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(02/05/17 7:38pm)
By Colleen Murphy
’16 alumna
Several students and recent graduates of the College applied for scholarship money which, to date, has never been distributed. Not only is this a disservice to those students, but it also does not meet the high ethical and moral standards the College sets for itself.
Each year, the College has a school-wide call for applications for its Student Leadership/Engagement scholarships and awards. During my first two years at the College, the award finalists were announced through fliers around the campus. Then, the winners were announced at a pretty lavish ceremony held at the end of each year.
I had applied for several scholarship awards those two years and did so again my junior year. However, I never heard anything about the finalists or winners that third year. I let that go, though, and didn’t ask about why the award winners were never announced.
But then the call for the Student Leadership/Engagement scholarship award nominations was sent out again during my senior year. I was confused as to why they would hold another round of awards if the previous year’s winners were never announced. Maybe the Division of Student Affairs just decided to run the program differently and they were no longer announcing the winners?
To find out for sure, before applying my senior year for the 2016 awards, I called the Office of Leadership, which is the contact for any questions regarding these awards, and asked about the 2015 awards. I was told that the awards were not given out that year and that they would wait until the 2016 awards to hand them out together. I was told that the applications that were submitted for the awards in 2015 were still on-file and that they would use those to select the winners. So, it was my understanding that in 2016, the school would learn of both the 2015 and 2016 award winners.
In the Spring 2016 semester, the time for the 2015/2016 scholarship award finalists and winners to be announced came and went — just like what happened in 2015. Now, maybe they just decided to tell the winners they won privately. But I thought the same thing about the 2015 awards and that turned out to not be the case, so I called the office to find out who won the awards.
The Office of Leadership provided me a list of winners for the 2016 awards. While I was disappointed to learn I did not win, a couple of my friends were on the list, and I was happy for them. I asked about the 2015 award winners, if there was a record of that since I was told those would be announced in 2016, too. However, I was told that the 2015 applications were used in combination with the 2016 applications.
First, it is unfair that the students who applied in 2015 and 2016 had to compete against double the amount of people they should have been now that two years’ worth of applicants were being used to select one year’s winners. In addition, did the 2016 winners receive double the amount of scholarship money (receiving the money intended for the 2015 winners)? I didn’t understand where the 2015 money went.
These scholarships are named after alumni, so obviously there are people who donated money and expected a certain amount to be given away each year. I was taught in my journalism classes at the College to “follow the money.” And as a student and former editor-in-chief of The Signal, I really wanted to know where this money — intended for students — ended up.
The Office of Leadership told me that since these were endowed scholarships, the Division of College Advancement would be able to answer what happened with the money intended for the 2015 scholarships. After speaking to someone at the Division of College Advancement, I found out where that money ended up: the same place it’s been sitting for the past couple years — in an account waiting to be handed out.
The Division of College Advancement told me that while the 2016 scholarship money was given away, its office never received a list of winners for the 2015 awards from the Office of Leadership. And so, the money couldn’t be awarded because the Division of College Advancement had no one to award the money to.
While I was pleased to find out that this money was, in fact, set aside for students and students only, I could not believe that there was money sitting somewhere that had not been awarded when it was supposed to.
After finding out that the scholarship money was still with the College, I called back the Office of Leadership to ask them about it. The person on the phone told me the office never presented a list of 2015 winners because it was a “busy” time back in 2015.
I could not — and still can’t — believe that the excuse I was given as to why these scholarships were never given out was because the administration was too busy to do it. I couldn’t use that excuse when I had a paper due — why is the Office of Leadership allowed to use it when explaining why scholarship money was not given away to the students who took the time to apply for it? If they were too busy to care about the awards, they should not have advertised them in the first place.
I, of course, wish I would have been awarded a scholarship in any of the years I applied, but not having won an award is not why I am so upset about this. It’s so wrong that students spent hours writing multiple essays for several scholarship awards that were then never given out.
When I told the office this — that the reason I continued looking into this even after I graduated was because as a former editor of the newspaper, I felt it was my duty to let students know what the school was doing with its money — I was told that this was not a newsworthy story. However, I also learned in my journalism classes to hold the powerful accountable.
That’s why I wrote this opinion piece. I am holding the College — specifically the Office of Leadership and the Division of Student Affairs — accountable for not being as transparent as it could have been with students.
And so I ask you, the Office of Leadership and the Division of Student Affairs: When will the money that was set aside for the 2015 Student Leadership/Engagement scholarships actually be given to students? To whom will this money be awarded? Do the alumni who donated the funds for these scholarships know their money wasn’t awarded at the intended date?
Will you be apologizing to the students who took the time to apply for the 2015 and 2016 awards for not considering their application against only the respective year’s applicants? Should you have let them know you weren't going to be awarding anybody a scholarship that year as soon as you realized you were too "busy" to do so? And lastly, do you now see why this actually is newsworthy?
(05/04/16 11:31pm)
By Colleen Murphy
Editor-in-Chief
The tear-jerker P&G commercials are back on the air, and that can only mean one thing: The Olympics are coming. There is now less than 100 days to go until the Friday, Aug. 5, Opening Ceremonies in Rio, and despite the negative storylines that surround this year’s Games — the dangers of the Zika virus, poor Brazilian economy, etc. — athletes and the countries they will represent are already feeling the excitement.
As I did for the 2014 Winter Olympics, here is a by-the-numbers-look at this summer’s Olympic Games:
98: The percentage of venues that are complete, according to the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
11: The number of workers who have been killed while working on the Olympic infrastructure project, according to USA Today.
60: The percentage of Guanabara Bay’s surface that is clean, CNN reported. The other 40 percent continues to be polluted by raw sewage. The bay will be used for several aquatic events, such as the triathlon and rowing races.
0: The number of chances South Korean athletes want to take at contracting the Zika virus. The country’s athletes “will wear tracksuits, which have been infused with insect repellant designed to keep mosquitoes away, as well as long pants and blazers for the opening and closing ceremonies,” according to a CNN report.
85,000: The number of soldiers and police officers who will be on duty during the Games, according to CNN.
$11-$1,300: The price range for a ticket into a sporting event, depending on the sport, CNN said.
7.5 million: The number of tickets that have been sold so far.
5-10: The number of athletes expected to compete on the new team of Refugee Olympic Athletes, according to USA Today. The IOC said the refugees will be competing under the Olympic flag.
3: The number of all-around world championships American gymnast Simone Biles has won. She is expected to have a superb showing at the Games.
22: The number of medals with which Michael Phelps is entering the Rio Games.
19: The age of returning Olympic American swimmer Katie Ledecky, who is expected to qualify for all of her races and pull off, what NBC News calls, a “Phelps-ian Olympics.”
And finally...
0: The days I can wait until the Olympic Games begin.
(05/03/16 5:29am)
By Colleen Murphy
Editor-in-Chief
Sophomore Neo Zambas said he spent $900 on textbooks for four classes this semester. Two semesters ago, the marketing major spent nearly $300 on a single book. He has been unable to find a buyer for the book or sell it back, and so it continues to sit in his house.
Zambas’s situation is a common occurrence on college campuses, and with the end of the semester approaching and the summer semester starting, many students will once again find themselves having to deal with the process of buying and selling textbooks. This has become a lucrative business for textbook publishers. According to an Aug. 6, 2015, article from NBC News, textbook prices have risen 1,041 percent since 1977 — three times the rate of inflation. That same article estimated that college students spent an average of $1,225 on books and supplies last year.
After experiencing the monetary strain of the textbook market first-hand, Zambas knew something needed to be done in order to make textbooks more affordable and to make the process of buying and selling them easier. And so, he partnered with his friend, senior marketing major Agy Serghiou. Together, the two launched the business NeoBook.
“Neo pitched the idea to me back in, I want to say late October, and at first, I thought there was something that already existed — there had to be some sort of mobile app platform that connects students so they can buy and sell textbooks from each other,” Serghiou said. “And after doing research of how much of a problem textbook prices are and doing research on potential competitors — after we saw there were no major mobile app platforms that solved such a big and evident problem — we said, ‘Let’s go for it.’”
As soon as the Neobook app becomes available, the business partners hope to launch it on all major app markets. Students will be able to download the app for free and then plug their school’s name, as well as their course list, into the app. This creates a book wish list for each app user. As soon as a seller on campus, or within a five-mile radius, lists your needed books on the NeoFeed — where all for-sale textbooks can be viewed — you will receive a push notification on your phone, according to Serghiou.
If the buyer is interested in purchasing the book, the student can either buy it for the price the seller originally requested or they can make another offer. Once the buyer and seller agree to a dollar amount, they are given chat box access within the app and are able to discuss a time and place to meet and exchange the book, Serghiou said. The buyer and seller have to confirm with NeoBook that the exchange was completed, and the buyer then has the opportunity to rate the seller out of five stars.
All monetary transactions are completed within the app. This way, students do not have to carry cash with them when meeting with the seller and NeoBook has greater control over where the money goes in case a reimbursement is needed, Serghiou said.
Additionally, all items with an ISBN, including test preparation books, can be bought and sold on NeoBook. A seller simply needs to take a picture of the ISBN to have the book’s information logged in the app, Zambas said.
“I think the beauty of our app is… before, (students) would be sitting on worthless textbooks, so now the app creates value for them because it connects them to potential buyers,” Serghiou said. “They are able to sell back the books that they originally bought for around... probably the same price, buy the books again, hopefully for a low price, and continuing the process all the way up until they’re a senior. They can, in a perfect world, spend virtually nothing on textbooks.
