Christian Sahner, Princeton's most adorable conservative heartthrob, has written a--yawn!--column in the Wall Street Journal bitching about a university-wide conspiracy to transubstantiate innocent freshmen girls into total skankadoos. How does liberal academia accomplish this, you may ask? By putting on a 20-minute sketch, entitled "Sex on a Saturday Night" about all sorts of people on campus who love to get laid. "Sex on a Saturday Night" is so depraved that it even depicts a Gay!

Sahner reminds us, as all conservative columnists invariably do, that extra-marital sex results in feelings of "exploitation, discomfort, regret and… chronic depression." He also reminds us, several times, that he attended Princeton, and that he is, in all likelihood, still a virgin. 

After the jump: Princeton's War on Christmas!

Just kidding. There's no war on Christmas, not yet! But you can read the rest of Sahner's--yawn!--column here.

Read the rest of this entry »

While Rupert Murdoch's fugly mug steals the front page of every major newspaper this morning, it's Harvard's endowment that's featured front-and-center in today's Money & Investing section of the Wall Street Journal -- and according to the paper, the endowment fund graduates as many sought-after money managers as the university graduates future journalists.

But all isn't good in Crimson Country this morning, as the Journal reports that the university lost $350 million last month through an investment in a hedge-fund firm founded by former Harvard foreign-stock holdings manager Jeffrey Larson.

Seems that Harvard education -- in this case, experience -- isn't quite paying off. How's that old saying go? You shouldn't shit where you sleep?

Though $350 million is a "relatively small hit" for the nation-leading $29 billion Harvard endowment, the Journal says it's a good case of maybe-not-quite-what-to-do for the rest of academe: "It highlights the risks as colleges nationwide embrace nontraditional investments such as hedge funds and private equity."

As it turns out, Larson isn't the only high-profile former Harvard-endowment manager with a mixed record since departing from Cambridge, leading the Journal to conclude that Harvard might be paying its managers a bit too much -- in the millions, more than Nobel Laureates and deans -- to manage Harvard's big baby.

Now this kind of news ain't exactly kegstands and Sharpie-shaming, but it means a lot more for the continued existence of the fabled Ivy heirarchy Newell mentioned in his last post. After all, when it comes to a pissing match, it's all about distance -- and there's no ignoring the New York Times' golden profile of Yale's money man earlier this year.

Ball's in your court, Elis. -- ANDREW NUSCA

Everyone complains that blogs rip their material from newspapers and magazines. For the most part, it's true: We are indeed the vultures hovering over the mainstream media's festering carcass. But unoriginality is a two-way street, friends. Just ask Carol Hymowitz.

There we were, sitting down to our Honey Graham Oh's, looking forward to a relaxing Monday morning with the Wall Street Journal Marketplace section, when we see this "In The Lead" column -- and this chart in particular:

Look familiar? Let us refresh your memory:

Shameless ripoff? Innocent coincidence? Carol never replied to our email, so you be the judge. All we have to say is this: You're free to borrow the idea, Hymowitz. But stay the hell away from our pie charts.

BETRAYAL UPDATE 9:45 p.m.: Hymowitz went to an Ivy grad school. The dagger twists.