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(04/19/16 9:28pm)
By Julie Kayzerman
Former Editor-in-Chief
Eight seasons.
That was the goal graduate student Erin Waller set for herself when she decided to play field hockey and lacrosse at the College — she wanted to play as a Lion for the full eight seasons.
But after two national championships in field hockey and three successful years in lacrosse, Waller fell victim to injury. Suffering from bilateral inguinal hernias, she decided to get a repair surgery, taking her out of her senior lacrosse season to fall just one short of her goal.
“I didn’t get to the eighth season and it was a regret,” Waller said. “As much as maybe at the time it might’ve been the right decision physically, it wasn’t really my decision. I didn’t want that.”
While she graduated with the Class of 2015 with an education degree in iSTEM, Waller returned to the College this year as a graduate student to pursue a masters in special education.
So when field hockey and lacrosse head coach Sharon Pfluger (’82) caught wind of Waller’s return to campus, she made a last-minute decision.
Just 15 minutes prior to the annual season-opening field hockey meeting the night before beginning this year’s preseason, Pfluger called Waller into her office and asked her to help coach the team.
“It was very last minute,” Pfluger said. “One day in August, the day before preseason started, I said, ‘You know, for whenever you’re on campus, I’d love to have you.’”
And with that, Waller made her first return to her old stomping grounds in Lion’s Stadium, this time on the sideline, coaching the girls she had just gotten off the field with.
“The first game was really difficult because I just wanted to be like, ‘Coach put me in,’ but I knew that wasn’t possible,” Waller said. “But I couldn’t’ve have been luckier. The girls were so respectful. We had a mutual respect for each other. I was going to help them and they were going to help me. They helped me a lot as a coach.”
However, after helping coach the Lions to the NCAA semifinals, Waller had no idea that she’d not only be back on the sidelines of Lion’s Stadium, but she’d be returning to the field, this time with her lacrosse stick in-hand to complete that eighth season.
“It says a lot about her,” Pfluger said of Waller returning to achieve her goal. “She can persevere, she’s got a lot of courage and so many great attributes to her personality and her work ethic. She’s never going to let someone out work her.”
For the entirety of winter break, Waller mulled over the possibility of picking up her lacrosse stick again.
“I really didn’t think it was possible and I was struggling because I have to 100 percent commit to things,” Waller said about her decision to play lacrosse this season in the midst of student teaching, taking graduate courses and commuting. “I was talking to a lot of alumni and it basically came down to, I can coach the rest of my life, but I’m never going to be able to play again.”
Waller enjoyed a successful field hockey career with the Lions. As a freshman, she scored two goals in the National Championship game, including the game-winning tally when the Lions edged out Middlebury College, 3-1, in 2011.
“That game, I didn’t even realize the significance of it,” Waller said. “It really didn’t hit me until halfway through lacrosse season… and then I was like ‘OK, I want that again.’”
But the big win didn’t come again until her senior year. After the devastating news that the team didn’t receive a bid to the NCAA tournament during her junior year, the Lions came back the next season with the phrase “prove all wrong.”
And that’s exactly what Waller and the Lions did, grabbing the National Championship title in 2014 after defeating Bowdoin College, 2-0.
“Everyone wanted it. Winning it senior year… the last game of your career is a win,” Waller said. “Nobody else can say that. Only three teams in the country can say that in field hockey, so to be one of them… you did it.”
Now in her eighth and final season as a Lion, Waller is a lead playmaker on the lacrosse field and has already contributed 20 goals and 12 assists so far this season. She admits that her gameplay has significantly improved as result of her coaching stint in the fall and she hopes to help lead the team to a Final Four appearance this season.
“As an upperclassman and a leader on the team, your goal is to get girls to the (Final Four) so they know what it’s like and the fun (of) everything that comes with it,” Waller said. “You want them to get that taste in their mouths to come back. That’s your first goal and the second goal is obviously to come out on top.”
As for Waller’s coaching career, she hopes to be coaching forever.
“I’ve learned that I’m capable than more than I thought I was,” Waller said. “You might have a lot on your plate, but when you really love what you’re doing, you figure out a way to get it done.”
(02/23/16 8:54pm)
By Julie Kayzerman
Former Editor-in-Chief
When Jimmy Fallon’s character is sitting in the dugout in 2005’s “Fever Pitch,” a young kid leaves him behind with one final thought.
“You love the Red Sox, but have they ever loved you back?”
For the College’s ice hockey senior captain Salvatore DiBrita, he looked back on that scene after the team’s devastating overtime loss to Princeton University, 5-4, in the Colonial States College Hockey Conference (CSCHC) Championship Finals on Sunday, Feb. 21, at Ice Line Arena in West Chester, Pa.
“Hockey is a game that does love you back,” forward DiBrita said.
While the Lions didn’t quite cap off a stellar 19-7-1 season the way they would’ve hoped, the 2016 regular season champions finished it together.
“I’m very proud of the season we had and I’m very thankful for the group of guys that we were able to play with,” senior defenseman and co-captain Matt Martin said. “You do always wish that a long season culminates in that one moment that shows you the significance of what you did and what you put in. We don’t have a trophy to look at but you have a lot of memories, a lot of good times and a good group of guys.”
The Lions and Tigers battled each other in a nail-biting, back-and-forth final game, trading goals until it was Princeton who tapped one in at the right time, just 4:42 into sudden death overtime.
Junior forward Peter Hansinger put the Lions up early in the first with a goal off an assist from senior defender Gary L’Heureux. But the College fell victim to a 5 on 3 penalty kill, allowing Princeton to tie up the game, 1-1. The game continued in similar fashion, with the Lions taking the lead, only to be followed with a matching goal from a resilient Princeton team. Hansinger added another tally for the Lions as did junior forward Kevin Collins and DiBrita. The goals were each scored with assists from defensemen freshman Matthew Liebers, sophomore Dylan McMurrer and junior forward Michael Lisciandro. Senior goalie David Laub stood tall with an impressive 31 saves on 36 shots for the team.
“No one team is 100 percent perfect in the course of a game,” DiBrita said. “Mistakes happen. It’s a part of sports, it’s a part of life, but you have to try to do your best to move on.”
For the core group of nine seniors: DiBrita, Martin, L’Heureux, forwards Tyler Viducic and Evan Herrington, goalies Laub and Fred McQuade and defensemen Steven Czachor and Alex Moskal, it was their last time lacing up for the ice.
While the disappointment of the emotional loss was clear, the heart they showed for each other, throwing themselves in front of pucks, couldn’t go unnoticed.
“Something like physically putting your body on the line is a manifestation of our love for each other, our care and our common goal of wanting to win,” DiBrita said. “By doing that, you’re showing your team that you’re dedicated and you’ll do whatever it takes to let the guy next to you win.”
Collins added that the rookies on the team stepped up big for the upperclassmen this season, making an impressive transition onto the team in just one semester.
“I think it was a good learning experience for a lot of the younger guys and I think that overall we had a good season,” Collins said. “One game won’t define your season. We had a special team this year and we showed it.”
The squad this year had the best chemistry this team has seen in four years and DiBrita, Martin and Collins all chalk it up to the team’s tight-knit group off the ice.
“Whenever there were highs and lows or dips in the game, our personalities and our chemistry would bring us back to square one,” Martin said. “I think that kept us calm and collected in games where we were down a couple of goals and that was a reflection of our ability between friends and teammates to keep each other in check.”
This chemistry was more apparent than ever in a season-defining moment when the College came back from trailing, 4-1, in the third period against St. Joe’s University back in October, to dominate with a four-goal period and seal the win.
DiBrita, Martin and Collins look back at the moment as the turn of the season that set the tone of the team’s chemistry.
“There has been so much that has happened over the course of our college lives, but there’s only been one constant, and that’s always been hockey,” Martin said. “To be able to return semester after semester with the same group of guys and keep building on relationships, I just think that’s something special… to be able to play the game I love and also make some of the best friends that have pretty much made my college experience.”
For DiBrita, it was hockey that gave him a sense of place at the College, as the team became a family.
“When you come to college, you have so many things that overwhelm you, but I think if you have a hockey team, you go on winning streaks and losing streaks, road trips, diner runs at 2 a.m., and that’s what makes you close,” DiBrita said. “It’s the things like that make you a family, make you want to block a shot and just make sure that the guy next to you is one step closer to succeeding.”
The nine seniors graduate from the team with a successful string of wins, a 2014 Greater Northeast Collegiate Hockey Conference (GNCHC) Championship and a 2016 CSCHC regular season title.
“Two years ago we were close because we were winning,” DiBrita said of the team’s GNCHC Championship season. “This year, we were winning because we were close.”
(02/09/16 8:48pm)
By Julie Kayzerman
Former Editor-in-Chief
For the final time, nine seniors on the College’s ice hockey team skated on their home ice at the Louck’s ice center in Lawrenceville, N.J. for Senior Day on Sunday, Feb. 7.
And in a bittersweet moment, they left it all on the ice that had been home to countless victories and heartbreaks.
