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(09/16/10 7:38pm)
Last week, Student Government Association Executive President Olaniyi Solebo urged members of the SGA general body not to fear change. This week, he began to enact it.
Five bills modifying the organization’s constitution were passed during Wednesday Sept. 8’s meeting, proposed jointly by members of the executive board and presented to the general body by Solebo.
The bills changed the name of SGA and its executive board, amended the presidential veto, formalized an unofficial senatorial position and added a new form of legislation to the current offerings of bill and resolution.
This upcoming January, SGA will be shortened to Student Government, or SG. Solebo credits a summer of examining other universities’ student government models for the new name. The bill was passed by a majority vote.
“In June, (Executive Vice President Corey Dwyer) and I started the arduous task of looking at other SGAs around the state,” junior political science major Solebo said. “They are a body like this — a Senate, an SFB (Student Finance Board) and a CUB (College Union Board), all under one banner. That’s why they’re called an association. … In all fairness, we’re not an association. We’re only one group.”
Solebo said the bill was drafted in order to “(let) people know that we don’t think that the name represents what we are now.”
Though the roll-call vote produced two dissentions, no members spoke out against the bill.
Also receiving a name change is the SGA’s executive board. It will now be called its cabinet. The bill was passed by a majority vote, adopted and went into effect immediately.
“(Executive) board does not fit the description of what our executive board does now,” Solebo said, mentioning that the new name will see the SGA structured more like a “real” government.
The remaining bills sanctioned a trio of changes to the organization itself.
One bill amended the presidential veto, closing a hole in the constitution that allowed the SGA’s executive president to veto a bill that had already been rejected by the general body.
“You can’t veto something that’s failed. If it’s vetoed, it’s dead … You can’t kill something that is dead,” Solebo said.
The bill was passed by a unanimous vote.
Another bill legitimized the position of head senator, renaming it dean of senators and endowing it with responsibilities, including the ability to organize meetings with school deans and delegate tasks to senators. There will be one dean of senators for each academic school at the College, and one for senators-at-large. The dean of each cohort will be elected at this semester’s SGA retreat, tentatively scheduled for early October.
The final bill passed allows the SGA to issue “commendations” in addition to resolutions. Solebo said it cheapens the value of the term to pass, for example, resolutions “to honor Sodexo (one day), and the next day to condemn Rutgers students walking on our campus.”
“Instead of calling those resolutions ‘resolutions,’ we would like to call them ‘commendations.’ It makes sense to us, and we hope it makes sense to you, too,” Solebo said, referring to situations such as last week’s resolution honoring Sodexo officials.
The bill was passed by a unanimous vote.
SGA’s financial sector will also see some changes this year. Vice President of Administration and Finance Anthony Czajkowski, senior accounting and economics double major, said SGA will compile an operating budget for this year.
“A big priority for me and the (Administration and Finance) committee will be fundraising, but we’re also going to work on our operating budget, so everybody knows where the money is going and where it’s coming from,” Czajkowski said.
Emily Brill can be reached at brill3@tcnj.edu.
(09/08/10 4:54pm)
The Student Government Association discussed this summer’s attempts to reinstate ProfRecord, a website students at the College used to view professors’ grade distributions in past years that has since been rendered inactive.
“We were working all summer to relaunch ProfRecord. (It) fell through, but we are continuing our efforts,” said Corey Dwyer, executive vice president and junior political science major. “We’re starting up again soon. We’re trying to find a developer.”
SGA also honored the two primary organizations involved in renovating Eickhoff Hall during its first general body meeting on Wednesday.
The SGA unanimously passed a resolution honoring Sodexo and the Dining Services Committee for “their extraordinary work in transforming Eickhoff Hall,” according to resolution CON-R-F2010-01, this summer.
Two Dining Services officials, general manager John Higgins and director Karen Roth, accepted the award on behalf of their organization. Both commended the student body for the active role it took in making the dining hall’s metamorphosis a reality.
Roth addressed the SGA members who worked with Dining Services to draft Eickhoff’s numerous changes.
“Y’all were part of this whole transformation. We could not have done any of this without you,” Roth said.
Higgins echoed the sentiment.
“Our most successful programs (happen) when the students are involved, and you guys have been involved for two years,” Higgins said. “Thank you all for being a part of it. We appreciate it.”
Aside from passing the resolution, SGA used its first meeting of the semester to introduce the new executive board and discuss forthcoming changes to the organization.
This year’s executive president, junior political science and economics double major Olaniyi Solebo, spoke of changing the way the student body relates to SGA.
“While last year was an exemplary year, we really need to think about ways to grab our message back,” Solebo, who would like the SGA to take a more proactive role in student affairs this year, said.
“Not everything can be solved through a resolution. Some things can only be solved by spreading the word,” Solebo said. “The SGA hopes to respond to issues you really can’t legislate … It’s all about being there for each other and supporting each other.”
He thanked SGA members who helped out during Welcome Week and attended convocation.
“We may not know how much it means because we’re now upperclassmen, but it means a lot to the freshmen to see members of SGA interacting with the community,” Solebo said.
This year’s SGA elections will be held Sept. 27 - 28. Positions are available for the freshmen class council and senators. Interest sessions will take place every night this week until Friday. All sessions will begin at 8:30 p.m. in room 211 of the Brower Student Center.
The next SGA general body meeting takes place Sept. 8 at 3 p.m. in the Library Auditorium.
Emily Brill can be reached at brill3@tcnj.edu.
(09/08/10 4:06pm)
The College hosted a diverse trio in Kendall Hall on Thursday Sept. 2, who took the stage to comment on issues ranging from their cultural backgrounds to sexuality and social norms.
The freshmen-heavy crowd was attentive, and its members couldn’t stop laughing.
The College Union Board-sponsored 3-for- $3 comedy show went off without a hitch, featuring Wil Sylvince, Sabrina Jalees and Dan Ahdoot, three underground but well-traveled comedians. The comics have earned their stripes on shows such as “Last Comic Standing” and by appearing with well-known comedians like Lewis Black and Dave Chappelle.
Each touched on the absurdities of daily life in a distinct style, but there was a common thread uniting the comics — diversity.
Or, as Ahdoot, who took the stage after Sylvince and Jalees, put it, “That’s gonna be a tough act to follow — a black guy, a lesbian Muslim. I’m gonna have to pull a rabbit out of my ass or something. I guess we’ll keep the diversity train moving — I’m Persian! Yeah!”
All three comics drew from their cultural backgrounds, which provided each with a bounty of laughs.
“You don’t understand what it’s like to have a moustache, white girls,” Jalees said during a joke about how her half-Pakistani, half-Swiss heritage endowed her with facial hair at the age of 12. “Like, you’re all running to check if you got your period. We’re checking our 5 o’clock shadow.”
Jalees had a notable ending gag about her father’s response to a sign placed in her family’s Brooklyn yard after 9/11 reading, “The terrorists have arrived.” She asked her father what they were going to do, and he said they’d have to move. She asked him why.
“He said, ‘Sabrina, I am not a stupid man. The terrorists have arrived! We have to go!’ ” Jalees said.
Opener Sylvince talked about family life as well.
“My father used to get us Christmas presents that benefited him. He’d buy us (tools) and pretend they were toys. Like mops. He’d be like, ‘This is how you play with it!’ ” Sylvince said with an exaggerated mopping motion. “ ‘Look, I’m having fun!’ ”
Sylvince also riffed on his parents’ Haitian accents. According to Sylvince, his grandfather’s pronounciation of “peanuts” — conspicuously like “penis” — does not bode well on flights, when Sylvince Sr. demands peanuts in his mouth, immediately.
