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(11/18/14 8:06pm)
By Annabel Lau
Web Editor
Republicans have won big in this year’s midterm elections, but it’s not as surprising as many pundits contest, according to political science professor Daniel Bowen. Bowen delivered a timely lecture, “The 2014 Midterm Elections: What Happened, Why, and Where Do We Go From Here?” on Tuesday, Nov. 11, as the final installment of the Political Science Department’s semester-long politics forum.
“It’s very likely that the GOP will control more seats in the House in any time since Hoover was president,” Bowen said. “What this means is the Republicans control more House seats than nearly any time in American politics.”
In addition, the Republicans have won many seats in the Senate as well as state legislatures.
“The states are where the action is,” Bowen said. “The GOP picked up 11 legislative chambers, and what this means is that they have unified control of 23 state governments when you add in the states that were able to flip the governor’s office.”
This might pose a challenge for Democrats in state governments, Bowen said.
“Democratic-controlled states dropped down to seven,” Bowen said. “Now the Democrats don’t have the ability to really push policy. They’ll have a few states where they can, but in many of the large states where they would be traditionally looking for policy innovation … they’re not going to be able to do that.”
The GOP now controls approximately 4,100 of the nearly 7,400 state legislative seats — “the greatest number of seats that Republicans have controlled in a state legislature since 1920,” according to Bowen.
But despite the major Republican gains this year, the results are neither surprising nor concerning, Bowen said, who identifies as a moderate.
“These historic numbers (aren’t really surprising) because Republicans had just an amazing year,” Bowen said. “It’s really about consolidating gains over the last couple of years. They did really well in 2010. They didn’t lose that much in 2012.”
He also attributes the election results to two well-known theories in political science: referendum voting and “surge and decline.”
Explaining the theory of referendum voting, Bowen said that “if times are good and people like the president, then his or her party will do better in midterm elections.”
“The president’s party in Congress sees a surge during election years, because the president, in order to run a national campaign, needs to get this big, broad coalition together that has high mobilization efforts,” Bowen said. “(The president has) an advantage in the presidential year and then (has) a disadvantage in the following midterm election.”
Despite the GOP’s big wins this year, Bowen doesn’t believe there will be major changes to federal policy.
“Republicans aren’t going to be able to pass any substantive policy to the Senate without a large number of Democrats helping them,” Bowen said.
And regardless of what is portrayed by the media, Bowen is not shocked by the results.
“I think this is a boring midterm election where the president’s party loses seats,” Bowen said. “They lose seats because of the reasons why the presidential party always loses seats in the midterm election. They don’t have the mobilization effect of the president on the ballot and the strength of the economy and the presidential approval, (which) weighs down those congressional Democrats, in this case.”
Junior international studies major Nick Macri appreciated Bowen’s balanced explanation of the election results.
“You hear a lot of things in the news about how it was a landslide and (about) low voter turnout,” Macri said. “You hear a lot of stereotypes and media panic. Usually there’s not a lot of basis to it, so it’s cool to see what really happened.”
Although the Republican victory was no surprise to senior international studies major Theja Varre, she still questioned the implications of the election results.
“Even though (Bowen) said that the results from this past election aren’t surprising, there’s something unnerving about the fact that the last time something like this happened was around the Great Depression,” Varre said.
Still, Bowen thinks it was a victory that was waiting to happen, so the results should come as no surprise.
(10/22/14 7:03pm)
By Annabel Lau
Web Editor
The United States has pledged $350 million and 3,000 troops to fight the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, according to a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services official who spoke at the College on Wednesday, Oct. 8.
“There are about 350 military people already on the ground,” said Ambassador Jimmy Kolker, assistant secretary for global affairs at the Department of Health and Human Services. “We’ve just about completed a 25-bed facility which will be staffed by the U.S. public health service.”
Congressman Rush Holt (D–12th District), who attended the lecture, asked about the military’s plan for fighting the outbreak.
“Does this suggest an ongoing goal for a very special division of our military that deals with international disaster and crises?” Holt asked.
Responding, Kolker said “they’ve been very careful about trying to define the goal with an exit strategy.”
“The military said they will not be in patient care,” Kolker said. “After constructing these facilities, they need to be turned over to someone else … They don’t want to see this as a new mission (where) boots on the ground will be required for this to be sustained.”
Senior international studies and linguistics double major Nicolas Dolce had conflicting views about the mobilization of Americans troops in West Africa.
“I was very interested to hear that we’re going to send 3,000 troops there,” Dolce said. “I think it’s the right thing to do … (But) there’s a gray line, because after a certain point, are we violating the state’s sovereignty? Did we get invited to help, or are we just going in there and saying we’re helping?”
In addition to military and monetary aid, an important part of curbing the Ebola outbreak is educating governments and communities about disease prevention, especially in the three hardest-hit countries of Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, Kolker said.
“The cause of this was the health facilities that were not taking precautions in terms of healthcare workers,” Kolker said. “Twenty percent of infections are among healthcare workers.”
Referencing the case of Thomas Eric Duncan — an Ebola victim who was allegedly released from a Dallas hospital with a 103-degree fever and became the first person to die of the virus on American soil — Kolker also addressed the recurring problem of mistaking symptoms of Ebola for other diseases.
“The symptoms for Ebola originally are similar to those for malaria, for typhoid and other things,” Kolker said. “The diagnosis was often wrong. They’d be sent home like the Dallas patient originally was.”
According to Kolker, many people in West Africa believe in “nonscientific causes” of Ebola, such as curses and ancestor revenge, and many engage in traditional practices that increase the risk of contracting the virus, such as touching or embracing corpses during burial practices.
“There’s a responsibility among all of us to be sure the governments are aware and then to have that message spread to healthcare providers and communities,” Kolker said. “There was a breakdown in all of those areas.”
In response to audience concerns, Kolker also mentioned new precautions that the U.S. government is taking to prevent Ebola from entering the country.
“Just this afternoon (Wednesday, Oct. 8), President Obama announced what we are doing domestically in a dozen or more airports here to intensify screenings,” Kolker said. “So there would be mandatory screenings of anyone who has come from these three countries.”
However, according to Kolker, the risk of contracting Ebola for the vast majority of Americans is low, even for students traveling to Africa.
“You’re much more likely to be in a traffic accident than to be a victim of Ebola,” Kolker said. “Your greatest threat is traffic safety, not Ebola or terrorism or another infectious disease.”
(10/07/14 4:11pm)
The year 2014 marks the 350th anniversary of the founding of New Jersey, and residents have been invited by the website behind the official year-long celebratory campaign “NJ350,” officialnj350.com, to “join the party.”
But on Thursday, Oct. 2, history professor William Carter launched the first of three presentations in the “New Jersey’s 350th Anniversary” lecture series by explaining why we should not partake in the state’s big birthday festivities.
“I’m going to talk about those events of the creation of New Jersey from a Native American perspective, specifically those of the Lenape, who have inhabited parts of New Jersey for thousands of years and only recently were completely expelled from the state in the mid-18th century,” Carter said. “We are all living with the legacies of these decisions and these actions that took place 350, almost 400 years ago.”
New Jersey was officially founded in 1664, when the English conquered New Netherlands and renamed the land. The English conquest marks the official beginning of the state’s history, disregarding thousands of years of history of the Lenape who had lived there first, Carter said.
