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(10/02/18 1:23am)
By Tom Ballard
The College boasts having more than 230 student organizations on campus. That’s 230 organizations comprised of responsible adults who should, in theory, be able to take responsibility for the actions of their organization. Leadership in these organizations can teach executive and general members alike valuable skills such as time management, event planning and accountability.
With that in mind, the College’s interim Student Organization Fundraising policy appears to dilute those benefits of organizational leadership. It robs them of the ability to make important decisions for the organizations that they care about in regards to fundraising, while also burdening them with unnecessary bureaucracy.
The new interim policy, which took effect on June 1 of this year, is meant to ensure that students are properly handling their fundraised income.
The new policy states that student organizations must complete an online form informing the Office of Student Involvement of any fundraisers that they plan to host on behalf of their organization or a third party. That approval form, which is currently a Qualtrics form that can be found on the Office of Student Involvement’s webpage, must be submitted at least 10 business days prior to the proposed fundraiser.
Events that the policy expressed may be “more complicated” must allow for anywhere between 20 and 30 business days for approval.
Once the fundraiser’s income is collected, “all recognized student organizations must deposit their fundraising monies from approved fundraising activities in an account with the SFB” by the next business day and supply proof of deposit to the Office of Student Involvement within 10 business days of the fundraiser, according to the policy.
While I believe that this interim policy was crafted with the best of intentions, it pigeonholes organizations to follow a rigid and subjective system that potentially leaves the financial well-being of their organization up to the discretion of the Office of Student Involvement.
Rather than promoting accountability, I fear that this new policy will simply discourage student organizations from wanting to work with the Office of Student Involvement. Organizations — made up of students who must balance their extracurricular responsibilities with school work, family and friends — may simply decide to have fundraising events without the blessings of Student Involvement because the process is too time-consuming.
This has the potential to reap serious consequences as, according to the interim policy, organizations that fail to comply with the policy may have their registration status with the Division of Student Affairs temporarily suspended or denied.
Student Government and the Inter-Greek Council may also temporarily suspend privileges or derecognize any organization, and the Student Finance Board may deny or suspend current or future funding.
I believe that the College is a tight-knit community that values collaboration and fairness. By holding organizations to these rigid standards, organizations may find themselves discouraged to fundraise or cooperate with the offices that are meant to enrich and support them.
Student organizations benefit college campuses because they allow students to foster a sense of independence and kindred spirit with their peers. The College, by forcing student organizations to follow their form of bureaucratic accountability, limits the ability of each student organization to fundraise and govern as they see fit.
This piece is not meant to be seen as an attack on any specific office or individual. I do not believe that this policy was crafted to put student organizations at a disadvantage — I just believe that it is a misguided policy. I am concerned that it could hinder an organization’s ability to fundraise, and harm student-administration relations.
Students share opinions around campus
"Should the College regulate student organizations' fundraising?"
"No. There's no reason to put restrictions on it."
"They should be able to do whatever they want because its their organization."
(02/27/18 7:38am)
By Tom Ballard
Copy Editor
On Feb. 20, the Board of Trustees voted unanimously to rename the TCNJ Library the R. Barbara Gitenstein Library and to grant Gitenstein the title of president emeritus.
Trustee Robert A. Altman, the chair of the Outgoing Transition Committee — which seeks to reflect and celebrate the impact Gitenstein has had on the College — read aloud the resolution which commended Gitenstein for the nearly 20 years of service that she dedicated to the College.
The resolution also notes some other advancements made under Gitenstein’s administration, such as an improved four-year graduation rate, comprehensive fundraising campaigns, an improved governance model and numerous construction projects.
“I think all of us could agree that the library is really the heart and soul of this campus,” said Trustee Jorge A. Caballero, chair of the board. “It is exceedingly fitting that we name the library after Dr. Gitenstein to commemorate 19 years of leadership.”
The Library was one of 12 new buildings constructed on campus during Gitenstein’s tenure as president.
Gitenstein’s official portrait will be unveiled at an event on March 17, and will then be hung in the library, according to Altman.
Gitenstein also gave her final report as president at the public meeting. During her report, she noted the achievements of fundraising projects that took place during the fall semester.
To date, the TCNJ Foundation has processed nearly 5,000 donations from 2,900 donors, totalling nearly four million dollars. During the fall semester, the Foundation distributed nearly two million dollars to directly support faculty, staff, students and athletics, Gitenstein said.
The 18.19.20 Initiative, a yearlong fundraising campaign named to honor Gitenstein’s two decades of service to the College, is also well on its way to its seven million dollar goal, having raised 5.6 million dollars so far, according to Gitenstein.
Gitenstein also remarked on the College’s commitment to graduating students within four years.
“Over the last several years I’ve focused a lot of attention in my public comment about graduation rate, and that’s important for the entire community but no community is more impressive, I don’t think at this particular point, than the graduation rate (for our Educational Opportunity Fund) students,” Gitenstein said. “We clearly have the best EOF program in the state, and these numbers will prove it. Right now we don’t have the final numbers, but if we’re looking at the projections of those who have filed for graduation … we are going to see a four-year graduation rate of 82.55 percent.”
While remarking on positive advancements that the College has made, Gitenstein also addressed growing number of Title IX and CARE reports made among students.
“With all these wonderful things we also have concerns about our students,” Gitenstein said. “In fact, we’ve seen significant growth in numbers of Title IX reports and an increase in the number of CARE reports. CARE reports are for students of concern.”
Gitenstein went on to say that an increase in reports does not necessarily correlate to an increase in problems among the student body.
“I think it’s really important to emphasize that just because the numbers have gone up, doesn’t mean a negative story,” Gitenstein said. “The numbers have gone up indicating that students are feeling comfortable coming forward and they’re feeling that they are going to be supported in the offices.”
While concluding her report, Gitenstein reflected on the first time she addressed the College community.
“In my first talk to the TCNJ community, I quoted Emily Dickinson’s wonderful poem about the transformation of a caterpillar into a chrysalis (and then) into a butterfly,” Gitenstein said, referring to Dickinson’s poem, “My Cocoon Tightens — Colors Tease.”
“In the last 19 years, TCNJ has proven both its capacity for wings and its aptitude for flight,” Gitenstein said. “Today as I look forward to my last four months as president of this exceptional (college), I see another transformation in the works. You stand on the brink of wonderful things to come. I will watch with great admiration from afar … and with considerable pride that what we have done in the last 19 years together has served as an important foundation for the even greater successes that are surely in your future.”
The board also approved two new graduate programs, including a new five-year Master of Arts in teaching program for urban secondary education.
According to the resolution, this new program comes upon the success of the College’s Bachelor of Science/Master of Arts in teaching program in elementary and early childhood urban education and will provide specialization for those who wish to teach at middle and high school levels in urban school districts.
The Board of Trustees also approved a master’s degree program of business administration, which will consist of a two-year “T” style program with initial in-depth study of a specialty area in year one, followed by breadth courses in year two, according to the resolution.
A number of capital project budgets set to improve the College’s infrastructural assets were approved, including a $4.5 million HVAC and roof replacement for Forcina Hall, $1.75 million for improving the elevators in the Towers, $749,072 for renovating the College president’s residence and $464,969 for renovating the president’s office.
Other trustees also made updates to the board. Trustee Eleanor V. Horne reported that the TCNJ Foundation, which collects private gifts for College improvements, now has assets totalling $49.4 million as of Dec. 31.
Trustee Rosie Hymerling reported that the Trenton State College Park, which will be located by Roscoe West Hall on Quimby’s Prairie, will be officially unveiled during Alumni Weekend this April. The College’s Alumni Association and numerous donors contributed to funding for the park, according to Hymerling.
In addition to honoring President Gitenstein for her service to the College, the board also passed a resolution honoring her husband, Donald B. Hart, for his support of the College community.
Following the meeting, the board held a reception to officially unveil the new signage for the R. Barbara Gitenstein Library.
The next public meeting of the College’s Board of Trustees, its annual tuition hearing, is slated for April 17.
(02/19/18 10:55pm)
By Thomas Ballard
Copy Editor
I have always believed that the field of education should advocate for future generations. It should not just teach algebra and geography — it should incorporate the importance of social inclusion. It is the responsibility of the U.S. Department of Education to ensure that all students have access to a quality education in an environment that is both welcoming and productive.
The Department of Education’s Feb. 12 decision to no longer investigate civil rights complaints from transgender students prohibited from school bathrooms that match their gender identity is not just deeply concerning — it’s unacceptable.
