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(01/28/09 12:00pm)
An alleged assault on a College student in her off-campus home early Sunday caused Ewing Township Police to alert College officials, who sent out a mass e-mail notifying students of an "attempted rape and robbery."
The timely warning, sent to students on Sunday around 2:45 p.m., said the incident was still being investigated by Ewing police. According to Ewing police, the alleged incident occurred at about 1 a.m. Sunday on the 1800 block of Pennington Road, only steps from the College.
According to Ewing police, a man broke into the house through a first-floor window and proceeded to a bedroom. There, police said, he found a 21-year-old female, whom he asked for money.
Police said when the victim gave him money, he proceeded to tie up and gag her, but then left the residence when she told him a roommate was home.
According to the report, the suspect was described as a black male in his 20s wearing a dark jacket and gloves, and standing about 5 feet 8 inches to 5 feet 10 inches.
There has been no arrest as of press time.
Matthew Golden, executive director of Public Relations and Communications for the College, said the timely warning was sent out in response to this incident because it occurred so close to campus.
"We wanted members of the campus community to be aware of the situation and to remind them to exercise the appropriate measures to protect their personal safety," he said.
The notice cautioned that students should "be mindful of their personal safety, whether on or off campus," particularly by traveling in groups and locking windows and doors.
Two residents of the house on the 1800 block of Pennington Road requested anonymity to protect the victim's identity. The two residents provided additional details on the alleged incident. Ewing police could not be reached by press time to confirm or deny the additional details.
One resident of the house who asked to be identified only as a senior journalism major said she spoke to the victim after the alleged assault. According to the resident, the victim said she was going to sleep and lights were on in the house when the alleged assault occurred.
According to the senior journalism major, the victim said the suspect allegedly threatened to rape her. He left when the victim told him a roommate would hear, the journalism major said.
A second roommate said she also spoke to the victim and that she is physically unharmed from the alleged incident.
According to the second roommate, the victim said the man did one more thing before leaving.
"He put things that were in the way when he came in in the (victim's) car, which is really weird," she said.
The roommate said none of the relocated items were actually stolen.
"(The victim) had said that he smelled like alcohol and weed," the roommate added.
Some students expressed concern that the timely warning did not inform the College that the alleged victim was a student.
"They should have told us (the victim was a student)," Michael Herb, sophomore finance major, said. "Since I didn't think it involved our campus, I didn't really think about (the e-mail)."
Sarika Williams, junior biology major, agreed.
"I thought it was an outside incident, so I wasn't worried," she said.
When questioned why the College community was not told that the alleged victim was a student, Golden said the College "can not at this point discuss whether the victim has an affiliation with the College community out of respect for his or her privacy rights . We owe it to the victim to do the best we can to safeguard his or her privacy."
Michelle McGuinness can be reached at mcguinn2@tcnj.edu.
(01/21/09 12:00pm)
Environment-friendly has also proved wallet-friendly for the College's Municipal Land Use Center.
The center received $170,000 this month from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, which kicked off the new year by doling out grants to 63 state organizations. The foundation has spent 30 years funding projects "which transcend self-interest and contribute to a sustainable human society and the environment which shelters it," according to its Web site.
The land use center's grant will help support the Sustainable Jersey program, according to center Community Planner Donna Drewes.
"It's sort of a soup to nuts how to do things," Drewes said. "We're looking to create incentives."
The Sustainable Jersey program achieves this by providing training and resourses for local towns and cities trying to make the switch to a green commnuity.
"There's a lot of cool stuff going on," Drewes said.
That includes the creation of a municipal government certification program that will teach local leaders how to maintain environmentally-friendly policies.
"It's a huge change for a community to take on," Drewes said.
The Sustainable Jersey program is supported not only by the College's land use center, but by agencies throughout the state.
Drewes said the center also offers direct, hands-on assistance.
"Our center has been working to support local governments" pro bono, she said.
Though the center assists with College President R. Barbara Gitenstein's Climate Commitment Committee, Drewes said it does not get direct financial help from the school, making the grant all the more important.
"This is really huge," Drewes said, noting that $170,000 is a raise from the $125,000 received last year. "It's a huge jump."
The spike in funding could not have come at a better time.
"It's extremely important," Drewes said. "Our center . is 100 percent grant-funded."
She said that the College does make some allowances to help the center remain in its current location on campus.
Drewes said the increase in the grant was heartening news with the economy slacking. But it doesn't put the center completely out of financial danger.
Drewes added, "We're looking really for very diverse support."
(04/09/08 12:00pm)
Sodexho, sorry, Sodexo is here to stay, again, of course.
Some of us may remember when we heard this news for the first time back in 2005. At that time, it was a surprise that the College was keeping Sodexo, but this time, no one should be shocked.
The infamous food provider is a staple here and probably will be for a long, long time.
Sodexo is probably about par for the course in terms of food providers on college campuses. And besides that, with the College in the financial position it's currently in, it's unlikely we'd be able to replace Sodexo with any company that's significantly better without breaking the bank.
What happens a year or two from now when whatever company Sodexo is replaced by gets comfortable and becomes, in essence, Sodexo part two?
That's not to say we should be complacent. If you find hair in the mac and cheese or a dirty fork or undercooked meat, by all means, tell a manager. Many have already expressed how much they hate Trayless Tuesdays. Fine, then tell someone.
It's probably more productive in the long run to deal with Sodexo, whom we are all already familiar with, than go through the same old cycle of love and hate with a new, and possibly more expensive, food service provider.
If the College was going to spend the money on new dining services, it would be more useful to students if it brought in someone to compete with Sodexo, rather than simply replaced Sodexo.
Other colleges and universities, like Rutgers, have Sodexo, but supplement it with other food options like on-campus take out.
An option like that offers some variety for students and some competition for Sodexo, perhaps pushing it to work harder for students' money. As things stand now, they know every student at the College will have to pay them for food, whether they want to or not. Forcing them to work for those customers would do a lot more for the quality of food here than kicking them out and bringing in Sodexo part two.
(04/02/08 12:00pm)
WEDNESDAY - At 6:55 p.m. Tuesday a car struck a 21-year-old male who was crossing the street between the Towers and Townhouses South.
Several Campus Police officers and a paramedic unit arrived on the scene and transported the student to the hospital. Matthew Golden, executive director of Public Affairs and Communications, said Wednesday that the male, who was not identified by Campus Police, was "conscious and alert when he was transported to the hospital."
Golden said the male sustained non-life threatening injuries. The male was observed awake and talking to EMS personnel at the scene Tuesday night.
According to Golden, the car that hit him was operated by a 55-year-old female whose name has not been released. She received a summons for careless driving, Golden said.
The office of Campus Police has not released a police report about the incident at this time.
(03/19/08 12:00pm)
In our Feb. 13 edition, I wrote an editorial expressing my disbelief that Senior Week would actually happen this year.