“The coming of Europeans creates a line between history and what’s called ‘prehistory,’” Carter said. “The Native Americans occupied this area, and there was no one to document this, so this whole area was conventionally defined as ‘before-history,’ outside of historical time.”
Senior history and women’s and gender studies double major Caitlin Wiesner agreed with the importance of studying history from the marginalized Native Americans’ perspective.
“It’s definitely important that (the lecture) shed light on the native presence in New Jersey that we don’t really celebrate as part of the 350th anniversary,” Wiesner said. “Even now, Lenape are so marginalized within New Jersey that I was really glad to see attention being brought to these people who really are a part of New Jersey’s history.”
In delving into the state’s history, Carter described the gruesome details of the Pavonia Massacre on Feb. 25, 1643. Eighty to 120 Native Americans, including women and children, were brutally slaughtered in the middle of the night by Dutch armed forces under Willem Kieft — then director of New Netherland — for refusing to pay for protection. Pavonia is now a section of Newport, Jersey City.
“So that’s about one of the earliest recorded events that happened in the present boundaries of New Jersey, not on the New Jersey 350 website that invites you to the party,” Carter said.
When the pacifist Quakers settled in West New Jersey, there was hope for peaceful relations between the Europeans and Native Americans.
“This has been seen as a breakthrough in colonization, that … the Quakers were peaceful,” Carter said. “They famously came and didn’t bring a single gun with them. Who does that? Nobody. Nobody comes and tries to establish a colony without some firepower.”
However, according to Carter, even the Quakers abused their power at times. The Quakers continued to demand more land as time went on, and Native Americans who objected to a purchase would be subject to capital punishment, Carter said.
“So when I think about something like the creation of New Jersey (and) being invited to celebrate the 350th birthday, I think of genocide. I think of dispossession. I think of destruction,” Carter said. “(It) does not feel like a party to me.”
(10/01/14 5:48pm)
By Annabel Lau
Web Editor
The Sigma Pi Annual Spelling Bee may have started out as a carefree night of spelling words like “YOLO” and “bootylicious,” and hosts being dressed in nothing but their colorful shorts and blazers, but its ending was far from trivial.
The comedic affair on Wednesday, Sept. 24, took an unexpected turn when Shap Bahary, junior criminology major and president of Sigma Pi fraternity, announced where the funds raised that night would be headed.
“A member of Phi Kappa Tau was diagnosed with lymphoma recently,” Bahary said. “Chris Napoli — he couldn’t be here with us today, but all the money that we raise (usually) goes off to some research foundation somewhere and we never see the effects of it. But with our first programming event … we really wanted to change that. This time around, we wanted to go ahead and give it to someone we know, a brother in our own community.”
The spelling bee raised $1,007 to be donated to Chris Napoli and his family to help with all the expenses associated with his battle against cancer.
“When it comes to treating cancer, that doesn’t do much,” Bahary said. “But at the same time, every little dent helps.”
Napoli, a junior business major, was diagnosed with lymphoma in August of this past year, according to Steve Rosen, junior secondary education major and president of Phi Kappa Tau. Although Napoli could not attend the event, he was thrilled to hear about the donation, Rosen said.
“(Chris) was honestly just speechless,” Rosen said. “He said he would graciously accept any donation, and he could use all the help he could get. I talked to both his parents and they both said the same thing, and the family just wants everyone to know how appreciative they are, not just for the money but the support in general.”
According to Ryan Molicki, sophomore marketing major and programming chair of Sigma Pi, more than 250 people attended the event, which raised more than three times the amount of money collected in previous years.
Organizations were asked to pay $30 in order to sponsor a contestant, but few participants stuck to the minimum donation.
“So many organizations were so gracious about giving more than what they were asked to,” Molicki said.
Contestants from 12 on-campus organizations — such as Zeta Tau Alpha, Sigma Alpha Epsilon and the TCNJ Ambassadors — competed for the grand prize: a $25 gift card to the Italian restaurant, Piccolo Trattoria.
Julia Malak, junior communication studies major and a member of Sigma Sigma Sigma, was the last contestant standing after successfully spelling the word “aboulia,” defined as a personality disorder where one is unable to make decisions independently. But for Malak, the highlight of her night was not the victory.
“I think it’s always nice to win, of course, but knowing that I was a part of an event that helped someone close to the TCNJ community really meant a lot,” she said.
Rosen, who accepted the donation on behalf of Napoli, was overcome with gratitude for both the act of kindness and the high number of participants.
“It’s awesome to see another group of guys step up,” Rosen said. “We’ve all been doing our own fundraising to help Chris in our own way, but to see someone else in the TCNJ community helping out the way they did — I’m at a loss for words.”
(09/02/14 7:45pm)
By Annabel Lau
Web Editor
James Florio can be seen as a man with high hopes and grand visions, whose idealistic, “go-it-alone” attitude ultimately led to his fall from popularity as NJ governor from 1990 to 1994.
Still, Florio, a Trenton State alumnus and resident of Metuchen, NJ, has been recognized as an integral part of the state’s history. As of August, he has been selected to join the New Jersey Hall of Fame, alongside lauded New Jerseyans, like “Sopranos” actor James Gandolfini, NBC anchor Brian Williams and basketball star Patrick Ewing. Florio, along with 11 other inductees, was selected by online voters out of a pool of 50 nominees and will be formally inducted in a ceremony set to take place in Asbury Park on Thursday, Nov. 13.
Florio graduated magna cum laude with a degree in social studies from Trenton State College in 1962 and had a close mentor relationship with one of his professors, according to Stuart Koch, associate professor of political science at the College.
“From talking to one former professor, John Karras in history, Florio the student proved a mature, determined, hardworking, no-nonsense student,” Koch said. “I witnessed that he had a close relationship with Karras, as he attended alumni functions here.”
As a Democratic congressman from 1975 to 1990, Florio was known for his authorship of the Superfund legislation, which sought to clean up sites polluted with hazardous substances nationwide.
“He proved a strong advocate for the environment in Congress at a time when the environmental movement in the US was just gaining a foothold,” Koch said.
Florio also helped to establish the New Jersey Pinelands National Reserve, officially preserving the New Jersey Pine Barrens for future generations to enjoy.
“Everyone benefits from environmental protection, whether it is directly or indirectly,” said Jason Hammer, senior sociology major and president of WaterWatch, an environmental club at the College. “Natural sites like the Pine Barrens that are left largely undisturbed, positively influence the air and water quality of its area, while also providing recreation.”
Florio later became chairman of the New Jersey Pinelands Commission from 2002 to 2005.
As congressman, Florio also cosponsored the Exon-Florio Amendment, which reviews foreign investment in the US and allows the president to block the investment if there is a suspected threat to national security.
During his term as governor, Florio was best known for a $2.8 billion tax increase — a response to the recession of the late 1980s and a projected $3 billion deficit — which made him unpopular among suburban voters and conservative New Jerseyans.
The governor took a major blow to his political career for the tax increase. Florio was a man of “great personal courage,” Koch said, but his idealism and lack of experience in appealing to a wide constituency ultimately led to his political downfall.
“His most harsh critics argue he was too liberal, too arrogant and inclined to go it alone,” Koch said. “I think a more balanced assessment is that he lacked executive experience, especially in dealing as governor with the legislature in developing a broad consensus. He misjudged or was not prepared for the adverse public reaction to his efforts, the strength of some adversaries … and the reality that in New Jersey, suburban politics dominates.”
