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Vol. LXII, No. 3
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Wednesday, January 16, 2008
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Vol. LXII, No. 3
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Wednesday, January 16, 2008
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 (Photo by Ellen Gilbert)
MORE QUESTIONS: Students meet Nobel Prize-winning economist Eric S. Maskin after his talk on “How Should Presidents Be Elected?” at Princeton High School. |
Was it a dark and stormy night? Perhaps not, but it was still a memorable Halloween for Princeton High School (PHS) junior Kan (“Edward”) Wang after he rang the doorbell, in trick-or-treat mode, at the Mercer Street home of Eric S. Maskin, the 2007 Nobel Prize winner for Economics.
“HiTops is not a Shoe Store,” declared the headline for the cover story of the most recent issue of the not-for-profit group’s newsletter, “The HiTops Guardian,” alluding to the popular sneakers. What it is is an organization that deals with adolescent health and sexuality.
“Life comes at you fast.” — at least that’s what the insurance commercial tells us. Perhaps no one knows this better this year than Mark Laycock, whose musical life at the end of 2007 bore little resemblance to his professional activities at the beginning of that year. In January of 2007, Mr. Laycock was enjoying his 21st year as Music Director of the Princeton Symphony Orchestra while guest conducting throughout the world. Eight months later his tenure with the ensemble was over, and September found him both looking for new opportunities and reflecting on his legacy. Add a new marriage and turning fifty, and 2007 was truly a “watershed” year.
A suburban white man driving down an endless suburban street, flipping the radio dial to what could only be some garden variety conservative talk radio show (“Bill Clinton is ruining this country, you hear me? Ruining this country!”) when he spies a pair of youths, one black, one white, walking down the street listening to gangster rap. The suburbanite appears to be on the brink of an Angry White Man meltdown when he decides to embrace the youthful defiance, buys some gold chains, a wool cap, some shades, and becomes transformed: empowered by his new material worth.