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(05/01/18 6:13am)
By Grace Gottsching
Staff Writer
Student Government awarded College President R. Barbara Gitenstein a commendation for her diligent service, heard from the Student Finance Board, proposed a bill on livestreaming general body meetings and passed a resolution decrying mandatory edTPA requirements for education majors at its general body meeting on April 25.
SG executive president and junior civil engineering major Chris Blakeley presented Gitenstein with commendation C-S2018-01, which recognized her accomplishments during her nearly 20-year tenure as president. Gitenstein was the first female president of the College. Her successor, President-Elect Kathryn A. Foster, will be the second.
Gitenstein was unaware of the award prior to the meeting, and was surprised by the sentiment.
“Over the last 19 years I have seen such wonderful leadership from the students in terms of issues that have transformed this campus,” Gitenstein said. “Whether you have been serving in Student Government or as the president of a student organization, or as a student trustee, your voice has meant so much. Thank you so much. You don’t know how much this means to me.”
After a brief recess to capture a photograph of the moment shared between Gitenstein and SG, Gitenstein left her last meeting with SG.
B-S2018-10 will be voted on in the final SG general body meeting of the semester. The bill states that all general body meetings will be livestreamed in order to ensure inclusivity to a variety of students who may not be able to attend the meetings in person, such as those with conflicting schedules or those who live off-campus.
General body meetings, along with public SG voting records, are open to all students. SG believes creating a livestream will move the organization one step closer to being fully accessible to the student body.
R-S2018-04 was unanimously passed, resolving that SG formally disagrees with the current mandatory requirement for education majors to take the edTPA, a highly controversial exam meant to gauge if new teachers are prepared for the classroom.
In New Jersey, effective on September 1, “All Certificate of Eligibility with Advanced Standing and Certificate of Eligibility candidates will be required to complete and pass edTPA by meeting or exceeding the New Jersey Department of Education established passing standard,” according to the edTPA website.
Former New Jersey Education Association Preservice President Ellen Bacon wrote after personally taking the exam that the “edTPA is a deterrent to the profession, unnecessarily time consuming and stressful.”
The edTPA requires more than 100 pages of written materials from students, as well as lesson samples and a video of them instructing a classroom. The exam costs as much as $300 to take and an additional $100 for resubmission. The resolution states that the complexities of the exam adds an unnecessary burden on emerging teachers.
SG also heard SFB’s master budget for fiscal 2018. The budget, which was not approved by SG and voted to be tabled for the next and final meeting of the semester, sparked concern over how certain funds have been allocated.
The one-sheet handout prepared by SFB contained several typos including mislabeled current and future year fiscal budget columns and incorrect data, adding to the confusion.
SFB stated they were not given enough time to assess the budget and had compiled the numbers for the handout just hours before presenting it to SG.
Provided the other data listed on the SFB handout is correct, the Special Appropriations budget, which sets aside funds for clubs to specially request event funding, nearly doubled in size –– it rose by 42 percent for a total of $310,161.05.
Additionally, $9,500 previously spent by the College on LionsGate software has been reallocated until new event software can be adopted. Options for new software were previously discussed in an SG general body meeting on April 11.
(04/24/18 6:15am)
By Grace Gottschling
Staff Writer
During its general body meeting held at the State House in Trenton, New Jersey, Student Government members heard from Patrice Mendes, the College’s Sodexo general manager, following concerns raised earlier this year over Sodexo’s alleged mistreatment of employees on April 18.
In February, SG began investigating rumors that Sodexo, the College’s dining facilities provider, is mistreating its employees by reducing hours to avoid the legal obligation of providing health care benefits. There were also rumors of a stark racial disparity between employees and management staff.
These concerns had been brought up by the TCNJ Committee on Unity, which was responsible for much of the controversy about the TCNJ Clinic and the renaming of Paul Loser Hall to Trenton Hall last year.
TCU and SG are concerned about low wages, reduced breaks and the lack of an established union for Sodexo employees.
To address the rumors, Mendes spoke to SG members about the policies and procedures Sodexo has in place. Currently, Sodexo has 210 employees at the College who are members of the same union as other local businesses.
Union benefits are granted to the 44 percent of employees who are full time (working an average of 30 hours per week). Employees are granted sick leave and vacation leave requests, as well as personal days, and are approved at different levels depending on the employee’s years of service — some employees earn paid holidays based on how many years they have been with the company. Management staff members are subject to different benefits depending on salary or hourly status.
Full-time Sodexo employees are given 50 dollars toward “safety shoes” and have access to benefits such as health and legal benefits and financial discounts, according to Mendes.
Under their union contract, if an employee works more than five hours, they are entitled to a meal and a 30 minute break.
In a separate meeting with SG members, Mendes, Director of Dining Services Karen Roth and Sean Stallings, the College’s interim associate vice president of student affairs, spoke about Sodexo regulations and demographics of their currently employed staff.
