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(02/11/14 6:43pm)
Valentine’s Day is this week. For some, that is amazing news. For others, it’s depressing news. And some just don’t care. Still, it is a holiday, and it should be celebrated in some capacity — even if that means just watching a movie with a good love story with your significant other, a group of friends or by yourself. Here’s a list of movies that would be perfect for this Friday:
“Valentine’s Day.” Duh.
“Leap Year.” Amy Adams and Matthew Goode star in this adorable story about unexpected love. That description sounds like it’s just like any other romantic movie, but it’s actually, really good.
“Enchanted.” This just might be the cutest movie ever, and if you don’t agree, you have no heart.
“Spider-Man.” That kiss. Plus, it’s an awesome movie.
“Warm Bodies.” It’s a zombie movie, a comedy and a love story all rolled into one. What more do you want?
“Say Anything.” Doesn’t everyone want John Cusack standing outside their window with a boombox held over his head? Classic.
“The Notebook.” I don’t think that this list would be considered valid if this movie wasn’t on it.
“The Vow.” You’ve got Channing Tatum for the ladies and Regina George — I mean, Rachel McAdams — for the guys. It’s such a good movie and shows what true love really is.
“Endless Love.” There have been so many commercials for this movie, I think it would be wrong of all of us not to go and see it when it comes out this Friday. It’s also from the people who brought us “The Vow,” so it already has that going for it.
Happy watching — whether with someone else or by yourself. And Happy Valentine’s Day!
(02/11/14 6:41pm)
It is not like Occupy Wall Street. It is not like the Arab Spring. The revolution happening in Ukraine, according to Ukrainian professor Mychailo Wynnyckyj, is a revolution of the middle class, comprised of students and highly educated people.
“This is a pretty unique thing that’s going on, and I think it’s really something that is pretty difficult to get a handle on because there’s nothing to compare it to,” Wynnyckyj said.
Via webcam, seven panelists, including three Ukrainian student activists and an American Fulbright scholar, discussed the ongoing revolution with about 100 of the College’s students during the Politics Forum, “Ukraine: What Are They Fighting For?” on Thursday, Feb. 6.
“The Russian government appears to be hindering the progress of closer Ukrainian ties with the West. Ukraine finds itself in a sensitive position geographically and historically between the European Union and the Russian Federation,” Center for Global Engagement director Jon Stauff said.
He said this ongoing revolution can be compared to “what happened in 1776 in the American colonies to drive leaders to draft the Declaration of Independence.”
But what started out as a peaceful, political demonstration quickly led to a more violent revolution about human rights and dignity.
“The regime decided that they didn’t like this idea of protest on the streets, so they called in riot police and the students were beaten rather brutally,” Wynnyckyj said. “The next morning, a lot of people in this country were in a state of shock. Exactly 36 hours after these attacks, we had anywhere from 500,000 to one million people demonstrating on the streets saying this is wrong.”
Since then, the regime has passed strict laws, including one that prohibits groups of more than 10 people to gather at a time. People are hunted down on the streets, people disappear and activists’ cars are burned, according to Wynnyckyj.
Ukrainian student activist Stepan Berko said what originally motivated him to join the movement was a failed government effort to create stronger ties with the West and, moreover, that something had to be done about it.
“We actually believed that we could influence the government, so our goal was to go on the streets with as many people as possible and show the will of the country,” Berko said. “And then later, after the students were beaten, we shifted to showing ... that we want to live in a democratic society, where people are not beaten by riot police.”
According to freshman secondary education and history double major Tyler Switsky, the forum taught him more about an issue that he was not fully aware was happening in today’s world.
“Americans need to make it a priority to be cognizant of things happening globally,” Switsky said. “I think it’s important that we pay more attention to what’s going on abroad. After seeing students my age feel so passionate about their human rights, the least I can do is be aware of their struggle and what’s occurring abroad.”
Stauff said he wanted the forum to teach students concepts such as citizenship, human rights and democracy and how difficult it is to create a civil society where these can be sustained.
“I hope our students consider participating more actively in their own communities, states and nation by following issues of importance, expressing their opinions to their representatives and participating in the political process at home — even if that means only participating in elections once a year,” Stauff said.
(02/05/14 1:52am)
Every two and a half minutes, somewhere in the world, a baby is born with a cleft lip or palate. If left untreated, more serious medical problems could develop. Thankfully, the operation to reverse the birth defect is simple and quick. Unfortunately, many people in under-resourced countries do not have access to the 45-minute surgery. That’s where Operation Smile comes in.