Closer Ahdoot pulled from his heritage for jokes as well.
“I’m an Iranian Jew. It’s a classic combination, like peanut butter and cat,” Ahdoot said.
All sets were well-received, with Ahdoot’s set earning the most laughs from the audience.
Organizer Dylan McDivitt, sophomore biology major, was pleased with the results of one of the year’s first CUB events.
“I think the show went really well. It was the first event I managed for CUB. I just looked at a bunch of videos on YouTube — but I thought they were even funnier in person,” McDivitt said.
The diverse nature of the comedians’ sets was not an accident. McDivitt said he looked for comedians who would “talk about a lot of issues.”
“I was looking for comedians who would appeal to college kids and get a really diverse show,” McDivitt said. “That’s something the CUB 3 for $3 comedy show tries to focus on.”
Sophomore elementary education and history major and transfer student Nick Ponzo appreciated McDivitt’s efforts.
“I thought it was really funny,” Ponzo said. “I enjoyed my first event (at the College).”
(05/07/10 5:36pm)
With a somber note of acceptance, Billy Plastine, executive president of the Student Government Association (SGA), raised his gavel for the last time — at least as a student at the College. The senior political science and business administration double major presided over his final SGA meeting on April 28, during which the organization bade farewell to its outgoing executive board and ushered in a new one.
The so-called transition meeting, held in the Allen Hall drawing room, also commemorated the accomplishments of senior members, elected a speaker of the general assembly for the next academic year and failed the Student Finance Board’s (SFB) resolution calling for SGA support for a $45 increase to the Student Activity Fee (SAF).
The SGA blocked R-S2010-06 by a majority vote. The resolution, which would have voiced the SGA’s support for a $45 increase to the SAF, was proposed, outlined and put to a vote during the April 21 meeting.
The SGA general body voted down the resolution initially, but Plastine vetoed the decision, keeping the verdict in the air until Wednesday’s revote. The general body had the choice to override Plastine’s veto by a two-thirds majority or let it stand.
“Overriding my veto means that the resolution will fail. Not overriding the veto means that the motion will pass,” Plastine explained. “If you say ‘yes,’ you do not want the resolution to pass. If you say ‘no,’ you want the resolution to pass.”
Students were divided on the issue.
Olaniyi Solebo, incoming SGA executive president, and Anthony Lista, outgoing senior class president, spoke in support of the $45 increase.
“After having been here for four years, I can say if you want to keep student life the way it is, you have to pass this bill,” Lista, senior nursing major, said.
Lista’s rationale mirrored that of Plastine, who explained why he issued the veto in a letter to the SGA general assembly.
“I believe that an increase in the fee is in the best interest of the student body … Increasing the number and quality of programs that student organizations will be able to put on next year can help to offset (the) impending negative implications of continued budget cuts to our college. The ability for the Student Finance Board to support these programs/initiatives depends on an increase in the SAF,” Plastine wrote.
Corey Dwyer, incoming executive vice president and sophomore political science major, and Alli Clare, junior class vice president and math and elementary education double major, spoke in favor of overriding the veto and defeating the resolution. The two expressed their desire that the current SAF be allocated more efficiently, not raised, to increase the quality of events.
The vote, taken by hand-raise, overrode the veto 23-19. A second vote was cast deliberating R-S2010-06. The resolution was struck down by majority vote.
The SGA also underwent the election process for a speaker of the general assembly, nominating four of its members and choosing one by majority vote to “represent the Senate as liaison to the executive board,” as the job description reads on the SGA’s website.
“We would like to go into the summer with a full executive board,” Solebo said, explaining why the process was completed with such expedience.
Kelly Kosch, sophomore English and secondary education double major, was elected speaker of the general assembly from a pool of four. Also nominated were Sean Parsons, junior political science major, Amanda Esposito, junior history major, and Katie Cugliotta, freshman history and secondary education major.
Graduating seniors bid the SGA farewell, shed a few tears and reminisced. Plastine thanked the SGA for making his tenure as executive president what it was.
“I woke up every morning proud to be the president of this organization,” Plastine said. To the outgoing executive board, he added, “The amount of work that you have dedicated to this organization is incredible.”
Plastine then swore in the upcoming year’s executive board, leaving them with some words of wisdom.
“Demand nothing less than excellence from yourself and the organization around you,” he said.
Solebo, sophomore political science and economics double major, took up the mantle as the executive president for the next academic year. He reflected upon the outgoing executive board’s accomplishments.
“It’s been a fantastic year, and I know that we have humongous shoes to fill,” Solebo said.
(04/27/10 6:04pm)
The College’s Board of Trustees discussed Governor Chris Christie’s plans to instate a 4 percent cap on tuition increases at state colleges during its annual public tuition hearing last week.
A 4 percent increase would translate to approximately $500 tacked onto instate tuition and about $850 added to out-of-state tuition.
Christie’s proposed state budget would slash $173 million in funding from higher education for the next fiscal year. This would be in addition to the $62 million the governor cut from public colleges and universities upon taking office in February, which, put into effect this fiscal year, translated to a two million dollar slice off state aid for the College.
The governor’s suggested tuition cap would ensure that public colleges could not raise tuition by more than 4 percent in a scramble to attain the funding necessary to run financially and academically healthy institutions. This struggle to maintain quality for a significantly reduced cost has been an issue of great concern for College trustees, who expressed their concerns at Tuesday’s meeting.
“The state budget has actually cut the budget for (the College) by 15 percent,” said Susanne Svizeny, chair of the Board. “It has presented quite a challenge for both the state and (the College) to effectively maintain the quality and cost of the education during a difficult time.”
Barbara Wineberg, treasurer of the Board of Trustees, expressed the Board’s commitment to examining other opportunities to trim the budget before increasing tuition for students, but acknowledged that tuition and fees will be an area assessed.
“We will make cuts in our non-salary allocations – reductions such as our computing software and hardware and renovation projects. These are areas we can cut this year and next year, but they cannot be sustained. Then we would be looking at tuition and fees, after we have looked at savings and enhancements in other areas,” Wineberg said.
The state budget must pass through the legislative approval process before going into effect July 1, something Wineberg made note of in light of the date of the next Board of Trustees meeting, during which tuition and fees for the 2010-2011 academic year will be set.
“The Board will be acting on our tuition and fee increases on July 13. That will be after we determine our appropriations, so we’re working with an exact number,” Wineberg said.
As the proposed increases are contingent on legislative approval, so is the budget cap.
“The proposed cap is 4 percent, but where that’s negotiated to, if anything, by the legislature, is something that would be finalized by July 1,” said Brian Block, vice president of administration and finance of the Student Government Association (SGA).
Block, junior political science major, acknowledged the difficulty of finding an effective solution to problems presented by budget cuts that works for both students and the College.
“It’s more positive for the students,” said Block of the proposed tuition cap. “For the school itself, with their financial situation, it’s just a little more difficult because they have to pick up the gap, the tab, with reserves and stuff.”
The College “picking up the tab” is a concern Block’s fellow SGA executive board member, Tom Little, junior political science major, shares. Little sits on the Board of Trustees as Alternate Student Trustee.
“I’m not against (a cap), I’m just worried about the long-term cost of using that kind of action,” Little said in an interview with The Philadelphia Inquirer, noting that previous tuition caps at the College “worked for a while, but that didn’t really stop the inevitable rise in tuition and fees.”
Though finding a way to balance budget cuts and budget caps is a situation that frustrates students, faculty, administrators and trustees alike, Christopher Gibson, vice chair, urged the Board to remember that the primary function of an institution of higher education is to serve its student population, and to take that into account when deliberating tuition.