Of the current 210 full-time staff members, 85 percent are African-American and 10 percent are caucasian. About 56 percent of full-time staff members who occupy management positions are female and 44 percent are male, according to meeting minutes provided by SG.
(04/17/18 4:45am)
By Grace Gottschling
Staff Writer
Student Government met with Director of Student Involvement Dave Conner and Interim Chief of Campus Police Tim Grant and officially recognized three new clubs during its general body meeting on April 11.
The College’s contract with the current Lion’s Gate software is up for renewal, but the College is considering replacing Lion’s Gate with something new to promote students’ use of the program, according to Conner. The two new programs being considered are called Presence.io and Involv.io.
Presence.io, has the “same look and feel as Lion’s Gate” but offers some new features, according to Conner. Presence.io has a mobile check-in feature, electronic form signature collection capabilities and would be able to integrate with the College’s existing Book-It program.
Involv.io is not new to the College, as it is currently used during the College’s Welcome Week. Involv.io, described by Connor as “a guide through a conference or event” can run fully on a mobile device and has a chat function as well.
The program has a QR code check-in feature that could be utilized for ID swipes at Eickhoff Hall, as well as other purchases on campus such as ticket sales. Involv.io also has an agenda feature that creates a unified calendar which students can use to sync their class schedule, Google Calendar and campus events.
Grant gave a presentation to SG about on-duty Campus Police officers in uniform using body cameras. Cameras have previously been installed on all Campus Police vehicles.
At this time, officers are being trained to use the body cameras properly. It has not yet been confirmed when all Campus Police officers will be equipped with body cameras.
If an officer wearing a body camera is asked if the camera is currently on or off, the officer must answer truthfully. The new policy will require officers to activate their body cameras during vehicle stops, a call for service or assistance, a motorist aid, arrests, civil disorder and an interrogation or transferal of individuals, according to Grant.
The officers are instructed to activate their body cameras before arriving on scene, throughout their encounters with civilians, during transportation of individuals to jail and when the officer is under duress. All recordings will be stored for a minimum of 90 days, according to Grant.
When an officer’s body camera is activated while in a residential building, the officer must declare to students present that the camera is on. The camera may not be used while in a K-12 academic institution or while minors are present, according to Grant.
The officers must deactivate their body cameras when requested unless there is a safety concern or the incident must be documented for evidentiary purposes, according to Grant.
The body cameras will not be equipped with enhanced audio and video capabilities, which include night vision, thermal imaging and sound amplification that would record conversations at a distance, Grant said.
The Brazilian-Portuguese Club, the Table Tennis Club and the Chinese Student Association Dragonflies Club were all approved and are now formally recognized by the College.
The Brazilian-Portuguese Club intends to unite members of the Latino community. The group’s goals are to co-sponsor events with other cultural clubs on campus to provide educational, social and service events.
The Table Tennis Club offers an opportunity for players to engage in tournaments and casual gameplay. If the group gets significant membership, the club would like to participate in competitions with other institutions outside of the College.
The CSA Dragonflies Club seeks to provide a community for those interested in learning more about Chinese culture through various forms of traditional dances. While affiliated with the Chinese Student Association, it is a separate organization. The club does not plan to hold auditions — students of all experience levels are welcome to join.
(04/10/18 4:51am)
By Grace Gottschling
Staff Writer
When Milo Yiannopoulos, a right-winged political commentator, attempted to speak at the University of California, Berkeley in 2017, a riot broke out. A local Antifa group, or anti-fascist militant group, accelerated the situation and caused more than $100,000 worth of damage with only one arrest being made, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Later that year, lawyer and conservative political commentator Ben Shapiro was invited to speak at UC Berkeley. Given the violence and rioting that occurred earlier in the year, concrete barriers and metal detectors were put in place. San Francisco police officers were given special permission by the Berkeley City Council to use pepper spray, which had been banned in the city for 20 years, and roughly $600,000 was spent on security, according to CNN’s coverage of the event.
The U.S. has recently been experiencing more and more bouts of thought policing and the labeling of what some would call “controversial” language as hate speech. In colleges specifically, there has been a number of riots and other non-civil disruptions of free speech events similar to what occurred at UC Berkeley.
At colleges, there is debate over whether students have access to the type of environment conducive to exploring opinions and philosophies of all kinds without being unjustly targeted or mistreated for sharing their voices.
Is a campus that prides itself on diversity and inclusion, such as the College, taking the time to ask students about how they feel about erring opinions? How do faculty respond to those opinions offered when relevant to class discussion? These elements are valid when evaluating the quality of an institution and how they regard their students from all backgrounds.
After surveying 30 students — all of whom belonged to a variety of self-identified ideological backgrounds — 60 percent identified as conservative, 30 percent identified as liberal and 10 percent identified as “other.” Furthermore, 60 percent of students feel like the majority of their professors have viewpoints that oppose their own.
“Faculty sometimes characterize the student body as politically apathetic, but I think that TCNJ students are less apathetic than polite and averse to open conflict,” said professor Glenn Steinberg, chair of the English Department. “Being a quiet, polite community where people feel safe and respected is a good thing. Perhaps our nation at large could learn a thing or two about civil discourse from TCNJ.”
