41 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
(01/28/09 12:00pm)
To Moussa Sow, Professor Gloria Dickinson wasn't just a colleague in the department of African-American Studies, but a mother and mentor as well.
"When I first came to the College for a job interview, she greeted me in 'Wolof,' the lingua franca in Senegal, where I am from," Sow said. "She knew my country better than many Sengalese."
Many professors and students join Sow in remembering the life and mourning the loss of Dickinson, who passed away after a long battle with breast cancer on Jan. 18.
A longtime professor at the College, Dickinson played an integral role in the construction of the department of African-American Studies and inspired professors and students alike with her dedication to teaching and warm, welcoming personality.
Areatha Fryar, class of '92, shared her memories of Dickinson in a Facebook group dedicated to the professor called "Friends and fans of Gloria Harper Dickinson."
"I loved what I learned about myself in her class . I loved what I learned about my African heritage," Fryar wrote.
Besides teaching, Dickinson was a devoted activist who volunteered her time to many different organizations. From 2001 to 2003, she served as president of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, in addition to her past roles as national vice director, Webmaster and national parliamentarian for the Association of Black Women Historians.
She also spent many years mentoring and guiding chapters of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority as the organization's international secretary from 1998 to 2002, and, as a breast cancer survivor, was a supporter of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
Holding an undergraduate degree from the City College of New York and a master's degree and Ph.D from Howard University, Dickinson was a respected and in-demand scholar of history, English and African-American Studies. She traveled extensively through four different continents, lecturing in some as far-flung as France and Oman.
She co-authored and contributed her expertise to numerous textbooks and was known as a "digitizing diva" after hosting a faculty development institute of the same name.
Students and professors alike reminisce about her passion for social justice, her many scholastic projects and her ethnic style of dressing that always attracted attention and admiring glances.
"Her colorful dresses bought in every corner of Africa made her a true African Queen," Sow said.
Of particular concern to Dickinson was the prevalence of female genital mutilation in many corners of the world, a practice she detested and frequently preached against.
"She educated her students, I believe, about those cultural practices and how women all over the world should combat them," Sow said. "She fought every day to promote equality and human dignity."
Services for Dickinson were held on Sunday and Monday, and her family asks anyone wishing to honor her memory send donations in her name to the Alpha Kappa Alpha Educational Advancement Foundation.
(10/29/08 12:00pm)
Park in Lot 3 without a parking decal or visitor's pass, and you can be assured to find a parking ticket on your car within an hour or so.
Stumble back from a party off-campus, smelling of Miller High Life and debauchery, and you can almost guarantee a summons for underage drinking if you have the misfortune to run into a cop.
But when numerous cars are stolen from a parking lot, the only guarantee we have here at the College is cops and campus administrators alike won't do a damn thing.
Forgive me if I sound bitter, but I am. On Oct. 20, I became the latest victim of a rash of car thefts that have hit the campus and Lot 6 since the beginning of the semester. My car was the seventh stolen in eight weeks.
In terms of campus crime, these thefts have constituted a hefty chunk of serious crimes committed on campus. Yet, what have Campus Police and the College administration done to combat this growing problem?
Seemingly very little. As of press time, the College has made precious few references to the thefts, sending out one mass e-mail cautioning students to secure their belongings early in the semester, long before the number of stolen cars began to climb.
When interviewed for an earlier Signal article on the car thefts in September, Police Chief John Collins deigned to impart this gem to worried students: "Try and make sure everything is locked."
Instead of stating the obvious, maybe Campus Police can come up with more effective means of policing Lot 6 besides driving around the garage every hour.
As Matthew Golden, executive director of Public Relations and Communications, acknowledged, if thieves are utilizing skeleton keys, it would make it exceedingly difficult for police to realize a vehicle was actually being broken into, necessitating more creative approaches to the problem.
Campus Police and College administrators seeming disregard for student and property safety is an insult to those who work hard to attend and afford this institution.
Collins and Campus Police maintain they have increased patrols of Lot 6 since the string of thefts began in September, yet this has obviously done little in terms of preventing crime. While cops have taken to joining Community Advisors on nightly roves, busting any freshmen audacious enough to play beer pong too loudly, criminals have been stealing thousands of dollars worth of student property out from under their noses.
Would it be so difficult to send out a timely alert e-mail advising students with certain makes and models of cars to avoid Lot 6, where every theft has taken place? Of the seven cars stolen, four were either Nissans or Hondas. If I and other victims had been informed of this, perhaps we could have taken further precautions to protect our property, like installing theft devices or attempting to park in other lots.
(04/30/08 12:00pm)
The sun sparkled on the water as spectators lounged on towels and cheered their favorite teams on.
The scene was straight out of a New England yacht club, but instead of designer polos and deck shoes, captains wore hulas and bathing suits, as they bravely commandeered boats made not out of thousands of dollars of glistening Plexiglas, but ordinary brown cardboard.
So was the scene at Lake Ceva on Wednesday afternoon, at the first annual Cardboard Regatta, sponsored by the Upper Class Experience branch of the office of Residential Education and Housing. Thirteen teams competed in the race, building their own boats out of cardboard, then racing in heats to see which team could paddle, or in some cases, float, farthest.
The teams, each comprising four members, at least two of them required to be upperclassmen, lent their own personalities to the design of their boats. Some were sleek and small, obviously built for speed, while others seemed to care more about design than function, as participants outfitted their boats with everything from inflatable palm trees to a hand-painted flag that read, "everyone loves a bitch in pigtails."
As any captain knows, a boat is only as good as its name, and teams vied to create the most outlandish, from the relatively tame "S.S. Minnow," to "H.M.S. Fumunda Cheese" and the "U.S.S. Floating Pineapple."
There were four qualifying heats, as well as a championship round for the boats that won their original heats. While some excelled, quickly moving their ways across the lake, others foundered almost immediately.
"I'm sinking. Say go," yelled junior political science major Miguel Montalvo, as he grabbed desperately onto his raft-like boat at the beginning of his heat. His prediction proved tragically correct as his boat sank mid-way through the race, while he and his teammate Steven Myers, junior international studies major, paddled frantically to shore.
And they weren't the only ones. At least one sinking abounded every heat, as those onshore laughed and cheered at the unfortunate boaters.
"It tastes great - just like the water in Eickhoff," Andy Cossaboom, senior health and exercise science major, said after climbing out of Ceva's algae-ridden depths.
The crowd rallied to cheer on their favorite teams, including a large group that chanted "S.I.A.T." for the aerodynamic black boat built by team S.I.A.T., while others enjoyed the antics of
Neil Hartmann, senior communication studies major, and Matthew Clemente, senior mechanical engineering major, as they sipped cans of Coors Light aboard their giant "The spirt of Dale," boat, which resembled a pontoon boat patched together with duct tape.
"Row, you sons of bitches, row," screamed one crowd member at the boat.
The two were upset after losing their heat to Team S.I.A.T., whose boat appeared to fall apart at the finish, and actively campaigned race officials to be able to join the final race. Even after their heat, their boat remained in the water, as the team leisurely floated along the banks of the lake.
Four boats stayed afloat long enough to qualify for the final heat and the title of the regatta winner. Although the race appeared close at times, with the H.M.S. Surprise and the U.S.S. Flying Pineapple appearing to bump against each other several times, the H.M.S. Surprise, captained by Pablo Moretto, junior philosophy and psychology major, and John Italiano, senior business major, proved the victor.
Their small, quick boat, which impressed in the very first heat, was named in honor of Captain Jack Aubrey, from the 2003 movie, "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World."
"We were conservative with our model," Moretto said. "We were worried, but slow and steady wins the race."
(03/26/08 12:00pm)
Alan Dawley did not fit the stereotypical role of a professor, one shut up in his ivory tower with his books and research. The professor of history was instead a passionate activist and pacifist, a man who dedicated his life to peace and social justice, inspiring and mentoring both students and faculty.
That is why his death from heart failure on March 12 while on a research trip to Mexico shocked and saddened the College community that he made such a mark on.
