a dinner
party instead.


But things soon go awry for Chef Oopsie
Doopsie as his guests begin reacting poorly
to his concoctions (including hair toffee),
and at the last moment Chef Oopsie
Doopsie decides to pursue his true passion
instead: becoming an opera singer.


Joy Chen ’27 , Claire Yang ’27, Viola
Que ’27, and Julia Li ’27 and Luna Xu ’28
competed and performed this skit from
May 21–24 at the Odyssey of the Mind
World Finals in Michigan. Odyssey of
the Mind is an international competition
encouraging students to use creativity in
a theatrical performance that responds to
one of five prompts, while incorporating
STEM or literarature-related topics. This
year, the PHS team chose the prompt
“Classics...Cooking with Books,” where
they were challenged to create a skit based
on “an original chef character inspired by
classic literature.”


 In addition to creating the skit, the team
also had to create props and costumes out
of materials totalling no more than $140,
which led the team to use recycled materials
— using cardboard and construction paper
to make large green wigs for the Oompa
Loompas and a mechanical lazy susan to
present the dishes.


The largest part of the judge’s final score
are the creative aspects of the skit, which
encouraged the team to think in a different
way than usual. Que noted that some of the
most engaging presentations came from
younger competitors in the elementary
and middle school divisions.


“[In] Odyssey of the Mind, you think
in a different way — like [someone] at a
younger age. I think as you get older, in
high school, [you’re] afraid to be judged,”
said Que. “[But] when you do Odyssey of
the Mind, anything goes. If you want to
do something, you can do it, and nobody’s
going to judge you, even if it sounds silly.”


The team began each session with a brain
dump, coming up with ideas, trying out
different possibilities, and dividing up the
work according to the strengths of each
member. Marcus Strum ’27, a member of
a different team in the PHS Odyssey of the
Mind club, noted the strong work ethic of
the team that qualified for Worlds.


“Before the competition, there’s typically
several working sessions at people’s houses
and script writing sessions over FaceTime.
The team that went to worlds this year
worked all day going into a sleepover,”
said Strum.


Throughout the year, the team fundraised
for their event and journey to Worlds
through GoFundMe and chocolate bar
sales, as the trip was not supported
financially by the school.


“It was unfortunate that for all the
hard work we [put in that] we [weren’t]
able to get funded by the school on our
trip, even though we were also going to
be representing Princeton High School
at [an] international competition ... with
thousands of people,” said Que.


Although Que admits that the team
was initially unfamiliar with Odyssey of
the Mind, their experience at Worlds,
where they ultimately placed 25th out of
38 teams in their category, has energized
and motivated the team to perform even
better next year.


“It’s made me excited for next year,
because I [realized that] if I put my mind
to [something], I can make whatever I
want, and it can be a fun experience. If you
want to make something really cool, like,
mechanical gadget, or a robot ... [I realized]
you can do it,” said Que.

Photo Courtesy: Jacqueline Katz

From left to right: Viola Que ’27, Julia Li ’27, Joy Chen ’27, Luna Xu ’28, and Claire
Yang ’27 after their performance of ‘Chef Oopsie’s Revelation’ at World Finals.

PHS Odyssey of the Mind team competes at Worlds

In its first top-five finish since 2022, PHS’s
Euro Challenge team earned fourth place
at the Euro Challenge national competition
on May 7. Euro Challenge, a competition
co-funded by the European Union (EU),
encourages students in the United States
to learn about European Union economic
policies by proposing solutions to realworld economic issues faced by an EU
nation of the team’s choosing.


This year, the PHS team addressed
issues in Lithuania regarding growth and
competitiveness, such as wealth inequality,
economic stagnation, and rural-urban
disparities. Their solutions were evaluated
on their creativity, effectiveness, and
feasibility, criteria the team sought to meet
with a particular solution which used AI
to combat financial corruption.


“We [proposed] implementing ... an AI
system that sifts through large amounts of
data so [the system] can find suspicious
tax filings. This is much faster and more
efficient when it comes to identifying these
false tax filings ... it decreases tax fraud,
and the government is earning more,” said
Helen Yu ’27, a member of the presentation
panel at Nationals.


Euro Challenge consists of three rounds
of competitions held in New York City: a
preliminary round, then a semifinal and
finals round. The team first presented a
15-minute slideshow on the country’s
economic problems and their proposed
solutions to a panel of judges, followed
by a 10-minute Q&A on the team’s
recommendations.


The judges of Euro Challenge are often
leaders in finance and economics fields or
are economic policy workers within the
EU, which helped the team develop their
solutions.


“They were the chief financial officers
or advisors of major investment banks, so
[there were] definitely a lot of people who
were really specialized in this field,” said Yu.
“And it was really interesting to see what
they had to say and what questions they
had, because it’s completely different from
what high school students would tell you.”


The preparation for the competition starts
early in the year, after seven of the applicants
are selected for the team following tryouts
for interested underclassmen. The team
first researched the economic state of
their chosen nation, then categorized the
economic issues in the country under root
causes and proposed solutions for these
issues. Finally, the team heavily practiced
the Q&A portion of the presentation, one
of the most important parts for the team’s
score.