Although the No. 18 ranked Lions lost a hard-fought 6-3 match to No. 5 ranked Pennsylvania State University, their ability to stay with one of the top teams in the country was a huge confidence boost going into playoff season.
“To come out against a team of this caliber and perform the way we did, I’ll take that loss any day of the week,” senior captain Matt Martin said. “It just sets the tone for what we expect out of the guys.”
Penn State jumped out to an early lead in the first, but the College held them to 1-0 at the end of the period with huge shot blocking from senior forwards Salvatore DiBrita and Evan Herrington and big hits from senior defender Steven Czachor.
About 10 minutes into the second period, the Lions took advantage of a power play opportunity with a rocket from Martin into the Penn State net that came off an assist from junior forward Kevin Collins to tie up the game.
With 3:21 left in the third, Penn State took the lead again, but the Lions stayed resilient, bouncing back with a DiBrita goal off a Collins assist, with just 36.2 before the period’s end.
“I think we’re finding our stride at the right time,” co-captain DiBrita said. “We’re getting a lot of depth in scoring, which is something that we’ve really lacked in the past.”
While Penn State jumped on a couple of mental lapses by the College to expand their lead to 6-2, junior forward Mike Lisciandro gave the Lions one last point on the scoreboard with a sweet goal off an assist from sophomore defender Dylan McMurrer. Senior goalie David Laub kept the Lions in the game with a stellar performance, sporting 31 saves during probably one of his best games of the season.
“We didn’t get the result we wanted, but the effort we showed, I think it was definitely what we were looking for,” DiBrita said.
Coach Andrew Ducko noted that if his team plays the way they did on Sunday night, they’ll be the top team come playoffs time.
As the team celebrated Senior Day for Martin, DiBrita, Czachor, Herrington, Laub, forward Tyler Viducic, goalie Fred McQuade and defensemen Alex Moskal and Gary L’Heureux, the rookie Lions consider themselves lucky to have experienced this season with them.
“The seniors have treated us with a lot of respect,” freshman goalie Patrick Tso said. “They taught us how to act on and off the ice. They accepted us from day one and it won’t be the same without them.”
Freshman forward Will Dimock jumped right into a vital role with the Lions’ top line upon his arrival, playing alongside DiBrita and Collins, with Martin and freshman Matt Liebers behind on defense.
“The seniors did a great job of always keeping the mood light in the locker room and during practice,” Dimock said. “Whether it was Herrington with his superb one liners, Martin quoting movies, Moskal being a goof, Sal with his teddy bear personality or Gary being off in the clouds, when it came time to focus on the real reason we all still pay to play the game at obscure times of the night, they all made sure the team was at its best.”
Ducko added that while this season was his first with the team, he feels lucky to have been given the opportunity to coach the senior players before they graduated.
But for Dimock and the other freshmen, they will be sorely missed.
“Our vocal leaders were the captains Matt and Sal,” Dimock said. “In addition to them, though, we had quiet leaders like Laub, Czachor, Tyler and Freddy. Laub always came to play against our toughest opponents. Czachor has a really calm demeanor that was infectious in the locker room and Tyler and Freddy each have the best attitudes that someone can have.”
But Senior Day wasn’t just about the players. In a spontaneous act of class after the final buzzer Ducko and the Lions brought Career & Community Studies alumni Hunter DeLauretis ’13 onto the ice for a victory lap led by DiBrita. DeLauretis has followed the Lions for four years, coming to every single home game and supporting the team as their biggest fan and the Lions couldn’t say goodbye to the rink without recognizing his commitment to the team.
“Being at a hockey rink is always my favorite place to be because I love the sport of hockey so much and I used to play sled hockey,” DeLauretis said. “I hope someday I’ll be able to work in the hockey world.”
The College finishes its regular season next week with two away games against Monmouth and Seton Hall universities before entering the CSCHC Playoffs the following weekend. The Lions are currently second in league behind Princeton University and have their eyes set on going on all the way.
“It was a hell of a run,” DiBrita said. “It hasn’t really sunk in yet that we’re done with the regular season playing here. Like every team, we’ve had our highs and lows, winning huge games here, skating for practice late on Monday nights… We have a lot of memories here. I for one definitely wouldn’t trade those hours for anything else. I’d like to stay with these guys.”
(02/09/16 8:32pm)
By Julie Kayzerman
Former Editor-in-Chief
As he prepares to leave the College, Jon Stauff can pinpoint the exact moment he became inspired to dedicate his work to giving students the opportunity to study abroad.
He was a junior in college spending a semester in Germany when everything came together in his mind as he was walking alongside the Berlin Wall.
“It was 1985 in the height of the Reagan administration when we were told that communists were an evil empire,” Stauff said. “But what was clear to me was that when I crossed the Berlin Wall into East Berlin and met with the Communist border guards and the people of East Berlin, I could see that they were people just like us.”
Suddenly, the Cold War became a real experience for Stauff.
“The weapons that we had pointed at Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, I could see the target,” he said. “The people were the target, these buildings were the target, the soldiers that were searching my bags going across the border were the target… and what was a very abstract construct prior to that experience, became very real and very human.”
At that moment, Stauff felt that it was up to him to become a college professor and try to make that experience real for other students.
“I felt if I could only get a couple of students from East Berlin together with a couple of students from West Berlin, they would probably find ways to work together,” Stauff said. “And if I could do that with my students at home, it could come together and maybe make a better world.”
And that’s exactly what he did.
Stauff, the senior international officer and director of the Center for Global Engagement and a history professor, has had a tremendous hand in the growth of the study abroad and international education programs during his six and a half years at the College. While he will be resigning from the College on Friday, Feb. 19, to take a position as the vice provost for Global Education at Monmouth University, he will not go without having left a significant mark.
When Stauff first arrived in 2009, there were 275 study abroad students, four student exchange programs, 12 international students and just one semester-long abroad program. In 2016, the number of study abroad students has increased by 72 percent to 476. There are currently 12 student exchange programs, 61 international students and 10 semester-long programs. During his tenure, he successfully implemented an English as a Second Language (ESL) program and added a director of international recruitment to the office. He has spread the faculty-led study abroad programs from just two schools to being an opportunity within all of them.
“I liked the idea of creating access to study abroad. I want people to feel that they have the chance to do this whether or not they have a lot of money,” Stauff said. “Accessibility is my goal in life to these opportunities, so what I’ve done at (the College) is create more accessible semester long study abroad programs so that more students can go away for as much as they pay for a semester here.”
Yet Stauff’s biggest accomplishments simply boils down to the transformation of the office going from a by-the-books operation, to a place for students to plan their futures.
“You come to this office not just to fill your bureaucratic requirement, but you come to this office seeking advice and counsel on how you can shape your future educational experience,” Stauff said. “That’s one of my biggest achievements.”
Junior political science major Ryan Dinon recognizes Stauff as an invaluable resource on campus.
“I recently returned from a semester abroad in Frankfurt, Germany, and I largely owe that experience to Dr. Stauff’s guidance,” Dinon said. “Whether I have had questions about German history, studying abroad or my career plans in general, Dr. Stauff has always been willing to go above and beyond in helping me sort everything out.”
History professor Cynthia Paces has worked closely with Stauff on several projects since he arrived in 2009.
“Because Jon is from New Jersey, he has been very committed to the students here. He understands the financial situation of students and has worked to make study abroad accessible to TCNJ students,” Paces said. “By creating TCNJ partner programs in various locations, such as Prague, Bologna and Heidelberg, students can go abroad for the same cost, if not less, than staying in Ewing.”
Stauff highlights remarkable numbers in the growth of programs that he has worked on. Yet, off paper, Stauff has hugely achieved greatness in the culture shift on campus, with a turn in attitudes toward international students.
“While I’ve had a big impact on how study abroad has grown on campus, I really want to highlight the different attitude we have now toward international students and diversity,” he said.
When he first came to the College, the attitude was one that focused on serving the youth of New Jersey and didn’t seek out International students, according to Stauff.
Although leaving the College is bittersweet, Stauff is looking forward to working with graduate students and having the opportunity to use his talents on a bigger stage at Monmouth University, he said. But according to Paces, he will be sorely missed.
“We will miss his wonderful sense of humor and his thoughtfulness,” Paces said. “He cares so much about students and faculty, and he wants us all to have the transformative experiences that international travel affords. Because of his generosity, we have learned how to make global engagement a priority, and we will continue to develop the important programs he created.”
As he moves forward to begin his new chapter at Monmouth, Stauff can leave knowing that his work here is done.
“We’ve gone from, ‘We’re here for the youth of New Jersey and we don’t want international students,’” he said of the College, “to, ‘What can we do to bring international students and make them comfortable?’
“And that to me – I’ve done my job,” Stauff said.
(12/01/15 9:19pm)
By Julie Kayzerman Editor-in-Chief
In a packed Mayo Concert Hall, students, faculty and staff at the College were asked to stand up if they agreed with the statements being read aloud.
“Please stand if you have ever felt overwhelmed by everything you have to do.”
The entire audience stood.
“You are not alone,” said Dean of Students Angela Chong and Vice President of Student Affairs Amy Hecht alongside the tune of Sheryl Crow’s “I Shall Believe.”