Although many New Jerseyans disapproved of the tax hike, others benefitted from it. Florio’s Quality Education Act redistributed hundreds of millions of dollars from suburban areas to public schools in overlooked urban and rural districts.
According to Koch, Florio’s unpopularity stemmed from the governor’s attempt to balance state revenue and expenditures.
“He did so by raising taxes,” Koch said. “He did the same to overcome the state’s dreadful neglect of urban schools.”
(05/08/14 11:08pm)
By Annabel Lau
Blogger
One of the best parts about studying abroad is eating your way through a city (or continent, if you’re ambitious). But what’s even better than just great food is knowing you’re dining in a place with its own unique history. After all, what could be cooler than sipping coffee with the ghosts of Einstein or Kafka? Here are three of the best cafés I’ve come across in Prague that have the whole package: delicious food with an interesting history on the side.
The Grand Café Orient
The Grand Café Orient is housed in the historic House of the Black Madonna, a cubist building in Prague’s Old Town designed by Josef Gocar between 1911 and 1912. It closed down in the 1920s when cubism fell out of style, but since reopening in 2005, the café’s interior remains true to its cubist intentions; the elegant cubist buffet-bar and light fixtures used today were designed by Gocar himself. This café holds a special place in my heart because it’s where we were officially welcomed to Prague back in February —my school held a welcome reception for us there. (Also, the hor d'oeuvres are to die for.)
Café Montmartre
Opened in 1912, Café Montmartre is one of the oldest cafés in Prague. The moment you walk in, it’s like you’ve stepped back in time. Unfortunately, it was closed down during World War II for 50 years, but it has since been reconstructed with furniture and decorations to resemble its interior from the 1920s. It has a quaint, brooding atmosphere with dim lighting — perfect for those who just need to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life and bask in the solitude for a bit. It’s no surprise that writers such as Franz Kafka and Egon Erwin Kisch have been among its most well-known guests. Although it used to host some “wild nights” back in the day, it’s now a relaxing place to grab a cup of coffee and read, write or just chat with some friends.
Café Louvre
My personal favorite, Café Louvre is a gorgeous art nouveau café located near the National Theater. Since the café’s inception in 1902, it has been a gathering place for writers, artists and intellectuals, who would often hold their club meetings there. Among its famous clientele were writers Franz Kafka, Otto Pick and Karel Capek. Albert Einstein frequented the café on Tuesdays while he was a professor at Charles University. Café Louvre was forcefully shut down by the communists in 1948 but reopened in 1992. Today, in addition to exquisite coffee and food, the café also features a game room with billiards, chess and various card games.
It really is exhilarating to visit these cafés, knowing that brilliant minds of the history books have breathed the same air more than a hundred years before. As I sip my coffee, pen and notebook in hand, I feel invigorated and inspired. It’s probably the caffeine, but part of me likes to think it’s the spirit of Franz Kafka.
(04/21/14 1:53am)
By Annabel Lau
Blogger
Dobrý den (hello)!
Annabel here. I’m a junior international studies major studying abroad in Prague since the beginning of February. When I first told people I’d be studying in the Czech Republic, I was met with a lot of confused looks, followed by something to the effect of, “Cool, you’ll be in Europe!”
That’s exactly why I ended up choosing Prague. It’s a hidden gem. As I contemplated which destination to choose, I was curious about which countries attracted the most American exchange students. I looked on a list of most-visited countries compiled by CBS News and was shocked by the results: The United Kingdom — a region that shares much of its culture with the United States — topped the list, while the Czech Republic was much further down, with only 1.2 percent of American students studying abroad there.
As an international studies major, I felt it was important to open my mind to other cultures I’m not familiar with and venture outside of my comfort zone. Although all of Europe is extraordinary in its own way, I knew I wanted to go somewhere in Central Europe, a region I’ve never been to before and honestly knew very little about. When I found out that TCNJ had its own program in Prague, it was decided.
Not knowing a single word of the language, the first two weeks or so were definitely tough. While most young people are able to speak English, much of the older generations cannot. Even in the city center, most shopkeepers choose to speak first in Czech, resorting to English only if absolutely necessary. My first trip to the supermarket was a struggle, but the more I learned in my basic Czech class, it easier it became. Just by knowing the Czech words for some foods, I can now understand about 70 percent of most menus. And let me tell you, the first time I completed a transaction with a cashier completely in Czech (admittedly, with some awkward hand gestures), ‘twas a very exhilarating moment in my life.
Since I arrived, it’s been a whirlwind of an experience, but I’ve seen and learned so much. I go to school in a magnificent renovated palace from the 14th century. I’m taking a class on the Holocaust in one of the cities where it took place. Prague’s Jewish Quarter, just a few minutes from my school, is alive with the tales of Czechs who lived and lost their lives in the Holocaust. I never thought I’d be studying Franz Kafka, now one of my favorite writers, a mere 10-minute walk from Old Town Square, where he was born. I walk past the building where he worked on my way to school every morning.
But education doesn’t end in the classroom. In my walking-tour class, “Prague as a Living History,” lessons take place off campus every week. Instead of just reading about the city in a textbook, we get to see and experience it for ourselves. Every class, we visit different castles, churches, landmarks and other amazing sights, and we get to see for ourselves how Prague’s rich history shaped its art, architecture and culture. Really, where else does going to class involve visiting museums for free and taking educational hikes up historic hills where battles took place (with incredible bird’s eye views of the city, might I add)?
Prague is a world in itself. There really is something for everyone. There’s a farmer’s market with fresh produce, breads and cheeses minutes from my apartment. The Prague Zoo was ranked the seventh best zoo in the world by Forbes magazine. There are ballets, operas and plays to attend, films to see and works of art to be marveled at. This past Sunday, I attended an Easter performance of the opera “The Marriage of Figaro” for 230 Czech crowns — approximately $12.
So first, I encourage you to study abroad. It will change the way you see the world, the way you see your own city and the way you see yourself. Second, challenge yourself and go somewhere you haven’t been before. Once you’re there, learn the culture and the language. Try new things. Try new foods, even if the name scares you. I hesitantly tried guláš s houskovým knedlíkem (goulash with bread dumplings) the first week I was here, and it’s now my go-to Czech dish. If your concern is money, rest assured — I’m saving more studying abroad here than if I had spent the semester at TCNJ. For Americans, the cost of living in the Czech Republic and much of Central and Eastern Europe is significantly lower than in the United States. Finally, if that’s not enough to convince you, maybe this will: cheap beer. Like 75 cents-cheap, if you know where to look.
Na zdraví (cheers) to that.
Till next time,
Annabel
(12/03/13 7:21pm)
The College’s new vice president for student affairs Amy Hecht, whose tenure begins in January, officially introduced herself to the Student Government on Wednesday, Nov. 20 and asked for feedback on current student affairs activities.
Hecht, a south Florida native, has served notable administrative positions at Temple University, Cabrini College and Auburn University before accepting the position here at the College. She realized her passion for student affairs while studying as an undergraduate student at Florida State University.
“I was very involved with (the Student Government Association),” Hecht said. “So (I) became really involved on campus and realized I could spend my whole career working on college campuses and doing what I was already loving to do and get paid for it.”
After listening intently to feedback from SG members — who expressed concern about low attendance at athletic events, a lack of a support network for transfer students and the absence of school-sponsored off-campus Greek housing — Hecht voiced her desire to get to know students at the College.