This is not the first step the department has taken to rollback protections of transgender students. Last February, The Trump administration revoked federal guidelines that stated transgender students have the right to use public school restrooms that match their gender identity, according to The Washington Post.
After this decision, the Department of Education and the Department of Justice signed off on a letter to public schools regarding its decision to rescind the protections granted under the Obama administration. The department justified the action by stating that Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which protects against discrimination on the basis of sex, did not apply to gender identity.
The letter goes on to state that this action did not “leave students without protections from discrimination, bullying or harassment,” and promised that the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights will continue to hear all claims of discrimination.
A year later, another promise has been broken and the Department of Education continues to disregard fundamental protections for all students. This recent addition to the litany of wrongs committed by the department is especially troubling. Not only has it taken away support for transgender students, it has taken away their rights to be heard and to simply have their claims of discrimination be investigated.
By stating that it is the job of Congress or the courts to determine whether or not gender identity is included under the guidelines set forth in Title IX, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and her department forfeit their responsibility to ensure that our schools provide a safe and welcoming environment for all students.
While the administration contends that this action does not promote discrimination, bullying or harassment toward students because of their gender identity, there is no way that I can see that being the case in actuality. By taking away these students’ right to bring about their concerns to the department, whose mission is to foster “educational excellence and ensuring equal access,” the administration invalidates their own claims of valuing equal access to education.
Inclusion of transgender students’ becomes dependent on whether or not state or local school boards wish to afford them that support.
The Trump administration tells transgender students, who only seek to be the person that they see themselves as, that being who they are is not a right, but a privilege — something that can be confiscated with little, if any, notice. By taking away their right to report these instances, the administration is saying that this issue is a local matter, and not a civil right. Acceptance in a school should not depend on a zip code.
If the Department of Education is committed to providing school environments where all students can strive for educational excellence, it must first ensure all students that they will be accepted in an educational environment. The actions taken over the past year by the administration dismantles, rather than reaffirms, this goal. DeVos and her department must reconsider their actions to ensure that all students can become their best selves while attending American public schools.
Students share opinions around campus
“Should transgender rights be protected under Title IX?”
“Transgender rights deal with gender discrimination, just in a different sense.”
“Transgender people have the same right to be protected from gender discrimination.”
(09/26/17 1:01am)
By Thomas Ballard
There is an old saying that goes, “Home is where the heart is.” As a student at the College, I am proud to call this place not just my school, but also my home. This is my third year living on campus and I’ve always appreciated being so close to the different events that take place at the College. Until recently, I’ve had no major qualms about Residential Education and Housing. I survived the Towers (without Wi-Fi), and I made the most of my time living in Eickhoff Hall. It wasn’t until a recent experience that I had while living in one of the College’s townhouse complexes that I felt the need to voice my doubts about Res Ed and their lack of concern over student privacy.
I admit that I did make a mistake when I moved into my townhouse. I brought my own personal mini refrigerator with me. According to Res Ed’s behavioral expectations & regulations policy, possession or use of an unauthorized electronic device such as a personal refrigerator is not permitted when one has already been provided by Res Ed.
On Sept. 11, I received an email from an employee of Res Ed stating that a personal refrigerator had been seen in my room and that it had to be removed. Shortly after receiving the email, a new feeling began to sink in: vulnerability. According to the email, an employee of the College had been in my room on Sept. 1, even though I had been off campus that day, home for the weekend and had placed no work orders in regards to my room. There was no reason for a person to be there, other than myself as the paying occupant of the room.
The time frame I got notice about the violation also poses a concern for me. It took Res Ed 10 days to inform me that they had searched my room. It’s almost scary for me to think that if my room was not in violation of anything, I would have never found out that an uninvited person had been in my room. Like most other residents on campus, I have personal effects and electronics in my room, and it is unsettling to think that a person would be able to access my room and not have to report their presence.
While Res Ed certainly reserves the right to enter and check rooms when they see fit, it is unacceptable that they should take advantage of this power and not give students due notice. The residence halls may not be home to their full-time staff and employees, but they are our home and we should be given the same decency and privacy that they would expect if those roles were reversed. If they know that they have to enter a person’s room, advanced notice should be given to the room’s occupant so that they can prepare for the visit.
In cases of emergency, or if rooms are being inspected during a fire drill, a note should be left at the room, signed by the person who entered, informing the occupant of their visit. If employees have the time to make note of which rooms are in violation of their rules, then they should also have the time and courtesy to keep residents informed that their privacy was breached.
To make it clear, this article has nothing to do with mini refrigerators and everything to do with a student’s right to privacy in their own “home.” As the only on-campus provider of housing, Res Ed has a monopoly on students who want to continue to stay and live here. There’s a certain level of trust students and their families place in Res Ed to provide a safe and secure living environment, which includes respecting their student tenants. However, I feel a little less safe, a little less secure and a lot less homey knowing the actions that Res Ed has and is willing to take.
My name is Tom Ballard and, yes, I made a mistake and violated the housing guidelines. Aside from my misdemeanor, I’m afraid that Res Ed is violating a lot more than I ever could with a mini refrigerator. I strongly encourage Res Ed to reflect on their current procedures and to become more acute to a residential student’s right to privacy. A system of notifications in the event of a room search would be a good first step for Res Ed in displaying their recognition of this matter.
(10/25/16 1:18am)
By Tom Ballard
Staff Writer
Why does the College need Title IX?
“Every future and current student deserves a comfortable college experience.”
“Safety and inclusivity are necessary components for a thriving community.”
“Being able to learn in a safe environment is a human right.”
Those are just a few of the responses that the College’s Office of Title IX received for its “TCNJ Needs Title IX” campaign that intends to raise awareness about sexual assault and gender discrimination on campus.
The campaign, which coincides with Domestic Violence Awareness Month, mainly takes place on the Office’s Instagram account, @tcnj_titleix, and a Tumblr page under the campaign’s name. It features photos of students and other members of the campus community, including administrators and Campus Police, holding signs explaining why Title IX protections are important to the College community.
According to Tyler Switsky, a Programing, Research and Development intern for the Office of Title IX and a senior history major, the campaign was brought to the College in response to a national campaign called “Know Your IX” and coincides with Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October.
“(Know Your IX) have their own ongoing campaign called ‘My (Blank) Needs Title IX Because,’ and I thought it sent a very powerful message,” Switsky said. “They encouraged schools to bring this to their own campuses, and after tweaking it a little bit with (the College’s Title IX Coordinator) Jordan Draper, we were able to come up with the full scope of the campaign that was tailored to TCNJ.”
According to the national campaign’s website, the initiative aims to educate college and high school students across the U.S. about their legal rights to safe education free from sexual and gender-based violence.
“Unfortunately, the statistics of sexual violence on college campuses are exceptionally high,” Draper said. “Tyler and I thought this (campaign) would be a great way to market the Title IX office, as well as inform students what Title IX is and how it can help them or a friend in need.”
The response for the campaign has been strong so far, according to Switsky and Draper. More than 70 individuals have participated in in the photo campaign so far, and the initiative has garnered support from offices like the Division of Student Affairs, Anti-Violence Initiatives (AVI) and the Office of the President.
Draper said they plan to hang all of the signs from the campaign on a wall in the Brower Student Center and make some photo collages.
According to the Center for Disease Control’s National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey from 2010, one in every five women and one in every 59 men in the U.S. has been raped at some point in their life. The report also found that one in every four women and one in every seven men has been the victim of severe physical violence by an intimate partner.
Statistics fare worst for college students. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ Campus Climate Survey, 17.6 percent of female college students and 5.3 percent of male college students reported being sexually assaulted during the 2014-15 school year.
The statistics of sexual assault on college campuses are too high, according to alumnus Zach Gall (’13), project manager for the Office on Violence Against Women, AVI Prevention Education specialist and graduate student at the College. He noted that men are also victimized by sexual assault.
“It is no means just a women’s issue,” Gall said. “There are men being harmed, as well… It really is an across-the-board concern. While by no means are men the only perpetrators — there are females who commit acts of power-based violence — we know that a large number of the perpetrators are male, and while it's a small portion of the population as a whole, it's a small number of people committing a lot of violence.”
Gall said that it is important for men to become part of the conversation about on-campus sexual assault.
“It can be hard (for men to get into anti-violence), but that’s half of the population that could be helping in this fight against violence that weren’t being engaged, and I would rather have more allies than less,” Gall said.