Given the recently charged political climate, many professors at the College are making conscious efforts to remain as nonpartisan and inclusive as possible.
Although 76.7 percent of surveyed students claimed that they felt intimidated to speak in class if they perceived their opinion to be in the minority, only 16.7 percent of surveyed students who did speak out in class with a minority opinion felt like they had been unjustly shut down for speaking up.
“My job as a faculty member is not to convert my students to a particular position but to make sure that they hold those positions for really, really good reasons and that they have thought through all the consequences of those positions,” said Felicia Steele, a linguistics professor at the College.
Steele believes that students must be challenged on their positions in order to hold them properly, and that can mean throwing comfort out the window.
“Students shouldn’t be comfortable in their classes,” she said. “They should have a nagging and painful sensation that they are being pushed to become more than they already are. So safety and comfort are entirely different.”
When students do feel comfortable voicing their opinions, they are often received positively.
“As a left-leaning person, I’m part of the political majority on campus, but whenever I do voice opinions that might warrant the term ‘controversial,’ I am never met with anything other than respect from my professors and fellow students,” said James Loewen, a senior English major. “Professors have disagreed with me before, but never in such a way as to discredit or belittle my opinions.”
Loewen said that he even felt that when he does disagree with his professors, they respect his opinions and do not try to insult him.
“I have noticed that professors like it when you engage with them in real discussion,” he said. “I’m not saying they love when students tell them they’re wrong, but different opinions help to facilitate better discussions.”
Some students, however, feel as though voicing opinions that differ from those of their professor may have a negative impact on their performance in class.
“If a professor expresses a certain opinion I tend to write my papers to fit that professor’s viewpoints,” said Sebastian Czerwinski, a sophomore management major. “I feel as though I get graded higher when I do that, as opposed to classmates who received lower grades but expressed their own opinion.”
According to these students, the general atmosphere on campus can vary depending on who you are speaking with. However, even when disagreements arise, Dylan Novak, a freshman engineering major, said they never escalate past the point of discomfort.
“Almost everybody I will talk to will disagree with what I have to say, which is fine,” Novak said. “They’re not going out of their way to suppress me. Even people who disagree with me very strongly are at least still my friends.”
All institutions of education are designed to help facilitate and prepare students to join the workforce in a variety of fields.
Businesses identify thought diversity as playing a crucial role in the workplace. According to a 2013 report published by professional services firm Deloitte Consulting, cultivating “diversity of thought” at a business can boost innovation and creative problem-solving.
Additionally, business publications like Forbes and Business Insider have acknowledged that having numerous voices with diverse backgrounds and ways of thinking improves the way a business is run.
“Diversity of thought should be our single most powerful competitive advantage in our workgroups and organizational teams,” Forbes contributor Glenn Llopis wrote in a 2016 article. “We need to change the conversation and get beyond diversity. What we need to do is embrace diversity of thought.”
If thought diversity is fostered in the classroom and in academia, students will not only be able to successfully communicate a variety of opinions while in college, but will be valued assets to employers.
(04/10/18 4:43am)
By Grace Gottschling
Staff Writer
Student Government passed a resolution in support of New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy’s signed legislation in support of family planning and voted to approve the Love Your Melon club during the SG general body meeting on, April 4.
Love Your Melon, an on-campus chapter of a national charity organization, was officially recognized as a club. This victory came after Love Your Melon was denied recognition last November when SG recommended that the organization rethink its structure and goals in order to be considered for approval.
Love Your Melon donates 50 percent of its profits to benefit children with pediatric cancer. The organization’s chapter at the College has been active since September of 2015.
In its proposal, Love Your Melon stated its goals to host events to recognize and raise money to fight pediatric cancer, write cards and letters to children in local hospitals and visit children who have been diagnosed with cancer.
The club allows for up to 30 active members at a time, but encourages social members as well, as there are no limits on the number of social members. Social members must maintain a specific number of points to be considered for an official membership. All members receive points for participating in club events and for volunteering.
SG proposed a resolution, R-S2018-03, of support regarding Gov. Phil Murphy’s signing of two pieces of legislation on February 21, 2018, which will provide more allowances and accessibility to family planning services using government funds.
The first bill Gov. Murphy signed was NJ A2134, which adjusts the fiscal 2018 New Jersey state budget to allocate over $7 million in funding from the state’s General Fund to the Department of Health for family planning services.
The signing of NJ A2134 breaks a long standing effort of former Gov. Chris Christie, who had suspended state funding for family planning services out of the General Fund since 2011 on the grounds that taxpayer dollars should not be used to fund contraceptives or other forms of birth control, including abortion.
While NJ A2134 does specify that of the funds “appropriated for family planning services, no monies shall be expended on abortion procedures,” it is still a large point of contention among conservatives and those who have a moral issue with abortion procedures.