“Our mission is to aid the necessary evil of buying and selling back textbooks… By connecting students so they can buy and sell with each other, they can just reduce their cost immensely,” Serghiou said. “It’s getting to a point where students are just opting out of buying a textbook entirely. They’re willing to risk not performing up to par in the class to save money, and that’s a shame. That shouldn’t be how a college student should feel. They should have an affordable textbook for them so they can optimize their performance in the class.”
According to the same NBC News article, 65 percent of college students have decided not to buy a textbook because of its high price. NeoBook hopes to be the tool that keeps the process of buying and selling textbooks affordable so that students can make the most of their learning experience.
“We’re solving a problem, an evident problem,” Serghiou said.
Zambas and Serghiou plan to launch their business, which is registered as an LLC with the state, not only at the College, but also at 10 other four-year schools — including Rutgers and Pennsylvania State universities — and about 15 community colleges.
When this app will become available is dependent on when NeoBook can garner the right amount of start-up capital. On Wednesday, May 25, Zambas and Serghiou are meeting with five investors, who they hope will get them the money needed to actually launch the NeoBook application. If they are successful with the investors, they hope to have their business available for students by Spring 2017, according to Zambas.
While NeoBook does have competition with other textbook buying and selling companies, such as Amazon, Zambas is confident that the convenience of the app — students can buy and retrieve the textbook from the seller in the same day without any shipping and handling fees — will set the pair’s business apart from the rest.
Zambas also pointed out that while students on campus are already attempting to buy and sell textbooks through Facebook, students can’t search for the book they need in Facebook groups like they can on NeoBook.
“We actually want to solve the problem,” Zambas said. “Believe me, I always tell Agy that I don’t care about the money. I’ll care about the money in the future. First, worry about making an app that’s useful for students, and then benefits will come after. NeoBook has been... my priority since we started… It’s important to me.”
Serghiou shares the same passion for the business, saying that each day he wakes up, NeoBook is the first thing that comes to mind, and that the venture has given him “so much happiness and excitement.”
The two entered this year’s Mayo Business Plan Competition and reached the semi-finals. Since then, they’ve made changes to improve their business, including hiring alumna Taylor Huizenga (’15) as their graphic designer.
And while they say they have faced “a lot of hardship while starting” NeoBook, their Greek heritage — both men’s families are from Cyprus — has definitely given them the spirit to continue on.
“A lot of people have doubted us, but I guess it’s really just pushing through the adversity — I don’t know. If you’re Greek, it’s kind of just something you’re born with, for sure,” Serghiou said.
Serghiou also said that he hopes NeoBook can inspire others to become entrepreneurs.
“I want to show students if they have an idea that solves a problem… there’s no reason they shouldn’t go and pursue it… We’re so proud that we’ve taken our idea this far,” Serghiou said.
(04/12/16 8:00pm)
By Colleen Murphy and Sydney Shaw
Editor-in-Chief and Managing Editor
After undergoing two investigations by the College this school year, the Theta Delta chapter of Sigma Pi fraternity chose to disassociate from the College in hopes “to achieve a higher level of accomplishment as an independent organization,” according to a press release that can be found on the fraternity’s Facebook page. In turn, the College revoked recognition of the fraternity from the school on Tuesday, March 29, according to College spokesperson Dave Muha.
“This decision was not arrived at lightly,” according to the Sigma Pi press release, which was published on Thursday, March 31. “In the past, the Theta-Delta chapter of Sigma Pi Fraternity has had a good and mutually beneficial relationship with The College of New Jersey and its Office of Student Life. The chapter pursued and achieved its goals year after year with great success. However, recent events have made it clear that The College of New Jersey is intent on becoming destructive of those ends and therefore it is our right and duty to abolish this relationship.”
Those “recent events” stem from two investigations in which Sigma Pi was involved. The Signal first reported on the initial investigation on Nov. 3, 2015.
“On September 30, 2015, TCNJ placed the Theta Delta chapter of Sigma Pi fraternity on interim suspension. The action followed a series of incidents that took place on and off campus,” Muha said. “By terms of the interim suspension, Sigma Pi was prevented from hosting any activities, including social events, recruiting new members and holding chapter meetings.”
According to two representatives of the fraternity who requested to remain anonymous, this suspension was held until the investigation launched by the school surrounding an alleged sexual assault at an off-campus party was completed. According to the representatives, a female had accused a member of the fraternity of sexual assault. Over time, more females came forward alleging that there was sexual harassment at the party, according to the representatives.
After months of investigation by the College’s Office of Student Conduct and Dispute Resolution Services, the allegations of sexual assault and harassment proved to be false, according to the representatives.
However, Sigma Pi was “found responsible for violations of College policy, the most serious of which concerned alcohol and other drug violations. This outcome, which was upheld on appeal, resulted in a suspension of the fraternity through May 20, 2016,” according to Muha.
This suspension of recognition meant that “all activities, student organization-affiliated events and privileges of College and Student Government recognition (were) suspended,” according to the Fraternity & Sorority Life Privileges and Responsibilities packet. The packet outlines the privileges that Sigma Pi lost during this time, which includes the ability to host social events.
This suspension of recognition also required Sigma Pi to have a live-in monitor, provided by its international headquarters, at the fraternity’s off-campus house, according to the representatives. This, along with the loss of the right to hold social events, led Sigma Pi to appeal the sanctions, the two men said.
But while on suspension for those alcohol and/or drug-related violations, the College launched another investigation into Sigma Pi on the grounds of there being “possible violations of the terms of the interim suspension,” according to Muha.
Representatives of Sigma Pi said that this investigation was conducted because the school believed that Sigma Pi was acting as a fraternity by recruiting new members when it should not have been. According to the representatives, Sigma Pi was not acting as a fraternity as was alleged. However, the investigation conducted by the College found that Sigma Pi failed “to comply with directives issued by the College,” Muha said, and this eventually led to the revocation of the fraternity’s recognition.
With each suspension the fraternity received came sanctions for the men to follow, Interim Executive Director of Sigma Pi’s international chapter Jason Walker said.
“The TCNJ administration declined to work in conjunction with the Sigma Pi executive office to address (the) violations (at-hand), and instead imposed sanctions which we felt were excessive and impossible to completely satisfy,” Walker said. “... As a result, after consulting with their alumni, our TCNJ chapter has voted to voluntarily forego recognition as a student organization by the college. The Sigma Pi executive office and international board of directors are working with the chapter to develop a viable and acceptable plan for Sigma Pi to continue at TCNJ without such recognition. At present, these students remain a chartered chapter of Sigma Pi Fraternity, International.”
After Sigma Pi appealed the initial sanctions placed on them for violating rules related to alcohol, they were handed even stricter sanctions in terms of the years they would be placed on deferred suspension, the representatives said. According to the Fraternity & Sorority Life Privileges and Responsibilities packet, a deferred suspension “places the fraternity or sorority on notice that any further violation of College policy during the specified period of time will result in more serious sanctions including suspension or revocation of recognition.”
The representatives of Sigma Pi felt as though the additional sanctions placed on them for violating their suspension guidelines were too hard.
“Once again, we want to reiterate we wanted to work with the school and come to terms with these sanctions that were reasonable, because I think in our eyes, a lot of them, and I’ve talked to other people, were completely unreasonable. And instead of working with us (after being suspended for the findings of the first investigation), (the College) went and conducted another investigation by emailing people… saying, ‘Do you have an interest in Sig Pi?,’” the representatives said. “... And it was one thing after the other, and after the longest time, leaders in our organization, people from our headquarters at nationals, wanted to continue to be on this campus — and we showed the school that we wanted to do so — and they wouldn’t meet us halfway or even take one step out to kind of reach out to us. And they left us with very little options.”
The representatives believe that the College placed the supposed unfair sanctions on Sigma Pi with the hopes of getting them off campus, somehow, someway.
“(Go on the College’s page for Greek life) and it shows you that (getting in trouble for alcohol and membership-related incidents) is a very common thing, so why were we being discriminated against? Which makes me lead to believe that the school, from the start, had a vendetta of getting us off the campus. Whether they saw us too much as a threat, I do think they were worried of us becoming too powerful or something like that,” one of the Sigma Pi representatives said.
According to Muha, though, the school is “confident” that “procedural standards were followed, including a fair and thorough investigation, ample opportunity for the fraternity to be heard in the process and sanctions commensurate with the violations.” Muha also pointed out that the fraternity chose to not participate in the hearing process for the second investigation.
On Saturday, April 9, in response to Sigma Pi’s decision to go independent, the College’s Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life added a new section to its Website on unrecognized organizations. According to the site, as an unrecognized organization of the College, Sigma Pi will “no longer receive the advice, support or active oversight of the College.” The school might also refer to unrecognized organizations as “underground” organizations, the site said.
And even though the fraternity is no longer recognized by the school, students can still be punished for anything that might happen at a Sigma Pi event, and the College has strongly warned students to not involve themselves with Sigma Pi or any other unrecognized organization.
“Involvement with any unrecognized organization can pose a significant risk and students are strongly advised to avoid engagement with these groups,” the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life Website reads. “Individuals who affiliate with unrecognized organizations may be susceptible to participation in activities that violate College policy and should understand that they will be held individually accountable for their actions.”
Representatives of Sigma Pi feel as though saying people shouldn’t hang out with certain groups is in violation of students’ freedom of assembly and only see this as further proof that the College treats the group unfairly. However, now the fraternity is looking forward to continuing its “great tradition,” independent from the College.
