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(05/07/19 7:03pm)
By Megan Kelly
Staff Writer
The Office of Leadership held the first ever lecture in the TCNJ Talks Series, titled “Making the Impossible Possible” at 6 p.m. on May 1 in the Brower Student Center Room 100.
The speakers consisted of junior psychology major Ralph Betancourt, College chemistry professor Benny Chan, senior nursing major Theresa Fineza and Assistant Director of Career Services Lynette N. Harris.
Through the diversity of topics including mental health, STEM education, health and self-discovery, the four speakers fused their expertise in the first installment of the TCNJ Talks series.
Betancourt focused on his own experiences at the College as a leader on campus and as a gay man. He stressed the importance of having conversations with the people around oneself and being inclusive, as well as making sure that people keep an eye on their mental health.
In order to change the way mental health is perceived on campus, Betancourt has gotten involved with Student Government, Greek life and PRISM. He has even reached out to College President Kathryn Foster to spark conversations about mental health awareness.
“I said, ‘you know, I really want to create initiative to change how mental health is perceived on this campus,’ and she really resonated with that,” Betancourt said in regards to his conversation with Foster.
He hopes there will be new initiatives coming in the fall semester to address the stigma surrounding mental health.
“It’s good to acknowledge yourself, that you might not be doing OK, and that’s OK.” he said. “We’re not meant to be perfect. We’re human beings. We have flaws ... It’s OK to fumble and fall sometimes.”
Chan, who spoke second, pulled from his own life experiences as well. At the College, he is committed to researching and redesigning the STEM curriculum to be more inclusive to minority students. Chan said that he and other professors in the department have done “thousands of hours of interviews of TCNJ students on why they succeed and why they’re failing their STEM classes.”
Chan believes that social identity can be a key factor in the success of students in the STEM department.
The professors’ resulting solution is a model called the Intersectional Curricula Design, which will combine social identities — and their relationships with each other — with a STEM curriculum. Chan gave several examples of aspects relating to social identity that might be holding students back in the classroom, such as fasting during Ramadan, or if the College has a completely new learning environment that some students did not experience in high school.
“Once we start playing with identities, we have to go into the concepts of intersectionality, so how do these social identities come together,” Chan said. “It allows us to bring these concepts of privilege and social oppression, systematic oppression, into our conversations of why people are doing well and why people are not doing well in our science careers.”
DiAnna Sela, a senior English and women’s, gender, and sexuality studies double major, attended the talk because she felt the topics addressed are topics the College should be made aware of.
“I believe this is really important because our school represents so many ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds and we need to account for that when we are educating our students because of the fact that not everybody may have had the same access to education and resources that other people have had access to,” she said. “So when we think about equitable solution to helping all students, the first step is representing them properly.”
Next up to speak was Fineza, who spoke about the HIV/AIDS epidemic of the 1980s. She opened with the story told from the second person that described what it would be like to be an HIV+ person living in New York City. She also spoke of groups such as the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power and the Gay Men’s Health Crisis.
To Fineza, the story of people coming together and working to achieve something seemingly impossible — finding a treatment or cure for HIV/AIDS — personified the theme of the talk perfectly.
“I ask humbly that each and every one of you, once a day, try and seek out the humanity in someone that’s different from you,” Fineza said. “If we make that collective effort, who knows what kind of impossible future we can make possible for those who come after us?”
Lastly, Harris spoke about her experiences of seizing the day, first as a baby girl born three months prematurely in Camden, New Jersey, second as a student at Montclair State University — formerly Montclair State College — and third in her career at the College.
Harris told the story of her childhood and how she went to college and created the life for herself that she wanted instead of playing the victim and holding onto negative energy. Her message focused more on changing oneself from within, prioritizing self-care and making each day into a lesson.
Harris concluded the talk-show with a piece of advice for students finding themselves in their college careers.
“Life is a masterpiece,” Harris said. “And as we’re becoming the masters of our own destiny, life is a masterpiece when you learn to master peace.”
(05/01/19 5:49pm)
By Megan Kelly
Staff Writer
The College’s School of Business hosted a “Business of Sports” panel on April 24 at 6 p.m. in the Library Auditorium, where panelists discussed their careers, businesses and advice for those in attendance.
The panel, which was moderated by alumnus Rob Roche (’93), an adjunct professor at the College and president of Robert S. Roche Sports Management, consisted of three people — Executive Director of Athletics at the College Amanda DeMartino, President and Managing Partner of Today’s Business Chaz Cervino and Robert Raiola, an accountant and the director of sports and entertainment at the accounting firm O’Connor Davies, LLP.
The discussion began with panelists’ introductions and explanations of how they got into the business of sports. Whether it was through playing college sports, as DeMartino and Cervino did, or dealing with sports from a different lens, as Raiola does through accounting, each panelist brought a different perspective to the business panel discussion.
DeMartino began her sports career as a collegiate basketball player and employee with her school’s athletic department, where she washed the team’s uniforms as a freshman. After graduation, she took an assistant coaching job at Northwood University in Florida, moving up the chain to head coach and eventually athletic director. Finally, she left Florida and accepted her current position at the College two years ago.
“The one piece of advice that I really share with anybody I talk to is to just meet as many people as you can, and learn as much as you possibly can,” DeMartino said. “Even if you can’t get a job in an athletic department, being an intern and working for free in this competitive industry is sometimes how you gotta get your foot in the door.”
Much like DeMartino, Cervino was also an athlete in college. He played football at Syracuse University for two years before transferring to Hofstra University to continue his sporting career, but a fractured rib, a punctured lung and a canceled football program halted his progress. After thinking about what his next steps would be after graduation, Cervino created Today’s Business, a digital marketing company that specializes in social media and search engine optimization, which was followed by Today’s Athletes in 2016.