"His sudden passing is an immense loss for the entire community," his friend and colleague, John Landreau, professor of women's and gender studies, said.
Dawley, a Philadelphia resident, had been a professor at the College for 38 years, after receiving his undergraduate education at Oberlin College and his master's and doctorate degrees at Harvard University. He made a stir in the world of history scholarship early on, winning the prestigious Bancroft Prize in 1977 for his book "Class and Community." The award is widely considered the premier prize for history research and writing.
Dawley received many other accolades during his career, including two National Endowments for the Humanities fellowships and a Distinguished Research Award from the College. His work focused mainly on the United States progressive movement, and he was a visiting professor and scholar at other colleges, like Rutgers University, Princeton University and the University of Pennsylvania and was considered one of the top historians in the world in his field of study. He wrote three books, including the award-winning "Class and Community," and was working on an ambitious textbook project titled "Global America," at the time of his death.
Yet as impressive as his scholarship was, students and faculty remember him most for his generosity of spirit and dedication to improving the world he lived in.
Dawley urged students of history to view it from the social history perspective, to examine not just the powerful, important historical figures and events, but to take a closer look at the different classes and their dynamics, challenging the status quo and accepted ways of thinking.
Jessica Baker, senior management major who was taking his "Global America" course, said, "He wasn't teaching this course to make us memorize facts, but to really care about (what) is going on in our country and how America has affected the world . He really tried to provoke our thoughts on the subject rather than just lecture."
This atypical view of U.S. history led him to create and guide the U.S. studies minor program, which took faculty from different disciplinary studies to create a new way to study and examine U.S. history and its global impact.
"Think about the U.S., he urged us, from the bottom up, the top down, the inside out, and the outside in," Susan Albertine, dean of the School of Culture and Society, said. "That approach changed my thinking about my scholarship and teaching in a palpable and dramatic way."
It was Dawley's own experiences as a social crusader that inspired many of his projects and earned him the esteem of those who worked closely with him. He worked for the civil rights movement in 1964 as part of the Freedom Summer in Mississippi and vocally protested against the Vietnam War as a student. He was a leader of Historians Against the War, and participated in many peace projects and forums.
"I admired the way he integrated his commitment to social justice with his work both as a teacher and scholar, and as a friend I admired the generosity, kindness and curiosity with which he engaged everyone he knew," Landreau said.
He also founded the Center for the Study of Social Justice at the College, a program that focuses on current social issues and brings prominent speakers and lecturers to campus. Along with other professors, he also helped create issue forums in the late '80s that dealt with diverse topics like racism and nuclear disarmament, according to Morton Winston, professor of philosophy.
"In all of these activities Alan never lost his passion for justice and he never gave up the fight," Winston said. "I am confident that his legacy will endure in the minds and hearts of those who knew him, who will carry on the struggles for justice . to which he dedicated his life."
His legacy includes mentoring hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of the students who studied under him and inspiring others to become interested in justice and politics. Students and faculty plan to commemorate their friend, colleague and teacher at a memorial service on April 10.
John Leschak, who graduated from the College last year, found his own anti-war roots after joining the Progressive Student Alliance, of which Dawley was an advisor.
"Professor Dawley inspired me to fight for social justice and I am proud to say I am alum of a college that hires such critical thinkers," he said in an e-mail.
Ann Marie Nicolosi, professor of women's and gender studies, had Dawley as an undergraduate and credits him with shaping and inspiring her academic career.
"He helped groom me for graduate school," she said, a task which included writing letters of recommendation for her and reading parts of her dissertation.
She stressed his achievements in the field of history, saying, "When you got to graduate school to study history, Alan Dawley's work is required reading. There are few professors on this campus with the impact Alan Dawley had."
In remembering Dawley, Nicolosi recited the words of Ted Kennedy at the funeral of his brother Robert, who wished his brother to be remembered as "simply a good and decent man, who saw wrong and tried to right it, saw suffering and tried to heal it, saw war and tried to stop it."
She said, "I think that kind of summed up Alan in a much more eloquent way than I ever could."
(03/05/08 12:00pm)
Danny Glover is not too old for this shit.
The actor, best-known for his work in the "Lethal Weapon" series, which spawned his famous catchphrase, joined Felix Justice onstage in Kendall Hall on Thursday night, captivating the crowd with their long-running show, "An Evening with Martin and Langston."
This was their third appearance at the College, which culminated the celebration of Black History Month, as the two performed a series of readings from civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and poet Langston Hughes.
Justice as King took the stage first in front of a packed crowd, capturing attention with his dapper suit, powerful voice and dramatic gestures. Audience members looking for King's famous "I Have a Dream," speech were treated to a different kind of presentation, as Justice recited the anti-Vietnam War speech King gave on April 30, 1967 at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Ga.
"That speech makes people feel good," Justice said in a pre-performance interview, adding that he wanted to challenge people's preconceptions about King and expose elements of his message that are more subversive than King's most famous speech.
"Martin Luther King challenged people . I really want to try to capture his passion," Justice said in the interview.
He continued, "Martin Luther King was Jesus Christ as a revolutionary. . His concern was always for the disenfranchised."
The speech drew eerie parallels between the Vietnam War and today's occupation in Iraq, with King, more than 40 years earlier, calling the war "wasteful, illegal and immoral," a charge often leveled at the Iraq war by its opponents.
In the Q-and-A session following the performance/lecture, one woman commented on the similarities between the two wars, prompting Justice to dryly comment, "Gee, you think?"
Glover, commemorating Langston Hughes, followed Justice, and asked for another round of applause for the man he considers one of his best friends. He started off by reading Hughes' "The Negro Speaks of Rivers," reciting in his soothing cadence, "I've known rivers:/ I've known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in human veins/ My soul has grown deep like the rivers."
Glover, who has been performing the show with Justice for 17 years, called Hughes, a social and cultural leader in the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s, "the author of poems of touching lyricism."
He drew much applause with his recitation of "The Weary Blues," a poem about listening to an old blues singer one night in Harlem. With its repetition and sense of rhythm, the poem invokes the melancholy of this musical style, as Glover softly and sadly crooned, "Got the weary blues/ Can't be satisfied/ I ain't happy no mo'/ And I wish that I had died."
After the two performances, Glover and Justice sat down for a Q-and-A session that quickly became spirited and provocative. It started innocently, with audience members asking questions specifically about poetry and Justice's process of reading between the lines of King's speeches.
"We are at a little bit of an advantage and a little bit of a disadvantage . because we are old," Justice said to laughter as he described delivering King's message after hearing and revering his speeches while growing up in the '60s.
One of the evening's highlights came when one audience member, who identified himself as a student from Mercer County Performing Arts High School, asked Glover and Justice for advice they would give to a potential actor.
"I would advise you to know some Langston Hughes," Justice said.
"I do," answered the student, as he launched into a powerful performance of Hughes' "Dream Variation," eliciting thunderous applause for the courageous teen.
However, much of the remaining discussion focused on political, racial and class issues in America, topics that Glover, known for his social activism, spoke candidly and at length about.
"I want students always, wherever they are, to challenge the status quo and listen to their own vision," Glover said in the pre-show interview.
Many questions centered on the upcoming presidential election and candidate Barack Obama, whose charisma and youth have elicited comparisons to King.
"I don't think it's an unfair comparison at all," Justice said. "That combination of passion and extremely sharp intelligence is very fair."
As Justice and Glover discussed topics like racial politics, sustainable development and global warming, one woman in the audience did her best to break up the serious tone the night had taken:
"Mr. Glover, I've been in love with you since 'Lethal Weapon.'"
(02/27/08 12:00pm)
Hundreds of people enter hospitals every day as the result of car crashes or for operations. The hospitals rely on a steady and renewable supply of blood for these patients, something harder and harder to get due to severe shortages.
However, for almost four decades College students have made it their goals to help hospitals and blood banks by running a two-day blood drive that provides much-needed donations to sick and injured individuals.