“We feel like we have a lot to offer to every single student that comes to this campus. If the administration disagrees, they can disagree, but we want to remind them that it is ultimately the student’s decision of who they want to associate with,” the Sigma Pi representatives said.
According to the fraternity’s representatives, Sigma Pi is aware of the rumors and stereotypes that circulate on social media and on campus — “... people are still making jokes about us… calling us rapist scumbags,” the representatives said — and the fraternity hopes that making the decision to derecognize themselves from the College will help in having the opportunity to quash those rumors.
“I really do want to remind people that rumors are only (rumors). You know, people that talk the most know the least, and I want to remind people that if you think something happened, come talk to someone in Sigma Pi. Get knowledgeable on the issue and know that those words that we’re being associated with in the fall semester were completely falsified. They were just strictly allegations that never came true,” one representative said. “And take a second to realize that you’re talking about individual men on campus, you’re talking about people that go to this school and are very similar to you. And you’re using these accusations and spreading these rumors. It’s crazy to think that it’s not only students, but it’s professors that heard through the grapevine and starting class discussions.”
Students from the College can still choose to join Sigma Pi, but the organization’s philanthropic work done on campus (their philanthropy is suicide prevention and awareness) and participation in school-sanctioned social events, such as Homecoming, will no longer be allowed.
“I think that we recognize that students as individuals and as groups do a lot of great things,” Muha said. “This is not about anything beyond the circumstances that took place in September and then the follow-up from the group throughout the period of the interim suspension.”
(04/12/16 4:29pm)
By Colleen Murphy
Editor-in-Chief
Picture yourself on a treasure hunt. OK, now imagine the “treasure” you’re looking for is not treasure at all, just a knick knack with a piece of paper inside of it to log the date and your name. Oh, and most of the time, you don’t keep what you find. You leave it there for the next person to discover. Sound fun? I promise, it is. It really is.
Geocaching is the perfect activity for all the adventurous nerds out there (like me). Using a GPS, participants can navigate their way to the specific coordinates where someone has hidden a cache. A cache is a container with a piece of paper inside on which people can record their name and the date they found the cache. The containers come in all shapes and sizes. The first one I ever found was a simple, small metal capsule. The second one I found was an R2-D2 toy.
Geocaching has picked up in popularity since it was first created in 2000. To start your search for caches, you must register for free on the Website, geocaching.com. When the site launched 16 years ago, there were 75 known caches in the world. Today, there are more than 1.4 million caches hidden around the world, according to the geocaching Website, and two of those caches can be found right here on the College’s campus.
I first geocached in Ocean City, Md., this summer. I went along the boardwalk, looking behind dumpsters and in front of shops to find the hidden items. It was so much fun and I wondered if there would be any caches for me to find when I got back to school. When I logged onto my Geocache account to see if anybody had ever hidden a cache on campus, I was thrilled to see that in 2011, someone had placed three of them at the College (one has since been taken off the site). So, the other day, my roommate and I embarked on a geocaching adventure to find what the person had hidden.
I first told the site my location. It provided me a list of all the caches in the Ewing area. In fact, there are 22 caches less than two miles from campus. But because I was doing this on-foot and there was a thunderstorm coming, I decided to stick with the two on campus.
I plugged the coordinates of the first cache the site provided me into my phone and our hunt started.
Each cache geocaching.com suggests to you comes with a description of what the item looks like and hints on how to find it. Other participants leave comments on when they found the item and their experiences of the search. Some of those commenters also provide photos of either the cache itself or the surrounding area, and you can use those as help to find the cache. Because I looked at the pictures, the first one was pretty easy to find. Still, it was really exciting to discover this little, tubular novelty that someone has planted as his or her cache. I won’t say where it was, in case you want to go find it yourself, but it was tucked away in a cranny, so you’ll need good eyes to find it. (Note: The site says this cache is “disabled,” but that’s just because the log sheet inside the cache is full — it’s still there to find.)
I wasn’t able to find the second one. My GPS led me to the white gazebo on Lake Ceva. The hints on the Website told me that the cache there is a trinket with a whale on it. My roommate and I looked all over, risking falling into the lake and getting stung by a bee to locate the cache. With the thunderstorm getting closer, we disappointingly had to give up on our search. But I plan to return to find it, so if any of you find it in the meantime, please give me some more hints.
Geocaching is certainly a lot of fun (just ask any of the 4 million people worldwide who do it), and we are lucky enough to have two on our campus for you to start off with. So get out there and join in the ranks of “Jeopardy” champion Ken Jennings, writer Perez Hilton and actors Hugh Jackman, Melissa Joan Hart, Ryan Phillippe and Ruby Rose — all of whom have declared their love for geocaching, according to the geocaching Website. Or, if you don’t want to look like a weirdo looking for something in random places, then hide some more for me so that I can take on that role for you.
(02/23/16 10:02pm)
By Colleen Murphy
Editor-in-Chief
Got milk? Well, if you got it from on campus, it’s probably not the best milk.
On Friday, Feb. 12, I went into the Convenience Store (C-Store) to buy a quart of skim milk. I was so happy to see that there was some left because oftentimes the stock is out. I opened the refrigerator door, put my hand on the milk’s handle and dreamed of my next morning’s bowl of some delicious Life cereal with cold, fresh milk. I then looked at the sell by date and my dreams were crushed. The milk had a sell by date of Tuesday, Feb. 16.
Now, I understand that a sell by date is for a store to know how long a product should be kept on the shelf. I have no fear with using milk for my cereal several days past the sell by date. But still, only four days until that date? The C-Store receives milk shipments on Mondays and Thursdays. This means that the milk was shipped to the school only a day before I went to the store. Why are we getting shipments of milk with only five days for the store to sell it to students?
Yes, a majority of the C-Store’s milk is probably bought by the sell by date, but students should be able to buy milk that is more fresh so that it lasts longer in their dorms.
I knew that four days until the sell by date, plus a few more until the milk actually expired, would not be worth the inflated milk price of the C-Store and there was no way I could finish it in time. Because she was going anyway, my friend was nice enough to pick me up a quart that same Friday from Stop & Shop. The sell by date on that milk? Thursday, Feb. 25. A whole nine days after the milk in the C-Store.
I am now able to safely enjoy my milk for another few days. If I had bought the milk from the C-Store, I would have had to already throw away the excess, soured milk. (Side note: After now having purchased milk from the C-Store for an entire semester, I would confidently say that its milk starts tasting less fresh even before the marked sell by date.)
I was interested in seeing if the quick turnaround for a sell by date was a common occurrence in the C-Store. To investigate, I returned to the store each day there was a new shipment of milk. On Monday, Feb. 16, the quart of skim milk had an expiration date of Friday, Feb. 26. On Thursday, Feb. 18, the quart of skim milk had an expiration date of Feb. 28. These milks had a better sell by date by six days than the original milk I was going to buy — a definite improvement. But still, why can’t Sodexo provide milk for students that has the same freshness as milk sold in the supermarkets?
The C-Store sells milk from Cream-O-Land, a company based out of Florence, N.J. Do other brands breed cows that supply better milk? (Sorry to question your lactating abilities, cows.) Are stores selling us the milk they haven’t yet sold but see the approaching sell by date and still want to make some money off of it? Something’s up and it’s an utter disgrace.
A first-class institution doesn’t deserve second-class milk. So do I “got milk?” Yeah, I do, but from a store that sells milk that doesn’t spoil before I finish the carton.
Students share opinions around campus
Does the C-Store sell fresh food?
“The only thing I’d eat there is the yogurt (and other snacks)... it’s not my go-to place for food."
“I think the quality is fine... I would only say that the prices are a little high.”
(02/17/16 3:15am)
By Colleen Murphy Editor-in-Chief
Goldfish, Pretzel Thins and Milano cookies are just some of the products that you will no longer find on campus in the near future. These, along with all other Pepperidge Farm products sold on campus, will not be shipped to the College due to regulatory issues, according to Patrice Mendes, Sodexo’s general manager at the College.
Sodexo had been purchasing directly from Pepperidge Farm and according to Mendes, like all companies that sell products on campus, Pepperidge Farm had to pass Sodexo’s strict requirements in order to have their products on campus.
“We have certain criteria for the vendors we use in all our locations. Approved vendors pass strict requirements, such as having a (hazard analysis and critical control points)-approved facility for production and delivery,” Mendes said. “It is not that any aspects were not up to par, but rather that (Pepperidge Farm) had not yet begun the verification process as required to be approved (to be a vendor for Sodexo at the College). I would not want to imply the facilities are in any way substandard, as I do not believe they are. Completing the process allows us to verify and document that their facilities are in compliance.”
Bread is a staple in senior special education and women’s and gender studies double major Ashley Doctor’s diet, and she was quite frustrated to not find bread in the store until recently.
“I’m happy that Sodexo finally got replacements, but I think the response took too long and the lack of communication with the student body was unfair,” Doctor said. “I went into the (Convenience Store) C-Store and asked almost weekly what was happening to the delivery, but no one had any answers for me.”
According to Mendes, Sodexo does plan on bringing Pepperidge Farm products back to campus.
“We are working with our vendor to remedy this situation, and be assured they are as eager to return as we are to have them back. The process is not quick and requires verification of processes and inspections of facilities,” Mendes said.
Until the products return, Sodexo has found other companies from which to buy products. Last week, bread from an approved provider found its return to C-Store shelves. On Monday, Feb. 15, cookies were scheduled to be delivered to replace the rows that Pepperidge Farm products once held.
