May 28, 2025
“Stand Boldly,” Eisgruber Urges PU Graduates 6983o
Princeton University Commencement on Tuesday, May 27, 2025 in Princeton, N.J. (Charles Sykes/Princeton University) 6m5q60
CLASS OF 2025: Princeton University President Christopher L. Eisgruber “offered a few remarks about the path that lies ahead,” as he urged the graduates at the University’s 278th commencement ceremony on Tuesday in Princeton Stadium, to speak up for their beliefs and to “stand boldly” for the freedoms and principles that define Princeton and other great universities. (Photo by Charles Sykes, Associated Press Images for Princeton University) 5if4
By Donald Gilpin
“In this tender and pivotal moment, we must stand boldly for the freedoms and principles that define this and other great universities,” Princeton University President Christopher L. Eisgruber told his audience of 1293 of the Class of 2025 receiving undergraduate degrees, 663 graduate degree recipients, faculty, and staff, surrounded by thousands of students’ family and friends in the stands of Princeton Stadium for the University’s 278th commencement on Tuesday.
In the current climate of continuing conflict between institutions of higher education and the federal government, it’s not surprising that Eisgruber, who has been an outspoken voice among university leaders, should eschew “institutional neutrality” and embrace speaking up in resistance to istration policies that would curtail universities’ research funding, threaten academic freedom, and encroach on the independence of universities. more
Council Considers Resolution For Design Competition Of Vandeventer Kiosk 6q6g2e
By Anne Levin
Among the items on the agenda for Princeton Council’s meeting on Tuesday evening, May 27 (after Town Topics’ press time) was a resolution related to the future of one of the two kiosks on Nassau Street.
The governing body was to discuss a resolution authorizing the acceptance of donations to finance a $10,000 prize for a design competition for a new kiosk at Nassau Street and Vandeventer Avenue. The other kiosk is at Nassau and Witherspoon streets.
According to the agenda, the American Institute of Architects of New Jersey (AIANJ) “wishes to ister/oversee/hold a competition for the design of the new kiosk in which a local business is providing the funds for prize amounts.” The business is not named in the resolution. more
Princeton Pride Flag Raising on Friday Will Launch Month of Pride Activities 1i7329
By Donald Gilpin
Princeton will raise the Pride flag on Friday at noon at Monument Hall to celebrate Pride Month and to kick off a series of events featuring a Pride in the Plaza disco dance party in Hinds Plaza on June 6 and the eighth annual Princeton Pride Parade on June 14, marching from the Municipal Building on Witherspoon Street to the YWCA on Paul Robeson Place, where the Pride After-Party will take place.
“Princeton’s Pride Flag Raising and Pride Month’s events are all part of our year-round actions that show that Princeton is a community that welcomes and celebrates everyone,” Princeton Mayor Mark Freda wrote in an email. “People do not need to fit a narrow and pre-determined label to come here and enjoy visiting and/or living ere. We are all people, we all deserve to be treated the same, respected the same.”
Sara Wasserman, local community organizer and queer educator at the Bayard Rustin Center for Social Justice (BRCSJ), that is organizing many of the Princeton Pride Month 2025 events, observed, “I think we’re going to have an even stronger, bigger, better and brighter celebration of queer joy than ever before because this is a time when we need it.” more
Operatic Superstar Renée Fleming to Perform with Princeton Symphony at 2025 Princeton Festival 48273s
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ONE NIGHT ONLY: Renée Fleming’s appearance with the Princeton Symphony Orchestra on June 7 is a cornerstone of the 2025 Princeton Festival. Her concert is bracketed by “Voices that Changed Music.” (Photo by Andrew Eccles Decca) 20a40
By Nancy Plum
“Throughout history, music and the arts have given us social cohesion — it’s what enabled us to cooperate with each other and stay together.” This commentary from singer Renée Fleming has long set the tone for Fleming’s stellar multi-decade career, leading to five Grammy awards, a National Medal of Arts, recognition by the Kennedy Center Honors, and countless accolades worldwide. Fleming will Princeton Symphony Orchestra on June 7 at 8 p.m. as part of the 2025 Princeton Festival, presenting “well-known gems, a few obscure discoveries and more intimate fare.” One of the most acclaimed singers of our time, Fleming is a “quintuple threat” — with international success in opera, concert stage, recording, musical theater and as an author and advocate for performance, music education and embedding the arts into health care. Her artistry has been hailed as the “gold standard of soprano sound.”