This year, the annual drive took place on Feb. 18 and 19, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
"Organizing the blood drive on campus gives students, faculty and staff an opportunity to conveniently donate blood at the College, when they might not otherwise go out of their way to do so," Carolyn Gray, Tri-Beta Biology Honor Society liaison, said.
Although final counts have not been fully completed, Asha Shah, director of the drive, estimated that approximately 120 pints of blood were donated in two days.
"The success of this year's blood drive is due to the unparalleled solidarity of students in recognizing the dire blood shortage crisis plaguing our community and more importantly, taking action," Shah said. "We, the students, faculty and staff of (the College) personified compassion and tapped into our humanity."
New Jersey has recently declared a blood shortage crisis, one impetus for the campus blood drive. The Community Blood Council of New Jersey estimates that 95 percent of the population will need a blood transfusion at least once in their lives, yet only 5 percent of people actually donate blood, creating a huge deficiency and endangering lives.
In the past, the Blood Council has declared a "Code Orange," the highest level of blood shortage, and has even run out of entire types of blood, a situation that occurred in 2006 when the Blood Council reported having no Type O blood over Labor Day weekend, a time when car crashes frequently occur.
Because blood is perishable, hospitals and blood banks face even greater pressure to maintain a constant supply, as blood becomes unusable in little more than a month.
Blood transfusions are necessary for a wide range of medical treatments, from chemotherapy to major surgery, and the average victim of a car crash can require up to 40 units of blood.
Just one donation can save up to three lives, a huge reward for a process that can take as little as 10 minutes.
"Donating blood is important because it's kind of one of those things where no one thinks they need it until something unexpected happens," Purak Parikh, president of Tri-Beta, said.
Many students and organizers cited the ability to impact someone's health as their reason for donating.
Gray said, "Students should donate blood because you never know what may happen in the future. (You) or your loved ones could very well be next to need blood. In the end, donating blood is the easiest way to save a life."
Sponsors included the American Medical Student Association, Phi Kappa Psi fraternity, Tri-Beta and Raymond Fangboner, professor of biology, who originally implemented the program at the College, assisted as adviser.
These organizations worked with the Community Blood Council of New Jersey, located just off Parkside Avenue, to collect blood and sign volunteers for the drive, which attracted more than 150 people.
(01/30/08 12:00pm)
Looking at the list of possible artists for the College Union Board's (CUB) Spring Concert, I couldn't help feeling as if I had traveled back in time in Doc Brown's De Lorean. Lifehouse? Third Eye Blind? Were these really possibilities or merely a look back at one of my seventh grade mix tapes, minus, of course, Lou Bega and LFO?
Considering the plethora of talent that has been brought to the College in the past, acts like Ben Folds, Dave Chapelle and even the legendary Tom Waits (in the Rathskeller, no less. Tom Waits, in the goddamned Rat), it's disappointing to see how every year the concert headliners seem to get worse and worse. I know CUB works hard to book great talent, but often the money just isn't there, and I doubt acts like Kanye West are itching for the opportunity to perform in Ewing, N.J.
Nevertheless, the survey list of artists released on the Web, whether selected solely by students or not, as CUB claims, is full of lackluster and dated musical acts. Much of the list is composed of artists who ceased being relevant years ago (cough, Third Eye Blind, cough). Sure, "Semi-Charmed Life" is great to sing along to on the radio once in awhile, but are we really going to fork over $70,000 for a little bit of guilty-pleasure '90s nostalgia?
The majority of the remaining artists are just as bad. Like every other CUB concert organized in the past few years, the list is dominated by boring, talentless, angsty, emo boys waxing poetic about girls in deck shoes and skinny jeans who won't blow them. We've already had the aural bores that are Copeland, The Academy Is and Saves the Day. Do we really need Yellowcard, Brand New and Cartel to expand on the theme that it's hard out there for a suburban, So-Cal white boy?
And though I wasn't necessarily surprised, I was certainly dismayed at the absolute dearth of female talent on the list, which did laudably include a few black artists for a change.
"There aren't that many female artists that are out with hot stuff right now," said one student in a previous Signal article on the subject.
Really? I guess no one on campus has heard of women or women-fronted acts like Rihanna, Feist, Tegan and Sara, Colby Cailat, Cat Power, M.I.A., Jenny Lewis, Lilly Allen, Ani DiFranco, Paramore, Kelly Clarkson or the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Including 15 men and no women on a list is not only incredibly disappointing, but indicative of the cock-rock trend that often dominates the music scene, both nationally and at the College.
I'm tired of these musical choices that constantly pander to the lowest common denominator. I know we can't bring huge artists to our provincial little state school and I'm not saying we have to. I am sick, however, of the powers that be that keep trying to shove shitty bands down our throats. The mentality seems to be, "well, we aren't going to get much better than this so we might as well settle" to what amounts to be not second, but seventh best. Instead of bringing the same tired bands over and over again, why not bring a fresh musical talent here, or, gasp! an indie act with actual talent? Where are the Andrew Birds, the Lupe Fiascos, the Sufjan Stevens, the Peaches? How about Band of Horses, Rilo Kiley, Of Montreal or Rogue Wave?
I know that probably won't happen, but in my heart of hearts I'm still holding out hope. If CUB can't bring great talent to campus, than I at least pray that it will further raid my seventh grade music selection and bring Sisqo.
(01/23/08 12:00pm)
Everyone on campus needs a friend, and the newly organized Best Buddies club is there to make sure of it. The organization works to create one-on-one relationships between College students and mentally challenged children and adults in order to provide companionship and create long-lasting friendships.
Many of the "buddies" are paired with students from Career and Community Studies (CCS), a program that was created in 2005 and began operating in Fall 2006 in conjunction with the department of Special Education, Language & Literacy to provide higher education opportunities to disabled students.
As part of the program, students attend career building classes as well as integrated classes with the rest of the College community. Up to eight students are enrolled each year in the program, which in its second year has 14 students currently attending.
"Many of the students work on campus in the library media center and the gym. Though they have worked hard to gain these educational opportunities, like any other student it is hard to assimilate into college life," Michelle Cornacchia, Best Buddies director, said. Best Buddies works to smooth this difficult transition for CCS students by providing social opportunities to ease the process of campus integration.
"Sometimes the relationships outside of class are even more important to these students than the classes themselves," Rebecca Daley, professor of special education and coordinator of CCS, said. "The purpose is to create that relationship with adults with cognitive disabilities and age-appropriate peers."
Best Buddies originated as a College club in 1996, but became inactive until Cornacchia and activities director of Best Buddies Elaine Smolen stepped in and revamped and revitalized the program in 2005 to coincide with the creation of CCS.
Daley explained that before the creation of CCS, there was a problem matching students on campus with disabled teens and adults off campus, due to lack of transportation and schedule conflicts, which caused the disintegration of the Best Buddies club.
"The match has been really perfect here, because now College students can interact with other College students on campus and this has erased that previous barrier," she said.
Besides Princeton University, the College is the only higher education institution in New Jersey with a Best Buddies program, causing the chapter to work closely with a Maryland program affiliate. Similarly, CCS is one of only a handful of programs in the country that provides post-secondary education to disabled adults.
"Through Best Buddies we give the students the opportunity to meet more (College) students and form lasting friendships. We all learn from each other, and we have decided not to call each other buddies anymore, but just simply friends," Cornacchia said.
Since there are 14 CCS students, there are 14 Best Buddies to be individually paired with each student, although Cornacchia explained that there are many Best Buddies members who attend events, but have not yet been matched with a CCS student.
To address this, the club may be joining forces and expanding with the Arc of Hunterdon County, which also fosters career and social opportunities for cognitively disabled adults and children.
The buddies meet up at least once a week for lunch, and some opt to spend this time at the gym or library. Cornacchia said that this interaction does not stop at a friendly lunch every now and then.
"We also talk on the phone, e-mail and we text each other all the time," she said. The pairs truly become friends, and learn all there is to know about one another.
"Personally, every Monday I would get together with Brian and Joey for lunches, and since these two guys are the biggest Eagles fans in the world, this past season I always knew how the Eagles did depending on their moods," Cornacchia said. "If they won, they had their Eagles shirts on playing songs from their Eagles key chains, but if they lost, it was like the worst day in the world."