It seems like every time I try to make it right,
It all comes down on me.
With these questions, the audience bravely admitted that they had, at times, felt so anxious that they couldn’t get out of bed. They admitted to knowing people who struggle with mental health issues or addiction. They even stood up to say that they would consider reaching out to a resource for support and pledge themselves as part of the caring community at the College.
Please say honestly you won’t give up on me,
And I shall believe.
With the rain pouring down from dark skies on Thursday, Nov. 19, students could stand up to admit their struggles — without being alone. The next aisle over, they could see their professor standing up to signify feeling the same ways. In the wake of a cluster of tragedies with five deaths by suicide at the College in the past three years, students, faculty and staff stood united at the first-ever Mental Health and Suicide Awareness Town Hall meeting to spark the discussion of mental health.
“We do not sweep things under the rug at The College of New Jersey and we’re ready to have those tough conversations,” Hecht said.
Response to tragedy
The meeting highlighted psychiatrist Dr. Victor Schwartz from the Jed Foundation, a non-profit organization that promotes emotional health and suicide prevention, who talked about the issue on a national level. The meeting was then brought down to a local level, in which a discussion panel allowed audience members to share questions and concerns with Chong, Schwartz, Director of Counseling and Psychological Services Dr. Mark Forest and Associate Dean of Students Kelly Hennessy.
“We’re thinking about this all the time behind the scenes,” Forest said. “(We’re) trying to develop protocols and procedures, and prevention and intervention and strategies.”
Over the past few years, the College has taken several steps behind the scenes to restructure the way it handles tragedy. The meeting was held, in part, to share with the campus community what the College has been doing in response to the cluster of suicides.
“We realized kind of early on that (we) were doing a lot of work, but we were so busy doing the work that we (were) doing (it) without telling our story,” Chong said.
The Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Task Force was formed in the summer of 2014 with the purpose of developing prevention, intervention and postvention strategies. This task force includes faculty, students and staff from several different organizations, including the TCNJ Clinic, Residential Education, Athletics and Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS). A Strategic Response Team was formed specifically to handle postvention. The team convenes following a death in the community to determine the best way to notify the campus. The Care Team was established as a campus-wide team that meets biweekly to review student cases related to social, mental health, academic and behavioral concerns. According to Chong, the Care Team is committed to supporting students that are oftentimes faced with difficulties by providing them with vital linkages to both local and on-campus resources. The College also utilizes the Behavior Assessment and Response Team (BART) to assess whether a student is at a significant risk of harm to themselves or to others and take a proactive and collaborative approach in managing situations that might arise, according to Chong. Schwartz spent the day with the different teams, validating their recent work and highlighting areas for improvement.
“We decided that we were really going to re-brand and emphasize that you are all part of a community that really does care about this College,” Hennessy said.
The Care Team, chaired by Hennessy, has already implemented several new practices at the College. There has been a 30 percent increase to staff in CAPS with regular psychiatric hours increasing from four to 20. Chong also reorganized the Office of the Dean of Students and hired a case manager, Noryba Ritman, a trained social worker to handle individual students’ cases. According to Hennessy, the Office of the Dean of Students now acts as a “one-stop-shop” to help point students in the right direction for resources that can be most beneficial to them.
In addition, the Care Team has put signs in the parking garages of Lot 7 and Lot 10 that include resources and the number for the 24/7 NJ Hopeline for suicide prevention for people to call if they need help. The College is also in the process of developing barriers in the parking garages as a way to restrict students’ access to suicide, Chong said.
According to Hecht, the health and wellness of the campus community isn’t just about getting counseling, but rather practicing healthy lifestyles on a daily basis. The College has made several moves in improving the overall health and wellness of the campus community, including building a new recreation center, purchasing new spin bikes and having a nutritionist on campus alongside mindful recipes in Eickhoff Hall to encourage students to eat healthy and exercise — an important part of maintaining mental health. Mindfulness Meditation has been newly emphasized on campus, as well, with meditation classes of different time lengths offered at least five days a week in the Spiritual Center.
Hennessy also introduced the formation of an 099 level course to “talk about health and wellness and how to stay healthy and well especially during stressful times.” She also discussed a “don’t cancel that class” initiative that is in the works for students to have a substitute class on mental health and wellness when a professor can’t make it in. The College is also looking to implement a Health and Wellness certificate program, as well, according to Hennessy. In addition, the Care Team has also designed stickers with resources for students that have been placed in every dorm room on campus. Magnets with more in-depth directions and resources have been distributed to all faculty.
As of late, faculty, staff and several student leaders of organizations have also undergone various trainings on how to deal with mental health issues. Specifically, several faculty and staff members have undergone CONNECT training.
“We’ve probably trained over 300 people on campus, 200 faculty, some students who are in leadership positions and people who have direct interactions with students, for people who deal with students in high-risk situations,” Forest said. The Care Team hopes to reach every single group on campus with these trainings, he added.
The panel then opened up the meeting to students, giving them a platform to voice their concerns or ask questions to the task force. Concerned about the prevalence of suicide-related deaths on campus, students challenged the task force with new suggestions. Other students gave valuable perspectives, speaking from their own struggles with mental health or personal issues with their CAPS experiences.
Other students posed suggestions for the administration to take into consideration.
Senior English and women’s and gender studies double major Jennie Sekanics suggested that the College mandate a line to be put under the integrity policy of each class syllabus with the information for students on who to contact if they feel that their professors are not practicing empathy or prioritizing students’ mental health. According to Hennessy, a line on the syllabus including this information was already approved over the summer to be mandated in upcoming syllabi and will take full effect very soon.
“Of all things, I am grateful for the fact that TCNJ is listening,” Sekanics said. “When we spoke up about the language of the email, it was changed immediately. When we asked for more mental health awareness, TCNJ Cares Week was initiated and run by students who are connected to and passionate about mental health awareness.”
According to Sekanics, who is also a community advisor (CA), Residential Life started the Community Care Task Force in order to obtain a CA’s perspective on how to not only prevent suicide, but how to best respond to trauma and re-create a community.
“I am privileged because I am able to see firsthand how the administration and professional staff plans to respond to our feedback,” said Sekanics, who is part of the Mental Health Awareness and Suicide Prevention Task Force. “I am honestly just so happy — honored really — to go to a school with faculty that will recognize their faults and mistakes and ask, ‘How can we make this better? How can we improve ourselves and our institution for our students?’”
Several audience members bravely challenged the administration and expressed their concerns, and while each question was different, one message became clear — the College is aggressively working towards improving the mental health and wellness of the campus community.
Safe Messaging
The College’s administration and task force members have been rigorously training and researching the best practices of how to handle postvention in the wake of a death on campus.
“Good postvention is excellent prevention,” Chong told The Signal.
After completing several trainings, including CONNECT and researching methods from the Jed Foundation and utilizing the postvention guide from A Higher Education Mental Health Alliance (HEMHA), the College has adopted the practice of safe messaging.
“It helped us shift our understanding that the role communication can have in preventing further loss is extraordinary,” Chong said of the CONNECT training. “When communicated well, it can prevent. When communicated irresponsibly, it can be very harmful.”
Studies have shown that certain wording of messages in response to a death by suicide can actually pose as negative triggers to others. For example, safe messaging says to report on suicide with the wording of “death by suicide,” instead of saying “committed suicide.”
“It’s a really strategic balance that you strive to be open and have the trust of your community without doing harm to your community. It’s a delicate balance,” Chong said. “Every word of every message of communication… is very carefully thought out with that balance in mind.”
Committing itself to the practice of safe messaging, however, has at times put the College under fire in a negative light. Feelings from the campus community have included the idea that the College has been insensitive after a recent loss or looking out for its reputation. Yet, it is simply practicing safe messaging.
“A lot of the things that are best practice for postvention seem almost counterintuitive,” College spokesman Dave Muha told The Signal. “On campus, there’s not awareness that when there is a death by suicide, that we’re actually being very thoughtful. Having sat through, unfortunately, a number of these meetings, I can tell you that the reputation of the College does not come up at all… the only thing that we’re considering is what’s best for our community.”
After a death in the College’s community, the postvention team gathers to determine the safest way to relay the information to the campus. The team uses “concentric circles” to first notify groups of people who have had the most direct interaction with the person who passed, before emailing the entire college community.
The College has focused on dealing with the aftermath of being a survivor campus in the best way possible, research has shown, Hecht said. However, the problem lies in the conflict between what the research says to do and what the campus community feels it needs.
According to Muha, safe messaging dictates that holding memorials for those who have died by suicide can sometimes negatively affect the prevention of others following in suit. After the death of former assistant provost Pat Donohue, the postvention team decided that following safe messaging by not having a memorial wasn’t best for the campus. Therefore, a tribute to Donohue was held as a “Day of Service” to honor him, while shifting the focus from a memorial to the survivors. It was held in an interactive way for participants to pay tribute, while engaging in community service themselves.
“From a community standpoint, I can see where people feel the College isn’t being sensitive because we’re not doing (certain things), but we’re not doing (certain things) on purpose,” Muha said.