Heading into its fourth year at Morven Museum & Garden, Princeton Festival has chosen to present this very high-profile artist to build on the success of opening last year with Metropolitan Opera soprano Angel Blue and bring further attention to the wide range of Festival offerings. Princeton Symphony Music Director Rossen Milanov had collaborated with Fleming in the past, and she was eager to come to Princeton to perform in the Festival’s unique space at Morven’s Pavilion. For this year’s Festival, the seating at the Pavilion has been expanded to accommodate a much larger audience. more
SAVE Animal Shelter at Full Capacity As Adoption/Foster Rates Decline m5i4h
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“I NEED DOG PEOPLE”: Heather Achenbach, Executive Director of SAVE, A Friend to Homeless Animals, is urging the public to adopt, foster, and donate funds to help find homes for dogs like Chiki, who recently arrived at the shelter. 62w12
By Anne Levin
With the capacity to house more than 100 animals at a time, it might seem as though SAVE, A Friend to Homeless Animals, has plenty of space. But the Skillman-based nonprofit shelter, which receives no funding at the federal, state, or local level, is running out of space — especially for dogs that need homes.
SAVE Executive Director Heather Achenbach has recently taken to social media to ask the public for help. A number of foster applications have resulted from her effort, but more fosters, adoptions, and monetary donations are needed. more
Experience Princeton Wins $150,000 Grant For America 250th Anniversary Preparations 1r474f
By Donald Gilpin
A Transformation Grant for $150,000 has been awarded to Princeton Experience for an economic feasibility study, technology upgrades, and promotional activities, as well as plantings, furniture, and signage, as America’s 250th anniversary celebrations approach.
“In preparation for the 250th anniversary of the U.S., we will do a targeted marketing spend through our website and online applications to raise the profile of businesses in Princeton,” Experience Princeton Executive Director Isaac Kramer wrote in an email. “This will complement the work of Morven Museum & Garden, which Experience Princeton is partnering with, and the two grants from Mercer County that Experience Princeton has already received to this work.”
The addition of plantings and seating to Witherspoon Street north of the Public Library and Arts Council and also along Nassau Street east of Moore Street is also on the agenda, as is the purchase of a one-year license to provide data to assist businesses and partners of Experience Princeton to better understand visitation patterns in order to better target marketing and attract new businesses. more
Long Live Film — Loving and Living Movies On Walker Percy’s Birthday 5433m
By Stuart Mitchner
During my last year in college, I discovered that I was picking up the mannerisms of Akim Tamiroff, the only useful thing, in fact, that I learned in the entire four years.
—from The Moviegoer
Walker Percy’s National Book Award-winning novel begins with an epigraph from Søren Kierkegaard’s The Sickness Unto Death: “the specific character of despair is precisely this: it is unaware of being despair.” Early in The Moviegoer (1961), the narrator Binx Bolling refers to the message on the marquee of his neighborhood theater in New Orleans (“Where Happiness Costs So Little”), claiming to be “quite happy in a movie, even a bad movie.” While other people “treasure memorable moments in their lives,” what he re is “the time JohnWayne killed three men with a carbine as he was falling to the dusty street in Stagecoach, and the time the kitten found Orson Welles in the doorway in The Third Man.”
