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(10/07/03 12:00pm)
Four executive members resigned from the Student Government Association (SGA), citing personal reasons.
The resignations of President Nadia Gorski, Vice President of Academic Affairs Jamie Gusrang, Vice President of Community Relations Caitlin Stinneford, and Speaker of the Senate, Jesse Place, caused a turnover of executive board members.
A number of senators have resigned as well.
According to SGA co-advisor Kevin Maldonado, these members resigned for different reasons. "I know it looks like a domino effect, but it was a coincidence," Maldonado said.
Gusrang said her resignation was influenced by the members' move away from common goals. "Basically, I didn't like the direction of the leadership," Gusrang said. "I think there's a lot of distrust (within the SGA)."
Gusrang, who served on the executive board for two academic years, helped the College plan the academic transformation last year. She said her resignation, "was a hard decision."
Jesse Place, who served as speaker of the senate last spring, gave similar reasons for his resignation. According to Place SGA was experiencing leadership trouble last year.
Though Place said SGA "has a lot of great people in it," he also said that the new executive board lacks experienced leaders.
President Christina Puglia disagrees.
"I think that the board is newer, but at the same time, they are so motivated and ready to
take on issues for the student body, that their enthusiasm outweighs their inexperience," she said.
Place said that Puglia put her own interests before those of the students and of SGA members.
"(Puglia) turned her back on
some of the most effective leaders," Place said.
"I believe the people who were truly dedicated to helping students stayed to fulfull their role as leaders," Puglia said.
"In choosing the board, I had the senate and the student body foremost in my mind," she added.
Maldonado also has confidence in the new executive board.
"The students who filled in these positions are phenomenal," he said.
Though he acknowledged it is unfortunate for SGA to lose members, he said the resignations did not hurt the organization as much as they could have because they occurred early in the semester.
Gorski echoed Maldonado's optimism about the capabilities of the new executive board.
"(Puglia) is a wonderful person for the job," Gorski said. "She's not only my best friend, but also a tremendous leader. She stepped up to the plate, and will do an outstanding job in the upcoming year."
According to Gorski, she left the SGA for personal reasons.
"I had to do what was best for the organization," Gorski said.
"Resigning was the best thing to do with what was going on."
(04/22/03 12:00pm)
No air-conditioned housing facilities will be open during the first term of the College's summer session due to residence hall renovations.
The New Residence Hall, Eickoff and Townhouses South will be closed for the first summer session May 27-June 26 so that they can be repainted, repatched and cleaned for the Fall semester.
All students planning to live on campus during the first term of the summer session will be housed in Centennial Hall, which is not air-conditioned.
"From a caring standpoint, we pay attention (to those halls that are not air-conditioned during the summer)," John Stafford, director of Residence Life, said.
In order to live on campus, these students must either be enrolled in a class or be employed on campus.
Approximately 70 to 100 students enroll in the summer sessions each year.
Stafford said he never heard students complain about lack of air-conditioning.
Students will be able to live in the New Residence, Eickoff and Townhouses South halls during the final two summer sessions, June 30-Aug. 2 and July 7-Aug. 2.
Rutgers University and other N.J. state colleges do not offer air-conditioned housing at any point during the summer session.
The amenity of air-conditioning determines the cost of summer housing at the College.
Air-conditioned rooms cost $18 a day, while those without cost $10.50 a day.
Student workers who run the College during the summer pay a reduced rate of $10 a day for air-conditioned rooms and $5 a day for rooms without air conditioning.
The College charges daily housing rates during the summer because summer students are less likely to live in the residence halls for an entire term.
Also, many camps and conferences are held at the College throughout the summer. Although the College sets student rates through Residence Life and conference rates through Auxiliary Services, both rates function on a daily system.
Stafford pointed out that the summer housing rate system is similar to the system used during the academic year.
The flat rate for housing, not including meal plan fees, is $5,316 a year.