But Senior Week is back thanks to the senior class council. It got more than 300 seniors signed up to participate and a host of new events. Moreover, the senior class council accomplished this with the alcohol policy that damned last year's Senior Week still looming over them.
I have to admit that I was surprised when I heard the news. As a junior, I remember being a freshman and hearing stories about drunken escapades inside The Towers during Senior Week. I assumed throughout my College career that that was the primary appeal of the event.
So congrats to the senior class council. I remain as surprised as when I first heard the news, but that doesn't change the reality of Senior Week's revitalization.
As is said in the article regarding the event on the front page of this week's Signal, if the senior class council hadn't found a way to revive the event this year, it may have disappeared for a long, long time. No Senior Week this year would have been an even more stark condemnation of the new alcohol policy than was last year's flat out cancellation. It's possible that this year's senior class council rescued Senior Week from a sober banishment from College tradition.
After waiting almost two years, we can finally say with conviction that Senior Week is indeed on.
(03/05/08 12:00pm)
The family of John Fiocco Jr. filed a lawsuit in the state Superior Court in Gloucester County Monday alleging the College and others failed to secure hazardous areas of Fiocco's Wolfe Hall dormitory.
The wrongful death lawsuit claims the College did not "provide a safe and secure residence and learning environment." According to the lawsuit, this was done in part by "(f)ailing to adequately secure and restrict access to unsafe and hazardous areas of Wolfe Hall," including the compactor room.
Fiocco went missing from his Wolfe Hall dorm room at about 3 a.m. on Saturday, March 25, 2006. He was reported missing by friends the next day.
State, Ewing and campus police then began investigating the disappearance. Though investigators never determined how Fiocco died, they discovered a body in a Tullytown, Pa., landfill on April 25, 2006 that was determined to be Fiocco's.
The lawsuit alleges that the College failed to secure the door to the compactor room and the hinged lid of the trash container therein.
In addition to negligence, the lawsuit claims Campus Police did not respond to the situation promptly after being notified that a student was missing.
The lawsuit is directed not only at the College itself, but also "several unknown employees" and "John Does" who are "fictitious individuals or persons (whose identities are presently unknown to plaintiffs)." These people, the lawsuit alleges, could have been responsible for the management, supervision, service and operation of the College's facilities, including trash.
As of 5 p.m. on Monday, Matt Golden, executive director of Public Affairs and Communications for the College, said the school had not been served a lawsuit.
Golden said the College was aware that a lawsuit had been filed, but said no administrators had yet seen a copy of the document and could not take any legal steps as of press time.
"John's death brought extraordinary sadness to our campus, but we cannot begin to understand the grief experienced by his family and loved ones," Golden said in a statement at 1:40 p.m. Monday. "Not knowing how John died has made his passing even more painful. We miss John's presence on our campus and will continue to support law enforcement's investigation of this terrible tragedy."
The lawsuit seeks punitive damages for the alleged wrongful death, but does not specify how much.
Christine P. O'Hearn, a lawyer for the Fiocco family, said in an Associated Press (AP) article the death could have been avoided.
"Based upon our investigation, we believe his death was a senseless tragedy which could have and should have been prevented," she said.
The lawsuit alleges the College and the unnamed defendants' conduct was "willful, intentional, outrageous and malicious and was with reckless disregard and indifference to the health, safety and welfare of (Fiocco)."
According to the AP article, Glenn A. Zeitz, another lawyer for the Fiocco family, said an electronic eye on the trash compactor would activate the device when the trash reached a certain level in the removable garbage bin. Zeitz said in the article that a human body falling in could have triggered the compactor.
In the summer of 2006, Zeitz filed an intent to sue against the College, but had not followed up on the legal notice. At that time, the family was seeking over $5 million in damages, according to the AP, as reported by The Signal on Sept. 6, 2006.
(02/13/08 12:00pm)
Senior Week is on. again. for now.
This year's senior class council, in an effort to revive the infamous tradition, has made many admirable changes to Senior Week this year. The event is coming back, hopefully, bigger and better. It is scheduled to include events like a champagne toast with College President R. Barbara Gitenstein,
a lakeside picnic and a revised version of PlayFair.
These changes are certainly admirable, but I am skeptical that they are enough to overcome the biggest change to Senior Week since last year: There will still be no alcohol allowed in Travers/Wolfe halls.
Last year, banning alcohol from the Towers was a major factor in why there was no Senior Week. This year, despite the interesting and ambitious events added to Senior Week, its downfall may once again be the Towers alcohol policy.
Seniors, juniors and maybe even sophomores know Senior Week as that infamous, near-mythical event that culminates most seniors' college graduations. For upperclassmen particularly, it is the week when everyone returns to the Towers, gets plastered and says goodbye to the College.
I'm not saying that is all Senior Week could or should be. Personally, I have no interest in partaking in the infamous Towers-style celebration. But I know I'm a minority. And even if I wasn't, most, if not all, seniors are at least 21 and are hyper-aware of this fact.
Not allowing drinking in the Towers could sink this Senior Week like it sunk last year's, grand and ambitious though it is. Unfortunatly, the simple fact is that seniors and juniors here still remember when Senior Week was known for one thing and one thing only: drinking in the Towers. For many, the opportunity to experience that particular aspect of Senior Week is what they've waited four years for.
Until the College gets a class who doesn't remember or dream of experiencing the infamy of past Senior Weeks, new bells and whistles are unfortunately unlikely to ensure Senior Week really is on this time.
- Michelle McGuinness, Editor-in-Chief
(02/06/08 12:00pm)
Check out our video footage from the January 30th Montclair SGA meeting, where part of the Montclarion's budget was unfrozen! [Click here]
After over five hours of deliberation, Montclair State University's Student Government Association (SGA) voted to unfreeze just enough of The Montclarion's budget to allow it to print last Thursday.
The reprieve came with the stipulation that the executive boards of the newspaper and SGA, along with any legal representation they each wish to have, mediate the dilemma with the aid of a university official within the next 30 days.
SGA executive president Ron Chicken was pleased with the outcome of the meeting.
"We were confident in the student leadership of SGA, which includes The Montclarion," Chicken said. "I don't anticipate any problems."
Karl de Vries, Montclarion Editor-in-Chief, said he is willing to give the issue another 30 days, but was less optimistic than Chicken about the proposed meeting.
"We're going into this meeting still guilty," he said. "It's just too bad that this is the best arrangement we can get."
Karen Pennington, Montclair's vice president of Student Development and Campus Life, said she was happy the students worked out a compromise.
"I am very happy that they came to a compromise," she said. "The process worked and that's what we were going after as an administration."