While Mendes said that she is unsure of when Pepperidge Farm products will be approved to return to the College, she assures students that there will continue to be similar products available in the interim.
(02/09/16 8:32pm)
By Colleen Murphy
Editor-in-Chief
After over 28 years of work at the College, Director of Student Activities Tim Asher retired from his position on Friday, Feb. 5, according to an email sent out to the College community by Vice President for Student Affairs Amy Hecht on Tuesday, Feb. 2.
“Over the course of Tim’s 28 (plus) year tenure at TCNJ, he enhanced many co-curricular learning opportunities for our students, and created new opportunities that positively impacted many students personally,” Hecht wrote. “His work with Welcome Week, Senior Week and advising student organizations has left its mark on the campus, including his leadership of the ‘Here for Home’ effort following Hurricane Sandy.”
According to Hecht, for the short-term, Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs Elizabeth Bapasola will be taking on the responsibilities that Asher had. However, the College plans to hire a new director of student activities in the near future.
“There will be a national search for a director that will be conducted sometime either this spring semester or summer. At this point, we are still working out those details,” Hecht said.
The College did not host a retirement party to celebrate Asher on his career, as per Asher’s request, according to Hecht’s email. However, she did want to let the campus community know how much Asher’s work impacted students and faculty during his time here.
“I would like to publicly thank Tim for his tireless efforts on behalf of TCNJ students. I know that many alumni and current students have had an incredible TCNJ experience because of his hard work,” Hecht wrote in the email. “Please join me in thanking Tim for his contributions to our TCNJ community and wishing him well in his future pursuits.”
(02/09/16 8:32pm)
By Colleen Murphy
Editor-in-Chief
The typing on keyboards and the whirring of the Library Cafe’s coffee machine is heard in the background. Occasionally, the phone behind the Reference Desk goes off. Sitting behind the desk to answer the phone is Lisa Roe. Within just a 40-minute period, students ask the librarian where to locate a children’s book, how to navigate the library database and how to narrow down book searches. And she has the answers.
The College’s library is home to 15 full-time, tenure-track librarians, as well as three part-time librarians, including Roe. With their diverse backgrounds, the librarians are equipped with knowledge that can help students, faculty and the public find books, better their research abilities and keep them updated on the library’s resources.
Ask any librarian at the College what led them to their career and you might be surprised to hear of their paths because for many, it seems to have been a circuitous route.
Library Dean Taras Pavlovsky has been in his current position since 2001, after serving as the College’s music and media subject librarian since 1995. But Pavlovsky originally went to school to study chemical engineering. After graduation, he spent his time as an amateur musician, eventually going to graduate school for musicology. It was there, during his time working in subject librarian since 1995. But Pavlovsky originally went to school to study chemical engineering. After graduation, he spent his time as an amateur musician, eventually going to graduate school for musicology. It was there, during his time working in a music library, that he realized that he wanted to enter librarianship because, after all, “librarians had more fun.”
Like Pavlovsky, many of the librarians at the College have degrees in multiple fields. And while there is no requirement in the number of fields the librarians had to major or complete their graduate studies in, they all must have at least a masters in library science from an accredited program to be qualified to work at the College, Pavlovsky said.
“Many, especially private research institutions, hire librarians who don’t have librarian degrees,” Pavlovsky said. “They’re super subject specialists and they’ve worked in research, but they haven’t necessarily (earned a library degree). I couldn’t hire somebody like that if I wanted to.”
According to Pavlovsky, of the 15 full-time librarians at the College, 11 of them work in the public sphere. The other four are technical services librarians who work more behind-the-scenes. Of those 11 public librarians, eight are subject librarians who have specialized backgrounds in or around the subjects they oversee.
Assistant Director for Public Services Maureen Gorman is the life sciences librarian, meaning she looks over the subjects of biology and nursing. She has been a librarian since 1983 and has been working at the College since 1987.
Gorman was a biology major as an undergraduate student and earned her master’s degree in ecology before earning a second master’s degree in library sciences.
“I knew by the time I was at the end of that degree, a PhD wasn’t (my next step), but I knew I wanted to be a part of an academic community, and a library degree was a way I could use my science background and still be a part of an academic community,” Gorman said. “It’s just a different world from being a scientist or a professor.”
As both Gorman and Pavlovsky noted, there are not as many subject librarians as there are majors at the College. That is why subject librarians often have at least two subjects that they head. Erin Ackerman is the subject librarian for six different subjects but is currently on leave. To fill her position until she returns, Pavlovsky said that he looked through the résumés of the librarians to see who could help pick up her work while she is out. Anybody who had a background in a related subject was asked to take on some of Ackerman’s responsibilities.
According to Pavlovsky, subject librarians have three main duties for their respective areas of study: collection development, such as the acquiring of print books, electronic books or journal subscriptions; information literacy and the answering of specialized reference questions.
On top of these responsibilities, all 15 librarians will spend time at the reference desk on the first floor to answer people’s questions. Some even teach classes, including a couple from the Freshmen Seminar Program. And like any other faculty member hired by the College, librarians are “required to maintain an active research agenda and research publication agenda,” Pavlovsky said.
Becoming a librarian at the College can be a highly competitive process. According to Pavlovsky, the most successful searches usually yield 75 to 90 applicants. But sometimes there will be 120 or 130 applicants per position, which can make the selection a bit harder, he said. Occasionally, the library won’t receive enough applications and the search has to be conducted again.
“We have great people here. Great, great people. A key to that is running a good search,” he said.
While Pavlovsky misses having more of the face-to-face interactions with library patrons, he can now have the satisfaction knowing that, as an administrator, he helped the library get to where it is today.
“I’m certainly proud of the institution that the library has become... In my opinion, the most important job (for deans) is to shape the body of their faculty. I take that very seriously. I’m not taking credit for the folks being good, but I’ll take some of the credit for them being here,” Pavlovsky said.
The librarians seem to be fond of their job, as well, particularly because of the one-on-one interactions they have with students.
“I really like the students here. I find them polite, intelligent… I think the TCNJ students are terrific. I truly do believe that… Plus, it’s such a beautiful space,” said Roe, who is in her 12th year at the College.
Senior political science major Francesca Buarne is just one of the many students that a librarian at the College was able to help. Last school year, Buarne needed some guidance in narrowing down the broad question she had for her 30-page research paper and went to Ackerman for assistance.
“(Ackerman) not only helped me narrow down the topic, but also helped me find proper resources to complete the paper,” Buarne said. “She printed a list of articles, books and online journals that I could look at to help me complete the large research paper. She also followed up with me to make sure I found what I needed. My experience with the librarian was very, very helpful and very eye-opening... Overall, meeting with my librarian was a positive experience that really helped meet my goals on writing my lengthy research paper.”
The success that Buarne found with Ackerman is an example of why Gorman also noted her work with students as being her favorite part of the position.
“I really do enjoy working with the students. It’s one of those things that may sound a little trite, but to know, ‘OK, there was somebody who needed help getting where they’re going,’ and being able to do that is satisfying,” Gorman said.
(12/01/15 9:28pm)
By Colleen Murphy
Managing Editor
• A wallet was stolen from the Campus Town gym sometime between 5:30 p.m. and 6:50 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 10, according to Campus Police. The student placed her wallet on the elliptical machine she was using and accidentally left it there when she went back to her dorm. When she realized she had left her wallet at the gym, she returned and looked around, but could not find it. The wallet and its contents were valued at $120, including $40 in cash, police said.
• Campus Police saw a student riding in a vehicle on C Street holding a plastic bag up to his face as if vomiting on Saturday, Nov. 15. The same male was then seen on I Street, where police approached him at 12:39 a.m. Police said that the male seemed to be sick from having too much to drink. The student had vomit on his pajama pants and T-shirt and was holding a yellow plastic bag full of vomit. TCNJ EMS arrived to evaluate the student who said he had consumed several beers at an off-campus party on Pennington Road. According to police, the student was issued an underage drinking summons.
• Campus Police were dispatched to Centennial Hall at 3 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 15, in reference to an intoxicated male. Another student had already carried the intoxicated male from the first floor bathroom into his dorm room, where police observed the male lying on his bed, apparently intoxicated. TCNJ EMS also arrived to evaluate the student. According to police reports, the student had four shots of Bacardi Rum at an unknown location before going to a party, and then had three shots of Everclear and three cups of Jungle Juice while at the party. The student was unsure of how he got back to Centennial Hall. Police said they issued the student an underage drinking summons.
• Campus Police were dispatched to Wolfe Hall to meet with a community advisor (CA) who had reportedly seen a student exit the hall’s elevator with what she believed to be a bag of marijuana. When the CA asked the student what was in the Ziploc bag, the student said “oregano” and exited the elevator. Police met with the student in question and the CA in the hallway of a seventh floor room where the student removed a Ziploc bag containing “a green leafy vegetation believed to be marijuana” from his left pocket. According to police, the student was placed under arrest.
• An unknown liquid was poured onto a student’s car parked in Lot 13 sometime between 2 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 12, and Saturday, Nov. 14, Campus Police said. The car was parked on the second floor, near the elevator area, and the liquid was poured on the car’s hood, windshield, roof and driver side door handle. There is no monetary damage to the vehicle and the student will wash off the fluid. Police took photos and told the student to contact them if the vehicle was damaged further, reports said.
Anyone with information can contact Campus Police at 609-771-2345.
