Princeton University Alumni

"reading is one of our greatest human treasures, to be passed on from generation to generation, so the world might be a better place for everyone. (Acknowledgements)"

"self-interrogation is a special quality of anthropological work, one that we don’t see enough of in fiction. Sometimes in fiction, authors hide or erase the work and interrogation that they may have done to be able to write their novels. But in ethnography, we often include that interrogation within our texts. And to me, that’s an inspiring part of our storytelling."

"“The only way to deal with fear is to treat it like an unwelcome guest. If you keep entertaining it, you’ll never be rid of it.” (Amara)"

"Contemporary Sephardic writers in Latin America include Ana Maria Shua in Argentina, Isaac Chocrón in Venezuela, Ruth Behar in Cuba, Angelina Muñiz-Huberman, and Rosa Nissan in Mexico, and Victor Perera in Guatemala. They write about Jewish life-Sephardic and otherwise in the modern world."

"displacement has been a common path for Jews throughout history; they’ve always been displaced from one place to another, through diaspora, through a sense of expulsion, not being welcome anymore, being truly forced out."

""I think if your dreams are small they can get lost, like trying to find a needle in a haystack...When a dream is big, you can see it better and hold on to it." (Ruthie)"

"That is the magic of writing, and also the challenge of writing, not knowing what will happen until it’s on the page."

"I think the most fundamental thing we can do to make the world a better place is to be open to the stories of people, to listen and take in the lived experiences of others. Stories have the power to change the world. Understanding the hopes and dreams of another person, we learn that we are all connected, and that to nurture all of our communities, our families, and our individual lives we must nurture one another."

"“But wherever I go, I know I will feel most at home with the wounded of the world, who hold their heads up high no matter how broken they may seem.”"

"When we lived in Cuba, I was smart. But when we got to Queens, in New York City, in the United States of America, I became dumb, just because I couldn't speak English. (first lines)"

"Being alive is the best gift of all. (p139)"

"there are just a lot of stories that I hope won’t be lost. I want to be sure that this legacy remains, even though it’s a miniature community and maybe not of great interest to everybody in the world. Especially for writers like myself, who come from minority backgrounds—we’re trying to fill in absences or gaps. There was obviously no literature like Tia Fortuna when I was growing up. There’s this very large Jewish Latino community in Miami, but they’re just not represented in literature. I felt that was a gap that I could fill."

"In my children’s fiction, I also want to teach them ideas. I don’t want them just to have a story: I’m giving somebody who perhaps knows nothing about Sephardic Jews a sense of that culture. Even if it is a preliminary sense, it’s an affirmation that this culture and these people exist. In that way, I’m bringing my ethnographic work even into a domain like the picture book."

"“Why is it that bad things have to happen so you learn there are lots of good people in the world?" (Ruthie)"

"I often say that I am Jewish because I am Cuban. I feel gratitude toward Cuba because my four grandparents found refuge there in the years before WW II at a time when the door was closed to them in the United States. If not for the welcome they received in Cuba, I would not have been born. My family came to love Cuba. When we left in the 1960s, to start a new life again in the United States after the turn to communism, it was with great sorrow. My family lived through a double exodus, a double migration, from Europe to Cuba, and then from Cuba to the United States. If we had not been given refuge twice, we would not have survived. Knowing that my ancestors fled persecution and genocide, I believe we should be compassionate and humane toward immigrants and foster policies of welcome, kindness, and generosity of spirit."

"[American] Civil War was effectively our first industrial-scale war. It led to mass mobilization at the human and economic/industrial levels. It also involved long-distance movements and communications, by train and telegraph, in ways that arguably make it the first modern war. It produced as many American casualties as all the rest of our wars combined, so can hardly be ignored in a book about major U.S. wars. It also illustrated warfare at the campaign or theater level of analysis perhaps more clearly and cleanly than any other conflict."

"War is hell. War is unpredictable, difficult, dangerous—and usually (though not always) worse than its initiators expect when conflict begins. War has features that remain fairly similar from century to century, once you take a reflective perspective and look back on things."

"We are at once the most powerful nation in the history of the human race, yet because of nuclear weapons, we are vulnerable to rapid destruction by foreign powers in a way we cannot prevent. That is a paradox. We also have lopsided advantages over most other countries (perhaps not China, but definitely Russia). Yet those advantages do not guarantee victory in war in the modern era (we struggled against the Vietcong, the Taliban, Iraqi insurgents and militias—the list goes on)."