The club also organizes group activities for all the buddies, which includes game and movie nights, as well as holiday parties.
Last year, Best Buddies and CCS collaborated to organize a poetry slam in the Rathskeller that attracted a crowd of more than 60 people. Each CCS student performed and delighted the crowd with their creative abilities. Due to its success, another poetry slam is tentatively scheduled for March 27.
"I'm really proud of the College for having this (CCS) program, and I'm really proud of the (College) students who have really helped the CCS students become a part of this community," Daley said.
Both Cornacchia and Daley stressed the need for more Best Buddies volunteers and CCS mentors. If interested, contact Cornacchia at cornacc2@tcnj.edu
(11/14/07 12:00pm)
Most children's drawings share many idyllic similarities - the box-shaped house, the puppy in the front yard, mom and dad smiling broadly. Yet the pictures Jerry Ehrlich unveiled on Nov. 6 contained no white picket fences or smiling faces. There were houses on fire, airplanes ominously flying overhead and men on camels with swords, a harrowing reminder of the experiences of the children of Darfur.
The event, "Genocides of Today" was part of the Hillel/Jewish Student Union's (JSU) Holocaust Remembrance Week. Ehrlich, a Cherry Hill, N.J., pediatrician, traveled to Darfur to work with Doctors without Borders, volunteering at Darfur's largest displaced persons camp that at one point has held more than 100,000 people escaping the horrors of Darfur's genocide.
Paul Winkler, executive director of the NJ Commission on Holocaust Education, introduced Ehrlich with a few words on Darfur. "We have this saying about the Holocaust, 'never again,' but I have to say it has happened again and again," he said.
Darfur, a western region in Sudan, has been home to conflict between various rebel groups and the Sudanese military since 2003. The Sudanese government recruited a militia group of camel-herding nomads called the Janjaweed, who are believed to have perpetrated much of the violence against civilians. No one is sure of the exact number of casualties, but the United Nations puts the number somewhere between 200,000 and 400,000 people dead due to disease and violence.
Ehrlich, who has also been to countries like Sri Lanka with Doctors Without Borders, was inspired to volunteer after reading an article about the group in 1991. He headed to Darfur in the summer of 2004, ill-prepared for the atrocities that would face him.
"The government propaganda says nothing is happening there, that the people are well-cared for . it's nothing but a cruel joke," Ehrlich said.
The Sudanese government forbids the taking of photographs in Darfur, but Ehrlich smuggled in a camera and snapped pictures around the camp whenever he could. He handed out paper and crayons to the camp's children, hoping they would draw him a few pictures he could bring back to the United States.
"I thought they would bring me back five, six pictures. For these kids to survive from Monday to Tuesday was phenomenal, but they brought me back more than 150 drawings," he said.
The pictures show disturbing images of huts being lit on fire, people lying on the ground as if dead and villagers fleeing from men on camels, meant to be the Janjaweed, whose name translates to "devil on a camel." Many of the drawings were sent to the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, as some of the artwork shows soldiers wearing Sudanese military uniforms, indicating the culpability of the government in the genocide.
According to Ehrlich, several officials have already been indicted. "Maybe the drawings had something to do with it," he said.
Ehrlich also showed many of the photographs he had taken of the camp, of children with sunken eyes and protruding ribs, of mothers with the vacant stare indicative of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
"This is what we saw over and over again - severe malnutrition," he said. "Once upon another lifetime he ran and laughed and chattered. Now he can barely move," he said, pointing to a photo of a painfully thin 2-year-old boy.
Ehrlich saw up to 200 patients a day in huts with dirt floors, with limited medical supplies and less-than-sterile conditions, yet he saw nothing futile in his mission to bring some relief to the people of Darfur.
"People say, 'Jerry, what the heck did you accomplish in Darfur?'" he said. "I say, he who saves a life saves the world."
(11/07/07 12:00pm)
KatManDu may be known for its drinks and dancing, but tonight many will flock to the popular nightclub for an even better cause.
Allies Inc., a New Jersey non-profit organization for people with disabilities, is hosting a fundraiser Nov. 7 at 6 p.m. at the club, located on the waterfront in Trenton. Appearing at the event is Jens Pulver, a mixed martial arts fighter and former holder of the Ultimate Fighting Champion (UFC) lightweight title, who has fought in front of crowds of more than 50,000. Pulver can currently be seen as a coach on the Spike channel's "Ultimate Fighter 5" reality competition. Pulver will meet, sign autographs and take pictures with fans at the fundraiser.
"Although his nickname is 'Little Evil' - a name given to him by his coach Pat Miletich due to Jens' extremely aggressive fighting style (specifically, a wicked left hook), a more fitting nickname for Jens would be 'Big Heart,' for his dedication to this Allies, Inc. fundraiser," read a press release from by Allies Inc.
Other familiar New Jersey faces will also be appearing at the event, including fellow UFC star Frankie Edgar, a native of Summit, N.J. who is currently undefeated in his lightweight division.
Edgar's coach, College alumnus Steve Rivera, will also be in attendance. Rivera is the president of a multi-million dollar computer company and director and head trainer of Elite Wrestling, which trains Edgar and many other notable fighters. Rivera was captain of the College's wrestling team from 1986-1987, and was the NCAA National Wrestling Champion in 1992. His other credits include an induction in the National Collegiate Wrestling Hall of Fame and being named one of New Jersey's top 50 wrestlers of all time.
"(College) students can stop by and ask Steve how he became successful in many facets of his life," Mike Cestero, transition counselor for Allies Inc. and organizer of the event, said via e-mail.
Rivera is not the only College alumus making an appearance at the fundraiser. Kelly Rouba, who graduated from the College in 2002, is also scheduled to help raise money and awareness for Allies Inc. and the disabled community.
Rouba holds the title of Miss Wheelchair New Jersey 2007 and is a freelance journalist and public relations executive. Rouba has written for the Times of Trenton and Pennington Post, worked on projects with the Oxygen television network and is currently serving as a spokeswoman for the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management in a series of advertisements directed to assist people with disabilities in the event of an emergency. Rouba is also the vice president of public relations for the Central New Jersey Kappa Delta Alumni Association and also sits on the Kappa Delta Chapter Advisory Board here at the College.
The event will also feature Boomer, the mascot of the Trenton Thunder baseball team, music by Flathead Dave, a rock cover band and a raffle. Cestero urges College students to attend, not only for the experience of meeting so many notable sports figures and College alumni, but to help raise money for the more than 1,500 people with disabilities that Allies Inc. serves.
"The bottom line is this: even if no one in the world ever heard or cared about Jens Pulver, Steve Rivera, Allies Inc., KatManDu or Kelly Rouba - this is about raising money for people less fortunate," Cestero said. "The older generations have often characterized college students as non-caring, unsympathetic, party-going, all-about-me types. Here's an opportunity to prove them wrong."
Tickets must be purchased ahead of time and cost $10 with a college ID. To reserve tickets or to make a donation to Allies Inc., call (609) 509-1065.
(10/31/07 12:00pm)
What's so extraordinary about Matthew Wasser is that he never wanted to go to college and was admitted without having even applied. According to him, true artists didn't go to college. Yet once here, he made his presence known on the campus, leaving behind a legacy that will be remembered fondly by many.
The 22-year-old senior communication studies major, who was due to graduate this December, passed away early in the morning on Oct. 21 in Waltham, Mass., as the taxi he was traveling in was hit by a drunk driver. Wasser had been assisting Major League Baseball at the playoffs in Boston at the time of his death and was traveling home from Game 7 in the American League Championship Series.
All who knew Wasser spoke first of his two loves: music and sports. A one-time music major, Wasser was an aficionado, who "liked everything from Bach to the heaviest of metal," said his mother, Marilyn Wasser. "He thought Jon Bon Jovi and Billy Joel were gods."