(12/01/15 9:13pm)
By Colleen Murphy Managing Editor
Friday, Nov. 13, was a normal day for most students at the College. At around 3 p.m., some students might have still been sitting in class, packing to go home for the weekend or even getting ready to see Dave Coulier talk that night in Mayo Concert Hall. Friday, Nov. 13, was a completely different type of day for the four students from the College who were studying abroad in Paris, France. While at 3 p.m., the College community was starting to wind down for the weekend, it was 9 p.m. in Paris, and the students studying there were about to experience a world-changing event first-hand.
Between 9:20 p.m. and 9:53 p.m. that day, eight coordinated terrorist attacks were orchestrated throughout Paris. The news shocked the world, including students on the College’s campus, but for the students from the College who were spending the semester in Paris, the attacks hit on an extremely personal level.
Junior psychology major Ashley Demoleas and junior communication studies major Laura DeLucia shared an apartment in the same district where most of the attacks took place.
“The Bataclan theater, where the hostage situation occurred, was down the street next to my own (street). The shootings at Republique were a 15 minute metro ride from my apartment. The Stade de France was a bit further, but only about 20 minutes away by car,” DeLucia said. “I started to get really scared when I realized the attacks were happening right where I lived in areas myself and other young people often frequented.”
According to Demoleas, before all the information had been verified, it was believed that there was a shooting at the metro stop on the two students’ block. However, this was later found to be false.
The program in which Demoleas and DeLucia studied abroad through had actually organized a trip for all its students to the France-Germany game in the Stade de France, where three suicide bombs were detonated. The two friends had forgotten about the scheduled game and booked a trip to Germany for the weekend instead, and so were not in Paris for the attacks.
“We didn’t know what was happening at first, and didn’t understand the extent to which the attacks would happen... What terrified me was when I realized the soccer game that was attacked was the one that all my friends were at,” DeLucia said. “I immediately texted them in a panic while I started receiving texts and phone calls from friends, family and our program leaders. It was a chaotic few hours and it felt like every hour there was news of more attacks, deaths and threats. Thankfully, everyone in my program made it out of the stadium and back to their homes safely.”
A third student from the College who was studying in Paris was one of those to make it out of the stadium safely. Junior psychology major Margaret Cyr-Ohngemach said that she heard the bombs go off while in the stadium, but everyone remained calm, unsure of what exactly had happened or what was going on in other areas of the city.
After leaving the stadium, it took Cyr-Ohngemach and her friends two hours to get home because of the blockades of ambulances and police in the areas where people had been killed.
“We were all walking with our friends in a large group, but quickly,” Cyr-Ohngemach said. “We suddenly heard shouting and I look into the direction we are walking and masses of people are running and screaming back in the direction we were walking... So we had a split second to turn around, as there were people being trampled. There was a definite air of uneasiness and fear, you could almost smell it. Everyone was on edge.”
Cara Silvestri, a junior international business and marketing double major, was the fourth student studying abroad in Paris this semester. She, too, was not in Paris at the time of the attacks. However, she says that even while she was spending that weekend in London, she was living in a heightened sense of caution. When she returned to Paris on Monday, Silvestri said that the city had a different atmosphere than when she had left it.
“When I got to Paris, everything was very tense. It was quieter, and there were policemen with their guns out everywhere… It was kind of really hard, and I had to go to class and I didn’t really want to so I just felt very uncomfortable that whole day,” said Silvestri, who had spent a night at the Bataclan just two weeks prior to the attacks. “The rest of that week, it slowly started to get better. All the Parisians are taking it well so we are taking comfort from them.”
Demoleas also said that time and the Parisians’ unity helped comfort her upon her return home from Germany.
“The Parisian people have reacted to the attacks defiantly,” Demoleas said. “For me, personally, the attacks definitely frightened me right after they occurred. The first time I took the metro after the attacks, I was so paranoid that I started tearing because a man was walking too close behind me. At first you’re so skeptical of every single person you see and every bag that’s placed on the floor, but as a few days passed, it all faded very quickly… I feel like people assume that it’s chaotic over here, but honestly it seems as though nothing’s changed.”
DeLucia also recognized the resilience that Parisians have and thinks that it will help in strengthening the people’s spirits for the future.
“Although I felt Paris was different after the attacks, the unity and strength that the people of Paris displayed after the attacks amazed me,” DeLucia said. “There’s no doubt in my mind that Paris will recover from this terrible tragedy and come out stronger than before.”
According to the College’s Center for Global Engagement’s Director Jon Stauff, the College let the students decide whether to stay in Paris or come home early and finish their exams on campus. While Silvestri and Cyr-Ohngemach decided to finish their exams in Paris, DeLucia and Demoleas returned to America to finish their classes.
“Deciding to leave Paris was extremely hard. I fell in love with the city and loved everything about living life there. There’s truly no other place like it in the world. What made me come home was my own fear, but mostly the fear of my family and friends,” DeLucia said. “Although I wanted to stay for the last three weeks of my program, the risk of being in Europe was too great... I felt it wouldn’t be the same experience, and I decided it would just be better to be home.”
Leaving Paris was also a hard decision for Demoleas to make.
“I wanted nothing more than to stay in Paris for the rest of the semester. After the attacks, Paris seemed like the safest city to be in, in Europe,” Demoleas said. “No one knows if, when or where the next attack will be, so with the heightened security in Paris, it doesn’t feel unsafe or unstable by any means. But my parents have been freaking out and dying to get me home and the easiest solution to keep them sane was to comply.”
While Silvestri says that she no longer feels safe in Paris, she decided to stay because she is travelling enough where she won’t be staying in the city too often.
“My ticket to come home is the 23rd of December, but judging by how my parents feel, I might come home a couple days after my exams are over, which is the 10th,” Silvestri said. “My dad actually really, really wanted me to come home. I felt bad saying no, but I think he overall understood.”
Cyr-Ohngemach also decided to stay in the country.
“It comes down to that I really like living here,” she said.
According to Stauff, because students who were studying abroad in other countries happened to be visiting Paris for the weekend, the College had to work with the international institutions to ensure that all students in Europe were safe and accounted for.
The Center for Global Engagement will use the attacks in Paris to evaluate the safety of the country, like the center does for every destination each year.
“We are certainly concerned with world issues. We have a wide variety of sources of information to provide us with information about safety and security, including from the U.S. Department of State,” Stauff said. “I think it’s fair to say that we have terrorist incidents over the past 15 years in Spain, France, England, Germany, Italy, and I’ve just given you the top five destinations for TCNJ’s study abroad students. We weigh each relationship we have with our international partners.
“Individually, we ask our partners about concerns they may have. We ask for annual security updates to find out what crime may have been reported in the midst of our study abroad partner institutions in a given year. We are not going to send our students to a war zone… But it’s a very fluid situation from one year to the next and we’re going to continue to monitor each and every location where we send students. We will shut down certain locations if we don’t feel it’s safe, as we have done in Mexico over the past several years. And we will give the student as much information so that she or he can make an informed decision about where they will choose to go.”
Stauff pointed out that last year, the College had 29 of its students in the same part of Madrid that witnessed one of the biggest terrorist attacks in recent history in 2004.
“(The attack) was on March 11 in the train station Alcalá, yet this is a place that is relatively suburban, very safe and our students are very happy there. So situations change over time, and we monitor them and make the best decisions we can,” Stauff said.
Stauff also said that limiting where students can study based on attacks like the ones in Paris can be seen as hypocritical.
“I’ll be really honest with you, we had 9/11 in our backyard, and for us to say that we don’t want to send students to certain parts of the world, at the same time encouraging students to come to New Jersey to study with us, it would cast us in a hypocritical light,” Stauff said.
Both Demoleas and Silvestri compared the Paris attacks to the attacks that occurred on 9/11, with Silvestri saying that she can imagine that the sense of unity that Parisians had to muster after their city’s attacks, even with the constant thought of another potential attack, was similar to how America reacted after 9/11. All four agreed that experiencing terrorism so close to home definitely had a huge impact on their lives.
“Time has helped. I don’t know how to put this into words, just, it was a very scary experience then, but it got better,” Silvestri said. “I’m trying to see the good in it. Walking down the street, you still find people coming out and about and really enjoying life and after all that’s happened, you really have to appreciate that and not take anything for granted.”
(11/17/15 8:54pm)
By Colleen Murphy
Managing Editor
• A $300 set of Bose headphones was stolen from the Career Center between 1:30 p.m. and 5:10 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 26, Campus Police said. The headphones were attached to a hook on the outside of a student’s backpack, which the student placed outside one of the Career Center’s doors. The student realized the headphones were missing after he returned to his dorm room, police said.
• A load of laundry totaling $1,175 was stolen from a dryer on the fourth floor of Decker Hall between 7:45 p.m. and 8:50 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 30, Campus Police reported. The load of laundry contained various types of clothes, and when the student went to retrieve her property, saw that the dryer door was open and that the clothes were gone, police said.
• A bicycle was stolen from a bike rack outside of Hausdoerffer Hall, according to Campus Police. The bike, which was unsecured, was taken between 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 3, and 11 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 6. The owner was unsure of the make, model or value of the bike, but described it as a dark green and blue seven speed mountain bike with a rear rack and a light under the seat, according to police reports.
• A student employee of the Campus Town gym had his textbook stolen between 5:50 p.m. and 8:10 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 6, Campus Police said. The student placed the book, “Physical Chemistry: The Chemical and Biological Science,” behind the main desk 30 minutes after his shift began. Ten minutes after his shift ended, the student realized he had forgotten the book. When he returned to retrieve it, it was gone. The textbook is valued at $133, police said.