“My door is always open,” Hecht said. “I work here because I love working with college students, so if you ever want to grab a cup of coffee or a drink, swing by my office and I hope to have time to do that.”
SG also viewed a presentation on the results of the Summer 2013 Assessment of Liberal Learning, which assessed anonymous essays from both FSP classes and senior capstone classes. Business librarian Terrence Bennett and professor of philosophy John Sisko — who presented at the meeting — were part of the five-person committee that read over the essays last summer.
The study involved reading 150 randomly-selected papers — 75 from FSPs and 75 from capstone courses — and scoring them in five categories of critical thinking: evidence, conclusions, context and assumptions, student’s position and explanation of issues. The readers found that, on average, seniors’ papers tend to score much higher in the categories than those of freshmen, suggesting that the academic goals of liberal learning seem to have been met for 2013.
“Between FSPs and capstones, all the lines are sloping upward, meaning that for all of these … five components of critical thinking, the average capstones were scoring much higher than the average FSPs,” Bennett said.
Bennett clarified that the study does not assess the liberal learning program itself, but rather whether the goals of liberal learning are being met.
“Liberal learning has a lot of goals, one of which is to improve students’ writing skills,” he said. “We’re not measuring whether liberal learning works ... what we’re attempting to measure are whether the outcomes of liberal learning seem to be achieved.”
Chief Information Officer Jerry Waldron, from Information Technology explained the results of the annual I.T. survey, which was sent out to students in November. 95 percent of the suggestions from the survey were about Wi-Fi, Waldron said.
“Wireless is (a priority) that we have put a lot of work into,” Waldron said. “By the end of this year, there should be only one academic building left that isn’t completely wireless.”
Waldron said that many residence halls on campus were set up with Wi-Fi this year as well.
“Cromwell went wireless this summer,” Waldron said. “E.A.B. as well. Norsworthy is coming up next after that.”
Waldron also mentioned the status of the College’s contract with Verizon, which currently does not have a cell tower in the area.
“Verizon is not on campus,” Waldron said. “Verizon will be on campus. We’ve been negotiating with them. We’re in the contract stage right now… so that will put us in a good position. Between that and the additional wireless ... we’ll have the connectivity that we’ll need.”
(12/03/13 7:14pm)
A former managing editor of the Wall Street Journal shared his experiences with the College regarding the start and successes of his brainchild, the nonprofit investigative news organization ProPublica, on Tuesday, Nov. 19.
Paul Steiger, now executive chairman of ProPublica’s board of directors, worked for the Wall Street Journal until the end of 2007, when he started ProPublica with the financial support of Herbert and Marion Sandler, former chief executives of Golden West Financial.
“So off we went,” Steiger said. “The model was this: It was going to be not-for-profit. We were going to shine the spotlight on abusive power and failure to uphold the public interest by anyone in power … everything we write goes out for free on our website.”
Dedicated to investigative journalism, ProPublica seeks to expose abuses of power and then offers the stories free of charge to larger news platforms, where the stories can reach audiences most likely to be able to enact change.
“We don’t lobby,” Steiger said. “We use only the techniques of journalism, but we try to put the story in front of people that can respond to it.”
Steiger spoke about a ProPublica story that exposed a legal loophole in California, where it once took fired nurses up to six years to lose their nursing licenses. Many of the nurses — who were abusive toward patients — were rehired in other hospitals almost immediately, continuing the cycle of abuse.
Steiger mentioned an instance in which a reporter encountered a nurse on the verge of replacing a patient’s drugs with saltwater. Surprisingly, the nurse expressed gratitude at being caught.
“One guy (said), ‘I’m so glad you found me. Please stop me before I do this again,’” Steiger said. “He realized he was so addicted that he was going to steal patients’ drugs again.”
After the story broke, the state government fired the board in charge of inspecting nurses’ licenses and rehired a new group to solve the issue.
ProPublica has engendered change with many of its investigative pieces. While some stories are noticed almost immediately, others take longer. But despite its difficult start as a nonprofit news organization, ProPublica has enjoyed great success, Steiger said.
“We’ve gone from brand new to being recognized nationally in journalism,” Steiger said. “It’s hard work but it’s fun.”
Steiger also spoke about notable moments of his career at the Wall Street Journal, particularly the story about the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
“It was just so interesting for someone to have seen so much in history and to hear that one of his favorite things that he wrote about was 9/11,” junior political science major Niriksha Kannan said. “Even though we were all really young, we all have our own memory of that experience.”
Steiger has vivid memories of that day as well, down to the “best blue suit” he wore, which later became covered in ash and dust.
“Our office was right across the street from the World Trade Center,” Steiger said. “First plane, wasn’t sure what it was. Saw the second plane, knew what it was.”
After the office was evacuated, Steiger sent his best three editors on the last ferry to an office in South Brunswick, N.J. With five other editors in an apartment, Steiger contributed to a breaking story that would later win a Pulitzer Prize.
“It’s not that I had so much to do with it personally,” Steiger said. “We each wrote two words in the headline. But it’s that people knew what to do, that they understood that getting the paper out was very important. We had people from all over the country say, ‘Seeing that paper in our driveway was an important piece of reassurance the day after 9/11.’”
Steiger ended his discussion with some advice for anyone aspiring to go into business or journalism. For business majors, he suggested “(working) your ass off in college,” getting internships and possibly pursuing another degree.
He also suggested a less conventional route for those interested in finance. Kara Kettelkamp, president of Delta Sigma Pi, the business fraternity that brought Steiger to campus, took his words to heart.
“I do like to write, but I’ve never seen it as a career aspect — more of a hobby,” Kettelkamp said. “He mentioned financial writers being needed, so that sort of sparked in my head a possibility.”
For those aspiring to be journalists, Steiger said that there are risks, but the rewards can be great. The journey also requires a great deal of independence and initiative.
“If you’re going to do journalism, you’ve got to be prepared to depend not only on the organization you work for, but also on your own reputation, your own name, your own byline, your own image,” Steiger said. “There are always opportunities. You have to accept the risks.”
(11/19/13 5:59pm)
The Student Government passed a bill on Wednesday, Nov. 13 that would hold SG members accountable for unexcused absences and late arrivals to meetings.
“We have noticed that there have been some issues this semester with people showing up late to general body (meetings),” vice president of Governmental Affairs Alex Brown said. “We wanted to hold people accountable for that.”
Members are currently penalized for absences and late arrivals according to a point system. The attendance bill increases the number of points assigned for unexcused absences and late arrivals to a variety of mandatory SG meetings.
“In the last attendance bill, internal committee was assigned two points per absence,” Brown said. “We bumped that up to four points.”
If a member is unable to attend a meeting, he or she must notify the speaker and vice president of the committee 24 hours in advance. Members will also be assigned two points if they are ten to 20 minutes late to a meeting. If they are more than 20 minutes late, they will be considered absent, Brown said.
SG will also participate in an attempt to raise funds for a Student Government scholarship.
“That’s something we can award to either one or two general body members for their dedication to the organization,” SG President Tyler Liberty said. “So we’re slowly trying to fundraise for that. It’d be a really good way to sort of put out a scholarship in our name.”
Two representatives from the Division of College Advancement, Christen Jones, major gifts officer, and Donna Green, director of annual giving, will be leading the initiative, which involves asking for donations from alumni, particularly those who had participated in SG. The goal is $25,000, but the actual amount could be much more than that.