Before an arm injury forced him to give up the music he loved so much, Wasser was a gifted musician, playing classical guitar in many a recital and concert. Even as a young freshman he was often requested as a recital accompanist by juniors and seniors impressed by his guitar skills. He played in and started bands with his friends, including the band InCaged, and performed in various theater productions at the College, like "The Pirates of Penzance."
"I believe his deep love for music never abated. Every time I saw him his face would light up with a broad smile and we would eagerly catch up on music and guitar," music professor James Day, whom Wasser studied classical guitar with, said.
When he was asked to become director of the Sunday morning choir due to his musical prowess, Wasser enthusiastically took on the job, despite his Judaism. "Here he was, this nice Jewish kid, running the Sunday choir," his mother laughed.
He joined the communication studies department after his injury prevented him from continuing as a music major, which is when he became an avid sports fan.
He was a sports commentator for the College radio station, WTSR, and his love of sports intermingled with academics as he wrote papers on the MLB steroid scandal and the huge salaries of baseball's superstars.
This passion for baseball eventually translated into an internship for the media relations department of his favorite team, the New York Yankees. During the playoffs he often worked 16-hour days, devoting his time and energy to the team he so revered.
"There's no beginning or end to what Matt meant to this department and the Yankees organization," Jason Zillo, media relations director of the Yankees, said. "He was a great kid and we'll miss him. He was a joy to everyone who knew him."
In an e-mail sent to members of the communication studies department, chair Susan Ryan reiterated the effect the Yankees and his internship there had on Wasser: "As the faculty member who sponsored the internship, I know how much it meant to him. As he said to me just last week, it had been his 'dream job' and it was hard to imagine doing anything else to top the experience that he was having."
More than 40 members of the Yankees organization attended his service on Thursday morning, and the team signed a ball that was placed in his casket. There was a moment of silence for Wasser before Thursday night's World Series game and the Yankees plan on unveiling a plaque dedicated to him upon completion of the new stadium. Zillo also said an award will be named in Wasser's honor to be presented "to the intern who most exemplifies Matt's spirit."
While music and sports were undoubtedly important in Wasser's life, friends and family also recalled with warmth a boy with a thick North Jersey accent, beaming grin, playful sense of humor and tough-guy exterior that hid a kind and loyal soul.
"He always tried to seem tough, but if you got to know him you would learn that he really was a nice guy and always willing to help you out," sophomore biology major Emily Nowicki said. "He was a good friend and a huge part of choir, and I can't imagine how it could ever go on without him."
Both Nowicki and Lisa Reichmann, junior secondary education and mathematics major, recalled Wasser's delight in amusing fellow choir members with his funny voices and sarcasm.
"The thing about him I remember most is when we needed a psalm to sing for church at the last minute, so he wrote it on the spot and sang it too, but he sang it with a kind of southern twang that had us laughing for weeks," Nowicki said.
At his service, his mother described the huge outpouring of support that filled the temple, as friends and family struggled to adequately describe and pay homage to Wasser's zest for life and enterprising spirit.
"Everyone said how much they learned from him," Marilyn Wasser said. "He was a kid who truly made a difference in the world."
(10/31/07 12:00pm)
In the past, Homecoming participation has been dominated by Greek life, but this year one team decided to go back to its roots and get classic, giving birth to "The Originals." The team, comprised of the College Union Board (CUB), Delta Sigma Pi, Leadership Development Program (LDP) and Student Government Association (SGA), paid homage to the organizations of the past that helped start Spirit Week at the College 20 years ago.
CUB, LDP and SGA were approached by members of the Homecoming Committee last spring, who wanted to know if the organizations would be interested in echoing teams of the past by participating in a sort of Homecoming reunion this year.
"We agreed with the Homecoming Committee that it would be appropriate if the founders of Spirit Week took part in the 20th anniversary of it, so we formed a team comprised of SGA, CUB and LDP," Alanna Jamieson, president of LDP, said.
Delta Sigma Pi, the business fraternity, later joined after expressing interest in a Homecoming team of its own. Many of the fraternity's seniors wanted a chance to participate in their last Homecoming here at the College.
"Delta Sigma Pi, which is a member of the Inter-Greek Council, hasn't done the best job of reaching out to the rest of the Greek community when it comes to the social aspect of campus life," Kevin Kent, senior accounting major and vice president of Delta Sigma Pi, said. "We saw this as the perfect opportunity to really get involved in something and it was definitely a step in the right direction."
"The name came as a result of the team's organizations that originally helped create Spirit Week, "and because we couldn't figure out an acronym that could use all of the letters LDP CUB SGA DSP," Jamieson said.
Although the team, which was assigned Beauty and the Beast as part of this year's Disney movie theme, lacked the Homecoming experience, expertise and funding of many fraternities and sororities, team members expressed satisfaction with their ninth place finish. Many of "The Originals" laughed at their inexperience in some of the events, like powder-puff football and Lip Sync and Dance, but were proud of the effort and spirit that poured out of the team.
"Our Lip Sync and Dance teams may not have brought home first or second place but all of us who participated had a blast on stage and that was really what it was all about for us. I'd have to say that whoever was Gaston for our team was probably the most talented performer of the night," Kent said.
Lip Sync did prove to be a favorite event of "The Originals," along with the football game and Sneak Preview.
"My favorite part of the week was absolutely the powder-puff football game, not only because I got to see almost two weeks of practice come to fruition, but because it was really just a great atmosphere," CUB event coordinator Joe Stathius said.
Although SGA executive president Christine Cullen said she had an amazing time during Spirit Week as part of "The Originals," her favorite part was actually the end of the competition.
"My favorite part of Homecoming was and has been every year since my freshman year the time that passes after the dance competition is over and before the judges announce the results of the competition. Music is blasted in the gym and everyone involved in Spirit Week is dancing together and having a great time. It's just amazing to see how excited everyone is about supporting their teams and celebrating the end of an incredibly successful event with one another," Cullen said.
While the team did acknowledge the difficulty in working with four different organizations, none of which knew each other very well, members also mentioned the increased possibility of new friendships and working relationships between the four groups.
"We had a rather large group of people, most of whom had never met before this week. However, that was also an awesome aspect of our team because if we hadn't participated in Homecoming we couldn't have met so many other great people," Kent said.
Almost all "The Originals" members, especially seniors, expressed regret over not participating in Spirit Week previously, and looked to younger group leaders to keep "The Originals" tradition going into the future.
Jamieson said, "The impression I got from the underclassmen on the team was that everyone had a great time, and can't wait to come back next year to make another go at it with expertise behind them."
So next year, look out for "The Originals," who plan on coming back harder, better, faster and stronger.
"I know that next year, we will truly be a team to be reckoned with," Stathius said.
Jamieson echoed this statement: "This year, we didn't really know what to expect from a lot of the events. Next year, I assure you that won't be the case."
(10/10/07 12:00pm)
It's rare for Spongebob Squarepants, political candidates and middle school cheerleaders to be found in the same place, but that's exactly what happened on Saturday at the 12th annual Community Fest.
Co-sponsored by the College and the township of Ewing, this year's Community Fest, called "A Taste of the World," took place on and around the Loser Hall lawn from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The festival was described on its official Web site as a way to "celebrate our diverse cultures that weave the dynamic fabric of our communities together," and featured vendors, non-profit organizations, religious groups, bands, businesses and student organizations, among others.
Students, families and Ewing residents walked in the bright sunshine, perusing tables, snacking on hot dogs and snow cones, buying displayed merchandise and tapping their feet to various musical acts, which included Thursday Night Jazz Band, a group comprised of 15-year-olds who have been playing at venues together for years.
"I came here for the moon bounces and face painting and because I'm a senior and I haven't taken advantage of free stuff from (the College)," mathematics/secondary education major Melissa Rinaldi said.
Many political and social awareness groups used the large crowd to their advantage, offering pamphlets, buttons and T-shirts endorsing everyone from libertarian presidential candidate Ron Paul to state assemblyman Reed Guisciora. Ken Wolski and Don McGraff of the Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey found the visitors at their table quite amenable to their rather unorthodox message.