“Network endlessly,” he said. “You never know who you’re going to meet while you’re at school, after school, extracurriculars, at the bar, wherever it may be. You never know who you’re going to meet and how you’re going to interact with people.”
Raiola’s relationship with sports is solely through taxes, as he has explained himself to have “zero athletic ability.”
He began exploring Twitter and, through social media, has been able to establish his own brand, through which he creates sports-related content from an accounting standpoint.
“SportsCenter called me up. This 54-year-old accountant went on SportsCenter, are you kidding me?” said Raiola, whose Twitter name is @SportsTaxMan. “(Twitter has) really helped me make my persona up, and people will know me, like when I show up at places, they don’t know my real name, but they know ‘Sports Tax Man.’”
The discussion moved to the 2019 NFL Draft and its potential effects on the panelists’ businesses. Beginning at the initial decision to go pro, DeMartino advocated for attending a college or university for at least two years before leaving to play in the big leagues.
“There’s millions of dollars to be made, and a lot of these guys are coming from situations where they are the financial provider, or will be the financial provider, and there’s a lot of pressure to take care of people and themselves, so I completely understand all of that,” DeMartino said. “But I also think it’s just a really tricky world for a 19, 20, 21-year-old to navigate because the reality is that they started playing sports truly for the love of the game.”
Raiola then spoke more about how he analyzes the draft from his own point of view, whether it is on Twitter or through his articles in Sports Illustrated. Depending on where a contract is signed and the what the respective state’s tax rate is, the difference between the gross deal and the net deal could be significant, he explained.
The panelists also discussed how the dedication required of student athletes can translate into life lessons that help people succeed in adult life. The panelists agreed that the needs of an athlete — determination, hard work and resilience — have helped them, as they have advanced their sports careers over the years.
“I’ve been in business for eight years,” Cervino said. “You can get burnt out sometimes. There are days where you’re like, ‘This is tough, I don’t want to do this right now,’ but at the same time you have to push through, and that’s part of the makeup of who you’ve become.”
Following the set panel topics was a Q&A session, where the panelists answered questions revolving around topics such as potential draft picks and contracts, monetizing digital marketing for athletes and the panelists’ most memorable moments in their careers.
Through each of their sports careers, the panelists exemplified what can be achieved through following their advice of working hard and being passionate about what they do.
“I always say to my class, you know, somebody has to work in sports,” Roche said. “It might as well be you. I went here at TCNJ myself, and at that time I thought, ‘I’d really love to work in sports, but I don’t know how to go about it.’ And I wish I had someone to speak to me about how to do it, what advice they’d give me, and that’s why we’re here.”
(05/02/17 2:10pm)
By Megan Kelly
Staff Writer
Student Government approved three new clubs for recognition at its Wednesday, April 29, meeting.
The first club that presented and was ultimately approved was Ed2010, a magazine club that will offer internship opportunities predominantly for journalism students, but also for students with other majors such as graphic design or marketing. Ed2010 currently has 15 members and recently went on a tour of Women’s Day magazine in New York City.
Ed2010 also has an “extremely involved adviser that is a critical resource to the organization”, and an executive board with experienced members, according to Justin Brach, the constitutional review chair for SG.
Club Running presented next. The club has been actively seeking recognition from the College since last November. Instead of waiting for the moratorium on club sports to be lifted, Club Running decided to seek recognition. Club Running was approved by Robert Simels, the director of a recreation at the College, under two conditions: Club Running will not be a sport, but a club that focuses on fitness and that Club Running will not represent the College in competition.
Club Running’s goal is to promote fitness and wellness on campus and encourage students who enjoy running but do not want the rigorous schedule of a varsity sport to get together and go on runs. Club Running was approved later in the meeting.
The third club to present and get approved was the Armenian Club. The club will “create a unique environment for students to discuss issues relating to the Armenian genocide” as well as host cultural awareness events on campus, Brach said.
The Armenian Club hopes to host an “Armenian Week” or a similar event on campus. The club would like to be a resource for the College’s Armenian students, but also encourages students who are not of Armenian descent to join the club as well. The club currently has 19 members.
The Ashley Lauren Foundation presented last at SG. ALF was seeking recognition for sustainability purposes, according to Brach. ALF is a New Jersey-based nonprofit that raises money to help support families with children diagnosed with cancer.
College and high school campuses can establish ALF Clubs to help raise money for the organization as well as raise awareness of pediatric cancer and its effects. After some deliberation, ALF was ultimately not approved for recognition.
(04/26/17 12:28am)
By Megan Kelly
Staff Writer
Student Government approved four new clubs at its weekly meeting on Wednesday, April 19. The first club approved was the Civil Engineering Honor Society, which was previously the only engineering honor society not recognized by the College, according to Justin Brach, SG’s constitutional review chair and a sophomore finance and political science double major.
The Civil Engineering Honor Society “has a strong relationship with the National Civil Engineering Honor Society, Chi Epsilon, but can only receive funding after a one-year trial period,” Brach said.
The primary reason the honor society is seeking recognition at the College is so it can begin its trial period. The organization also wishes to honor high academic achievement. The honor society is not seeking funding from the Student Activities Fee, Brach said.
The National Society of Professional Engineers was also approved. This organization prepares engineering students for life after graduation and provides resources to members, particularly networking opportunities, Brach said. The society also hopes to host an “engineering-focused career event to help alleviate the difficulty in finding a position after graduation,” Brach said.
