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(02/04/09 5:00pm)
Jan. 29 was truly a night for fans. Kings of Leon played to a packed Madison Square Garden that teemed and swayed with the pulsating energy of their sound. It was the band's first show at the Garden and an early foray into arena rock. They took to it with gusto and swagger, delivering what will probably go down as one of the most memorable of the band's career.
Midway through the band's set, Caleb Followill, frontman and rhythm guitarist, ambled humbly up to the microphone, eyes pinned to the front of the stage, clutching an acoustic guitar. He thanked the rambunctious, massive gathering for what was probably the fourth time that evening for their continued support, noting that many had come from far-flung locations.
Kings of Leon owes much of its success to its large European fan-base. Only within the last three years has the band begun to gain rightfully deserved stardom in the United States. And yet Caleb remained humble and said he had "dreamed of playing here all (his) life" before launching into the anthemic "Fans," "for the last true fan-base" in the industry.
The crowd reciprocated with hip-shaking, beer bottles aloft with plumes of pungent marijuana rising to the Garden's rafters.
On the JumboTron above the stage, Caleb and the other brothers/cousins Followill appeared nervous at times. Early in the set, Matthew Followill, lead guitarist and backing vocalist, shuffled off to the side of the stage - riffing the entire time - to take sips through a straw from a red solo cup, perched atop his amplifier's flight case. Maybe the Kings needed some liquid (or chemical) courage to confront the thousands practically circling the stage, but there was no hesitation - not even the slightest hint of nervousness - in the tenacity of their delivery.
In all probability, the members of Kings of Leon have been preparing for a show of this magnitude all their lives. The band's most recent release, "Only By The Night," sounds like it was written to blow the rafters off of arenas. Songs like "Closer," "Crawl" and "Revelry" did just that. Writing and performing songs like this walks a fine line between poignant rock and tacky arena balladry, but the Kings pull it off - and with finesse. It's their humility and sincerity that sells it.
Never was this more apparent than right before the Kings launched into the alternative-rock radio hit, "Sex On Fire." Caleb asked the crowd for assistance before even announcing the song's title. When bassist and backing vocalist Jared Followill played the song's slightly distorted prelude, the crowd exploded. Bodies were swaying, couples were locking lips and the sea of fans undulated with unbridled sexual energy.
And yes, there is something undeniably sexy about thousands of people singing at the top of their voices, "You, your sex is on fire." Passionate make-out sessions continued during the tasteful ballad, "Use Somebody."
With the price of concert tickets rising almost exponentially, it's important to feel like you get your money's worth at a concert. Truly, it was an evening for the fans, may of whom could be seen exiting the Garden in the afterglow. Certainly, Kings of Leon felt the same way, living by its mantra, "You know those rainy days ain't so bad when you're the king."
Joseph Hannan can be reached at hannan2@tcnj.edu.
(12/03/08 12:00pm)
Each day, they slowly rumble down College sidewalks - maintenance vehicles burning fossil fuels. Many College students never give these trucks and vans a second thought.
But Jim Quigg, senior engineering management major, saw these maintenance vehicles as a point of departure for his senior engineering project. The future, according to Quigg and many other like-minded engineers, is in alternative energy sources.
Quigg, and his team of College seniors, including Sean Anderson, mechanical engineering major, Ryan Van Antwerp, computer engineering major, Russell Jones, mechanical engineering major, Brad Shensky, electrical engineering major, and Chris Durando, mechanical engineering major, are exploring the possibilities of solar power.
To fulfill their senior project requirement, the team has chosen to carry out a longstanding College engineering tradition of competing in Solar Splash, the annual international World Championship of Solar/Electric boating, held in Fayetteville, Ark., in May.
According to Jones, the team's boat is in no way a consumer-ready product, but rather a showcase of technology. The team was quick to cite Environmental Protection Agency estimates that annually, watercrafts powered by two-stroke engines spill 15 times more fuel and oil into waterways than the Exxon Valdez oil spill of 1989.
"Right now, it's not practical for consumer use, what we're designing," Shensky said. "But it's the whole idea of using the technology, putting it together and making it work."
The team's 18-foot boat is kept tucked away deep in the back of Armstrong Hall. Solar panels will power the boat through the endurance phase of the competition - propelling it at a steady 15 mph for more than two hours. Batteries will generate a massive amount of electricity for the sprint competition, pushing the boat upward of 40 mph.
In preparation for the competition, the team continues to log countless hours in the workshop, honing the fine-tuned design of their boat, and at the drawing board, meticulously calculating dimensions and specifications.
"It's such a concurrent system that everyone has to kind of work together," Quigg, the team's project manager and steering system specialist, said.
He added that each team member is responsible for a specific design element. Without proper communication and collaboration, the elements will not interface.
"Everything is optimized to work together," he said
Jones has worked to develop the boat's drivetrain for the sprint competition, Anderson develops the hull design and Van Antwerp crunches the test data, refining the boat's operating system. Shensky has developed the electrical and solar system design, and Durando the endurance drivetrain.
"The current we're dealing with could really kill you pretty easily," Shensky said.
Three car batteries rapidly discharge to power the boat during the sprint competition, unleashing a potentially lethal amount of voltage.
Currently, each member of the team logs numerous hours every week, working on various elements of the project, which takes place over two semesters and is evaluated by the engineering department when completed. Though these requirements certainly create stress, the team said the most difficult element of the project has been raising the estimated $30,385 required to complete it.
"Nobody will just give you money," Jones said.
Though they've been able to raise some funds, the team has come to rely on donations of parts and materials, which have proven equally beneficial.
Quigg said he is confident the team's hard work and green mission will eventually prove successful.
"It's just another use for solar that most people wouldn't even recognize," he said.
For more information about the Solar Boat project, visit tcnj.edu/~solrboat.
Joseph Hannan can be reached at hannan2@tcnj.edu.
(11/19/08 12:00pm)
Much to the dismay of die-hard fans of her Top-40 radio hits including "Umbrella" and "Disturbia," the College Union Board (CUB) announced Monday R&B singer Rihanna declined a bid to perform at the College's Spring Concert.
The announcement came in the form of a campus-wide e-mail around 11 a.m. Monday.
In late September, the Student Finance Board (SFB) approved a $126,387.30 bid for Rihanna. The sum was authorized by the Board of Trustees in late October. College policy requires the Board of Trustees to authorize expenditures more than $28,000.
According to CUB director Katerina Gkionis, due to scheduling difficulties, Rihanna could not commit to the intended appearance date at the College immediately after the Board of Trustees' approval. CUB afforded more time to Rihanna to consider the offer, which she eventually declined.
"She is working on her album," Gkionis said. She added that Rihanna also turned down a $300,000 bid to appear at a private party close to the intended date of the College performance.
"It kind of made us feel better that hey, we're not the only ones," Gkionis said. She added, "It's hard to book someone so far in advance."
CUB must confront the predicament of finding a replacement for Rihanna on short notice. The search for an alternative performer began Thursday, Nov. 13. Students received a CUB e-mail that said Rihanna's response was still pending.
The e-mail linked students to a survey of alternative performances by R&B, hip-hop and alternative rock musicians.
Gkionis said 1,600 people responded to the first survey.
Monday's CUB e-mail announcing Rihanna's rejection linked students to a narrowed-down version of the survey.
"This is the end result, the top choices from the other survey," Gkionis said.
As of Monday afternoon, Gkionis said more than 1,300 people responded to the second survey. The survey closed at 10 p.m. Monday night.
Hip-hop and R&B artists included Ne-Yo, Lupe Fiasco, Jordin Sparks, Ludacris and N.E.R.D.
Alternative rock acts included OAR, Jason Mraz, Death Cab for Cutie, Jimmy Eat World, Katy Perry and Ben Folds. David Cook, Girl Talk, Lady Gaga, Kat Deluna and Black Violin were listed as potential opening acts.
