The Boys Volleyball Club operates with over 30 committed members, but that leaves many wondering: Why don’t they have an official team? The answer is more complex than it seems; it’s a time consuming process involving many moving factors.

Most teams start off as a booster club, a platform used to highlight participation and raise funds. The girls volleyball coach Patricia Manhart has been with the girls team ever since its transition from a club to an official team in 2013.

“The Board of Education said that the girls had to start as a [club] program to show and ... prove that there was interest,” said Manhart. “When I was first hired, I heard from the athletic director at the time that there was interest.”

At the beginning of the club’s creation, players were requested to pay a certain fee to cover the costs of transportation, uniforms and equipment. After the club demonstrated sufficient participation, the Board of Education began covering the team’s costs over the course of three years: a lengthy step by step integration of the club into the athletic program.

Athletics take up a significant portion of the high school’s budget, with nearly $1.7 million spent on school-sponsored athletic instruction from 2023 2024 to support 30 teams. The influence of booster clubs is significant, as they help signal to the Board of Education whether a team merits allocation in the budget. As the principal of Princeton High School, Cecilia Birge oversees all facets of the budget for the high school alone.

“It’s the principal who makes the recommendation to the superintendent. The superintendent has the final say, then she presents it to the school board. The school board votes for the total school budget,” Birge said.

As one of the founding members of the PHS Boys Volleyball Club, Kaden Li ’26 has worked for the past two years trying to get an official team approved. The club has accumulated new members each year, showcasing a rising interest for the sport in PHS.

“We got in contact with Mr. Dzbenski, the sports director. I think it’s been a funding issue,” said Li. “It seems like there’s a good amount of people who are interested, have the participation, but can’t get the funding.”

While funding has long posed challenges for athletics, it’s far from the only obstacle standing in the way. Title IX, a congressional law passed in 1972, prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school, ensuring an equal number of boys and girls sports teams. Almost every sport at this school has both a girls and boys team, except for football and field hockey. Brian Dzbenski, the athletics director for Princeton Public Schools, compares the system to a series of checks and balances, explaining that whenever a boys team is added, a girls team must also be added in order to maintain balance.

“If we do create a [boys] volleyball team, we’re going to have that imbalance ... we have to do an assessment of all our sports and look at the enrollment numbers,” said Dzbenski. “We have to take a look and possibly add another girls team.”

Not only does the athletic program have to take into account the balance between teams, but they also need to weigh the financial burden of this rule, which requires covering the costs of equipment, coaches, and referees for two teams rather than just one. Adding two teams places a considerable strain on the budget, leading to a shift in funding allocation. 

“The district allocates a certain amount of funding to fund coaches to coach those teams. When you take a look at the breakdown, all the girls programs and all the boys programs we have, we have an equal number of employee coaches for female sports as we do for male sports,” said Dzbenski. “The financial stressor is placed on the district for adding ... another two coaches’ salaries.”

Additionally, the costs associated with equipment, transportation, and referees present significant challenges that the district might struggle to manage. Given the high school’s limited budget, adding another team would likely create enough financial strain that could impact academics. Funding the new teams would require a budget reshuffle, pulling resources from other areas - a process involving the entire high school.

“Every academic area has to balance things, so that’s where it becomes a daunting task of competing priorities, because we have so many deserving students on so many programs,” Dzbenski said.

Unless the circumstances allow it right away, the creation of an official boys volleyball team will likely take a long time to become part of the PHS athletic program. However, with the recent progress of the Boys Volleyball Club and the growing attention the sport has garnered, the prospect of establishing an official boys’ team at PHS is increasingly within reach.

Why doesn't PHS have a boys volleyball team?