Currently, the society has 20 members and has hosted a general engineering seminar on campus. Being a member in the society also counts for credit for the ENG 099 course called “Senior Professional Seminar,” according to Brach. The society wants recognition at the College so they can book spaces for meetings, gain more members and reinforce engineering opportunities.
SG approved the Hamilton Society, a place for students to discuss political issues using a Mock Trial and Model Congress format, differing it from the debate team, according to Brach. The Hamilton Society primarily wants recognition so it can represent the College at competitions held by the American Mock Trial Association and does not need to be funded through SAF, as the organization uses out-of-pocket funds, Brach said.
The Hamilton Society currently has 48 members and an executive board made up of non-political science majors, demonstrating that students from all majors are welcome, Brach said.
The Young Americans for Freedom Club was also approved.
“(The organization) creates a unique community on our campus by championing conservative and libertarian issues,” Brach said.
YAF hopes to host different speakers on campus, as well as co-sponsor events with other clubs and other YAF chapters from universities, such as Rutgers and Ryder. The club hopes to encourage students to get involved in politics and eventually raise funds to build a memorial at the College to honor the victims of 9/11, according to Brach.
(04/18/17 5:26am)
By Megan Kelly
Staff Writer
Student Government held its weekly meeting on Wednesday, April 12, which took place at the New Jersey State House in Trenton, N.J., rather than on campus.
SG approved the Student Finance Board budget for the 2017-18 year, titled “FY2018.” The most important change to the budget is the increase in the staffing budget because of changes proposed by Amy Hecht, the vice president of Student Affairs.
The budget will now expand to include a director of Diversity and Inclusion, so it will increase from $60,000 to $158,000. This affects the funds that can be allocated to various student organizations.
Some aspects of the budget, such as funds allocated for club sports, stayed the same, but some budgets were cut down, such as the budget for the Loop Bus, which is decreasing from $30,000 to $20,000, as efforts will be made to make the loop bus run more efficiently, such as cutting down on rides.
The student employee wages will be decreasing overall and any student making more than $4,000 will receive an 8 percent wage decrease.
“We currently pay $120,000 towards student employee wages, so that includes the wages for (College Union Board), SFB as well as SG. Our wages for the next year are going to be be reduced slightly,” said Ziyi Wang, SFB’s operations director and a junior finance major.
The budget for club equipment, such as whiteboards, will decrease and SFB will focus on clubs that already have equipment, but is no longer functioning properly rather than buying completely new equipment that does not need replacing.
“We support organizations who want to purchase new equipment, so for example, this year, SG got a new whiteboard, Student Finance Board upgraded the equipment that our program director rents out. … We’re decreasing the amount (of money) that student organizations can request for equipment,” Wang said.
SFB also currently contributes about $800 per issue used toward printing The Signal, but plans to reduce that amount to around $400 per issue. SFB will also be cutting $2,000 from the funds allocated to intramural sports.
“The result of this cut (is that) individual students will have to pay more in order to play sports like bowling and golf,” Wang said.
SG and CUB are the groups that cost SFB the most money, so SFB has decided the groups will be given their base budget for next year in advance. This will help SG and SFB plan their events more efficiently and help reduce costs, according to Wang.
(04/11/17 5:57am)
By Megan Kelly
Staff Writer
Student Government approved three new clubs on Wednesday, April 5.
The first club, the College Diabetes Network, has been holding bi-weekly meetings since September and “creates a unique and resourceful community for individuals with diabetes,” according to the Governmental Affairs Committee.
The College Diabetes Network is recognized by the National College Diabetes Network Organization and thus won’t need to be funded by the Student Finance Board, as the national organization sends a stipend to the group here at the College. The College Diabetes Network only seeks the College’s recognition to be able to spread the word about their club and be able to book a consistent meeting space.
So far, the College Diabetes Network has 21 members: 16 freshmen, one sophomore and four juniors.
The next club to present, the Anthropology Society, is a place for students interested in anthropology to meet and discuss anthropological topics. The club has the support of many anthropology professors and also has a strong member count: the Anthropology Society has 45 members so far. The society has had meetings and events, such as movie screenings and speakers.
The society had previously been a club on campus before but was de-recognized last year. Since then, the club has “since reinvigorated students in the organization’s purpose,” said the Governmental Affairs Committee.
The last club to present was Health Occupations Students of America: Future Health Professionals. This club also receives national recognition, this time from the National HOSA Organization. HOSA works to allow students interested in entering the medical field opportunities to participate in case competitions. HOSA was seeking recognition from the College for several different reasons: to “open more doors” with the national organization, provide resources for students, a regular room to meet in and advancement privileges.
Currently, HOSA has 35 members, but is hoping to work with the School of Health and Exercise Science and the School of Science to grow its membership.
(04/04/17 12:56am)
By Megan Kelly
Staff Writer
Student Government held its weekly meeting on Wednesday, March 29, to approve a new club, pass a resolution and pick names for the Brower Student Center art installation.
The new club, a bi-weekly newspaper focusing specifically on politics and business called “The Bull, Bear and Lion,” was approved. The newspaper currently has nine seniors, four juniors, four sophomores and 20 freshmen working on it.
Despite the the School of Business funding the newspaper, students of all majors are encouraged to join the newspaper and write articles. The Bull, Bear and Lion sought recognition in order to recruit members, post fliers and have a table at the Student Involvement Fair.
SG also passed resolution R-S2017-04, which urges Gov. Chris Christie to sign Assembly Bill 34 into law.
The resolution says SG “supports the governor of New Jersey signing Assembly Bill 34 into law, which appropriates the remaining $34,297,697 from the ‘Building Our Future Bond Act’ for public and private institutions of higher education.” The act originally allotted $750 million for grants for public research universities, state colleges and universities, county colleges and private institutions.
