The Signal counts down the best news stories of the past year. The articles were judged on magnitude of their effect on the campus comminity.
A False Lead
At the beginning of the year, the campus was shocked to hear that Ewing police was following up on a new lead in the case of College freshman John Fiocco Jr. The lead, which claimed that Fiocco may have been involved in a game of hide-and-seek the night he disappeared, was later debunked by an anonymous student on campus. The student claimed the Fiocco family's lawyer, Glenn A. Zeitz, had used a single telephone call as the basis of the tip he delivered to investigators. It was also revealed that Ewing police never took the tip seriously.
Gangs of N.J.
A violent attack on an elderly Ewing couple raised the question of whether gang violence could spill onto campus. An investigative report revealed a startling trend in New Jersey - gangs are moving from the cities and becoming more prevalent throughout the state. The report also revealed that a member of the Bounty Hunter Bloods street gang had been working as a grill cook in the Rathskeller.
Mold Attacks
At last, the Metzger Drive apartments were torn down this year. The decision to demolish them was made in part after learning that the apartments had become infested with mold that threatened to spread into the homes of nearby Ewing residents, including Bob Wittik, who lives right next to the apartments. After obtaining a microbial investigation report through the state's Open Public Records Act, The Signal learned that several toxic strains of mold had taken hold in the apartments, posing a risk to students and nearby Ewing residents alike.
Senior Weak
Senior Week, an annual week wherein graduating seniors live in Travers and Wolfe, was canceled this year amid fierce controversy. Members of the Senior Class Council were blamed for the cancellation and praised for their efforts to save Senior Week at the same time. Some claim that the banning of alcohol from the Towers during Senior Week was the principle reason for its cancellation.
Whining and Dining
An investigation into the nutritional content of Sodexho food showed that the level of fat in some food matches or is higher than popular fast-food restaurants. Sodexho's macaroni and cheese was found to contain more fat than an equal serving of KFC macaroni and cheese. Sodexho was comparably fattier than McDonald's and Domino's.