   When course selection rolls around, many PHS students look forward to picking interesting and challenging Advanced Placement (AP) classes, only to find that they’re not available. The College Board has 38 different AP tests, ranging from math to the arts. Many students take AP exams early on in their high school career in hopes of receiving more advanced instruction or to catch the eye of a top college by having a record of challenging classes. AP courses have a fast-paced curriculum, with a test to show mastery at the end. Passing these tests can give students a sense of accomplishment for their hard work.    
   While AP courses are intended for high schoolers, many freshmen in our school are only allowed to take a select few. Even if a student were to meet the prerequisites for these AP courses, they still can’t take them simply due to their grade, which entirely disregards the skill and potential these students have.
   Academically-driven students deserve to be able to access challenging courses to further enhance their learning. Students may not want to spend a whole year taking a course they are already familiar with, and they deserve the opportunity to skip ahead. Although these restrictions mainly come from a place of concern and desire to help underclassmen adjust to a high-pressure academic environment, many students are qualified and can take on the challenge. For example, in the case of AP Calculus BC, students at PHS are unable to skip a course even if they self studied and previously scored a five on the AP exam. Meanwhile, in other elite high schools, students can save a year of time by pursuing more advanced courses instead, should they be qualified to do so. 
   Blocking APs from underclassmen also  harms their participation in activities outside of school. Many extracurriculars require knowledge that students would only have the opportunity to properly learn in AP courses. This includes clubs such as Distributive Education Clubs of America, Euro Challenge, Model United Nations, debate, as well as business-related clubs that require skills taught in AP Macro-Microeconomics. 
   Additionally, many students in the Science Olympiad would also benefit  from  more  availability of science APs, such as biology, chemistry, and physics. Without access to these AP courses, students will simply turn to a different solution to enhance their academic knowledge: self-studying. However, self-studying an AP class can not only be extremely difficult for students in terms of effectively learning the content, but also in time management. This is especially the case for underprivileged students, who may not have the resources to acquire study aids and tutors, causing them to lag behind their more privileged peers in these extracurriculars. Rather than having underprivileged students struggle with difficult material to keep up, having equal opportunities for courses would level the playing field and alleviate mental stress for all students. 
    At the end of the day, PHS’s policies should strive to reflect the academic needs that much of our student body demonstrates. Our restrictiveness on AP courses is stifling the academic growth and potential of our underclassmen who are ready and eager to tackle more advanced material. By limiting access to these challenging courses, we not only hinder individual student achievement but also undermine the success of our extracurricular programs and competitive academic teams. Opening up AP courses to  qualified  freshmen  and  sophomores  would  provide equal opportunities for all students, regardless of their background, to not only excel academically but also thrive in their extracurricular pursuits. It is important that we reconsider these policies to foster a more inclusive and intellectually stimulating environment, instead of forcing everyone into mediocrity in the name of equity. 

AP restrictions: a plea for PHS’ s underclassmen

Holding the discus, Isabella Posada ’24 spins on one leg, generating power, before releasing and letting it fly far.

Posada was introduced to discus through her friend at Cranbury Middle School. Joining the track and field team with her friend at middle school was very important in Posada’s process of getting accustomed to the track team, and the sport of discus at PHS.

“[I] started off [with] shotput but then I began to move to discus, and [I] just [kept competing in discus from then on],” Posada said.

Posada attributes much of her success to the work she did with her coaches, from their emphasis on intense training to their ability to counsel and mentor.

“Most of my coaches have been very supportive and have treated me as a daughter of their own, making me love the sport and listen to their advice,” said Posada. “I believe a good coach shouldn’t have favorites
and should push their athletes in the right way and get to know them personally in order for them to achieve their full potential.”

Brandon Williams is the coach of the discus team at PHS, and has seen Posada’s progress throughout the
years; her development is a major source of pride for Williams.

“Isabella has been on our team for about four years now,” said Williams. “She’s a senior and she’s gone through everything. She has been a county champion, and that has been a great inspiration to younger throwers to accomplish what she has.”

Transitioning from Cranbury Middle School to PHS, Posada discovered that the community of discus throwers was small in comparison to the sprinters and long distance runners, but soon found herself appreciating this close-knit group.

“My relationship with other discus throwers can be very personal. I feel more connected to some of them because we have grown [together] not just as throwers but as people,” said Posada. “If it was a larger sport [with] more people, it would most likely not feel the same.”

Osbaldo Morales ’25 has been Posada’s teammate for the past couple of years, and has seen how her emphasis on team morale has allowed for stronger unity in the long run.

“When I was a freshman, I was a little scared of my upper classmates,” said Morales. “As time passed on, and as I got to know [Isabella], I realized that she was someone who was easy to communicate [with]; she is a really easy going person.”

Along with being a great person and friend, Posada stresses the significance of team bonding experiences, as she feels that it can help improve results on the field. Morales fondly remembers a moment where Posada sang “Let It Go” in a car ride while the team was bonding over ice cream. Moraless feels that this encompasses Posada’s spirit.

“It was ... just a really fun time and everyone [was] singing along, because that was the vibe,” said Morales. “She was really singing her whole heart out.”