“We have a trustee who is interested in matching, dollar for dollar, up to $25,000, whatever we could raise,” Jones said. “So that means that if we raise $25,000, that he will match that, and it’d be $50,000.”
Sadia Tahir, vice president of Equity and Diversity, announced the completion of the first issue of Diversity University, a newsletter that serves as a creative and informational outlet for different cultural, ethnic, religious and sexual orientation groups on campus. The newsletters can be found in academic buildings and residence halls.
Tahir recognized the members of Equity and Diversity who worked on the issue and asked for constructive criticism from SG.
“This is the first issue of anything of this manner out since 1855, since like the College was founded,” Tahir said. “This is really great, so I just want to make sure it’s perfect.”
Associate vice president for Student Affairs and Adviser of SG Magda Manetas announced a meeting on Friday, Nov. 15 to discuss the fate of the annual College tradition, “LollaNoBooza.” “LollaNoBooza” did not take place last August but was a program on the night of the first day of classes that involved a night of alcohol-free activities, games and entertainment.
“We lost the grant funding that used to fund that program and were unable to move to another strategy,” Manetas said. “We’re going to look at what is the value of this program to us, and a decision as to whether to try to continue the program or not, and then what will our strategy be to fund it.”
(11/12/13 5:23pm)
According to a post-doctoral research associate at Princeton University, the Arab Uprisings resulted not from poverty and inequality, as many scholars believe, but from a surge in educated but unemployed middle class graduates.
Kevan Harris, a sociologist who has conducted extensive research in the Middle East, gave a lecture at the College on Thursday, Nov. 7 titled “State, Society and Protest in the Middle East in Historical Perspective.”
Because he participated in the Arab Uprisings, Harris’s talk was filled with anecdotes ranging from humorous ones about showing up at the wrong protest to finding out that police violence had happened nearby.
“He had really cool anecdotes,” junior history major Tarika Mahal said. “Like the fact that he was physically there … He was like ‘Yeah, I walked in that.’ I was like, ‘That’s pretty awesome.’”
Harris’s lecture was supported by much statistical evidence as well. He found that the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has relatively low poverty levels. He also found that the MENA region is about a 40 on the Gini index, which means that it is average in terms of inequality of wealth. In comparison, Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean are “famous for being unequal,” Harris said.
Harris then spoke about the expansion of the welfare state in the MENA in the 1960s and 1970s. Egypt enacted a series of social programs, which involved literacy campaigns, healthcare programs and land reforms. Iran enacted similar social programs. Harris clarified that in a global context, welfare states sponsor broad social programs, not to be mistaken for the type of welfare programs in the United States.
“(A welfare state) doesn’t necessarily mean handouts to poor people,” Harris said.
Because of the relative success of its literacy programs, the Middle East is now experiencing a “race for credentials,” in which too many people are educated compared to the number of skilled jobs available, Harris said. Egypt has a higher percentage of high school graduates than countries like Turkey, Algeria and Syria. In Iran, the percentage of university-age students enrolled in tertiary education doubled from 18 percent in 1999 to 36 percent in 2009, Harris said.
As a result of this, the region has a high number of lumpen intelligentsia, which Harris defined as professional middle class graduates who are forced to find jobs “beneath them.” This results in a sense of frustration over the apparent lack of upward social mobility. Harris spoke about how he had friends in Iran who had degrees but were still unemployed because they refused to partake in unskilled labor. Instead, as they waited for skilled employment, they spent their days discussing philosophy and politics and getting involved in social movements.
Harris also cited data from a survey that Princeton politics professor Amaney Jamal conducted in Egypt in 2011. She found that 8.1 percent of the Egyptian population participated in the February protests, and 46 percent of the protesters had at least some university education.
Harris concluded that the Arab Uprisings resulted from “too many credentials, perceived downward mobility and narrowing opportunities for skilled employment” that were a product of the welfare state. The surge in lumpen intelligentsia led to the protests that eventually toppled the regimes in some countries.
“I was in Egypt all year … and I witnessed firsthand all of the protests he was talking about,” senior international studies major Gayatri Oruganti said. “I knew that the middle class was really involved but … he really opened my eyes to what extent it was involved.”
Harris mentioned that there are a high percentage of lumpen intelligentsia in Turkey and Brazil, which could explain the recent protests in both countries.
In response to some claims that the Middle East is “catching up to the rest of the world” in terms of democracy and modernity, Harris has a different conclusion.
“The Middle East is not catching up to anything,” he said. “It’s showing us what the rest of the world is going through right now.”
(11/12/13 4:08pm)
Most academic buildings on campus will have Wi-Fi by next year, according to Michell Lin, Student Government vice president of Student Services.
“For example, the Social Science Building doesn’t have (Wi-Fi), but it will be up by next year,” Lin said.
Lin also announced at the Student Government meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 6 that the College is negotiating a contract with Verizon to improve cellular service on campus. The decision was made in response to an Information Technology survey conducted last year, in which many students expressed their dissatisfaction with the carrier’s weak signal on campus.
SG also approved two clubs for official organizational status and rejected a third club.
TCNJ United Way, the first club to present, is a student chapter of a national charity organization that connects volunteers with local community service projects.
Alyssa Blochlinger, president of the College’s chapter of United Way, said that the club has been recognized by the local CEO of United Way. Blochlinger also spoke of various volunteer projects the club has participated in, as well as plans to volunteer at the Trenton Marathon on Saturday, Nov. 9. Many SG members expressed concern that the mission of United Way seemed too similar to that of the Bonner Center. With a vote of 26 for and 31 against approving the club, SG did not approve TCNJ United Way for official organizational status.
The other two clubs, the National Society of Black Engineers and Operation Smile, which raises money for operations to treat children with facial deformities, were granted organizational status with an overwhelming majority of the vote.
The day after the general election, vice president of Governmental Affairs Alex Brown announced the results of SG’s voter registration campaign.
“We registered a total of 143 students here at TCNJ for the voter registration drive,” Brown said. “The ‘Know Before You Vote’ website got 523 hits on it.”
Regarding the campus climate survey emailed to all students, Magda Manetas, associate vice president for Student Affairs and adviser of SG, emphasized the importance of student input and asked class council members to strongly encourage participation within their respective classes.
“Unfortunately, the student participation is really low,” Manetas said. “They really are very hopeful of getting more so they can utilize that information to move forward with some of the initiatives related to equity and diversity here on our campus.”
(10/22/13 3:19pm)
Student Government passed motions to approve two student clubs and rejected a third on Wednesday, Oct. 16.
Three clubs — To Write Love on Her Arms, the Association of Students for Africa and TCNJ Paintball — presented before Student Government in hopes of receiving official organizational status.
To Write Love on Her Arms is a nonprofit movement that strives to assist those suffering from mental illnesses, depression, self-injury and suicidal thoughts. The club was approved by an overwhelming majority.
While some members of SG expressed that the Association of Students for Africa should be a subgroup of the existing Black Student Union, many lauded the club for its mission to represent an even smaller minority on campus.
“African students on campus are a group that feel as though they don’t have a presence on campus,” said Alex Brown, vice president of Governmental Affairs. “They specifically told me that they don’t want to be a part of BSU because BSU doesn’t focus on the things that they’re focusing on.”