Going forward, Switsky said that it is important that the entire College community become engaged in fighting sexual assault and gender-based violence.
“The reason why we are at TCNJ is because we are here to further our education and create a foundation on which we can launch our career and personal endeavors,” Switsky said. “Nobody has the right to take your access to education away from you, and in many ways, sexual assault and other forms of power-based personal violence do just that… We are fortunate to be at the College because everyone at this school truly cares about eradicating this type of behavior, including staff and faculty.”
Gall said that while there are some measures that the College can take to crackdown on sexual and gender-based violence, it’s up to the student body to create an environment that is comfortable and willing to talk about the issues.
“I think sometimes that students sort of feel pressured to believe that everything is fine or make everybody else believe that everything is fine, and sometimes, things aren’t,” Gall said. “(So) making it more acceptable and normal to say something, like, ‘Oh, I’m struggling today,’ or, ‘Oh, this happened to me today and I didn’t like it,’ that’s something that the College can’t mandate, but it is something that we can work toward as a whole.”
Draper said that any students who experience this sort of violence can find support on campus.
“Everyone deserves to experience an education free from violence and feel safe in their community, and this can be something we achieve together, as a TCNJ community,” Draper said.
She stressed that students should feel comfortable reporting any instance of sexual or gender based violence to the College.
“Underreporting is a huge issue nationally and on our campus,” Draper said. “ In working with (the Office of Title IX), students can choose how involved they want to be, but I do want every person who has experienced violence to know they have rights, and there are free and confidential resources they can utilize.”
Gall said any immediate problems should always be reported to Campus Police, but added that AVI can offer long-term emotional support for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence by helping them get back on track with school, connecting them with any off-campus services not provided at the College or even accompany them to hospitals or police stations.
“(This is) not something that students have to go through alone,” Gall said.
(10/17/16 9:39pm)
By Tom Ballard
In the midst of the political bickering, name-calling and all-around nasty shaming of the 2016 presidential election, there is one important and beautiful truth to point out: the system worked… at least for the Republicans.
It seemed like an eternity ago when the primary election cycle was in full swing for both major political parties. Names such as Bernie Sanders, Ted Cruz and John Kasich were relevant then. Now, they are as relevant as Martin O’Malley or George Pataki. Since then, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has made claims that the general election on Tuesday, Nov. 8, could very well be rigged against his favor.
According to a New York Times article from Thursday, Oct. 13, Trump has lashed out against fellow Republicans for being “disloyal” following the surfacing of a video from 2005 in which Trump makes sexually explicit remarks about women. He went on to say that that the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates has been trying to sabotage his debate performances by selecting unfriendly moderators and giving him a “defective” microphone at the first debate on Monday, Sept 26.
Trump complaining about the outcome of November's election is nothing new. In August, Trump griped that if he loses the swing state of Pennsylvania in the election, it will be because of cheating, according to The Hill. It has gotten to the point that even fellow Republicans, such as Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, have advised Trump to stop telling voters that the election will be rigged, a Politico article from Tuesday, Oct 11, said.
This is not the first election in which Trump has called foul. During the primary election, he accused GOP leaders of trying to prevent him from getting the nomination.
Despite that, the party was unable to stop him from winning its nomination. According to a Washington Post article from Wednesday, June 8, Trump received the most votes that a candidate has ever received in a Republican primary — about 14.5 million — in a field that once totalled 17 candidates. He also received the most number of votes that were made against the GOP front-runner — a little over 15 million — according to the same article.
In other words, Trump won the Republican nomination fair and square. Republican voters denied their party’s leadership the ability to extend their nomination to another candidate — any other candidate — and, instead, voted for the person they wanted: Trump.
This is different from the Democratic primary. According to a New York Times article from Friday, July 22, leaked emails from party higher-ups — including then-chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz — showed that the leadership was favoring the Clinton campaign while trying to drag down the campaign of Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
In a campaign full of mudslinging, email leaks and meaningless endorsements, there is one good piece of news: the system worked in the Republican primary. Like Trump or not (and believe me, as a Republican, I do not), the Republican primary was decided by the will of the voters and not by big money or the party establishment.
If there is anything that can be celebrated in this election cycle, it's that the American people still have the power to make important decisions within major political parties. But alas, one can not have their cake and eat it, too. This year’s election cycle has been plagued with placing showmanship over policy-making. Perhaps in 2020, we can have a serious presidential election and keep the clowns where they belong.
(09/20/16 11:42pm)
By Tom Ballard
Staff Writer
Outside the border of Metzger Drive, the country is engulfed in a controversial and widely followed presidential election between Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican nominee Donald Trump, with other more local elections also garnering media attention. However, inside the College, there is little talk or signs of the encroaching election.
“Right now, political awareness and activism is low among the general student body,” said Dillon McNamara, vice president of College Democrats and a junior political science major.
Ryan Jones, president of College Republicans and a senior political science and Spanish double major, echoed the low political morale at the College.
“The political climate on campus is not as widespread as it should be for young adults our age, seeing as we are affected by nearly all of the campaign issues in presidential elections,” Jones said. “Attendance at College Republicans events is typically good, but could be better.”
According to Michael Norquist, interim executive director of the Center for Community Engaged Learning (CCEL) and an adjunct political science professor, many students might not feel inclined to be involved politically because of their backgrounds.
“All things considered, in comparison with other college campuses, I think (the College is a fairly politically) inactive campus,” Norquist said. “I don’t think there’s lots of political engagement or activism on campus, which comes as a surprise sometimes to me.”
Norquist also said that the geographical demographics of the College most likely have much to do with the student body’s disconnect from politics.
According to Norquist, approximately 95 percent of the College’s student body comes from New Jersey. Being so close to home and coming from many of the same environments as their peers, Norquist said that it could be a factor in why there is low political engagement at the College.
“I (also) think the student body is… not politically engaged, (since) most (students come from communities where they) don’t have to think about this stuff, and then you also don’t necessarily have the academic or student organization culture (on campus that serves) as edgy groups, in a sense,” Norquist said.
Norquist said that the traditional programs at the College are not typically seen as the unconventional or edgy — radical — programs that typically spawn political activism on college campuses. He said that while the College has strength in programs, such as nursing, education, engineering and business, the College lacks a prioritization of social conscientiousness and political engagement in the academic sphere.
“We have a very strong (women's and gender studies) program — sociology and political science are strong, as well. (However), they are geared, in many ways, toward creative preparation rather than creating radical activists, for the lack of a better phrase,” Norquist said.
Jones said that students might not be participating in the College’s political organizations because they feel uneasy declaring allegiance to a political party.
“Often, students are apprehensive about declaring themselves as one party or another by attending events by either partisan organizations on campus, but we truly welcome politically interested students to our events or meetings,” Jones said.
While candidates try to reach out to younger voters, McNamara said that some voters, particularly the young ones, are not pleased with the current political system.
“I think that the political climate is low due to a feeling of apathy by many college students toward our current political system,” McNamara said. “I think we need to do a better job of connecting current political issues to the personal lives of students, especially on relevant issues like college affordability and student debt.”
Jennifer Loughran, a junior political science major and Bonner Scholar who is working on ways to improve political engagement at the College, said that students typically do not have the time to be engaged in politics.
“Many college students want to be informed about politics and who the leaders in office are, but sometimes, they just do not prioritize it (or) find the time to do so,” Loughran said.
In order to increase the political awareness and involvement on campus, several actions have been taken by various groups on campus.
Last semester, Student Government (SG) granted recognition to the TCNJ Political Union, a non-partisan group on campus seeking to get more students involved with politics, according to SG’s Director Sam Fogelgaren, a senior history and urban studies double major and former president of College Democrats.
“I was talking to a few other student leaders that were active in political engagement efforts (and we discovered) that the problem at TCNJ is not (that the students lack) the will or the interest (in politics), but that there really wasn’t a mechanism for students and student groups and the administration to collaborate (and) know what was going on,” Fogelgaren said. “So a bunch of us agreed to start a new organization that was committed, not necessarily to actively doing anything... but we were going to be facilitating better dialogue amongst student groups.”
According to Fogelgaren, students at the College typically show up to vote in elections on average with college students across the country. He said the problem was that the College lacked effective political programming on campus.
“We felt that the people who were getting involved (in politics at the College) were pretty much history and political science students and political junkies,” Fogelgaren said.”(But) TCNJ students — really from all different backgrounds, all majors, all areas of interests — all have an interest in politics… Our voting rate in presidential elections is on par with the national average, but (the problems with politics at the College) seems to come from the programming, the opportunities on campus, not so much the fact that there’s not interest.”