“I assume that the function of a state college was, at one point, to provide the opportunity for a baccalaureate education at a cost-effective price. Not cost-effective for me, as a partner in a law firm, but for the middle class and lower middle class,” Gibson said. “There’s something wrong with a situation where sending my child to a Maryland state school or a Virginia state school is more cost-effective for the Gibson household than sending them to a wonderful institution in our state like this one.”
The Board of Trustees determines tuition and fees for the 2010-2011 academic year on July 13, at their next public meeting.
(04/27/10 5:31pm)
Billy Plastine, Student Government Association (SGA) executive president, vetoed a majority vote by the SGA general body to strike down a resolution supporting a proposed $45 increase to the Student Activity Fee (SAF) during their meeting last week.
The Student Finance Board (SFB) outlined some of their reasons for the proposed change in a brief presentation held prior to voting.
“Every year there are a few things you look at in the increase plan … This would allow us to fund more events students are asking for and begin events that are not currently in place,” Mike Stolar, executive director of SFB and senior finance major, said.
The SAF typically increases by about 3 percent every year to match inflation rates, according to Stolar.
“It was 2.6 percent last year,” Stolar said.
This fiscal year, the increase was capped at 3 percent in conjunction with the capped increases to “tuition, other general fees and general inflation,” according to SGA Resolution R-S2010-06.
The resolution, drafted by Brian Block, vice president of administration and finance and SGA representative on the SFB, outlines the rationale behind the suggested fee hike.
“The (SFB) has successfully executed its (SAF) increase plan for the current fiscal year, and students have responded positively to the last SAF increase of $60, as seen in increased attendance to SAF-funded programs, including many sold-out events,” the resolution stipulates.
The resolution met a majority vote of “no” from the general body, failing it, but Plastine vetoed the decision of the general body, delaying the verdict on the resolution until next week.
“Billy’s veto neither failed nor passed (the resolution). It more tabled it,” said Olaniyi Solebo, sophomore political science and economics double major. Solebo is the current vice president for legal and governmental affairs and executive president-elect of SGA.
“You have to override my veto by a 2/3 vote, taken next week,” Plastine said.
Stolar hopes the SGA will reconsider their decision not to support the proposed increase.
“I’m kind of taken aback by that decision,” Stolar said. “One person came to see me to ask a question … One thing is, we’ll notice a jump in programming every time there’s an increase … I would like to have the opportunity to meet with the main opponents of this resolution to discuss what their problems are with it and why it wasn’t approved.”
The SGA also heard a presentation regarding changes to the faculty office hour policy.
Jie Kang, member of the Committee on Faculty Affairs and professor of health and exercise science, spoke to students about the revised faculty accessibility plan. The plan has been in the works for some time now, with the Academic Affairs committee of the SGA working closely with the Committee on Faculty Affairs. The policy, originally intended to mandate office hours for professors, has been revised to encompass accessibility in all forms.
Sophomore elementary education and mathematics double major Karyn Unger listed two reasons why the policy was revised in this aspect.
“At some points in the semester you may have to make appointments more than others,” said Unger, senator of the school of education. “It also might be inconvenient for adjunct faculty.”
“We’re trying to not only include office hours, but have each course syllabi indicate how you can communicate with students … list office hours, but also try to go above and beyond. Sometimes, office hours are just not enough. We didn’t want to call for just office hours, because that can be interpreted in different ways by different professors. That’s why we created an accessibility policy,” Kang said.
The SGA also sanctioned a new club, the Order of the Nose-Biting Teacups. The club aims to unite students who might otherwise never meet through a mutual love of Harry Potter. It also intends to embark on humanitarian pursuits, primarily through volunteering at local schools to promote children’s literacy, according to president Siobhan Sabino, sophomore computer science major.
“We want to reach out to the campus and spread Harry Potter awareness … We also want to reach out to the community, because a lot of the time, we don’t look outside the (College) bubble. We want to ensure that no Harry stays stuck in the cupboard,” Sabino said.
(04/27/10 2:29pm)
The Art and Interactive Multimedia (IMM) Building saw its last installation of the 4x4 Debut Student Art Exhibition Series last week with four exhibits installed, painted, photographed, sketched, constructed or curated by students.
Exhibits by Andrew Lubas, senior digital arts major, Ewa Pietrzyk, junior art education major, Dalia Elhaj, senior art education major, Amy Lu, senior fine arts major, and Crystal Kan, junior digital art major and YenHui Sophia Liu, senior art education major, graced the East and West galleries from April 15-21. They were the final exhibits of a four-week art series that showcased student work in the Art and IMM Building’s four exhibition spaces.
“(The 4x4 series) is an outgrowth of an annual program we do in the art department every year” Sarah Cunningham, director of the College’s Art Gallery, said. “In the past, we had one big exhibit each year, and this year, in the new space, we had a chance to reconsider the concept and work in a new area. I think seeing the results has really been very rewarding.”
Cunningham commended artists on their hard work as host of an awards ceremony held last Wednesday. The ceremony paid tribute to the achievements of students who participated and doled out purchase awards, awards given out by certain individuals or departments who plan to purchase the art they recognize. She also noted the groundbreaking nature of this year’s student art exhibition.
“We had student curators for the first time in the history of these exhibits,” Cunningham said.
Those walking away with purchase awards were Liu (President’s Award), Meghan Baier, senior fine arts major (Provost’s Award), Matt Pembleton, sophomore art education major (Student Affairs Award), Jim Tramontano, senior art education major (Dean’s Award), and Lubas and Lindsey Hardifer, sophomore graphic design major (Art Department Awards). Receiving commendation were Katie Rossiter, junior fine arts major (Award for Conceptual Art), Pietryzk (Art Department Certificate of Achievement) and Patrick Hughes, senior art education major (Student Choice Award).
The Art Students Association (ASA) coordinated the Student Choice Award, which invited students to vote on the exhibit they found most deserving of recognition.
“This is something that actually gave students a chance to participate directly in the judging process,” said Katie Petrillo, ASA co-president and junior art education major.
President R. Barbara Gitenstein, awestruck by the quality of art exhibited, expressed her trouble choosing just one to purchase.
“It was very difficult, because it was an extraordinary collection of student talent,” Gitenstein said
One-fourth of that talent was displayed last week during the final installation.
Two exhibits occupied the East Gallery, each an exploration of artistic mediums. One, installed by Pietrzyk, dealt with creative interpretation of an open-ended inspiration – “Yoko Ono’s Grapefruit,” a book of “instructions,” according to the subtitle, that provides the reader with short, abstract directives. One reads, “Listen to the sound of the earth turning.” Another reads, “Listen to the sound of the underground water.” Pietryzk, rather than following the directions literally, sketched out her interpretations of them.
“It was for my advanced drawing class. We were asked to work with the book and this was my idea of working with it,” Pietryzk said. “(The directives) are really bizarre. But just by working with the book I got really intimate with them. I feel just by drawing them I was able to relate to them, where before it was just so abstract.”
The book contains over 100 directives. But, Pietryzk said, “I decided to do only 55.”
She chose the pieces she identified with.
“I picked whichever ones I felt a closeness to,” she said. “Whichever ones that, as I read, I could see an image of them in my head. In a way it was very spontaneous.”
Pietryzk’s sketches, which took home a certificate of achievement from the art department, patterned the wall, black-and-white and intricate, across from a pedestal that cradled the source of all that ink, Grapefruit.
Sharing the gallery was Lubas’s “Paint,” an exhibit he curated that explores the different amalgamations of paint and surface. A large sheet spans the left wall, smattered with paint, every inch covered. Directly across is a square of wood with old, encrusted paint stuck to its surface.