Culture Shift
The College is a survivor campus, according to Muha, and by starting an open and transparent conversation about mental health on campus, the task force hopes to shift the culture.
“One of the things that we want to convey is that we’re really trying to change the culture here at TCNJ to focus on helping one another, having each other’s backs so that we’re all in this together,” Forest told The Signal.
In an interview with The Signal, Hecht noted that while the College is a rigorous and high-achieving institution, the pressure students feel to succeed is not unique to this campus.
“That desire for perfection is unfortunately in our society and I think it’s gotten worse with social media,” Hecht said. “Your academics are absolutely important, but not at the expense of your health.”
Hecht explained that academic achievements won’t garner success without a person’s mental and physical health.
“We’re trying to graduate students who have the education and the knowledge, but also the leadership and the self-awareness to be successful,” Hecht said. “It isn’t always what’s on your academic transcript, it’s about your ability to interact with others, to have enough emotional intelligence to know what it is that you need to be successful, when you need to take a break… we want students to be able to do that for themselves.”
Chong added that while students might feel the need to be perfect, there is a significant value in failure.
“I think there’s a societal pressure to appear like you’ve got everything together,” Chong said. She used the metaphor of a duck looking serene above water, but under water, furiously kicking just to stay afloat. “And that’s something that is rewarded… I really like that we’re trying to shift… (and focus on) the power of vulnerability. You’re a stronger leader if you can show that you’re not always that duck. You have your moments of vulnerability, you have your moments of failure and what you choose to do with that is going to have a greater impact on those around you than you pretending that you’ve got it all together all the time.”
Hecht added that students must learn to take some of the pressure off of themselves and allow for some leeway to take a break and take care of themselves.
“That is just as valuable and important as studying and finishing that paper,” Hecht said. “This is just the beginning of our work together. We all have a role to play as we seek to create a more healthy and well campus.”
(11/17/15 9:00pm)
[slideshow_deploy id='40181']
By Julie Kayzerman Editor-in-Chief
Senior forward and captain Salvatore DiBrita will never tell you about his individual accomplishments on the Lions’ ice hockey team. Instead, he’ll talk about the pride he has in his teammates, reluctant to take any personal credit for the team’s success.
So it was only fitting that his teammates were by his side when a simple secondary assist, just like the several others he’s had before, went down in the books, marking his 100th career point as a Lion. The feat was made even sweeter being accomplished on home ice at the Louck’s Ice Center on Friday, Nov. 13. While the point didn’t come from a flashy move and a dramatic goal, it was the perfect 100th point for DiBrita, who prides himself on assists and being a playmaker for his teammates, rather than scoring goals himself.
“He doesn’t care about how many points he has,” said freshman Jason Uibel, the team’s equipment manager. “All he really cares about is this team winning, and that’s a true leader.”
It was senior defenseman and co-captain Matt Martin who sniped the puck into the net during the Lions’ Friday bout against Rider University off an assist from junior forward and co-captain Kevin Collins, who received the puck from DiBrita. As the three captains strung together a beautiful play to put the Lions’ back on the scoreboard, DiBrita skated off the ice with the milestone, overpowering the Lions’ tough loss to the Broncs, 4-2.
“Sal can be described as the ultimate team player,” Collins said. “As our captain, he does countless things for the team that don’t show up on the scoreboard, like blocking shots, laying big hits and setting up screens. For a guy that is not concerned about personal points, but rather team wins, it is very impressive to reach 100.”
With 25 points so far this season, DiBrita is the team’s second leading goalscorer, behind Collins. He leads the team with 17 assists so far this season in only 15 games, just shy of already surpassing his total of 21 assists from last season.
“I’ve been blessed to play with teammates who have a knack for scoring,” DiBrita said. “Without them, I wouldn’t be anywhere close to that mark.”
The Lions jumped out against Rider with the early lead after a Martin wrist shot from the point off of a Collins assist to keep the Lions at 1-0 after the first period.
However, about two minutes into the second, the tides turned as junior forward Will Sulpizio received a five-minute major penalty for boarding, leaving the Lions on an extended penalty kill. The Broncs gained momentum and ran with it, scoring three power play goals during the major penalty — a lead that the Lions were never able to overcome, despite a second goal from Martin later on in the period.
“Going into the game versus Rider we knew it would be a battle,” Collins said. “I thought we came out strong for the first period… unfortunately, Rider was able to capitalize on their power play chances and the momentum started to turn. The game seemed to be a special teams battle and even though we produced, I would have liked to see more. In these competitive games it is important to match the other team.”
But there wasn’t much time for the College to dwell on the loss as they took their home ice the following day to match the Princeton University Tigers, on Saturday, Nov. 14.
Fueled by a loss to Princeton earlier in the season, the Lions redeemed themselves with a 4-2 win.
“Having a game the next day is a great opportunity to prove ourselves with the fresh, unsettling feeling of a loss,” Collins said. “We knew we couldn’t drop a second game to Princeton with the tight conference standings.”
Collins credited assistant coach Paul Batcho for firing up the team with a locker room speech about resiliency.
“The team definitely took it to heart as we jumped to a quick 3-0 lead,” Collins said.
Suplizio netted a shorthanded goal early in the first. A little over a minute later, DiBrita tipped in a one-timer from junior defender Gary L’Heureux. To finish the first, 3-0, Collins worked his way around the Princeton defense until he had the perfect shot into the top right pocket of the net.
Almost too comfortable with the dominating lead, the Lions fell flat in the second, giving up a goal while on a power play. Princeton found its way again, with just under 10 minutes to go in the third, with another goal to lessen the Lions’ lead. But with one second left on the clock, DiBrita sealed the deal with an empty net goal.
“In the end we pulled out the win, and that’s what good teams do,” Collins said. “Even though it wasn’t our best game I think we can put it behind us and come prepared for this week’s practice.”
The Lions will hit the road next to take on the University of Pennsylvania on Friday, Nov. 20.
(11/10/15 7:05pm)
By Julie Kayzerman
Editor-in-Chief
Back on the ice after weeks off recovering from a concussion, freshman forward Will Dimock made the most of his return to the ice hockey team’s first offensive line.
With a tied game in the third period, Dimock sniped the puck into the top left shelf of the net with just under five minutes to go as the Lions edged out Wagner College, 5-4, on Saturday, Nov. 7, at Louck’s Ice Center.
“Will had a really nice goal, a game-winner,” coach Andrew Ducko said. “Will was out of the lineup for a while… to have him back is good, he’s a good player, he sees the ice well, he’s very unselfish with the puck and he complements Kevin and Sal really well playing on their line,” Ducko said of the first line of Dimock and senior forwards Kevin Collins and Salvatore DiBrita.
The College took the early lead with a Collins goal off a DiBrita assist. Junior forward Will Sulpizio followed shortly after with a slap shot down the middle of the ice off an assist from junior forward Mike Lisciandro, giving Wagner’s senior goalie Steven Sedlmaier no chance at a save.
However, the Seahawks answered back with a power play goal and an equalizer with under 10 minutes to go in the first, leaving the ice at 2-2.
“(They) capitalized on the power play… but every time they scored, we answered,” Ducko said.
And the second period proved just that, as Lisciandro snuck in one of his own five minutes in, assisted by Sulpizio.
“A big part of the game was our ‘orange line’ of Suplizio, Lisciandro and sophomore forward Peter Hansinger,” Ducko said. “They played very well and were a plus on the evening… they were a huge part of our success.”
Lisciandro added another assist in the night when sophomore defender Dylan McMurrer widened the gap with a goal at 16:44 in the second.
However, Wagner found a way to lift the puck past the Lions’ senior goalie, David Laub early in the third, raising the Seahawks’ momentum. With just over 10 minutes left in the matchup and the Lions leading, 4-3, Wagner took a roughing penalty. But being down a man, seemed to only spark Wagner’s offense, as they scored a shorthanded equalizer to tie the game, 4-4.
With even play concluding the period, DiBrita stepped up tall with huge blocks. Junior defender Gary L’Heureux made his debut back on the team after some time off, with solid play in the back end to keep the College at bay until Dimock sealed the deal, 5-4. Laub made 32 saves in the triumph.
“Gary’s a great kid. To have him back is huge, it adds a lot of depth to our (defense),” Ducko said. “I see him playing a lot of minutes for us. He’s got a lot of things he can add to us, he’s fast, he’s good on the back end but he can also add some offense.”
The Lions returned home on Sunday, Nov. 8, to face Ramapo College in a dominating 9-0 display, full of first-time achievements.
Senior goalie Fred McQuade got his first start of the season and made 24 saves to secure his first win and shutout.
“It was an incredible experience and the guys in front of me played really well,” McQuade said. “We came out strong in the first period and scored a few goals which really helped me settle into the game.”
Ducko noted that while McQuade doesn’t often find himself in net for the Lions, he constantly inspires a harder work ethic from the team.
“Fred’s a special player. He comes to the rink ready to work every night and gives 100 percent in practice,” Ducko said. “Guys come to the rink to work hard because Freddy is working hard. They want to win for a guy like him who puts the team first, especially when he’s not getting in the net. For him to get the shutout and for him to play so well is huge, it just speaks to what a guy he is.”