Many argue that by allocating government funds to clinics that provide abortions, the taxpayer is inadvertently supporting all services the clinic provides. In turn, the government money allows clinics more financial freedom to allocate non-government funds to provide abortion services.
The second bill, NJ A1656, extends the eligibility of family planning services for Medicaid recipients whose income is up to 200 percent above the federal poverty line (compared to 100 percent above the poverty line, which was allocated in previous years). The bill states that qualifying recipients would only be responsible for paying 10 percent of the cost for services covered in the legislation.
SG’s resolution of support was met with contention, and members voted to enter into debate. During the debate, several SG members brought up concerns including the allocation of funds to clinics who offer abortion services, the wording of the resolution and the benefit of a resolution on legislation that has already been passed into law.
Ultimately, with a few “nays” and abstentions, the resolution passed.
(04/03/18 6:49am)
By Grace Gottschling
Staff Writer
Student Government passed a new bill regarding its dress code, discussed several resolutions including one about gun control support and approved three new clubs during its meeting on March 28.
SG passed a new bill, B-S2018-05, which clarified requirements for SG general body meeting attire, both for SG members and open session guests. The bill was born out of controversy regarding potential inadvertent socio-economic discrimination of students who may not be able to afford “business casual” clothing that most members wear to the meetings. The new bill states that “Student Government members, guests and attendees are not required to dress in business professional attire and may differ to dressing to their own level of comfortability.”
It is also noted that during events such as elections, informationals and other general advertisements of SG meetings, it will be stated that attendees and members should dress how they like. In the past, these advertisements instructed attendees to dress business casual. This also extends to groups making club presentations, as well as special guests.
A second bill, B-S2018-07, was also discussed. If passed, it would clarify certain changes in the SG elections packet. The bill would remove bylaw Section 5 in the SG constitution — an outdated section — and replace it with the official SG election packet that has already been used during SG elections this academic year.
The bill specifies the restriction of mass emails of any type from candidates during elections. It also prohibits candidates and supporters from directly soliciting votes from students while they are in the process of voting. Also, any person sitting at the SG table on election day cannot advocate for a specific candidate or campaign in any way as the table serves as a “neutral area.”
The elections packet bill has been moved to the next SG meeting for further discussion.
Three student organizations were also officially recognized at the meeting. The Investments Club, Philosophical Society and Disabilities PRIDE all presented their organizations’ goals on campus.
The Investments Club explained that it aims to teach students more about investments and how to analyze the market in a low-stress environment. The group plans to host semester-long investment-related competitions, invite speakers and engage in simulated investment activities.
The Philosophical Society seeks to promote the study of philosophy and give students opportunities to explore philosophical arguments in a relaxed setting. The group plans to invite guest speakers, present philosophical works and host discussions on philosophical topics.
Disabilities PRIDE seeks to create a community on campus of students with a broad range of disabilities. The group hopes to foster self confidence as well as encourage leadership and self advocacy events within the disabled community.
Disabilities PRIDE plans to host discussion-based meetings about issues that pertain to the disabled community, such as body acceptance, autism awareness and mental health within the LGBTQ+ community.
SG’s resolution R-s2018-02 currently acknowledges that SG believes the sale of semi-automatic weapons should be outlawed throughout the U.S. due to the prevalence of gun violence throughout the nation.
The resolution states that SG “prompts the federal government to ban the sale of all semi-automatic firearms and assault weapons” and urges the federal government to take further strides to ensure that stricter gun control laws are passed.
Such laws suggested in the resolution includes making it impossible for a person to own a gun if they are placed on the terrorist watch list, the installation of mandatory mental health evaluations, background checks on all citizens who wish to purchase a gun and required training before a citizen is allowed to purchase a gun.
The resolution raised concerns from several SG members who pointed out the broad approach the resolution takes. One SG member pointed out that the term “semi-automatic weapon,” as defined in the resolution as “self loading” and “designed to fire as rapidly as one can pull the trigger” is misinformed.
Technically, the resolution’s definition of “semi-automatic weapon” would include all handguns, military-style assault weapons and several rifles. Essentially, the resolution, as currently written, resolves that the College supports banning the sale of virtually all modern guns.
Some members who opposed the resolution in its current state encouraged the resolution’s principles of gun regulations, but not its execution. The resolution was tabled for further review in order to take student feedback into consideration.
(03/06/18 7:03am)
By Grace Gottschling
Staff Writer
Interim Vice President of Student Affairs Angela Chong visited Student Government on Feb. 28 to speak about the College’s resources and the Division of Student Affairs’ five-year strategic plan. Newly elected SG members were also sworn in by Chris Blakeley, SG’s executive president and a junior civil engineering major.
Chong began the meeting with a presentation documenting recent efforts Student Affairs has taken regarding student satisfaction of health and wellness, Welcome Week and recreation services.
Chong discussed certain focus areas of the newly developed Student Affairs strategic plan — health and wellness, diversity and inclusion, resilience and leadership.