CUB will have to appear before SFB again to receive funding for the new musician.
The Board of Trustees will consider approving the sum at its December meeting.
Gkionis said the student body will likely know who the replacement performer is after Winter Break.
Cristina Kohler, freshman business marketing major, said she was disappointed.
"That sucks," she said. "I got my hopes up. I really wanted to see her."
Casey Tinston, sophomore English secondary education major, was slightly more optimistic.
"I think it's a little disappointing," she said.
She added, "But there are lots of other great artists that might come to the College, so I'm still excited."
(11/06/08 12:00pm)
Finals are difficult enough, but imagine studying for and taking those December exams while your body is overwhelmed with the flu.
With flu season just around the corner, Health Services has offered three opportunities for College students, faculty and staff to obtain the $20 vaccination.
This was also the first year the needle-less FluMist nasal vaccination was made available by Health Services.
Though the opportunity to receive an on-campus immunization has passed, health care experts strongly encourage all people to get vaccinated. Vaccinations are still available through clinics, some pharmacies and primary health care providers.
"College life, particularly communal living, promotes the spread of any communicable disease, including influenza," Janice Vermeychuk, a nurse practitioner and associate director of Health Services, said.
Vermeychuk added that stress, lack of sleep and a poor diet can also increase a student's risk of getting the flu, which is typically spread through coughs and sneezes, though the virus can be spread by hand-to-eye, -nose and -mouth contact.
According to webmd.com, influenza symptoms typically include high fever, muscle and joint ache, weakness, headache, dry cough and sore throat, among others.
Curtis Allen, a spokesperson for the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), said the severity of this year's flu season is unpredictable at best. He said the CDC is "optimistic that the vaccine is a good match to the other strains that are circulating in the world."
According to Allen, a different vaccine is produced to combat the flu annually, and each year the vaccine includes three different strains of the virus. Last year's vaccine didn't match the predominant strain, causing some people to get sick even after receiving the vaccination.
Allen said though there was a "less than optimal match," the vaccine still offered protection against the "close cousin" of one of the viruses in the vaccine. He said the vaccine is still the best defense against becoming sick.
According to the CDC, contact with someone who has a chronic disease enhances one's likelihood of getting sick. In a college population of more than 5,000 students, Allen said, "Odds are, you are in close contact with someone who has a chronic disease."
Though statistically College students aren't likely to die from the flu, the virus does introduce a distinct set of complications, according to Vermeychuk.
"The most common mistake students make (other than not getting vaccinated) is that they attempt to continue with their activities as usual when they should be laying low," she said. "They take a shower to get ready for class and pass out. Now they not only have the flu, they also have a head injury."
Vermeychuk advised students to wash hands frequently, practice good hygiene, get nine hours of sleep per night, cull stress, eat well and drink plenty of fluids.
If struck by the flu, Vermeychuk said students should adhere to the previously mentioned practices while avoiding alcohol and smoking. She added the best thing for sick students to do is stay home. Students can also obtain an anti-viral medication through Health Services, provided that it's initiated within two days of symptoms.
Joseph Hannan can be reached at hannan2@tcnj.edu.
(11/06/08 12:00pm)
"You know, I started crying," Roy Johnson, a College alumnus, said to a friend over his cellphone Tuesday night, minutes before Sen. Barack Obama's victory speech.
He added that tomorrow, he'll be purchasing every copy of every newspaper he can get his hands on to commemorate this historic election.
Johnson's sentiment was echoed by many throughout the College campus as news spread of Obama's victory.
Lynette Barnes Jr., junior psychology major, said Obama's victory conveyed a message of hope to the nation.
"Yes, we can change the world," Barnes said. "We almost threw stuff through the windows, but people would think we were Republicans," she laughed.
Barnes had to raise her voice over the numerous shouts of joy that echoed throughout the Brower Student Center. She aimed her camera at the TV screen hanging above the Information Desk, documenting every second of the ground-breaking occasion.
Outside the Student Center, students shouted for Obama from the sidewalks between Packer and Eickhoff Halls.
Meanwhile, the College Democrats hosted a victory party in the Travers/Wolfe main lounge, where approximately 100 people had gathered. Prior to Obama's appearance on the massive TV screen erected in the lounge, Jarell Daniely, senior mechanical engineering major, burst in and let out an exuberant cheer.
The crowd reciprocated, and chants of "Obama, Obama," began to reverberate throughout the room. Silence fell over the hot, crowded room as Obama began to deliver his speech.
Their enthusiasm wasn't shared by all members of the College community, however. Mike Peters, secretary of the College Republicans, said he had concerns with an Obama presidency.
"Obviously, we're disappointed," he said in a telephone interview while returning from N.J. Senator Leonard Lance's victory party. Lance was elected to U.S. Congress in District 7.
"Of course, we are going to respect Obama as our president," Peters said. "I hope he can bring the country forward."
Peters said Republicans will have to double their efforts, having lost both control of the White House and Congress. His primary concerns were with Obama's economic and diplomatic policies.
"He's easily the most inexperienced president we've ever elected," Peters said. "I think the country did a very dangerous thing today."
Mitchell Berman, freshman math major, disagreed.
"I think it's time for a change," Berman said at the victory party in the T/W lounge. However, Berman projected that Obama will not be a president without fault.
"I always respected McCain," he said, citing his record of military service and experience in government.
Regardless, Berman said he was optimistic about Obama's effectiveness as president.
He said, "I'm excited to see what (Obama will) bring the country in the next four years."
(09/17/08 12:00pm)
Kevin Cogill, a blogger from Culver City, Calif., was arrested by the FBI on Aug. 28 under suspicion of violating federal copyright law. Cogill allegedly distributed nine unreleased Guns N' Roses songs from the bands long-delayed upcoming record, "Chinese Democracy."
Cogill admitted to posting the tracks, as reported by Rolling Stone's Rock & Roll Daily blog, and is currently embroiled in the legal battle of a lifetime. The blog reported on Sept. 2 that Cogill cannot afford an attorney, and is currently attempting to raise money for his defense through a PayPal account. Cogill faces a potential five-year prison sentence and a $250,000 fine if convicted.
The U.S. court system has already shown a degree of leniency to Cogill. The Rock & Roll Daily blog reported that at an initial hearing, the presiding judge said Cogill's bail, set at $50,000, was excessive and a court summons, rather than a full-fledged arrest, would have been more appropriate.
Cogill's case is high-profile. Rest assured, as the trial progresses, the music blogosphere will be alight with discussion on the potential repercussions of this case. What has me so miffed about this case is its timing.
It's safe to assume that the majority of people reading this article have at one point or another violated federal copyright law. Illegal downloading and file sharing are commonplace in today's society.
It's a pretty easy concept to comprehend. Downloading music you're not paying for is the equivalent of pocketing a CD at a music retail location and walking out the door. Both are illegal. But years have passed during which various file sharing programs have developed and flourished, and yet the federal government has done little to combat the problem, which in all likelihood has become too widespread to combat.
Why then should Cogill, a blogger who simply wanted to weigh in on the hype surrounding Guns N' Roses' first studio contribution in years, be held accountable when so many millions of people remain unscathed? The music industry and federal government have had ample time to contend with this issue. The collective backlash against Cogill seems like a reaction delayed for nearly a decade.
If anything, this high-profile case will harm both the already sinking record industry and Guns N' Roses. Putting Cogill behind bars will do little to reverse the trends in the file sharing culture, and will likely only succeed in inspiring greater contempt for both the record industry and the band itself.
I can understand the rationale behind creating and upholding copyright law. These regulations are essential for maintaining the financial prosperity of the music industry and consequently, the continued production of music by bands and musicians alike. However, it is pointless to attempt to reverse file sharing trends now. Instead, the music industry needs to find a new business model rather than continuing to punish music fans.