Fogelgaren, along with several other students and staff members at the College, including Norquist, are also part of the TCNJ Votes! initiative, a newly formed coalition that seeks to increase voter registration and voter turnout in each upcoming election. According to its website, the coalition also plans to increase participation and interest in political engagement activities on and off campus.
Norquist said that the idea for the initial steps toward the creation of the project started within the past two years by Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs Elizabeth Bapasola and the late Executive Director of CCEL Pat Donohue. According to Norquist, the idea was to think about possible ways to increase political engagement around campus, which led to the creation of the Political Engagement Collaborative (PEC), a group of College faculty, staff and students that aims “to help promote college students’ engagement in the democratic process,” according to the group’s page on Lion’s Gate.
The initial goal of the organization was to increase political engagement within student life and academic departments. But since then, Norquist said the group has honed its goals to focus specifically on voter registration, voter turnout and political education on campus. The TCNJ Votes! initiative serves as just one of the projects of the PEC.
According to the TCNJ Votes! website, less than half of the College’s students voted in the 2012 elections, the last year there was a presidential election in the U.S. The site goes on to read that only 10 percent of students voted in the 2014 general elections, which had every seat in the U.S. House of Representatives and a seat in the U.S. Senate on the ballot.
Fogelgaren said the Political Union, which works with groups like the College Democrats, College Republicans, Black Student Union, Voices for Planned Parenthood and SG, will work together in order to maximize the effectiveness of political programing on campus. Fogelgaren said that in the past, organizations might have planned multiple debate watches on the same night, which resulted in smaller viewings and less political discussion within the community.
Now, Fogelgaren said that the campus organizations will work together in order to ensure that there is only one debate screening per debate on campus in hopes that it can increase attendance and foster more political discussion amongst students.
Another initiative to increase political discourse is Politics Week. From Monday, Sept. 26, through Friday, Sept. 30, the TCNJ Votes! coalition will host several political related events and push for more students to become registered voters, according to Fogelgaren and Norquist. The project will also host a series of bi-weekly open meetings every other Friday, which started on Friday, Sept. 9, with the goal of discussing ways to enhance political discussion on campus.
The initiative has also secured a $3,000 mini-grant from the Office of Student Engagement, according to Fogelgaren and Norquist. That grant will go toward a two-year subscription to TurboVote, an online application that aims to make it easier for people, particularly college students, to register and request absentee and mail-in ballots, according to the application’s website.
Loughran said that her main efforts to increase political awareness on the campus are centered around voter registration and voter turnout to elections. She also hopes the political events being brought to campus in the future will draw large crowds.
“Presidential elections appeal to the majority of the population more than any other election. This election in particular will either draw drastically more voters or drastically less voters,” Loughran said. “For TCNJ, I am hoping for an increase in voter turnout from four years ago (the last presidential election), which was 49 percent.”
Fogelgaren said that it is important for students to be engaged and vote in elections in order to have a stay in their government.
“If you don’t vote, other people’s votes count more,” Fogelgaren said. “If you’re not voting because you think that you’re protesting, that’s a bad protest… apathy is a bad form of protest. Voting is something that you do five minutes a day, one day of the year, and I believe that if we’re going to be a successful society, people need to take every day of the year to pay attention and be aware and decide what they believe and advocate for those beliefs.”
Norquist said that students at the College should vote not only because most young people from 18 to 29 years old decide not to, but also because young voters have the potential to sway elections, especially in local races, as they make up about 21 percent of the population.
“If you could mobilize the five thousand students that live in Ewing, (N.J.) have them registered here and have them vote in local elections, they could easily (decide) a local election,” Nordquist said. “If all TCNJ students lived here and were registered to vote here, that’s already one-seventh of the vote and they can easily swing an election, one way or the other.”
Members of the College’s partisan political organizations also stressed the importance for more awareness at the College.
“We need focus on political issues that are relevant to college students,” McNamara said. “We also need to disseminate information on candidates and their platforms in order to increase the political knowledge of our student body… Informed voters tend to be more invested in elections, and they are more likely to go out and vote.”
Jones said that there are many things that College students can do to get involved.
“(By) simply registering to vote is an easy step toward participating in politics, or even discussing the issues with friends in a setting, such as (a) televised debate watch on campus,” Jones said. “There are so many ways to get politically aware and many organizations on campus are coming together to help facilitate that through collaborative efforts.”
For more information students can visit vote.pages.tcnj.edu. The general election this year will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 8.
(09/13/16 5:41pm)
By Tom Ballard
Staff Writer
The Lions will soon have a new place to prowl for their next meal in their not-so-wild habitat. The new and improved Lions Den is set to open sometime mid-October in the Brower Student Center (BSC), according to Patrice Mendes, general manager for Dining Services.
In addition to the traditional grill, deli, pizza, sushi and grab-and-go stations that students are used to, the new Lions Den will offer several new food options and improvements.
“The Lions Den will now serve fresh formed burger(s) in the Original Burger Company,” Mendes said. “The SubConnection will replace the deli and include soups and fresh bread baked daily in addition to your favorite deli sandwiches. The very popular sushi will be complemented by an Asian hot food concept.”
Along with the sushi station, the pizza station will also be revamped for students.
“We will have a new pizza and pasta concept that will serve pizza by the slice and authentic pasta dishes,” Mendes said. “If you’re pressed for time and need to grab something on the go, we have you covered there, as well. The Simply-To-Go line of products, which includes sandwiches, salads, fruit and snacks, has been expanded (to be more) easily accessible.”
The food is not the only thing getting a facelift at the new food court. According to Mendes, the location has been given an open and spacious design in order to accommodate busy lunch rushes and provide additional space for students.
“Although (the new Lions Den) was designed to serve food at a quick pace, do not let that fool you into thinking the menu was watered down or a lesser priority in the design,” Mendes said.
The decision to renovate the Lions Den came as a “no-brainer,” Mendes said. According to her, the Lions Den was the oldest food facility on campus after T-Dubs and the Rathskeller, which was replaced by Traditions Restaurant, were renovated in past couple of years.
With the rest of the renovations and construction currently going on in the student center, Mendes said that it was logical to work on the Lions Den at the same time.
“The BSC will be the social center of the campus, with activities, student (organization) space and social gathering (being) a major focus,” Mendes said. “The Lions Den needed to be able (to) meet the demands of the expanded uses of the BSC. We believe this renovation will enhance all of the BSC activities and events.”
According to Mendes, Meal Equivalency will continue to be accepted at the Lions Den and prices will be in line with the previous food prices.
(09/11/16 10:35pm)
By Tom Ballard
News Editor
The Lions will soon have a new place to prowl for their next meal in their not-so-wild habitat. The new and improved Lions Den is set to open sometime mid-October in the Brower Student Center (BSC), according to Patrice Mendes, general manager for Dining Services.
In addition to the traditional grill, deli, pizza, sushi and grab-and-go stations that students are used to, the new Lions Den will offer several new food options and improvements.
“The Lions Den will now serve fresh formed burger(s) in the Original Burger Company,” Mendes said. “The SubConnection will replace the deli and include soups and fresh bread baked daily in addition to your favorite deli sandwiches. The very popular sushi will be complemented by an Asian hot food concept.”
Along with the sushi station, the pizza station will also be revamped for students.
“We will have a new pizza and pasta concept that will serve pizza by the slice and authentic pasta dishes,” Mendes said. “If you’re pressed for time and need to grab something on the go, we have you covered there, as well. The Simply-To-Go line of products, which includes sandwiches, salads, fruit and snacks, has been expanded (to be more) easily accessible.”
The food is not the only thing getting a facelift at the new food court. According to Mendes, the location has been given an open and spacious design in order to accommodate busy lunch rushes and provide additional space for students.
“Although (the new Lions Den) was designed to serve food in a quick pace, do not let that fool you into thinking the menu was watered down or a lesser priority in the design,” Mendes said.
The decision to renovate the Lions Den came as a “no-brainer,” Mendes said. According to her, the Lions Den was the oldest food facility on campus after T-Dubbs and the Rathskeller, which was replaced by Traditions Restaurant, were renovated in past couple of years.
With the rest of the renovations and construction currently going on in the student center, Mendes said that it was just logical to work on the Lions Den at the same time.