Operation Smile travels the world, providing free surgeries to those in need. And because there is no cost for the families, the organization is always looking for help. Junior sociology major Catherine Morgan had always admired the work that Operation Smile does and wanted to help it in achieving its missions, so she started a chapter of the organization at the College.
“I want to support the organization’s efforts in changing people’s lives with just a simple surgery,” Morgan said. “The goals of the the College’s Operation Smile Club is to simply raise awareness and fundraise for the international organization. We will be holding on-campus awareness and fundraising events to get students thinking about the organization and supporting us.”
The club is new this semester and in its beginning stages, which is why it’s the perfect time for students to join, according to Morgan.
“It is a wonderful opportunity to partake in community service for such a great cause,” Morgan said. “The club is completely new and started by upperclassmen, so the club will be left to underclassmen in a few years. If they join now, they have the chance to develop leadership skills in the near future.”
The club is in its beginning stages, so joining now means that members will play a large part in getting events planned and organized, according to Morgan.
“Also, students have opportunities to go on mission trips. Applicants for mission trips must be members of the club for a year prior to applying, so those who join soon can apply to go on mission trips next summer,” Morgan said.
Morgan said students should expect to see more on campus from TCNJ Operation Smile, including fundraisers, collection drives and a speaker from the international organization. The club’s logo is a smiley face, so Morgan said, “If you see a smiley face on campus, just think: Operation Smile Club.”
Operation Smile meets every other Wednesday at 2 p.m. in the Social Sciences Building, room 325. The next meeting will be on Wednesday, Feb. 12.
(02/05/14 1:52am)
The Olympic Games are finally here this week. The fight to the podium will begin Thursday, Feb. 6, with preliminary rounds of snowboarding, freestyle skiing and figure skating. Then, on Friday, Feb. 7, Russia welcomes the world into its country and officially kicks off the Games with the Opening Ceremony.
$50 billion: Amount of money that Russian President Vladimir Putin has spent on hosting the Olympics.
230: Number of athletes representing our country. This is the most that any country has sent to the Winter Games. We have 105 women and 125 men competing.
38: States that are being represented.
45: Age of women’s curler Ann Swishelm, the oldest U.S. Olympian on this year’s team.
15: Age of freestyle skier Maggie Voisin, the youngest U.S. Olympian on this year’s team.
26: The average age for the U.S. team.
22: Members of the U.S. Olympic team who have children. There are 19 fathers and three mothers.
Seven: Athletes who serve in the U.S. Army’s World Class Athlete Program.
One: Sets of twins on the U.S.’s team — women’s ice hockey players Jocelyne and Monique Lamoureux.
Six: Sets of siblings on Team USA.
1,500: Hours of coverage across six NBCUniversal platforms.
Last Winter Games in Vancouver, the U.S. led the medal count with 37 medals with Germany taking home 30 and Canada earning 26. Let’s see if we can top that this year. Which we probably will because, come on, we’re America.
(01/28/14 11:05pm)
By Colleen Murphy
Features Editor
You know when you’re in New York City and you really need a quick bite to eat that’s not too expensive? Well, I’ve got the perfect place for you: Così. Thankfully, however, you don’t have to travel to the city to try the perfection because there are restaurants throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Each time I go, I get the traditional cheese pizza. The clumps of mozzarella and Romano are perfectly dispersed, and the tomatoes are nice and fresh. For those who are more adventurous, they also offer chicken and spinach, sausage, smoky BBQ chicken, margherita, chicken margherita and pepperoni.
The pizza comes in two sizes: individual and shareable. An individual comes with eight pieces of the pizza while the shareable has 16 pieces. Depending on what toppings you get, the price will vary, but for the traditional cheese pizza, an individual will cost $6.99 and a shareable will cost $9.99. The individual might look small, but the pizza is filling. Not an I’m-about-to-explode filling, but a satisfying filling. The pizza is rectangular and you can finish each rectangular slice in about three bites.
Before even ordering, you know it’s going to be good. A huge coal fire stove welcomes you into the restaurant. And if that doesn’t do the trick, there are samples on the counter of the tasty bread that has just the right amount of salt on it to make your mouth water for the actual meal.
Whichever type of pizza you get, I promise you’ll want to go back again. It’s amazing. And Così is primarily a sandwich and salad shop, so if the pizza is this good, I can only imagine how good the other entreés are.
The chain’s slogan is “Life should be delicious,” and if you get a pizza at Così, your life will be delicious.