While Posada is committed to making sure that the team environment is friendly and cohesive, she is able to employ a competitive mindset when needed. Posada believes that focusing on winning involves several factors.

“I usually try to mentally prepare myself before throwing, by calming myself down and going through my throwing routine,” said Posada. “I usually like to think of anything but throwing because it helps me not get in my head [too] much.”

Williams feels that Posada’s competitive drive is a perfect example of what his athletes should aspire to have, and that such ambition allows them to impact on the field.

“Having athletes that compete with each other on a day-in-day-out basis helps to push each other to make them better, so they can be at their highest level of competition on meet day,” Williams said.

Now close to graduation, Posada feels that she has a good understanding of the PHS track team, and has some good advice for freshmen who are beginning their high school careers.

“It’s all about mentality and keeping yourself together,” said Posada. “A lot of great athletes can easily get in their [own] heads which negatively impacts their performance, especially when they are throwing a discus.”

Isabella Posada ’24: discus

With another exciting school year coming to an end, we all have one word in our minds: VACATION! Luckily, for those who are going on road trips by themselves, or with their friends or family, we have created a perfect playlist for long drives.

“Drive By” is a song by American pop rock band Train from their sixth studio album, “California 37,” released in 2012. This song does a good job keeping the mood upbeat and ensuring that your road trip won’t be a boring one. The song describes the story of how the lead singer, Pat Monahan, met his wife. While she thinks their meetup was just a “one night stand,” hence “drive by,” Monahan tries his best to convince her otherwise. Train does an amazing job describing the feelings of Monahan, explaining how his “love for [the girl] went viral / And [he] loved [her] every mile [she] drove away ... Because [he] really fell for [her].” I think that this song is incredibly endearing, especially because Monahan develops his feelings simply through a one night stand. Not only does this song bring back nostalgia of the early 2010s, it is incredibly catchy as well, and great for a road trip.

Similar to “Drive By,” in “I’m Yours” by Jason Mraz, the artist also sings about his love towards a girl, opening up about his feelings towards her, and overcoming the hesitation he has while trying to pursue the girl. With the lyrics, “So I won’t hesitate no more, no more,” Mraz makes it clear he no longer wants to bottle up his feelings about this girl. I think that aside from the endearing message that this song has, the music is catchy yet not overwhelming. The instrumentals are clean; while there are quite a few instruments used, such as the bass guitar, ukulele, and keyboard, the song still has a calm vibe. So, even if you just listen to the music for its vibes, or if you enjoy deciphering messages written by artists, “I’m Yours” will definitely catch your attention.

As for a more recent song, “Espresso” is a trending pop song written by American singer Sabrina Carpenter in 2024. Similarly to the other two songs, this tune is also upbeat. However, the lyrics in “Espresso” are rather humorous. Carpenter begins her song by saying how “he’s thinkin’ ‘bout [her] every night ... say[ing] [he] can’t sleep” because she’s like an espresso to him: addicting. While many artists sing about serious themes, such as love, pain, and breakups, Carpenter deals with more light-hearted subjects. I think that despite this song being repetitive, the catchy chorus makes up for the shortcomings.

“Cruel Summer,” a 2019 tune by international pop star Taylor Swift, is a song that begs to be sung at the top of your lungs on a hot summer day. In it, Swift conveys the feeling of a forbidden summer romance. At one point in the song, she sings, “And I snuck in through the garden gate / Every night that summer just to seal my fate / And I screamed for whatever it’s worth / ‘I love you,’ ain’t that the worst thing you ever heard?” As the highlight of the song, if the previous parts didn’t already, this grabs my attention and convinces me to sing along. For fans of 1980s music, the synth-heavy instrumental contains elements of retro music and gives a sense of nostalgia. Whether you’re a Swiftie or not, this song will get you singing “it’s a cruel summer” along with Swift.

“Curls in the Wind’’ was released last year by Mark Ambor, an American singer-songwriter mainly focused on indie-pop music. Despite echoing sentiments of romance like “Cruel Summer,” Ambor’s lyrics portray pursuing love as something that is exciting and comforting. The song depicts a more carefree impulsiveness of new romance that gives the listener a sense of freedom when Ambor sings, “Getting lost in a beautiful place / Open fields when I look at your face.” The pace of the song and the clarity of the lyrics make it easy for me to sing along with anyone I’m traveling with in the car. The sensory depictions embedded in the phrases lets the listener imagine a perfect setting with their loved one and gives a sense of escapism.

