Students Tune into the Presidential Debate

Fear of the financial crisis and excitement over their first chance to vote drove thousands of Princeton students to watch last Friday's presidential debate. The Daily Princetonian followed students in Frist Campus Center and sat down with campus political leaders. In this video I did all of the editing, using Final Cut Express. Two other reporters shot the footage using a consumer Sony camera. .

Raising a storm of discontent

This article was published on the front page of The Trenton Times on Friday September 26, 2008.

Razing a storm of discontent

Seminary wants to close the book on the Speer Library building

Friday, September 26, 2008

BY NAOMI NIX

Special to the Times

PRINCETON BOROUGH -- Drawing objections from the local historical review board, the Princeton Theological Seminary has unveiled plans to demolish its 51-year-old Speer Library to make room for a bigger library with better organization and energy-saving technology.

Seminary representatives said the stone building with relief work is not an artistic treasure and has many design flaws that can't be fixed without a complete replacement.

Local preservationists are opposed to a demolition of the building because, they say, the 1957 Speer Library at 25 Library Place is an integral part of a historic neighborhood.

Speer, located in the Mercer Hill Historic District, would be the first building razed in any of the borough's historic districts since their formation 23 years ago, said Kirsten Thoft, vice chairwoman of the borough's historic preservation review committee, which opposes Speer's demolition.

Instead, Thoft and other critics want more consideration given to keeping and renovating the existing library.

A preliminary plan to knock down the structure was discussed at a concept hearing before the Princeton Regional Planning Board last week.

The new plan would "give the seminary a much more usable, functional library that also expresses (seminary) values," said David Fixler, an architect working for the Presbyterian school, which prepares students for lives as religious leaders.

Officials described a number of shortcomings in the existing library building, including a poor layout, low ceilings, crowded storage space, a roof that needs replacing, leaking pipes and a lack of accommodations for people with disabilities.

But in an interview yesterday, another facilities consultant for the seminary offered a kinder description of the Speer Library.

"It's a well-designed building," said Penelope Watson, a principal with the Bridgeton-based Watson & Henry Associates architecture firm, which has been working for the seminary on an assessment of all of its buildings.

And being more than 50 years old, Speer is eligible to be considered for placement on the National Register of Historic Places, although that process has not been initiated, Watson said.

The library, designed by George A. Licht and George T. Licht, was named after Robert E. Speer, a leader in the Presbyterian Church who was elected to the seminary's board of trustees in 1914.

Fixler described the Speer Library as "a nice building, but ... not a great building. There is not a reputable architect or historian who will tell you otherwise."

Thoft, herself an architect, said it's too soon to write off the existing library.

"The committee is deeply concerned about the demolishment of this historic structure," and the "precedent-setting nature" of the expansion plans, she said.

In an eight-page memo issued to the planning board, the committee criticized the seminary for not fulfilling all the requirements necessary to allow for demolition of a building in a historic district.

Namely, the seminary didn't prove that it cannot put the building to "reasonable use" or that the existing building is an "undue hardship on its owners," according to the memo.

Seminary representatives said the expansion would give library patrons and staff opportunities to enjoy a café and greater natural light while providing additional study places and more efficient book storage.

The new library also would recycle rainwater for irrigation and use energy-saving techniques in its interior design.

Fixler said the Speer building holds little historical significance and suggested that the new library would enhance the Mercer Hill district's architecture.

The proposed design offers a contemporary feel but may include some of the original materials of the existing building.

"We don't feel that, by putting up this new building, we will be adversely affecting the historic district," Fixler said.

Seminary representatives said the school's planning team looked into simply renovating Speer Library but decided renovation couldn't solve all the shortcomings the building has.

In addition to Speer Library, the seminary also has the Henry Luce III Library, which opened in 1994 with a capacity for 350,000 volumes. Speer can hold 400,000 volumes within its 110,000 square feet. Its replacement would encompass an additional 20,000 square feet.

At the concept hearing, residents expressed concerns that the seminary wasn't taking into consideration how the new building would affect those living nearby.

"There is talk of the campus, talk of the world, but not talk of the town," said Rob Robertson, who lives in the Mercer Hill district.

The seminary says notices were sent to all residents living within 200 feet of the campus to attend a review meeting, but nobody showed up.

"We will have other opportunities," said Stephen D. Crocco, a seminary librarian.

Officials for both the preservation committee and the seminary said they are ready to talk with each other before the concept hearing resumes in November.

And Fixler said "there will inevitably be some changes as the design evolves."

Staff writer Robert Stern contributed to this report.

Alan Blinder and Harrison Hong discuss Financial Crisis

This is a video I shot and edited Tuesday afternoon. In it Alan Blinder '67, former Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Federal Reserve System, and finance expert Harrison Hong discuss the continuing crisis in the wake of the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers and the buyout of Merrill Lynch. To watch in high quality go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzg0e5IY3V4 and click "Watch in High Quality."

And War was at the Heart of it all

If there is one thing that should have tugged on the heart strings of all convention goers on Wednesday, it was the words and stories of veterans.

It started when the DNC played video titled a “Tribute to Veterans” that was directed by Steven Spielberg. The soldiers shared the struggles they faced adjusting to wartime and back to the life of a normal civilian. They talked about being afraid for their lives, losing friends in combat, putting pressure on their families to take care of them.

And though CNN played commentary during Major Tammy Duckworth’s speech, her tale is worth retelling. She opened with a story about how when she was serving in Iraq she got wounded and her fellow soldiers helped her to safety. She credited her survival to the army’s policy of leaving no man behind. As she spoke, the camera would cut in and out to behind the podium where convention goers could see that she had lost both of her legs in combat. But the speech was not really about Major Tammy Duckworth, but rather a full endorsement of Barack Obama and his policies regarding the treatment of U.S. soldiers. She said that he would have a “zero tolerance” policy for homeless veterans. She emphasized that it was important to take care of the soldiers when they come back home, including giving them adequate treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. But she also stressed Barack Obama's judgment to know when to go into war in the first place.

But perhaps what brought it home the most was when the Vice Presidential Nominee’s son, Captain Beau Biden III took the stage. He talked about the sacrifices his father made when he took a train from Washington, DC, to Wilmington, Delaware, to be with his family every night. He described his father as a hero who had to face great obstacles to get to become a successful politician. Beau Biden is currently the attorney general of Delaware but he will be going to serve in Iraq in October. Though he didn’t mention his service explicitly, he pleaded with the audience to stand by his father because he won’t be there to stand by him. “Be there because Barack Obama and Joe Biden will deliver America the change they need,” said Biden.