Joseph Hannan can be reached at hannan2@tcnj.edu.
(09/17/08 12:00pm)
Satire and theatrics pushed the Sept. 12 College Union Board (CUB) Rathskeller concert out of the rock realm and into absurdity.
A student band, Arrogant Rat, had its performance cut short by Jessica Claar, assistant director for Student Activities, after she and co-CUBRat chairman Mike Lawrence took offense to the band's performance.
According to Claar and Lawrence, Ron Seidel, drummer for Arrogant Rat, started directing improvised lyrical barbs at CUB when his performance was interrupted.
According to Seidel, sophomore interactive multimedia major, his band's performance was intended to be a joke CUB, Claar and members of the audience didn't seem to get.
"It was satire," Seidel said of his band, consisting of Steve Gadda, sophomore economics major on guitar, Alex Cap, sophomore music performance major on keyboard and Dan Silano, sophomore computer science major on guitar.
Seidel considers himself a serious musician currently in the mastering stage of two upcoming EPs. He said he formed Arrogant Rat, a band of friends, as a tribute to Modest Mouse frontman Isaac Brock, who is known for his scathing satire and sarcasm in his lyrics and vocal delivery.
"This was a complete publicity stunt," Seidel said. "I'm trying to get attention to the music I'm making right now and I feel like a good way of doing that is creating controversy."
Claar said that as of press time Monday night, Seidel has not made an attempt to clarify the nature of his performance with CUB or the office of Student Activities. She added that until he does, Seidel's actions will be interpreted as hostile.
Lawrence said he understood Seidel's "schtick," but took issue with Seidel's alleged disrespect of CUB.
The show was supposed to feature Arrogant Rat and a second student band, The Plot Thickens. The latter failed to arrive on time, citing a scheduling conflict within the lineup.
According to Lawrence, tensions began to smolder between him and Seidel when Arrogant Rat arrived for load-in 50 minutes late. Lawrence said during this time, Seidel was preoccupied with obtaining free food and beer instead of setting up for the show.
He said CUB is not contractually obligated to provide either.
The band was late because it couldn't acquire transportation, according to Lawrence. Last Friday's deluge made carrying gear to the Rat impossible.
The Plot Thickens eventually showed up during Arrogant Rat's set and attempted to apologize to Lawrence for the cancellation.
This and conversation among the crowd caught Seidel's attention.
In keeping with his character as "an arrogant rat," he "called out the crowd."
"Everyone that's talking while we play is being extremely rude," he said, directing his comment at Lawrence, who informed Seidel that he was "talking to the guys who couldn't play," The Plot Thickens.
Seizing the microphone, Seidel said, "We're going to start playing our own shows from now on. They don't like us here."
At this point, Seidel allegedly began directing lyrical barbs at CUB, according to Claar. Seidel made up a song on keyboard that portrayed CUB negatively, she said.
Lawrence agreed the lyrics were offensive to CUB members, but could not recall the exact lyrical content.
"The band was being very hostile on stage, making inappropriate comments and they had just sang a song about how they hated CUB and that they were going to book their own shows from now on," Claar said.
At this point in the show, Claar was called away from the Matt Nathonson concert in Kendall Hall by Lawrence, who asked Claar to handle the situation.
Claar arrived and informed the band it had breached its contract, Seidel could no longer play at the Rat in any future bands and Arrogant Rat would not be paid for its performance.
"I apologize if I hurt the people there's feelings," Seidel said. "We have no bad intentions in inflicting pain to anyone from CUB or anything like that."
Seidel explained that he was offended by the disruption of Arrogant Rat's performance. "It hurt my feelings, so I decided to call them out on being disrespectful," he said. "At that moment in time, I was heated."
Both Claar and Lawrence said the other members of Arrogant Rat were compliant and willingly removed their gear from the Rat stage.
Seidel remained on the stage while his bandmates removed his gear.
Seidel said the band made its satirical aims apparent in its performance. During the show, he said the band was made up of "the best musicians at (the College)."
He also asked the crowd, "Who can write the best song? I'm pretty sure we can."
Claar said the event has prompted a re-evaluation of CUBRat policies. In the future, she said, bands will be required to submit rosters in advance.
She added that more specific regulations about bands' behavior will also be created.
Joseph Hannan can be reached at hannan2@tcnj.edu.
(09/03/08 12:00pm)
It would have been a recipe for disaster for many other bands: Rent a house on the Jersey shore, live in that house together for months on end, while self-recording and producing a bold, sophomore record.
For Asbury Park-based Readymade Breakup, this daring approach yielded "Alive On The Vine," a substantial set of 10 songs, hand-crafted and brought to life on the New Jersey shore. The band's follow-up to 2007's "Isn't That What It's For?" marks a deviation toward the blues, alternative country rock and traditional rock 'n' roll tones.
"Isn't That What It's For?" stood apart in the New Jersey music scene as a prime example of pop rock at its best - contagious melodies, driving rhythm and compelling lyrics. All of these elements are still present on "Alive On The Vine," but tonally, the record has a much earthier, organic sound and feeling - what the members of Readymade Breakup attribute to the band's well-defined identity.
"I think with this new record, we actually became a band," Gay Elvis, bassist and backing vocalist, said.
Over the years, Readymade Breakup has undergone lineup changes and faced disintegration. Rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist Paul Rosevear explained with Readymade's lineup solidified - largely through extensive touring - the songwriting process has become more collaborative and the band itself is more united.
"When you get out to total strangers, you just carry yourself a little bit differently and you have more focus and purpose, and get more to prove," Rosevear said. "Even as we began to tour on the last record, there was an itch to do something that was us."
Itch relief for Readymade Breakup came in the form of a hiatus to the Jersey shore, where in isolation, "Alive On The Vine" began to take shape.
"We all basically moved into a house together and made this thing for a couple of months," Rosevear said. "Anything anybody wanted to pick up and play, they could play," he added.
For Readymade, "anything" included pots and pans, which wound their way into a few of the rhythm tracks. Their use eventually became a source of discord. It seems that when you live and work with your fellow band members for months on end, even seemingly minor things can mushroom into major conflicts.
But according to Jim Fitzgerald, lead guitarist and backing vocalist, it was the forced reconciliation of different creative ideas that produced the dynamic sound of "Alive On The Vine."
"I think that (self-production and recording) worked in our advantage because instead of somebody stepping in and saying, 'This is how it's going to be,' we had to work it out and find something that we were all OK with ultimately," Fitzgerald said.
Rosevear said the blowups, particularly the pots and pans incident, were some of his "fondest memories" from the recording process. "We somehow found the right thing to do," he added.
Through various "guerilla" recording tactics - including the use of blankets and hollowed-out couches for sound dampening and isolation - Readymade Breakup has produced a vibrant set of songs rooted in the American musical tradition that are sure to resonate with all fans of rock 'n' roll. As the band takes to the road once again, Americans will once again be reminded why some of the nation's best music comes from New Jersey.
Listen to Readymade Breakup at their MySpace.
(08/27/08 12:00pm)
Thinking about heading home for the weekend? Considering a Tuesday night drinking binge from which you will wake up to find crudely drawn penises all over your body?
Think again. Various student-run organizations provide a diverse offering of entertainment available during each week of the semester.
Here is a preview of what you can expect throughout the fall.
College Union Board (CUB)
CUB has planned an eclectic mix of fall entertainment for your viewing pleasure. Be sure to catch the Welcome Week Comedy show tomorrow at 7 p.m. in Kendall Hall featuring Pete Dominick, Amy Schumer and Dwayne Perkins, and the Break! Urban Funk Dance Spectacular on Oct. 7.