The exhibit bursts with color, something students celebrated.
“I like the colors. It’s very modern. Definitely reminds me of the MoMA (Museum of Modern Art),” said Alyssa Verano, senior chemistry major.
Her favorite piece in the gallery was by Elhaj, who helped curate another exhibit last week. The piece swirls with turquoise, plum, yellow and green paint.
“I liked that one. It looks like an ocean, the colors. Kinda looks like a swan, too, from far away,” Verano said.
Two more exhibits occupy the West Gallery, each an exploration of straining against limitations. Kan and Liu’s “Stressed College Students” invited students to submit 8.5x11” pictures of themselves posing in facsimile of famed painting “The Scream” by Edvard Munch.
“Invite all your friends to do this!” encouraged Kan in the description for the Facebook event she created to get the word out about the exhibit. “It’s meant to be a fun stress relieving activity while getting more than just art majors involved in the arts.”
(04/27/10 2:27pm)
Following the tradition of welcoming the end of the semester with culture in the Rathskeller, ink held its annual campus-wide arts festival, ‘The Goods,’ on Saturday April 22. The daylong event, featuring student poets, musical groups and essayists, was capped by a poetry reading by Kenneth Goldsmith. Goldsmith, self-professed pioneer of “uncreative writing,” is a novel poet specializing in placing found language, or words from other sources, in new contexts to surprise readers.
Following student performances was headliner Goldsmith, who performed several of his “poems” – actually dispatches from news sources and other media he reads as poetry. He evoked news reporters covering the assassinations of John Lennon and Bobby Kennedy, the September 11th and Columbine disasters and Michael Jackson’s death.
“I just read what happens, and I read it out loud,” Goldsmith said, a professor of the genre he pioneers, “uncreative writing,” at the University of Pennsylvania. “I try not to do anything with it. I try to make it as dull as possible. It looks like a term paper. It’s supposed to look like a term paper.”
Goldsmith, who studied sculpture in college and professes to hate traditional poetry, prefers to capture the “relevant” moments in contemporary America through using this found language.
Ink describes ‘The Goods’ as a “celebration of student art. “But, throughout the seven-hour day, it also served as a reunion for ink presidents past, present and future, a poetry slam, a concert hall and a comedy show featuring a scene from a Monty Python film and several humorous poets and essayists. And that’s to say nothing of its 20-minute conversion to a “musical improv” show in which a band called the Undercover Rabbis donned monstrous visages and jammed to a song they call “Our Numerous Tongues Shout with Resolve Towards an Empty Sky.” Why?
“Syllables sounded good next to each other,” said Steve Klett, senior English major and frontman of the Undercover Rabbis.
Undercover Rabbis was not alone in its baffling choice of name. It joined a host of other bands that serenaded ‘The Goods’ – the 14th act titled themselves Jose Jaime and the Best Valentine’s Day Ever and closers Nicole Pieri, junior English major, and Chris Hallberg, interactive multimedia and computer science double major, call their outfit Nicky and Chris and the Bipolar Cover Band.
Joining Jose Jaime and the Best Valentine’s Day Ever in filling the Rat with music were solo artists Cat Cosentino, senior communication studies major, Matt Huston, sophomore journalism major and Signal Arts and Entertainment Editor, Klett of Undercover Rabbis and, in a surprise addition, Ben Krupit, senior music education major, who stepped up to perform in the absence of a scheduled musician.
All played a few numbers on their acoustic guitars, startling the Rat with their strong, clear voices.
Cosentino played original numbers “Parallel,” “My Ending” and “Lethargy Apothecary,” a song she wrote after attending a Missy Higgins concert in New York.
“Her style definitely intrigued me, and that’s a lot of how I write – listening to other people and having an emotional response to it. That inspires me to write music,” Cosentino said. “My voice I can’t compare to anyone. But my influences, the people who are famous who got me into the swing of writing and performing, are No Doubt, Stevie Nicks and Jewel.”
Poetry abounded at ‘The Goods,’ with nine poets bringing their work to the mic. Katie Brenzel, sophomore English and journalism double major and Signal News Editor, and Noah Franz, sophomore history and international studies double major, began the day with their original work. They were followed by Samantha Zimbler, freshman English major, Nick Pelullo, senior history major, Rebecca Suzan, president of ink and senior English major, Esteban Martinez, junior interactive multimedia major, Lou Klein, junior statistics major, Rebecca Baum, junior English major and Duncan Slobodzian, senior English and secondary education major.
Their words graced patrons of the Rat that came and went throughout the day, garnering a crowd that ranged from a rapt few to a boisterous Meal Equiv-induced congregation.
They provoked and soothed, painted pictures and then ripped them apart, crafted sumptuous images of love, devastating scenes of treachery and a punk-infused descriptive epic.
“Let thine Casbah be rocked!” proclaimed Pelullo, reading a selection from the “mock epic (he’s) working on,” called “The Battle of Punks and Hippies.”
Reading short stories were students An-Chi Do, sophomore biology major, Nathan Fuller, junior self-designed film major and Tom Sales, 2008 alumni, who studied political science while at the College.
Rounding off the 20 performances was a scene known as “Wink Wink, Nudge Nudge,” from a Monty Python film, performed by Franz and Justin Mancini, sophomore English major.
At the end of a long day, members of the ink executive board, who remained once all other had gone, could look back on a long year of work preparing for that day with a smile, and did. The Goods was a celebration of the profound, the kooky, the offbeat, the lighthearted and the dire. And Suzan wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I’m interested in student art," Suzan said. "I think that this is the perfect way to get student art out there to other students.”
(04/20/10 11:28pm)
It was business as usual at last week’s Student Government Association (SGA) meeting – except, on this particular Wednesday, that business was conducted on more comfortable chairs.
The SGA held their annual New Jersey State House meeting on April 14, in which the association busses its general body to the political hub of Trenton in order to hold its meeting in one of the building’s Senate chambers. While there, members reflected upon the recent Mike Huckabee event and discussed a proposed student carpool system.
Brian Block, vice president of administration and finance, introduced the SGA to the carpool initiative he has worked on with senator-at-large Megan Coburn.
The pair has worked in tandem with the Greater Mercer Transportation Management Association (GMTMA) in order to develop a system that works with the students, according to Block.
“It would be students carpooling with one another to get to campus mostly,” said Block, junior political science major.
He went on to outline the system’s objectives.
“The three main goals of this are, one, to save students money on gas … two, to eliminate and reduce our carbon footprint in accordance with the president’s Climate Commitment Committee, and three … to (rather than) build more lots and create more expenses … subtract cars and then making parking a little bit easier,” Block said.
Block and Coburn, freshman math secondary education major, hope to survey students in the next week to gauge interest, and hopefully to launch a website with help from the GMTMA.
“They have a website platform that they could recode and refine for us … our goal is to get it up no later than the second semester of next year,” Block said. “We look forward to that, as it’s something that could serve the students on three fronts, and probably not cost us anything.”
The SGA also noted the success of the recent Mike Huckabee lecture and book signing.
“In the beginning of the year, our goal for bringing people in was to get (the College) more prominent public servants, whether they be national or local, and through bringing Corey Booker and now Mike Huckabee, I think we’ve really reached that goal,” said Olaniyi Solebo, vice president of legal and governmental affairs and sophomore economics and political science double major, who helped organize the event.
Both aspects of the evening were well-attended.
“We had over 800 people come to either the book signing or the lecture,” Solebo said.
Billy Plastine, senior political science and business administration double major, presided over his final State House meeting as executive president, but bestowed good wishes upon candidates running for office for the 2010-2011 academic year.