Note: If you are in the Times Square area of NYC, the nearest Così is 1633 Broadway. It is open Mon. - Fri.: 6:30 a.m. - 10 p.m. and Sat. - Sun.:7:30 a.m. - 9 p.m.
(01/28/14 10:54pm)
By Colleen Murphy
Features Editor
Team USA has some pretty awesome athletes representing us at the Sochi Olympics, and here are just some of the Olympians you should follow leading up to the Games next week:
J.R. Celski, Short Track Speedskating: At 23, Celski took over for Apolo Ohno, and is now the new face of U.S. speedskating. He already has two bronze medals to his name from the Vancouver Olympics. But before worrying about the Olympics, the Seattle native has to worry about how well his Seahawks will do in the Super Bowl.
Meryl Davis and Charlie White, Ice Dancing: Two-time world champions and five-time national champions got silver at the last Olympics and are now favorites to win gold. The team has been together since 1997 — longer than any other American ice dancing team.
Gracie Gold, Figure Skating: What’s in a name? How about a gold medal for Gold. The 18-year-old national champion is expected to win big at the Games. Her biggest competition might even be her own teammates, 15-year-old Polina Edmunds and 22-year-old Ashley Wagner.
Sarah Hendrickson, Lindsey Van and Jessica Jerome, Ski Jumping: These three women are part of history, as women’s ski jumping makes its Olympic debut, and Van is a big part of making that happen after fighting for its inclusion. At only 19, Hendrickson is the reigning world champion, so it looks like the U.S. might take the first gold the event has to offer.
Shaun White, Snowboarding: White, formerly known as the Flying Tomato, has been a fan favorite for years. He is back to defend his two-time gold medal win in the halfpipe and is also competing in slopestyle, a new Olympic event.
Nick Goepper, Freestyle Skiing: This 19-year-old was the first American to qualify for the 2014 Games and is a frontrunner for gold at the Olympics. When beginning the sport, Goepper purchased all the equipment himself through selling candy and completing odd jobs. All these years later, it seems like it paid off.
Lolo Jones, Bobsledding: No, this isn’t a mistake. The track’s star hurdler is now the brakeman for the bobsledding team. After a disappointing show at the Summer Olympics, Jones hopes to medal in a different sport. However, the decision to put her on the team is controversial, with many people saying her fame was what earned her the spot. Let’s see if she can prove them wrong.
Jamaican Bobsled Team: “Cool Runnings” Part 2? Now, they might not be American, but it is definitely a true underdog story that you want to keep your eye on. The two-man team had financial troubles getting to the Games, but with the help of thousands of dollars in donations, the island nation has its first bobsledding team since 2002. Jamaica, we have a bobsled team!
Seems like this is going to be an exciting Olympics for America (and Jamaica).
This is the second part of “Faster, Higher, Stronger,” a weekly column on the 2014 Winter Olympic Games.
(01/21/14 5:51pm)
The Olympics is a time where countries showcase their best athletes, and this year, Team USA is looking stronger than ever. But unfortunately, the spirit of the Games is being turned into a discussion of how safe the Sochi Winter Olympics will actually be.
Last month, a suicide bomb killed 34 people in Volgograd, a city 420 miles away from Sochi, and it is believed that the same group that organized the bombing has threatened to attack the Olympics.
The Games have had attacks in the past, and the U.S. has offered Russia help in security measures to ensure that Sochi is not the sight of another one.
But Russian President Vladimir Putin says the security measures are already extremely strong, and that 40,000 members of Russia’s police and security forces will be guarding the events.
“We will try to make certain that the security measures are not intrusive or too conspicuous, so they are not too noticeable for the athletes, the Olympics’ guests or journalists. But at the same time, we will do our utmost to ensure that they are effective,” Putin said in a press conference.
Still, the U.S. government wants the Russian government to be more cooperative on sharing intelligence information. On CNN’s “State of the Union,” House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers said, “(The Russian’s) level of concern is great, but we don’t seem to be getting all of the information we need to protect our athletes in the games. I think this needs to change, and it should change soon.”
The U.S. team is not taking any chances, and according to USA Today, “the U.S. ski and snowboard team has hired a private crisis response firm in the event a medical or security emergency requires an evacuation from Sochi.” The FBI also said they will be sending agents to Russia to keep athletes and spectators safe.
As the first day of competition approaches, all we can hope for is that Russia’s security is as tight as they say it is and that everyone stays safe. And showing the true athletes that they are, many of the U.S. Olympians are saying that they cannot worry about the concerns surrounding the events — they have to concentrate on winning gold. And hopefully that’s exactly what they’ll do.