“[The] captains would give me questions,
and we’d have to come up with responses
on the spot. Just having this as a routine
really helped prepare us, because you could
just take whatever question came at us, no
matter if we really knew how to answer it
or not. Having that practice also helped us
be coherent as a group,” said Yu.


The team also had to practice soft
skills like public speaking and effective
communication to help them communicate
their policies to judges.


“I think the most important skill is
being able to speak in a conversational way
because when the judges are asking you
questions – you’re trying to convince them
out of their concerns about your solutions,
but you’re not debating people ... I had a bit
of debate experience, but what Euro taught
me was how to convince people instead of
how to win an argument,” said Sebastian
Balestri ’28, another member of the team.


Through the months that the team
spent for preparation, Euro Challenge
members built connections that will extend
beyond the competition. They were able to
capitalize on each other’s strengths to create
a strong team for the national competion.


 “[Before] becoming a captain, I had a
lot of meaningful experiences interacting
with my captains at the time. I think they
really gave me a lot of insight into not only
econ[omics] and topics pertaining to Euro
Challenge, but also bigger things pertaining
to personal life, especially with school and
future tracks that you could take beyond
that,” said Emma Liu ’26, current co-captain
of the Euro Challenge team.

Photo Courtesy: Elif Cam

Sebastian Balestri ’28, Joshua Huang ’28, Jane Hu ’27, Emma Liu ’26, Aritra Ray ’27, Elif Cam ’26, and Helen Yu ’27 met Jovita Neliupšien, Ambassador of the European Union to the United States

Euro Challenge wins fourth place at Nationals

## Dia Beri

On June 30, less than two weeks after
PHS graduation, Dia Beri ’25 will begin
Cadet Basic Training at the U.S. Military
Academy at West Point, a six week long
program known as “the beast,” designed
to ensure that cadets are prepared for their
next 12 years in the army — four years at
the academy, five years of required activeduty service, and three years in the reserves.


“I’m really excited, but at the same time,
I’m terrified. For six weeks, they take away
our phones, and we’re going to be out in the
field learning how to use rifles for the first
time,” said Beri. “We’re going to be dirty.
We’re going to be stressed. We’re going to be
running on only four hours of sleep every
night. And the upperclassmen are going to
be yelling at us.”


In her four years at West Point, Beri will
train to be an officer in the U.S. military
while earning a Bachelor of Science degree.
Beri first developed an interest in West Point
during freshman year, motivated by a desire
to find satisfaction and fulfillment in life.
“I feel like everyone has their purpose
on earth,” said Beri. “For me, it’s defending
a nation that has given my family and so
many other immigrant families so much
to work with.”


Beri’s high school experience has, in
her words, “revolved around” her goal
of getting into West Point. West Point
requires applicants to not only submit their
GPA, SAT, and essays, but also secure a
recommendation from a U.S. Congress
member (in Beri’s case, Representative
Bonnie Watson Coleman), and complete
a six-part Candidate Fitness Assessment.
For Beri, the intensepreparation leading
up to it required not only physical, but also
mental, growth.


“I’ve never [put] as [much] dedication
in my life as [I did in] preparing for the
West Point fitness test. Then mentally, my
mindset about becoming better at things
completely changed. I thought that there
were some things that you really couldn’t
change about yourself, and then I realized
that if you worked hard enough ... you can
change those things,” said Beri.


West Point requires students to follow a
rigid schedule throughout the school year:
the day begins at 6:30 a.m., includes several
classes, military training, mandatory athletic
activity, and an 11:30 p.m. curfew.


“I don’t really enjoy the athletic part as
much as the academic part, but I know that
there are certain things that I [will] enjoy,
like teamwork with friends,” said Beri. “And
my favorite saying that I learned from this
process is ‘two is one and one is none.’


Because when you have two people, you have
someone that’s always having your back, and
if you have one, you’re alone; there’s no one
that has your back, you’re basically dead.”


Following graduation, Beri will be a
second lieutenant, leading a platoon of
around 30 to 50 soldiers in operations
concerning aspects such as cybersecurity,
military intelligence, or infantry.
However, for now, Beri is focused on what
lies just a few weeks ahead.


“I think one of my goals is to not give up
when the going gets really tough. I feel like
once I tackle that fear of not knowing how
hard something is or what’s lying at the end,
I’ll really be able to do things that I never
thought I could do,” said Beri.

## Yael Dveer


This past year, Yael Dveer ’25 moved
from Israel to Princeton with her family,
following political instability in Israel.
This coming year, Dveer plans on moving
again — this time, taking a gap year for a
backpacking and volunteering trip around
the United States and South America instead
of attending college.


“We moved here, [in] a very quick
decision ... because of the war in Israel.
And when we decided to move, I told my
mom that I’m not going to be ready to go
to college right [after] I finish high school
... [the gap year] will also [give] me more
time to go volunteering ... in South America
— which is something I wanted to do for a
long time — and a few [more] months for
me to live in the U.S. and get more used [to]
American culture,” said Dveer.