The SG general body was even more divided on whether to grant TCNJ Paintball official organizational status. Many SG members questioned the club’s mission and criticized it for a lack of leadership, as the executive board currently consists of only two members. When asked about the future of the club, president of TCNJ Paintball Sean Harshman responded hopefully.
“We have interest from all different grades here,” Harshman said. “I think the (recreational) events will help build interest to become more competitive. The (recreational) events will really feed into the competitive side and just perpetuate.”
TCNJ Paintball did not receive approval from SG. However, Magda Manetas, associate vice president for Student Affairs and advisor of SG, clarified that even unrecognized clubs have many options.
“If (SG does not) recognize a group, it doesn’t stop them from being able to affiliate and continue their activities,” Manetas said. “They can come back before the group at a later time. They can continue to affiliate and never go for recognition again.”
In addition to voting on the clubs, SG also reviewed changes to a policy regarding reporting child abuse, as well as a document that explains students’ rights on campus.
The old policy requires students, faculty and staff to report incidents of child abuse to Campus Police, as well as to the Division of Youth and Family Services — a state agency of the Department of Human Services that guarantees confidentiality. The policy has been amended to “strongly recommend” individuals to report the incidents to Campus Police instead of requiring it.
SG reviewed one other document on student rights and freedoms, which guarantees rights like freedom of expressionand protection against improper academic evaluation. The document is in the process of being updated.
(10/15/13 3:37pm)
Representatives from two college-wide committees presented before Student Government on Wednesday, Oct. 9 to receive student input on proposed changes to the current scheduling grid and academic policies.
Provost and VP of Academic Affairs Jacqueline Taylor and Frank Cooper, director of Records & Registration, addressed issues with the current scheduling grid, which involves four-credit Monday/Thursday and Tuesday/Friday classes with a scheduled “fourth hour” on Wednesday, which departments may choose to utilize if they wish.
“The scheduling grid that we’ve used has a lot of inefficiencies built into it,” said Taylor, who is also co-chair of the Committee on Strategic Planning and Priorities. “So as a result, a number of our classes sit empty more often than they might wish. A second thing that a lot of people made me aware of was the lunch hour from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. means that the cafeteria and other food service facilities get real heavy traffic from the 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. time slot.”
As a result, Cooper met with the deans of many schools on campus and proposed three alternate scheduling grids, which he presented to SG, in an effort to prevent scheduling conflicts and to utilize space on campus more effectively. Decisions must be made on a new scheduling grid by December 2014 in order to implement it by fall of 2015.
Barbara Strassman, chair of the Committee on Academic Programs and Patricia Van Hise, assistant dean of the School of Science, requested student input on changes to the existing policies on repeating and withdrawing from a course. The current policy on repeating a course dictates that students may repeat a course once without approval. If a student wishes to take the class more than twice, the student must obtain a signature from the chair of the department of the student’s major, as well as a signature from the department of the class the student wishes to take. No significant changes will be made to the existing policy except for revisions in wording and the addition of a recommendation for students to meet with their advisors before proceeding.
Changes will be made to the policy regarding course withdrawal, however, which will now also address course withdrawal during the winter and Maymester terms. Strassman also explained how the two policies will now affect each other.
“If you take STAT 115 and you withdraw, and then you decide to take it again, that’s your second attempt,” Strassman said. “You’re done. You can’t take it a third time, whereas, currently, you could.”
In response to concerns from SG members, Strassman clarified that these policies only apply if a student withdraws from a course after the add/drop period has ended.
Vice President of Governmental Affairs Alex Brown also addressed progress with SG’s voter registration drives for the upcoming state elections, as well as a potential Gubernatorial Dinner in Eickhoff, similar to last year’s presidential dinner, featuring foods like steak and salmon.
Class of 2015 President Brian Garsh also mentioned some updates from the Dining Services Committee regarding a Halloween-themed night at Eickhoff on Wednesday, Oct. 30 and a multicultural night, featuring foods inspired by the many languages taught at the College, on Wednesday, Nov. 13.
Next week, two organizations, the Association of Students for Africa and To Write Love on Her Arms, will present to the SG general body, which will then vote on whether to officially recognize the clubs.
(10/08/13 5:14pm)
She never imagined that her first time having sex would end in a used condom being flung far into the night from an apartment balcony. But that night, she lost her virginity at 17 years old on a filthy stained couch to a 21-year-old with a criminal record, all while she had been under the influence of an unknown substance — perhaps most significantly, the sex was without her consent.
That’s the story of an anonymous junior elementary education major at the College.
“It was really romantic when there was no trash can,” she said sarcastically. “Yes, no trash can, so he threw the used condom off the balcony outside.”
Unfortunately, her case is not as uncommon as many may think. One in four women is or will become a victim to sexual assault in her college career, according to a study by the U.S. Department of Justice.
And the statistics are not much better at the College. According to a 2009 survey conducted on campus, one in five women and one in 10 men are victims of sexual assault, domestic violence or stalking, said Robbin Loonan, coordinator of the College’s Office of Anti-Violence Initiatives.
According to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, two-thirds of assaults are committed by a person whom the victim knows.
“A stranger ... jumping out from behind a proverbial bush wearing a proverbial ski mask, with a proverbial gun, right? That’s what rape is,” said a 2001 alumna and sexual assault survivor at the unveiling of an anti-sexual violence art exhibit at the College in April. “But that’s not how it happened to me, and that’s not how it happens to the majority of those who survive sexual assault every year.”
For all College students, there are a variety of resources available to victims of sexual assault. The Office of Anti-Violence Initiatives, or OAVI, has group and individual counseling programs for survivors. OAVI also advocates with professors on behalf of victims if they are falling behind in classes because of their assault.
Loonan emphasizes that talking about assault can help victims to cope. Yet friends and family members of survivors have a role to play as well.
“If you know somebody who discloses, believe them,” Loonan said. “If you don’t believe them a hundred percent or you have questions, then refer them to somebody else who they can talk to, rather than say some things you can’t take back.”
A campaign sponsored by OAVI, called “Green Dot,” advocates for bystander intervention against sexual violence on campus. “Green dots” are steps that all students can take to prevent sexual violence, as opposed to “red dots,” which involve actions that perpetuate sexual violence.
According to OAVI’s brochure on the “Green Dot” campaign, “green dots” are meant to symbolize actions such as “(talking) to friends about consent” and “(calling) for help if you see someone getting physical with his/her partner.”
“A ‘red dot’ is having sex without someone’s consent,” Loonan said. “‘Red dot’ is a push, a slap, intimidating, threatening behavior.”
Loonan also believes that it is important to educate the public about mutual consent before a sexual relationship is pursued. A “yes” to sex must be enthusiastic and unhindered, she said. Often, victims feel threatened or pressured to the point where they agree to sex, even when it is not what they truly want.
“Consent is not only saying yes ... because sometimes we know that saying yes or absence of saying anything does not mean yes,” Loonan said. “Similarly, (it’s not consent) if someone is drunk or under the influence ... They don’t have to be physically forced, but they’re being intimidated in some way, or coerced into saying yes or not saying no.”
But despite the emotional roller coaster ride that results from sexual assault, many survivors agree that life gets better.
“In your darkest days, in the blackest of nights, how you come through it into the light really ... shows you strength that you never thought you had,” the 2001 alumna said. “How I’ve come out of a lot of this is to be a realist who is just hopelessly, hopelessly hopeful. Don’t lose your hope.”