“The BSC will be the social center of the campus, with activities, student (organization) space and social gathering (being) a major focus,” Mendes said. “The Lions Den needed to be able (to) meet the demands of the expanded uses of the BSC. We believe this renovation will enhance all of the BSC activities and events.”
According to Mendes, Meal Equivalency will continue to be accepted at the Lions Den and prices will be in line with the previous food prices.
(09/06/16 5:02am)
By Tom Ballard
News Editor
Students at the College have many things on their plates, but an organization on campus is challenging them to try to pay attention to one more thing — their carbon footprints.
The College’s Environmental Club held a presentation called Livin’ the Green Life outside Travers and Wolfe halls on Wednesday, Aug. 31, with the goal of educating students about ways they can become more environmentally conscious while living on campus.
“I think that (the environment is) something that is very important throughout your entire life because it affects every corner of your life,” said Elizabeth Eisenhauer, president of the Environmental Club and a senior math major. “I think that it is something that can often be forgotten when you’re distracted by the social life of campus and everything else, (it) can be difficult (to be environmentally conscious).”
On display were posters showing activities that the extracurricular organization is involved with and information pertaining to the College’s recycling policy.
“We do a lot of recycling education on campus because there are some specific rules,” said Melissa Natividade, secretary for the Environmental Club and a junior environmental studies and graphic design double major. “There are seven different types of plastics, (but) TCNJ only recycles types one and two, so a lot of the things that go through the recycling bins on campus are not recyclable… If you have past a certain quantity of non-recyclable products in the recycling bin, it contaminates (the whole bin, and the College) has to throw it out instead of recycling it because there isn’t a set process to remove all that waste.”
According to the Society of the Plastic Industry, an organization that promotes growth in the U.S. plastic industry, type one (polyethylene terephthalate) and type two (high-density polyethylene) plastics consist of items like beverage bottles, clothing, shampoo bottles and milk jugs.
Natividade points out that students at the College use items everyday they might think can be recycled, but really cannot.
“This is stuff we use all the time,” Natividade said, pointing to a disposable paper coffee cup. “Because it’s lined with wax, (it can’t be recycled).”
According to members of the club, plastic items that can or cannot be recycled on campus can be recognized by a small logo located on the bottom of most plastic goods that consists of three arrows that form a triangle with a number in the middle. While numbers one and two can be recycled on campus, numbers three through seven cannot. The lid of the coffee cup is labeled with a type six plastic — polystyrene.
According to the College recycling program’s website, other commonly used goods that cannot be recycled include pizza boxes, textbooks, Naked juice bottles, paper towels and paper plates.
In addition to type one and two plastics, other goods that can be recycled in recycling bins include paper, cardboard, bottles, glass and cans. The College also provides drop-off locations for students to recycle CDs, batteries and cell phones on campus, according to the recycling program’s website.
Eisenhauer also said that the College’s ecosystem makes it important for students to be environmentally conscious.
“It’s very important to pick up trash and not litter (on campus) because we (have lakes Sylvia and Ceva) and all the wildlife in the lakes is harmed by all the trash that is washed into (them),” Eisenhauer said.
Members of the organization said it is important for students to remember to turn their lights off and unplug appliances when they are not in use in order to save electricity and use refillable water bottles instead of plastic one-time use bottles.
“We focus on a lot of education with the student body because every individual has control over some aspect of their environmental impact,” Elsa Leistikow, co-environmental chair of the Environmental Club and senior sociology major, said. “So we focus on those little habits, as well.”
In addition to education, Leistikow also said that the club is active at the President’s Climate Commitment Committee meetings, which handles ways that the College can reduce its carbon footprint and have more of a positive impact on the environment.
The Environmental Club also had a display for its new initiative called Veg Life, which seeks to educate the College community on how to reduce the amount of animal products they use, but not to necessarily live completely without animal products, according to group members. The organization is looking into having Veg Life be its own Student-Government recognized group.
Overall, Eisenhauer said students at the College care about the impact they have on the environment, but they might not know how to go about being environmentally conscious.
“Most of the students that we talk to are very aware of global warming and they’re very aware and interested in helping the environment, but they just don’t know what to do,” Eisenhauer said. “So this is just sort of an avenue for them to make a change and take action.”
(09/06/16 3:04am)
By Tom Ballard
News Editor
While most members of the campus community spent their summer away from the College, construction crews worked to keep its ongoing projects on pace.
According to Tom Beaver, head media relations officer for the College, construction is on schedule for the new STEM Building, the addition to the Chemistry Building in the Science Complex and the renovation and addition to the Brower Student Center.
Construction crews are currently in the process of enclosing the new STEM Building and chemistry addition after the steel structures were laid out last semester, according to the College’s campus construction website. Beaver said the Chemistry Building addition is scheduled to be completed for July 2017 and the STEM Building is set to be finished the following month.
“Taken together, the STEM building and renovated chemistry facilities will expand classroom and laboratory space by fully 60 percent, and become the cornerstone of our larger STEM complex,” Beaver said.
After the completion of Traditions last February, construction in the student center continued in order to complete offices on the second floor and finalize the renovations being made for the new food court, according to the construction website.
“The improvements to the Brower Student Center will ensure that the building remains the hub of student activity for current and future TCNJ students,” Beaver said. “Assuming construction continues as planned, (the)... project should be complete by the beginning of the ’16-’17 academic year.”
The public-private partnership of Campus Town also experienced progress over the summer, as Phase II of the project was completed. The new buildings have added additional accommodations for 166 students, Beaver said.
The Campus Town development currently has a total of eight retail locations opened, including the College’s Fitness Center, Mexican Mariachi Grill and Spencer Savings Bank. According to Beaver, the development will host an additional 11 storefronts that will include InFocus Urgent Care Center, Gstar Sporting Goods and a gourmet hot dog establishment.
(09/05/16 7:11am)
By Tom Ballard
News Editor
No off-site alcohol will be allowed at the College’s annual Homecoming tailgate on Saturday, Oct. 29, according to a campus-wide email sent on Thursday, Sept. 1, by Amy Hecht, vice president for Student Affairs, and John Donohue, vice president for College Advancement.
“These changes are intended to further enhance the memorable Homecoming experience that (students) have come to expect while making the event more welcoming and inclusive for all of our guests,” the email reads.
Students who are of the legal drinking age will now have to purchase beer and wine from a third-party vendor that will be on-location and monitor consumption, according to the email.
Hecht and Donohue wrote that changes in the policy were brought about in order to ensure the event remains family friendly.
“The students, alumni, administrators and other representatives to the Steering Committee remain dedicated to providing programming for the campus community that is enriching, fun and, above all else, consistent with the College’s broader commitment to the health and safety of (its students), (their) friends and families,” the email read. “We believe that the improvements to this year’s Homecoming event are well aligned with these overarching goals.”
In previous years, students who were 21 years or older were able to bring and drink their own alcohol at the tailgate.
The Homecoming 2016 website will go live in the coming days, according to the email, and will include a list of festivities planned for the day. There will be performances from alumni bands and student entertainers, and family-friendly recreational activities.
(09/03/16 9:17pm)
By Tom Ballard
Shopping can often be a painstaking series of events. A person has to plan a time to go out, drive to the store, browse the aisles in hopes of finding the items they seek, wait in line to check out and then drive back home. In a time where convenience and ease of use are in high demand, though, it is no surprise that people are seeking an alternative way to shop in order to avoid wasting time. Online retailers like Amazon are beneficial for people, but will fail to entirely eliminate traditional storefront businesses.
As college students, shopping can be a bit of a hassle. In addition to having to find time between going to class, partaking in extracurricular activities and remembering to take a moment to relax, college students often have to find time to purchase necessities, like toilet paper or of office supplies, or to replenish the supply of food and drinks for their rooms.
While many students have vehicles on campus, some do not and access to TCNJ Rideshare and Enterprise CarShare programs are not always dependable for a student’s busy schedule. Thus, purchasing goods from online retailers like Amazon makes sense. In a few clicks, people can order everything that would have taken up to an hour to find in-store. After a few days, the items are delivered. Shopping online has clear benefits for college students and people without easy access to transportation.
The convenience of online shopping has had negative effects on many retailers that still rely mostly on in-person shopping. According to a Chicago Tribune article from Friday, Aug. 26, Sears has closed stores amid $9 billion in losses in the past years, and Macy’s will close its doors at 100 locations. The same article reported that other retailers, like J.C. Penney, are trying to stock their shelves with exclusive items that are only available in-store in order to turn around what some might see as a dying market.