“I really am pleased so far with the caliber of the campaign and I’m really encouraged by the quality of the candidates that we have running this year. I wish you all a lot of luck,” Plastine said.
Voting for SGA representatives took place April 19-20.
(04/20/10 1:54pm)
The College recently completed construction on the new home for the arts on campus. It is replete with installation spaces and possesses ample room for students to show their work in an attractive environment. But based on the Art Student Association (ASA)’s newest student gallery, one might not know that.
The ASA has compiled an exhibit they call “Salon des Refusés” — but they haven’t put the paintings and photographs submitted by about 15 different students in the new Art and Interactive Multimedia (IMM) Building. The “gallery” is located on the second floor of the Brower Student Center, where the works adorn two brick walls above the Rathskeller.
Orchestrated with little fanfare, the works hang, mostly unframed, on plain white walls in an area students pass every day on their way to club offices. It bears no name, and the artists’ taglines are scribbled ink on white stickers.
Covert, but striking, the works have impressed students that frequent the area — though not many of those passersby could tell you why it’s there.
“I like the splash of color it adds to this section of the Stud,” Joe Montes, freshman biology major, said, “but I’m not sure why it’s here.”
Montes’s favorite piece is “Fruit-full” by Lindsey Hardifer, sophomore graphic design major. Hardifer created her series of prints by dipping halved fruits, including strawberries and apples, into paint and pressing them onto paper.
Hardifer’s prints hang alongside paintings, lithographs, charcoal drawings and photographs, both black-and-white and color. The works draw from as many different mediums as there are types of students exhibiting — ASA’s makeshift gallery did not pull only from within the art major.
“The criteria was totally open,” Katie Petrillo, co-president of ASA and junior art education major, said.
The gallery includes works by biology and sociology majors, in addition to fine arts and graphic design majors.
Except for each piece’s unadorned quality, the artwork seen together does not seem to ascribe to any certain theme.
“Salon de Refusés” was inspired by an event of the same name, organized by the French artist Édouard Manet in 1863. The name literally translates into “Exhibition of Rejects.” Artwork rejected by the famous Paris Salon, a prominent French art gallery of the 1800s, constituted the original Salon de Refusés.
When asked from where he thought the exhibit drew its name, Montes seemed confused.
“Well, I’m not sure,” Montes said. “A lot of these works are really beautiful. I can’t imagine what they would even be rejected from.”
“Salon de Refusés” can be seen on the second floor of the Student Center, above the Rathskeller, until April 28.
(04/20/10 1:46pm)
Sid Bernstein, a cheerful, soft-spoken man in his early 90s, was a bit taken aback upon taking the microphone in the Library Auditorium on April 14.
Why? He was escorted to the stage and showered with affection, words of gratitude for his appearance and, to his delight, a box of homemade cookies. He was appearing to discuss his history as a “rock promoter” — a title he has worn well during his multiple decades in the music industry.
Introduced by David Venturo, professor of English, Bernstein listened as his accomplishments were lauded and his invaluable place in the history of rock ‘n’ roll was carved out. His audience sat in reverent, rapt attention to the man who brought the British Invasion to the United States.
“Sid is a towering presence in the music industry,” Venturo said. “He’s best known for his work with The Beatles. He wanted The Beatles to come to America before anyone else did … but The Beatles really only mark one chapter in the remarkable musical life of Sid Bernstein.”
Venturo went on to mention a handful of the artists with whom Bernstein has worked — among them, Judy Garland, Tony Bennett, the Rolling Stones, Chuck Berry, Duke Ellington, Frank Sinatra and Elvis.
So why was Bernstein, whose name had just been thoroughly extolled, bestowed with the admiration of an entire room and given baked goods, not happy?
“You’ve said so much about me, I have nothing more to say,” Bernstein said. “Would it be alright if I leave? I would like to see my grandchildren tomorrow morning.”
But then he cracked a warm smile, the audience laughed and his presentation began.
Bernstein continued to provide humorous commentary throughout his hour-long presentation, during which he discussed the lighter aspects of working for dozens of years as a music promoter. He fielded questions from the audience and spoke extensively about the concerts for which he is best known — those of The Beatles.
“When I made the deal to have The Beatles perform in this country, I had never heard them perform. I was in the war. The War of 1812,” Bernstein said, eyes twinkling. “I’m older than I look.”
All jokes aside, Bernstein told how he had read about the Beatles in a British newspaper, The Guardian.
“I read about four guys creating some excitement in their native city of Liverpool. I read the story about four guys, whose music I’d never heard, called The Beatles. The third or fourth time there was one story, which showed them with a lot of hair. They were referred to as the mop-tops,” he said.
Bernstein, who was working as an “artist promoter” in a ballroom in New York City, was stirred by the hype the four mop-tops had generated in the U.K. He decided he wanted to bring them to the U.S.
Bernstein grabbed a friend, hopped on a plane and ventured into the land of the Strawberry Fields and Penny Lane. In fact, he made a point to see them.
“I had seen Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields. I decided I should call (Beatles manager) Brian Epstein. So I called Brian Epstein. I said, ‘I’ve been reading about your guys,’” Bernstein said.
From that encounter sprang the first concert — a sold-out show at Carnegie Hall on February 12, 1964.
“It was amazing,” Bernstein said. “Carnegie Hall had never seen anything like this.”
It was after this concert, and another held subsequently in an attempt to pacify the hordes of fans in a frenzy to see The Beatles, that Beatlemania truly struck America. No one saw the tide of support for the four British singers rising any higher — that is, except Bernstein. He wanted to get them again. And this time, he wanted it bigger and better.
Originally, he planned for another Carnegie Hall performance. Then he had a better idea.
“There was a whole change in the world of music … I called Brian and I said, ‘I want them to play Shea Stadium,’” Bernstein said.
According to the promoter, Epstein was skeptical. The New York City stadium seated over 50,000.
But Bernstein was confident. He struck up a deal with Epstein — the music promoter would pay the manager, out of pocket, $10 for every unsold seat.
The deal proved to be unnecessary.
The Beatles went on to play Shea Stadium, the former home of the New York Mets, before a sold-out crowd on August 15, 1965. It became their best-known American performance.
Bernstein has left an indelible imprint on the history of rock ‘n’ roll in this country. It is something the modest man acknowledged with gratitude, and with a sparkle of good humor.
“I didn’t write the books. I didn’t write the songs. But I touched those guys. Carnegie Hall, Shea Stadium, 1965,” he said. “I have had such a good life. And I have met so many good people — like (the person who) made these cookies. I thank you.”
(04/13/10 6:51pm)
Members of the Student Finance Board (SFB) appeared before the general body of the Student Government Association (SGA) last Wednesday to present potential changes to the Student Activity Fee (SAF) budget for next year. Proposed changes in the budget involve a $45 increase for the 2011 fiscal year.
SFB plans to spend $7,000 less on publicity, taking the allotment of funds for advertising events from $10,000 to $3,000. They also plan to cut the funding appropriated for student leaders, as the SFB Executive Assistant is no longer getting paid, according to SGA vice president of business and administration Brian Block.
Among the increases proposed is a $7,000 new appropriation set aside in order to open a box office out of Kendall Hall, to sell tickets for all events occurring in the building. According to the budget’s increase explanations, this will give them a better way of tracking ticket sales, and will give clubs a break from selling tickets and holding cash themselves.
Another proposed increase is in special events, which, according to the increase explanations found on the budget report, “is the money appropriated at our weekly meetings, funding most of the events you see going on throughout this year.”
The budget is increased approximately three percent every year to match inflation rates.