I felt the same way about the kitten finding Orson Welles, a “dead man” who isn’t dead named Harry Lime. I was 11. Eight years later I would be in Vienna looking for the equivalent of the doorway where my life in the world of movies began. Film as a text or commodity can be equated with existentialism, it’s mortal; movies are Akim Tamiroff, who played Sancho Panza in Welles’s unfinished Don Quixote — which suggests why The Moviegoer opens with some existential name-dropping about “despair” when the most “useful” lesson Binx Bolling learned in college was taught by that characteristically wily rogue Tamiroff, whose “mannerisms” come memorably to life in J.D. Salinger’s story “Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut,” when one character tells another, “He’s in the movies. He always says, ‘You make beeg joke — hah?’ I love him.”
Indeed, she loves him. The happy-making aspect of movies revolves around that four-letter word and the idea that this suburban woman in a Salinger story (and by association Salinger himself) loves Akim Tamiroff. more
“Fiddler on the Roof” Comes to Kelsey Theater 502z6k
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TRADITION: R.J. Lewis stars as Tevye the milkman in Theater To Go’s production of “Fiddler on the Roof” June 6-15. 4q1h59
A beloved musical following a family’s celebration of life and all of its challenges, Fiddler on the Roof comes to Kelsey Theater June 6-15 on the West Windsor Campus of Mercer County Community College.
Presented by Theater To Go, this internationally celebrated musical delivers a message of resilience, unity, and hope, making it as relevant today as when it debuted on Broadway in 1964. Set in the Russian village of Anatevka, the show follows Tevye, a humble Jewish milkman, as he struggles to maintain his family’s traditions while navigating a rapidly changing world. As his daughters seek to forge their own paths, Tevye must confront the shifting social and political landscape around him. more
Garden Theatre Screens Pride Shorts for Kids 3x2lc
The Princeton Garden Theatre, 160 Nassau Street, will offer a special Pride edition of the New York International Children’s Film Festival (NYICFF) on Saturday, June 7 at 10 a.m.
This is a chance for the Garden’s community of kids and families to celebrate diversity and practice empathy through the movies. The screening is featured as part of the theater’s $5 Family Matinees series, which is free for of the nonprofit cinema.
The Garden has brought selections from the NYICFF to Princeton since 2023. Kid Flicks: Pride is the first time the stories will specifically focus on the experiences of young queer people from around the globe. The program has been curated for ages 10 and up, with works that range in identity and style.
“Schoolyard matchmakers, a Belgian teen, a group of Indigenous Hawaiian mahu, and more highlight the power that comes from embracing who you are,” according to the NYICFF’s website, which also has a complete list of titles at nyicff.org. Purchase tickets at the door or online at gardentheater.org.
McCarter Theatre Gets New Ebeneezer Scrooge 30v18
Cameron Knight
McCarter Theatre Center has announced that Cameron Knight, a classically trained actor, director, and educator, will lead the cast as Ebenezer Scrooge in this year’s production of A Christmas Carol, adapted and directed by Lauren Keating. The beloved holiday tradition returns December 9-28, with tickets now on sale at mccarter.org.
“Cameron possesses such incredible talent and delightful humor. Audiences loved him as Mr. Fezziwig last season, so I’m especially excited to see his take on the legendary role of Scrooge,” said McCarter Artistic Director Sarah Rasmussen. “He understands the drama, heart, and comedy at the core of Dickens’ creation. His love of language and deep sense of humanity will bring something truly special to this production.”
Director Lauren Keating added, “Cameron brings incredible skill, ingenuity, and spirit to the role. He was beloved by the company last year – especially by the young actors – and brings great heart, flexibility, and inspired ideas to the process. When the opportunity arose to invite a new actor to bring Dickens’ character to life, he immediately came to mind. more
Lewis Center Awards Grants to Students 1l5d4t
Julianna Martin ’26
The Lewis Center for the Arts at Princeton University has announced more than $145,000 in awards to the summer projects and research of 55 Princeton undergraduates. While all first, second, and third-year students are eligible to apply for the awards, for many recipients the funding provides vital resources to conduct research, undertake training, and pursue other opportunities critical to achieving their senior independent creative project goals in the arts. The grants range from $300 to $8,000.