The resolution also states that SG acknowledges that the Bond Act has benefitted the College by funding projects like the STEM and Chemistry buildings. The remaining funds from the Bond Act might potentially be allocated toward other interests in New Jersey.
SG chose between 11 different name suggestions for the new art piece to be displayed in the student center, which will feature a circular LED screen that shows the positions of the sun and moon and is surrounded by brass disks. SG settled on three options to present to the artists: “(The) Lunar Lion,” “Solarion” or a combination of the two, meaning that “Solarion” would be potentially displayed on the LED screen during the day, and “(The) Lunar Lion” at night.
SG had a difficult time deciding between Lunar Lion and The Lunar Lion, so they opted to place the “The” in parenthesis to let the artists decide.
“Whatever the artists say, goes,” said Kevin Kim, executive president.
The Class of 2018 announced that there are nine confirmed acts for TCNJ’s Got Talent, but there might be more. The talent show will take place on April 13 in Kendall Hall.
The Class of 2019 also announced that it is holding a fundraiser on April 11 at Chipotle, and 50 percent of the profits will go to the Class of 2019.
(03/28/17 7:16am)
By Megan Kelly
Staff Writer
Student Government held its weekly meeting on Wednesday, March 22, to discuss a new art piece, the T-shirt Swap and the Adirondack chair project.
Kate Kaman and Joel Erland, silversmiths in Philadelphia, presented their plans for an art installation in the Brower Student Center. The design features a 6-foot circular LED screen with brass discs branching off of the screen made to resemble the sun and its rays. The screen will display the position of the sun and phases of the moon, working as a digital sun and moon calendar.
The art piece will be cast into a 20-foot by 15-foot concrete wall and covered by a piece of tempered glass that is one-half inch thick to protect the piece from the elements and vandals.
“All of the sensitive electronics will be on the climate-controlled side of the wall and the exterior side, which is still inside its own waterproof housing, you have… outdoor rated LEDs, which are rated for 50,000 hours or 10 years, so they’re designed to be re-lighted every 10 years,” Erland said.
Kaman and Erland found inspiration for the design in the College’s logo.
“This logo — this shield with the lion and the sun — this was the original inspiration (for the design),” Kaman said.
Erland also credited visiting Hawaii and stargazing as inspiration for them to design something that tracked the positions of the sun. Kaman and Erland also decided not to name the piece, as they figured that the student body would come up with their own name despite it having an official name.
The student body will have the opportunity to come up with name suggestions before SG will vote for the piece.
“Basically what we’re going to do is create a Google form and it’ll be an open-comment sort of thing,” said Kevin Kim, executive president of SG.
After the presentation, Vice President of Student Services Lindsay Thomas reminded everyone that the T-shirt Swap will take place on Wednesday, March 29, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Vice President of Community Relations Michael O’Connor announced that the Adirondack chair project had to be delayed due to unforeseen costs.
“There were some things that weren’t accounted for, and I think what I’m going to do is reduce the amount of chairs that we originally wanted to be able to afford that,” O’Connor said.
O’Connor also announced that the PB&J Race will take place on April 13 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Teams of five will compete to make as many peanut butter and jelly sandwiches as possible in a certain amount of time. All of the sandwiches will be donated to the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen. The deadline to register for the race is Friday, March 31, and it costs $20 per team to join.
The Class of 2019 was fully funded for a digital scavenger hunt. An app will be developed specifically for the hunt and students will go around and find the listed places, people or things. A date for the event and prize for the winner has yet to be determined, but they hope to schedule it for a Sunday in April.
(03/20/17 10:55pm)
By Megan Kelly
Staff Writer
Student Government held a meeting before spring break on March 8 to approve the Stand-Up Comedy Club, determine office hours for SG’s executive president and vice president and see the T-shirt design for the T-shirt Swap.
Student Government approved the Stand-Up Comedy Club, which aims to put on performances at the College, teach club members about the art of stand-up comedy and bring in outside comedians to perform.
Now that it has been funded and recognized, the Stand-Up Comedy Club hopes to begin performing at Traditions, as the intimate environment is optimal for gauging the audience’s reaction while performing.
The Stand-Up Comedy Club also wants to have regular service trips and co-sponsor comedy events with other clubs. Before the club was recognized, the only outlets for students to perform comedy acts were through the College Union Board, which usually only holds one comedy event per semester, and the improv comedy troupe, the Mixed Signals.
SG also passed Bill B-S2017-02, which proposed that the executive president and executive vice president of SG hold office hours each week. The executive president will be required to have eight office hours a week, four of which must be held during regular business hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays.
The executive vice president has to hold six office hours, three of which must be during the aforementioned business hours. The bill’s goal is to make both the executive president and vice president more accessible to those who are not in SG, but want to bring an issue to SG’s attention.
“(SG) can contact the executive vice president and the president, and they are always there for us, which is something that is phenomenal. But the general student body can’t just shoot them a text and say, ‘Hey, let’s meet up,’” said Dana Disarno, Student Trustee. “I think it’s really important to have these hours, so that the general body can come in.”
The T-shirt design for the T-shirt Swap was revealed. It will be a white, short-sleeved crew neck that says, “TCNJ LIONS” in navy blue and feature a navy silhouette of a lion standing on it’s hind legs.
The Class of 2018 announced that its tank top sale is cancelled, but students can still buy other merchandise.
In addition, TCNJ’s Got Talent auditions will take place on Wednesday, March 22, from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. and on March 27 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
(02/28/17 8:01am)
By Megan Kelly
Staff Writer
Student Government passed another resolution at its Wednesday, Feb. 22, meeting, which states that SG does not support the recently adopted Homecoming Tailgate alcohol policy that only allows alcohol to be sold from third-party vendors.