This is the first part of “Faster, Higher, Stronger,” a weekly column on the 2014 Winter Olympic Games.
(12/03/13 6:49pm)
Many consider a student’s years in college to be the most critical time for his or her religious and spiritual development. The College offers nine religious and spiritual organizations for students to explore their faith if they choose to do so.
“We as a College believe in whole-person development, and spirituality is a big part of that for many people, though not everybody,” assistant vice president for Student Affairs Ceil O’Callaghan said. “But, for many people, they will not be fully actualized without also developing their spirituality.”
The most recent national survey the College was a part of indicated that 49 percent of incoming freshman were Roman Catholic. After Catholicism, Judaism was the next largest group, with all other religions combined being less than the percentage of students who are Jewish.
However, a survey led by the College showed much lower percentages of believers in all religions, yet more diversity in the religions students identified themselves as.
But the homegrown survey had a much smaller response rate, according to O’Callaghan. Instead, she said that a more accurate predictor of the religious and spiritual makeup of the College can be measured by looking at the student group sizes.
According to O’Callaghan, Catholic Campus Ministries (CCM) and New Jersey Christian Fellowship (NJCF), a nondenominational Protestant group, are the two biggest groups on campus. While CCM gets in total 200 to 250 congregants at its three weekend masses, NJCF gets anywhere from 100 to 150 people in one sitting.
To differentiate between a religious organization being created based on student interest and a religion trying to attract students, the College requires that the organization first become a recognized student group. Then it may
“They go through the student organization process to be approved — then, if they want to use the Spiritual Center or want to be a recognized religious group, they come and meet with me,” O’Callaghan said.
After becoming a recognized student group with a religious focus, the students can then choose to host a spiritual leader.
“None of the spiritual leaders on campus are paid spiritual leaders,” O’Callaghan said. “All of them are volunteers to the campus. Many of them are paid by their religious entity. For example, our Episcopal minister is paid through the Episcopalian Diocese.”
O’Callaghan continued to explain that there are great religious leaders who have given a lot of themselves to the campus.
“I sometimes feel we don’t recognize that contribution as much as we could or should,” O’Callaghan said. “We get to take them for granted because they continue to serve in a way many of us admire.”
Junior biology and seven-year optometry double major and president of Chabad Avi Yehudai credits Rabbi Kivi’s leadership to greatly impacting the success of both Chabad and Jewish life.
“Over the past few years, I can honestly say I’ve developed a great relationship and friendship with the Rabbi that I expect to last much longer than my college years,” Yehudai said. “Chabad would be nowhere without the Rabbi Kivi and his wife Zeesy, who serve a crucial role in helping to organize and plan events.”
Students get a lot out of having such strong religious and spiritual leaders and organizations on campus. According to Yehudai, his college experience would be “severely lacking” without Chabad.
The relationship that the students and spiritual leaders have is mutually beneficial. According to one of NJCF’s leaders and ’07 College graduate Chris Loesser, returning to NJCF has let him further explore his spirituality.
Loesser, along with his wife and fellow College graduate Christine Loesser, guide the students of NJCF. They say that working with students is special and enjoyable.
“College students are asking meaningful questions and often exploring their interests, gifts, calling and relationship with (their faith),” Loesser said. “I absolutely love walking with them as they search out these things, helping them to orient themselves and invest their discoveries.”
The religious leaders recognize how important these years are for a young adult in developing faith. O’Callaghan said that most of the campus’s religious groups want “to keep students grounded in their faith rather than have them potentially leave the faith and have them come back later, if they do at all.”
It seems that the organizations are succeeding in keeping students connected to their faith throughout college.
“Having Chabad on campus is important to me because it has truly become my home away from home,” Yehudai said. “What the Rabbi and his wife provide, no amount of official school events can provide, in my opinion.”
O’Callaghan said the groups are also a great opportunity for students to find leadership roles. But most importantly, they keep students grounded.
“Some people may practice on a casual basis, but when things are tough — or on the flipside, when things are good — they will sometimes turn more to religion,” O’Callaghan said. “But in those extreme periods, they feel they need that connection. For others, it’s a very steady part of their lives, and if there was not that opportunity to realize that on a daily basis — or at least weekly basis — they would feel they were missing out on something.”
(11/19/13 6:11pm)
Broadway’s “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark” makes headlines for two reasons.