Rising seniors Julianna Martin, Maya Sessions, and Nadine Allache have been selected for the Alex Adam ’07 Award. Established in memory of Alexander Jay Adam ’07 and made possible through a generous gift from his family, the award provides each student with $7,500 to spend the summer pursuing a project that will result in the creation of new artistic work. While a student at Princeton, Alex Adam pursued artistic interests in creative writing and theater. Joyce Carol Oates, his creative writing professor, praised Adam’s work as “sharp-edged, unexpectedly corrosive, and very funny.” Additionally, Adam was an actor and performed with the Princeton Shakespeare Company, Theatre Intime, and the Program in Theater.
“Compelling creative work requires bold exploration and rigorous research,” said Lewis Center Chair Judith Hamera when announcing the awards. “We are so grateful to the Alex Adam ’07 family and all whose generosity provides our students the summer funding to do both and are eager to see where these opportunities take them.” more
Princeton Makes Hosts Rhythm and Hues event d4z16
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RHYTHM AND HUES: Vidushi Pavana B. Achar, a noted player of the veena, an ancient stringed instrument, will be accompanied by two percussionists at the Prionceton Makes artist cooperative in the Princeton Shopping Center on Thursday, May 29 at 6 p.m. Princeton Makes’ artists will paint during the performance. 264t3b
Princeton Makes, a Princeton-based artist cooperative, will host Rhythm and Hues, a musical and artistic collaborative event, in the courtyard of the Princeton Shopping Center, 301 North Harrison Street, on Thursday, May 29 at 6 p.m.
The event will feature Vidushi Pavana B. Achar, who is a noted player of the veena, an ancient stringed instrument from the Indian sub-continent. She will be accompanied by two percussionists — Vignesh Prakash, a senior at NJIT, and Sarvesh Premkumar, a Senior at JP Stevens High School, both of whom play traditional Indian percussion instruments. Inspired by the music they create, Princeton Makes’ artists will paint during the performance. Attendees are invited to enjoy the collaboration or bring in their own art materials and in the fun. more
Ice Cream Social at Trent House Museum 6e1i6b
The Trent House Association will hold its annual ice cream social to celebrate the day the Trent House Museum was opened in 1939. This free event will take place rain or shine on Sunday, June 1, from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Museum, 15 Market Street, Trenton. Free parking is available behind the property off William Trent Place.
On June 1, 1939, the restored Trent House was opened to the public as a museum. The house, then known as Woodlawn, had been given to the city of Trenton in 1929 by the last private owner, Edward A. Stokes. The gift required that the house be restored to its original colonial condition with its elaborate and extensive Gilded Age additions removed. This work was impossible for the city to undertake as the Great Depression was just beginning, so it was not until 1934 that restoration began under the auspices of the Workers Progress istration.
On June 1, all are invited to celebrate the 86th anniversary of the museum’s opening with ice cream, music, and children’s games and crafts. Tours of the historic house and of exhibits in the visitor center will also be offered. For more information, visit Jersey Council for the Humanities, the New Jersey Cultural Trust, the New Jersey Historic Trust, the Mercer County Cultural and Heritage Commission with funding from the New Jersey Historical Commission, and the Bunbury Fund and the New Jersey Arts & Culture Renewal Fund of the Princeton Area Community Foundation; and by contributions from NJM Insurance Group and Orion General Contractors. For more information, visit trenthouse.org.
Small World Coffee Hosts Pop-Ups at Nassau Café 525yw
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ARTIST POP-UPS AT SMALL WORLD: Small World Coffee has hosted three artist pop-up shows at their Nassau Street location, shining a light on the creative talents of local and regional vendors. There are more opportunities to shop small coming up through June. Pictured is Local artist Jacqui Alexander. 4u2n14
Small World Coffee has a motto: “ your local everything.” That is the driving force behind a new Artist Pop-Up series at their Nassau location, to be held on select days in May and June. These one-day-only sales invite community and visitors alike to shop directly from local makers working in paint, ceramics, vintage, stickers, pins, tees, totes, and more.