"This week, the former President, hoping to shift the imagery away from his imminent fingerprinting-and-mugshot session in Georgia, has declared it beneath his dignity to engage in a debate with his rivals in the race for the Republican nomination. Instead, he will subject himself to the feathery inquisition of Tucker Carlson on social media. Yet Trump, the unwise wise guy, will eventually face less kindly examiners. Although he has long enjoyed the sleazy glamour and cynical counsel supplied by mob-adjacent figures like Roy Cohn, his mentor in matters of conscience and the law, Trump has no code and shows no loyalty. Despite his mobster cosplay, in short, he lacks even a gangster’s sense of dignity. Carmine (the Snake) Persico, for all his many sins, would have found Trump unworthy of the |Cosa Nostra. Before the mafia's disintegration, a boss was obliged to help a fallen or legally entangled soldier. And yet Trump won’t even pay the legal bills of [[Rudy Giuliani|[Rudy] Giuliani]], his loyal sidekick. The most lasting image of Giuliani will not be of a valiant public servant inspiring a grieving city but of a cynical mook lying about stolen votes on Trump's behalf while rivulets of hair dye course down his cheek."

"for a smooth algebraic curve includes both the Hodge structure (period matrix) on cohomology and the use of that Hodge structure to study the geometry of the curve, via the . extended the theory of the period matrix to smooth algebraic varieties of any dimension, defining in general a Hodge structure on the cohomology of the variety. He gave a few applications to the geometry of the variety, but these did not attain the richness of the Jacobian variety. In recent years, Hodge theory has been successfully extended to arbitrary varieties, and to families of varieties."

"One of the points I have tried to make is that mathematics is extremely useful to our society. If this is true, one would think that we as a society would vigorouly support the research that leads to new uses and that students would be at an all time high. Today that is not the case. The mathematics community has yet to effectvely demonstrate to the public and their elected representatives that our subject is dfferent from the sciences. We do not design widgets or cure diseases, yet our impact on engineering and medicine is enabling and significant. But the community has dwelled so long in splendid isolation that the public poorly understands what we do."

"The theory of s in approximately one century old, although its origin may be traced back much further. As originally formulated by and subsequently used throughout his work, the theory was intended as a tool to be used in the study of geometric problems. After two periods of theoretical development, one in the 1930s and the other in the 1960s, there has recently been a renewed interest in exterior differential systems as providing a systematic framework for the study of geometric problems. It is my opinion that this development is just beginning, and that exterior differential systems should become a standard tool for geometers, especially for questions where the differential equations expressing the problem are overdetermined systems, and for global questions. When used properly, the theory has a marvelous ability to reveal the underlying geometry in a complicated problem."

"I think what we’ve seen, Amy, over these last years is that the corporate media has a one-sided debate. You don’t hear from informed, analytical scholars or writers who are not there to justify but to provide history and context about what we’re witnessing today in the proxy war, but the war between Ukraine and Russia. And there’s a marginalization of those voices and a preference for voices which are about how to escalate the war, how to cover the military, not cover the history. And I think the venerable journalist Walter Lippmann once said, “When all think alike, no one thinks very much.” And that seems to be the framework in what we’re witnessing. And I think it’s very important that there’s not an intellectual no-fly zone, even while understanding how barbaric, how illegal the Russian war against Ukraine is."

"So, Mikhail Sergeyevich was a deep democrat. He was a social democrat. It’s interesting, out of the Communist Party, one party, he emerged social democrat. He introduced the fairest and freest presidential and parliamentary elections to Russia.... he finally saw in Ukraine — and, by the way, Nina Khrushcheva knows this very well. Raisa was half-Ukrainian, I think, and Gorbachev has family, Ukrainian. He despaired of the war in Ukraine. And I think, in that, he saw that Putin was — you know, he’s the Russian, Soviet — he’s the Russian statist. He’s anti-communist. He is the Russian myth, the Russian world. And Gorbachev was, you know, a social democrat of a more European kind... One thing that Gorbachev always said — and I’ll end here — at the end of the Cold War — and this is something that was shared by George H.W. Bush at the beginning — there was no winner. There was no winner. But the triumphalism of America, I think, in the end, opened Gorbachev’s eyes to the dangers of making agreements with the West, which would be broken, as was the promise not to move NATO eastward, a broken promise which was a stab in the back against Gorbachev’s policies and success."

"This is in our backyard. Hoffman Estates. My district. I am deeply disturbed by what looks like ICE agents violently detaining a child. A child. She could be yours just as she could be mine. My team and I are looking into this, but please don’t look away. This is what Donald Trump is doing to our communities — and it’s exactly why I’ve called to subpoena Kristi Noem to appear before the House Oversight Committee. I demand answers on this now."

"Our request comes as the President has declared his intent to carry out the “single largest mass deportation program in history,” specifically naming the city of Chicago as a target, in addition to other Democratic-run cities. The President’s politically motivated actions are deeply troubling, particularly for communities like ours in Illinois that have already seen intensified enforcement activity in recent weeks. The administration must ensure that all individuals, regardless of immigration status, are treated with dignity and afforded due process – as that is the law. Yet the reality on the ground tells a different story. The President has repeatedly targeted Chicago, and we are now witnessing the consequences unfold in disturbing ways. In Chicago, these facilities are the site of reports that allege rushed deportations, inadequate medical care, restricted legal access, and poor conditions. These are not isolated incidents—they point to broader systemic failures in enforcement and facility oversight."