The fact is that even though a majority of Americans are now doing most of their shopping online, according to a Fortune article from Wednesday, June 8, in-person shopping will never be a thing of the past. While online shopping provides convenience and fast shipping options, nothing can beat the promptness of being able to purchase and have the item available for immediate use.
Even though Amazon’s Prime Fresh, a membership program that allows people to purchase groceries online to be delivered to their homes, can deliver milk to a person’s house, it’s not beneficial if the person needs the milk right away. For procrastinators like myself, shopping online is difficult around the holiday season, since there is often little guarantee that the item will arrive on time depending on how late I wait to place my order and how busy the shipping industry is at that time of the year.
While online shopping may appear to be an overall solution, it will never take away the ease of mind when shopping in person. While online shopping inserts a middleman and boundary between the consumer and product, in-person shopping allows the buyer to see exactly what they are buying and know when exactly they are going to have it. It is that certainty that will prevent storefront businesses from entirely disappearing.
(08/30/16 4:01pm)
By Tom Ballard
News Editor
Rio de Janeiro and Ewing, N.J., had something in common this summer: both hosted record-breaking Olympic Games. From Friday, June 10, to Sunday, June 12, the College hosted the annual Special Olympics New Jersey Summer Games.
According to Special Olympics New Jersey (SONJ), nearly 2,500 athletes participated in the Games from across the state in events such as aquatics, gymnastics, powerlifting, track & field, softball, tennis and bocce, a lawn bowling game.
Powerlifter Steven Kryspin, a 28-year-old resident of Florham Park, N.J., beat the competition’s records in the bench press, squat and deadlift, lifting 1,335 pounds in total across the powerlifting competitions, according to an NJ.com article from Saturday, June 11.
“I just breathe, I focus and I lift,” Kryspin told the news site.
He had some advice for others looking to claim a victory at the Games.
“Remain focus(ed) at all times… just focus,” he said.
Kryspin set the SONJ record in 2013, according to an NJ.com article from June 8, 2013.
Athletes partaking in the annual Games were required to qualify by competing and placing in area and sectional contests. Heather Anderson, president and CEO of SONJ, praised the athletes’ dedication to preparing for the Games.
“Our athletes work really hard to train and get here,” Anderson told NJ.com. “They really want that medal.”
In addition to the athletes, the College’s athletic facilities were also crowded with 3,000 volunteers and more than 10,000 spectators, according to the same NJ.com article.
“The nice thing about (the College) is (that) we take over the campus,” Anderson told NJ.com. “The community really embraces (the Games).”
The Games began with the 33rd annual Law Enforcement Torch Run (LETR), in which more than 3,000 law enforcement officers across the state supported the Games by carrying the SONJ torch more than 750 miles. Last year, the run raised more than $3.5 million for SONJ, according to a LETR press release from Tuesday, April 19.
“From training to competition, and healthcare to athlete leadership opportunities, (SONJ) provides all of its programs completely free of charge to all of its athletes,” said Jason Schubert, senior director of Law Enforcement Sponsorship for SONJ, according to the same press release. “That would never be possible without the dedication of our law enforcement officers. They raise millions of dollars for our athletes each year.”
According to a Signal article from Aug. 26, 2015, the College has hosted the competition for more than 20 years.
In addition to athletic events, SONJ also brought its Youth Activation Summits to the College, which was meant to bring together “opportunities for young people of all abilities to be leaders in their school and communities,” according to a Facebook post from SONJ published on Friday, June 10.
“Equality and acceptance are the themes as students with and without intellectual disabilities participate in leadership activities to help them find their voices and teach them to become agents for respect and inclusion,” the same post read.
According to the SONJ website, in order to be able to participate in the games, athletes must be at least 8 years old and identified by an agency or professional as having an intellectual or developmental disability or experience functional limitations in both general learning and adaptive skills.
(08/07/16 4:51am)
By Tom Ballard
News Editor
A new program has the College driving in a greener direction. On Wednesday, July 27, the College hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony to formally introduce a pilot program with the Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G) that placed five new charging stations for faculty and staff to charge their electric vehicles (EV) on campus.
“The College… is proud to partner with PSE&G on this innovative project that further advances our longstanding and broad-based environmental sustainability goals,” College President R. Barbara Gitenstein said at the event, according to a press release. “Through the generous support of PSE&G, we are now able to provide our faculty and staff with access to electric vehicle charging stations, reaffirming our commitment to reducing our carbon footprint in a fiscally responsible way.”
The EV charging stations located in Lot 7 are available free-of-charge for faculty and staff who own electric vehicles, according to the press release. As part of the pilot program agreement, PSE&G provided the EV charging stations free-of-charge, while the College will pay for the installation and continual maintenance of the stations as well as the electricity cost, according to the press release.
The decision to join the pilot program with PSE&G is part of the College’s goal to reduce its carbon footprint, according to Head Media Relations Officer Tom Beaver.
“For the College, the EV charging station project is well-aligned with our long-held goal of reducing our carbon footprint,” Beaver said. “The partnership with PSE&G enabled us to provide this benefit to current and future EV users in a cost-effective way.”
The charging stations come nine years after Gitenstein signed the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment, a national initiative that aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance environmental sustainability on college campuses across the country, Beaver said. Since then, the College has also adopted its Climate Action Plan, a 33-page document developed under the guidance of the President’s Climate Commitment Committee that sets forth goals to make the College more environmentally efficient.
Beaver also stated that the College community has expressed a high level of interest in the stations and he expects to see more EV drivers take advantage of them as awareness about the program spreads.
“We've already seen significant interest in the stations, and anticipate that as awareness increases, other EV drivers will begin to take advantage of this unique on-campus benefit,” Beaver said. “Access begets demand, and we're glad that we can do our part to encourage broader adoption of this technology statewide.”
EV owners will not have to pay for using the charging stations, according to Beaver. While the stations will only be made available to staff and faculty, Beaver said that the College is considering working with PSE&G to make them available to students, but will first have to determine the feasibility of expanding the working capacity of the stations.
According to the press release, PSE&G will be able to collect real-world data about how the vehicle chargers in the pilot program are used. This will allow the company to see how large-scale EV charging could have on the electric grid, identify areas of potential high-EV charger density and plan for any infrastructure upgrades that may be needed in the future.
The PSE&G pilot program currently has 60 charging stations operational at 11 different locations across the state. The goal of the program is to have 120 stations, according to the press release. According to a press release from Tuesday, March 29, the company plans on reaching that goal by the end of the year.
“As the mileage range of electric vehicles continues to increase, we can expect that they will become more popular both across the country and in New Jersey,” Vice President of Renewables and Energy Solutions at PSE&G Courtney McCormick said, according to the press release. “By partnering with organizations like (the College), PSE&G is helping to provide the needed infrastructure to support EV owners now while also demonstrating to potential owners that EVs are a viable option in the future.”
(07/25/16 2:17pm)
By Tom Ballard
News Editor
In the plethora of college rankings released every year, the College is no stranger to making the cut. In MONEY magazine’s recent “Best Colleges for Your Money” rankings, the College ranked 39th for public colleges and 94th in the nation for colleges with the best value.
“MONEY has done a number of rankings in the last year and TCNJ has done very well in all of them because, according to their metrics, we have a very high return on investment,” College spokesperson Dave Muha said.
According to its website, the criteria MONEY used to examine colleges required the schools to have at least 500 students, a graduation rate at or above the average for its school type (public or private), sufficient data to be analyzed and financial stability. MONEY noted that after applying that criteria to the nation’s approximate 2,000 four-year institutions, 705 were able to be ranked.
The MONEY rankings combined the available price estimates for attending a college with what a student would likely earn after graduation, as well as how much “value” a college adds when compared to similar schools, according to their website.
“We estimate a college’s comparative value by calculating its performance on important measures, such as graduation rates, student loan repayment and default rates, and post-graduation earnings, after adjusting for the types of students it admits,” according to MONEY’s website. “We believe this analysis gives students and parents a much better indication of which colleges will provide real value for their tuition dollars.”
The website goes on to say that the magazine built its rankings around three core factors: quality of education, affordability and the outcomes of students after graduating.
Muha said students and parents should expand their view of affordability when looking at colleges in order to include the benefits of attending and graduating from certain institutions such as the College.
“When people think about affordability, they often look only at the cost of tuition and fees,” Muha said. “But they really should think about the total cost of earning the degree. Tuition adds up and the longer it takes to graduate, the more you will ultimately pay. TCNJ has placed an emphasis on helping students complete their degree on time, which is reflected in the fact that we have the fifth highest four-year graduation rate in the country.”