Billy Plastine, executive president of the SGA, thanked SFB for its presentation and reminded SGA members of where they fit into the budget
approval process.
“Keep in mind that the SGA’s role in the budget approval process is to simply confirm that the SFB went through the proper steps in creating a budget,” Plastine, senior political science and business administration double major, said. “It is not our duty to choose how the budget is allocated.”
Plastine also reminded students of his State of the Campus address, which appeared in last week’s edition of The Signal.
“I hope you all had a chance to look over my State of the Campus address. I hope I represented you all well. Hopefully this is a way to communicate with the student body about what the SGA is doing and also about important issues the campus is facing,” Plastine said.
The address will also appear on SGA’s website and on its Facebook fanpage.
SGA will meet again on Wednesday April 14 at 3 p.m. in Brower Student Center room 202W.
(04/13/10 1:44pm)
If you walked into the Art and Interactive Multimedia (IMM) Building’s West Gallery last week, your eyes may have been drawn, improbably, to a piece of paper.
Unassuming and wholly unremarkable, the 8½-by-11 sheet of paper hangs above the fire alarm. When visitors walk in, it is the first thing they see. Twelve-point black typeface skirts the blank sheet, neatly organized into four paragraphs and capped with a header. It’s even double-spaced. It may cause a double take: What? Aren’t I in an art gallery? I’m not here to read an essay. This isn’t the correct medium!
But that is what this week’s installation of the 4x4 Student Art Exhibition Series is about – challenging notions of just what constitutes a medium for artistic expression.
Above the piece of paper, which is a description of the exhibit it headlines, hangs a broken car headlight.
Jim Tramontano, senior art education major, created his gallery, “Twisted Metal,” around the concept of car crashes. His gallery showcased not only oil-on-canvas paintings of the aftereffects of car wrecks, but pieces of cars mangled in those accidents, polished to a sheen in counterpoint to their jagged edges. Intricate designs snake up the sides of some of these gleaming fenders, bumpers and sides – Tramontano’s additions.
“I strive to show the afermath of (accidents) by painting some of these subjects, creating some new effects on existing metal, and even using ‘found’ objects,” Tramontano wrote in his description. “I want to not only stir up some of the powerful emotions from past events, but showcase the beauty, and sometimes irony, in them.”
Many of his pieces do have a snarky side.
His elaborate designs on many of the car pieces include words – among them, "Smack," "Bang," "Accident Report," "Cell phone" and "Crunch."
One painting depicts the smashed bumper of a small Toyota, bearing a bumper sticker that reads, “Relax … God is in control.”
His partner in the West Gallery is senior art education major YenHui Sophia Liu.
Her installation, “Whispering Room,” spans the whole of her section of the gallery. It consists of a sheet suspended from the ceiling with colored yarn dangling from it. Attached to every string is a single white Styrofoam cup.
The yarn sways softly, the red, purple, turquoise, orange, pink and yellow strings intertwining, gently bumping the cups together to create a sound not unlike that of whispering.
Across the Art and IMM Building’s courtyard sits an identical gallery containing two more student exhibits. The East Gallery serves as home to “Child’s Play,” an installation by Allison Tumminia, and “Reconstructed,” a work by Matthew Pembleton, both sophomore art education majors.
Tumminia’s gallery implores visitors to actively engage themselves in the exhibit.
“You are invited to engage in child’s play,” large black letters on the left wall read. “Select your opponent wisely, step onto your pedestal, and begin your performance.”
The pedestal refers to Tumminia’s principal installation, a large surface resembling a tic-tac-toe board, constructed from cardboard and wood. Students can stand on it and maneuver the pieces, large X’s and D’s (in place of O's), into a life-size tic-tac-toe game.
A video projects onto a screen on the wall above it, showing a bird’s eye view of students playing the game.
It is sturdy enough for two students to stand on and large enough for them to move around. Placed squarely in the center of the room, it does nothing if not encourage participation.
Matthew Pembleton shares the gallery with his exhibit “Reconstructed.”
His exhibit consists of a wall hanging made of the insides of aluminum cans, pressed flat into sheets and bolted together with pop rivets, and several sculptures of metal cubes. In the corner sits an open sketchbook propped on a pedestal, littered with equations, and, in the top right corner of the second page, a scrawled admission – “Let it be known, I like to make things.”
“The three sculptures deal with the concept of space, and how we interact with that space. It was important to have them separate and in varying spots, even on the wall, so the viewer can explore the space within/between the objects,” Pembleton said in an e-mail. “Also, at certain times during the day the sunlight comes through the windows and creates really interesting shadows — I placed them so that could happen as well.”
Pembleton took his title, “Reconstructed,” from the way he created the pieces for his exhibit.
“I created the metal sculptures out of recycled steel tubing during an internship in a metal shop last semester and I used recycled aluminum cans for the wall piece. Both projects deal with using found materials and creating artwork out of it, thus the title, 'Reconstructed,'” Pembleton said.
The next installation of the Student Art Exhibition Series kicks off Thursday, April 15, with four new student exhibits.
(04/08/10 1:53am)
Chris Hallberg wasn’t asking for a stage.
In fact, Hallberg, junior computer science and interactive multimedia major, wasn’t performing at all. He was only doing what hundreds of other College students were doing — taking advantage of the gorgeous weather and generally elevated mood early spring afforded students. He just happened to have his guitar. Strolling through campus, reveling in the first splashes of the sun’s warm rays after a long, cold winter, he struck up a tune on his acoustic guitar, strumming and softly singing a song by a band he had seen live the week before.
He wasn’t asking for a venue. He was just enjoying the day. So how did he end up onstage on a Monday night less than a month later, performing for an audience not of passersby, but of twenty-odd seated guests?
“After spring break, the weather was nice, and I was walking around playing my guitar,” Hallberg said, standing off to the side of the Brower Student Center Food Court’s makeshift stage before his performance.
He gestured over towards the stage’s left corner, where a man was bustling around setting up amplifiers, microphones, wires.
“He stopped me,” Hallberg said. “He stopped me and asked me to play tonight.”
The man perked up and walked over. “Were you telling how I saw you playing your guitar on campus?” he asked, face splitting in a massive grin. “I saw him playing and I thought ‘We need a guitarist for our show!’
The man is Roy Johnson, advisor of the Alpha Nu Omega fraternity, the College’s only Christian fraternity and integral component in composing the show Hallberg has arrived to play. The show was the “Night of Gifts Talent Showcase,” sponsored by Alpha Nu Omega and the first event in the organization’s “Navy Blue and Gold Week.”
“The reason we call it the ‘Night of Gifts’ is because we really believe that God has given us all gifts and talents that we have the choice to use and explore,” Johnson said. “We believe that there are more similarities between Christians and non-Christians than differences and there should be a medium of exploration for these similarities. So we are trying to showcase the talents that people have.”
The fraternity’s efforts to showcase gifts drew from a wide range of talents, from singing to poetry reading to Taiko, a traditional Japanese drumming performance.
Korey Carter, senior mechanical engineering major and president of the College’s chapter of Alpha Nu Omega, hosted the event, introducing each of the eleven acts that took the stage.
In all, the show featured four a capella songstresses (two singing as a pair, two separately), two students reciting original poetry, two pianists, two cultural performance groups (one singing and one drumming), one Christian rock band, and Hallberg, singing and playing his guitar.
The acts were well-received by an audience of approximately twenty fraternity brothers, students, and community members. It closed with Pierre Miller, 2009 graduate
of the College, collaborating with the sixth act’s performers, Tameka and Elizabeth Blackshire. The Blackshire sisters formerly attended church with Johnson, and he invited them to perform their Christian a capella duets during the show. Miller had performed a Chopin piece on piano and then played along with the sisters while they sang.