According to resolution R-S2017-02, SG believes the changes “discouraged both alumni and students from attending,” and the lengthy amount of time attendees spent waiting in line for alcohol detracted from their experience and the time they could have spent socializing.
The resolution also acknowledges a poll that used to be on The Signal’s website in which 76 percent of the 430 people who took the poll were against the changes to the alcohol policy.
In addition, SG feels the prices of the beer and wine sold at this year’s tailgate were unfair and overpriced. The members hope the College will revert back to Fraternal Information and Programming Group guidelines, which allow for one six-pack per person over the age of 21 and does not allow wine or hard liquor, according to Executive President Kevin Kim. The resolution was supported 36-17 with three abstentions.
Vice President of Academic Affairs Alex Moulder said he met with Sharon Blanton, chief information officer and vice president for Information Technology, to discuss changing the Course Evaluation Feedback forms that students fill out at the end of each semester.
“We’re looking to… minimize the number of questions they ask so you’re not bombarded with 30, 40 questions, and so we’re looking to bring it down to 10 questions,” Moulder said. Vice President of Student Services Lindsay Thomas announced that there will be a T-shirt swap on March 29.
The T-shirt that will be swapped with students’ old T-shirts is still being designed.
Vice President of Community Relations Michael O’Connor said he will be purchasing the wood to buy the Adirondack chairs he is hoping to have installed all over campus soon.
The Class of 2018 also received full funding for its TCNJ’s Got Talent event, which will take place on April 13 in Kendall Hall.
(02/21/17 7:58am)
By Megan Kelly
Staff Writer
Student Government voted to approve resolution RS-2017-01 during its meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 15. The resolution states how SG is in opposition of the recent travel and immigration ban imposed by President Donald Trump’s executive order.
“(The ban) has the opportunity to come back, so if you’re seeing in the news ‘Oh, the travel ban isn’t a thing,’ it could still be a thing,” said Tori Mazzola, vice president of Governmental Affairs.
Funding was granted for the restoration of the Library Café furniture, particularly the chairs.
“Weekly, chairs will be taken out and brought back into the Library Café and fixed up, so they’re not disgusting,” said Alex Moulder, vice president of Academic Affairs.
He also said the green bench in the café will be refinished over the coming spring break.
Vice President of Student Services Lindsay Thomas announced that making a new lion costume is being looked into, as the current Roscoe the Lion costume is in disrepair.
“The mascot now is awful — the tail is falling out and it smells,” she said. “We’re willing and open to any ideas.”
Thomas also said moves are being made to get the mascot training program up and running. The program will train students to wear the Roscoe suit and be a mascot at various on-campus events.
(02/14/17 7:04am)
By Megan Kelly
Staff Writer
Student Government unanimously approved Habitat for Humanity at its meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 8.
The College’s new chapter hopes to create opportunities for students outside of the Bonner Community Scholars program to get involved in giving back to surrounding communities.
Habitat for Humanity also wants to work with other organizations to help them do more community service by possibly co-sponsoring events with organizations on campus. The College’s chapter will still need funding allocated to them by the Student Finance Board for planning fundraisers and transportation to and from build sites.
The club hopes to host several build days during each semester. As of now they are planning to offer rides to build days every Thursday.
“Depending on how many build days we have per semester or year, we’ll have a requirement of how many (members need to attend). ... Once we know exactly how many we’ll have, we’ll tell members, ‘You need to attend two build days,’ or, you know, depending on how many build days we can secure,” said Kerstin Baran, president of Habitat for Humanity.
(02/07/17 6:48am)
By Megan Kelly
Staff Writer
Student Government discussed the Tower renovation project, renaming Loser Hall and a mascot training program at the first meeting of the spring semester on Wednesday, Feb. 1.
Vice President of Administration and Finance Chris Blakely updated everyone on the the Towers’ renovation, stating that different architectural firms have been asked to submit plans for remodeling the freshmen dorms. One of the project’s goals is to create a single entrance into the Towers instead of two to promote unity, according to Blakely.
“There will be air conditioning and Wi-Fi in the buildings… That’s a guarantee,” Blakely said. “Also the sinks… most likely they will not be coming back just because of the cost to maintain them,” he said.
One of Blakely’s goals for the semester is to get hammocks in places across campus for students to sit and relax in, although nothing is settled yet.
“I’m working with (Curt Heuring, vice president for Administration) and a couple other people right now to finalize this hammock idea,” Blakely said.
President Kevin Kim gave an update on the Loser Hall renaming initiative, saying that a commission on social justice will be formed comprising students, faculty and staff. The commission will decide how to handle the possible renaming of Loser Hall after students called for a name-change last semester after the building’s namesake, Paul Loser, was discovered to have actively opposed the desegregation of Trenton public schools.
“They’re going to discuss (the renaming), but also anything on the broader scale of social justice,” Kim said.
Vice President of Academic Affairs Alex Molder was absent from the meeting, but hopes to change the way students fill out their course evaluation forms.
“He’s meeting with (Chief Information Officer and Vice President for Information Technology) Sharon Blanton in the next few weeks to look at rewriting the course evaluation forms… He wants to make them a lot more engaging and easier for students to do,” Student Trustee Dana Disarno said as she read a message from Molder.
Vice President of Student Services Lindsay Thomas said the College is planning to start a mascot program, which would give students the chance to get paid to dress up as Roscoe the Lion. Currently, if an organization or club wants someone to dress up as Roscoe, they have to fill out a form and pick up the suit and just put someone in the costume. This program would have several students interview to be Roscoe.