Chong has been interim vice president of Student Affairs since 2014, and said her main priorities are increasing the accessibility of the Division of Student Affairs as well as prioritizing students’ mental health and diversity.
“The mental health of students is a really critical goal of mine as well as diversity, but we still have a long way to go,” Chong said.
Under Chong’s leadership, Student Affairs has started regular meetings with the student body and student organizations. Student Affairs has also adopted an “open door” policy as well as “ask the vice president anything” days, according to Chong.
“We think our students are going to change the world,” Chong said. “We want to own and embrace that — that is what we use to choose what to work on and our priorities.”
Chong commented on the increasing number of students who have approached the Division of Student Affairs with concerns from just 150 students in 2015 to more than 700 students so far in the spring 2018 semester.
“This tells us that the need is greater, that students need support, but also that they feel comfortable approaching available resources,” Chong said. “I would rather this be a greater number, because I would rather students in need come in than not.”
Student recidivism is down by five percent this academic year and 99 percent of graduated students from the College, within the first year, are either in graduate school or employed, according to Chong.
Chong also noted that Welcome Week leaves 92.8 percent of participating students feeling welcome and acclimated to the College. Student Affairs is currently working to gather statistics on the transfer student acclimation process and satisfaction rate.
“Although we’re beating our peer institutions (in student satisfaction), we’re still not where we need to be in our goals,” Chong said.
Regarding Health and Wellness, Chong reported that CAPS appointments are continuing to increase each year with more clients coming back more often, which she cites as evidence that the stigma surrounding mental health is going down, allowing students to come forward without fear of judgement.
“We are very interested in your health and well-being and I want you to know that,” Chong said. “Safety has always been priority number one.”
Students at the College experience higher rates of anxiety and stress along with poorer resilience and coping skills than students at similar institutions, according to Chong. To address this, Student Affairs has begun to host open mental health events and workshops that introduce students to coping methods such as meditation and yoga.
After Chong’s presentation, Blakeley swore in the newly elected senators as well as the newly elected Alternate Student Trustee, Juan Carlos Belmonte, a sophomore accounting major.
(02/27/18 7:26am)
By Grace Gottschling
Staff Writer
Student Government voted to officially recognize two student organizations, the Music Students Association and the Actuarial Sciences Club, and welcomed new senators during its meeting on Feb. 21.
The Music Students Association’s goal is to give students a chance to practice and perform in a low-stress environment. Any student who has taken, or is currently taking a music class at the College is welcome to become a member.
The Actuarial Sciences Club is designed to create a space for actuarial science students to socialize. The group also plans on hosting and co-sponsoring events and social activities with other student organizations.
During the governance report, it was announced that the Steering Committee has required that the Committee on Academic Programs review a proposal to add the capacity for some classes to be conducted with both in-person and online components.
The Global Engagement Council added new study abroad courses and renewed some that were offered in the past for the winter of 2019. Opportunities to study abroad in Peru, Greece, India and London were added to the course curriculum.
Liam Kealy, a senior early childhood education and English double major and head education senator, announced current efforts by the School of Education senators to compose a comprehensive document to familiarize education students with the edTPA Exam. The edTPA is a highly debated exam meant to gauge if teachers are prepared for the classroom.
Several states who currently use edTPA, including New York, are currently reviewing the teacher certification requirements. The edTPA has been a New Jersey state requirement since September 2017. Education students who feel strongly about the edTPA are encouraged to use the “Google signature” option on the document to voice their feelings about the mandatory exam.
SG discussed its upcoming annual report, which will detail what the organization has achieved so far this academic year. Upon its completion at the end of the semester, the report will be available to the student body.
Chris Blakeley, SG’s executive president and a junior civil engineering major, said the annual report is designed to “present to the community what (SG) is doing.”
SG welcomed the newly elected senators from several academic schools, including Humanities and Social Sciences Senators Jennifer O’Neill, a sophomore history and political science double major and Kiana Stockwell, a freshman political science major; Arts and Communication Senators Lorriann Guzman, a sophomore communication studies major, and Alyssa Jackson, a junior communication studies major; Business Senators Jake Mansure, a freshman finance major, Kerry Silverman, a junior marketing major and Rachel Leao, a junior finance major.
(02/20/18 8:23am)
By Grace Gottschling
Staff Writer
Student Government discussed concerns over Sodexo’s alleged mistreatment of its employees, a modified Learning Assistant policy and the development of a new financial literacy course during its weekly meeting on Feb. 14.
SG is investigating rumors that Sodexo, the College’s dining facilities provider, is mistreating its employees by reducing their hours to avoid the legal obligation of providing healthcare benefits for them. There have also been rumors of stark racial disparity between employees and management staff.
These concerns have been brought up by the TCNJ Committee on Unity, which was responsible for much of the controversy about the TCNJ Clinic and the renaming of Paul Loser Hall to Trenton Hall last year.
TCU and SG are currently concerned about low wages, reduced breaks and the lack of an established union for Sodexo employees.