In Israel, it’s mandatory for high school
graduates to enlist in the Israeli army for
several years. Following this, it’s common for
Israelis to go on a backpacking trip (literally,
“the big hike”) for several months. Though
Dveer won’t be in Israel, nor serving in the
Israeli army, she still wanted to experience
this Israeli rite of passage.


“For a person to develop and grow, they
have to travel and explore the world not
only in the U.S. or rich countries,” said
Dveer. “I’ve been wanting to travel for [as
long as] I can remember, because in Israel,
backpacking and camping is a really big part
of the culture there. I wanted to continue
that tradition in my own way.”


Though her plans aren’t finalized
yet, Dveer plans on participating in an
environmental volunteer program in
the Amazon region in Peru and then go
backpacking independently, all while
practicing her Spanish.


“[There are] so many countries that I want
to go to ... Chile and Argentina, to Bucha,
to the Patagonia Mountain range, and to
Brazil, because I love Bossa Nova music
and Portuguese,” said Dveer.


Dveer eventually plans on settling
in the United States after a few months
of backpacking, adjusting to American
culture and preparing for her studies in
higher education as a physics major at the
University of Maryland in the fall of 2026.
For now, though, she’s focused on taking
a step back before diving into academics
again.


“There’s no rush to get us a head start
in your career — everything’s going to
be here in 10 years. I think taking some
time after high school, especially [after]
Princeton High School, where everything
is so stressful and unnecessarily competitive
... is a good [way] to discover yourself — at
the end of the day, that’s what’s important.
You’re living your life. You’re learning the
American dream. You’re not living anything
else,” said Dveer.

Photo: Charley Hu

Dia Beri will join West Point as one of 4,500 cadets.

PHS seniors not attending traditional academic institutions this fall

Following 23 years of dedication to her students, colleagues, and community,
veteran PHS teacher and Princeton-Cranbury community member Martha
Hayden is preparing to retire from
teaching. Throughout her career, Hayden
preferred real-world learning over textbook
instruction, developed Spanish exchange
trips to Peru and Cuba, and founded the
Cranbury Arts Council.


Hayden didn’t originally intend to pursue
teaching, but after her husband lost his job,
she started working at PHS to support their
family. For Hayden, teaching was a daunting
task at first, especially given the difficult
courses she was expected to teach.


“In the beginning, I really did not want
to be here ... I [originally] wanted to go to
teach fourth grade and then I was told ‘you
belong in the high school’ ... so the first year
was really hard because I was really nervous
... and I [wasn’t sure] if I could teach kids
that were older,” said Hayden.


However, a powerful personal experience
completely changed her perspective on
teaching. Hayden had a student who
refused to engage in class or with classwork.
But when he mentioned he wrote poetry,
she gave him an alternative assignment
and challenged him to write slam poetry
instead. Hayden was moved by his poetry,
and compiled it into a book for him.


 “Five years later, I was in the library
... and he tapped me on the shoulder. I
said,‘How are you?’ and he said, ‘I’m doing
really well. I’m a DJ for a radio station ...
I just wanted to come by to tell you that
you’re the only person that believed in me
... every time I feel bad about myself, I read
my book, and I know that I can make it,’”
said Hayden. “I think that was the turning
point for me to understand that the reason
why I was here as a teacher was not [just] to
teach Spanish, that there are other reasons
... bigger than ourselves.”


Hayden also founded and organized of
the foreign exchange trips between PHS
students and schools in Peru and Cuba.
Throughout the years, these trips began to
incorporate community service along with
cultural immersion.


“I honestly thought [the Cuba trip]
was really nice [and] it was a really great
experience. A lot of kids didn’t have toys
[and] we also brought supplies to the kids
in the schools — I thought this was a really
nice way to give back to the community,
especially because they need it so much.”
said Valen Roden ’26, Hayden’s former
student who attended the trip to Cuba.


Hayden emphasizes the fact that her
classroom is “textbook-free” and focuses
more on the applications of a language
rather than technical aspects. Instead of
relying on standardized lesson plans, she
designed a unique curriculum exploring
social issues and Latin American history.


“I don’t want to teach something that
they’re not going to like. I always tell the
kids you’re not going to get off a plane and
they’re not going to ask you to conjugate
the verb,” said Hayden. “They’re going to
ask you, what’s your country like? What do
you know about my country?”


Hayden also uses the arts to supplement
her teaching — for example, “Latinoamérica”
by Calle 13 is used to help teach Spanish IV
Advanced students about environmental
destruction in Latin America.


“Senora Hayden prompts us to connect
with Latin American culture outside of class
in various ways. The songs in particular
get me thinking about their origins and
Hispanic history when I’m listening to
them outside of school,” said Thomas
Basso ’27, a student in Hayden’s Spanish
IV Advanced class.


Outside of PHS, Hayden and a friend,
Susan Leson, created the Cranbury
Arts Council around 30 years ago —
a non-profit volunteer organization
dedicated to enriching the cultural and
artistic experiences of the community by
providing arts programs, workshops, and
performances.