Montclair's SGA, which is incorporated and operates separately from the university, froze The Montclarion's budget on Jan. 22, the first day of the semester, and demanded the newspaper turn over correspondences it had with an attorney it hired. As of press time, de Vries remained adamant about not turning over the correspondences, an act he said would be a violation of his attorney-client privilege.
The compromise left student legislators like John Preciado cautiously hopeful.
Preciado, who also serves as SGA student advocate, said he was satisfied with the outcome of the meeting and said the 30 days will "just give us a good time to sit down and figure all this stuff out."
Some SGA legislators, however, were not as positive about the outcome.
"I just think this is ridiculous," Michael Dengelegi, an SGA legislator, said. "In 30 days we're going to be just back where we started."
Dengelegi said he would have preferred The Montclarion's budget to remain frozen until it turned over the correspondences between de Vries and attorney Sal Anderton.
"They did something wrong, they should have been punished," Dengelegi said.
During the meeting, SGA legislators, lawyers and others debated whether SGA or The Montclarion was Anderton's client.
Nilam Kotzdia, SGA chief of staff from 2005-2006, read a statement from former SGA executive president Angelo Lilla in which he said that during his presidency in 2005 he authorized The Montclarion to seek independent legal representation and in 2006 the SGA legislator approved this as part of the budget.
"By doing this," Kotzdia read, "the SGA waived all rights to any further involvement beyond the financial responsibilities of legal representation."
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) representative Edward Barocas encouraged students to think about the consequences of voting against The Montclarion.
"Consider your actions and consider where you're bringing this to," he said.
The ACLU sent a demand letter to Chicken in which SGA's assertion that The Montclarion's budget was frozen because it violated bylaws is called a "pretext."
The letter says this pretext is "masking a more sinister reason - the SGA is seeking to limit the rights of free speech."
The New Jersey Press Assocication (NJPA) also sent a representative on behalf of The Montclarion.
NJPA lawyer Lauren James said in a statement from NJPA that "regardless of whether the Student Government Assocation is a private entity or an arm of the government, our State Constitution protects The Montclarion against the actions of the Association which infringe on the free speech rights of the paper."
Check out our video footage from the January 30th Montclair SGA meeting, where part of the Montclarion's budget was unfrozen! [Click here]
(02/06/08 12:00pm)
Below are several video clips from the January 30th meeting of the Montclair SGA. Speakers address the SGA's decision to freeze the budget of the Montclarion, the MSU student newspaper.
These videos are linked to this story.
Read the original story from our January 30th issue here.
Video shot by Michelle McGuinness, Editor-in-Chief at The Signal.
IN THIS VIDEO: Montclair State University's Student Government Association (SGA) addresses The Montclarion, members of the press and spectators at its Jan. 30 meeting. The SGA froze the newspaper's budget on Jan. 22.
IN THIS VIDEO: Via letter, former Montclair Student Government Association (SGA) executive preisdent Angelo Lilla addresses the current SGA at its Jan. 30 meeting. The current SGA froze the newspaper's budget on Jan. 22.
IN THIS VIDEO: Student Government Association (SGA) executive president Ron Chicken speaks at the Jan. 30 meeting of Montclair State University's SGA meeting. The SGA froze the newspaper's budget on Jan. 22.
IN THIS VIDEO: A New Jersey Press Association representative speaks at the Jan. 30 meeting of Montclair State University's Student Government Association (SGA) meeting. The SGA froze the newspaper's budget on Jan. 22.
IN THIS VIDEO: An ACLU lawyer speaks at the Jan. 30 meeting of Montclair State University's Student Government Association (SGA) meeting. The SGA froze the newspaper's budget on Jan. 22.
(01/30/08 12:00pm)
In a controversial decision that some believe could have repercussions for college media across the state, the Student Government Association (SGA) of Montclair State University halted printing for the first Spring issue of the student newspaper.
The editors of The Montclarion discovered their budget was frozen, preventing them from printing, on Tuesday, Jan. 22, the first day of the Spring semester. In an exclusive interview, SGA executive president Ron Chicken said The Montclarion violated SGA policy. Chicken said they did this by refusing to turn over correspondences between themselves and their attorney. The Montclarion consulted a private attorney about SGA's potential violation of New Jersey sunshine laws, which prohibit public bodies from conducting closed meetings. According to Chicken, The Montclarion should have consulted SGA's attorney.
"This is not a question of censorship," Chicken said. "It's a matter of them (the staff of The Montclarion) breaking rules and regulations that they've agreed to follow."
Although Montclarion attorney Sal Anderton has since been released from service, Chicken is requesting that correspondence between Anderton and Editor-in-Chief Karl de Vries be turned over to SGA. De Vries refused to disclose the documents, citing attorney-client privilege. As of press time, The Montclarion was still without the funds necessary to print, but was publishing online.
Lawyers say Chicken's move could have legal ramifications that would affect college papers across the country because of the ease with which a student government organization stopped a student newspaper from printing. Chicken, however, maintained that SGA was simply following its financial policy.
The Lawyer Controversy
A letter signed by Chicken and executive treasurer Melissa Revesz told The Montclarion that its budget was frozen because the newspaper had spent its SGA-allocated funds illegally by using them on Anderton without having a contract approved by SGA. In addition to the letter, The Montclarion's printer, RFM Printing, was contacted by SGA and told not to print until further notice.
Chicken said that if The Montclarion wanted legal counsel, it could have utilized Schiller & Pittenger, P.C., the official legal counsel of SGA. The Montclarion is not independent from SGA.
De Vries felt this system was flawed, however.
He said if SGA's lawyer was to advise or represent The Montclarion, he would be "representing his client against his client."
According to Peter Schaus, managing editor of The Montclarion, the former SGA president approved Anderton, himself a former Montclair SGA president, as the newspaper's lawyer.
Chicken, however, objected to the paper pursuing an independent lawyer.
"How is it possible that there is a separate attorney for The Montclarion to sue SGA?" Chicken said. "It's all part of one organization. You can't sue yourself."
Anderton's attorney, Chris Adams, said it would be a conflict of interest if The Montclarion had used SGA's attorney. He said the lawyer would be legally obligated to say no to counseling the paper. SGA's lawyer would be unable to advise the paper on matters about SGA.
"It's contrary to all legal principles," he said.
As of press time, SGA's lawyer was unavailable for comment.
Douglas McIntyre serves as both chief copy editor for The Montclarion and executive secretary for SGA. He said he stands by SGA's decision.
"I don't feel conflicted because I stand by what the executive board (of SGA) decided," he said.
McIntyre said in previous years The Montclarion had been told by SGA administrations that it was following SGA policy by talking to an outside lawyer. McIntyre said this year, however, SGA members realized that it was not their policy and are working to fix it.
Joe Specchio, attorney general for SGA, asserted that SGA is simply following a policy. However, he said he understands the implications of shutting down the newspaper.
"I could see how it looks like we're repressing the voice of the school," he said. "You're taking away something the college needs. It looks bad."