According to CUB director Katerina Gkionis, CUB will screen free box office hits on Tuesday and Saturday nights. There will also be outdoor screenings of "The Strangers" and "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" on the Allen, Brewster and Ely lakeside lawn at 8 p.m. on Sept. 2.
CUB will also be leading a bus trip to see the "Bodies" exhibit in New York City on Sept. 10.
Look for campus postings and Facebook invitations to upcoming CUB events.
All College Theatre (ACT)
ACT is a student-operated organization dedicated to all aspects of acting, theater and production. According to ACT President Amanda Ganza, ACT has two major fall productions in the making.
ACT will put on four performances of Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night," from Oct. 15 to Oct. 18. "Twelfth Night" is the tale of two twins, Sebastian and Viola, shipwrecked on the island of Illyria.
"Confusion and mistaken identity abound, yet the play ends with true love winning," Ganza said.
ACT's second production will be its annual Murder Mystery Dinner.
Muder Mystery Dinner participants will enjoy an interactive theater experience and a catered meal all for a low price.
The Murder Mystery Dinner will be held on Dec. 5 and 6.
TCNJ Musical Theatre (TMT)
TMT is a student-run group that performs both large-scale musicals and smaller, more intimate musical productions. Brian Michalowski, TMT president, said the organization will produce its annual Broadway Night and a large-scale production of "Seussical the Musical" during the fall semester.
Broadway Night will feature songs from major musicals performed cabaret style. "The songs range from various shows and musical styles and also can be solo, duets, groups or whatever the (performers) feel like," Michalowski said.
The date for Broadway Night has yet to be determined.
"Seussical the Musical" is a stage adaptation of the works of Dr. Seuss. "The Cat in the Hat serves as the narrator for the musical and it mostly revolves around 'Horton Hears a Who,'" Michalowski said.
"Seussical the Musical" will be performed Nov. 20 through Nov. 23 on the Kendall Hall Main Stage.
The Mixed Signals
The Mixed Signals is the College's improvisational comedy troupe. Members perform free monthly comedy shows.
According to Laura Hargreaves, secretary for The Mixed Signals, performances consist of long-form and short-form games, reminiscent of the hit TV show, "Whose Line is it Anyway?"
"But some of them are things you're unlikely to have seen before," Hargreaves added. Look for campus postings advertising upcoming show dates.
WTSR Concert Series
Perhaps you're more into independent music and college radio.
If that's the case, then WTSR, the College's radio station, has put together a concert lineup sure to both rock and confound well-versed music snobs and hipsters.
WTSR's concert series is free to all College students and features a diverse collection of artists.
Today, be sure to catch Vermont-based singer/songwriter Justin Levinson's performance while your workload is still light.
Fans of upbeat, alternative rock are sure to enjoy the high-energy riffage of the north-Jersey based Molotov Cocktails on Sept 17.
The Molotov Cocktails blend timeless rock tradition with the raw energy of modern acts like Ted Leo and the Pharmacists.
For a full concert schedule, check out wtsr.org. All performances will take place at 8 p.m. in the Kendall Hall TV Studio.
(04/30/08 12:00pm)
College treasurer Barbara Wineberg apprised the Board of Trustees at its April 22 meeting of the College's current financial state and what implications this state might have for College tuition.
According to Stacy Holland, chair of the Board of Trustees, the meeting was held as a preliminary discussion to determine a possible tuition increase in the upcoming academic year.
"Like in years past, we also do not know the state of our state budget allocation, so we are not able to directly talk to what the percentage increase will be," Holland said. "However, what we wanted to do was actually come and present the methodology for how we go through this decision, where we anticipate we will fall without any firm decisions, but to also share with you the principles with which we make these budget processes."
"We simply do not know what the support will be from the state, which is the basis on which we used to plan our budget," College President R. Barbara Gitenstein said. "The reason for that is (Gov. Jon S. Corzine's) budget, on which we used to base the first scenario, is so much in play at this point that it would be foolish for us to say what we don't know."
Gitenstein added that Corzine's proposed budget is undergoing change.
"He has already identified a couple of areas that he's probably going to either reduce or delete altogether," she added, specifically mentioning Corzine's toll-road privatization plan.
According to Wineberg, Corzine has proposed a 10 percent reduction of the College's base budget, which equates to approximately $3.7 million. Corzine has also proposed an unfunded salary increase for unionized faculty members of about $1.5 million, in addition to an increase in nondiscretionary contract spending of about $700,000.
Wineberg also said Corzine's budget places unfunded mandates on the College, including mandatory support for the Outstanding Scholarship Recruitment Program (OSRP), New Jersey STARS II and various state-mandated waivers.
"Right now, we're projecting about $8.2 million in the shortfall," Wineberg said.
According to Wineberg, the budget cuts currently faced by the College began in fiscal year 2002. Wineberg said that at that time, the state provided funding for 56 percent of the College's budget. By fiscal year 2008, the figure had dropped to 37 percent. Wineberg said that during this time period, the College faced a $30 million shortfall in its budget.
"We cannot ignore this, as President Gitenstein indicated, because we have endured severe cuts to our appropriations, our budgets and that really plays a part in what we can do to go forward in the future," Wineberg said.
Wineberg said the $30 million shortfall was caused both by cuts in appropriations and unfunded state mandates, including salary increases, OSRP and NJ STARS II. To combat the shortfall, Wineberg said, the College made permanent administrative reductions, instituted energy-saving programs, froze temporary expenditures - including information technology upgrades - held open faculty positions and reduced maintenance and renovation projects.
According to Wineberg, the College received a $2 million increase in state appropriations.
"We also recognized in fiscal year 2008 that we could not continue with our strategy of just cuts," Wineberg said. "We had to start considering how we could invest in the mission-critical initiatives of the institution."
She added that mission-critical initiatives include security investments, compliance investments and reinvestment in faculty positions.
"We're going to continue with advocacy efforts," Wineberg said, which included meeting with the staff and faculty senates, Student Government Association and campus unions.
After attending the state Senate's budget meeting on April 21, Gitenstein said she thought the attitude toward New Jersey higher education was sympathetic.
"I did feel, in the conversation before the Senate Budget Committee, there was an acknowledgment that this disinvestment was happening," Gitenstein said. "I will say that I found that a reassuring moment."
(04/23/08 12:00pm)
Many college-bound high school students are forced to contend with low standardized test scores that limit the caliber of colleges and universities to which they can apply.
New Web 2.0 sites, including Cappex.com and Zinch.com, are both enabling students to market themselves more effectively to higher-education institutions, and allowing colleges and universities to target potential students more efficiently.
Sites like MySpace, Facebook and LiveJournal are serving as models for companies like Cappex and Zinch. College-bound students can open free accounts with either of these sites and create customizable profiles for colleges and universities to view.
According to Matt Middleton, assistant director of Admissions at the College, some applicants are directing admissions officers to Cappex and Zinch profiles, though the vast majority of potential students file paper applications.
"Our hope is to go to essentially a paperless process," Middleton said. He added that the office of Admissions would manage the process online. At that point, he said, "We'll probably become more familiar and more comfortable with using those kinds of sites."
According to Mick Hagen, president and co-founder of Zinch, the Web 2.0 format, in which sites are characterized by greater interactivity and collaboration among users from typical Web sites, has allowed students to market themselves to colleges and universities.
"We know high school kids live online," Hagen said, "and so colleges can reach out to kids and interact with them on their own stage."
"(Zinch) allows every high school kid to be put on the radar," Hagen said. Before taking an official leave of absence, 23-year-old Hagen said he spent a year at his dream school, Princeton University. "I was one of those kids who wasn't on the radar for the kind of colleges I wanted to attend," Hagen said. He said this was due largely to his standardized test performance.
"I wanted to help the kids who are just like me," he added.