“I took a pottery class, and I was so good
at it, I couldn’t believe it. And then I’m
thinking, if I’m good, can you imagine how
many people are good at different arts, but
they don’t know it,” said Hayden. “So we
started taking classes, and I said to [Susan],
‘Imagine how many people don’t know that
they have a gift ... so why don’t we start an
Arts Council in Cranbury?’”


In retirement, she plans to spend time
with her family and continue organizing
exchange trips. Though Hayden is leaving
PHS, her impact on the languages
department and the whole community will
not be forgotten.


 “If I could say one thing to her, I would
say ‘Gracias por todo, Senora Hayden!’”
said Basso. “Your dedication to teaching is
something I will never forget, and I want
to know that each and every one of your
students are extremely fortunate to have
you as their teacher whether they know
it or not.” 

PHS Profile: Martha Hayden

Princeton’s new housing projects have come with
increasing debates about whether the developments
adequately meet Princeton’s affordable housing obligations
while at the same time preserving the town’s unique historic
identity. The projects, most notably the Alice and
Avalon Bay developments surrounding the Princeton
Shopping Center and a proposed development near the
Princeton Theological Seminary, generally include both
market-priced and affordable housing units.


Princeton Council’s strategy, as outlined in their master
plan, is to promote developments that have both affordable
units and market-priced units through PILOT (payment
in lieu of taxes) agreements. PILOTs are designed to
make critical infrastructure developments, like affordable
housing, more financially attractive to developers, while
at the same time providing the town with extra revenue.
On May 12, the Princeton Council approved a resolution
to share surplus funds with PPS from a PILOT agreement
between the 232-unit Avalon Bay development and the
municipality; the additional funds for PPS are expected to
amount to about $300,000 to $500,000 annually.


“[This agreement] comes at a critical time for the PPS,”
said Dafna Kendal, president of the Board of Education,
at the May 12 Town Council meeting. “In April, we were
notified that our state aid will be reduced by 3 percent.
We are also at risk of losing more than a million dollars
in federal funding because we do not want to compromise
our educational programming to accommodate an agenda
that does not reflect our community’s values.”


In New Jersey, housing is classified as “affordable” when
the occupant’s housing costs are no more than 30 percent of
their gross income. Mia Sacks, President of the Princeton
Council, noted that the town’s primary approach to city
development is one of “smart growth.”


“We have a housing crisis and a climate crisis. How
can you address both? Smart Growth: bikeable, walkable,
transit-oriented development close to economically
productive downtown centers where people can walk to
work, bike to schools. The old model of building affordable
housing ... was build it on the outskirts of town ... and
you have to have a car to get anywhere. It’s not genuinely
integrated housing. This is genuinely integrated housing,”
said Mia Sacks, president of the Princeton Council.


However, there exists considerable opposition to these
new developments, especially the proposed developments
near the Princeton Theological Seminary, from the
Princeton Coalition for Responsible Development (PCRD),
who question whether the district and the town can
accommodate a larger population. On April 23, the Ad Hoc
Commitee of Historians in Defense of Historic Princeton,
published a full page letter in the Town Topics which is
now featured on the PCRD website.


The letter alleges that a rapidly expanding Princeton
could threaten downtown Princeton’s historic character.
The proposed Seminary development in particular would
sit a quarter of a mile from the Barracks, a 1684 house
that was the temporary residence of James Madison and
Alexander Hamilton, and the house of former Princeton
resident Albert Einstein. In the past few weeks, a number of
orange and black signs reading “Defend Historic Princeton,”
distributed by the PCRD have gone up around Princeton,
particularly in the historic Mercer Hill neighborhood.


Sean Wilentz, professor of American history at Princeton
University and signee of the letter, argues that the size and
height of the proposed developments, which would be 50
feet— could damage Princeton’s historical character.
“This kind of high density project is an assault on
historical integrity. It’s [important to]find ways to
harmonize development and the preservation of what
make s Princeton, Princeton.” said Wilentz. “It makes it different from any other place, this history
which is unique in all the world ... If you
undo that, if you endanger that, then the
entire town suffers. It’s no longer Princeton.”


In response to the Town Topics letter
by the PCRD and the “Defend Historic
Princeton” signs, the Princeton Town
Councilman Leighton Newlin released a letter in the Town Topics.


“These arguments about PILOT
agreements, density, traffic, walkability,
storm water management and architectural
design are not arguments at all. The surface
looks polite and technical, the core is about
power, privilege and a refusal
refusal to share space,”
read the the letter.


Wilentz argues that the PCRD is not
anti-affordable housing, nor a not-in-myback-yard group, but rather it opposes
large developments with affordable and
market-priced units. The town’s current
strategy is to support developments with
80 percent market-priced units and 20
percent affordable units, with the idea
being that developers will use the revenue
from the market-priced units to support
affordable units.


“You end up ... justifying luxury housing
developments on the basis of affordable
housing ... but it’s a bait and switch. [The
developers] are basically gonna build four
times as much luxury apartment stuff ... as
affordable housing. That’s not gonna help
the social imbalance, it’s only gonna make
it worse,” said Wilentz.