The first reason is how much money it cost to make. It is believed that the producers spent over $75 million to make the show — that is over twice as much as any production in Broadway history, according to The New York Times. The same article said that in order for investors to make the money back that they funneled into the production, the show would have to run for over seven years, a milestone few plays ever reach.
The second reason the show is well-known is because of how many injuries there are on the set. During a preview performance of the musical, stuntman Christopher Tierney fell approximately 25 feet to the stage, fracturing his skull and cracking his vertebrae. Since this initial injury, several more actors and dancers have seriously injured themselves due to the set and stunts.
But more importantly, “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark” should be making headlines for how entertaining it is.
The play’s storyline is quite similar to the 2002 film adaptation of “Spider-Man.” Peter Parker is bitten by a spider, becomes the masked superhero, falls for the girl-next-door and battles the Green Goblin. But there are two main differences that the play offers, including six new villains — The Sinister Six — and a plot revolving around Greek mythology.
The beginning of the play was a little slow. The Greek mythology didn’t seem to fit and the voices were hard to hear — at times unintelligible over the loud rock music. But once the story picked up speed and the audience could hear the actors clearly, it was nonstop action and fun.
“Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark” had the best, most creative sets I have ever seen of a Broadway production. While most shows stick to one background, “Spider-Man” had a new graphic-novel-inspired set for each number. An expensive prop would be used once and never be seen again. The costumes were amazing and detailed. After seeing the play and how much time and effort went into making the set so colorful and lively, there is no wonder how producers spent $9 million on costumes and shoes alone — the same it cost to produce the sets in “The Book of Mormon” in their entirety.
One could also understand why so many actors have been injured on the set once they see all of the Spider-Men swinging over the audience, landing at the edge of the mezzanine and running through the aisles.
Along with the fantastic sets, costumes and stunts comes incredible music. Of course, really nothing else can be expected once you find out that U2’s Bono and The Edge wrote the music and lyrics. For a laugh now and then, a sample of several U2 songs were sneaked in throughout the show as well.
“Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark” was refreshing and unlike any other Broadway production out there. While it might not be the most original or best plot that Broadway offers, the intricate set and costume designs, the edgy music and the jaw-dropping stunts are definitely top-notch and make the higher ticket price well worth it.
(11/12/13 5:22pm)
In April 2009, four Somali pirates seized the Maersk Alabama, an American cargo ship, and took its crew of 20 unarmed members and Captain Richard Phillips hostage. After the crew members regained control of the ship, the pirates seized Phillips, forcing him into a lifeboat and seeking ransom. For several days, they negotiated with the American government for money in exchange for Phillips’s safe return, but instead, their piracy led to a massive rescue operation by the U.S. Navy and SEAL Team Six.
In The New York Times’ original story of the attack, the situation was described as “an episode that at times seemed ripped from the pages of a Robert Louis Stevenson novel.” The incredible story and scale of the rescue not only seemed fit for a novel, but for a Hollywood movie as well.
With Tom Hanks at the helm, the terrifying true story is turned into a box office hit, “Captain Phillips.” The movie is done extremely well and leaves its audience tense throughout, but it was surrounded by controversy.
According to the original story of the hijacking in the Times, “piracy is a multimillion-dollar business in Somalia, a nation that has limped along since 1991 without a functioning central government.” While Paul Greengrass, the director of the film, did give the pirates a chance to explain why they hijack ships, many noted that this was not enough social commentary to make for a fair evaluation. Rather, the film warranted a better explanation of why piracy is such a popular and embedded industry for Somalis.
The other controversy surrounding the film was that many of the ship’s crew members called the film a lie. According to the New York Post, the crew had begged for the real-life Phillips not to sail so close to the shore, but he wanted to show that he was not afraid of any pirates. Eleven of the crew members sued Maersk Line and the Waterman Steamship Corporation for almost $50 million because of the unnecessary danger they were put in.
Setting aside any qualms people might have about the movie, the story itself is a gripping one. More importantly, the heroic rescue effort of Captain Phillips, the crew members and the Navy should not go unnoticed.
“Captain Phillips” is a masterfully done film with yet another strong performance by Hanks. But what might be even more impressive than Hanks’s acting was that of Somali native and Minneapolis resident Barkhad Adbi. Performing in his first role, Adbi plays Muse, the pirates’ leader. In one of the most pivotal and impactful moments of the movie, Adbi’s character stares at the captain, whom he nicknames Irish, and commands, “Look at me. Look at me. I’m the captain now.” Showing the skills of a mature actor, much like his co-star Hanks, Adbi ad-libbed “I’m the captain now,” which was the most chilling line of the movie.