Sodexo also invested in the remodeling of the Brower Student Center, and has significant ties to the College that would be difficult to break if these allegations of impropriety are confirmed, according to SG.
SG is attempting to get more information on shift lengths and employee responsibilities, as well as any statistics on the percentage of entry-level workers compared to those with benefits.
SG said that it is focused on fostering a welcoming and caring environment for every employee that works at the College, and stressed that the College’s relationship to the Trenton community and the campus community is of the utmost importance.
Earlier this month, the Steering Committee sent a memorandum to the Committee on Academic Programs regarding the consideration of a Learning Assistant policy in regards to the peer-to-peer teaching courses that are currently offered in the psychology, physics and biology departments at the College. The suggestion for the policy was given by Matthew Wund, chair of the School of Science Curriculum Committee.
“While the College prides itself in not having teaching assistants, it seems appropriate to consider ways in which undergraduates can assist effectively in the classroom and can learn from this experience,” the Steering Committee Memorandum stated. “The experience for the undergraduate Learning Assistant may be considered analogous to that of any other internship. However, the use of Learning Assistants also impacts the students in the classroom.”
A Learning Assistant policy is now being considered by CAP, which is discussing a mandatory inclusion in the syllabi of every class with an LA. Students in classes that have LAs will be able to keep their grades and GPA confidential from the LA.
A financial literacy pilot course is also in its preliminary stages, with no current timeline of its development. The course would be a voluntary option for students to learn more about finances, and would cover topics such as mortgages, how to file taxes, balancing a checkbook, balancing a budget and paying bills and loans. The pilot course is set to be a hybrid learning course, which is a combination of in-person and online sessions.
If you are a Sodexo employee or have any clarifying information to offer SG, please email them at: sg@tcnj.edu. If requested, your name and identifying information will not be included in any official paperwork as to not endanger your employment status or relationship with Sodexo or the College.
(02/13/18 8:27am)
By Grace Gottschling
Staff Writer
Director of Counseling and Psychological Services Mark Forest visited Student Government during its meeting on Feb. 7 to speak about the College’s mental health services. SG also voted to approve two new clubs, Dancers of NJ and the Japanese Student Association.
Forest began the meeting with a presentation documenting the recent efforts the Office of Health and Wellness is taking, including the Alcohol and Drug Education Program, Student Health Services and Anti-Violence Initiatives.
Health and Wellness has increased its staff by more than 50 percent since the fall of 2014, and has enhanced referral capabilities for long-term treatment options, according to Forest.
Forest reviewed the College’s mental health statistics in relation to the national average. Currently, the College matches the national average in regards to students experiencing serious considerations of suicide, at 8.6 percent.
Students at the College who experience depression match the national average at 32.8 percent. The rate of students at the College with chronic anxiety is 56.4 percent, which is more than two percent higher than the national average.
Forest also discussed the Center for Integrated Health, Education and Learning, the College’s new clinic. While the clinic is not yet accepting new students into the treatment program, the clinic’s staff is currently working with students who have been waitlisted. They are expecting to double the amount of students accepted as patients in the next academic year.
Health and Wellness has adopted a “holistic model,” which emphasizes aspects of healthy living such as yoga and meditation.
“When stigma goes down, demand goes up,” Forest said. “I believe stigma has gone down in our culture.”
Forest also wants students to feel comfortable reaching out for assistance, rather than allowing feelings of anxiety or depression to accumulate.
“We don’t want people to wait until they’re in crisis to seek help,” Forest said. “It’s much easier to build resilience for when those issues arise.”
CAPS does not limit student access to long-term mental healthcare. Rather, it stylizes care plans depending on individual needs. Clinicians never turn away a student in need of mental health services, but will often recommend off-campus services if a student’s needs warrant the extra care, according to Forest.
SG voted to officially recognize Dancers of NJ and the Japanese Student Association as campus organizations.
Dancers of NJ proposed their club as “laid back with a less competitive setting,” which differs from other dance clubs on campus.
Dancers of NJ is not audition based, and will host dance lessons featuring multiple styles and techniques. The group is also planning on hosting dance-related events twice per semester.
The Japanese Student Association, which strives to provide students with a better understanding of Japanese and Asian-American culture, had already been operating unofficially for several semesters. After attracting more than 40 members, the organization decided to seek official recognition.
(02/05/18 8:10pm)
By Grace Gottschling
Staff Writer
Larry Nassar, a former doctor for USA Gymnastics, was sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison on Jan. 24 as part of an ongoing trial regarding his repeated sexual abuse of minors, according to CNN.
The trial notably featured passionate testimonies from dozens of his victims.
“Larry Nassar preyed on us for his own pleasure, leaving in his wake traumatized and broken girls,” said 17-year-old Jessica Thomashow in her testimony, according to BBC.
Thomashow was the first gymnast to file a Title IX complaint against Nassar. She was molested by Nassar at the age of nine, according to CNN.