Specchio, whose duty is to advise student organizations on the school's laws and policies, said he did not vote for shutting down the budget and is unhappy that he was not consulted.
He said he believes the legislature of SGA will unfreeze the newspaper's budget at its Wednesday meeting and added that actions may be taken within SGA in the future to challenge Chicken's authority.
The Documents
Although the matter will be addressed at SGA's Wednesday meeting, neither Chicken nor de Vries seemed likely to budge on turning over the documents.
Chicken said because de Vries never had a valid contract with Anderton, no attorney-client privilege ever existed.
He said the newspaper was contacted several times since September asking for the correspondence. He said that because SGA is separate from Montclair and The Montclarion is "a media organization of SGA," SGA was technically Anderton's client. Due to this, SGA should be able to have all the correspondences from the attorney, Chicken said.
"I will not hand over the correspondence between myself and the attorney. That is attorney-client privilege," de Vries said.
Adams, Anderton's attorney, said de Vries will not turn over the documents under any circumstances.
"He has an attorney-client privilege," he said. "No request from Mr. Chicken or his lawyer is going to do anything eviscerating that privilege."
SGA attorney general Specchio agreed.
"(De Vries) believes in attorney-client privilege. There's nothing in those letters," he said. "He doesn't want to be strong-armed by SGA."
De Vries did say, though, that The Montclarion is not a separate entity from SGA.
Chicken said SGA has about $33,000 in its budget for the newspaper this semester for printing costs.
"We're not independent of them in any sense, unfortunately," De Vries said.
The newspaper generates about $50,000 a semester in ad revenue, but until recently, Chicken said, most of this ad money went to SGA and only a small portion was re-allocated back to the paper. Chicken said he and the SGA executive treasurer, Revesz, recently instituted a policy that allows the newspaper to use all of its ad revenue.
Legal Implications
Chicken's actions attracted media attention because of the lack of legal precedent surrounding censorship of college media.
Mike Hiestand, an attorney and consultant for the Student Press Law Center (SPLC), said student newspapers are rarely shut down, and never for "such an outrageous excuse."
Tom Cafferty of the New Jersey Press Association's legal hotline agreed.
"I've never heard of it before at a college paper," he said.
Hiestand said SGA is clearly violating the law.
"The law really is clear," Hiestand said.
"Student government at public colleges cannot shut down student publications."
Adams agreed.
"To think that the elected student official of a public university has such little respect or knowledge of the First Amendment is scary," he said.
Hiestand said SGA is not justified in requesting to see the documents.
"It's outrageous to think that the student government thinks they have the right to violate attorney-client privilege," he said.
Adams said Anderton would not represent The Montclarion if a legal battle ensues because he is a witness, but said SPLC is setting up lawyers to represent the paper. Adams said the paper could bring a lawsuit either against Montclair, or Chicken as an individual. He encouraged the school to advise Chicken to drop the request.
School administrators did not immediately return phone calls requesting a comment as of press time.
Hiestand and Cafferty both said other college papers should be concerned.
"Every college paper needs to be very concerned," Hiestand said. "The president (Chicken) doesn't seem to care what the law says. He just wants to do what he wants to do."
"If the decision stands, then I would think this is something other New Jersey papers should be worried about," Cafferty said. "It could have profound implications."
De Vries agreed that The Montclarion's dilemma could have far-reaching consequences for all college media.
"This is much more than whether or not (Montclair) has a printed paper," he said. "Every student newspaper should be terrified of what's happening at Montclair."
Hitting Home for the College
Unlike the College, Montclair's SGA also acts as its Student Finance Board (SFB).
Chicken explained that the system is modeled off of the federal government. Montclair's SGA contains a judicial, legislative and executive branch, as well as an executive board for cabinet officers who work with the executive president.
All checks and balances for the SGA come internally. This system is part of the reason Chicken and others feel they are legitimately upholding their financial policies.
Leo Acevedo, SFB executive director at the College, said the College's system, which defines SFB, SGA and all student organizations as separate groups, is more beneficial to students.
"It completely factors out politics," Acevedo said.
Dan Scapardine, vice president of Legal & Governmental affairs for the College's SGA, lauded the split system here. He noted that the SGA has "no control over The Signal and that's the way to do it."
The SGA does, however, have to approve any amendments made to The Signal's constitution.
Additionally, SFB can freeze The Signal's budget if the newspaper is in violation of policies and has as recently as last semester.
However, because of The Signal's independence and because it is largely funded through its own ad revenue, the temporary budgetary freeze did not halt or disrupt The Signal's publication in any way.
"Thank goodness that we have a separate SGA and a separate student board," Acevedo said. "Whether we finance (a group) or not, they're still independent organizations."
Scapardine said that to him, the situation at Montclair seemed like a case of SGA asserting authority.
"It's probably a case of them (SGA) reasserting their authority over the newspaper," he said.
"Obviously, it can be resolved in a more diplomatic way."
(12/05/07 12:00pm)
The College Republicans plan to kick off the holiday season tonight with a party, but not everyone is in the Christmas spirit.
To advertise its Christmas party, the College Republicans hung up signs in residence halls that some students deemed offensive. The signs advertise a "College Republicans Holiday Party," but the word "Holiday" is crossed out and replaced with "Christmas."
The sign goes on to say, "Come thank the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) for messing up our holiday. Show them how much you care with a Christmas card."
The event is advertised as taking place "Wednesday, December 5, 2007 in the year of our Lord."
Terence Grado, president of the College Republicans, said the signs are meant to be controversial, but that their purpose is not to offend.
"We wanted to raise awareness on how Christmas is often neglected in the public sphere and oftentimes it's the work of the ACLU who brings lawsuits against those who want to celebrate the Christian holiday," he said.
Grado said students will make mock Christmas cards for the ACLU wishing it a merry Christmas at the party.
He added, however, that not every member of the College Republicans is Christian and that if any of the College Republicans or other students don't want to celebrate Christmas, that's fine.
Some students, however, have called the fliers offensive.
German Rozencranc, president of Hillel/Jewish Student Union, said friends and Hillel members have told him they were stunned to see the signs hanging up in their residence halls.
"The reason so many people are up in arms about this sign is because of its blatant disregard to other religious and social sects of the College," he said via e-mail.
Rozencranc said the College Republicans, as members of the College community, should have used advertising that would make all students feel welcome at the event. Instead, he said, they perpetuated ideas of radicalism and conservatism.
"(T)o unleash a publicity campaign that centers on bashing the ACLU and more so on deliberately alienating people is utterly unacceptable," Rozencranc said.
Abby Stern, freshman mathematics/secondary education major, and Michele Meisner, freshman statistics major, are both residents of Cromwell Hall who said they were shocked when they saw the signs in their residence hall.
