Have you ever wanted to travel the ancient worlds in a day? Well, you can when you go to the Princeton Museum. Princeton University is famously known for their rich historic buildings, monuments and sites. Now they are famously known for their museum that contains tons of artifacts from important eras from the world. Walking into the museum you first see beautiful abstract paintings that will take your breath away. These pictures tell a story within itself making the museum a first good impression. The down stairs museum contains Southeast Asian and Korean Art, African Art, Japanese Art, Art of the Ancient Mediterranean, a Roman Court and Art of the Ancient Americas. Walking downstairs the exhibits engulf you with beautiful art of pure history. In the African section there are beautiful pieces of jewelry that contains vibrant colors of beads, sculptures of people and Gods. The Asian Art section contains scrolls of Chinese characters, wine vessels, garment hooks, lamps from the Han Dynasty and Korean paper scrolls. The Ancient Americas part persist of unique pottery, pots, bowls and smoking pipes from New Mexico, late Mississippian Caddo, Arkansas and Northwest coast art and Alaska. In the ancient art section there is extraordinary roman art of statue heads of Marcus Aurelius and Augustus – roman empires. The portraits of Socrates and Demosthenes is memorizing with its details and its flawlessness. The Greek part contains artifacts of figurines, pots and vases from the Bronze Age and the Iron Age. Down stairs was an eye opener and gave me chills to see all of the artifacts that people made a long time ago. It is amazing to think that these people did not use any sort of technology to create these amazing pieces of artifacts. The upper levels entails European Art, American Art, Modern Art, and Special Exhibitions. The upper level contains paintings, drawings, sculptures and photography. The modern art consists of sculptures and pictures that modern day people can relate to. Walking around the top floor was a true inspiration for not just people who like to paint but to all mankind. The pictures on the wall were intensifying due to the amount of detail artists put into their artwork. Every room you go into, the museum fills you with joy, inspiration and amazement. This museum has been collecting art from the 1750s. Throughout the years the museum has received many donations from tons of foundations and contributors. The art museum has grown to include 92,000 works of of art from across the globe. All in all, stopping at Princeton University museum can be a great historic event for everyone.
Exhibit Displays 'A Material Legacy'
By: Tylar Watson
Princeton University is known for its excellence in most fields, ranging from medicine to literature to the sciences. What most don’t know is that Princeton also excels in the arts. They have an art museum on campus, that showcases a variety of exhibits ranging from 1700s British art to sculptures made in 2011. The exhibit I looked at was new this summer, titled “A Material Legacy.” There were two specific pieces that stood out to me the most. The first is a photograph by Alfredo Jaar made in 1995, using photographs originally published in Life Magazine in 1968. As you can see, there are three prints total in the piece. The first is the picture published in Life Magazine, from Martin Luther King Jr.’s funeral. There are black dots in the second print, and red dots in the third print. Each dot represents a person, the black dots represent black people and the red dots are white people. The photographer was using the different colored dots to show the extreme separation between black people and white people during a time of mourning, and to provoke the audience to think about whether or not things have changed. How many more people would show up to his funeral today? What would those people look like? The other piece that I absolutely loved was a painting by Kehinde Wiley in 2013, called “Naomi and Her Daughters.” This particular painting may look familiar to you because it’s actually a remake of a pretty famous painting called “Naomi and Her Daughters,” from the 19th century. The artist did this painting as a way to highlight the lack of diversity and representation that African-Americans had in the arts up until recently. I really liked both of these pieces because they really made you think about things. The MLK piece made me consider how despite the reverence he was given, Martin Luther King Jr didn’t have as many allies as we all like to think, even in death. The “Naomi and Her Daughters” painting looked familiar the first time I saw it, but I couldn’t figure why or where from. After reading the description, it was like “wow, this is amazing.” I had a ton of fun at the exhibit and if you get a chance to go, definitely do it!