"Everyone used to laugh and snicker about marijuana, but now they're very serious," said Wolski. "We've had a very good reception."
One organization, the Blood Council of New Jersey, Inc., attracted attention with its large white bus, ominously labeled "The Bloodmobile." Despite a few wary stares, many volunteered to help the critically low blood supply in New Jersey by donating blood right on the bus, but unfortunately many were not able to give blood for various reasons.
"This tells you why people need to donate," Terre Majewski of the Blood Council said. "Of 41 people we only have nine units so far."
Many student organizations were there representing the College, like the College Union Board, Student Art Association, Amnesty International and various fraternities and sororities. The Leadership Development Program had a large blanket spread out in front of its table and read classic stories like "The Three Pigs" to children, while the Zeta Tau Alpha sorority raised money and awareness for breast cancer.
"Our philanthropy is breast cancer awareness and as a way to give back to the community we set up a table," junior English and secondary education major Lauren Heimlich said.
College students weren't the only ones there to make a difference. A bubbly group of fifth grade cheerleaders had drawn pictures for children with cancer, and were raising money for new uniforms. "These are ugly," said a girl named Eva as she pointed to the older uniform she was wearing and wrinkled her nose.
"It's really fun and it's a good thing to do for our community. We've made a lot of money," said another cheerleader named Simone.
The Kids Fun Zone attracted a lot of attention from smaller members of the crowd, who delighted in the life-size Spongebob mascot and various moon bounces and inflatable obstacle courses. There was a train that ran through part of the campus, and many of the student organizations had set up activities for the kids, like face and pumpkin painting and other arts and crafts projects.
Most of Community Fest's attendees professed to enjoy themselves and to appreciate the wide variety of organizations and activities present.
"As a senior at (the College), I feel very connected with the Ewing community and I want to support their events," art education major Jen Braverman said.
Senior political science major Tom Sales said, "I came because driving the golf carts last year was the most fun I've ever had at (the College) without breaking the law."
Maybe that's all Community Fest really is - a group of people gathering to have fun legally.
(10/10/07 12:00pm)
The first thing you notice about David Sedaris is his voice. High-pitched and squeaky, it seems more befitting of a nervous prepubescent boy and incites giggles as soon as he opens his mouth.
Luckily for Sedaris though, his voice wasn't the only thing drawing laughs at his reading at the Community Theatre at Mayo Center for the Performing Arts in Morristown, N.J., on Thursday night.
The best-selling humorist and author of books like "Naked" and "Me Talk Pretty One Day" read only new works on Thursday, including an essay from his currently untitled new book to be released in June. Sedaris playfully solicited possible titles from those in attendance.
He also presented pieces from an essay slated to appear in The New Yorker in a few weeks and a piece for National Public Radio's (NPR) "This American Life," to which he has been a long-time contributor.
Sedaris' delight in the absurdity of everyday life was readily apparent in the works he read, as he skewered everything from pretentious pronunciation of foreign words to his flatulent Greek grandmother.
In his first piece, he hilariously mimicked an art professor he once had who insisted on enunciating words like "Nicaragua" and "Chicano" with an affected Spanish accent. Sedaris recalled the glee in which he would ask the professor pointless and irrelevant questions, just to be rewarded with another pompous uttering.
"So professor, in your opinion, which Latin American country has the best coffee?"
The sarcastic Sedaris also harped on a former neighbor who used to provide him with ludicrous anecdotes, including a remedy for crib death.
He spun this tale into an essay about a house guest with the same propensity for linguistic pretension, who visited Sedaris and his partner Hugh at their house in France. The guest objected to Sedaris' naming garden rabbits with ludicrous French adjectives, like the word for chagrin, and insisted on showing off his skilled French whenever given the chance.
Sedaris ended the story by revealing his new name for one of the rabbits who never seemed to leave, in memoriam to his house guest - "Thank fucking God he's gone."
Sedaris' irreverent and unfailingly accurate descriptions gained big laughs from the audience as he compared a cantankerous old woman's jaw to a "drawer pulled out" in a voice akin to gravel being stepped on. A Polish man distraught at the death of his mother had "hands like frying pans," and Sedaris envisioned his dead mother with a potato for a nose.
In the essay about the Polish man, Sedaris explained being stuck next to the sobbing man on an eight-hour flight, and his uneasy reaction to his fellow passenger.
Caught in an uncomfortable situation, Sedaris tried to ignore the man's unrelenting sobs by watching the Chris Rock movie "Down to Earth," which caused him to dissolve in inappropriate laughter, which he tried to unsuccessfully stifle.
This scenario caused him to remember similar situations at the family dinner table years ago, when he and his brother and sisters, who include "Stranger's with Candy" star Amy Sedaris, would ache with suppressed laughter at their elderly Greek grandmother, who would unconsciously and loudly fart to the hilarity of her grandchildren and fury of Sedaris' father.
"My father kept a metal spoon next to the table to hit us with. Some nights the spoon was covered in blood and a mixture of hair," Sedaris recounted.
After his reading, Sedaris answered a few questions from the audience, on subjects ranging from whether he would ever write serious work to the character of Vicky Buchanan from "One Life to Live," whom Sedaris worships.
At every reading he recommends a book, and at this stop it was Richard Yates' "The Easter Parade."
"It's just so depressing," Sedaris said. "Maybe I'm not doing a good job of selling it."
He then signed books for his adoring fans, many of which queued up and down stairs for a chance to meet the author, who chatted amiably with each fan for a few minutes and waited almost three hours until the last book had been signed.
Sedaris grew up in North Carolina with his large Greek family, who are mentioned frequently in his memoir-style essays that recount his eccentric life and personality in Sedaris' self-deprecating and exaggerated voice. He became popular after reading his essays, "The SantaLand Diaries" on NPR, which chronicled a job he once took as an elf at a department store.
His most recent book, 2004's "Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim," was number one for nonfiction on The New York Times bestseller list.
(09/19/07 12:00pm)
Every bride dreams of the perfect wedding day, whether it's in a church, on the beach, or in the case of professor of communication studies Yifeng Hu, on campus. Arriving by horse-drawn carriage, clad in a traditional white gown and serenaded by violins, she and her fianc? exchanged vows next to Lake Sylva at dusk on Sunday, surrounded by 50 friends and family members.
Although she only started teaching at the College this year, Hu knew she wanted to start the next chapter of her personal life at the same place she started the next chapter of her career.
"This is where I'm starting my new job, my new career and my new life - it's very meaningful to me," she said.
While looking for a teaching job, Hu immediately fell in love with the College. "I came here just once, but I love the campus. It's very beautiful."
Although she considered other venues like wineries and even her own backyard, Hu kept coming back to her original idea of using the campus for the ceremony. "Once I thought of my wedding the first idea that popped out was the College," Hu said.
While the wedding ceremony itself was conventionally American, Hu decided to have a traditional Chinese wedding reception. She wore a qi pao, a Chinese dress, in the 1855 Room, which was decorated all in red, from the napkins to the flowers to the table settings. "Red is the color of Chinese wedding culture," Hu explained.
Although TV shows like "Bridezillas" often show the ugly side of planning a wedding, Hu insisted this was not the case with her. Working with Conference and Catering Services, Hu said, "It's not difficult and they've been quite good . the people there are very nice."
While the College might not boast the immense chapels of say Duke University or Notre Dame, Hu is not the only one who has chosen the campus as a matrimonial setting.
According to Shari Blumenthal, assistant director of Auxiliary Services for Conference and Meeting Services, the College has been host to three or four weddings since the completion of the new Spiritual Center, with two more weddings planned for the future.
Most of the brides and grooms are alumni who wish to return to the place of some of their fondest memories. "Most of the couples who have their wedding here either met here or one or both went to school here," Blumenthal said. Others, like Hu, simply appreciate the beauty and serenity of the College's carefully tended and manicured acres.
"We don't have the opportunity to do many receptions since the locations are used by the students during the academic year," Blumenthal said, "but we did have one this summer in Eickhoff Hall before school started, and we do events when the campus is on break (spring, winter, summer and fall)."