• A wallet was stolen from a bag inside of the Campus Town gym locker room on Tuesday, Nov. 10, between 3:45 p.m. and 5:20 p.m., Campus Police reported. The student placed his backpack inside an unlocked locker, and when he returned to it after working out, the front pocket of the backpack was open and the student’s wallet was missing. The student asked the gym’s staff if they had found it, but they said they had not. The wallet and its contents are valued at $145, Campus Police said.
• A tote bag was stolen from a cubby in the Campus Town gym on Saturday, Oct. 31, between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m., according to Campus Police. The Longchamp bag, which was valued at $150, along with all its contents, including an Apple iPhone charger, a pair of yoga pants and a personal can of pepper spray, totaled $218.50 in stolen items, police said.
• A suspicious person in the area of Roscoe West Hall was reported to Campus Police at 3:22 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 30, police reports said. A Career Center employee called police after seeing the male rummaging through a desk in one of the rooms. The employee said that the male was about to look through a purse when the suspect quickly left the room and building. The suspect was last seen walking toward the direction of the library, so police searched for the male in the library and the surrounding area of Roscoe West Hall. A male matching the description of the suspect was soon seen walking away from the Education Building and past Centennial Hall. Police stopped the accused on the walkway and, after getting his name, found that the suspect had an active warrant out of Lawrence Township. For this, the suspect was placed under arrest and issued with summonses for criminal attempt to commit theft and hindering apprehension. Lawrence Township police were notified of the male’s arrest and picked him up from the College for transportation to Lawrence Township police headquarters, Campus Police said.
• Campus Police saw a female who appeared to be intoxicated in the basement of Decker Hall at 1 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 1, according to police. TCNJ EMS was notified and arrived to evaluate the student. The female was issued a summons for underage drinking, police said.
Anyone with information can contact Campus Police at 609-771-2345.
(11/03/15 9:27pm)
By Colleen Murphy
Managing Editor
• Campus Police reported 14 incidents of underage drinking summonses that were issued on Homecoming Day, Saturday, Oct. 24, between noon and 4 p.m. A 15th student was given an underage drinking summons later that night, at 11:50 p.m. in Lot 14, Campus Police said. Eleven of the summonses were issued in Lot 4, one was given outside of the Brower Student Center’s women’s bathroom, while another was given in Lot 5 and another was issued in Lot 6, police reported.
• A student was charged with allegedly assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest during Homecoming festivities on Saturday, Oct. 24, at 2:35 p.m., according to Campus Police. An officer met with an intoxicated student and TCNJ EMS in Lot 5, and while interviewing the student, smelled a strong odor of alcohol emanating from the male’s body and breath. When the officer asked how much alcohol the student had consumed, the male responded “numerous amounts of beer at an off-campus party.” Then, the student got up and started running from the police. Two officers chased after the student across Lot 5 until one of the officers caught up with the male. The student then punched the officer in the face, causing injury, Campus Police said. Campus Police were assisted by NJ State Police, and the student was transported to Campus Police Headquarters for processing, police said. According to reports, the student was also given a summons for underage drinking.
• A student had his wallet stolen from the Campus Town gym between 3 p.m. and 4:15 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 26, Campus Police said. The student had placed his wallet inside one of the gym’s cubbies, and when he realized it had been taken as he was working out, he searched for the wallet in the surrounding area with negative results. The student was advised by police to cancel his credit cards. At this time, there are no suspects. The wallet was valued at $29, Campus Police said.
• A College-owned golf cart that was parked behind Wolfe Hall was damaged on Saturday, Oct. 24, sometime between 3:15 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., according to Campus Police. During the 15 minutes that the employee parked the cart outside, the rear metal bar that holds up the roof of the cart was broken, and it appeared as though someone either cut or broke the bar intentionally, police said. However, it is still unknown what exactly caused the damage, according to police reports.
• A student had decorative car eyelashes stolen from her Volkswagen Bug sometime between 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 22, and 6:30 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 23, as the car was parked in the first space to the right of the exit gates in Lot 13, Campus Police said. The student realized the eyelashes were missing from her headlights once she arrived at work. While one eyelash was partially gone, the other one was completely removed. The decorations are valued at $40. There are no cameras in the parking lot and there were no witnesses, Campus Police said.
• An officer spotted a green spray-painted heart on a garbage can between the Brower Student Center and Packer Hall on Thursday, Oct. 22, at 3:40 a.m., Campus Police said. No other graffiti was found in the area, and Building Services was called to remove the paint, according to police.
Anyone with information can contact Campus Police at 609-771-2345.
(10/27/15 4:52pm)
By Colleen Murphy Managing Editor
Senior health and exercise science major Victoria Kerr knew she wanted to have a job while in college. So while she was getting ready to attend the College four years ago, she applied to several on-campus jobs.
One of the jobs she applied to was to be a box office cashier for the Center for the Arts. The employer emailed Kerr asking to have an interview and a few days after they spoke, Kerr heard back from the Center of the Arts — she had gotten the job.
For four years now, Kerr has sold tickets to students, faculty, staff and the public for concerts and dances; handled the phone and answered any questions that patrons might have had, either in the Don Evans Black Box Theater, Mildred and Ernest E. Mayo Concert Hall or Kendall Hall Main Stage Theater.
“I enjoy dealing with the public,” Kerr said. “Our events can generate large crowds which sometimes proves to be a challenge, but usually everything comes together nicely by the end of the night, and patrons are satisfied with their experience.”
Kerr is one of the more than 1,100 student workers that the College employs each year, and according to Student Employment Coordinator Vilja Casey, the work that all those students do is integral to running the College.
“Without many of the student workers, the positions would have to be filled with full-time workers,” Casey said, pointing out that the number of students employed by the school is probably larger than the College’s full-time employee payroll. “They’re very important to the running of the institution. We are very proud of our student workers. They do such a good job.”
While a great deal of students would like to have an on-campus job, and thus, have a role in helping to keep the College running smoothly, the reality is that many of them who apply for employment at the school will not receive it. The hiring process for student employment is a competitive one, especially for entry level jobs. In fact, office assistants — the most sought after position at the College — can receive anywhere from 200 to 300 applications for one open position, Casey said.
According to Casey, office assistant positions are the first to fill up because they do not require specific skills, such as knowing another language if you are an oral proficiency hour leader, or knowing how to save someone from drowning if you work as lifeguard.
A job’s skill level dictates how much a student earns, Casey said. Entry level jobs pay the minimum wage, which is currently $8.38, and then there are three more pay levels of $9.25, $10.25 and $11.25.
While there are about 1,100 student workers getting paid by the College and another 168 getting paid through federal work study grants, there are actually 1,400 on-campus student jobs, according to Casey. This difference of roughly 100 student employees from the positions available is due to the fact that students can work more than one job.
According to Casey, the College does not have a limit on the number of jobs a student can hold. They do, however, cap the number of hours a student can work at all of their jobs, combined, at 15 hours a week. This is to make up for the fact that some jobs only call for an hour or two of work per week. And as Casey pointed out, there have been reports conducted by the National Survey of Student Engagement that working 15 hours a week while in college can positively impact students’ grades.
Getting hired to even at least one job, again, is a competitive process, and Casey recommends that students apply to as many jobs as for which they deem themselves qualified. Still, Casey said that she has had students apply for over 20 jobs and who have not heard anything back from any of the potential employers.
Casey recognizes this lack of response as something that can be improved upon and says that she does encourage the employers to inform students of their application status.
“I feel bad when (students) come to me and say, ‘How long should I wait?’ Well, you haven’t received a letter or a phone call by now, then probably you didn’t get the job. And I hope that a student who has been interviewed and didn’t get the job, (is told by a) student employer that they didn’t get the job,” Casey said. “That’s also a part of the real world — very often they don’t answer you unless you got the job. It’s kind of a real-world experience.”
In fact, according to a study conducted in 2013 by CareerBuilder.com, a website for job searching, among 3,991 employees included in the survey, 60 percent said they don’t hear back from a potential employer after an interview.
Still, the College recognizes that students are not yet in the “real-world,” and so departments are reminded to reply to their applicants if it is feasible. For example, it would be virtually impossible to send a personalized note to all 200 applicants for an office assistant job.
“This is a college campus, (employers) know this is a learning experience,” Casey said.
Junior psychology major Caitlin Nehila applied to almost 20 jobs during the summer coming into her freshman year. She did not hear back from any of the positions and believes that receiving constructive feedback would actually have been a greater learning experience.
“If I applied for something and they don’t like me they could at least say what I could do to improve my application,” Nehila said. “Not hearing anything back deters me from applying to any more jobs.”
Nehila also suggested that capping the number of applicants to a job might make for a more efficient, fair system. If no student in the first batch of applicants fit the bill for the employers, the position can be reopened on the online portal. This, she said, would save students’ and employers’ time.
Apart from the potential benefit of a higher GPA that working while in college has proven to provide, Casey says that the networking, sense of being involved on campus and résumé boost are also important factors to consider when deciding whether to apply for or accept an on-campus job.
“There are some students who never really worked in high school, and we encourage them to get an on-campus job because you need something on your résumé other than great grades,” Casey said.
The number of jobs available at any one time varies greatly. According to Casey, there were about 80 positions listed at the beginning of the academic school year. As of Monday, Oct. 26, there were 17 job openings to students, and Casey recommends that students apply because of all the benefits that working can have for them.