Girls Get College Experience 'At The Well'
By: Azana Green & Brandi Taylor
At The Well Young Women’s Leadership Academy is a two-week conference founded by Jacqueline Glass in 2009 to empower and educate young women of color. For two weeks, 62 young women from across the country stayed on campus at Princeton University and were guided through intense courses meant to stretch them in and out of the classroom with a college-level workload along with exceptional guest speakers who spoke about finances, entrepreneurship, girlhood/womanhood and more. Each person walked away with a new sense of confidence and sisterhood with girls from different backgrounds who could all relate to similar experiences, which is one of the reasons the program is so special. The girls followed a school-like schedule every day with inspiring and interactive lectures taught by a long list of very accomplished teachers including Maco Faniel, author of Hip Hop in Houston: The Origin and the History, Arika Easley-Houser, a PhD faculty member at Rutgers Preparatory School, Toby Sanders who is on the Trenton Board of Education and Senior Pastor at Beloved Community Church, Rev. Thomas N. Holmes, founder and chief executive officer of Powerful Visions LLC, an educational community to consult students on financial aid and scholarship strategies, and LaPorsha Lowry, owner of Elle Shanice Media and Sista’s Keeper Magazine. They taught topics ranging from Critical Reading and Writing to public speaking and preparing for college. They also shared their own little anecdotes of what made them the person they are today and many girls stretched themselves in ways they didn’t think possible. LaPorsha Lowry is a first year teacher at ATW. “I came across ATW in my search of non-profit organizations that serve primarily African-American teen girls for my magazine,” she says. She originally intended to merely cover the conference in the magazine, but ended up receiving a teaching position instead and decided to graciously give her time outside of teaching English, Language Arts, and Reading to grade-school students. She taught the Critical Writing course in which she had the girls respond to prompts revolving around the African American community including Oprah’s Legend’s Ball and Jesse Williams’ infamous BET Awards acceptance speech, while also leaving time for plenty of self expression. From her ubiquitous smile to her overall positive demeanor, she motivated girls to do their best and also made sure to rep her alma mater NC A&T. “ATW is special because of its emphasis on giving the girls a first-hand look at what college will be like: how to manage your time, how to get the work done & how to navigate the ins and outs of college. My favorite experience has been meeting the girls and building relationships with them. I have some girls who I really look forward to staying in touch with and keeping up with their accomplishments in the future,” she reflected with a smile. Ms. LaPorsha, as she is affectionately called by her ATW students, is just one of the teachers that was greatly influential for the girls at ATW. Another crucial element of the conference was the girls’ relationship with the counselors. They were all great role models of young black women who were making a name for themselves in the world including a Black Student Union President at the University of California at Santa Cruz and a potential White House employee. A couple of them stayed on each floor and got to personally know many of the girls. They all attended or were currently attending schools across the country, some HBCUs, others PWIs, which in turn led to many unique experiences they gladly shared with the girls throughout the trip that helped them gain a deeper insight into college life and their potential future. From the classes, teachers, guest speakers, new friendships, and even a New York City day trip, ATW in its entirety was an excellent program that spread positivity, confidence, and love for the black race and most importantly, themselves. The official mission statement of the conference is to “encourage girls to live beyond their dreams and impact communities beyond their reach,” and that's exactly what was instilled in these girls from the program. Unforgettable memories were made along with bonds that will last a lifetime.
Things To Do At Princeton U
By: Alexandria Burns & Kayla Patterson
Most people think Princeton University is just a boring old campus, but it is actually filled with pretty cool things to do, sites to see, and people to meet. Starting with a little area called Nassau street, right outside the campus, there are many places that you can stop at to eat and to shop. Some of these places are the House of Cupcakes, whose owner won the TV show, Cupcake Wars on Food Network. Other food stops include 30 Burgers, Thomas Sweet Ice Cream, Panera Bread, Starbucks, Hoagie Heaven, Jammin’ Crepes, and many other restaurants. As for shopping, some attractions include lululemon athletica, Ann Taylor, Urban Outfitters, and Polo Ralph Lauren. One fun activity the entire family can do in Princeton is visiting the Princeton Art Museum which contains 92,000 works of art from across the globe. Ghost & Vampire tours are also very exciting and popular here. Walking around the campus of Princeton there are famous statues and buildings that are very captivating to the eye. Princeton University is a captivating site that will leave people with a remembrance of Princeton University forever.