Hagen said Zinch is "a place for high school students to showcase who they really are to colleges and universities." He said that, typically, colleges and universities will purchase a list of students who scored within certain parameters on their SATs. These students will then be targeted for recruitment.
According to Hagen, Zinch also allows higher-education institutions to recruit more effectively. He said colleges and universities will pay a user fee between $5,000-15,000 to have access to Zinch profiles.
Hagen said this allows for a more efficient exchange of relevant information.
"Colleges can get more information on students and students can share more information about themselves," he said. Currently, more than 500 colleges and 375,000 students are using Zinch.
Both Zinch and Cappex will provide students with additional colleges and universities that match their profiles.
"We can target those students and send a message to them on the college's behalf," Jace Mouse, a Cappex spokesman, said. "For us, the real value is when we actually provide a match. It's one thing to create your profile . but it's much different when we can say colleges actually like you."
According to Middleton, the College currently does not subscribe to either of these services.
Middleton said the site would need to gain popularity in order for the College to consider subscription.
Though she had not used either of the Web sites, Jordan Rooney, a senior at Ramapo High School, said she saw the utility they provided after applying to 10 separate colleges and universities.
"If schools just base admitting a student off of the SAT, they don't find out who the person really is or what they could bring to the school."
Rooney said she also saw the benefit in the two sites' matching feature. "That would be a tremendous help," she said. "You have more options to choose from than just one school."
Allison Turley, a junior at Rancocas Valley High School, said she also saw the value of the Web sites.
"My SAT scores don't really show my grades in school and the things I do outside of school. (They're) just kind of average," Turley said. "Some people can be bad test takers and other people can be really good test takers. It doesn't really show much about a person just based on their scores."
(04/16/08 12:00pm)
After six years of service to the College as both an English professor and the dean of the school of Culture and Society, Susan Albertine will be departing from the College in July of this year to serve as the first senior director of Liberal Education and America's Promise (LEAP) State Initiatives.
"(LEAP) is a very, very comprehensive and ambitious project that intends to model and support and instigate thinking about a new kind of undergraduate education for this century," Albertine said.
She described the project as inclusive of more traditional learning objectives - including arts and sciences - in addition to being geared toward improving global awareness, civic responsibility and information literacy.
"The hope is that we strengthen, dramatically strengthen, undergraduate education for an educated citizenry and the future of democracy," Albertine said. "The free market has come to stand for democracy. Democracy is more than that."
According to Albertine, LEAP directly strengthens democracy by addressing the disparity "between people who have money and privilege who are getting great undergraduate educations and people who are coming from low-income families, often minority families, whose opportunities are not as great."
From a national level, Albertine will be working to ensure continuity throughout public education, from kindergarten to the college level, in the California, Oregon and Wisconsin state education systems.
"I'm going to be talking to business leaders as well as higher-ed leaders and campus leaders about ways that they're changing the curriculum," she said, paying attention to the "needs and experience of students who have been underserved in higher education."
In transitioning to her new job, Albertine will be departing from the College after having administered the transformation of its curriculum to a learning-center model, which focuses on student performance rather than an "implicit set of objectives."
"I've learned on the ground what it means and how, effectively, to work with curriculum in a way that the faculty feel passionate about," Albertine said. She added that she will promote "economically responsible change" on a larger, national scale.
In looking back on her time with the College, Albertine said she was proud of "the creative success that we've had in Culture and Society."
"We're very open-minded about being interdisciplinary, and we took some chances doing that. And that's hard, because you're going against the traditional power of the discipline, so you have to be creative to be boundary crossing," she said.
According to Jo Carney, English department chairperson, Albertine will be missed by both the College as a whole and particularly the School of Culture and Society.
"Not only is she an energetic and efficient manager, she is a leader with vision who consistently supports student and faculty initiatives," Carney said.
Among those initiatives, Carney said Albertine has supported the Visiting Writers Series, Close Reading Series, the Walt Whitman Symposium of 2006, the upcoming Thorton Wilder Conference and student honor society research and travel. Albertine has also supported faculty research and teaching.
According to Matthew Golden, executive director of Public Affairs, the search process to find a new dean is still in its planning stages.
"Dean Albertine will be here for a little while, and the president, Interim Provost (Elizabeth) Paul and our new executive vice president/provost will be working with the leadership of the School of Culture and Society to map out a plan for both the interim and permanent deanship," Golden said via e-mail.
"Change is good and I would love to see a creative new leader with new vision, new ideas and a deep commitment to the students and faculty here," Albertine said. "You want continuity but you also want new vision, and that's what I hope."
(04/02/08 12:00pm)
Having attended a school consisting of an overwhelming majority of in-state students for nearly three years now, I can say that I have overheard much heated debate over one eternal, pressing question: Which geographic region of the Garden State is superior - north, south or central New Jersey?
This simple question has posed an even greater array of questions, each particular to the state's three geographical regions: What is the best shore destination? Is it a hoagie or a sub? Is Philly or New York "The City?"
Of all of these questions, maybe the most divisive and hotly contested question by far is: Which is better, Wawa or QuickChek?
This edition of "In defense of the mundane" will settle the Wawa vs. QuickChek debate once and for all.
In the interest of better journalism, it is only appropriate that I acknowledge my bias as a north Jersey resident.
According to Google Maps, the Wawa nearest to my hometown of West Milford, located at the top of Passaic County, is the one I pass on Route 206 in Hillsborough every time I drive to or from the College.
But I am a well traveled New Jersey citizen, and I have sampled both the atmosphere and fine cuisine of Wawa and its northern counterpart, QuickChek. Let's see how the two measure up, shall we?
Names cannot be overlooked in judging this competition. "QuickChek" conveys speed and efficiency. In north Jersey, you go to a QuickChek for a tank of gas, a fast and halfway-decent meal or a frosty beverage. Apparently, expediency is essential to the QuickChek mission - so essential that there was no time to add the second "c" in "Chek."
I must say, I've been thoroughly unimpressed with the speed of service in both the Hopatcong and the Butler QuickChek locations where I've waited up to 20 minutes for gas and spent excessive amounts of time at the register, respectively. Therefore, QuickChek fails to live up to its name.
"Wawa" just sounds and looks ridiculous, which I have total respect for. It sounds even better when your long-board-toting, Ugg-boot-wearing friend from south Jersey says to you, "Hey bro, let's go to Wawa."
In terms of atmosphere, I've also got to hand it to Wawa.
Many times, on the long drive from West Milford to the College, I've had to make a pit stop at the Pennington QuickChek on Route 31.
There, I've been met with the steely eyed disapproval of the local men who lounge about drinking their coffee, reading newspapers, complaining about the weather and gossiping.
Wawa has a more relaxed, carefree atmosphere. After an end-of-summer beach adventure with my friends in Colts Neck, a few of us were bold enough to stride into the bastion of hunger-satisfying goodness without shoes.
The sign on the door warned us that such an act would not be tolerated, but no, the first-rate Wawa employees served us with pride anyway, and we rejoiced.
Wawa also wins in the final category of fan devotion. My housemate, Pete Spall, junior criminology and justice studies major, is an upstanding Wawa fan and a fine American.
Spall has traveled across the New Jersey border to Pennsylvania on several occasions to obtain wholesome Wawa food stuffs.
I don't know of any QuickChek fans that can match Spall's devotion, and I have heard his love for Wawa echoed in the voices of numerous fans statewide. In fact, I can say most north Jersey residents consider QuickChek to be a last-ditch food option. Certainly, it gets the job done in satisfying my hunger, but it lacks the quintessential Wawa character.
Here's to you Wawa - you are the New Jersey convenience store king. South and central Jersey desperately need you, for they will never know the joy of G & A's Hot Bagels.
(03/19/08 12:00pm)
Before I launch into this edition of Sounding Off, there is something I have to clarify. By and large, I can't stand politically motivated or inspired music. I like to keep my politicians and musicians separate.