65 of Nassar’s alleged 265 victims were scheduled to confront Nassar during the final three sentencing hearings, according to BBC. Nassar was convicted of possessing child pornography and is currently serving a 60-year sentence for those charges.
Among those who testified against Nassar were three sisters — Lauren, Morgan and Madison Margraves. Two of the sisters spoke of Nassar’s abuses in court on Feb. 2 with their father Randell Margraves, who stood solemnly nearby.
When the testimonies concluded, Randell Margraves asked to speak openly in the courtroom. He proceeded to ask Judge Janice K. Cunningham to allow him “five minutes in a locked room” with Nassar. Judge Cunningham denied this request, to which Margraves asked if he could be granted one minute with Nassar.
When Cunningham paused to respond, Margraves lunged across the courtroom in an attempt to reach Nassar. Margraves was promptly pulled to the ground by court authorities, but was released with no charges, according to The New York Times.
Assault allegations against Nassar began to pour in as early as 2014, according to CNN. Victims came forward from USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University where Nassar held an associate professorial position. He often treated young women on the university’s athletic teams.
In addition, Nassar targeted several Olympic athletes, including gold medalists Jordyn Wieber, Simone Biles, McKayla Maroney and Aly Raisman, according to TIME.
In an interview with “60 Minutes,” Raisman revealed she had spoken to the FBI about Nassar following the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, following allegations against USA Gymnastics of withholding reports of sexual abuse.
USA Gymnastics released a statement stating that every director on the board has stepped down. The organization will be running with an interim board of directors, according to BBC.
Maroney took to Twitter in October 2017, joining the #MeToo movement and coming forward about the abuse she suffered by Nassar while on the national gymnastics team. Maroney said the abuse began when she was 13 and continued until she left USA Gymnastics in 2016, according to ABC.
“This is happening everywhere,” Maroney wrote. “Wherever there is a position of power, there is the potential for abuse.”
It is expected that at the final sentencing, Nassar will have an added minimum sentence of 25-40 years, according to BBC.
Roughly 140 victims are pursuing USA Gymnastics, MSU and Nassar in a civil suit accusing the institutions of ignoring the assault allegations, according to BBC.
CNN published US Circuit Court Judge Rosemarie Aquilina’s full address to Nassar.
“As much as it was my honor and privilege to hear the sister survivors, it was my honor and privilege to sentence you. Because, sir, you do not deserve to walk outside of a prison ever again,” Aquilina said.
“You have not owned yet what you did. I wouldn’t send my dogs to you, sir… I’ve just signed your death warrant.”
(01/29/18 11:26pm)
By Grace Gottschling
Staff Writer
Students hopeful of finding a group of like-minded peers gathered in the Brower Student Center on Jan. 24 to browse countless rows of tables hosted by student organizations, club sports, greek life and academic fraternities during the spring 2018 Involvement Fair.
The organizations representing the student body’s many interests were diverse and numerous, ranging from political organizations like the College Democrats to sports teams like Women’s Rugby.
Many of the tables included pages of information, photos from events hosted by the organization and decorated poster boards. Some had laptops poised with spreadsheets open for prospective members to fill in their information, and many were scattered with candy, buttons and stickers to draw in curious students.
There was a large turnout this semester, with upperclassmen and underclassmen coming together to represent their groups, as well as to join new ones.
The Involvement Fair is now considered by many to be a great opportunity for both students and organizations to establish relationships, but it hasn’t always been regarded as a positive experience.
Many have found the Involvement Fair to be overwhelming and a bit stressful, especially when it is held in a crowded space that can often be loud and make students feel rushed. The College has attempted to remedy this by moving the fair from the Recreation Center to the Student Center.
Victoria Kiernan, a junior nursing major, and president of the newly established Students for Life club at the College, said the involvement fair helps tremendously with recruitment and awareness.
“There are a bunch of clubs and organizations that new students might not know exist, but here they’re all laid out,” Kiernan said. “I appreciate the opportunity to represent our group at the fair because it is so great to meet new students who are like-minded and respect the dignity of life.”
Kiernan encouraged students to sign a petition to add free on-campus childcare for students, faculty and staff from her post at the the Students for Life table, which was adorned with chocolate Hershey’s kisses, stickers and colorful pamphlets.
Kathleen Zarro, a senior communication studies major, represented community service organization Circle K.
“Our tenants are service, fellowship and leadership, so what we try to do is make service fun,” Zarro said. “We want to make the world a better place one project at a time — we just really want people to enjoy themselves.”
The College’s chapter of Circle K is the largest division in New Jersey.
“We have a lot of turn out here,” Zarro said. “The fair definitely helps us get new members and get new people through the door.”
Austhon Manalac, a junior biology major, values how the involvement fair was able to connect him to student organizations after he transferred to the College last fall.
“I transferred here last semester and coming to the fair was great,” Manalac said. “There were so many organizations I found that really interested me and I got connected to the Filipino club. They’re some pretty great people. If you want to make friends and meet new people, the fair is great for that.”