"I feel that the sign was sending the wrong message," Stern said. "It said something along the lines of 'Thank the ACLU for ruining our holiday.' I feel that this is inappropriate because it is sending the message that Republicans on campus can only be Christian."
Stern added that the advertisements reflect negatively on the College and the types of students who attend it.
Grado maintained that the signs were only intended to advertise an event and that the group does not discriminate against non-Christians. He said some members of the College Republicans who actually helped hang up the posters are not Christian.
"What we're just trying to say here is we want everyone to be able to celebrate the holiday as they want," he said. "If people want to celebrate Hanukkah, fine. If people want to celebrate Kwanzaa, great. We want to be able to celebrate Christmas and we want to be able to say it out loud."
Regardless, Meisner said that is not the message the signs project.
"When I read the sign that was not the impression that I got, and regardless of the intent it came across as offensive," she said.
Stern said she and Meisner both agree that if the College Republicans wanted to send a less offensive message the members should have thought of a different advertising strategy.
The office of Student Activities and Leadership Development did approve the sign. Tim Asher, director of Student Activities and Leadership Development, said on Monday that there is nothing about the sign that would prevent his office from approving it. However, he added that with signs like these, his office usually sits down with the student who made the sign to discuss the possible reception it will receive from the College community.
"Most of the time, I think students are very willing to say, 'That's not what we intended,'" he said.
He said students who are offended by the signs should speak directly to the College Republicans about their concerns.
"If they're dissatisfied, I hope students will reach out to the College Republicans," Asher said.
Grado said some of the concerns students have raised about the signs are legitimate and that his group doesn't want to portray itself as being comprised only of Christians.
"We believe everyone should be able to celebrate their holiday, but we want to celebrate Christmas," he said. "We don't think there's a problem with saying, 'Merry Christmas.'"
(12/05/07 12:00pm)
When I joined the band, I was but a humble bassist.
In minutes, I went from bassist to lead guitarist to drummer. A short-lived stint as the group's vocalist followed before I returned to the familiar territory of the guitar. My journey toward rock greatness included arguments over song choice, dramatic hair styles and accusing glares at the drummer.
My pseudo-superstardom came thanks to "Rock Band" and an X-box 360. The game, which was released on Nov. 20 for the 360 and PS3, was designed by former "Guitar Hero" (GH) producer Harmonix. It won't arrive for PS2 until Dec. 18.
Though Harmonix produced the game without its former "GH" partner Red Octane, the game is reminiscent of the "GH" series.
Players can choose one of four instruments: lead guitar, bass, vocals or drums. This allows anywhere from one to four players to participate on a given song. As an added bonus, the PS3 and 360's online capabilities can be used to find bandmates on the Web.
Game play is similar to 'GH," though the screen is more chaotic. Bass and lead guitar are on the left or right side of the screen interchangeably. Meanwhile, the drummer's notes come down the center of the screen while the vocals run along the top.
Surprisingly, this maze of notes quickly becomes navigable, especially if you're familiar with "GH." The only negative to this setup is that if you have a smaller television, it might be hard to read the words to the songs.
Players familiar with any of the "GH" games should be able to play bass or lead guitar immediately on the same difficulty they can play it on in "GH." The only noticeable difference for guitar is that the notes are rectangles rather than circles. This makes it somewhat difficult to tell which notes are hammer-ons, but more experienced "Rock Band" players have said they've adjusted to the change.
Vocals, also, are playable immediately. You might want to keep it on medium or easy if you don't know the song, but even on medium it's undeniably fun to belt out "My Sharona."
Drums, however, are an entirely different beast. Unless you are already a fairly experienced drummer, you will start on easy just to figure out what the hell is going on. Drumming requires players to navigate colored drum pads and a foot pedal, often simultaneously.
This can get a little daunting. The first song I played on drums made me want to throw out the sticks and run back to guitar. Making it through an entire song on medium as the drummer was the major accomplishment of my night.
While "Rock Band" is a completely different game from "GH," especially when it comes to the guitars, the two games bear a lot of similarities and some important differences.
While experienced "GH" guitarists will be able to play lead guitar right away, the songs are not geared toward the guitarist like they are in "GH." This isn't a problem, unless you're flying solo.
I can't imagine playing "Rock Band" by myself for very long. Yes, the tour mode is extremely comprehensive; yes, the songs are good; yes, the game is amazing overall. But it's not a loner's endeavor.
Bottom line, "Rock Band" is an amazingly fun game. But if you're more of a solo artist, stick to "GH."
(12/05/07 12:00pm)
Rowan University, along with the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office and others, is offering a $50,000 reward for information relating to the death of a Rowan student who was robbed and assaulted on the campus.
According to sources quoted by the Associated Press, Donald Farrell, 19, of Boonton, and some friends were headed to an apartment complex on the Glassboro school's campus at about 9:15 p.m. on Oct. 27 when a handful of men approached them, asking for directions.
Farrell started speaking with them, but at least two of the men then severely beat him, taking his cell phone and wallet before running away. Police arrived to find him face down on the ground, bleeding heavily.
Farrell was taken to Cooper University Hospital in Camden with severe bleeding to the head and stomach. He died at the hospital on Oct. 28, according to the AP.
Since then, friends, family and investigators have been searching for answers.
Their newest effort is a flier featuring a $50,000 reward and a picture of a "person of interest."
The reward flier reached the College on Monday and was quickly approved to be displayed throughout campus.
According to José D. Cardona, director of Media and Public Relations at Rowan, the flier was made by the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office.
Cardona said Rowan circulated the flier around its campus, while the prosecutor's office brought it to other state schools, such as the College and Montclair State University.
"They're getting a lot of leads," Cardona said in regard to the prosecutor's progress in the case.
According to Cardona, all leads are taken seriously and are persued by the prosecutor's office.
The flier provides the details of the incident and a description of a "suspect" who is a "black male, medium complexion, with rounded facial features, braided hair, thin mustache and light goatee, approximately 20-24 years of age, and 5'7" in height."
The prosecutor's office released a sketch of the man less than a day after Farrell's death, according to the AP.
However, while Cardona said the man in the flier fits the description of one of the possible assailants, that does not necessarily mean he was involved in the incident and that he should be considered a "person of interest," rather than a suspect.
The picture of the man on the flier was taken by a convenience store camera.
The flier also includes a close-up of the Coogi Heritage hoody the man is wearing in the picture.
"There's a lot of things pointing in his direction and they just want to talk to him," Cardona said of the man on the flier.
Cardona said the reward is for "information leading to the arrest and conviction of the assailant or assailants."
Half of the total reward, $25,000, is being offered by Rowan University itself. The remaining $25,000 is coming from a combination of funds from the prosecutor's office and the borough of Glassboro.
Due to a statute, the prosecutor's office can only give $5,000 and Glassboro can only give $3,000. Friends and family of Farrell donated the remaining $17,000 of the $25,000 contributed to the reward.
