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(11/18/03 12:00pm)
The Student Government Association (SGA) held three interest sessions from Nov. 10 through 13 to inform students about how to become associate members.
An associate member is a non-elected member that must apply, sign a contract of agreement and be approved by the SGA executive board.
SGA has never before held an interest session on this matter.
Laura DeLucia, executive vice president, said she organized the sessions as a way to "reach out to the student body" about getting involved.
"By becoming an executive member, you can gain an understanding of what the organization does and use it as a stepping stone if you want to get more involved and run (for an elected position) next year," DeLucia said.
She and the other elected officials read the applications during their office hours. Then, every third general board meeting of the month, they approve the new associate members.
DeLucia said applying is a "formality" and the SGA "never disapproves."
Many of the students that attended the interest session were freshmen.
"I tried a few other clubs at the College, and after attending the meetings I realized they weren't for me," Laurie Mandara, freshman psychology major, said. "I think I would enjoy SGA more because I was involved student government before. I was president of my high school."
Many of these freshmen heard about SGA through the mass e-mail sent to students titled "Join the SGA!"
Esther Ogunyemi, freshman biology major, said, "I wanted to come because I've been involved in student government ever since we had homeroom representatives in middle school."
Some upperclassmen attended.
"I've never been to a meeting before, but they seem really interesting and I want to find out more about SGA," Richard Adams, junior business major, said.
The associate members cannot vote or debate in general board meetings. They can only speak during "open forum," which was originally designed specifically for associates.
In addition, associate members do not have office hours.
But, they have similar responsibilities as other SGA members, such as manning tables in the student center.
The application consists of general information, as well as five short-answer questions, such as "What do you think is the purpose of SGA?" and "What specific issue would you like to see changed and why?"
DeLucia said a contract of commitment is signed so the students "understand what is expected and accept those responsibilities."
Associate members must also attend two-thirds of either the general board meetings, which meet weekly Wednesdays at 3:30, or one of the five internal committees, which meet weekly at various times. Associate members can choose to attend either or both.
The Student Services committee meets Sundays at 7 p.m. to discuss topics such as parking, ticketing and Sodexho food services. They are also in charge of the 24-hour student center during finals week.
The Academic Affairs committee meets Mondays at 8 p.m. They discuss matters such as the academic transformation at the College and the Pick-A-Prof program.
The Legal and Governance Affairs committee also meets Monday at 8 p.m.
It's role is to discuss the constitutions of new organizations, as well as review their own constitution and bylaws.
The Administration and Finance committee meets Thursdays at 7 p.m. to discuss the SGA budget, working hand-in-hand with the Student Finance Board.
They also deal with construction and emergency/safety issues, such as evacuations.
The Community Relations committee meets Sundays at 6 p.m. to discuss SGA's relations with the rest of the College campus as well as the surrounding Ewing community. They deal with matters such as TCNJ Holiday and the alcohol policy.
For those students who missed the interest session, but still want to get involved, SGA accepts applications at all times.
Students can download the application online (http://sga.intrasun.tcnj.edu) and leave it in DeLucia's mailbox in the Office of Campus Life.
(10/07/03 12:00pm)
The Office of Student Accounts included the $179 vehicle registration fee onto all upperclassmen tuition bills in an attempt to create a more efficient system this year.
Many students had problems because they were not aware of the change and were not expecting an extra fee to be added to their bills.
Kathy Ragan, director of Student Financial Services, said that Student Accounts looked at the best practices, business process improvement and cost.
"A number of years ago when we merged the four offices into one, we looked at the financial life of a student and found that over the summer the college sends so many mailings," Ragan said. "A good portion of them require separate checks, which becomes very confusing to people."
"We looked at the numbers and saw that about 10 percent of the student body doesn't buy a parking decal," Ragan said. "It was less labor and money to get e-mails or messages over the phone to waive the fee for someone declining."
Ragan believes, for most students, the change went smoothly. But some of the 10 percent of an approximate 6,000-student body population had problems.
"I didn't notice it at first," Maria Bolognese, sophomore communication studies major, said. "I'm not even positive if they took it off yet."
Ragan said the information about car registration was included in a bulletin line as part of the student bill announcement.
According to Ragan, students who paid for an unwanted decal can either have the money added onto Lion's Club or transferred over to the spring semester's bill.
Shaheen Mamawala, sophomore communication studies and Spanish major, had trouble with the new process. "I just don't see why they charged up front to begin with," Mamawala said.
Student Accounts is upgrading to another software license for next year, which lets students pay their bill separately online with a credit card.
(09/16/03 12:00pm)
Sprinkles or jimmies? Home or hooome? New York Giants or Philadelphia Eagles? This split in loyalies have created a pseudo-Mason-Dixon line separating North and South Jersey. With the commencement of the 2003 NFL season, the Giants vs. Eagles rivalry is stirring tensions here on campus.
The Eagles and the Giants, both competing in the NFC East division, are predicted to be top contenders for the title this year. Even though the rivalry dates back to 1933, there has been more focus on our local teams recently due to the fall of the Dallas Cowboy dynasty and small expectations from Washington Redskins in the past few years.
Last season, Philly finished with a 12-4 record (over Giants'10-6) and the NFC East championship title.
This year may pan out differently, considering the Giants are 1-1 with a victory over the St. Louis Rams and an overtime defeat at the hands of the Dallas Cowboys, while the Eagles suffered two losses to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the New England Patriots.
It is understood that Giants fans are mainly from New York and North Jersey, since the team hails from New York and plays in East Rutherford, NJ. Most South Jerseyans tend to associate themselves with the Philadelphia area and therefore root for the Eagles. Now, consider the fact that the College consists of 95 percent in-state students.
With this combination of avid football fans from both North and South Jersey, there is bound to be some head-butting on Sunday and Monday nights.
"Last year, whenever the Eagles lost, I'd make sure to hunt down my friends (that are fans) to rub it in," John Jaskula, sophomore business major, said. "I'd leave messages on people's white boards, too."
Some Eagles fans are notorious for being rowdy and hostile. They cheered when Michael Irvin was temporarily paralyzed and when the fans heaved snowballs at Santa Claus.
"Philly fans are not used to winning teams," Shawn Dessaigne, senior music education major, said, "so we are quick to break out with enthusiasm." Many Eagles fans argue that the Giants are technically a New York team, even though they play in New Jersey. "Northeast New Jersey seems to associate themselves with New York," Dessaigne said. "I guess the area, along with the New York Giants and New York Jets, must be ashamed of New Jersey."
Apparently this criticism does not phase most Giants fans. Will Dean, sophomore philosophy major, said, "I just see it as a quirk of geography. Manhattan is closer to New Jersey than most of New York state anyway."
Travel time to the stadiums is one deciding factor. Kimberly Henchinski, sophomore elementary education major, said, "Why would I drive two hours to see the Giants when it only takes thirty minutes to get to Philly?"
However, location isn't everything. "I live about in the middle (of the two stadiums) so I'm pretty close to both," Andrew Bazergui, junior physics major, said. "I don't think it's that big of a factor."
Another contributing factor is family tradition. "Even though I am from South Jersey, my dad is originally from New York," Dean said. "So he is a Giants fan, my older brothers are Giants fans. I was raised that way."
"Plus living in North Jersey, I have been always been surrounded by the New York media, where most South Jersey news is based around Philly," Jaskula said.
Whatever the reasoning for this heated rivlary may be, the division is very prevalent on campus. It will be settled when the two are scheduled to face-off at the Meadowlands on Sunday, Oct. 19, and at the Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday Nov. 16. May the best city win!