Performed by K-pop girl group NewJeans, who is known for hits such as “Super Shy” and “Hype Boy,” the song “ETA” will get you and your friends or family hyped up for summer fun. The refreshing, rhythmic pop sound of “ETA” with its addictive chorus is sure to be a favorite for teens. The chorus is “We can go wherever you like / Baby say the words and I’m down / All I need is you on my side ... what’s your ETA, what’s your ETA.” The lyrical style of this song is similar to conversing with a close friend, inviting the listener to be part of their inner circle. I especially love the meaning of the lyrics and how it comes to symbolize navigating young love with the help of close friends. Even though the song is mostly in Korean, the main parts of the song are in English, allowing people to sing along to the most important parts.

Hopefully these summer bops give you a sense of cheerfulness and spirit no matter what destination you’re headed towards. After a stressful school year, we deserve good music to kick back and relax to. Feel free to explore other songs from the playlist to listen to over your summer vacation!

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4uXYlVzPAYt8UpU2M97B3s

Summer vibes for the summer drives: a playlist

Deep breaths. Firm stance. Tight grip. As attackers rush towards her, Jocelyn Lee ’24 stands her ground, rallying the team to move as one. Despite the opposing team’s relentless attack, Lee steps up as captain and, using her grit and perseverance, leads the lacrosse team to victory.  
   Lee has always been a very athletic and competitive person. At a young age, she was trying out different sports, and eventually stuck with lacrosse in fifth grade. At first Lee played for fun, and then began to compete more. 
   “Lacrosse was just the [sport] that I liked the most,” said Lee. “All my friends did 
lacrosse, so it was really fun for me. It was more of a fun [activity] than a sport until high school, and then I got really competitive.” 
   After playing club lacrosse throughout middle school, Lee joined the PHS Varsity Lacrosse team her freshman year as a defender. Despite this achievement, Lee was frustrated after being left out of the starting lineup. However, her determination, hard work, and perseverance paid off in the end, and she’s become a vital asset to the team. 
   “I would go [at] the beginning of the season [and] I really had to work hard and show that I was ...  able to play ...  I ended up becoming a starter and I ...  had to work my way [up],” Lee said. 
   In women’s lacrosse, there are 10 players: a goalie, two attackers, three midfielders, and four defenders. While every position holds a key role, the team relies heavily on Lee and the rest of the defenders to stop the opposing team from scoring. 
   Assistant Varsity Coach Charles Gallagher of the girls lacrosse team recognized Lee’s skill, leadership and responsibility early on, and rates her as one of the most important players on the team. 
   “She’s a really solid player for us [and] leads our defensive unit. We have four to five girls on defense and she really takes great command,” said Gallagher. “As a group, [her] understanding of the game brings a lot of experience, [a lot of] really good, savvy lacrosse play to our program.”
   Little details, like predicting how the other team will score the ball, what formations they’ll use, and knowing how to counter them can drastically change the outcome of the match. As the team’s captain, organizing and encouraging fellow players is one thing, but teaching them to adapt to these details is a whole other challenge that comes with the role. Not everyone may be as experienced, so Lee takes care of everyone by ensuring they’re prepared to achieve a winning game.
   “Morale can get low if the other team is scoring a lot on us,” said Lee. “So a lot of times I try to raise people’s ... optimism and cheer them up.”
   Lee, acting as captain and defender, is a pillar of reliability for the team. Her teammate Samantha Henderson ’24 admires her communication skills and understanding of the game. 
   “She knows a lot about the sport and knows what feedback to give players [and] ... leads the defensive unit by example,” said Henderson. “She [also] communicates well and teaches others to do so too. She is a very strong defender and is very knowledgeable about what a good defense looks like.”
    With years of lacrosse under her belt and experience as a captain for the second year in a row, Lee’s stats are impressive. Last year, Lee achieved 41 forced turnovers, which is when a player forces the opposing team to lose the ball, the highest on the team. In addition, Lee was given the Unsung Hero award at a lacrosse conference. Most defensive players don’t get their names in the papers as much as midfielders or attackers; Lee’s reliability and skill earned her the award. Looking beyond her impressive statistics, Lee is equally successful because of her personality and character. 
   “I was always impressed with her dedication for the sport. She has always been kind and a supportive teammate. She is a great player and captain because she works really hard,” Henderson said. 
   Being both a model lacrosse player and encouraging mentor has often brought Lee and the team success, such as their win over West Windsor Plainsboro North High School during the beginning of the season. Both Lee and the team look forward to continuing their successful run with an amazing team lineup. 
   “I am feeling really great about our season and our team ... our defense had amazing [forced] turnovers that became great transitions and beautiful goals. Everyone worked together so well as a unit,” Henderson said. 
   While leading the team into a new exciting season, Lee looks forward to playing Division III lacrosse for Rochester Institute of Technology after graduation. Throughout the hardships and triumphs, Lee’s high school lacrosse experience has not only left her with cherished memories and friendships but has also equipped her with important lessons that will benefit her in college and beyond. 
   “[Lacrosse has] helped me to be more confident because on the field you’re forced to be loud and physical. It’s helped me [learn] leadership and how to be more outspoken,” said Lee. “Keep trying and working really hard because you’ll be able to build your way up.”