I don't feel like I need a musician telling me how to feel about world and national political issues. I can make up my own mind, thank you very much. A few examples of highly irritating political music jump out at me right away, including Bright Eyes' "When the President Talks to God," Rufus Wainwright's "Going to a Town" and Bruce Springsteen's "American Skin."
I get it. You guys don't like America, which is fine. At least foist your political agenda on the masses in a tasteful and well-articulated way. The Arcade Fire's "Neon Bible" certainly comes to mind.
However, I will say there is one thing that irritates me more than politically-inspired music, and that is governments that try to stifle it. On March 4, the BBC reported that the singer Bjork, while playing a concert in Shanghai, China, shouted "Tibet! Tibet!" before playing a highly charged rendition of her song, "Declare Independence."
To put this in the most unbiased way possible, China has controlled Tibet since 1951.
In a follow-up report issued on March 13, the BBC said, "China's Culture Ministry last week said it would tighten controls over foreign artists" after the incident. The ministry was also reported to have said Bjork's performance "broke Chinese law and hurt Chinese people's feelings."
While the Chinese government has said this will not impact other foreign artists, "particularly during the Olympic Games," the BBC reported that China typically examines foreign artists' set lists prior to concerts, and forbids the performance of subversive material.
Granted, I am no expert on the Tibetan independence movement, but I do know this is a touchy subject with Chinese people, particularly within the past few weeks. Bjork's political statement was most likely coordinated with the marches and demonstrations of Tibetan monks that have taken place.
Apparently, Bjork's outburst may have offended the Chinese people. The BBC posted a comment from a Chinese Web site that read, "Wow, the nerve! Where did she get the courage to do this? Weirdo!"
I suppose that in a country where the state controls the media and many other aspects of day-to-day life, the concept of free speech might seem weird. China's state-controlled media is the primary source of my doubts regarding the outcry over Bjork's performance.
It may seem a bit presumptuous of me to rhetorically impose a cornerstone of the U.S. Constitution on another country, but as a journalist, I think the global community as a whole can benefit from freedom of speech.
I am delighted that within the past few decades, China has made progress both in addressing human rights issues and opening itself to the rest of the world. I think that the welcoming of a pop culture icon like Bjork certainly attests to this.
However, a government should not pick and choose among the more desirable elements of pop culture for the purpose of stifling political speech. In the realm of promoting freedom of speech and the free exchange of ideas, China certainly has a long way to go. Often, a song or performance is the most effective way to deliver a political message. Perhaps if more artists and musicians possessed Bjork's courage, free speech in China could make continued progress toward becoming a reality.
(03/05/08 12:00pm)
There are numerous purveyors of coffee and coffee-related products in this glorious country.
It must be conceded, for the purpose of this highly critical and highly important opinion, that the two coffee titans that dominate the American caffeine market are Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts.
Tension between the two coffee superpowers came to a head on Feb. 26. This day was a dark day for Starbucks junkies nationwide.
According to a CNN article titled "Coffee break for Starbucks' 135,000 baristas," the coffee retailer closed its doors from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. for in-store training.
In a deft act of capitalistic retaliation, Dunkin' Donuts, "to ensure that no coffee lover (was) denied a delicious espresso-based beverage," sold all of its small espresso-based beverages on that fateful day for a mind-boggling 99 cents.
This brilliant move on behalf the Dunkin' Donuts, the coffee colossus, is enough to justify its hegemony over the coffee empire.
It's survival of the fittest in the dog-eat-dog world of barista trench warfare, and Dunkin' Donuts has proven its worth in this area and others.
Dunkin' Donuts' robust blend of Arabica coffee is as invigorating as it is affordable. Granted, it may not be as fancy as the shade-grown blends from across the globe as offered by Starbucks, but hey, it gets the job done. Every morning when I reach for my bag of ground Dunkin' Donuts coffee, my hands begin to shake with that anticipation of the swift caffeine jolt that is to follow.
I swear to God it's not because I'm addicted to caffeine.
I can't say I get the same sensation from Starbucks coffee.
Generally, I turn to Starbucks as a last resort - when I'm stuck in the Library Café, or hard pressed for a caffeine fix on the streets of New York City.
I must say, I prefer the atmosphere of Dunkin' Donuts retail locations to those of Starbucks. Dunkin' Donuts is all business. They don't want you to be in the store any longer than you have to.
The jarring, bright orange color of its logo and retail locations says it all - buy your coffee and leave. And believe me when I say I'm fine with that.
Starbucks seems greedy. Starbucks wants you to stay a while, relaxing on its posh, earth-tone couches, maybe order a sandwich or pick up Paul McCartney's latest record. While you sit and wait for your coffee to cool, you can peruse the many overpriced coffee-brewing gizmos.
I don't need these things. I just want my coffee.
It must be conceded that maybe I'm just not cool enough for Starbucks. I'm not an Elliot Smith fan. I don't have a MacBook. I only own two pairs of Converse Chuck Taylors. I don't live in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. I drive a Ford Explorer.
At least Dunkin' Donuts doesn't rub these inadequacies in my face. Dunkin' Donuts is a friend, and a companion when I need one. I know I can always count on my beloved Dunkin' Donuts in my time of caffeine need, without the superfluous frills typical of Starbucks.
I run on Dunkin' Donuts. So does America. If you love America, you will too.
Joseph Hannan is the opinions editor for The Signal and an avid coffee drinker. He can be reached at hannan2@tcnj.edu.
(03/05/08 12:00pm)
Students presented finely honed literary works on Feb. 28 at Ink's Student Reading Series. The prose of Tom Dunford, Signal News Editor and Michelle McGuinness, Signal Editor-In-Chief, combined with the poetry of John Boccanfuso, sophomore English major, made for an entertaining journey through the craftsmanship of literature.
Boccanfuso read several visceral, poignant poems from his upcoming full-length volume of work, "Envelope," which is to be published this summer. Boccanfuso's first poem, "Fallout," left the listeners stunned and concussed, standing in the wake of a cataclysmic event, completely and utterly alone. The narrator's voice throughout the poem - that of the "last person alive" - compelled imaginations to ponder the limitless possibilities of absolute destruction.
Boccanfuso followed up with "Inside You, Winter," a spellbinding, personified image of the starkest of seasons. The poem was filled with images of light and warmth, juxtaposed with those of skin-blistering snow, ice and wind.
From the deepest winter, Boccanfuso then took listeners to the lusty bedroom scene of "Sharing His Bed," which could have supplied enough steamy humidity to fill the densest tropical jungle. The poem traced a night and morning of sexual escapades between an amorous couple, filled with wet kiss upon wet kiss, with "promises of more to come."
Signal Senior Editor Lauren Kohout read a haiku to introduce McGuinness.
"Michelle McGuinness: a young romance novelist. That was sarcasm," Kohout said.
This was a seemingly odd opening, given McGuinness' picture in the playbill (the author wearing a medieval chain mail coif). McGuinness' first selection made some sense of Kohout's introductory remarks.
She began by reading "PG-13 Tear-Jerker Adult Romantic Comedy," a soap opera-esque tale, told in script form, with some ultra-violent twists. The first scene casts two soon-to-be lovers, aptly named "Male Lead" and "Female Love Interest," or simply "Fli" for short. "Fli" meets her gory demise at the hands of an oncoming truck in the midst of a romantic crosswalk exchange with Male Lead.
This, of course, won't do. Male Lead yells "cut," and Fli reassembles her mangled body to do the scene properly with all of the grace refined cinematic techniques can offer. After properly saving Fli's life in the second take, Male Lead quips, "Oh, it was nothing," flashing a grin.