This amount can be broken down into a daily rate of approximately $25 a day (based on an academic year of 209 days).
This rate reflects only a $7 increase from the summer air- conditioned room fee of $18.
Some N.J. colleges operate on the day-by-day fee system for summer housing.
Their rates are similar to those of the College. Rutgers University charges $18 a day for a room, Monclair University charges between $19 and $26 a day, and Stockton College charges $23 a day.
According to Stafford, some colleges charge different rates for different residence halls during the academic year, a practice that is in contrast with the College's policy.
"The College has a philosophy that every residence hall should cost the same amount regardless of amenities," Stafford said.
(04/15/03 12:00pm)
Fall registration is here, bringing with it
The fee, which is designed to encourage students to register on time, has been $100 for at least the past three years, according to Caroline Miller, director of Academic Affairs.
"We're not trying to dig into students' pockets," Miller said.
Miller said that the late fee exists to prevent a variety of problems. It cuts down on the number of last-minute classes that must be formed to accommodate students who register late.
Records and Registration cancels courses with low enrollment (usually general education requirements geared toward upperclassmen) at the end of the registration period.
Also, the adjunct professors who would have taught only these classes are fired.
"It's not fun for anyone to pay extra," Miller said. "But the late fee serves the purpose of encouraging students to do things on time for the benefit of all students who do things on time."
The amount was established by the Board of Trustees while the cut-off date for lateness each semester was determined by Records and Registration and Academic Services.
Students can register up until June 1 (44 days after the last official day of registration) for the Fall semester before being charged the late fee.
The extended grace period exists because the College does not receive its tuitions and fees package until June 1. Since students do not yet know the tuition fees for the following academic year, they are not held financially responsible for registering late.
Students who register late for the spring semester are charged the late fee the Monday following the last day of the registration period. Students registering for the summer session are not required to pay late fees.
"I think it's pointless if someone doesn't register on time," David Wetzel, freshman journalism major, said. "(Those who register late) aren't going to get any of the classes they want. They're just inconveniencing themselves."
Though Miller acknowledges that some students are dissatisfied with the late fee system she said that she "would feel worse about not having it."
The College's late registration fee is higher than those of most other N.J. state colleges. Rutgers University and Montclair University charge a $50 late fee. Rowan University charges $75.
The late fee is waived for transfer students and for students with special circumstances, such as those who study abroad.
Miller said that the decision to waive is made on a case-by-case basis with waives being granted to those students with legitimate reasons for registering late.
Any proposals for a change in late fee policy must be addressed at the Board of Trustees meeting held in June.
Late registration fee information can be viewed online at http://www.tcnj.edu/~admsys/pdf/billinginfoandpaymentoptions.pdf.
(04/08/03 12:00pm)
Students and staff members spoke out against the College's new graphic identity at the Task Force meeting held on April 2.
John McCarty, task force chair and marketing professor, said that the task force was not responsible for creating the new shield graphic identity.
He said that the task force supported the recommendations for the College's image improvement cited in a report made by the Lipman-Hearne marketing and communications firm.
A logo change was among these recommendations.
The task force cannot implement any changes, according to McCarty.
Its members can only make suggestions to President Gitenstein. It is then up to her whether or not to act on the task force's recommendations.
"Nothing that is happening has anything to do with decisions we have made," McCarty said. "Don't use us as a whipping boy."
According to Jesse Rosenblum, associate vice president for College Relations, the task force supports the new graphic identity because it is meant to help the College establish a national reputation.
"We are proud to be a N.J. institution," Rosenblum said.
He explained that a national reputation is important to the College because it will help graduates secure positions in competitive job markets in states across the country.
"Why do we give a damn what we look like nationally?" Joe Ellis, history professor, said. "This isn't an Ivy League college. This isn't an Ivy League anything."
Ellis added that he, like many other individuals on campus, discovered the change once it had already been implemented as part of the College Web site.
"You're preaching to the choir," Rosenblum said.