Wilentz instead supports developments
with 100 percent affordable housing.
“We want affordable [housing]. We’re not
objecting to the historical integrity because
they’re gonna be low income people living
here — some people accuse us of that. That’s
not a threat to the historical stuff ... quite
the opposite ... it’s the luxury [development]
that’s going to present a problem to the
historical integrity of the neighborhood —
the height [and] sheer mass of the [luxury
developments],” said Wilentz.


However, Princeton Council officials
have pointed to the financial inviability
of the housing projects PCRD proposes.


“The proposal, for 100 percent affordable
(i.e., municipally-sponsored) housing,
would require the financial backing of the
municipality, including millions of taxpayer
funds to purchase the property, to construct
the housing, and to provide tax subsidies
over time. Further, the low unit count would
make it uncompetitive for state financing,
causing Princeton residents to make up
significant funding shortfalls,” said a letter
from Mayor Mark Freda and the Princeton
Council in response to PCRD’s letter.


The recent surge in housing developments
throughout Princeton is primarily due to
the Mount Laurel Doctrine, a judicial
doctrine in the New Jersey Constitution
that requires towns to use their zoning
powers to provide its share of affordable
housing to those who have lower and
moderate incomes. In 1996, Princeton
fulfilled its affordable housing obligation
by paying $460,000 to build 23 affordable
units in Trenton.


“The housing that’s being built in
Princeton is a result of municipal
compliance with that very critical housing
desegregation case,” said Sacks. “Princeton
[is] making up for 20 years of not fulfilling
its obligation. That’s why there is so much
housing in such a short amount of time.”


The array of proposed developments
is slated to add over 800 units, and it
remains to be seen how both sides of this
debate work to balance the need for new
housing and ensuring that the town and
the school system can accommodate a
growing population.


“You know, we are not the same small
village we were in the 1700s and 1600s
when Europeans began to settle in this
area. However, we can’t stop the growth,
right? We can’t just say no one else can
move into Princeton,” said PHS history
teacher Rick Miller.

 PILOT agreement passed amidst larger debates on housing developments in Princeton

With the start of another school year, yet another group of
sophomores are looking for ways to fulfill their community
service hour requirement. Many community services
programs are offered at Princeton High School, focusing
on topics such as tutoring, health, and the environment.
However, there are also a variety of arts community service
programs at PHS.

The Arts Council club provides an opportunity for
students to work together on projects such as decorations
for the school and cards for senior centers or hospitals. For
example, during the winter, the club puts up snowflakes to
heighten the festivities.

In addition, the club also collaborates with the Arts
Council of Princeton by volunteering at events and camps
that the council hosts.

“During camps ... we assist with cleaning, with [art] skills,
and just talking with the children. Children as young as
kindergarten all the way through middle school [come to the camp], and our goal is just to spread
art [to them]. A lot of the people that are
in the club are interested in art, and we
want to give back to the community,”
said Vanessa He ’27, one of the leaders
of the Arts Council club.

While the Arts Council club focuses
on giving back to the community, it also
brings together community at PHS.

“While we [work together], people
are also talking. And I think that’s also
another way for people to connect with
peers, not just the whole community
itself,” said He.

Another arts community service at
PHS is School Beautification. A newly-
formed club, their goal is to improve
the appearance of
PHS in order to create a more welcoming
environment for both students and teachers.“Art creates a welcoming environment
because ... abstract shapes and colors
usually inspire creativity among people
and individuals. Seeing art every day
makes the space look less monotone
and [industrial-like]. Instead, the more
creative, welcoming environment would
help students be more productive,” said
co-leader Lucy Wang ’27.

The club also hopes to expand the scope
of their projects in the future.

“I also hope that in the spring we are able
to collaborate with some other community
service organizations to hopefully plant
flowers, or [install] plant pots inside the
school,” said Wang.

The service project Make Your Mark
has a different approach to helping the community. Focusing on creating crafts such as jewelry
and clay keychains, the program donates all the handmade
crafts back to the Rise organization.

Rise, a nonprofit social support project based in central
New Jersey, helps the community through food pantries,
thrift stores, and educational programs. In addition to
making crafts, the club also organizes volunteering and
crafts events for the community.

“We plan to bring arts and crafts opportunities to our
community through hosting crafting events at Princeton
Public Library,” said Jessica Zhang ’26, a co-leader of Make
Your Mark. “We [also] organize volunteering opportunities
at [Rise’s thrift store], helping to work and manage the store.”

Overall, while the main purpose of each community
service project is to give back to the community, members
also find themselves connecting and bonding with each
other and the community.

photo: Katherine Chen

Vanessa He ’27 and Kenzie Miller ’27 talk to a student about the Arts Council club.

A guide to arts-related community service programs

Set — everything falls silent: the cheering crowd, the music, even the pounding of her heart. The gun is about to go off, and all that matters is what lies ahead. A deep breath, then the horn sounds. She’s off, spikes digging into the track, every ounce of training fueling Lena Hamilton ’25 toward the finish line.