Mary Pyffer, assistant prosecutor and victim witness coordinator for the prosecutor's office, said the fliers were made shortly after Farrell's death. She said that in addition to Rowan and the prosecutor's office, friends and family have helped distribute the fliers.
"They could be all over by now," Pyffer said.
Cardona said students at Rowan understand that Farrell's death was an extraordinary situation.
"You go through a range of emotions, everything from fear to anger," Cardona said. "Students have sort of worked through that reaction."
Pyffer said people in the Glassboro area were eager to contribute to the reward.
"Mr. Farrell's death was such a horrible, horrible thing that happened in our community," Pyffer said. "Everyone in this area and throughout the state wants to make sure the perpetrators are apprehended. We would greatly appreciate anyone's help in providing info that could lead to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for Mr. Farrell's death."
Anyone with information may contact investigators at (856) 307-7180.
(11/07/07 12:00pm)
Sure, you can snake dance while rocking out to "Sweet Child of Mine" on expert, but are you heroic enough to take on Slash in a head-to-head shred-off? "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock" will give you a chance to prove if you're gamer enough.
"GH3," released on Oct. 28 in the United States, takes digital shredding to a whole new level by throwing players into boss battles against rock legends like Slash. Instead of star power, players collect battle points that allow them to attack their opponent by forcing them to miss notes and potentially fail the song.
The new boss battles are one of many changes game developer RedOctane has made since it released "GH2," as well as ditching its former partner Harmonix for Neversoft, of "Tony Hawk" fame.
Longtime fans of the series have little to fear. The addicting game many have come to love is still more or less the same. Players who could handle expert-level songs in any of the preceding games can likely pick up "GH3" and launch right into an expert-level rendition of Pearl Jam's "Evenflow" or The Scorpion's "Rock You Like a Hurricane."
That's not to say the game is easy. Songs that are labeled expert in "GH3" earn that moniker.
Stevie Ray Vaughan's "Pride and Joy" appears in the game as an encore song at the sixth venue you'll play in career mode. This is fine except that there are eight venues total. Needless to say, the encore songs for venues seven and eight are monsters. Living Colour's "Cult of Personality," the seventh venue encore song, features a solo at roughly the halfway mark that easily rivals "Freebird."
Even easy mode is no joke this time around. Players just learning the controls will have to grapple with strange rhythms and even a few chords.
Medium and hard levels are comparable to "GH1" and 2. The infamously impossible transition from medium to hard will likely still plague players trying to advance to the next difficulty.
The only remedy this time around may be the infectious nature of many of the tracks. Even while missing long chords and quick note changes, it's hard to resist playing tracks like "Monsters" by Matchbook Romance, "Sabotage" by the Beastie Boys and "Welcome to the Jungle" by Guns N' Roses over and over again.
If there is one glaring disappointment in the musical selection this time around it's that we have - once again - been denied "Stairway To Heaven."
Owners of the Playstation 3, Wii or Xbox 360 will be able to go online and challenge other players. That's right, you don't have to play against only your roommate anymore.
Online play comes with one important catch - the console you're on. When playing on the Wii, I attempted to check out online play at 6 p.m. on a weekday and there was absolutely no one online. PS3 and Xbox 360 owners may have better luck with online play simply because older gamers tend to own those systems.
While online play may be somewhat disappointing, the improved graphics and increased customization options are not. The singer actually sings the song you're playing this time around, though he is a bit frightening looking. Moreover, the cut scenes in career mode, venue backgrounds and clothing options are much more detailed and intricate.
In terms of characters, there are many that players of the earlier games will remember. Judy Nails, Axel Steel and the Grim Ripper all return to rock. Thrown in are some new characters, many specific to the system you're playing on, including the curiously named Midori, a schoolgirl clad head-to-toe in purple, and legendary rocker Slash.
Some may not recognize the older characters, particularly the females. Judy Nails and Casey Lynch show a lot more cleavage. Casey is sporting a very visible thong and Judy Nails is laughably "punk" with a purple bra poking out of what I guess should be considered a shirt, but is actually just a torn rag.
My quibbles aside, this game is undoubtedly impressive. You have a wider selection of clothing for characters and a host of new modes, including a co-op career mode that earns you new songs. Game play is more or less the same, though it is a lot easier to accidentally trigger star power. But in terms of star power, the screen no longer jerks when it's activated - a tremendously helpful improvement. However, the yellow section of the rock meter is now dark orange, which makes it so hard to distinguish from red that it's easy to fail while you've still got all your star power waiting to be used.
Overall, any criticisms of this game are minor. If you liked the previous incarnations of "Guitar Hero," do yourself a favor and buy "GH3." You won't buy yourself a stairway to heaven, but you will buy yourself a damn good game.
(10/31/07 12:00pm)
To most people, staying awake on energy drinks and C-store snacks for 24 consecutive hours in the basement of Kendall Hall doesn't sound too appealing.
But for WTSR station manager Pat Lavery, sleep-deprivation was a small price to pay in order to honor the memory of senior communication studies major Matthew Wasser and help out the Joe Torre Safe at Home Foundation in the process.
Part of the money raised from WTSR's second annual Lavathon, a 24-hour broadcast hosted from midnight on Oct. 25 to midnight on Oct. 26 by Lavery to raise money for the station, went to the foundation. Wasser, an avid Yankees fan, died on Oct. 21 when the taxi he was riding in was struck by a drunk driver.
"That's a charity that I knew he cared a lot about," Lavery said.
The money raised by Lavathon '07 was originally going to go to WTSR, as it did last year. However, when Lavery heard about Wasser's death, the news hit him hard and he wanted to do something in memory of his friend and fellow communication studies major.
Lavery said the decision to divert some of the earnings from the Lavathon to the Joe Torre Safe at Home Foundation was made the day before the broadcast at WTSR's board meeting.
"There are a lot more important things than buying new speakers," Lavery said of the decision.
As of press time, WTSR had raised over $500.
Patrick Hall, operations manager of WTSR, said the decision to donate money in honor of Wasser was unanimous among the board members. "We think this donation will be a respectful and fitting way to honor his life," he said.
"I think the decision to donate some of this money to Matt is an awesome idea," Jeff Rupert, WTSR program director, said. "We really do care about everyone here at WTSR, past, present and future."
To prepare for the ordeal, Lavery said he got plenty of rest and took a short nap before starting the broadcast on Wednesday night. He also brought along plenty of fuel to keep himself awake and alert.
His secret ingredient: water.
"For me it's a lot of mind over matter," he said. "Energy drinks are a luxury but not a must. The secret ingredient is water."
As of about 4 p.m. on Thursday, roughly 16 hours into the marathon, Lavery's secret ingredient seemed to be working for him. He said at that time that he was in good spirits and felt certain he'd have no problem finishing out the 24-hour broadcast.