In addition to having a high graduation rate, the College also boasts a high percentage of students who are able to move on after receiving their undergraduate degree from the College, Head Media Relations Officer Tom Beaver said. According to Beaver, 96 percent of undergraduate students are either employed or seeking a graduate degree within one year of their graduation.
“To us (at the College), this factors into the overall return on investment of a TCNJ degree, and goes a long way in explaining why we fare as well as we do in rankings like MONEY (magazine),” Beaver said.
According to the College’s page on MONEY’s website, students from the College take home an average annual salary of $50,500 within five years of graduating. The average student debt for students who attend the College is $23,196, according to the website.
On Thursday, April 7, MONEY named the College as one of the 20 public colleges in the country that are the most likely to pay off financially for students.
(07/16/16 5:10pm)
By Tom Ballard
News Editor
Students will have to dig deeper into their pockets in order to attend the College this academic year. The College’s Board of Trustees unanimously voted to increase the price of tuition and fees by 2.25 percent for the 2016-17 academic year at its meeting on Tuesday, July 5, in Paul Loser Hall.
The cost increase comes after a presentation to the board from College President R. Barbara Gitenstein and Treasurer Lloyd Ricketts in regards to possible price increases on Thursday, April 26. Gitenstein and Trustee Christopher R. Gibson led an extensive conversation on the College’s tuition.
“While it would be wonderful if we could have a year in which there is no tuition or fee increases, I don’t see that in my future and the reason for that is because we are committed to providing high-quality programs that our students want to participate (in),” Gitenstein said.Gibson, who is chair of the Finance and Investments Committee that brought about the resolution for the increase, said it is difficult to propose a tuition increase given the current economic climate.
“On a personal level, it really does pain me for me to come in here and talk about tuition increases… The simple truth is that we haven’t had (a tuition decrease) since I have been a trustee,” Gibson said. “We all kind of give each other a little bit of high-fives when our funding is held flat.”
The increase, which affects the price of tuition and fees like the Student Service Fee, Student Center Fee and Student Activity Fee, will bring the total cost for full-time undergraduate students — students who take 12 or more credits (3 units) in courses — to $15,793.60 in total tuition and fee costs for the next academic year, an increase of $346.54 from last year’s total costs of $15,446.06. Out of state full-time students will also see their costs jump to $26,971.05, a $593.50 increase from $26,377.56 last year.
The per credit, or .25 of a unit, cost for in-state, part-time undergraduate students will increase from $568.26 last academic year to $581.05 per credit for this academic year. Students will see an increase of $12.79 per credit, according to the resolution. Out-of-state, part-time undergraduate students will see their per credit cost increase from $954.71 last year to $976.19 next academic year, a $21.48 per credit increase.
Room and board charges will also see price increases from the 2015-2016 academic year. The cost of all meal plans will increase by 3.5 percent compared to last year’s rates, while room rates will increase by 2 percent increase — an increase of $86.21 — raising the room rate to $8,793.62 per academic year, according to the resolution.
During the meeting, Gitenstein praised the board for its engagement in topics pertinent to the College.
“What is particularly important for the community to realize is the intensive engagement (of the board members) in regards to safety and management risk,” Gitenstein said. “We began several months ago, at the beginning of this year, a very intensive enterprise risk management program… In this climate of heightened attention from the public and the government, both federal and state, it is very important that the senior leadership — meaning the board — is aware of what the challenges are and help us.”
Gitenstein and the board also welcomed the new dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Jane Wong, to the College. Wong, who came to the College from Armstrong State University in Savannah, Ga., officially took over the post on Friday, July 1. The board also approved the reappointment of several faculty members with tenure.
“One of the things that the provost (Jacquelyn Taylor) and I talked about with great pleasure was… what a great joy it was… to see the quality of the faculty and engagement of the faculty with the students,” Gitenstein said, while congratulating the faculty members on receiving tenure.
In her report to the board, Gitenstein relayed positive numbers about the College’s incoming freshman class as well as the diversity of the student body. According to Gitenstein, there was a 5 percent increase in applications for the freshmen class, and so far, the College has received 1,480 deposits for freshmen — 50 above the goal. She also noted the increase in transfer students, who make up 280 of the deposits.
“Our enrollments are very good indeed,” Gitenstein said. “We’re continuing to see (advancement) in growth of underrepresented groups. Seven percent of students are coming from out of state — that includes both out of state nationally and out of state internationally… We are seeing growth in our student body and we are seeing growth in the different categories adding into the diversity of the student population.”
Gitenstein also remarked on the ongoing presidential campaign and recent tragedies across the world from Orlando, Fla., to Saudi Arabia, pointing out the role of the College’s staff and faculty to prepare students for the outside word.
“We must recognize that our country is going through a chaotic time,” Gitenstein said. “Fear and apprehension are overwhelming and in the midst of an aggressive — and in some cases divisive and, frankly, embarrassing — campaign for the presidency, that we in higher education must embrace our responsibilities, inviting students to learn how to confront these conflicts.”
She stated the importance of people civilly discussing how to fix the problems facing the the world.
“Our response (to the latest events) must not be simple answers to complex problems,” Gitenstein said. “We must be a place where difference can be embraced and understood… We must insist on civil (discussion) not because we are without passion or without conviction — in fact, we have plenty of both — but because we know that shouting and name calling might feel good for that one small moment, but they will not be the foundation for addressing a productive end. I think that will be the main target of our work going forward.”
Gitenstein also discussed optimistic numbers for the Campaign for TCNJ, a fund that collects donations intended to enhance students’ experiences and academics at the College. According to Gitenstein, as of Tuesday, May 31, the campaign is $5 million shy of its $40 million goal with one year remaining.
(07/10/16 1:38pm)
By Tom Ballard
News Editor
The College’s graduate program in counseling has recently been rated as one of the best in the nation, according to SR Education Group, an online education publisher.
SR Education Group ranked the College’s counseling program as the 42nd best in the country from a list of 50 colleges.
According to graduateprograms.com — the website SR Education Group uses to provide resources about graduate programs across the country — the rankings were decided based on student feedback and information gathered from the National Center for Education Statistics, a government website that collects information on U.S. schools and colleges. The website notes that a minimum of 20 students must review their college’s respective program in order for a college to make it onto the list.
“The faculty (at the College) is extremely hardworking and supportive,” one student wrote on the College’s graduateprograms.com page. “The ability to network and continue to stay active is great. I cannot find a better program.”
Many other student reviews also praise the faculty and programs that the College’s counseling graduate program offers.
“With CACREP (Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs) accreditation and an expansive, strong network, TCNJ prepares its students in a more than adequate way,” another reviewer wrote. “The faculty, students and staff are all extremely motivated and dedicated to the counseling field, whether it be Clinical Mental Health, Marriage & Family, School or Substance Abuse Counseling.”
In order to comprise the rankings, the student reviews section allows respondents to rate each college’s campus safety, career advising, quality of instruction, student diversity, networking opportunities, student financial services and satisfaction with degree. According to the website, the College’s counseling program received an overall rating of 3.93 out of five stars, with its best components being quality of instruction and satisfaction with degree. Its worst components were student diversity and student financial services, according to the website.
In counseling, the College of New Rochelle in New York, Governors State University in Illinois and Sam Houston State University in Texas ranked first, second and third, respectively.
The College ranked the highest of the two New Jersey schools included in the list. Kean University in Union, N.J., ranked 48th.
SR Education Group ranked a total of 35 different graduate programs, such as accounting, education, mathematics and psychology. However, only the College’s counseling graduate program ranked high enough to be included in the list of 50.
(06/21/16 3:35pm)
By Tom Ballard
News Editor
The Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship (WWNF) announced 62 New Jersey teaching fellows for 2016 — including two College alumni and 15 future College graduate students — during an event held at the Statehouse in Trenton, N.J., on Wednesday, June 15. Gov. Chris Christie attended the event.
According to the organization’s press release, the fellowship provides an opportunity for recently-graduated teachers in science, technology, engineering and mathematic (STEM) fields to continue their education. Each fellow receives $30,000 to complete their master’s degree based on a yearlong classroom experience. In return, each fellow agrees to teach for three years in the state’s rural and urban school districts that are most in need of STEM teachers.
“Strengthening our educators with high expectations and strong support and training systems can make a life-changing difference for our children,” Christie said, according to the release. “Through the Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellowship, we are transforming the way teacher candidates are prepared so they can equip our students with the STEM skills required to succeed in the knowledge-based, global digital economy.”