Kerr agrees with this, saying that having her cashier job has benefited her future self.
“Working on campus has taught me a lot of skills and given me years of experience,” Kerr said. “...Without a doubt, a lot of the experience I gained will be useful in future endeavors after I graduate from TCNJ.”
(10/27/15 4:51pm)
By Colleen Murphy Managing Editor
• Police found graffiti on one of the columns between the soccer stadium and track on Thursday, Oct. 15, at 4:05 a.m., Campus Police reported. The markings were done using red spray paint. No other graffiti was found in the area, police said.
• An Eickhoff Hall worker’s car was damaged sometime between 6 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 14, Campus Police said. When the worker’s shift ended, she returned to her vehicle that she had parked in one of the designated spots on E Street and saw that her rear window was shattered. The car’s owner did not see any object in or around the vehicle that could have caused the damage, which totaled $250, Campus Police said.
• A gym bag was stolen from a Campus Town Fitness Center cubby on Thursday, Oct. 15, between 3:40 p.m. and 4:40 p.m., according to Campus Police. When the student went to retrieve the bag after his workout and did not see it, he told a front desk employee and searched the gym for the bag with negative results. The bag and its contents were valued at $180, police said.
• While on foot patrol on the Green Lane Fields on Friday, Oct. 16, at 12:17 a.m., Campus Police saw four females standing in a circle next to one of the fields, holding a flashlight. As the officer approached the scene, he illuminated his flashlight onto the group and one of the women asked, “Who’s there?” The officer did not respond and walked closer. Another woman again asked, “Who’s there?” The officer reached the group and saw one of the students holding an open white Apple iPhone box that contained what was believed to be marijuana in a Ziploc bag. The student was placed under arrest and issued a summons, Campus Police said.
• A man was seen trying to pry open a Pepsi-labeled refrigerator in Armstrong Hall on Sunday, Oct. 18, at 4:10 p.m., Campus Police said. After failing to do so, the suspect “hastily left the area,” a witness reported to police. When police arrived on the scene, they found that the door had been partially pried away from the lock and tracking along the bottom, but police were able to push the doors back to their locked position. No drinks appeared to have been taken and police could not locate the suspect in or around the building. According to police reports, the man was described as being six feet tall with a dark beard that was about one to two inches long. He was last seen wearing a dark blue T-shirt and gray sweatpants.
• An intoxicated student was found vomiting in a Travers Hall men’s bathroom at 1:25 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 18, Campus Police reported. When police arrived, they observed the student sitting in a chair and as having “glassy, bloodshot eyes and slurred speech.” Police discovered that the student had actually been written up earlier that night by Residential Life after he was found intoxicated in the hallway. When the male was later found around a toilet, Campus Police were called. According to police, the student had six shots of vodka in his room. He was cleared by TCNJ EMS and refused further medical treatment. The student then voluntarily turned over one half-full 1.75 liter bottle of Burnett’s Blue Raspberry Vodka, which was emptied and disposed of by police. According to Campus Police, the student was issued a summons for underage drinking.
• Graffiti that read “FUCK GREEK LIFE” was seen by Campus Police at 9:15 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 21, according to police reports. The writing was completed with green spray paint and was found on the black temporary walkway between the Brower Student Center and Social Sciences Building. Police said that no other graffiti was found in the area and that a work order was placed to remove the writing.
• Police were called to assist TCNJ EMS with an intoxicated student in a sixth floor Travers Hall bathroom at 3:10 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 21, police reports said. Police met with a community advisor who said he contacted police after he heard vomiting coming from the bathroom. Police said that the intoxicated male consumed about five shots of vodka while in Town Houses South earlier that night. The student was issued a summons for underage drinking, police said.
Anyone with information can contact Campus Police at 609-771-2345.
(10/20/15 4:52pm)
By Colleen Murphy
Managing Editor
• A wire-reinforced window of an exit door in Packer Hall was believed to be damaged by the crown of a football helmet of an opposing football team member sometime between 9:30 a.m. and noon on Saturday, Oct. 10, Campus Police said. The damage was discovered by a member of the College’s athletic staff as he checked the locker room facilities to ensure everyone was out for the football game’s noon start time. According to Campus Police, Wesley College’s football team was the only group to have used that area of Packer Hall during the time the damaged occurred. The crack had a “spider-web like pattern,” was approximately 18 to 24 inches in size and “consistent with a circular/curved object that had struck the window to crack and bulge outward in a curved fashion,” police reports said.
• An intoxicated, sleeping student was found in the hallway of room 209 in the Recreation Center on Thursday, Oct. 7, at 8:10 a.m., Campus Police said. Police woke the student, who had “a strong odor of alcohol emanating from his breath.” According to police, the student, who had no shoes or socks on, said he was unsure of how he arrived in the building or how long he had been there. Police checked the outer doors to see how the student could have entered the building and room without the swipe access they require and found that a rear door was propped open with a shoe while room 209’s office was propped open with a sign. The student told police he had been at an off-campus party where he consumed some whiskey. According to Campus Police, the student was issued a summons for underage drinking.
• Campus Police were called to Townhouses South at 10:15 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 7, after a community advisor smelled marijuana coming from the third floor of one of the buildings. As police ascended the stairs to the top floor, the smell of burnt marijuana got stronger. When police got to the top floor, they asked the people who were in the common area where the smell was coming from, but did not get an answer. Police reported that the smell did not appear to be coming from any of the open rooms and that they could hear people from behind a closed door, so they knocked on it. Campus Police announced their identity and knocked again. A male voice from behind the door said, “I’m not getting up, come in,” Campus Police reported. Police opened the unlocked door and again identified themselves. While standing in the hallway with the door now open, police saw five people in the room and a tall water pipe and a marijuana grinder on the table in the middle of the room. On top of the dresser was a small ZipLoc bag with “a green, leafy substance believed to be marijuana” and a small black scale. A bottle of vodka was on the floor, next to the table. Campus Police escorted one of the males and the evidence to police headquarters for arrest processing under the charges of possession of both marijuana under 50 grams and drug paraphernalia.
• A couple of items were burned in the unisex bathroom in the basement of Norsworthy Hall sometime between 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 30, and 8:10 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 1, according to Campus Police. During that time, the bottom of a hand soap dispenser and about 1.5 inches of the plastic handle were burned. Additionally, the bottom of the window blind appeared to be burned, as well, and had soot on it about 1-inch wide, Campus Police said.
• A case of a stolen identity was reported to Campus Police on Thursday, Oct. 1, at 3 p.m. The victim requested a copy of her credit report from freecreditreport.com on that same day, and upon reviewing it, noticed a discrepancy in the report, police said. The report showed that she had opened an account with DTE Energy in Detroit, Mich., in June, which the victim said she never did. The victim confirmed with the energy company that the account was active and had utilized her name and social security number. The victim was told to notify Campus Police of any other information.
• Between 10 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 1, and 6 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 2, a 13-inch Apple MacBook Pro laptop was stolen from the Centennial lounge, Campus Police said. The student left the laptop unattended when he realized he left his phone in his dorm room and went to retrieve it. The student then fell asleep in his room, forgetting that he left his laptop in the lounge. When he woke up the next morning, realized the laptop was missing and went to the lounge to get it, the laptop was gone. Campus Police value the laptop at $1,700.
• Police were dispatched to Travers Hall at 12:35 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 4, after a report came in of an intoxicated female in the third floor women’s bathroom. Campus Police said they met with TCNJ EMS and saw the student in the bathroom, sitting on a chair and vomiting into a trash can that was in her lap. Police reported that the student was conscious, but incoherent. The student’s friend said that the two of them were at a house party on Hawthorne Street in Ewing, N.J., that had approximately 40 people in attendance. The friend had two unknown males walk the intoxicated female back to campus where the friend then dialed 911. The student was issued a summons and was transported to a local hospital, police said.
• A student who became sick after smoking a marijuana cigarette asked for police assistance at 10:45 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 8, according to Campus Police. After smoking the cigarette, which he said he received from an unknown friend, the student ate tacos from a campus dining facility and then returned to his dorm room. There, the student started to throw up and began to feel as though he was getting “higher,” Campus Police reported. This concerned the student so he asked someone to call police for him. After evaluating the student, TCNJ EMS determined that he should be transported to a local hospital because of his continuing vomiting.
Anyone with information can contact Campus Police at 609-771-2345.
(10/06/15 4:45pm)
By Colleen Murphy
Managing Editor
• A wallet valued at $45 was stolen from the benches in front of the Travers and Wolfe towers between 9 p.m. and 9:25 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 18, according to Campus Police. The student was sitting on the bench eating food and went to his Cromwell Hall dorm room when he finished. As soon as he realized he had left his wallet on the bench, he returned to the spot and could not find his wallet, police said.
• An intoxicated student was issued a summons for underage drinking on Wednesday, Sept. 30, Campus Police said. At 1 a.m., police were dispatched to Travers Hall where they saw the student sitting on the floor with a small trash can in front of him. The student said that he had consumed 16 ounces of vodka and was unable to stand on his own, according to police reports. Campus Police said the student vomited three times while they were on the scene. After TCNJ EMS provided care and evaluated the student, he was transported to Hopewell Medical Center, according to Campus Police.