McGuinness next read "A Story About Pink," a disorienting tale of withheld information about a man who is mysteriously changing colors. Throughout the shifting plot, the narrator cautions against confusing the "fingernail pink" man, and apologies for the man's sporadic memory lapses. "He likes to forget in front of you, but remember in front of himself," McGuinness read. After a series of twisting revelations, the central figure of the story begins to turn red. "What's important is that he is a red man, and that I will never tell," McGuinness concluded.
Dunford was last to read for the evening and was introduced by "Sodexho Employee Myles Ma," Signal Managing Editor. After a long-winded advocacy speech about the literary-enhancing properties of phosphorus, and several plugs for the New Library Café, Ma relinquished the microphone to Dunford, but not until after he offered the reader a friendly smack on the rear.
(02/27/08 12:00pm)
USA Today approached the College on Feb. 6 to implement its Collegiate Readership Program, which would make USA Today, The New York Times and The Times of Trenton available to students at the College. However, the company that owns USA Today has reportedly acquired student newspapers on at least two university campuses where the Collegiate Readership Program has been accepted, as reported by The New York Times and the Inside Higher Ed Web site.
Gannett, USA Today's parent company, has purchased two university newspapers and has discussed the possibility of purchasing another with the administration of Colorado State University.
Gannett currently owns FSView & Florida Flambeau, the
student papers serving Florida State University, and Central Florida Future, the student paper serving the University of Central Florida.
The Associated Press reported on Jan. 22 that The Coloradoan, a Gannett newspaper located in Fort Collins, Colo., had proposed a "strategic partnership" to run the student newspaper at Colorado State University, The Rocky Mountain Collegian. Talks between university administrators and The Coloradoan regarding The Collegian's purchase did not include student staff members of The Collegian.
According to Jeanne Fetner, regional education manager for USA Today, "Gannett did not purchase the Colorado student newspaper."
Ronald Spielberger, executive director of College Media Advisers, a group that aids student media, said USA Today and other newspapers offered as part of the Readership Program could impact a college publication's revenue source by utilizing student-oriented advertising content.
"These people go say to advertisers, 'We have this many students lined up where we're getting access to that campus and we're willing to sell you national advertising in a section specifically targeted to campus each week,'" Spielberger said.
He added that this encroaches on a student paper's "national advertising potential."
Fetner said relationships between the Readership Program and college publications have been used to facilitate on-campus distribution of the student publications. She said the program is intended to promote awareness of what's going on outside of campuses for students.
She said the two Florida publications acquired by Gannett were previously owned by for-profit companies that ran student newspapers.
"Gannett owns a variety of local publications throughout the country," she said. "We don't have an overall strategy for purchasing student newspapers."
Mark Goodman, Knight Chair of Scholastic Journalism at Kent State University, said the implementation of the Collegiate Readership Program at the College would not likely result in a Gannett acquisition of The Signal.
"(The Program) hasn't put the student newspaper out of business or really significantly harmed it because the reality is students produce better content for their audience than these commercial organizations are able to," Goodman said.
Spielberger agreed.
"I don't really see them going in trying to buy or eliminate your college newspaper," he said.
Christine Cullen, executive president of Student Government Association (SGA) said SGA might reconsider bringing the program.
"If USA Today didn't completely and utterly deny that they would even try to mingle with what our student newspaper does, then I'd say SGA's opinion would change," she said.
Sean Stallings, director of Residential Education and Housing, currently oversees the Readership Program's potential implementation at the College.
"We certainly don't want to disenfranchise any student organization or anything that's going to develop a student. We only want to add value," Stallings said. "Certainly it would not be our intention to just bring in or introduce a competitor."
Stallings said he is currently considering whether or not to commit to the Readership Program in order to obtain a four-week pilot program.
"In order to get the pilot program, you have to commit to a contract," he said. "It pretty much means they're giving me a discount off of the contract. They're not giving me a pilot. A pilot is something you try out."
If the contract is signed, Stallings' office is prepared to fund the Readership Program for the remainder of this semester. At the end of the pilot, if it is contracted, students will be surveyed to see if they would be willing to continue paying for the service.
Frank LoMonte, executive director of the Student Press Law Center (SPLC), said SPLC would be concerned with corporate ownership of papers if it was being used to deny students' rights.
"Our interest in corporate ownership of (student) papers is only to make sure that there's not a situation where corporate ownership is being used as a subterfuge to deny students their rights or to deny their right to run their own paper," he said.
Goodman said the Readership Program, which serves over 480 colleges and universities, is intended to create younger readers.
"The Readership Program is directed at building both readership and circulation," he said.
Goodman said the Readership Program is also a way of securing future newspaper readers. In a time when newspaper circulation numbers are on the decline, the Readership Program could potentially rejuvenate the faltering print media industry.
"Everybody wants to get more college students reading newspapers, hoping that that will become a life-long habit for them," Goodman said.
Spielberger said that introducing the program to the College, USA Today would be able to claim an additional 5,600 readers. This enables newspapers to charge higher rates to its advertisers.
(02/20/08 12:00pm)
A deep-rooted fear was churning my stomach as I walked through the Kendall Hall TV studio doors on Feb. 13. The Gay Blades, arguably one of the New York tri-state area's most prominent and promising bands, was scheduled to play a televised show for WTSR's Concert Series, and I was charged with deciphering the chaos I knew would ensue.
If the snarky, withering sarcasm of vocalist and guitarist Clark Westfield (a.k.a. The Aristocrat of Crime) and drummer Puppy Mills (a.k.a. The Snitch) weren't enough to intimidate me, the plastic patio chair thrown at my head from the back of the room was.
To further complicate things, The Gay Blades - WTSR's sixth most heavily rotated band of 2007 - project a barrage of blistering sound at the listener, so unfathomable that I wonder how two people could create so much potent sound. In accordance with the Blades' "Buck Fass" mentality, who needs bass anyway?
Later in the evening, Westfield would proudly proclaim, "Bass players are the worst people in the world, so we're actually plus 10."
Gay Blades haters, who make up easily a quarter of the band's press section on its Myspace page, are easily incensed by the band's attitude. Some treat the band as a cliché or a joke, but actually, the joke is on them. The Gay Blades hold a mirror to the collective pretentiousness of the indie genre, and the haters simply don't like what they see in the reflection.
The Gay Blades took to the stage after a brief interview with Rob Viviano, WTSR music director. I was afraid for Viviano. I grinned, wondering if he was aware that he had just been thrown to the lions when the cameras rolled.
Westfield and Puppy Mills had their way with Viviano, but he kept his cool and was able to ask some entertaining questions. I was proud of Viviano when he was able to bring the true story of The Gay Blades' origins to the surface.
Apparently, Westfield met Mills as a traveling circus performer whose specialty was juggling. Neither of the two knew how to play their instruments, but according to Westfield, they both knew the makings for a band were there. He said he and Mills "stepped into a band's skin."
The Gay Blades' performance certainly seemed as natural as that. They took the stage after demanding several rousing chants of "Guns up!" from the crowd. The lights dimmed, and came back up to the unmistakable juggernaut drumming of the song "O Shot," as Westfield shimmied and sashayed his way toward his guitar.
Throughout the song, punctuated by vicious snare shots and a series of snarling guitar riffs, Westfield stomped around the stage in his distressed cowboy boots, threatening to punch a hole through the concrete.
I suppose I was an easy target, sitting in the front row with my notebook and pen. I had been the victim of Westfield's on-stage ridicule in the past, and I'd learned to accept it as a badge of honor. Thankfully, as Westfield launched his assault on me, the person seated to my right began to yawn.
"If you're going to yawn I'll make you sit in the back," Westfield lambasted. After consoling the curly-haired audience member, he offered, "I loved your work on 'Boy Meets World.'"
Other mainstays of the Blades' live act continued to fan the flames of the band's already explosive live act throughout the evening, including "Bob Dylan's 115th Nightmare" - dedicated to Mr. Zimmerman himself - "NHDN" and a new song debuted at a separate gig a few months prior, "Mean Muses."