Sophomore defender Brian Niemirka earned his first collegiate career goal to put the College up, 4-0. Freshman forward Rob Brown recorded his first primary assist with the Lions on a goal from senior forward Evan Herrington.
Dominating the scoreboard was sophomore forward Nick Paranizine, with a hat trick and an assist in the blowout.
Collins added two goals, both off of assists from Dimock, who had three primary assists in the night. Senior defender Alex Moskal and Lisciandro both added a goal apiece to the victory, as well.
“We played really well in our defensive zone and were able to keep a lot of their shots to the outside,” McQuade said. “Every single player in the game did exactly what they needed to do to get us a win, and I think it proves just how deep this team is.”
The Lions move on to compete against longtime rival Rider University on Friday, Nov. 13, on home ice at the Louck’s Ice Center at 9 p.m.
“It was one of those games I will remember for the rest of my life,” McQuade said. “Moving forward in our season, it was a game that will give us confidence going into a critical two games against Rider and Princeton next weekend.”
(11/03/15 9:27pm)
By Abigail Faith
Correspondent
When many Americans think about China, a picture of roads teeming with countless people and overbearing manufacturing power comes to mind. However, what many don’t realize is that China’s steady growth comes with a great responsibility on the global scale.
Thomas Christensen is a prolific speaker and professor and the successful author of the book, “Shaping the Choices of a Rising Power: The China Challenge.” He has attracted audiences across the world with his analysis of China’s rise to power in the past decade.
The night of Tuesday, Oct. 27, was no different, as students sat in the College’s Library Auditorium and listened as Christensen illustrated the growing issues associated with one of the world’s fastest developing countries.
Christensen began by commenting on China’s military power. He named weapons that China currently possesses, from submarine fleets to aircraft defense missiles.
Although an increase in weaponry is present, Christensen stated that “this is not a new Cold War. The Cold War was nasty, the Cold War was ugly.”
“I found it interesting when he compared China and the United States’ relationship to the Cold War,” freshman open options business major Erin Holzbaur said. “He revealed how the Cold War was completely different because, now, there are common interests involved.”
Claire Guerriero, a senior psychology major at the College, agreed with Christensen’s ideas.
“He demonstrated a truly comprehensive view of China,” Guerriero said. “After hearing what he had to say about China geographically and ideologically, my point of view really changed.”
Later on in the lecture, Christensen spoke about the issue of China’s involvement on a global scale.
“The world is much more tightly integrated with globalization than ever before,” he said.
He expressed his thoughts about China’s impact on the world, from its greenhouse gas emissions to its huge trade economy. He mentioned incidents over the past few years, such as the financial collapse in Greece, in which ailing countries called on China for aid and were met with stark refusal of assistance.
“China, on a per capita basis, is still a developing country that still has a lot of problems at home,” Christensen said.
He emphasized the idea that although China is flourishing with potential, the country is still working to establishing itself.
“Never before has a developing country been asked to contribute so much on a global scale,” Christensen said.
When speaking about Chinese relations with weaker countries, Christensen repeated the idea that the United States must halt its so-called “fetish” with regime changes.
“This is not a moral statement, this is a practical statement,” he said, underscoring the power of China in a sense that any intervention is met with the power of Chinese economic force.
Christensen ended the talk by answering questions from the audience and thanking them for attending his event.
“I’m really thrilled to be here and I’m really flattered that so many people came,” he said.
(10/27/15 4:54pm)
By Julie Kayzerman
Editor-in-Chief
The College’s ice hockey team didn’t leave the ice with a win on paper, but they left with much-needed confidence going forward with the rest of the season.
Senior goalie David Laub played one of his best games in net with 55 saves in the Lions’ 4-3 loss to Rowan University on Sunday, Oct. 25, at the Louck’s Ice Center at 5:30 p.m.
“We knew coming in it was going to be a tough game,” Laub said. “We were looking forward to seeing how we’d measure up against one of the better teams in our region and probably the best team we’ve played so far this year.”
It was a hard fought battle in the first. The Lions found themselves down 1-0 halfway through the first but answered back with three goals of their own just minutes later.
Senior forward Evan Herrington capitalized on a rebound off of freshman defender Matt Liebers’ shot from the point to even up the score with 7:59 to go in the first.
With just under four minutes remaining in the period, senior forward Kevin Collins beat the Profs’ defense, sneaking the puck past Rowan’s goalie, off an assist from senior defenseman Matt Martin for a power play goal.
Collins struck again with under a minute to go, sniping the puck into the top left pocket of the net with an assist from junior forward Will Sulpizio.
However, with 11 seconds remaining in the first, Rowan’s offense pushed through with a breakaway goal to leave the period at 3-2.
“The first period was pretty even and they didn’t have a lot of shots and ended up with two goals,” Laub said. “But as the game went on, they started getting more and more shots and I got into the zone and was pretty determined to keep the lead.”
But the second period fell flat, with Rowan constantly testing Laub with 17 shots and valid scoring opportunities, but Laub stood tall to keep the period scoreless and the College in the game.
“We came out strong and went up early, and weren’t able to hold on, but I think we learned a lot as a team and proved that we can play with anybody,” Laub said.
With tough play in the third, the Lions fell to a few sloppy mistakes that Rowan capitalized on to seal a 4-3 win over the College.
“The guys battled hard in front of me all game against a tough, physical team and just a couple of bad bounces at the end cost us,” Laub said. “But I think we can take a lot of positives from this game and I think we are all feeling pretty confident about the rest of the season and the way we are playing.”
On Saturday, Oct. 24, the College dominated West Chester University, 5-2.
Forwards Collins, Peter Hansinger and Mike Lisciandro scored a goal apiece while junior forward Nick Mancini and Liebers recorded a goal and an assist each in the triumph.
The Lions will return to their home ice on Friday, Oct. 30, to take on Bloomsburg University at 9 p.m.
(10/20/15 11:29pm)
By Julie Kayzerman
Editor-in-Chief
The legacy of beloved former Assistant Provost Pat Donohue was honored by the campus community, family and friends who gathered to participate in community service projects in Trenton during the College’s Day of Service on Saturday, Oct. 17.
Donohue, 50, worked at the College for nine years and was responsible for the Bonner Institute for Civic and Community Engagement, the Institute for Prison Teaching and Outreach and TCNJ TrentonWorks. Donohue retired on Wednesday, July 1, and died by suicide days later on Tuesday, July 7.
“It sounds cliché, but Pat really dedicated his whole life to helping others, trying to fix problems and trying to help those less fortunate,” said Pete Donohue, Pat’s twin brother, at the event’s opening remarks.
Under the leadership of Donohue, the Bonner program increased from 24 to 101 students and the number of First Seminar Program community engaged learning sections grew to over 40, according to a May email from Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Jacqueline Taylor that announced Donohue’s retirement.
“I used to joke that the only way I was ever going to get into heaven was if I got up there first and Saint Peter thought that I was my twin brother because he did all the good work,” Pete said, “but the bastard beat me to it, so I’m in big trouble.”
While Donohue’s death was a shock to family, friends and the campus community, Pete urged the audience to take a lesson away from it before beginning the day.
“Stay true to your principles, you can’t let external pressures define you,” Pete said. “There (are) always going to (be) people, problems, whatever, but you can’t let them define you… Don’t let any outside forces, pressures, people, because somewhere along the line… you’re going to encounter difficulties, don’t let that define you.”
Participants of the Day of Service were transported by bus to several different service sites in the Trenton area where volunteers helped children create art, build gardens, clean classrooms, organize a food pantry and more, all in remembrance of Donohue’s work and passion for bettering the Trenton community.
Once a year, the Bonner Center completes a day of service known as a serve-a-thon, however, they decided to turn the event into a day that honored Donohue and was open to the entire College community.
“The Day of Service meant so much more to me than any normal day of service,” said Caitlyn McNair, a sophomore communication studies major and Bonner student. “This day was in honor of the man who continues to inspire me day after day even though he is no longer with us.”
Even though McNair spent her day of service pulling weeds, picking up garbage and getting rid of fallen branches at the SAGE Coalition site on a block in East Trenton, she knew she was making a difference.
“The words of Pat Donohue echoed through my head as I was helping with a beautification project: ‘Not only can you change the world, you must change the world,’” McNair said. “He encouraged us to never give up, to always ‘fight the good fight.’”
Devyn Montemarano, a freshman health and exercise science major, also volunteered at the SAGE Coalition sight where she worked on a mural with a local graffiti artist who paints murals to beautify the area. The mural reads, “East Trenton Grew Me,” a tribute to Jay-Z’s song, “Blueprint (Momma Loves Me).”
“I wanted to participate in this event because, even though I did not know Pat, I thought this would be a good experience and a way to honor Pat’s memory,” Montemarano said. “But what I actually experienced was so much more than that.”
Gordon Filmyer, a freshman mechanical engineering major, volunteered at the OTN Gardens to distribute mulch to nearby gardens and move planters.