Hamilton has been an athlete her whole life. After 13 years of classical ballet, she switched sports in the spring of her freshman year. She chose to pursue track and field because her dad had run in high school, and following in his footsteps proved the perfect way for her to remain active. Since then, her passion for the sport has only grown. 

“I’ve always enjoyed being competitive, and I found track and field to be a very competitive discipline that I could potentially excel at,” said Hamilton.

Since being named captain in her junior year, Hamilton has strived to bring her team closer together.

“I organize pre-season workouts during the fall off season, manage the team social media, design team merch, and plan team bonding,” said Hamilton.

For Hamilton, one of the most important lessons she has taken away from her experience in track is of the value of self-sufficiency as a mechanism for improvement.

“You’ll never grow as a sprinter if you aren’t able to self-analyze and figure out what you need to do to help yourself be better,” said Hamilton. “I’ve definitely gotten better at naming my flaws and working on how to fix them.”

Before races, Hamilton likes to take a moment to herself to collect her thoughts and concentrate on her upcoming event. She finds that, when facing race-day nerves, it is critical to not doubt herself and remember just how much she is capable of. 

“I like to say prayers to stay focused on my race and to remain confident in my training and my ability
to do what I need to do,” said Hamilton.

Being a track and field athlete means rigorous training for most of the year. Being a student-athlete means coming home late from practice and immediately shifting gears to focus on schoolwork. For Hamilton, it’s crucial to find ways to prevent homework and studying for assessments from piling up.

“I balance school and track by organizing my time and assignments to the best of my ability,” said Hamilton.

To her coaches, Hamilton stands out as a positive and motivating force on the team, always working to improve her own individual performance, and that of her teammates. 

“[Lena] embraces our team’s principles of growth mindset and positive psychology, always striving to improve and encouraging others to do the same,” said track head coach Ben Samara. “Her commitment to both personal progress and the success of the team is evident in everything she does.”

Apart from being an outstanding runner, Hamilton has a notable impact on her teammates, providing feedback whenever it’s needed and cheering them on during races. 

“She’s very positive, which I think is a nice quality to have, because it gets you thinking in a different approach, [rather] than [thinking of] something negative [that could] happen,” said Madison Hamlin ’27, a sprinter on the track team. “The advice that Lena gave me was so focused on myself and how to improve myself ... She inspires me because she’s like my big sister. She has that connection that works for us.”

With already three years of track under her belt and plenty of race experience, Hamilton only has a few words of advice for her younger self: “I would tell my freshman self to sign up for track sooner.

Lena Hamilton ’25: track

The start of the new school year has brought many 
changes to Princeton High School: new teachers, new 
schedules, new facilities, and — most noticeably — new 
school-issued MacBooks. On paper, the laptops are a 
clear upgrade: faster, sleeker, and 
more powerful. But beneath that 
polish, many students have run 
into something less exciting: a 
wall of restrictions.

Last year’s devices allowed 
students a degree of flexibility 
across multiple apps. Students 
once had access to Adobe Creative Cloud — tools like 
Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro, and InDesign — 
which were heavily used by visual arts elective classes, as 
well as various clubs like Yearbook. 

When access to key academic or creative tools is blocked, 
not every student has a clear or immediate path forward 
— especially those who may not know how to navigate the 
tech support process. That gap points to a deeper equity 
issue of technological fluency — an issue that our tech 
department should work to solve, potentially by hosting 
assemblies to instruct students. Still, Dean Diana Lygas 
believes that the district is moving in the right direction. 

“There is certainly a balance that comes into play. 
[Unfortunately], that sometimes means blocking access to 
certain content that might be non-educational, disruptive, 
or inappropriate,” said Lygas. “But I love that our students 
have the benefit of receiving a school-issued computer as 
nice as a MacBook. It offers so much power and creativity 
in what students can use it for.”

However, students such as Adam Kaplan ’27 argue 
that the benefits of the investment by the school are 
significantly cut short through device restrictions.

“If you’re giving us computers this good, we should 
be doing something with them, considering [the 
district] just spent hundreds of dollars per student 
getting us these crazy computers,” said Kaplan. 

The abruptness of the technology changes have 
wreaked havoc on the workflow of not just students but also 
teachers as they have lost access to classroom technology. 
Printers, document cameras, and DVD players — each 
pieces of technology that had previously been integral parts 
of the way some teachers have conducted classes — have 
disappeared without explanation or forewarning. 
 
“Our old dock cameras [and] DVD players are gone 
... they’ve just ceased to exist ... they [are] no longer here 
in any of the rooms. [The] new technology sounds great. 
However, it doesn’t allow us to teach the same materials 
that we used to,” said English teacher Anna Soriano.

Restrictions on technology, while well-intentioned, are 
detrimental largely for the same reasons that helicopter 
parenting creates ineffective adults — people need to 
learn from failure. We implore administration to keep 
our school’s motto at the top of their mind: learn to live. 
It means — in today’s day and age — learning to live not 
just with technology but also using it appropriately as a 
tool. This requires being exposed to the technology of 
tomorrow in an environment where students can learn to 
use it effectively and to their benefit, while continuing to 
maintain an environment of genuine learning. And this 
is difficult to accomplish through the sudden removal 
of integral websites, apps, and classroom tools. PPS 
administration should strive to be transparent with teachers 
and students — the people who are most affected by such 
changes — and take their feedback when making changes.