“ing local creatives has been at the heart of Small World since day one,” said owner Jessica Durrie. “Whether it’s art on the walls, music in the air, or a pop-up full of handmade goods, it brings life to our cafés and reminds us of the incredible talent in our community. Thirty-one years in, and it still makes everything better.” more
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Artists’ Gallery in Lambertville will present “Celebrating Color & Light,” a visually rich exhibition featuring the work of Jane Adriance and Claudia Fouse Fountaine, June 5 through July 6. The show invites visitors to experience the artists’ shared love of luminosity, expressive color, and the vibrant energy of the natural world.
An opening reception with the artists and light refreshments is on Saturday, June 7, from 4 to 6 p.m. more
Developing into an All-American for PU Open Crew, Senior George Primed for Big Finish at NCAA Regatta 24d34
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BY GEORGE: Princeton University women’s open rower Katherine George, center, displays her form in a race earlier this spring. Senior star George, a two-time All-America, is looking to end her Tiger career on a high note as Princeton competes in the NCAA Championships from May 30-June 1 at Mercer Lake. (Photo by Row2K, provided courtesy of Princeton Athletics) 6a382p
By Bill Alden
Growing up in Chearsley, England, Katherine George dabbled in a lot of sports including swimming, lacrosse, field hockey, and netball.
But not excelling at any of them by the age of 15, George decided to take up rowing and immediately found a home on the water. more
Women’s Track Star Scatchard, Water Polo’s Pozaric Receive Princeton’s Top Senior Athletic Awards m5
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AWARDS SHOW: Princeton University women’s track and cross country star Mena Scatchard, left, is all smiles as she receives the C. Otto von Kienbusch Award from Princeton Director of Athletics John Mack last Thursday evening at the Gary Walters ’67 Princeton Varsity Club Awards Banquet. The award is given annually to a Princeton senior woman of high scholastic rank who has demonstrated general proficiency in athletics and the qualities of a true sportswoman. During her Tiger career, Scatchard was eight-time Ivy League champion and a 2025 NCAA indoor runner-up in the mile. (Photo provided courtesy of Princeton Athletics) 2b296b
By Bill Alden
One is a petite, wiry runner from England while the other is a chiseled 6’4 bruiser from Croatia who dominates in the pool.
Coming to Princeton from Europe in 2021, the two athletes, Mena Scatchard and Roko Pozaric, produced stellar college careers. Scatchard established herself as one of the most accomplished distance runners in the 47-year history of Princeton women’s track and field. Pozaric, for his part, ended his Tiger men’s water polo career with the most goals in program history. more
With Thomson Emerging as a Key Performer, PHS Boys’ Lax Primed for State Tournament 5m4g14
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GOING TO THE MATT: Princeton High boys’ lacrosse Matt Thomson brings the ball upfield in recent action. Last Thursday, senior attacker Thomson tallied a goal as PHS fell 14-5 to Pingry in moving to 10-8. In action, the Tigers will be starting play in New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) North Jersey Group 3 tournament where they are seeded eighth and will host ninth-seeded Red Bank Regional in a first-round contest on May 29. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski) 4c2e6n
By Bill Alden
Over the last four years, Matt Thomson has gone from being part of the ing cast for the Princeton High boys’ lacrosse team to emerging as one of the squad’s key performers.
“Freshman year, I was just riding the bench and learning from the older guys like Will Doran,” said senior attacker Thomson. “I would say my role, especially on offense, is that role player where I go for the ground balls and try to get it to the next guy and find opportunities to cut and score.” more
Peng Making the Most of His Final Campaign As PDS Boys’ Tennis Reaches Non-Public Quarters h5b3y
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J-TRAIN: Princeton Day School boys’ tennis player Jaylen Peng hits a forehand in a match earlier this spring. Last Wednesday, senior Peng posted a 6-0, 6-0 win at third singles to help seventh-seeded PDS defeated 10th-seeded Wildwood Catholic 5-0 in the first round of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) South Jersey Non-Public tournament. The Panthers, who improved to 9-5 with the victory, were slated to play at second-seeded Moorestown Friends in a quarterfinal contest on May 27 with the victor advancing to the semis on May 29. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski) 6h6r3e
By Bill Alden
Rain forced the Princeton Day School boys’ tennis team to play its New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) South Jersey Non-Public tournament first round match against Wildwood Catholic indoors at the Mercer County Tennis Facility but that suited Jaylen Peng just fine.