“During my day of service, I learned that helping a community, even just superficially, can teach you a lot about it, and help the community to make positive strides on its own,” Filmyer said.
As the day came to a close, the participants reconvened in the Decker Hall Social Space at 1 p.m. to share their experiences.
Jim Donohue, Donohue’s father, closed the day with his remarks saying that before today, he didn’t know much about the amount of work his son did, or of the quality and devotion of those he worked with.
“He was a hero, and so are you because heroes volunteer to get involved in important issues which takes them into uncharted waters,” Jim said to the participants. “You work in territories where the traditional answers and strategies are often inadequate.
“Nobody bats 1,000 when they are working in unchartered waters and sometimes those who do pay a price for their noble efforts.”
McNair was specifically touched after hearing Donohue’s father speak about his son as being a “hero.”
“Pat was a hero in so many ways,” McNair said. “He helped where no one else wanted to, he fought for causes that others gave up on, he inspired and encouraged individuals to follow their dreams and he taught me that I am never too small to change the world.”
Donohue brought the campus community together in the name of service on Saturday. While his life was dedicated to helping others, his twin brother Pete reminded those in attendance that they should always consider themselves a success and not let outside forces impact them.
“My main message to you today, on behalf of my entire family is to thank you for your dedication to Pat and for your continuing heroic efforts to carry out his initiatives,” Jim said. “Thank you, each and every one of you.”
(10/20/15 5:00pm)
By Julie Kayzerman
Editor-in-Chief
The Lions ice hockey team is on a five-game winning streak, coming out of the weekend with two big wins over Rutgers University, 6-1, on Saturday, Oct. 17 and a 7-2 win over Seton Hall University, on Friday, Oct. 16, on home ice at the Louck’s Ice Center. The Lions are now 6-1-1 in the season.
In the midst of a high-scoring weekend, sophomore defenseman Dillon Yasser and junior forward Nick Mancini each emerged with their first collegiate goals.
Yasser found a way to poke his first goal through in the Seton Hall matchup, and topped off his weekend with an unassisted snipe from the point to put the College past Rutgers, 1-0, at 7:11 in the first.
Mancini scored his goal on an unassisted play that stemmed off a rush from junior forward Will Sulpizio about 13 minutes into the first.
This weekend was Sulpizio’s first time back on the ice since he sustained a concussion during preseason of last year. Sulpizio, a standout forward during his freshman year, was a forceful presence on the ice this weekend. He assisted junior forward Mike Lisciandro, who scored off a faceoff to put the Lions up, 2-0, over the Scarlet Knights in the first.
“Sulpizio brings a ton of speed and energy and he works hard,” assistant coach Paul Batcho said.
With 1:03 left in the first, it was senior captain and forward Salvatore DiBrita who dished the puck into the net off an assist from co-captain junior forward Kevin Collins.
“Sal is our team leader, he leads by example but also vocally, he’s our leader,” coach Andrew Ducko said. “He’s just a good team guy, he motivates his teammates, he’s very responsible and very mature. That’s part of the reason we have success, because we’ve got a guy like him.”
The second period highlighted solid defensive play from senior captain Matt Martin alongside freshman Matt Liebers. The pairs of sophomores Dylan McMurrer and Yasser and seniors Steven Czachor and Alex Moskal also stood tall in front of senior goalie David Laub.
The College’s fifth goal came with just 28.9 seconds left in the second. Martin took a wrist shot from the point and sophomore forward Peter Hansinger deflected it in for the Lions’ fifth goal of the game.
“Hansinger has been bringing a lot of energy to our team,” Ducko said. “He competes every shift and he’s a very skilled player.”
The final period broke out with the College’s sixth goal from sophomore forward Nick Paranzine off an assist from senior forward Tyler Viducic to complete the Lions’ points for the night.
“I’m satisfied with the way my leaders are behaving, the way my depth players are behaving,” Ducko said, “and I’m very happy with my coaching staff, my support group.”
Laub came up big with 37 saves to keep the Scarlet Knights to just one goal.
“The kids get along very well,” assistant coach Steve Hendershott said. “It’s a great bench, very positive and that enables them to do things from behind. It’s a good healthy environment and it’s paying off.”
The Lions hit the road to take on West Chester on Saturday, Oct. 24, and return for a home game against Rowan University at the Sun National Bank Center on Sunday, Oct. 25, at 5:30 p.m.
(10/06/15 4:58pm)
By Julie Kayzerman Editor-in-Chief
Field hockey coach Sharon Pfluger stepped foot on Lions’ Stadium on Thursday, Oct. 1, just like any other day.
Pfluger ’82, prepared to coach her team against Gwynedd Mercy, just like she had for every other game in her 31 seasons coaching at the College.
She had no clue that she was about to achieve a legendary accomplishment — but her team knew.
When the final whistle blew signaling that the College’s field hockey team defeated Gwynedd Mercy, 6-0, players, alumna and coaches ran out to congratulate Pfluger —and that’s when she first realized she had just reached her 1,000th career coaching victory.
“I don’t keep track… I really didn’t know, and I don’t want to know those things because that’s not where my mind ever is," Pfluger said in an interview with The Signal. “When I’m retired I’ll be thinking about all the great things the players did... but I don’t think ‘where am I in the statistics.”
Pfluger is the first coach in NCAA history to reach the 1,000 career coaching victory milestone by leading two programs, in field hockey and lacrosse, according to a press release.
“I am the guide, I have the privilege of being the guide to these wonderful young women, and I am truly blessed to have that opportunity.”
She credits the accomplishment to all the players, alumnae, coaches, faculty, staff and administration who have been involved in the field hockey and lacrosse programs.
“I feel like it’s an accomplishment for everybody, it’s not just me, it’s never been just me, it’s always about all of us,” Pfluger said.
But according to senior field hockey captain Mikayla Cimilluca, Pfluger couldn’t be more deserving.
“Her first response when she won her 1,000th game was that it was the players who got her this far and she is just there to guide us,” Cimilluca said. “She creates such a family-like atmosphere for the girls and I truly think that is what draws so many girls to this program.”
Pfluger has earned 545 wins in field hockey and 455 with the lacrosse program and has won an astounding 20 NCAA Division III National Championships, according to the press release. Her coaching record currently stands at 1,000-149-10, a .863 winning average, in her 31 seasons with the Lions, the release said.
“I am so happy that I could be part of multiple historic wins with her because they are moments that you will never forget for the rest of your life and you look back and know that being a part of TCNJ field hockey or lacrosse are some of the happiest times of your life,” Cimilluca said. “You work so hard so that you can have games and experiences like those.”
Pfluger, who has continuously credited her accolades over the years to her players and coaches, has been tabbed as the New Jersey Athletic Conference Coach of the Year nine times. Just last season she was named the National Field Hockey Coaches Association Division III National Coach of the Year, her second time in four seasons.
“It’s a credit to everybody that’s been involved in the program,” Pfluger said. “I’m happy to be a part of this wonderful time, but I’m just a piece of it."
(10/06/15 4:38pm)
By Julie Kayzerman
Editor-in-Chief
With 10 minutes left in the third period and the Lions down, 4-1 against St. Joseph’s University, coach Andrew Ducko changed his strategy.
Ducko installed a cherry-picking forward to stay up at the blue line in St. Joe’s defensive zone. It was a risky move, but it worked.
The ice opened up with four-on-four play in the neutral zone and the resilient Lions broke through, scoring four goals in 10 minutes to secure an epic 5-4 comeback on their home ice at Louck’s Ice Center on Saturday, Oct. 3, at 8:30 p.m.
“It shows that they fight through adversity,” Ducko said. “They came up in the clutch.”
It was senior defender Steven Czachor who finally put the College up on the scoreboard with 4:24 left in the second.
Czachor blasted a shot past the Hawks goalie from the point, off an assist from senior forward Tyler Viducic.
“We played very poorly in the first period and for much of the second, so finally getting one on the board was vital,” Czachor said. “But we were still down, 3-1, so there wasn’t much time or reason for celebration, there was a lot of work to be done, still.”
The Lions took the ice in the third down, 4-1, but continued to come out flat, being significantly outshot by the their opponent.
However, the defensive pair of senior captain Matt Martin and freshman Matt Liebers held the College tight, while goalie David Laub proved to be solid, with point blank saves on breakaway opportunities to keep the Lions in it.
With 9:49 left in the third, the first line of senior forwards Salvatore DiBrita, Evan Herrington and junior Kevin Collins sparked the comeback.
Collins got the puck to DiBrita skating up center ice, who dished it off to Herrington for a one-timer into the net.
“Sal and Kev always come up big and we had a huge game from Herrington tonight,” Ducko said.
Herrington was newly moved up to the first line after freshman forward Will Dimock received a concussion the night before in the Lions’ 2-2 tie against Monmouth University.
Two minutes later, the College finally capitalized on a power play, with DiBrita deflecting in a shot from sophomore defender Dylan McMurrer, who powered a slap shot on net from the point.
“I would love to say that I knew we were going to come back all along, but being down by three goals with 10 minutes left had a lot of us feeling down on the bench,” Czachor said. “Our first line put us on their backs in the last 10 minutes. Getting that second goal from Herrington got us all back into it and then our captains, Sal and Kev, took over with aggressive forechecking and timely finishing.”