Photo: Charley Hu

A restricted message from Mosyle appears when 
students attempt to access certain websites.

Technology restrictions hinder learning

Princeton is no stranger to unopposed elections. On the ballot this coming November, there will be two unopposed positions for the Princeton Council, and three unopposed seats on the PPS Board of Education. During PHS’s own 
election for student body council earlier this month, the 
seats for both student body vice president and secretary were 
unopposed. This is hardly a new phenomenon. 

For the past five years, numerous 
Princeton municipal 
leaders have won primary 
and general elections 
uncontested. The same 
can be said of many PHS 
student council positions 
for upperclassmen: every 
single student council 
candidate for the class 
of 2026 ran unopposed. 
This concerning trend 
of candidates being elected 
through no-contest undermines the 
health of democracy. 

Recent changes in student council policies only 
exacerbate these concerns: starting from the 2026–27 
school year, only students who have previously served on 
student council may run for student body positions and as 
school board liaison. The result? A reduction of an already 
shrinking field of candidates. 

When voters lose the opportunity to choose between 
candidates, they often become apathetic, causing the trend 
to continue into future elections. According to data gathered 
by Survey and Ballot Systems in 2024, there is a 39 percent 
decrease in voter turnout in non-competitive elections. 
This is reflected in PHS Student Council elections, where 
voter turnout averaged 62.4 percent in campaigns where 
all races have more than two candidates but dropped to 
24.6 percent in years with only one candidate. 

In Princeton municipality elections, voter turnout was 
57.66 percent, placing it second to last place among Mercer 
county municipalities — and voter turnout has been on 
the decline since 2016. Officials have placed emphasis on 
measures to increase voter turnout, yet the fundamental 
root cause of voter hesitancy remains the same: a lack of 
choices at the ballot box. 

Indeed, this disillusionment in the electoral process can 
be seen at the school level, too. Freshman year student 
council races often feature a wide range of hopefuls, each 
vying for a position they see as prestigious and meaningful 
in the school community. Yet just one year later, the number 
of candidates running in sophomore year races drops 61 
percent, going from about 4.16 candidates per race freshman 
year to just 1.75. When students realize that these positions 
can’t truly bring change, they may no longer be eager to 
spend time, energy, and effort to run for them. 

Participation in school elections has been found to predict 
civic engagement in adulthood, with students who vote or 
run feeling more prepared to engage 
in the same processes as adults. 
This means that disengagement 
from elections at a student level 
can lead to decreased political 
engagement through both 
running and voting in future 
democratic processes. 

Breaking the cycle of apathy, 
beginning at the local level, is 
critical. The municipality 
makes decisions daily on 
many of the most important 
policies that directly impact 
our lives. As just one instance, approving new highdensity housing projects is not a decision handed down 
from Washington, but rather taken on 400 Witherspoon St.

To address these challenges, it is time we revitalize what 
it means to win one of these positions. Whether it be at the 
school or municipal level, these positions can hold real value 
and change-making power. The real question is, of course, 
why has the ambition to serve in these roles vanished? The 
answer lies in the idea that these roles are perceived as 
lacking any real agency: student council positions simply 
serve to plan prom and town council members just rubber 
stamp predetermined policies.

So to the community, we say this: come together and 
unite behind new ideas: rally for fresh faces that break the 
status quo. Pool your minds — and funds — together, and 
perhaps you will see someone on the town council that truly 
represents you and advances the values that you care about.

To be clear, the current candidates don’t present any 
inherent flaws. But the mere fact that they have run 
unopposed for several election cycles sets the scene for 
deep-seated voter apathy.

When local governing bodies seldom have to step out of 
their comfort zone and truly connect with the community, 
the quality of our candidates falls short of what this town 
deserves. Without facing pressure to compete against 
opponents, winning candidates have the privilege of 
assuming positions with subpar effort, without the need 
to bring concrete policies to the table. 

Democracy works. But it’s not a passive form of 
government — it works only when people are active in it. 
From the forums in Ancient Greece to the record electoral 
participation in India in its recent elections, it is up to 
us — we the people — to fulfill our duty to create a more 
perfect union by demanding a choice worth voting for, 
and ceasing support for a coronation of the unopposed.

The perils of unopposed elections

As a child, Sylvia Schreiber ’26
would sit at the dining room table
for hours, happily doodling with
crayons. Though she’s transitioned
from crayons to watercolor and
gouache, the importance of art in
her life has stayed the same. In her
time at PHS, her illustration work
has included t-shirts, programs, and
this year’s school-issued planner.
She’s currently compiling pieces for
her portfolio as part of applications
to art school, where she hopes to
further expand her artistic abilities,
preparing her to eventually work as
an artist professionally.