"I really do have to give Pat Lavery a ton of credit for doing the event again this year," Hall said. "I can't imagine staying on-air for 24 hours, and I think this just goes to show how dedicated he is to the station."
Other than water, Lavery said part of what kept him alert throughout the broadcast was the various special events that occured.
The most exciting, Lavery said, was when he got to interview Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times about his new book. Plaschke sometimes appears on ESPN's "Around the Horn."
"It went fantastic. He had us in stitches," Lavery said. "That really put not just me but everyone around the station in good spirits."
People who donated $1 had their name announced on-air. Those who gave $2 got an on-air shout out. For $5, the donator received an instant song request, but for $10, donators were able to choose and dedicate a song.
Though this was Lavathon's second year, Lavery said it was still a learning experience for him and the rest of the station's staff. He said while he was better prepared to stay up for 24 hours this time around, he wished the station had set clearer fundraising goals in anticipation for the event.
Still, he hopes to see Lavathon continue in future years and even said he plans on going another 24 straight hours in the basement of Kendall next year.
WTSR will be collecting donations for the Joe Torre Safe at Home Foundation until Nov 14. To donate, students should mail cash or checks payable to:
WTSR c/o: Lavathon
Kendall Hall
The College of New Jersey
2000 Pennington Road
Ewing, N.J. 08628
(09/19/07 12:00pm)
The yearbook is on.
That's the message the current staff of The Seal, the College's yearbook, is projecting this year as they put last year's problems behind them.
"We are right on schedule," Amanda Burd, junior communication studies major and editor-in-chief of The Seal, said.
Last year, there was some question as to whether or not the yearbook would be published due to financial issues. The Student Finance Board only funds the yearbook's advertising costs, so printing costs must be funded from yearbook sales alone.
According to Burd, The Seal's monetary problems were eventually resolved when the yearbook staff used some of its reserve funding and advertised to increase sales.
Burd says she expects the 2007 yearbooks to arrive on campus by the end of the month.
Burd, who was the organization's section editor last year, said the yearbook's staff has made changes this year to avoid the problems they ran into last year.
One of those changes is the addition of a marketing committee, which is currently comprised of about three students and may grow in the future.
According to Burd, this committee was created to allow the yearbook staff to start doing publicity for the book right away.
Last year, one of the problems the group faced was low sales numbers, which only picked up late in the year after a publicity campaign by the group. This year, Burd hopes to start getting the word out and creating interest in the books early.
"The message coming out of this is that we are moving forward with the lessons of last year," Burd said.
Another change she noted was that the group plans to slightly reduce the number of pages in the book, though they will not sacrifice content to do so.
Burd said one of the ways they will do this is by having four or five pictures on a page where they may have only placed two last year.
"We need to be responsible with our production goals," Burd said.
Burd added that this year The Seal is trying to work more closely with other organizations on campus to gather content for the yearbook. She said organizations who have an event coming up can e-mail The Seal at yearbook@tcnj.edu and the yearbook will send a photographer.
Burd said the group is also accepting pictures from organizations. She said any group can send its pictures to the yearbook, though she can't guarantee all the photos will be used in the final product.
"The more pictures we have the more ownership the students can have of this book," Burd said.
She said the group has already started work on the 2008 yearbook. The Seal has sent photographers to events like Lollanobooza and has contacted its printing company, Jostens in Ivy Land, Pa.
Burd said she expects to see an announcement about senior pictures in about two weeks and a second announcement for "ads for grads" within the next month.
She said overall, this year comes down to learning from last year and making a yearbook that commemorates the College and the senior class's time here.
"We're definitely moving forward," she said. "We're really trying to showcase what makes (the College) special."
(09/05/07 12:00pm)
After a year in which she received no salary increase, College President R. Barbara Gitenstein got a 6 percent salary increase for the upcoming year.
The 6 percent raise, approved in July by the Board of Trustees, brings Gitenstein's base salary to $266,537, she said in an e-mail.
Her contract, which has been in place since 2001, includes free housing, along with utilities, cable TV and phone service, and a leased vehicle to be replaced every three years, along with fuel costs and car insurance. The College also contributes 8 percent of her base salary to a retirement plan, Gitenstein said.
Paul Shelly, director of communications for the New Jersey Association of State Colleges and Universities (NJASCU), said Gitenstein's salary is typical of other institutions.
NJASCU advocates in Trenton on behalf of nine state colleges and universities, including the College, Montclair State University, Rowan University and William Paterson University.
Shelly said Gitenstein's salary is safely within the $240,000 to $285,000 range of salaries of presidents at the other schools NJASCU represents.
"I am perfectly happy that my salary is not at the top of the NJASCU salary range," Gitenstein said.
Gitenstein said she is evaluated by the Board of Trustees every year and only receives pay increases based on merit.
"The key is to keep the compensation in the proper context," Matt Golden, director of communications and media relations, said via e-mail.
According to Golden, Gitenstein manages about 1,000 employees and 7,000 students, maintains relationships with political and business leaders and makes decisions about the allocation and generation of resources, among other tasks.
"These are not your typical jobs," Golden said. "They are very complex, demanding and time-consuming."
Golden added that while Gitenstein's salary is average for NJASCU-affiliated presidents, there are some schools who pay their presidents even higher salaries.
Rutgers University, which is not NJASCU-affiliated, pays its president, Richard McCormick, a base salary of $525,000.
Shelly said this is partly because public research universities, like Rutgers University, and private schools generally pay their presidents much higher salaries.
"It's not just about what you pay them," Shelly added. "It's also about retaining the president."
Shelly said college and university presidents who do well become hirable throughout the nation by both public and private schools. Therefore, schools have to provide incentives for their presidents so that they don't change leadership too often.
"I think there's a desire to keep presidents' salaries within similar ranges of each other," Shelly said.
He said by doing so, colleges and universities can retain good presidents, as well as avoid the expense of searching for a new president.
Shelly said in the past colleges were more tightly regulated by the state. Now, they have more autonomy, but must also measure against each other to pay their presidents competitively.
"It's not like it used to be," Shelly said. "There's a cost to being too cheap."
(09/05/07 12:00pm)
Buried in the letters sent to The Signal this past week regarding Terence Grado's opinion article, "College professors unamerican," is a short yet striking question:
"As for the College Democrats," Alex Kennedy wrote, "where the hell are you?"
Though I consider myself an Independent, that sentence had me wondering when I read it. It's a valid point. Where are the College Democrats?
It seems that most of the opinions submitted to The Signal are written by conservatives. Yet most of the letters we get in response to those articles are written by more left-leaning students.
Rather than responding to article after article every week, Democrats on campus should be taking action. Regardless of whether or not you agree with them, no one can deny that the Republicans on this campus make themselves heard.