The process for planning a campus wedding is fairly straightforward, with the potential bride and groom following the same procedures one would to host any event on campus. They must gain permission to use the location from the office of Conference and Meeting Services, and specifically Audrey Perrotti, conference coordinator for External Clients, who helps the couple pick a date that works for both them and the College.
"Our office can provide the simple services of 'just booking the space' for the wedding ceremony and/or the more elaborate services of handling the entire reception as well," Blumenthal said via e-mail.
So next time you're sitting in Eickhoff in sweatpants eating Oreo cake, take a close look around. Fast forward five to 10 years and you might just be in the same place, albeit dressed in a gown or tuxedo, eating wedding cake instead.
(09/12/07 12:00pm)
Perhaps you've seen them practicing by the sundial, jousting while clad in homemade chain metal and helmets, and wondered who these people were. They wear armor, make their own swords, and fight in hand-to-hand combat. They sew corsets, gather to feast and dance merrily.
No, they're not medieval time travelers or extras from "Monty Python and the Holy Grail;" they're the College's own Order of the Golden Lion (OGL), an organization devoted to all things medieval.
Lots of people have visited Medieval Times, eaten with their hands and cheered on their knight as he fights to the death. The members of OGL have taken this interest a step further, participating in medieval re-enactments and studying the Middle Ages' way of life.
It's certainly not your average club, but for Ryan Biczo, club treasurer, that was part of the draw. "I really like Medieval Times and I really like fighting, so it was a perfect fit," he said.
Although club members are also involved in the dancing, clothing and trade aspects of medieval life, it is the fighting matches that draw the most attention. OGL is a member of Markland Medieval Mercenary Militia, or Markland for short, a national non-profit historical organization.
According to the Markland Web site, they "re-enact medieval life by constructing and using reproductions of the periods accoutrements, and we generally have a lot of fun educating the public (and each other) with what we have learned in the process."
The group is also part of the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA), a global organization dedicated to pre-17th century Europe recreation and re-enactments.
Markland creates all of the many regulations and rules on combat for OGL. "Safety is a big concern," OGL president Patricia Miller said. OGL members are not just running around stabbing each other with swords and spears - they must carefully follow the guidelines and safety precautions of Markland and SCA.
Markland rules allow for combat with less armor and padding; a fighter must have armor and headgear or the equivalent, which is three sweatshirts. Their weapons, however, must be padded extensively. SCA is the opposite, advocating more personal armor but allowing weapons to be unpadded.
Although this may sound painful, Miller insists the most anyone suffers is a few bruises here or there, no more than your average sport. Markland does have a million-dollar insurance policy for injuries and weapons are carefully checked and maintained.
"We have to cut the metal, grind the edges," Biczo said. "Safety is a big issue and we're very careful."
Nevertheless, Biczo has plenty of war stories. "It's a problem if guys forget to wear their cups - which I've done on a few occasions," he said.
The commitment of OGL participants to authentically re-enact the medieval era extends to its weapons. The swords and armor they use is not store-bought, but painstakingly hand-made.
For a full suit of armor, Biczo estimates it takes only about two weeks, with an average of four to six hours of work per night. However, a helmet he made only took about three hours. Members also create bows and arrows. "One of our members made a corset," Miller said.
This club certainly differs from the relatively tamer pursuits of Chess Club or the Student Finance Board. However, just like those organizations, the members of OGL are there to make friends and enjoy themselves.
"It's a very social organization," Christine Clear, last year's president, said. "You really get to know someone after you smack them."
(09/05/07 12:00pm)
So you're 18-years-old and you finally received that ticket to paradise one year ago: a driver's license. Then you go to college and face the sad reality: no cars allowed on campus freshman year. Or perhaps you don't even have a car. No exploring the cultural mecca that is Ewing, N.J., no late-night trips to Wendy's and no skeevy games of bowling over at Slocum's.
Fortunately, there's plenty of fun to be had on campus, even sans automobile. And no, getting drunk off a six pack of Keystone does not count.
Dance party
Nothing brings floormates closer than making an ass of yourself. Gather in someone's room or the elevator lobby, bring an iPod, or if you want to be old-school, a boom box, crank up some silly music and get dancing. May I recommend some forgotten classics from 2Ge+her? It might not be Katmandu, but you'll have just as much fun without the cover charge and creepy guys hitting on you, unless those kind of guys live on your floor. In that case, good luck.
Never Have I Ever
If embarrassing yourself through dance doesn't work, try a good game of Never Have I Ever. Nothing is more effective at bringing out people's weird sexual histories and hilarious stories. If you've never played, which is a crime in itself, then gather in a circle and put up 10 fingers. Everyone has to go around and say one thing they've never done before and if you've done it, put one finger down. The loser is the person who has no fingers left, although the title of loser is debatable, as anyone who has accomplished so much in their short life should be congratulated, not penalized. Beware, faint of heart: it might start innocently enough (Never Have I Ever eaten a hot dog) but often progresses at a racy rate (Never Have I Ever had sex in a bathroom on a Wednesday with someone over 50).
Four Square
For the more athletically-inclined, there's usually a game of four square going on outside Travers and Wolfe Halls on sunny days and at night. Unconcerned with the rage they inspire for yelling and bouncing a ball around at 3 a.m., there's always a group hanging around and waiting for some new challengers. Games like this are great places for meeting new people and a fun way to exercise and combat those infamous college pounds.
Catch a show at the Rat
The Rathskeller, known more commonly as the Rat, is a great eating alternative to Eickhoff. However, it also provides a venue for on-campus entertainment. On most Friday nights you can catch acts like bands, poets and comedians at the Rat, often for free or a small cover charge. Many of the performers are College students themselves so you can witness some great performances without leaving the campus, all while supporting your fellow students.
(09/05/07 12:00pm)
Imagine an infection so devastating that it affects 20 million people in the United States and almost 45 percent of college-aged women. Now, imagine a vaccine that could turn these statistics around and improve the quality of life for millions of women.
The infection is called human papillomavirus (HPV) and is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States. Health Services is doing its part to remedy this by offering Gardasil, a new vaccine to combat HPV.
Gardasil requires three doses, including the initial shot, followed by one no sooner than two months later and a final dose after six months.
Accordingly, Health Services will be offering a Gardasil clinic on three separate dates where the vaccine will be available to all College women. The clinics are scheduled for Tues. Sept. 25 and Dec. 4 from 4 p.m. - 7 p.m. in Eickhoff 158 and Tuesday April 22 from 4 p.m. -7 p.m. in Eickhoff 113.
"It's a very worthwhile vaccine," associate director of Health Services Janice Vermeychuk said, adding that they hope to vaccinate about 300 students.
HPV is a very common virus that is spread through skin contact and can result in warts. Although most cases include little to no symptoms and eventually clear up, some of the more severe strains can cause genital warts and abnormal Pap smears that can conclude in cervical cancer, the second-leading cause of death in women worldwide.
According to Vermeychuk, 80 percent of young women clear the case of HPV they have in two years and the virus never returns. However, "it is the type of high-risk HPV that affects genital areas that concerns us the most," she said.
Types 16 and 18 are two of over 100 strands of HPV that worry healthcare professionals like Vermeychuk the most and can lead to cervical cancer. Gardasil works by protecting against these potentially deadly types of HPV, as well as types 6 and 11.
Although the most harmful HPV strands are only spread through sexual contact, Vermeychuk stresses that this does not mean you're safe if you just use condoms or only have vaginal intercourse. "You're not fully protected unless you're putting a condom over your entire body," she said, explaining that any genital contact, including oral or manual, can spread these virulent forms of HPV.
Gardasil is approved for use among 9-26-year-old women, with doctors recommending that young girls receive the vaccine around age 11 or 12. The vaccine works best at such young ages, before any possibility of HPV contraction through sexual contact.
However, the vaccine will also work for older women and those who are already sexually active. There are many strands of HPV and even someone who is currently infected with it may not have the type that causes cervical cancer that Gardasil protects against, making them just as ideal a candidate for the vaccine as a younger woman.