**What childhood experiences
shaped you as an artist?**

I remember when I was little my
mom would put me to bed and then
I’d get up and turn my light on and
start drawing — I was trying to
copy the cover of one of my picture
books because I loved it so much.
And then my mom would come and
be like, “Sylvia, go to bed.” Picture
books really inspired me to create
art when I was younger.

**What are you drawn to depicting in your art?**

 Anything in the natural world is my go-to. I like things with patterns, so obviously
nature has a lot of patterns, but also architecture ... I like to push myself to draw new
things a lot of times, but I would say nature is a big one ... I feel like the repetitive motion
of drawing the same thing over and over again is definitely calming.

**What mediums do you work with?**

I work in 2D mostly; that’s what I’m most comfortable in. But within that, I do a lot of
stuff. Drawing, painting, and printmaking are the three that I do the most. I love watercolor.

**Are there any mediums that you’re experimenting with right now?**

I’m trying to do more printmaking. I really like printmaking. I’ve been doing some
classes at the Arts Council on linocut and stuff like that, and I think why I like it kind of
ties back to the patterns — you can
print it over and over again. And I
just like the look of print making,
so I’m trying to do more of that
right now in my portfolio and just
also for fun.

**What are some of your
inspirations and influences?**

My sister, just her being in art
school and all of her friends, I follow
them all on Instagram and I get to
see all of their amazing work and
sometimes I’ll take an idea from
there ... Having my sister in art school
is really cool to see, because it’s, like,
whoa, that could be where I am in
a couple years. Barbara de Lorenzo,
she works at the Arts Council ...
She illustrates children’s books, and
she mostly works in watercolor,
so she’s helped me a lot with my
watercolor abilities. When I paint
with watercolor, I’m channeling
Barbara DiLorenzo. She’s definitely
helped me grow as an artist.

**What’s your artistic process?**

 I have a sketchbook at home that’s really just whatever comes out ... A lot of times,
when I’m feeling like I want to do something art-related, I’ll just sit down with that and
just write or draw, or do whatever is inspiring me at the moment; I’ll try to get it down
on paper ... So then when I know what I’m going to do for my project, it comes with
some trial and error ... So I do a lot of practice sketching. And then I’ll try to see if I
have materials at home or if I need to get some from the Arts Council ... You just have
to start and challenges always arise ... It’s kind of inevitable that at some point, you’re
going to be like, this is terrible. But more times than not, it’s not terrible and you just
need to work through it.

**What goals do you have for yourself in your art in the future?**

I want to get into an art college and I want to just enjoy that to the best of my ability
without having to think too much about what exactly I’m going to do with art after
college. I just want to really explore my own style and develop my own style as an artist
... Even as art becomes my work, I also want to just keep enjoying it.

photo: Charley Hu

Sylvia Schreiber ’26 sketches to plan out a print for her art school portfolio.

Student artist of the month: Sylvia Schreiber ’26

Last year, the PHS boys football team made its first playoff appearance since the 2014–2015 season, defying expectations and starting a new trend. The team now has had back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since the 2008–2009 and 2009–2010 seasons, while starting with wins over Lawrence and Allentown this year. 
A big part of the team’s achievements stems from the leadership of Head Coach Charles Gallagher. When he first started with the team 13 years ago, the Tigers were 0 and10, but they bounced back the next year with a winning 8 and 2 season. According to Gallagher, the biggest strength this team has compared to earlier years is greater participation and quality of athletes. 
“You’re going to be a strong football team if you have numbers. It just so happens that we’ve had some really great athletes over the past couple of years — not to say that we haven’t had really good athletes prior — but I think we just have more of them,” said Gallagher. 
The squad has 75 players consistently coming to practice, which is significantly more than in prior years, where the average has been around 50 players. 
“Nobody’s taking off, which is awesome. No one has quit. Everybody’s sticking in. Everybody’s having fun. Everybody’s getting an opportunity to play,” said Gallagher.
While a strong senior class is key for any high school football team, this year’s group of players draws its strength from all grades. Under the leadership of captains Ellington Hinds ’26 and Carmine Carusone ’26, the team is working together to maximize their potential.  
“Once we make the playoffs, we have a goal to make the playoffs again, so that overall just focuses the team even more,” said Hinds. “Even though we made the playoffs last year, it’s a new team, so there’s struggles that we have to go through.”
As the starting quarterback, Quinton deFaria ’28 understands the amount of hard work that is necessary to achieve their goal. 
“[Our goal is] just to be 1–0 at the end of every week. That’s our saying. And to achieve [this], we just [have] to continue to work hard. We’ve been doing great in the summer. We’ve been lifting, we’ve been practicing, and [staying] humble,” said deFaria.”
As the Tigers prepare for the Homecoming game and the rest of the season, they aren’t showing any signs of stopping. 
“[We have to] just continue what we’ve been doing,” said deFaria. “It’s obviously working out well for us, but we can’t take our foot off the gas just because we [started] 2 and  0. [We have to] just keep going.” 


Photo: Rohan Viswanathan

The PHS football team celebrates after their first win of the season. 

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