(10/01/13 4:21pm)
Despite the inevitable fear of post-graduate unemployment looming over college students’ heads, the future seems bright for those at the College.
“97 percent of (those sampled in) the class of 2012 either had full-time employment or graduate school within six months,” said Debra Klokis, employer relations specialist at the College’s Career Center and liaison to the school of Business. “And that was either (from the Career Center) or their faculty member.”
But a statistic like that takes preparation and effort. Many students at the College are proactive in the job or internship search, utilizing resources available at the Career Center like career workshops, résumé reviews, mock interviews and appointments with career counselors.
“Having experience on other campuses, this is one of the busiest career centers I’ve ever had experience with, because there’s just so many students who are using our resources,” Klokis said.
Junior psychology and special education double major Gladys Wu found the Career Center’s online résumé-review service to be extremely helpful.
“I submitted it into the website and then within, like, two days, they would return it (and) they would tell you what you should do,” Wu said.
Students can also make use of LionsLink, the College’s online recruitment program where employers can post job listings and recruit students. Wu, who aspires to be a special education teacher, frequently checks for new job openings on LionsLink.
“(LionsLink) might open my eyes to some other places, like schools,” Wu said. “Usually what I do is I look at the schools that they list … and then I look at what else they offer and connections and stuff. I use my resources.”
Some students receive notice of job openings through an academic department or a professor. Senior English major Alex Kim learned of an internship at Brainerd Communications, a communications consultant group, through a mass email from his accounting professor.
In addition to using online resources, Klokis emphasized the importance of attending networking events, whether hosted by both the Career Center or individual student organizations.
“Not all of the opportunities are always posted,” Klokis said. “(Networking events) are great ways for students to get one-on-one interaction, ask questions, find out more about the company, as well as internship opportunities.”
The Fall Opportunities Fair, which will take place on Friday, Oct. 4 in the Recreation Center, is a great way to network, Klokis said. A variety of companies and organizations will be in attendance, including Johnson & Johnson, Goldman Sachs and the FBI.
Amee Patel, a junior finance major, began her internship search at a past Opportunities Fair, where she networked with recruiters. She now works as a co-op student for Johnson & Johnson and hopes to stay with the company after graduation.
“Everyone is so nice and friendly and are very invested in our future and seeing us grow,” Patel said. “I’m learning so much about (Johnson & Johnson) that I didn’t know before, and I’m making all of these connections that I hope to carry with me beyond those six months.”
After a student has found a company or organization of interest, it is up to the student to prepare, practice and discover ways to stand out to potential employers.
“First thing I did (after getting an interview) was buy a nice matching suit,” Patel said. “It cost a little bit of money, but it definitely gave me the confidence.Sometimes I would also look up interview questions and practice talking to myself in the mirror. It was kind of awkward at first, but I think it helped me to see what my expressions were like.”
Sometimes standing out is as simple as following a hobby or a passion.
“Try to make yourself stand out from everyone else,” Kim said. “My friend recently got hired because his résumé apparently stood out to the employers. He had recently tried to start his own company, albeit failure, it showed initiative.”
But the most important step, Klokis believes, is just to get involved and get started. Whether a student is a beginner or a seasoned veteran at job-hunting, the Career Center is open to offer guidance and support.
“We are just here to be a partner with the students in their career decision making,” Klokis said. “Don’t be afraid to come in to us at Roscoe West, because we’d be happy to help.”
(09/24/13 4:57pm)
Fulbright scholar and Trenton State alumnus Yassin El-Ayouty returned to the College to speak to students on Monday, Sept. 16, the anniversary of his arrival on campus from Egypt 61 years ago.
El-Ayouty, a true Renaissance man, has served many notable positions in the U. N. over three decades and founded SUNSGLOW, a private corporation that specializes in legal and judicial training in developing nations. He is a member of many bar associations within the United States and Egypt, and, as an expert in international law, has taught political science and law at various universities in both countries.
But before his successful career, El-Ayouty was a 24-year-old student of primary education and psychology at Trenton State College, which transformed his life.
“I would not be where I am now without having started as a Fulbright,” El-Ayouty said. “I would not have done the things that are good enough to mention without my (fulfilling) the Fulbright tradition of action.”
Upon arriving on campus in 1952, El-Ayouty met with William H. Hausdoerffer, the dean of men at the time, and Hausdoerffer’s wife, Rosemary, in Bliss Hall, which had been used as a dormitory. Rosemary gave the famished El-Ayouty a glass of milk — “the most delicious glass of milk (he’d) ever had.”
Hausdoerffer became a mentor to El-Ayouty throughout his stay at the College. Within the next few weeks, Hausdoerffer brought El-Ayouty to meet Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was campaigning for president, and later, Harry S Truman.
“Hausdoerffer said, ‘You want to meet Truman?’ I said, ‘The president of the United States? Yes!’” El-Ayouty said.
Among other Trenton State faculty whom El-Ayouty remembered fondly were English professor Alfred P. Holman and former president Roscoe West, after whom Holman Hall and the Roscoe L. West Library are named.
“All of these people were really the basic plaster of my interacting with the College,” El-Ayouty said.
While in the United States, El-Ayouty ran into financial troubles because he was unable to access the money that his father had allocated to him in Egypt. Hausdoerffer assisted El-Ayouty by finding him part-time jobs. El-Ayouty was assigned the job of fixing a storm window in a faculty member’s home. When he had finished, one of the ladies in the house invited him up for tea and cookies and asked him about the Egypt Revolution of 1952.
“I told them about the Egypt Revolution and by the time I was done, each one of them had an envelope with $5 in it,” El-Ayouty said. “I felt like Donald Trump.”
Another job that Hausdoerffer found for El-Ayouty was babysitting for two young children in the neighborhood. As soon as the parents left for their dinner dance, El-Ayouty was met with the challenge of entertaining the children for the night.
“In Egypt, I used to write children’s literature, so each story has a moral in it: either generosity, or doing good work, or serving your community, but it has to kind of be put in an imaginary setting,” El-Ayouty said. “So I said, ‘Have you heard about the big Indian chief?’ (The children) said, ‘No, no, no,’ and immediately sat on the carpet floor. Then I started saying it from imagination, and it just came to me easy. I was enjoying my own imagination.”
The next day, Hausdoerffer approached El-Ayouty and asked for his secret. Parents all over the neighborhood were interested in El-Ayouty’s babysitting services.
“At this time, I was American enough to turn a good deed into a mass production,” El-Ayouty said. “I said ‘OK,’ I would suggest, if it works and it’s legal, I suggest that all of these kids that want me would gather twice a week in the house of one of them for three hours. And so it went. You know, it was a beautiful experience.”
El-Ayouty also enjoyed a fulfilling social life while at the College. Many students invited him over to their houses for dinner or the holidays. At times, his friends even brought him to church. There are a couple of friends with whom he still stays in contact with today.
El-Ayouty also joined a fraternity, Theta Nu Sigma.
“It was great,” El-Ayouty said. “It had various social events, and at the end of the school year, the father of one of them owned a great Italian restaurant, and we had spaghetti and meatballs. Everything was simple. Everything was direct. Everything was warm.”
Overall, El-Ayouty remembers feeling very welcome at the College, even on his graduating day.
“When the students stood on the steps before the Library before graduation, it was a tradition (that) they sing together,” El-Ayouty said. “They included in one of the verses about me. All of this made me feel very attached, completely attached to the College.”