“(Assistant Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life) Dave Conner is actually willing to pay for those students to go to University of Delaware’s mascot camp,” Thomas said. “If your organization is throwing an event and you want Roscoe, this person will put on the costume and actually be a mascot.”
Vice President of Community Relations Michael O’Connor said he hopes to get Adirondack chairs out on campus for students to enjoy this semester.
“They’ll go great with Chris’s hammocks,” he said.
Cassie Kriegel, Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion, announced two upcoming events this semester. The Black History Mobile Museum will be in room 212 of the Education Building from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Feb. 28.
In addition, actor and psychologist Mykee Fowlin will lecture on March 2 in Mayo Hall at 7 p.m.
The senior and junior class councils updated everyone on their class events. The Class of 2017 is hosting a Senior Night at Triumph Brewery in Princeton, N.J., on Feb. 21.
The Class of 2018 is hosting TCNJ’s Got Talent on April 13 in Kendall Hall, as well as a Flower-Gram from Monday, Feb. 13 to Tuesday, Feb. 14. The flowers will be sold from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. in Eickhoff Hall.
(12/07/16 6:15pm)
By Megan Kelly
Staff Writer
Student Government (SG) approved a new club, the Between the Covers Book Club, and passed a new bill that would offer current members two levels of membership in SG.
SG approved of Between the Covers Book, making it the first and only official book club at the College. Rebecca Ramp, a sophomore English major, started the club with the goal of encouraging students on campus to read more.
“It’s just a pretty relaxed setting where... you can come if they read the book — or even if they didn’t — and just talk about what they liked about it or what they didn’t,” Ramp said. “I know, personally, why I wanted to start this club is because not a lot of my friends read so I would read a really good book and want someone to talk to about it.”
Members will not have to purchase books since Ramp will pick up copies of the books from the Ewing, N.J., branch of the Mercer County Library herself. Ramp is hoping that once the club’s membership increases, the group will be able to start doing more activities like trivia nights.
Bill BF2016-07 was also passed by SG during its meeting. This bill now offers SG members two different levels of membership: general and associate. Associate members will have to meet a certain level of accountability, as decided by a point system, or they will be dropped down to a general member.
General members will not be allowed to participate in debates, but they will be able to sit in on them. They will also be allowed to sit in on the closed session at the end of every meeting, but the President now has the power to ask these members to leave.
(11/15/16 3:46am)
By Megan Kelly
Staff Writer
Student Government (SG) approved two new College clubs: Autism Awareness and the TCNJ Culinary Club on Wednesday, Nov. 9. Executive President Kevin Kim also addressed the 2016 U.S. presidential election results and advised SG to be courteous and open-minded when discussing politics.
SG first discussed and voted to approve the Autism Awareness club, which is aimed toward those who want to interact with other students with special needs and help them with basic skills. Autism Awareness hopes to give back to kids and adults with special needs and also gives students at the College an opportunity to volunteer.
The next club approved during the meeting, the TCNJ Culinary Club, has more than 70 members ready to participate. The club plans to host events, such as weekly potlucks, and hopes to volunteer at a local soup kitchen. The club will hold a cooking demonstration once a month, but weekly meetings will consist of looking over potential recipes and planning potential events.
TCNJ Book Club was approved by Governmental Affairs (GA) last week, so SG will decide whether or not to approve the club in next week’s meeting.
Kim then addressed SG as a whole and reminded them to keep an open mind and be respectful in the wake of the presidential election. He said he thinks the results were shocking to everyone, regardless of the person for which they voted.
“Right now, collectively, we all have to accept it and move forward,” Kim said. He also reminded the group to stay civil if they encounter disagreements with anyone. Vice President of GA Tori Mazzola also congratulated those who voted in SG, regardless of which candidate they supported.
Vice President of Community Relations Michael O’Connor announced that on Monday, Nov. 14, Habitat for Humanity will be holding an opening ceremony for their new site in Ewing, N.J., and encouraged people to attend, as SG is planning on being very active on that site.
It was also announced that TCNJ Holiday will be taking place Tuesday, Dec. 6, and will feature ice skating and a horse and buggy.
The Class of 2017 announced its next Senior Night will be on Friday, Dec. 9, at XFINITY Live!, and the Class of 2018 completely sold out of tickets for their moonlight cruise and also got their own geotag for Snapchat. The Class of 2020 was fully funded for a trip to Penn’s Landing in Philadelphia and will soon be selling T-shirts.
(10/25/16 1:07am)
By Megan Kelly
Staff Writer
Student Government (SG) members learned how to fill out an absentee ballot for the upcoming presidential election, as well as how Enterprise CarShare program works, at its weekly meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 19.
Junior John Sheridan began his presentation on Enterprise CarShare, the on-campus car rental service, by sharing some basic facts about the service. Essentially, there are two Enterprise cars on campus — in Lot 5 and Campus Town — available to members of the program at all hours of the day. Members, who join the program for just one dollar, can reserve a car for themselves and receive a card with a magnetic strip that locks and unlocks the car. While a car is reserved, only the person who made the reservation has access to the car.
“What’s really cool about (the program) is that there’s not a lot of parking on campus, so this is great for people like freshmen who can’t have cars or people who just can’t own a car physically,” Sheridan said.
Sheridan also said that the cars have $5,000 worth of collision damage insurance, but if a driver is under 21 years old and gets in an accident, the cars do not have liability insurance.
Following Sheridan’s presentation, Vice President of Administration and Finance Chris Blakely announced that there will be a forum on Wednesday, Oct. 26, from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the T/W Lounge regarding the potential new residential buildings on campus.
The forum, which will be an opportunity for students to vocalize their opinions about the College demolishing Travers and Wolfe halls and designing new residence halls, will be attended by the design company and Curt Heuring, vice president of Administration.