2016 At The Well Contributors
Alexandria Burns Rylee Curry Azana Green Cayla Ifill Laurielle Johnson Kyra March Nia McCullin Alyssa Nesmith Kayla Patterson Braxton Simpson Brandi Taylor Lauryn Vaughn Tylar Watson Naria White Janea Wilson Taylor Young Makeen Zachary
How To Get Into Princeton
By: Nia McCullin & Janea Wilson
With an overall acceptance rate of 7%, Princeton University is one of the most prestigious universities on the planet. In order to get accepted into the university, you’ll need at least a 3.9 GPA and an average SAT score of 2250. With these requirements, you’ll have to be at the top of your class to even dream of attending this school. Along with having the academic requirements, all applicants have to write an essay, be interviewed and send in a recommendation from a teacher or someone who knows you well. Even though reaching these standards can be difficult, there are some ways to make it easier. But potential Tigers will need more than outstanding grades to be accepted - the personal essay should be used to reveal your personality and background. Tell about any experiences you’ve had that affect who you are and your values. You can mention your strengths as well. Do try to tell a good story, but stick to your voice. If you’re a serious person, or make a lot of jokes, go for it - don’t try to change yourself to what you think the admissions board wants. They want the real you! But if you do write about how someone or something shaped you, be sure to focus more on how an event changed you for the better, not the event itself. It’s you they’re interested in, after all. If you’ve spent a significant amount of time on the Princeton campus, mention how the school is a good fit for you and how you’d take advantage of its opportunities. Maybe you see yourself using the engineering library for research when you major in Architecture, or you’ll study abroad so you can better yourself as a future International Business major or humanitarian. And while you should be positive about your time at Princeton, don’t overdo it. It will be obvious if you try to flatter the admissions board by being too sweet. Maybe you can even write about overcoming a hardship at Princeton! In short, make sure you are true to yourself in your personal essay. Write with your own style and tell your story. This part of your application is about you as a person, not a GPA!
She IS Her Sista's Keeper: Profile on LaPorsha Lowry
By: Kyra March
Seventeen, Teen People & Teen Vogue: what do all of these adolescent magazines share in common? For LaPorsha Lowry, it wasn’t the fact that they all appealed to teens her age at the time, it was the fact that they lacked one specific thing: black girls. There was no one in any of these magazines that she could relate to. She mentioned that there were no Brandys, Missy Elliotts, Queen Latifahs, or any of the popular women of color that were changing history during that time; so, she decided to change this herself. LaPorsha Lowry, a lover of all things purple (her favorite movie is “The Color Purple") resides in Charlotte, North Carolina and is an extremely adamant alumna of the illustrious North Carolina A&T State University. While there, she was apart of the women’s basketball team. "I was devoted to basketball. I went to class, went to practice. Like, no other interests, no other activities," she exclaimed. She ended that career to focus on her major: Journalism and Mass Communications. Eventually, Ms. Lowry’s grade point average skyrocketed from a 2.9 to a 3.6 in one semester and she became an editor for the renowned newspaper at A&T called “The Register.” A month after graduating from A&T, Lowry began studying at Syracuse University for graduate school. She dived into the university and earned C’s, which were unfamiliar to her. She recalls the trying experience: “I had to literally relearn everything I knew about writing.” Lowry also said that it “took forever” to get her grade point average to a 3.0, but, eventually she succeeded (she added “Thank you, Jesus!” while concluding the story). The year-long program ended up taking Lowry three years to complete. However, afterwards, she began an internship at a black magazine in her hometown and did independent studies there. Lowry mentioned in the interview that she “always like writing” and was “very descriptive.” Who would’ve known that she’d soon use that skill and passion to construct a magazine that holds almost 100 subscribers all over the country. By August of 2013 when LaPorsha earned her degree, “Sista’s Keeper” was already a year in the making. Initially, the magazine was going to be titled “Black Child,” however, ironically, another magazine in Charlotte held the same name. Despite a name change, “Sista’s Keeper” obtained interviews from celebrities like actress, singer, dancer, and activist, Zendaya Coleman, actress and singer Keke Palmer, and the duo that sings the single “Drop,” Chloe and Halle. While forming her bimonthly issues of Sista's Keeper, LaPorsha enjoys a pack of Twizzlers, drinks green tea, watches “The Devil Wears Prada,” and includes topics that range from self-esteem and sisterhood to a variety of positive subjects for women of color. Through the bike crash that caused the scar on her forehead, to her chance to her chance to conclude her rocky semesters at A&T and Syracuse, Ms. LaPorsha Lowry made it. A quote that she firmly believes in is that “everything happens for a reason” and that she’s on the earth for a specific reason. She also stated, “You don’t understand what God’s doing, but He knows what He’s doing.” Today, Sista’s Keeper is on its 4th year and Lowry knows that everything that has occurred to her and the magazine has come “full circle,” which definitely shows.