PDS senior Peng rolled to a 6-0, 6-0 win over Evan Papageorgiou at third singles, helping the seventh-seeded Panthers prevail 5-0 over 10th-seeded Crusaders in the May 21 contest as they improved to 9-5. more
Lee Enjoys Special Senior Day for Stuart Lacrosse, Scoring 5 Goals to Help Tartans Edge Lawrence 12-11 5m652t
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FAST FINISH: Stuart Country Day School lacrosse player Allison Lee races upfield in recent action. On May 20, star midfielder and Williams College commit Lee tallied five goals and one assist on the program’s Senior Day to help Stuart edge Lawrence High 12-11. Last Wednesday, Lee scored four goals as the Tartans defeated the Wilberforce School 10-7 to end the season with a 6-10 record. Lee tallied 81 goals this spring to bring her career total to a program-record 335. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski) 321l41
By Bill Alden
Allison Lee experienced a roller-coaster ride as she celebrated her Senior Day for the Stuart Country Day School lacrosse team last week.
Before the May 20 contest against visiting Lawrence High, Lee and her fellow seniors, Emily Harlan, Maya Dev, Lola Lopez-Spencer, Elise Hwang, and Annarose Bourgoin, were honored. more
Former PDS Athletic Director Williams Pens Book, Providing a Step-By-Step Guide To Landing an AD Job 2d413i
By Bill Alden
Having been a full-time athletic director at independent schools since 2001, Tim Williams has gained a wealth of experience in running sports programs.
Williams, who served as the athletic director at Princeton Day School from 2011-2020, has decided to impart some of that considerable wisdom in connection with the AD interview process.
After making presentations on the subject at some summer conferences, Williams decided to turn his remarks into a book. more
May 21, 2025
The Way It Was 232v26
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Visitors enjoyed an array of activities at the Corn Planting and Gardening event at Howell Living History Farm in Hopewell Township on Saturday. Attendees share what they learned in this week’s Town Talk on page 6. (Photo by Thomas Hedges) 29d3a
Rail Service Resumes as NJ Transit Strike Ceases 5v5t1x
By Anne Levin
As of Tuesday morning, May 20, the three-day strike by NJ Transit engineers had been settled, restoring service to commuters and travelers from Princeton Junction and elsewhere into New York City’s Penn Station.
But the agreement reached Sunday between the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) and NJ Transit is labeled “tentative.” will be sent to the union’s 450 for their consideration, according to BLET. Contract language and dollar figures are to be announced to the public after the have a chance to review.
The agreement also requires a vote by the NJ Transit Board at their next regularly scheduled meeting, which is June 11. more
Earning and Learning, Local Students Work in Youth Employment Program 5w131
By Donald Gilpin
Forty-four Princeton teenagers are getting ready to embark on a host of summer jobs, from child care at Princeton Nursery School (PNS) to clerical and istrative positions at area community organizations to a variety of jobs with local government and nonprofits — all under the auspices of the Princeton Human Services Department’s Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP).
The Human Services Department pairs these students, from age 14 to 18, with local organizations, Princeton University, and others, and the employers sign up to accept the youths for eight weeks, from July 7 to August 29.
The employers provide their young recruits with work experience, and coach them through the process, ensuring that they understand and meet all work expectations, explained Human Services Director Rhodalynn Jones. “The program has been tremendously successful,” she said, with 70 applications received and a record number of students hired this year. more