With St. Joe’s visibly confused by Ducko’s cherry-picking strategy, the open ice proved beneficial to the Lions, as they played their best 10 minutes of hockey this season.
With 4:52 to go, it was captain Collins who tied it up at 4-4, driving through the counter defense to score off a McMurrer assist.
Collins completed the storybook finish with 19 seconds remaining, sniping a rocket in the top left pocket of the net, with assists from DiBrita and Martin, to secure the 5-4 win.
“A comeback win like that builds character and brings us closer together,” Czachor said. “You can just tell from the overall atmosphere on the bench and in the locker room afterwards what kind of impact this had on our team, from the coaching staff to the captains, all the way down to our newer guys.”
Ducko credited the win to the positive attitudes of his players and the resiliency they displayed in the final minutes of the game.
“They come to practice, work hard and stay after,” Ducko said. “That little stuff, late in the game, it shows.”
The Lions hit the road for two away games before returning home on Friday, Oct. 16, to take on Seton Hall University at 9:30 p.m.
(09/24/15 12:18am)
[slideshow_deploy id='38592']
By Julie Kayzerman
Editor-in-Chief
With a brand new coaching staff on the bench and an influx of new players filling the voids of recent graduates, the College’s ice hockey team dominated the University of Pennsylvania, 8-3, in the season opener at Louck’s Ice Center on Saturday, Sept. 19.
It wasn’t their cleanest win, but after a month of preparation for the season under new head coach Andrew Ducko, the Lions proved to have greater team chemistry than last season, with added depth on defense and determined rookies on offense.
But for the first line of forwards, seniors Salvatore DiBrita and Tyler Viducic and junior Kevin Collins, they picked up right where they left off.
“We just click. We know where we’re going to be,” said DiBrita, a second year captain. “You don’t think, you just do.”
And that’s exactly what DiBrita did when he set the tone of the game, putting the College up on the scoreboard for the first time at 13:34 off an assist from Viducic. DiBrita followed up with an assist on sophomore Nick Paranzine’s goal to put the College up, 2-0 in the first.
The first line racked up points with Collins scoring a hat trick, including a shorthanded snipe into the top right pocket of the net in the second period off a pass from DiBrita, who totaled three assists in the night.
New to a Lions jersey were noticeable freshmen forwards Mike Lisciandro and Will Dimock and defenseman Matt Liebers.
“It’s really fun to watch them play,” DiBrita said of the rookies. “They’re young, they’re energetic and they still have that eagerness.”
Dimock and Lisciandro each scored their first college goal in the matchup, with Dimock hitting the top right corner of the net at 6:52 in the second period off a pass from Lisciandro. Lisciandro finished one of his own early in the third with an unassisted shot, robbing UPenn’s goalie to the right side to put the College up, 5-2.
The Lions showed greater depth on defense with senior captain Matt Martin playing a smart and patient game alongside freshman Liebers.
“He’s a talented, smart-moving guy,” Martin said of his new defensive partner. “We complement each other really well.”
Senior Steve Czachor paired well with sophomore Dylan McMurrer, as they each held solid in front of returning goalie David Laub. Laub saved 31 shots in the win.
But it was junior forward Nick Mancini who fought for his well-deserved spot on the ice with aggressive play and a workhorse attitude.
“Mancini definitely carved out a role for himself,” DiBrita said. “He’s always the first one at the rink and the last one to leave. He’s definitely a leader who leads by example.”
DiBrita also included McMurrer as a lead-by-example player for the College as a standout defenseman with an offensive mindset. McMurrer nailed in the Lions’ seventh goal with just over a minute left in the game, pushing past the UPenn defenders with composure.
“He has the ability to take it coast to coast, he’s everything an athlete should be,” DiBrita said.
While the College started the season off with success amidst a series of changes from last year, DiBrita credits a large portion of the team’s triumph to returning student manager, Danny Almberg.
Almberg stays behind the scenes, watching the games intently, tweeting out live updates and taking game notes, but according to DiBrita, it makes all the difference.
“A lot of our readiness can be attributed to him,” DiBrita said, explaining that he’s the go-to guy for a rundown of the game and helpful advice in between periods. “We all appreciate him and what he does, I don’t think any of us can do that with as much detail and care.”
The Lions are back on the ice on Friday, Sept. 25, at Princeton University at 7:30 p.m.
(09/22/15 8:17pm)
The father of Daniel Thielke, the junior computer science major who died on Saturday, Sept. 19, confirmed that Thielke died by suicide, according to a campus-wide email from President R. Barbara Gitenstein sent out on Tuesday afternoon.
Thielke’s father requested that the invitation to attend his son’s memorial services be extended to anyone from the College, according Gitentstein.
The services will be held on Thursday, Sept. 24 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Hillsborough Funeral Home, 796 U.S. Highway 206, Hillsborough, N.J. 08844.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Daniel’s name may be made to St. Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center in North Branch, N.J., according to the email.
Thielke is the College’s fourth student to die by suicide in the past four years. His death comes just over two months after former assistant provost Pat Donohue died by suicide in mid-July.
“This has been a really tough time for our campus community,” Angela Chong, dean of students told The Signal. “We have lost a number of people, and I think it’s a time for us to really show each other compassion and be alert for people who are struggling with this news and grieving as a community, and to know that there is help out there for everyone.”
The College will also be holding two open meetings in the Spiritual Center to provide support and begin the healing process, according to the email.
The meetings will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 23 at 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. and on Friday, Sept. 25 from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.
The email also included an updated list of resources for anyone seeking support:
Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS)
Eickhoff Hall 107
609-771-2247
Hours: Monday–Friday, 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
TCNJ Clinic
Forcina Hall 124
609-771-2700
Hours: Monday and Friday, 9 a.m. –4:30 p.m.
Tuesday–Thursday, 9 a.m.–9 p.m.
TCNJ Campus Police
Contact Campus Police by dialing 911 from any campus phone or 609-771-2345 from a cell phone.
New Jersey Hopeline:
1-855-654-6735 FREE
Crisis Text Line:
Text “Start” to 741741
RESOURCES FOR TCNJ EMPLOYEES:
Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
Forcina Hall 124
609-771-2139
After hours: 609-571-0677
(09/22/15 6:59pm)
Visitation hours for Daniel Thielke, the junior computer science major who passed away on Saturday, Sept. 19, have been announced, according to his obituary on mycentraljersey.com.
Visiting hours for family and friends will take place on Thursday, Sept. 24 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Hillsborough Funeral Home, 796 US Hwy 206, Hillsborough, NJ 08844, mycentraljersey.com reported.
Thielke, 21, was described as “brilliant” and “always (being) the first to help someone out,” according to Alyson Garrone, who spoke on behalf of her son Bobby Garrone. Bobby, a senior computer science major, lived on Daniel’s freshman floor and considered him a great friend.
Thielke was in his fourth year at the College and was a member of the Competitive Gaming Club. He enjoyed spending time with his cats, playing video games and fencing, the obituary said.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Daniel’s name may be made to St. Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center in North Branch, N.J., according to the post.
“He was incredibly smart and a great programmer,” senior Dylan Short, Thielke’s freshman year roommate told The Signal. “Everyone liked him, we called him ‘Dan the Man.’”
(09/09/15 11:13pm)
By Julie Kayzerman
Editor-in-Chief
The Twin Towers fell 14 years ago, yet the memories remain fresh in my mind. I was in second grade when the news broke out. My teacher gave no indication of what was happening, but one by one, students got picked up from school – it was clear something was wrong. It wasn’t long before my own mother came to pick me up early and bring me home.
Now, as a senior at the College, it has become increasingly noticeable that the grades below me are getting too young to physically remember the events of 9/11, and the day gets further and further away. Still, it is more important than ever that we continue to make the effort to ensure that tragic day 14 years ago and the innocent lives that were taken, never go unforgotten.
So when I received an email to The Signal account, amidst spam and press releases, from Lion Latenight announcing their 9/11 Remembrance event, I immediately felt proud to be a student at the College.
I’m one of the lucky ones that wasn’t directly affected by 9/11. I didn’t lose a family member or a friend like so many others did, but I witnessed our entire country unite as one – and that is a lesson worth remembering.
Lion Latenight is hosting the College’s first ever 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony on Friday, Sept. 11, at 8:30 p.m. in the Brower Student Center for the campus community to come together. They will be hosting a Donation Drive until Friday, Sept. 18, where students can donate items to the charity, Operation Gratitude, which sends items overseas to the nation’s troops who are fighting as a result of the events on September 11. The remembrance event will include a writing station for students to message soldiers, memorial presentations and a moment of silence for the campus to honor the lives of those lost together as one community.
I am so thankful to attend a college where organizations like Lion Latenight ensure that we are together as a community during the 14th anniversary of 9/11 and make sure we never forget that tragic day.
The more time that passes from the events on Sept. 11, 2001 shouldn’t mean that we remember it less and less. For every year that passes, we should become even more united as community to forever ensure that not only are the victims of 9/11 always remembered, but that the lesson of a country united is never forgotten.