Of the four political groups on campus - College Republicans, College Democrats, International Socialist Organization (ISO) and College Libertarians - the Republicans are most consistently active, vocal and visible on campus.
The only real challenge to this may come from the ISO, but many of its activities take place off campus.
If students give a damn then they should do more than write letters (though we do love getting letters from readers). Letters are a good start, but if students are really outraged then they should stand up and do something about it.
March through D.C. with the Socialists if that's what you're into. Revive the College Democrats if that's your thing. Hell, go argue the merits of Ayn Rand with the Libertarians if that's what floats your boat.
I'm sure the College Republicans plan to do more than write opinions for The Signal this year. And if our letters section is anything to go by, students don't seem overjoyed at that prospect.
But if they truly care than they will change the depressing trend of College apathy and organize a tangible counter.
Whether you hate them or love them, the Republicans deserve credit for being one of the most vocal and visible groups on campus.
And it's a safe bet that won't change this year.
(04/25/07 12:00pm)
Shock stemming from the violent rampage that left 33 students and faculty members at Virginia Tech dead is reverberating through college campuses across the country. In New Jersey, legislators drafted a bill that would require colleges to submit security plans to state administrators.
The bill, announced April 20 by acting Gov. Richard J. Codey, asks colleges and universities to submit security plans to the Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness by the end of May.
Matt Golden, director of Communications and Public Relations, Media said the College has had a plan in place since 2000.
Recently, Golden placed critical incident plan information into one page on the College's Web site that details how to report critical incidents and what methods of communication the College would use.
"The hope is . that for a lot of colleges (this bill) won't be a change," Derek Roseman, deputy director of communications for the Assembly Majority Office, said. Roseman added, "You can't always just hope for the best."
Assemblywoman Pamela R. Lampitt, representing Camden County, said the plan each college drafts must reflect the needs of that individual school. Lampitt introduced the bill with Assemblyman Patrick Diegnan in January.
Lampitt, a member of the University of Pennsylvania's administration, said at her school, which is in an urban area, Plexiglass doors exist across campus that only open with a swipe card and the last four digits of the student's social security number.
One reason for the bill, Roseman said, is that college campuses are constantly changing and crisis plans must be able to adapt. An alumnus of Trenton State College's class of 1996, Roseman used the College as an example of how much construction can alter the layout of a campus.
Lampitt said while New Jersey has tough gun laws, that alone doesn't make colleges safe.
"What's to stop someone from going to Pennsylvania (where gun laws are looser) and buying a gun?" she said.
New Jersey got an A-minus rank in terms of gun laws by the national Brady Campaign to Prevent Violence. While Lampitt sees this as encouraging, some are pushing for looser gun laws.
On April 19, N.J. Assembly Majority Leader Bonnie Watson Coleman responded to claims by author Ann Coulter that students should be allowed to carry concealed weapons on campus.
"The reason schools are consistently popular targets for mass murders is precisely because of all the idiotic 'Gun-Free School Zone' laws," Coulter said in the article, "Let's Make America a 'Sad-Free Zone,'" in the April 19 edition of frontpagemagazine.com.
Coulter said Virginia Tech was wrong to prohibit students with concealed-carry permits from carrying their guns on campus.
"People advocating a simplistic solution of more guns at a time like this lack compassion and credibility," Watson Coleman said in a press release. She quoted a newspaper columnist who said if the gunman at Virginia Tech tried to buy his weapon in New Jersey, he would probably have been unsuccessful in doing so.
"It would be irresponsible to allow students to carry a concealed weapon on campus," Jason Nothdurft, sophomore political science major at the College, said. "It is an irrational reaction to the tragic events that occurred at Virginia Tech."
(04/18/07 12:00pm)
The Student Government Association (SGA) held its general elections Monday and Tuesday. Here is a breakdown of the results. Losing candidates are marked with an asterisk(*).
Total votes cast: 1129
Should SGA officially add this (Class Council Coordinator) position to its constitution?
Yes - 801
*No - 200
Executive Board
Executive President
- Cullen, Christine - 878
- *Beckelman, Daniel (write-in candidate) - 58
Alternate Student Trustee
- Strom, Michael - 647
- *Rausa, Drew - 111
Vice President of Administration and Finance
- Ronan, John - 480
- *Viola, Steve - 434
Executive Vice President
- Russo, Lauren - 881
Vice President of Academic Affairs
- Link, Steven - 866
Vice President of Legal and Governmental Affairs
- Scapardine, Dan - 873
Vice President of Community Relations
- No candidate
Vice President of Equity and Diversity
- Ali, Aaliyah - 842
Vice President of Student Services
- Cwynar, Stephanie - 869
SGA Senate Positions
Senator at-Large
- Maffa, Stefanie - 689
- Wentworth, Nora - 678
- Sood, Jasen - 652
- Schirmer, Amrit - 627
- Plastine, Billy - 623
- *Skwarek, Brian - 17
- Taylor, Scott - 9 (pending ID checks)
Senator of Business
- Lautato, Tianna - 118
- Naik, Sheil - 107
- Velluzzi, Michele - 107
Senator of Culture and Society
- Hill, Jennifer - 219
- Rama, Flamur - 219
Senator of Education
- Redler, Keither - 112
- Quinn, Katie - 100
- Carrick, Sanni - 90
Senator of Engineering
- Fathima, Sana - 58
Senator of Nursing
- Lista, Anthony - 40
- *Majdosz, Anna - 6
Senator of Science
- Siegel, Naomi - 157
- *Fiaschi, Michela - 155
Representative at-Large
- Mosesku, Jennifer - 782
Senior Representative
- Adams, Dave - 137
- McCann, Matthew - 108
- *Mone, Anjali - 107
Junior Representative
- Costantino, Mary - 185
- Karcher, Ashley - 149
- *Alexander, Destiny - 77
Sophomore Representative
- Charles, Darling - 162
- Gallagher, James - 156
- *Taylor, Scott - 121
- *Cherla, Deepa - 84
- *Fathima, Sana - 80
Class Councils
Senior Class Council
Senior Class President
- Raczko, Annie - 181
- *Inglima, Leo - 40
Senior Class Vice President
- Henriksen, Brad - 195
Senior Class Treasurer
- Robinson, Karen - 200
Senior Class Secretary
- No Candidate
Junior Class Council
Junior Class President
- Eckrote, Deniel - 246
Junior Class Vice President
- Ross, Sarah - 233
Junior Class Treasurer
- Lagnese, Danielle - 227
Junior Class Secretary
- Hourdajian, Marisa - 225
Sophomore Class Council
Sophomore Class President
- Amer, Mohammad - 298
Sophomore Class Vice President
- Stratton, Brianna - 316
Sophomore Class Treasurer
- Jaloudi, Jumma - 311
Sophomore Class Secretary
- Jaber, Alissar - 313