The task force members said that they had been meeting with Student Government Association appointees as early as January.
They wanted to be sure to have student input throughout the entire process.
In addition to the logo change, students were upset about campus wide construction and the implementation of the 32/34 course system.
"We just want consistency," Mandy Aarons, sophomore elementary education and psychology major, said.
David Blake, English professor, described the College changes as contributing to the students' growth.
"We like to think of college as a bucolic place where we can study in serenity, but college is also a place of intellectual ferment," Blake said.
Students also said that the College is becoming more focused on image than on education.
McCarty stressed that the College's image must reflect the strength of its academic programs.
He, and the rest of the task force members, said image is important because well-known colleges are more likely to receive grant money than colleges lacking a national reputation.
"Is it the steak or the sizzle?" McCarty said. "The sizzle is important, too."
Rosenblum emphasized the importance of academics at the College, and ensured concerned students that image marketing will not overshadow academic quality.
"Everything else is up for grabs, but the academics of this institution will be protected," Rosenblum said.
According to Rosenblum, students are using the logo change to express their feelings about other College changes.
"I'm delighted we had the meeting," Rosenblum said. "What I learned was that it's an unsettling time for students because there's a lot going on."
(03/04/03 12:00pm)
Recent student complaints have revealed dissatisfaction with the Roscoe L. West Library hours.
Students argue that the library's 6:00 p.m. Saturday closing time is too early because Saturday night is a prime time for study.
The library is open a total of 98 hours weekly. This is more than meets the needs of the College's students, according to Taras Pavlovsky, dean of the library.
"Graduate students are here all Saturday morning, and by noon the place is packed," Pavlovsky said.
"Yet by 4:00 p.m. it's dead, and the library is still open for an additional two hours," Pavlovsky added.
Pavlovsky also stressed the relative emptiness of the library on Sunday mornings and afternoons.
He reported that crowds don't begin to appear until 5:00 p.m. when many students return from weekends spent at home.
The College library closes at 12:00 a.m. on Monday and Tuesday, 11:00 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday, 7:00 p.m. on Friday and 11:00 p.m. on Sunday.
Comparatively speaking, the Rutgers system (which includes 22 libraries) offers three libraries that remain open past 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, 10 libraries that remain open past 11:00 p.m. on Sunday, 15 libraries that remain open past 7:00 p.m. on Friday (six of which close 12:00 a.m. or later) and 12 libraries that remain open until 12:00 a.m. or later Monday through Thursday.
One of Rider University's two libraries remains open past 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, past 11:00 p.m. on Sunday, past 7:00 p.m. on Friday and until 12:00 a.m. Monday through Thursday.
Students' fears concerning library accessibility have been heightened by the state budget cuts implemented by Gov. James McGreevey.
"I think cutting library hours is the last thing the school needs to do," Mary Patrick, junior English major, said.
"I think, if anything, they should increase the amount of hours students can study. After all, what's the point of being here if we can't have a quiet place to study?" she added.
Many students rely upon the library's solitude as well as its resources to complete coursework.
An especially sought-after feature of the library is its computer lab. Students without personal computer access depend upon the facility to conduct course-related research, type papers and design PowerPoint presentations.
"What sometimes is a problem is the availability of computers in the lab," Mike Steele, elementary education math, science and technology major, said.
"While we have other labs on campus, the one in the library is kind of small and could stand to be larger. I'm sure that budget cuts will not help this situation," he said.
According to Pavlovsky, library hours are based upon student need and staff availability.
Nevertheless, the College budget also plays a key role in defining the quality of all library services.
"At this stage of the game, we're not looking to make any cuts," Pavlovsky said.
To be sure, library hours have not as yet decreased. Moreover, the library's electronic reserve system and web databases, which have been updated during the past five years according to Pavlovsky, are available to on-campus students 24 hours a day.
The College community is well aware that no College service is immune from future cuts.
"Everything's on the table," Pavlovsky said.