(09/01/15 8:16pm)
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By Julie Kayzerman
Editor-in-Chief
Beyond the kitchen doors in Eickhoff Hall on a Saturday morning, Catering Chef Jacqueline Baldassari is probably break dancing and singing Marvin Gaye’s “Got to Give it Up” into a wooden spoon.
Everybody’s swingin’. This is such a groovy place.
She has a boombox set up to blast some old funk and soul music while the whole staff sings along together and, in turn, works better and faster, she said.
Keep on dancin’. You got to get it. Got to give it up.
“I’m very energetic, I’m freakin’ off the wall,” Baldassari said with a raspy laugh. “I’ll just start break dancing ... I’ll be like ‘What? Party time!’ after I’ve been here for like 12 hours.”
However, the behind-the-scenes chef from Florence, N.J., might be better known from her reality television stints on season nine of “Chopped” in 2011 and season 11 of “Hell’s Kitchen” in 2013.
But while Chef Gordon Ramsey told Baldassari she was just a “diner girl from Jersey” on “Hell’s Kitchen,” to the College, she’s much more: a break-dancing chef with an infectious laugh whose culinary skills nearly doubled the amount of sales during her first year at the College.
Before Baldassari stepped in, sales from June 1, 2012 to June 1, 2013 at the College were recorded at $520,530.49. The following year they were at $589,070.17.
But when the funky chef came swinging through the kitchen doors in April 2014, sales skyrocketed to $984.797.40, according to Sodexo’s system, CaterTrax, which only accounts for about 75 percent of sales.
“My parents were like, ‘Do not go into the restaurant business,’” Baldassari said. “I love it. I can’t get away from it. It’s a hardworking career, it’s not an easy job by any means, but I love it. I love feeding people, I love tasting stuff, working with funky ingredients, teaching other cooks and chefs how to work with the stuff.”
Born to cook
Born and raised in the restaurant industry, Baldassari became a cooking connoisseur as a kid, hopping in and out of the seven different restaurants her family owned in the Trenton area, from doughnut shops to banquet halls.
At age seven, she was ordering a medium-rare filet mignon, instead of the Mickey Mouse cheeseburger offered on the kid’s menu. At 12, Baldassari worked in the coat check room of her grandfather’s restaurant, Roman Hall, with wide eyes at the bills she was collecting from tipping customers.
But it was at her job at Rat’s restaurant in Hamilton Township at 16 years old where she developed her skill set in high-end cooking. There, she fell in love with the potential that different food dishes had to offer.
“I’m very creative because I have such a broad horizon of many different cuisines,” Baldassari said. “I love colors, textures and to combine them. So not only what you’re seeing is absolutely amazing looking … it also makes your mouth have a crazy party.”
So when age 27 rolled around, she went on the T.V. screen to impress the judges on “Chopped” with her grilled asparagus with prosciutto and melon before being eliminated in round two on episode “1 in 100.” Not much later, she found herself living with 20 strangers, getting woken up by drill sergeants and diving into a lobster tank on season 11 of “Hell’s Kitchen,” during her three weeks on the show.
And from that, Baldassari learned the greatest lesson of all: “Not to do long TV shows again,” she joked. “It’s intense. Everything that (Ramsey is) shouting out at you, you have to remember, and if you can’t remember, you’re going to fail.”
Failure is not an option
But Baldassari didn’t even come close to failing. She hung up the chef’s jacket for a bit to go to accounting school. But it was too boring for the energetic chef — she couldn’t break dance and crunch numbers at the same time.
She went back to her roots in high-end cooking, working at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, serving people like mathematician John Nash and his son. She even spent time at the Ivy Inn in Princeton, kickstarting the restaurant by creating the menu and designing the signature Ivy Burger, she said with a kiss to her fingers.
Now Baldassari has found comfort at the College, being around students and running the catering department in a kitchen full of dancing and laughter.
“I think I’m going to stay here for awhile,” she said. But Baldassari still has her eye set on the ultimate dream: owning her own restaurant.
“I would love it,” she said. “Nothing crazy, a bistro, inexpensive, affordable for everyone … that’s the dream. “Everybody should be able to have good food,” Baldassari said. “Just because you’re on a budget or you’re not making a ton of money, you’re a college kid … everybody should be able to have an amazing diner experience no matter if it’s once in your life or once a week.”
(08/25/15 8:24pm)
By Julie Kayzerman Editor-in-Chief
Pat Donohue didn’t dedicate his life to community service and helping others for accolades or awards. He simply did it because “he felt that part of the responsibility of being here on earth was to try and make things better,” said Pete Donohue, 50, Pat’s twin brother.
Donohue, the former assistant provost who died tragically last month after jumping off the George Washington Bridge on Tuesday, July 7, had spent nine years at the College with the Bonner Institute for Civic and Community Engagement and was dedicated to serving the community of Trenton. He retired from the College on Wednesday, July 1, in part because of job-related stress, according to Pete. Donohue is the fourth suicide related to the College in three years.
“I knew he was doing good stuff, but I was just blown away by this turnout (at the funeral),” Pete said in a phone interview last month. “It’s just crazy to me. I mean there was like a three-hour wait to get into the wake … there were people coming up to me saying, ‘He changed my life doing this work.’ Really mind blowing.”
The wake, held on Friday, July 17, had a wide turnout of about 700-800 people at the Sacred Heart Church in Trenton, Pete said.
Under the leadership of Donohue, the Bonner program increased from 24 to 101 students and the number of First Seminar Program community engaged learning sections grew to over 40, according to a May email from Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Jacqueline Taylor, that announced Donohue’s retirement.
“He just works to try to improve things, make things better, in Trenton particularly,” Pete said. “He spent many, many years trying to improve the lives of people who are less fortunate in the city of Trenton itself.”
Donohue also helped create the Trenton Violence Reduction Strategy two years ago to help teens turn away from lives of crime, according to the New York Daily News. He also worked closely with the Institute for Prison Teaching and Outreach and TCNJ TrentonWorks. According to The Times, Donohue was instrumental in opening a satellite office of the College in downtown Trenton to offer classes, lectures, movie screenings and workspace.
“Pat was a charismatic leader who saw potential in the projects and the people he worked with,” said John Laughton, dean of the School of Arts and Communication who worked with Donohue for six years. “He understood the need for social engagement and connecting people with a shared vision.”
Donohue left behind his wife Donna, his daughter Cate, 16, and his son Patrick, 20.
“They’re devastated,” Pete said of Pat’s family. “Absolutely devastated.”
“In my mind, Pat couldn’t have died to teach us a lesson because no lesson could ever equal the good Pat would have accomplished with the rest of his life,” Pat’s older brother, Jimmy, said in his eulogy during the funeral. “At the same time, I refuse to believe, I absolutely refuse to believe that Pat has died in vain. So I’m going to ask you a favor. I’m going to ask you to take a solemn vow, right now in this church.
“I’m asking you to tell someone today, before the sun sets, that if you are ever in so much pain that you feel you might do harm to yourself, you will tell that person, that you will make one simple phone call and say, ‘I don’t trust myself right now.’ I would like to ask you to raise your hand if you promise you’ll do that today.”
Pete admitted he’s had trouble knowing what to say to people regarding his brother’s death, but knows that if his story can save someone someday it’s absolutely worth telling.
“Because of the stigma, people don’t talk about (suicide), so I think that’s part of the problem,” Pete said. “It’s got to be a more candid and honest discussion and (there must be) recognition that this happens to a lot of good people and it’s happening a lot more often than you think.”
The Pat Donohue Family Fund has been created to support the family and his children’s education. Donations can be made at http://www.bonner.org/pat-donohue-family-fund.
Donations in honor of Donohue can also be made to his favorite charity, The Greg Grant 94 Ft. Academic Sports Academy.
“I love all of you in this room because you loved my brother,” Jimmy said in his eulogy. “I know that he would want you to leave here, have a beer, and look forward to the rest of your wonderful lives.”
(07/20/15 9:01pm)
A support fund has been created to assist the family of former assistant provost Pat Donohue, who died after jumping off the George Washington Bridge earlier this month.
Donohue worked in the Bonner Institute for Civic and Community Engagement at the College for nine years and was dedicated to serving the community of Trenton. He retired from the College on Wednesday, July 1. He also helped create the Trenton Violence Reduction Strategy two years ago to help teens turn away from lives of crime, according to the New York Daily News.
In lieu of flowers, The Pat Donohue Family Fund has been created to raise money that will go directly to support family and education expenses for his children, Catherine, 16 and Patrick, 20. Donations can also be made to one of Donohue's favorite charities, an after-school tutoring program for inner-city Trenton youth, GGrant97Ft.Inc.
According to Donohue's twin brother, Pete, the wake held on Friday, July 17 had an incredible turnout, with a line that stretched for blocks to get inside the Bordentown Home for Funerals. Some people waiting about 2-3 hours to get inside, Pete told The Signal.
Donohue's funeral was largely attended by about 700-800 people at Sacred Heart Church, according to Pete.