It’s Back to School Time…Here’s What You Need to Know

Perspectives Revisited

Is there a Jew-hatred problem at Princeton University? We first wrote about concerns with antisemitic terms or tropes chanted and displayed on signs on the Princeton campus in the article The Rise in Jew-Hatred is Felt Near and Far (Nov. 2023), but it seems there has been issue after issue happening since. In mid-July, a swastika was found painted on the wall at Lakeside Apartments, a university graduate student complex. As quietly as it was discovered, it was removed. PU Junior, Max Meyer, posted about it on X, sharing concerns of student safety since the university has not messaged the university community and condemned this antisemitic act. He stated, “If someone loiters suspiciously near a Wawa off campus, the school blasts an alert to the entire community. But when one of history’s most infamous hate symbols appears on campus property, the university’s DEI office hesitates to speak out, fearing it might ‘amplify the hateful message’.” University Spokesperson Jennifer Morrill told Princeton Perspectives that once they were informed of the Nazi hate symbol, “Staff immediately worked to cover and remove the graffiti, and the Department of Public Safety increased foot patrols in the area and is actively investigating the incident. The Graduate School reached out to the graduate students who reported the graffiti to update them on the handling of the situation and provide support. To be absolutely clear, the University deplores expressions of hatred directed against any individual or group.” Antisemitism is not a new problem, but it is one that has seen a dramatic increase since the Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023. Notably the ADL has documented a 344% surge over the last five years.

We write about the local public school district often, most recently in last month’s Perspectives Revisited or previously when we updated you in the article Princeton Public Schools January Referendum and its Impacts on Our Communities (Dec. 2024). And now we share that Princeton Public Schools is bringing a little more nature to its landscapes, as it was awarded a $92,125 Trees for Schools grant to cover the cost of planting 85 tress across its six schools. A joint effort between the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Sustainable Jersey and The College of New Jersey, the grant program will ultimately plant more than 4,500 trees at schools across the state. There is hope the trees will provide more shade, add beauty to the campuses, soak up stormwater runoff and help to reduce carbon footprints. The plantings are scheduled for spring 2026.