“The whole point of this is so that more students have an idea of what’s potentially going to come and are able to provide feedback to the design firm so they can start designing these buildings for new residence halls,” Blakely said.
Vice President of Governmental Affairs Tori Mazzola went on to explain the process of filling out an absentee ballot via TurboVote. Mazzola then followed with a brief tutorial on filling out an absentee ballot.
Registering on TurboVote allows people to either print out the request form for an absentee ballot or choose to have it mailed to them. The request form is then filled out and mailed to a P.O. Box in Mercer County, N.J., and then the absentee ballot itself is administered.
Later, the Class of 2017 announced that it was fully funded for a cooking class that will take place on Wednesday, Nov. 2. There are only 30 spots available for the fall-themed event, but the menu is still undecided. The Class of 2018 was also funded for a Moonlight Cruise on Saturday, Nov. 19.
(10/18/16 3:49am)
By Megan Kelly
News Assistant
Student Government (SG) held its weekly general assembly meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 12, and discussed a potential new club on campus, plans for the upcoming Homecoming tailgate and other important events.
The meeting began by SG officially recognizing the Scientista Club, a club specifically for women in the College’s STEM program. The club plans to hold events with female speakers involved in STEM so that students can get a better understanding of the field of study they are planning to enter. The club is also open to men, but so far, none have expressed interest, according to representatives.
After the vote, SG then voted to approve bill B-F2016-06, which will shift responsibility of recording meeting attendance from the Speaker of the General Assembly to the Alternate Student Trustee (AST).
“In case anything did happen with attendance where there’s bad blood, it wouldn’t be with the member and the Speaker, it would be with the member and AST, because the Speaker’s position is designed for basically better community within SG,” President Kevin Kim said.
Next, Kim swore in new members, including newly elected senators, the junior class council secretary and the entire freshman class council.
Afterward, Kim went through all of the plans SG has for Homecoming weekend so far, beginning with the Lip Sync and Dance, which will take place on Friday, Oct. 28.
This year, the theme of Spirit Week is reality TV shows, so any team that signs up for Lip Sync and Dance will be assigned a TV show. According to Kim, some of the shows will be “American Idol,” “The Amazing Race” and “Keeping Up With the Kardashians.” After Lip Sync and Dance, there will be late-night breakfast food served in the T/W Lounge, Kim said.
Kim then addressed the tailgate, which will take place on Saturday, Oct. 29. The tailgate will take place in Lot 4, and there will be three different check-in stations for students to use, two of which will be for checking containers, such as coolers and backpacks. The other station will be for students with smaller bags, such as handbags. These three check-in stations will not be for ID-ing students — there will be three more check-in stations within the tailgate at which students who are 21 or older can get wristbands.
“That’s going to hopefully make it flow a lot better. There shouldn’t be too many people getting caught up,” Kim said.
Last year, there was some concern with the security at the tailgate, as some thought it was too relaxed, but this year, the security will be much more careful.
“This year, we went with a completely different company… and they made it very clear that the bags should be getting checked thoroughly,” Kim said.
Kim also announced the beverage prices that the third party vendor will sell. Domestic beers for will be $3 a cup, while craft beers and wine will be $4 a cup.
For students who don’t necessarily want to participate in the tailgate, MainStage will happen on the Loser Lawn from 11 a.m. to about 1:30 p.m. MainStage will feature several performances by students and local talent, and will also sell food and drinks.
“It’s a cool place for people with families or students who don’t like the whole tailgating scene. (They) can go to MainStage, they can go to performances, they can buy food that isn’t available at the tailgate area, and there’s free hot chocolate and cider, I think,” Kim said.
There will also be a fourth entrance into the tailgate specifically for re-entry from the MainStage area that will face Loser Lawn from Lot 4.
The Homecoming Dance will take place on the night of Homecoming in the Student Recreation Center. According to Kim, the theme is more of a carnival or festival type event rather than just a homecoming dance. There will be inflatables and different activities for students. There will also be over $1,000 worth of pizza served.
“The way we set up the pizza is that there’s pizza coming every hour, like a wave of pizza coming in,” Kim said.
Then, on Sunday, Oct. 20, the Fun Run will occur from noon to 1 p.m. Last year, the run spanned the entire length of the Metzger Loop, but this year, it is an abridged version of the course. Students are encouraged to wear their costumes and walk or run the course.
“You can get a cool prize if you win a medal, but it’s not competitive at all,” Kim said.
On the same day, Trunk-or-Treat will take place after the run. Various student organizations, including club sports, donated $250 worth of candy to Trunk-or-Treat, an event in which students from the Ewing, N.J., community can go from car trunk to car trunk and get candy, rather than going out at night and trick-or-treating the traditional way, which can be more dangerous.
Later, Vice President of Community Relations Michael O’Connor announced that the Day of Service will be held on Saturday, Oct. 22, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Transportation will be made available to anyone who participates and lunch will be served after students arrive back on campus.
“We’ll be traveling off of TCNJ campus to local households in Ewing and Trenton, working with Habitat for Humanity and some other organizations, as well, and it’s just a great day to really give back to the community,” O’Connor said. “I’m very excited about it.”
(10/14/16 3:53pm)
By Megan Kelly
News Assistant
The Student Government (SG) meeting held on Wednesday, Oct. 5, was a short one composed of small updates, including upcoming on-campus events and class trips.
Chris Blakely, vice president of Administration and Finance, announced SG was fully funded for Lip Sync and Dance Competition, a traditional event a part of Homecoming Spirit Week.