Jocelyn Lee '24: Lacrosse

From the University of Connecticut’s renowned women’s basketball team to Michigan’s football team, every college has a sports team that they’re known for. Duke University dominates men’s basketball with 19 Atlantic Coast Conference tournament titles. College football has seen an alltime high viewership, with 27.2 million viewers watching a gripping semifinal game between Michigan and Alabama.

With certain sports having such a huge presence around the world, there is bound to be some favoritism towards certain “elite” sports based on how much income they generate, which, when paired with frequent bias against players based on race, gender, or economic status, brings about a set of issues that have plagued college sports for centuries, tainting their history. So how did these issues wind up affecting colleges’ favorite sports?

Before the birth of college sports, sports were mostly viewed as hobbies or a form of physical exercise without any real competition behind them. In 1843, rowing clubs were the first to be made into competitive sports teams at Yale, and at Harvard a year later. In 1852, the first ever Yale-Harvard Regatta, a rowing race, was held, marking the beginning of college sports and long-term rivalries between prestigious colleges.

In the early twentieth century, it became apparent that colleges began to dominate certain sports. Harvard and Yale won national championships in football and continued their rivalry that persists to this day. Many others take great care to uphold the tradition mainly because of the attention these sports still receive today. As time went on, getting attention from the public became important for revenue, so colleges’ focus began to shift to revenue-generating sports. More athletic scholarships became available for traditionally popular sports like football and basketball. Similarly, in the 1970s, athletic grants-in-aid were mainly for sports such as swimming, track, soccer, lacrosse, hockey, and baseball. The sports with large fanbases, such as football, received the most funding; improving the quality of other sports would stress the budget of the athletic department. This problem persists today — supporting non-revenue generating sports is not a gamble athletic directors want to take, leading to insufficient funds, equipment, and training space for them. College students today resent revenue-generating sports that siphon support and resources away from their school activities. However, despite pouring millions of dollars into their preferred sports, many colleges still face financial issues if their sports don’t make a profit that year. This leads to schools increasing their athletic fees and even college tuition. Favoritism of collegiate sports not only impacts nonrevenue-generating sports, but favors athletes and students with higher incomes that bring more to the team than just athletic prowess.

In addition to financial issues, colleges have a long-standing problem with representation in sports. Historically, college varsity teams were made up of exclusively white wealthy men. Racial bias and prejudice motivated colleges to favor white male athletes who were able to contribute to the team financially. This changed in the 1960s, during the civil rights movement, when Texas Western’s all-Black team won the national basketball championship in 1966 against the University of Kentucky’s all-white team. This event was a turning point that signified an important shift in acceptance of Black athletes into collegiate sports, opening new opportunities for people of color across the board.

Similar progress was made, not just regarding race, but also gender, beginning with the Title IX legislation. This landmark legislation forbade discrimination based on gender, leveling the playing field in collegiate varsity teams. However, there is still a huge gap in financial support for women’s sports, which is typically due to lower viewership. This leads to underfunding and fewer athletic scholarships for female athletes.

Despite their complicated history of economic, racial, and gender discrimination, millions of people enjoy college sports today, whether they’re watching the latest football game with friends or chatting about a new basketball matchup. While modern college sports are miles more accepting than they used to be, they are still lacking in many areas. Race- and gender-based discrimination are still prevalent, and opportunities for the less economically fortunate are very limited. Although watching college sports is fun and a staple of American culture, it’s important to understand the history of these sports and fight against their elitist status to truly bring equality to one of America’s most beloved forms of entertainment.

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The Tower