Carter took the stage at the end of the show to announce upcoming events occurring during “Navy Blue and Gold Week.”
“‘Navy Blue and Gold Week’ is our way of giving back to campus,” he said. “We call ourselves Alpha Nu Omega Incorporated and we call this Alpha Nu Omega week. But our colors are the same as the College’s, navy blue and gold, and that’s the reason we decided to name it that. The goal of this week is to unify the campus through a variety of events — it’s something that shows that we’re part of this campus."
He was pleased with the results of the night.
“I thought it went very well,” Carter said. “There was a lot of diversity in the events. We had singing, poetry, drums. I think it shows that there is a lot of talent at [the College], talent that is not always displayed.”
Perhaps it was in that spirit — one of unveiling hidden talent — that Hallberg took the stage, though he didn’t stay there for long.
“I feel more comfortable just walking around,” he informed the audience, and stepped down from the stage, preferring to stroll through the chairs and tables as if it were a lovely spring afternoon, strumming the chords to “Sacred Beast” by Tally Hall on his guitar and softly singing along.
“It’s funny,” Hallberg said, “because the song (Johnson) stopped me playing is actually the one I (played) tonight.”
(04/06/10 6:42pm)
The College can count two new organizations among its roster of activities after last Wednesday’s meeting of the Student Government Association (SGA) general body. The SGA sanctioned the Out-of-State Student Alliance (OOSA) and National Residence Hall Honorary (NRHH), both unanimously.
Both organizations aim to bolster a sense of community among often-underrecognized groups at the College.
The Out-Of-State Student Alliance hopes to provide a support system for members of the College community who do not call the Garden State home. Members of OOSA plan to implement a buddy system for freshmen to adjust, hold activities during the “low times” – times when it would be difficult for out-of-state students to go home such as fall break and labor day weekend, and events during Welcome Week. They have an activity already under way for this year’s Accepted Students Day, happening April 10.
Gabrielle Fuller, sophomore interactive multimedia major, felt the organization’s undertakings would be beneficial to the College.
“As an out-of-state student from Maryland, I think this would be great for campus,” Fuller said.
The other organization proposed, the National Residence Hall Honorary, met support from the general body as well.
Passed by a unanimous vote, the NRHH aims to recognize employees, faculty and students of the College who provide exceptional service, inspiration or just bring that extra something special to the campus community.
“The NRHH recognizes all those from those who clean the study rooms in the library to the students who use them,” said Vincent Pelli,
sophomore history and secondary education double major and executive vice president of the new club. “We are the official sponsor of smiles at (the College).”
Also discussed at Wednesday’s meeting was the recent meeting of the Public Safety Advisory Committee, whose members met with chief of Campus Police John Collins to discuss a report from several years ago listing student discrepancies with Campus Police.
“We went through a report from two or three years ago and found that many problems listed about campus police are now being solved or aren’t present anymore,” said Robert Poss, sophomore economics and political science double major.
(04/06/10 6:28pm)
The College hosted Jennifer Redfearn, environmental journalist and film producer, on April 31. Redfearn spoke about her experience producing the forthcoming documentary “Sun Come Up.”
The film tells the tale of the Carteret Islands, a small string of islands in the South Pacific that is rapidly disappearing due to a global warming-induced rise in sea level. The film chronicles the lives of the islands’ displaced former inhabitants, who are dealing with the two-part challenge of being forced to relocate while not being officially recognized under international law as refugees.
Redfearn hopes to bring the Islanders’ remarkable situation to the public consciousness with her documentary, which premieres April 8.
“These islands, from a distance, look like a tropical paradise,” Redfearn said, “until you get closer, and you can see the destruction on the island. It’s quite evident.”
She described scenes of uprooted trees, rampant saltwater contamination of food and water sources, and, most notably, a swiftly disappearing shoreline.
“The kids were fishing on land where they used to garden,” she said. “What the Carteret Island people are seeing is … the front lines of climate change.”
Though the Carteret Islanders, as the film purports, may be the world’s first “environmental refugees,” they face a more complex issue than simply leaving their homes behind, in itself an imposing feat. Once they are relocated, they may face the future on their own, without assistance from the global community; “environmental refugee” is not yet a recognized condition under international law. And as many still consider climate change an imagining, legitimization of the Carteret Islanders’ condition may be far off.
“There’s been a lot of opposition,” Redfearn said of the attempts of her documentary to classify the Carteret Islanders as refugees of climate change. “There was an argument saying the changes on the island weren’t being caused by climate change, it was by geological subsidence, or tectonic plate shift. This seemed like a pretty viable reason … but scientists say the movement is so small that it can’t be explained by a tectonic plate shift.”
Redfearn intends for her documentary to serve as a sort of magnifying glass, exploring the lives of one set of victims of climate change, in order to raise awareness of the issue as a whole – and, as a natural accompaniment, awareness of the Carteret Islanders’ situation.
Students and professors alike were moved by Redfearn’s lecture and screening. During the question-and-answer session following the presentation, Kim Pearson, associate professor of journalism, extended a note of appreciation to the journalist and producer.
“You have taken a subject that for many of us may seem abstract or remote,” Pearson said, “and you have really humanized it.”
Becky Bernot, senior journalism major, echoed the sentiment.
“It was definitely very moving,” Bernot said. “Before I heard the presentation I had never heard of the Carteret Islands before. It’s really amazing to me that we can live in a culture that has the potential to have so much impact on their situation and we don’t even know about it.”
(03/30/10 5:01pm)
Concerns about the future of some of the College’s programs took center stage at last Wednesday’s Student Government Association (SGA) meeting.
Billy Plastine, executive president of the SGA and senior political science and marketing double major, and Jen Hill, vice president of student services and senior women and gender studies major, attended the most recent meeting of the Committee on Planning and Priorities (CPP) and relayed a summary to members of the SGA general body.
“(The College) is going to have to start cutting programs as a result of the budget cuts,” Plastine said. “For example, it might become a reality that (the College) is going to take out the entire entity of Career Services, or an overarching group of programs. That might be reality, that we have to close an entire program, but we are also talking about levels underneath.”
No cuts will occur until after the 2010-2011 fiscal year.
The College may make cuts from the tutoring center or athletics, Hill said. “We’re trying to figure out what the criteria are for what’s worth it and what’s not.”
“CPP is not charged with making the decision of what programs stay and what go,” he said. “We’re in charge of coming up with theprinciples for program closure, looking at the current ones that we have and seeing if they’re still relevant. Year after year after year of budget cuts make us say that we are going to investigate and recognize program closures as a viable opportunity.”
Despite the possibilities of program cuts from CPP, Brian Skwarek, SGA’s speaker of the general assembly and senior accounting major, recounted the results of the Committee on Academic Programs (CAP) meeting he attended, saying a new minor, Holocaust and genocide studies, may be instated.
“That is still under consideration,” he said.
He also advised students to check their final exam schedules and grading systems, as finals regulations were a topic of discussion at the CAP meeting.
“Final exams cannot be worth more than 50 percent of your grade,” he said, reminding students to discuss this with their professors if the final exam was marked as such on syllabi.
Gina Lauterio, junior political science major, who also attended the CAP meeting, urged students with more than three exams scheduled per day to take advantage of the College’s policy against this and reschedule.
“If you have three exams in one day, you are allowed to move one,” said Lauterio. “It’s school policy.”
(03/30/10 1:19pm)
Where art, music and filmmaking meet for an often esoteric, sometimes breathtaking and always interesting 10-minute celebration of high culture —
that’s where Joshua Mosley crafts his visions.