"It's very worthwhile even if you've been sexually active for five years," Vermeychuk said. "You don't want to wait - in two years you might be exposed."
She cited an alarming study done by the American College Health Association, who conducted a survey at an unnamed university. As incoming freshmen, 26 percent had HPV. By sophomore year that number had risen to 46 percent, and by junior and senior year, 60 percent of female students were infected with HPV, a dramatic rise that highlights the necessity of a vaccine like Gardasil.
One cause of concern is the cost. Through Passport Health, the company which Health Services is conducting the clinics with, each dose of the vaccine is $190. For all three required doses, that brings the cost of the vaccine to a whopping $570, a price which may seem impossible on a college budget.
Nevertheless, Vermeychuk did stress that most insurance companies do cover almost the entire cost of Gardasil. Passport Health can give students a super bill, which they can easily submit to insurance companies for reimbursement.
Another option is using the Wellness benefit of the College's student insurance, which budgets $250 per year for services like Pap smears and gynecological appointments, but can also include the cost of vaccines. Using this $250 toward the vaccine is a possibility, although the student will then have exhausted their entire Wellness benefit for the year.
Some are also concerned about the newness of the vaccine. Gardasil was only approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in June 2006 and some worry not enough is known about potential side effects.
Vermeychuk acknowledges these doubts, but maintains the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine. "They have done five years of research. It's very hard to get any drug released in the United States. They must go through very rigorous trials," she said.
As for the success rate of the vaccine, Gardasil is 99-100 percent effective. In comparison, the flu shot is only about 70 percent effective.
Students who cannot make the designated times can also call Passport Health at 1-800-741-0504 to set up an individual appointment to receive the vaccine. Anyone wishing to receive the vaccine should call the company or Health Services ahead of time, so they know how many vaccines to bring to the clinic. For more information on Gardasil and HPV, visit tcnj.edu/~sa/health/HPVVaccinationDates.htm or the American College Health Association at acha.org.
(08/29/07 12:00pm)
Through four years of college and even for years after, what many students and alumni remember best and most fondly is Welcome Week. Designed as an orientation of sorts for the incoming freshman class, Welcome Week features seminars, speakers and events designed to help freshmen make friends and become acclimated to college life.
Beginning this year on Aug. 23, Welcome Week commenced with the moving in of the College's freshman class. After the college rituals of lugging what seems like hundreds of boxes up numerous flights of stairs and saying goodbye to tearful parents, most freshmen seem eager to move on to the next, possibly most important collegiate task: making friends.
Luckily for them, most of Welcome Week afforded them with many opportunities to do just that. Every day included numerous activities for freshmen to engage in, all of them designed to help freshmen interact with one another. Many students praised the sheer number and variety of the events Welcome Week offered.
There was a poetry slam, volleyball games, barbecues and the popular Dive-In movie where students watched a movie while swimming and splashing in the Packer Hall pool.
Welcome Week was not all fun and games, however. Freshmen were required to attend mandatory seminars that addressed subjects like underage drinking and sexual assault.
Kari Osmond, a junior womens and gender studies major who appeared in a video shown during "Power of Consent," a program that seeks to educate students about sexual assault, believed such programs to be extremely important for freshmen.
"This is the first time they've been away from home and their first time in a college atmosphere," Osmond said. "Unfortunately, they may experience things like assault or abuse while here and these programs are a great way to educate."
Not everyone was thrilled with these mandatory programs. Freshman finance major Meghan Gorczynski said, "The seminars during the day were really boring. It was all common sense things everyone already knew."
Most of the other Welcome Week activities were widely endorsed by freshmen who acknowledged the ease of making new friends at the offered events.
"Welcome Week was my direct path to meeting Jen," freshman open options/business major Paul Nichilo said as he pointed out his beaming ambassador. "It helped me find many commonalities with my peers."
"The dances were the best," freshman biology major Reema Patel said.
One of the most popular events was, of course, PlayFair, the event which notoriously includes the football field, a megaphone and standing ovations. Designed essentially as a giant icebreaker, the rules and procedures of PlayFair force freshmen to meet as many new people as possible in a short amount of time, creating a scene that includes lots of running, hand-shaking and the impossible task of remembering everyone's name.
Although Gorczynski acknowledged the fun she had at PlayFair and other activities, she did feel that most people hung out solely with those on their floor, creating a social bubble that was hard to pop.
"I've met more people on our floor than at the events," she said. "They should switch half the floors or something so we interact with more people other than those who live with us."
(08/29/07 12:00pm)
Drinking may seem like a rite of passage in college, where keg stands and jello shots sometimes seem as commonplace as textbooks and cramming for exams. Underage drinking is preached against, yet is often treated with a wink and a nod; parents, officials and students know it happens but often seem content to look the other way.
This blissful ignorance was shattered last spring when Gary DeVercelly Jr., a freshman at Rider University, died after excessive drinking at the Phi Kappa Tau fraternity house where he was pledging. DeVercelly allegedly drank almost an entire bottle of vodka and had a blood alcohol level of 0.426 percent, well above New Jersey's legal limit of .08.
Now, the debate over underage drinking continues, as three Rider students and two officials were indicted on aggravated hazing charges in the beginning of August, although recently there has been speculation that the officials' charges may be dropped.
College administrators have almost never been implicated in the death of a student due to excessive drinking, thus creating a potentially frightening precedent. Of the three students charged, one was the house manager of the fraternity, one the chapter president and one the Spring 2007 pledge master.
Naturally, members of Greek life here at the College are concerned over the negative implications the case brings with it.
"This is a bad representation of Greek life and gives Greek organizations an even worse reputation because of all the negative publicity," junior criminal justice major Matt Johnston, who is a member of Alpha Psi Chi, said.
Other fraternity members echoed this sentiment, expressing nervousness over closer scrutiny by College officials as a consequence of the Rider indictments and the pervasive "Animal House" stereotype of Greek life.
Andrew Spada, senior business administration marketing major and president of Sigma Pi, said in an e-mail, "We have a very responsible Greek system here on the campus, but I am still worried that rather than observing and understanding the situation, the campus will have a knee-jerk reaction and we will see excessive police involvement as we did last fall."
Spada continued, "It isn't an issue of 'cracking down' because there really isn't anything to 'crack down' on. The events that occurred at Rider University were the cause of a flawed Greek system and a lack of proper monitoring by campus life."
Michael Levy, senior accounting major and president of the Phi Alpha Delta fraternity, agreed that the tragedy at Rider was an isolated incident, one not indicative of or representative of Greek life here at the College.
"The truth of the matter is that Greek Life instills positive values in its members ..." Levy said in an e-mail.
"I feel that the charges to administrators and those not directly involved are meant to make administrations across the country examine their students and organizations (not just Greeks) more carefully, and unfortunately, critically," Levy said.
Greeks aren't the only ones feeling the heat. Many freshmen expressed worry over the possibility of Campus Police using stronger enforcement to stop underage drinking and expressed reluctance to comment on the issue or have their name appear in print.
Although the College will not release drinking statistics according to year, Jessica Kerley, sophomore elementary education/math, science and technology major and community advisor did say that the percentage of College students who do drink is less than those who abstain from alcohol use. However, she acknowledged that it is often freshmen who have more problems with excessive drinking, possibly due to their inexperience with heavy drinking.
"Freshmen haven't experienced drinking yet and they don't know their limits," Kerley said. "(Community advisors) have the College alcohol policy and we do our best to keep it enforced. Kids do experiment, though."
Some students suggested that the school do more to prevent excessive or binge drinking, rather than attempting the quixotic feat of completely eradicating underage drinking.
"It is a fool's errand to attempt to eliminate the drinking on this campus. Rather, the campus as a whole should take a pro-active approach to educating the community about the dangers of binge drinking and the risks involved," Spada said.
Freshman music education major David Ortiz agreed. "I don't see much of a problem with (underage drinking) if people stay controlled," he said. "The problem is people don't know their limits."