• A Travers Hall community advisor (CA) called Campus Police after a student who was believed to be intoxicated was not responding to any knocks on his door, according to police. At 2:57 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 30, Campus Police met with the CA in the floor’s lobby where she told them that she had been informed by her residents that the male had vomited in the hallway and appeared intoxicated. She told police that she had knocked on his door several times with no answer and called police because she was worried about the student’s well-being. Campus Police went to the student’s room, unlocked the door and announced their presence. Both residents were in their beds and appeared to be sleeping, police reported. The male in question identified himself and was asked if he was OK. The student said that he had been at a party on Hawthorne Street and had a lot to drink, Campus Police said. The male was moved to the elevator lobby to get evaluated by TCNJ EMS. While there, the student told police that he had about 10 red Solo cups of beer while celebrating his 19th birthday with his teammates, according to Campus Police. The student was issued a summons for underage drinking and returned to his room.
• A report of a suspicious person near Forcina Hall was called in at 11:45 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 27, according to Campus Police. A police officer on routine patrol who had seen the described individual a few minutes earlier on his route, returned to where the suspect was. The officer stopped the man and asked what he was doing. The man acted confused and, at times, was “evasive in answering basic questions,” Campus Police said. The subject then said he had mistakenly entered Centennial Hall looking for a match or lighter for his cigarette. At this time, Campus Police checked for any warrants the male might’ve had and found that he had an outstanding warrant from Ewing for $250. The man was arrested for contempt of court, police reports said.
• A student who had five beers and a couple of shots of Svedka vodka at a party was in need of medical attention on Sunday, Sept. 27, according to Campus Police. At 12:15 a.m., police responded to Travers Hall where the student was vomiting and already receiving treatment from TCNJ EMS. The student was issued a summons for underage drinking, Campus Police said.
• On Saturday, Sept. 26, a student was found sitting in a chair behind Travers Hall vomiting and unable to walk, according to Campus Police. The student told police she had an unknown amount of vodka at an off-campus party. TCNJ EMS provided care and evaluated the student, and she was then issued an underage drinking summons, Campus Police reported.
• Between 2:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 25, and noon on Monday, Sept. 28, someone scratched the words “Im a ass” on the right door of a school van, according to Campus Police. The act of criminal mischief was committed at the rear of the Facilities Building where the van had been parked.
• A male and female were seen running away from a golf cart and toward the Decker/Cromwell halls area on Friday, Sept. 25, Campus Police reported. As the officer approached the cart, he saw that the vehicle was left on, but did not have a key in its ignition. The defining feature of the girl is “long, brown, wavy hair,” Campus Police said.
Anyone with information can contact Campus Police at 609-771-2345.
(09/29/15 7:52pm)
By Colleen Murphy
Managing Editor
• A possible bike theft in Campus Town was called in to Campus Police at 11:40 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 19, according to police reports. Campus Police arrived at the bike rack in front of building 500 and saw a male who fit the provided description attempting to unlock a bike. When police exited the patrol vehicle to approach the suspect, police asked the man if he was a student at the College. The man replied that he was not a student, but that the bike was his. According to Campus Police, the male then started to run in the direction of Route 31. The police officer tried to catch the suspect on foot, but realized the male’s lead was too big. According to the report, the officer returned to his vehicle and searched the area with negative results. The suspect is described as a 200-pound male who stands at about 5’9”, according to Campus Police. He has very short to no hair and was last seen wearing a green shirt and dark cargo pants, carrying a small plastic shopping bag, Campus Police said. The male has the potential to be charged with criminal attempt, resisting arrest and eluding, according to Campus Police.
• Three students were found sitting in a car on the third floor of lot seven, leading to one arrest of a male student for possessing drug paraphernalia and under 50 grams of marijuana, according to Campus Police. On Wednesday, Sept. 16, at 10:04 p.m., a campus security guard called Campus Police to report potential drug use after he smelled burnt marijuana coming from a car. Upon arrival, police asked the passengers — two males and one female — to exit the car. Police saw one of the rear passengers pull out a plastic bag containing a black/blue glass pipe filled with a “green, leafy vegetation believed to be marijuana” from his left pocket and was later arrested, Campus Police said.
• A female student was found vomiting in a Travers Hall bathroom stall by a community advisor who was performing routine rounds at 2:15 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 20, according to Campus Police. The student was being propped over the toilet by another student when police arrived. TCNJ EMS helped her out of the stall and onto the floor to evaluate her. The student was vomiting, spitting up and unable to communicate effectively, Campus Police reported. The student did say that she had vodka and perhaps a beer in a room. The student was transported to a local hospital for further treatment and was issued a summons for underage drinking, Campus Police said.
• Campus Police said they were dispatched to Brewster Hall lounge to assist TCNJ EMS with a patient experiencing an anxiety attack after eating a marijuana-laced brownie on the far side of Lake Sylva. Upon their arrival to the scene at 11:35 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 22, police said they saw the student sitting on the floor, “shaking, semi-conscious and breathing.” The female was not responding to any questions and was transported to a hospital for further evaluation. The amount of marijuana that was in the brownie is unknown, Campus Police said. No summons was issued.
• At 3 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 23, Campus Police was dispatched to Norsworthy Hall to speak with a resident who said he had been experiencing ongoing harassment. According to Campus Police, for approximately three weeks, at random times during the weeknight, a person(s) would bang hard on the door. Once the resident would open the door, there would be no one there, and the student believes that the suspect had already run up the staircase by the time he looked out the door.
Anyone with information can contact Campus Police at 609-771-2345.
(09/23/15 6:32pm)
By Colleen Murphy Managing Editor
• An intoxicated student was transported to a local hospital and issued with an underage drinking summons after he was found unresponsive in his room at 3 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 16, according to Campus Police. The student returned to his Travers Hall room around midnight after he had been drinking at an unknown location, his floormates told police. The other students put him in his bed, placing him on his side, Campus Police said. The individuals took care of him and then called police when the boy’s condition worsened. When police arrived, the boy was sitting on a chair, drooling and spitting. TCNJ EMS evaluated the student before he was transported to Capital Health System for further medical treatment, according to Campus Police reports.
• A laptop that was not realized to have been missing for 18 hours, was stolen from the Travers/Wolfe lounge sometime between 3 a.m. and 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 15, Campus Police reported. The student left the silver HP laptop plugged into an outlet and left the area without realizing the laptop had been left behind. The laptop, which had Beats speakers built-in, and its charger are valued at $1,000, Campus Police said.
• Two tires are believed to have been slashed sometime between 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 8, and 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 11, on a car that was parked on the third floor of Lot Seven, Campus Police said. The owner noticed that the right rear tire was flat and had it repaired. The repair person told the owner that it appeared the tires had been purposely slashed, Campus Police said. When the owner arrived home, she saw that the left rear tire was damaged, as well. Each tire cost $200 to repair, totaling $400 in damages, Campus Police reported.
• Two students were issued with underage drinking summonses on the second floor of Brewster Hall at 12:20 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 12, Campus Police said. The two women were drinking when one of them became sick and began vomiting, leading the second student to call for help. TCNJ EMS provided care and evaluated the woman. The sick student told police she had four shots of rum while the student who called for help had one shot of vodka, according to Campus Police.
• Three bikes in Townhouses South had their seats removed sometime between 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 9, and 1:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 11, Campus Police reported. A fourth bike on the same rack, which is located in the lounge area outside of building 19, had its seat intact. The three seats taken had “quick disconnect seat levers,” Campus Police said, and each was valued at $50. Police searched the immediate area and found one seat behind a bush by the fence. An owner of one of the bikes aided police in the search and found the other two seats in the low cut bushes around the patio area, Campus Police said. All three seats were mounted back onto the bikes.
• A DVD was stolen from the Arts and Interactive Multimedia Building sometime between 4 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 14, and noon on Tuesday, Sept. 15, according to Campus Police. The DVD contained a video art project and was taken from an unsecured monitor on the third floor of the building. The owner still has the original copy, Campus Police said.
Anyone with information can contact Campus Police at 609-771-2345.
(09/15/15 8:11pm)
By Colleen Murphy Managing Editor
• A female student was issued a summons for underage drinking on Friday, Sept. 4, at 1:10 a.m., according to Campus Police. The student was found sitting in Decker Hall and had a strong odor of alcohol, Campus Police said. The female told police that she had two drinks of Jungle Juice in her room and had also been drinking at an off-campus party.
• A black 10-speed Schwinn bicycle was stolen from the bleacher side of the track sometime between Saturday, Sept. 5, at 3 p.m. and Sunday, Sept. 6, at 1 p.m., Campus Police reported. The student had locked his bike to a light pole and when he returned the next day, the bicycle was gone. According to Campus Police, the bike is valued at $200.
• An incident of criminal mischief was reported to Campus Police on Tuesday, Sept. 8, after a Residential Director found fire extinguisher discharge in the New Residence Hall basement lounge. The extinguishing agent, a dry powder, was sprayed throughout the room “without cause,” Campus Police said. The incident happened sometime between the evening of Monday, Sept. 7, and the early morning hours of Tuesday, Sept. 8. The extinguisher was valued at $75, and no further damage was reported at the time, according to Campus Police.
• A green iPhone 5c in a pink and white case was stolen from the fourth floor of the library on Tuesday, Sept. 8, sometime between 11:30 a.m. and 12:10 p.m., according to Campus Police. The cell phone was placed on the desk where the student was sitting, but because she was listening to media for class through her headphones, the student said did not realize that someone had approached her table or walked by, Campus Police reported. The student asked both the fourth floor’s media services desk and the first floor’s main desk to see if anyone had turned the phone in, but no one had. The phone is valued at $500, Campus Police said.
Anyone with information can contact Campus Police at 609-771-2345.