Mosley, an associate professor of fine arts at the University of Pennsylvania, animator and graphic artist, spoke to a large group of students and faculty and showcased several of his short animated films in the Library Auditorium last Wednesday March 24.
Mosley’s short films blend his distinct style of animation, a form of claymation that involves claylike puppet figures, with other, often divergent art forms — a puppet walking around a pencil-drawn village, a puppet car driving down a photographed road, a bronze statue seen outside a sketched window by a man made of clay.
“I really wanted to bring my drawing and painting process into the animation process,” said Mosley, who originally went to college for painting before switching his focus to animation. “It felt natural to me.”
He described the progression of his career trajectory from a painting major at the Art Institute of Chicago interested in sketching to an animation major interested in film.
“I graduated right when it was becoming possible to edit things on a computer,” Mosley said. “So then I thought, 'I could start looking into animation. I could apply to grad school!' So I did go to grad school and produced a couple things in those two years.”
Mosley showed several of those productions on Wednesday, including short films “Beyrouth,” “A Vue” and “Dread.” “Beyrouth,” the first film Mosley showed, contained an amalgamation of claymation figures and painted sets, set to the haunting strains of a piece of classical music.
After the showing, Mosley fielded questions from audience members, predominantly about his work style and preferences of medium.
“It was interesting,” said Maria Banis, senior psychology major, who attended the presentation with her art history class. “The first film he showed was my favorite. I didn’t quite understand it, but I liked the music. I thought the music was beautiful, and that’s what made the piece for me.”
Mosley’s pieces, which have won a number of awards, have bent the rules of medium to craft a new kind of art. One professor raised the question, does the visionary hope to continue paving a trail in the new world of artistic animation?
He isn’t sure.
“I kinda feel like I want to paint again,” Mosley said.
Whatever route of creative expression he does decide to pursue, one thing is sure — this artist has our attention.
(03/23/10 5:26pm)
In response to the recent budget cuts to New Jersey state colleges, the College’s Student Government Association (SGA) will focus much of its energy on lobbying this semester.
Olaniyi Solebo, SGA’s vice president of legal and governmental affairs and sophomore political science and economics double major, verified that his organization has received a list of legislators who se primary concern is budgeting matters. He assured students that dealing with these concerns proactively are important to the SGA, as the College’s disintegrating budget has left students and faculty, to say the least, rattled.
“We have a list of identified legislators we can lobby, the ones who deal with budget issues,” Solebo said. “We are on the ball on this, and we’re getting this going.”
He reiterated some statistics to the general body, ensuring the gravity of the situation hasn’t been forgotten as spring welcomes the organization’s more lighthearted events, such as senior week, finals fest and the SGA semi-formal.
“The tuition and grant tag lost about $10 million. EOF lost $3 million. This will add a lot of burden to middle-class and lower-middle-class families,” Solebo said. “So what does that mean? It literally changes the paradigm of what was expected for next year. I don’t think anyone I’ve talked to knew what was happening … This loss isn’t something students should take lying down.”
Despite the education cuts casting a considerable shadow over Wednesday’s meeting, SGA senators and executive board members still introduced additional proposals.
Gina Lauterio, vice president of academic affairs and junior political science major, noted that the College’s GPA calculator, available on its website, is back up and running.
“It’s great for scheduling,” Lauterio said. She also informed the general body that a survey about PAWS, the College’s student class-management service, will be sent out at some point over the next several weeks. “Now is the time we can get PAWS changed the most to reflect what students want,” Lauterio said.
Jen Hill, vice president of student services and senior women and gender studies major, apologetically noted that the student services committee was unable to attain approval for HBO programming in the Brower Student Center. However, to make up for this, Hill hopes to look into showing marathons of certain HBO shows in the building from time to time. She also had news about the College’s connectivity that had the general body abuzz.
“We’re working on getting wireless for you,” Hill said, speaking of plans the student services committee is working on to install wireless Internet throughout campus, not just in certain “hot spots” such as the library, Eickhoff Dining Hall and certain academic buildings.She encouraged students to visit the committee’s newly established Facebook fanpage, Student Services Committee of the SGA, for updates.
(03/23/10 4:49pm)
Upon bursting into the music building, shaking off jackets drenched by Monday’s unapologetic downpour, students were handed two small slips of paper before catching their bearings to enter the Mildred and Ernest E. Mayo Concert Hall.
The first was a raffle ticket, as Hillel planned on following the night’s events with a small raffle. The second was a business card. Simple but colorful, the card bore a name, a tagline, a website, and a quote. “Steve Hofstetter,” it read. “Comedy Without Apology. Stevehofstetter.com.”
And, underneath, the quote: “That comedian last night was really funny. I’m glad I took this card home.” The source? “You, Tomorrow.”
This brand of deadpan humor, delivered first by a piece of 2.5-by-3.5 inch laminated paper and then by a tall, red-haired Jewish comedian, characterized Hillel’s “Comedy JAM” event, held March 22 to close a series of Hillel-sponsored Jewish Awareness Month activities. The evening welcomed two comedians, approximately 25 audience members and peals of laughter from attendees and comedians alike.
“I tell people that I’m Jewish, and they don’t believe me. Which is weird, because why would I make that up?” Hofstetter cracked. “I always tell people I’m Jewish and they’re all, ‘No, man, you’re Irish,’ and I’m like, ‘No, I’m not,’ and they’re like, ‘So you’re Jewish and also Irish?’ Now, tell me, what’s the likelihood of that happening? I’m the one. Lucky McJew. Arr, they’re after me lucky star!”
Throughout the night, Hofstetter delivered, as billed, “comedy without apology” – drawing material from areas some might consider offensive in order to break down the stigmas attached.
He began his set with a story about meeting two outspoken pro-life activists in a line at Office Depot. As the line built and checking out became slow, the two men began shouting to the cashier that they were late for a pro-life rally.
“After a while, I just told them – if you guys supported abortion, the line could’ve been shorter,” Hofstetter said.
The audience dissolved into laughter.
Continued Hofstetter, “I’m glad you guys are with me on that one. I told that joke in Hayes, Kansas. I would have been better off performing an actual abortion onstage.”
Opening for Hofstetter, who has appeared on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson and writes for CollegeHumor.com, was Vegas Lancaster, 2009 alum of the College. Lancaster delivered a high-energy round of jokes that kept the crowd engaged.
“I turned to a conservative news station the other day to try to understand health care. All I know is they’re really angry about something, but they’re not sure what,” said Lancaster, who studied philosophy while at the College. “So I turned to a liberal news station. All I know is they’re cautiously optimistic about something, but they’re not sure what. So I turned to an ‘objective’ station and they were speaking in British accents, so after a while I shut it off.”
Organizers of the event were pleased with its outcome.
“I loved it,” said Stefanie Haar, senior psychology and health and exercise science double major. Haar is also the vice president of Israeli awareness and social action for Hillel. “I thought he was really funny,” she said.
“We wanted to do a fun event for the campus and our members,” said Evan Greenberger, junior philosophy major and Jewish Awareness Month committee chair.
“We thought a comedian would be a good addition to the events we’d been doing over the month,” added Haar. She had closed the show by thanking all members of Hillel for an awesome Jewish Awareness Month.
And Hofstetter had thanked the crowd as well. Bidding them back into the rainy night, but with a lot of laughs tucked away to show for their attendance, Hofstetter gave the audience a warm goodbye: “Thank you for supporting live comedy. Thank you for supporting the Jews – cause we’re clearly not doing well enough as a people already – and most importantly, thank you all for listening. Good night!”