During "Dog Day Afternoon," Westfield proceeded to walk through the crowd, landing in the lap of a photographer seated directly behind me. Echoing the song's bridge before its climactic final verse, Westfield reprimanded the photographer with the gentle goading of "Don't be mad!" as Westfield kissed him on the side of the forehead.
Several times throughout the evening, I looked down the row of chairs to my left or over my shoulder, seeing no shortage of bobbing heads or mouthing of lyrics.
The show came to a head during the song, "Robots Can Fuck Your Shit Up." It began innocently enough, with Westfield asking Mills, "Hey Puppy, want to play a song about Robots?" The song began to culminate with the grandiose fanfare of its parade-like ending as Westfield marched through the crowd.
I turned my head just in time to catch the sight of a plastic chair careening toward my face. I ducked, and the girl seated next to me bore the brunt of the impact, but at least Westfield hadn't gotten the best of me that night.
(02/13/08 12:00pm)
Trends in the modern music industry are making the prospect of career musicianship for aspiring acts worse. It used to be that talent alone was enough for an artist to make a living practicing their craft, but it seems that era has passed.
The pressures of marketing, dollar amounts and the bottom line arguably have pushed aside the significance of both the music itself and the deep-rooted feelings it conveys.
Pegasus Jetpack - consisting of sophomore business major Jon Irizarry, in addition to Pat Maloney and Rick Rogers of Lafayette, N.J. - exemplify a band with its roots planted firmly in the soul of music. The band, as Irizarry said, exists for the ideal purpose of creating inspired music for the entertainment of both the fans and the band itself.
"Basically, what we wanted to do is just play some fun music," Irizarry said. "We just have a good time and everyone else has a good time."
Pegasus Jetpack has put all indie and rock 'n' roll pretenses aside, and has managed to laugh off several struggles it has contended with, including Maloney's early makeshift drum kit (consisting of duct-taped cymbal stands and a lawn chair for a throne) and an encounter with a jaded promoter at New York City's 169 Bar.
Describing the promoter and the encounter, Irizarry said, "She just sits there. She just sits right at the bar when you come in, on her laptop, and doesn't do anything. She doesn't seem like she's having fun."
Irizarry said he had been to the 169 Bar once before as the bassist in another band, and the 21-plus venue accommodated the underage members of the band. During this particular encounter, all band members were carded. Members of Pegasus Jetpack, and their underage fans, were forced to pay double just to enter the venue.
The encounter inspired an on onstage improvisation. "I originally wrote 'All I Can Give' about a girl that doesn't seem to be happy no matter what," Irizarry said. When the band launched into the song, he said, "I was planning to repeat the first verse three times. But the second verse, I had an idea, and I just made it up while we were playing it, to sing about how she double charged us."
According to Irizarry, the oblivious promoter didn't notice that his pointed crooning was aimed at her.
The song "All I Can Give" is one of three tracks from Pegasus Jetpack's all-digital, aptly named debut EP, "Takeoff." Available for free on the band's MySpace page, the record is split between the psychedelic, Secret Machines-inspired sounds of Irizarry's solo work, and more pop-sounding piano rock, characteristic of the former Ben Folds Five.
"It's a completely different vibe," Irizarry said, drawing a distinction between his solo work and the team approach to songwriting he's taken with Pegasus Jetpack. "My old stuff, I feel like it's better appreciated listening to a CD on your own time. But this stuff - the shows are what make it."
Irizarry added that he prefers working with the band instead of putting out solo records. He said the band offers "more points of view" and improves the quality of the song writing, as different members introduce new ideas and hammer them out in rehearsal.
As the band begins to experiment with new harmonies while infusing elements of jazz into its sound, Irizarry said a summer tour is in the making, and the band is heading south.
"Venues in the South, they'll usually do a thing where they have all local bands and one touring band a week," Irizarry said. "So then you're not expected to bring anyone, and you're just there as a touring band."
"To me, the point of a show is to get new people to hear you," he added.
As Pegasus Jetpack prepares to take its act further down Interstate 95, the band continues to develop into a rising indie act, laughing its way through industry adversity, and bridging pop with psychedelic.
(02/13/08 12:00pm)
Any avid readers of nj.com or the Newark Star-Ledger are probably, by now, well versed in Gov. Jon S. Corzine's plan for the economic revitalization of the Garden State.
One of the more controversial elements of Corzine's four-step plan is Corzine's plan to increase tolls on all N.J. toll roads, beginning in 2010, in scheduled 50 percent increments.
In order to sell his plan to the people of New Jersey, Corzine promised, in his January State of the State Address, 21 town hall meetings dispersed throughout all of the state's counties. As a freelancer for a northern New Jersey newspaper, I had the opportunity to cover Corzine's Jan. 16 Morris County meeting at the County College of Morris.
Prior to the town hall meeting, I gained admittance to a round table discussion where I was given the opportunity to grill the governor, with other members of the press, regarding whatever issues I desired. Some reporters asked about illegal immigration, others about infrastructural problems, but I had one issue on my mind: funding for higher education.
Before Corzine showed up (he was late, of course), I was force-fed a digestible packet of information regarding his magnificent plan for the salvation of the state by his intolerable press lackey.
This was everything I had hoped for and dreamed of. I was prepared to do my democratic and journalistic duty by being a professional, complete prick to Corzine.
For this particular encounter, I put my grudge as a student at a state college affected by budget cuts aside, and refrained from asking the difficult questions that I had contemplated asking.
My better judgment combined with the over-talkative nature of a self-important editor from another paper prevented me from asking any questions that day. Little did I know that another chance at redemption was looming in February, but more on that later.
What struck me most about this close encounter with Corzine - who was professional, yet ineloquent and consequently, impossible to quote - was what he and Brad Abelow, his chief of staff, kept calling the town hall meetings: "an exercise in small 'd' democracy."
When I first heard this, I thought to myself, "Gee! Isn't that nice of the governor to take time out of his busy schedule to meet with the great, unbathed masses of New Jersey! He actually cares!"
Truth be told, Corzine did and does care a great deal about the financial prosperity of New Jersey. It was written all over his face, and I could see the fear in his eyes as the unbathed masses he was attempting to pacify picked apart his beloved plan in the college auditorium like half-starved piranhas seizing to the corpse of a crippled land mammal.
Now that was "small 'd' democracy."
But apparently, Corzine's infinite benevolence to his governed people does not extend to College students, or higher education students throughout the state, for that matter. Corzine's Mercer County town hall meeting was held on Feb. 9. Before the meeting, he had scheduled a round table discussion to be held with members of the student press from colleges and universities statewide.
As aspiring student journalists statewide salivated at the prospect of tearing Corzine a proverbial new one, the round table was conveniently canceled.
Apparently, "small 'd' democracy" doesn't apply to the 18-24 voter demographic. And honestly, why should it?
If you've made it this far into this article, odds are, you care about the financial future and prosperity of your beloved Garden State. It's also more likely that you vote. But the fact of the matter is, most college-aged men and women don't vote, therefore, there is no reason for Corzine to listen.
Our complacency and apathy are the reasons why we have to supply our own toilet paper, why funding for the Outstanding Scholar Recruitment Plan was eliminated and why the College has been forced to eliminate certain academic programs.
The state budget for the new fiscal year is now in the making, and reliable sources have told me that the College will receive no additional funds this year - not even to keep pace with inflation. If students don't act soon, and strive to reinstate affordable, high-quality higher education, the prospects of our already crippled state will only further deteriorate.
Remember, soon we will inherit the financial missteps of our state. To not act accordingly now epitomizes the failure of "small 'd' democracy." Besides, making Corzine and the representatives in Trenton squirm can be both exciting and therapeutic.