Lindsay Thomas, vice president of Student Services, gave meeting attendees a preview of the shirt that SG plans to use for the upcoming T-shirt Swap. This year, it’s a long-sleeved navy blue shirt with the letters “TCNJ,” a paw print and a pocket on the front, and “Homecoming 2016” printed across the back.
Later, Cassie Kriegel, vice president of Equity and Diversity, said that Maria Hinojosa, an American journalist, anchor and executive producer of Latino USA on NPR, is scheduled to visit the College on Wednesday, Oct. 12, at 12:30 p.m. in Mayo Concert Hall.
“She’s going to have a lot of great discussion with us, so if you guys are available, come out,” Kriegel said. “She’s really awesome.”
The Class of 2018 was also fully funded for its Moonlight Cruise, which will take place on Saturday, Nov. 19. There are 175 spots on the cruise and tickets will be sold for $15 each.
During the meeting, many SG members participated in their first dress-down day. The days designated for SG members to wear casual clothes to the meetings, as long as they give two dollars to Samantha Williams, vice president of Advancement, to fundraise for SG.
Williams also reminded members of SG’s fundraiser on Wednesday, Oct. 12, at Turning Point in Princeton, N.J.
“I know that it’s a Wednesday morning and not that many people will be available, but it’s better to just have the fundraiser and make whatever money we’re going to make than not have the fundraiser at all,” she said.
The Class of 2019 encouraged sophomores to recycle their K-Cups in the special boxes placed in all sophomore dorms, except Norsworthy Hall.
“If you drink coffee a lot, save your K-Cups and give them to any of us and we’ll recycle them,” said Carly Mauro, sophomore class president.
(10/04/16 2:44am)
By Megan Kelly
News Assistant
On Wednesday, Sept. 28, Director of Dining Services Karen Roth and General Manager Patrice Mendes gave a presentation to Student Government (SG) regarding the renovations to the Brower Student Center. Student Government also voted to approve two new College clubs: VegLife and the Occupational Therapy Club.
At the beginning of the meeting, Vice President of Advancement Samantha Williams spoke of an SG fundraiser at The Turning Point in Princeton, N.J., later this month.
“We’re going to get 15 percent of any of the profit that they make off of the food that day between 8 a.m. and noon, so I really want to get everyone out there, bring your committees and really raise some money for Student Government,” Williams said.
Later on, Dining Services gave an overview of all of the new dining options that are set to open in the student center.
When deciding on what the new student center should look like, Mendes said there were three important aspects that had to be included in the final idea.
“There had to be space for students coming in, it had to be able to handle meal equiv and we had to have as much variety as we can,” she said.
Mendes said the new food-serving area includes not only the area where the Lions Den was, but it also takes up a lot of the food court space where students used to sit and eat.
“So it’s a very linear, very long space which allows you guys to get in, get what you need and get out without having to have that little cramped feeling,” Mendes said.
New food options include a fresh burger and fresh-cut French fry station, a pizza and pasta station that features freshly made dough and sauce, and a sushi and hot Asian food station. There will also be six registers scattered throughout the space.
While the student center will have 250 seats once the second phase of renovations is finished, there will only be about 160 seats available when the renovated part of the building opens in a few weeks. Seating will be placed in the banquet hall and in the dining hall, but once the pool tables are moved to their own room, more seating will be available.
“We are happy to say that it should be opening mid-October, maybe even a little sooner,” Mendes said.
Next in the meeting, two new clubs presented to SG: VegLife, a vegetarian/vegan club and the Occupational Therapy Club, a group specifically for occupational therapy majors. SG debated about the legitmacy of both of the clubs and ultimately decided to recognize them as official College clubs.
(09/21/16 12:01am)
By Megan Kelly
Staff Writer
On Wednesday, Sept. 14, Student Government (SG) held its first meeting of the fall semester. The meeting was primarily used for introducing cabinet members and acquainting new and potential SG members to the layout of meetings, but salient points included the announcement and explanation of the Student Organization Advancement Retreat (SOAR) and that the SG scholarship has reached endowment.
The meeting began with the introduction of each cabinet member and a few words about their respective positions and responsibilities. Afterwards, Executive President Kevin Kim introduced the first topic: SOAR.
SOAR is a meeting between student organizations to discuss goals and ideas that student leaders have for their respective groups. Previously, the event had taken place on a weekend and was an all-day affair, but this year, the retreat will be on Wednesday, Sept. 21, in room 115 of the Education Building from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
More information about the retreat will be given during the first half of the event, which is planned to last about an hour and a half, and the second half will be a time for the student groups to collaborate on their ideas rather than listen to lectures, which had been done in previous retreats
“Different focus areas are going to meet together and collaborate and discuss different issues in their areas,” Kim said.
Later on in the meeting, Vice President of Advancement Samantha Williams announced that the Student Government scholarship has exceeded its endowment goal and has currently raised $26,183.29.
“We have worked really hard through the past few years to get this scholarship going, and now our hard work is coming to fruition,” Williams said.
Vice President for Governmental Affairs Tori Mazzola later announced a Constitution Day Bingo planned for Wednesday, Sept. 21, from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. in room 115 of the Education Building.
“Basically, it’s like normal bingo at TCNJ... so yes, gift cards, prizes, we’re about it, but it’s going to be focused around the Constitution and the U.S.,” Mazzola said.
Mazzola also spoke about TurboVote, a website that streamlines the process of registering to vote and makes it easier for students to fill out absentee ballots. Mazzola will speak about TurboVote more at the next meeting.
Lastly, sophomore class council President Carly Mauro announced there is full funding for a Moonlight Cruise for the sophomore class. The cruise will take place on Saturday, Oct. 15, from 11:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m., and the cruise is limited to 200 students.