(12/05/17 4:30am)
By Grace Gottschling
Staff Writer
It was a one stop shop of fun and festive art as students lined up behind the AIMM building to walk through this semester’s Arter’s Market, hosted by the Rebel Art Movement, on Friday, Dec. 1.
The event gave students a chance to buy gifts for loved ones, find that perfect accent piece to complete their room design, or just find a piece that speaks to them in a way that only art can.
Student artists lined the outdoor market, sitting behind tables adorned with string lights and tapestries. Succulents and glass bottles accented the wood and metal displays the artists used to attract customers to their creations. The artists had a wide range of work available, from traditional mediums like paintings, drawings and prints to more specialized crafts like jewelry, button, pins and soaps.
Cara Giddens, a junior fine arts major, sold prints of digital art. This was her first Arter’s Market, but she has been committed to art since middle school. Some of her pieces at the market were full of color and had an abstract quality while still maintaining realism. Others were black or gray-scale, showcasing the depth and layers of her work.
After she graduates, Giddens is excited to find a job in the digital media field.
“I really want to get into comic art and conceptual art for movies and TV. Possibly even video game design,” Giddens said.
Danni DeQuintal, a junior elementary education and iSTEM double major and owner of D’s Trendy Tees, a student-run clothing business, started selling her creations a few years ago after being encouraged by her friends.
“I started out (making things) for my friends and everyone told me that other students would want them too,” DeQuintal said. “So I said OK and I made an Instagram!”
DeQuintal has been selling homemade items since she was young.
“I’ve always sold things. I used to sell friendship bracelets at the town pool as a kid,” DeQuintal said.
This was DeQuintal’s fifth time selling her products at the Arter’s Market. This year, she added vegan soaps to her inventory.
Sandra Phan, a junior biology major, attended the market with a group of friends.
“I love it,” Phan said. “It’s cute as heck. I love seeing classmates and all they can do!”
(10/23/17 10:05pm)
By Grace Gottschling
Staff Writer
Surrounded by the Grecian-accented, pale green walls of the First Baptist Church of Trenton, students from the College and immigrant children filled the pews in preparation to practice their conversational English skills.
Students enrolled in the College’s American English and World English courses are partnering with immigrants from Myanmar, the country formerly known as Burma.
English professor Felicia Steele, who teaches the courses, said the program was established roughly 10 years ago.
“The goal is to provide (the immigrants) with an opportunity where they are not feeling judged for their English language use,” Steele said. “Research shows that the way you learn a language is by using it. We are trying to provide an opportunity to these students to use English.”
Adam Sibley, the program coordinator for the Advanced Center for Engaged Learning, said Steele is one of the many faculty members at the College who believes learning is enhanced when students get out of the classroom and into the community.
“The project is borne as much out of her (Steele’s) desire to challenge students to think and act critically as her passion for service,” Sibley said.
Since the start of the program, Steele has worked with a number of different sites to fulfil her classes’s engaged learning component.
The most successful site she found has been working with the First Baptist Church of Trenton with the church’s reverend, Calvin Powell.
The Rev. Powell has allowed Steele’s classes to work as conversation partners with the immigrants from Myanmar in his church.
This is the fourth time Steele has worked with Rev. Powell’s church in the past six years. The current immigrants are between the ages of eight and 20 years old. Together, the students and immigrants are able to foster and learn new skills, whether that be through practicing English or studying how it’s acquired as a second language.
“I’ve learned it’s so important to give some of your time to children in communities like these, with the goal of improving their spoken English, providing them with a conversation and a friend,” said Meriah Murphy, a senior English major.
Students from the College and immigrant children filled the pews in preparation to practice their conversational English skills (envato elements).
There are currently five or six children from immigrant families who are working with students at the church. In the first year of Steele’s program, there were about a dozen.
The smaller class size makes it easier for students to work in a one-on-one setting.
“Making sure they feel heard and understood can go a long way in boosting their confidence,” Murphy said. “I’m grateful I’ve had the opportunity to connect with this issue on a level beyond the textbook.”
Twice a semester, Steele sends four students to meet with the immigrants, and the program has left its mark on those who have taken the class.
“The kids were much more outgoing than I expected,” Murphy said. “They were happy to have us, which made the experience all the more rewarding.”
Steele’s model focuses on establishing new experiences for the betterment of both her students in the class and the young immigrants.
“That’s part of the reason that we do this, so that (students at the College) can develop empathy for English language learners,” Steele said.
According to Steele, the classes’ goal is to examine the materials for teaching English as a second language and evaluate what kinds of ideologies are embedded and reproduced through learning English as a second language.
“The class gets to see English language learners as they are struggling to make sense of American English,” Steele said.
Steele, along with the Center for Community Engaged Learning and Research, is making strides toward establishing an immersion model that will greatly advance students by giving them tangible methods to better understand and prepare for practical application in the real world.
“Through programs like Advanced Community Engaged Learning, the College is creating a generation of graduates who, no matter their choice of profession, is prepared to live civically engaged lives,” Sibley said.