Arthur Levine, president of the Woodrow Wilson Foundation, said that as the state’s economy evolves to focus on more science and math related fields, it is important to place an emphasis on those fields in education now so that students are able to find careers after they graduate.
“New Jersey now stands as a model for how to transform teacher education and ensure a strong pipeline of effective beginning teachers for all schools, particularly our hard-to-staff ones. New Jersey Teaching Fellows are the future of teaching in New Jersey, and we are proud to welcome these 62 teachers into this important effort,” Levine said, according to the release.
Two of the College’s undergraduate alumni — Kodjovi Afanyihoun (’14) and Brianna Farrell (’13) — were named as fellows and will continue their graduate career at the College. Other fellows who will be attending the College to complete their fellowship are Salam Abu-Joudeh, Kelsey Allen, Alexandra Bakerman, DiAsia Brooks, Walter Buhro, Matthew Chioffe, Leah Cocco, Olivia Dambrosia, Vanessa DeHart, Kaitlin Geraghty, Veronica Lopez, Erin Moran and Jamie Quinn.
According to a New Jersey Herald article from Wednesday, June 15, the WWNF’s New Jersey teaching fellowship program dates back to 2014 and is offered to graduates of five of the state’s public colleges — Montclair State, Rowan, Rutgers-Camden and William Paterson universities, and the College. Fellows can be placed across any of the 20 participating school districts in New Jersey, including public schools in Ewing, Trenton, Glassboro and New Brunswick, according to the release.
Applicants for the fellowship must have majored or have a professional background in a STEM-related field, demonstrate commitment to the WWNF’s goals, received an undergraduate degree from an accredited U.S. college or university and have a GPA of a 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale, according to the WWNF’s website.
The WWNF was founded in 1945 and is driven to promote and develop the nation’s education in order to meet critical challenges, according to the release.
(05/03/16 10:15pm)
By Tom Ballard
Opinions Editor
The College’s Board of Trustees met on Tuesday, April 26, to discuss a wide range of issues affecting the College, especially the topic of next year’s tuition.
“There will probably not be a recommendation coming from me to the board that there’ll be no tuition increase,” College President R. Barbara Gitenstein said.
Gitenstein, along with College Treasurer Lloyd Ricketts, gave a presentation to the board that delved into the College’s planned budget and possible tuition increases. The College cannot finalize its budget until after Gov. Chris Christie and the state legislature work out the state’s budget — which includes funding for the state’s higher education institutions — by Friday, July 1.
While the budget has not yet been passed, Gitenstein said that Christie’s proposed budget serves as a good indicator of what the state will be willing to give to higher education.
According to the presentation, Christie’s budget calls for allocating $2.2 billion for all higher education costs, including $27.18 million for the College. Last year, the state cut the College’s funding by $2.1 million from the $29.3 million, or 18.1 percent of the College’s budget, that the state gave the College for four straight years, from 2012 to 2015.
The presentation also noted that tuition brought in by the College between 2012 and 2016 has increased from $104.693 million to $122.713 million, but has dropped slightly in the percent of the budget that it covers, from 64.7 percent to 64.5 percent. In those same four years, the College has also received an increase in gifts and other contributions, which totalled $2.668 million, or 1.6 percent of the budget, in 2012, compared to $7.732 million, or 4.1 percent of the budget, in 2016.
Gitenstein said that an increase in tuition might be necessary in order to fill a number of new positions, many of which the College is required to create in order to abide by new federal and state regulations.
“One of the things that is particularly frustrating... (about being an) administrator of a public institution is that the less money that you are allocated by the state or federal government, the more requirements they put on you,” Gitenstein said. “Those requirements can become very onerous. At some point, you simply have to hire someone else to do it because there (are) only 24 hours in a day.”
Gitenstein pointed out that the new positions will include an additional Title IX coordinator and more athletic and counseling personnel.
In addition to paying for the salaries of new employees, the College is also required to pay for many employees’ fringe benefits — non-salary benefits, such as healthcare, pension plans and paid vacations. While 859 employees are covered by the state, according to the presentation, the College has to pay for any extra employees.
“That number of 859 (employees) has not changed in about 20 years,” Gitenstein said. “So despite growth or our changes in programs or our addition responsibilities, any position above that 859, the College itself is paying. One other thing that you would notice is that over time, the percentage of appropriation is becoming less than the percentage of the fringe cost and that’s happening to most of our sister schools.”
Trustee and Secretary of the board Robert A. Altman said that it is “unacceptable” for the state to not change the number of employees that it covers for the College.
In the presentation, Ricketts proposed three different scenarios for the College’s budget — one based on the price of tuition remaining the same, one based on a 2 percent increase in the tuition price and one based on a 2.5 percent increase. According to Ricketts, if the board decides not to increase tuition, the College will place itself into a $4 million deficit for the next fiscal year. If tuition is increased by 2 percent, the College will still be in a $2 million deficit and if it is increased by 2.5 percent, the College would be facing a deficit of roughly $1 million.
“I think we’re going (to raise tuition by) 3 percent. I don’t see how you’re going to miss a million dollars and find it on the floor, so it strikes me that another 3 (percent tuition increase) is on the horizon,” Trustee and Chair of the state’s College Affordability Study Commission Frederick Keating (’70) said. The alumnus noted that last year, the board hiked tuition by 3 percent in order to cover the cut in state funding.
According to the presentation, for every 1 percent increase in student charges, tuition will increase $154 for in-state students, $264 for out-of-state students and $126 for room-and-board.
According to Gitenstein, the 3 percent increase in tuition for the current fiscal year has not affected enrollment or interest in the College, noting that the number of deposits for students to reserve a spot at the College is the same now as it was this time last year.
Ricketts said that the College is working hard to develop a plan that best benefits the College and its students, but did note that there are obstacles that makes it difficult.
“Our key priorities are access and affordability in terms of making sure that students can attend the College (and receive a) high quality education at a reasonable price,” Ricketts said. “We are working within constraints of economic and political realities.”
He also said that while the College has no new construction projects planned to begin in the next fiscal year, once the new STEM building and renovated Brower Student Center open, the College will have to pay more for the maintenance of those buildings.
“We’re mindful that the challenges for 2018 and 2019 will be greater than 2017,” Ricketts said. “Under (Gitenstein’s) leadership, we have started to develop a multi-year budget plan.”
According to Gitenstein, the Tuition Aid Grant (TAG) program — a state program that awards financial grants to students based on economic needs — should see an increase of about 2 percent, or $17.8 million, for next year. However, Gitenstein warns that the 2 percent increase does not mean that students currently receiving TAG funding will receive 2 percent more funding.
The Educational Opportunity Fund (EOF) — a state program that provides financial aid to students with “educationally and economically disadvantaged background(s),” according to the Office of the State’s Secretary of Higher Education — would be cut in Christie’s budget by $2.565 million, or 6.2 percent of the entire program.
However, Gitenstein said that the legislature would most likely restore some of that funding back in the final budget given the state’s strong support for the program.
“It just seems to me that the demand (for EOF) is increasing and not decreasing,” Trustee Eleanor V. Horne said, blasting the proposed cuts.
New Jersey’s 19 community colleges will continue to receive level funding at about $134 million a year under Christie’s budget. The New Jersey Student Tuition Assistant Reward Scholarship (NJ STARS) program — a state scholarship program that aids students in the top 15 percent of their graduating high school classes in attending community college and four-year institutions, according to the program’s Website — will also continue to receive level funding at $6.907 million.
“Personally, professionally, as a grandparent looking into what’s coming (for my family), I don’t like it, but I think that it’s all thought out (by the College compared to) what I’m hearing from other places,” Keating said.
In addition to the budget and tuition proposals, the board also unanimously approved of the College’s five-year strategic plan that is entitled “TCNJ 2021: Bolder, Better, Brighter.”
The plan will attempt to attract and retain talented students and staff, enhance signature experiences, improve the technological infrastructure and promote collaboration for cost-saving and revenue-generating measures at the College.
Members of the board were pleased with the presentation and the items addressed at the meeting.
“It’s just important for us to maintain support and strength on our campus and I would like to commend everyone that participated in the development of the budget,” Trustee Rosie Hymerling said. “It’s a fair budget. It’s a good tuition.”
The board will meet next on Tuesday, July 5, in order to set the tuition level for the College’s next fiscal year.