"Last week, during a visit to the “South Loop” ICE facility (the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program office located at 2245 S. Michigan Avenue in Chicago) we were denied the ability to perform congressional oversight – as is our duty as members of the United States House of Representatives. During the visit to this facility, the ICE officer who refused to identify himself called the Chicago Police Department to evict us for “trespassing.” We are writing today to express deep concern regarding the lack of oversight of these facilities and their operations, and to request immediate and full access to ICE facilities for the purpose of investigating this activity further. This specific facility has been the site of very disturbing incidents that have shaken our community. On June 4, 2025, ICE officials detained at least 10 individuals after they were texted to demand they show up for a routine appointment1. It is unclear exactly how many people were taken, where they were taken to, and if they were given access to counsel – all of which we were hoping to learn through performing our oversight duties. We were denied those answers. We are writing to you today to demand access to this facility."

"Equality as a principle is at the heart of our democracy."

"A functioning democracy cannot stand when its people do not trust their leaders to uphold the law."

"Some of the individuals lured to ICE facilities in Chicago were reportedly detained for several days under inhumane conditions. One of those detained, Ms. Gladis Yolanda Chavez Pineda—a longtime Chicago resident and respected community leader—described a harrowing experience. Her husband stated in an interview, “She has not had access to a shower. She has not had access to feminine hygiene products. She has not been able to change her clothes...They have no information of what’s happening. They don’t even have a clock.” After being moved to a jail in Kentucky, Pineda reported that “People are sleeping on concrete floors. Last Sunday, one mattress was given to a group of 20 mothers to share. In one of the facilities, only one bathroom is given to 20 or more individuals, with no partitions and privacy.” These reports reflect systemic issues in ICE’s enforcement strategies and facility management, not just in Illinois but across the country."

"I have strong differences with Mr. Trump on a woman’s right to choose and what kind of justices belong on the Supreme Court."

"I decided to run for Congress to get and keep people in the middle class."

"It is time to investigate Russian interference in our democracy and to address it in a manner that will help restore Americans’ trust in their government."

"I think that the less we know about that person, the more protected he or she will be."

"It feels like that's kind of vaping on steroids."

"In light of the public interest around this particular issue."

"The way they handle issues of race and gender, and the way they treat their employees really influences the way society handles those very issues, we're very much interested in learning more about exactly why The NFL did what they did and the way they did it."

"Certainly, I think the president does want this total absolute exoneration, in all caps, to happen, ASAP. And I think that perhaps, Mitch McConnell or four Republican senators would join with Democrats to call for a fair process."

"Any such exception or exemption would be a tremendous mistake ...we respectfully request the FDA to resist."

"When something as serious as cancer or carcinogens are at issue."

"I think it’s so important we’re a nation of laws but also a nation of immigrants."

"I hope that they treat her with the dignity she deserves, the respect that she deserves. By all accounts, she was an excellent member of the foreign service."

"My thoughts and prayers are with the people of Kerala and their loved ones."

"The question is are they going to be equipped and are we going to be able to aid them sufficiently to be able to reassert control eventually."

"The American people need to know if public servants are operating in the best interests of the United States or the Kremlin."

"Pocketbook and economic issues is pretty much all I campaigned on"

"There’s another important reason not to send the Dreamers packing: they are essential to preserving the social insurance programs on which older Americans rely. More and more Baby Boomers are reaching retirement age, with relatively fewer and fewer active workers paying into Social Security and Medicare. Tossing nearly a million productive, taxpaying Dreamers out of a job will remove billions of dollars in contributions to those essential retirement programs."

"King had the brains, all right, but I hated his guts."

"Whereas Leahy was stern, reserved, and even dour, King was nothing short of bombastic. Throughout his career, King's personality was routinely commented upon- and frequently feared- by his contemporaries and junior officers alike. His seniors usually found it merely annoying, although many- Forrestal was clearly an exception- tended to overlook his grating manner because there was no question that this demanding and strong-willed individual was also highly intelligent and capable of delivering results. King simply had no tolerance for subordinates who failed to carry out his orders to his satisfaction. Considering King's satisfaction was a very high bar, many failed to clear it. "On the job" wrote historian Robert Love in his history of the chiefs of naval operations, "[King] seemed always to be angry or annoyed." But some of that anger or annoyance may well have been a mask that was best breached when one stood up to him or took the initiative in doing what King likely would have done had he been in the other's shoes."

"With Forrestal as Navy secretary, King knew retirement would follow quickly. He had gotten along with Knox only because the Chicago newsman knew nothing about the Navy, admitted it, and stayed out of King's way. Forrestal would not. During the war, King had cursed Forrestal out in the halls of the Navy Department, and had browbeaten him into staying out of naval operations. "I didn't like him, and he didn't like me," King said."