(04/30/13 5:00pm)
Princeton sociology professor Angel Harris gave a presentation at the College on Monday, April 22 on the achievement gap between blacks and whites in the education system.
According to national test scores, there is a four-year gap between black and whites by the time they graduate high school, with black seniors scoring as high as white eighth graders.
Harris also cited different explanations for why the gap exists.
Harris observed the effect of different measures of parental involvement in children’s educations, which he categorized as “punitive” and “non-punitive.” Blacks tend to use more punitive responses when their children perform poorly in school, which is associated with declines in achievement. Whites generally use non-punitive responses, which correlate to increases in achievement.
Other explanations he gave were the existence of bias in standardized testing, access to resources and cultural influences.
Harris found that the gap is smallest between white and black kindergarteners and widens with each grade. Blacks and whites are similar at birth in terms of cognitive ability. It is only after they enter school that the gap is formed.
“I found it particularly interesting when he talked about how the gap between the various groups actually widens once children enter the school system,” said Deborah Compte, Spanish professor and co-chair of the Department of World Languages & Cultures. “So we’re not doing the job that we think we should.”
Harris showed that, in terms of achievement, there are two separate distributions for blacks and whites. It is important to note socioeconomic background — where an individual lies within his own distribution — when evaluating members of the two groups.
“I found it interesting when (Harris said) smart white people are just considered smart, as opposed to smart black people, where that’s considered a success story,” sophomore psychology major Jonathan Michaels said.
Harris noticed that many people tend to avoid the topic of race. It is only by talking about stereotypes that people can break them down, he believes.
“We don’t need to have the race police there ... It’s okay. Your experiences in life have led you to this position,” Harris said.
The observations may not always be correct, though, he noted.
Finally, many hypothesize that blacks are teased for “acting white” if they perform well in school. Harris believes that achievement may not be a factor in this mindset. In primarily black schools, students who do well are just that — smart black students. But in predominantly white schools, high-achieving black students are accused of trying to imitate their white peers.
“Every time you come across a black person who people say they’re acting white, it’s not because of their grades or they’re doing well. Usually it’s because … I don’t know …they don’t have swagger when they walk,” Harris said.
(04/23/13 5:00pm)
The Board of Trustees met on Tuesday, April 16 for its annual tuition hearing.
Board of Trustees Chair Christopher Gibson began the meeting with a moment of silence for missing College student Paige Aiello and the victims of the Boston Marathon tragedy.
“It must be just absolutely devastating for her family,” Gibson said. “We want all to know the board sympathizes, the board is concerned, the board is following this as closely as it can, and the board is keeping Paige and her family in our prayers.”
The status of the Colleges alumni in the race were also addressed.
“We know for a fact that two students were running and about 12 of our alums were running (in the marathon),” said R. Barbara Gitenstein, president of the College. “They are all well. They are all safe.”
In the tuition hearing, Gitenstein introduced Gov. Chris Christie’s proposal regarding state educational support. Christie proposed operating support to be held flat for all public universities, with a 1.6 percent increase in fringe benefits. He also proposed an increase in the Tuition Aid Grant program, while the Educational Opportunity Fund will remain flat at $38.822 million. The New Jersey Student Tuition Assistance Reward program will decrease by 23 percent, and the urban scholarship program proposed by Christie last year will remain flat at $1 million.
Treasurer Lloyd Ricketts introduced a new concept that the College will implement in which surplus revenue from other fund groups, such as auxiliary enterprises and summer programs, will go back into the main reserve, balancing the operating budget. The College is also generating revenue through the winter term and programs such as blended-learning courses and the freshman provisional cohort.
The plateau in state appropriations accounts for an increase in tuition for students. State support per full-time student has dropped from $8,792 in 2009 to $8,396 this year.
Although tuition is increasing every year, the annual rate at which it is increasing is decreasing. From 2010 to 2011, there was a four percent increase in tuition; this year, it was just 3.3 percent. For every one percent increase in in-state student charges, $147 is added to the college-operating budget.
The price of student health insurance is also expected to increase in the next year. Although the College is working to moderate these costs, costs may rise up to $1,000 from the $324 it was this year. Revenue from health insurance goes directly to the insurance company, according to Ricketts.
Despite a rise in tuition costs, Ricketts ensures that the money is going to good use. Operating budget key performance indicators state that at least two-thirds of tuition revenues must go toward direct student support. In addition, at least 10 percent of tuition revenue must go toward scholarships and tuition waivers. Ricketts stated that this year, about three-quarters of the budget will go to direct student support, and the College is giving out more in scholarships than state and federal contributions combined.
“We’ll keep talking on campus as to how best to come up with a strategically balanced budget and moderate whatever tuition and fee increase will be recommended,” Ricketts said.
(04/16/13 4:00pm)
A shocking one in four women is the victim of an attempted or completed sexual assault during her college career, according to Brady Root, prevention education coordinator at Rutgers’ Office for Violence Prevention and Victim Assistance.
That means that of the estimated 3,600 female students at the College, about 900 have been, or will be, a victim.
“Chances are everyone in this room … will know someone who was either the victim or the perpetrator of sexual assault,” Root said.
On Tuesday, April 9, the Rutgers student theater group, SCREAM, or Students Challenging Realities and Educating Against Myths, presented an improvised but realistic skit on sexual assault, victim-blaming and bystander intervention. The event was brought to campus by Anti-Violence Initiatives, Women in Learning & Leadership, the Bonner Center and the School of Humanities and Social Sciences.
“People tend to brush (sexual assault) off as something that happens in movies or TV shows,” said Tiffany Piatt, sophomore biology major and co-vice executive chair of WILL. “But this is way too common.”
The skit, performed by undergraduate Rutgers students, revolved around friends who planned to attend a party together. While they were pre-gaming, freshman Jessica Clark’s character, Liz, followed Cory, played by senior Chris Sharma, into his room. When Liz pulled away from Cory’s kiss, he respected her decision, agreeing to take her on a date first.
However, when senior Benny Del Castillo’s character, Jess, stayed behind with Ryan, played by senior Gabriel Arismendi, Jess thought that they would be flirting and end up kissing at most. Next thing she knew, Ryan was forcing himself on her, muffling her screams and shouting at her to “take it like the slut (she is).”
“What do you think you came up here for?” he said.
“Ryan, please don’t do this to me!” she screamed. “I just want to go back downstairs.”
The rest of the skit followed the reactions of the friends involved. Liz, Jess’ best friend, claimed that Jess was exaggerating and blamed her for “being a slut.” Jayden, played by sophomore Joie DeRitis, insisted on going to the police, despite Jess’ plea to be left alone.
Freshman Moya O’Leary’s character, Sam, preferred to stay out of the conflict, while Cory decided to confront his best friend about the rape. Ryan denied the accusations, and the two exploded into an argument.
The performance ended with a question and answer session with the actors while still in character, followed by the actors’ individual takes on lessons to be learned.
“Just the performance itself showed that we need to have more resources and better support networks for our victims … so they can resolve their internal issues,” said Amanda Parks, sociology junior and executive chair of WILL.
When explaining the event’s purpose, Root said, “We want to talk about how can we break those (barriers) down, and build stronger communities where we’re there for each other. We all have a role in ending sexual violence, in our communities, in our colleges, in our state, everywhere.”