There is Oscar buzz for Best Picture, but it is the intense acting by Hanks and Adbi that really keeps the movie enthralling and that makes them the best chance for this movie to be awarded at least one Oscar.
“Captain Phillips” is a riveting story that was translated beautifully onto the big screen. Its actors show raw emotion throughout, which allows for audiences to see just how quick a person can think and how much strength a person can muster when thrown into a perilous situation.
(10/22/13 3:29pm)
Cory Monteith’s death was one that you remember upon the exact moment you heard the news. It was not only the death of a talented and young actor and artist, but also the death of a beloved character.
One of the first questions that crossed people’s minds after hearing the news was, “How will ‘Glee’ handle it?” Would the show’s creator, Ryan Murphy, use Monteith’s real-life addiction as another one of the show’s life lessons and write that Finn Hudson, Monteith’s character, died from drugs? It was the question on everyone’s mind, and we could not wait until Oct. 10 to find out how Finn would die.
But we never found out. Monteith’s tribute episode, “The Quaterback,” reminded us that it did not matter how he died — what mattered was what he did while he was alive.
The episode showed us that we should not care how Finn died, but that we should focus on what a great character he was and how both Finn and Monteith affected the lives of so many. As Finn’s stepbrother Kurt (Chris Colfer) put it so perfectly in the opening lines of the episode, “Everyone wants to talk about how he died, too, but who cares? One moment in his whole life ... I care more about how he lived.”
The tribute episode was beautifully done. It begins three weeks after Finn’s funeral and many members of the original cast reunite to attend a memorial that Mr. Schuester (Matthew Morrison) held specially for the glee club. Each character dealt with Finn’s death differently.
We saw how Finn’s teacher, parents, stepbrother, best friend and girlfriend coped with not having him around anymore. The heartbreaking thing was that the tears were real and unstaged. No acting was required for the emotion in this episode. Yes, the characters lost Finn, but the actors lost a friend, and for Lea Michele, a boyfriend.
One of the more difficult scenes to watch was of Finn’s mother (Romy Rosemont) and stepfather (Mike O’Malley) separating their son’s belongings. Then there was Mercedes’s (Amber Riley) performance of “Stand By You,” which Finn sang in the first season.
But with each emotionally draining part came a nice memory of Finn or a little joke.
Watching the episode, you could tell how very special of a man Monteith was. In the first season of the show, Mr. Schu tells Finn that “sometimes being special sucks.” And special he was, both as Finn and as Cory.
(10/22/13 3:15pm)
Old friends, good food, fun times, nice weather and a win for the Lions: What else could the College’s students and alumni ask for?
Homecoming was surrounded by a controversy this year due to some of the new regulations implemented by the College — cars were not allowed in the tailgating area, tailgaters needed to wear wristbands to identify who was over and under 21, and attendees were not permitted to have their own music. But whatever qualms people may have had about the changes were replaced with excitement for the day’s celebrations as students, alumni, family and friends showcased school pride on Saturday, Oct. 19.
“It was nice to see everyone so bonded. Everyone had TCNJ swag — they had their shirts and pins and hair ties — and they had a lot of fun together,” senior biology and women’s and gender studies double major Stephanie Cervino said. “Even other organizations were mixing because they were so close together. It was a nice way to build community.”
However, there were people who thought that the changes did damper the Homecoming spirit a bit but had fun regardless.
“I think that there’s less unity, because not everybody who goes to school is at the tailgate. Most people are doing their own thing in their dorms, and I think that kind of takes away from the whole feel of homecoming,” sophomore communication studies major Theresa Soya said while going to watch the football game. “But it’s better than I thought it was going to be. There’s a lot of people still out and the music’s good ... I love Homecoming.”
Tiffany Moscatello, a ’00 graduate of the College, agreed that last year’s Homecoming was better than this year’s, but said that the energy was still there. She was there with her husband, also a College graduate, and her three young children.
“It’s great coming back every year. I love bringing my kids back,” Moscatello said.
Moscatello pointed out that the first time the College had tailgating for Homecoming was her senior year. Before that, she said the big hang-out place to celebrate the day was the Rat.
Trenton State College alumnus Frank Haas also mentioned that tailgating was a new aspect of Homecoming since his graduation in ’77. He was at this year’s Homecoming to meet up with his old friends from Sigma Tau Chi. More than 70 of the fraternity’s members attended this year’s Homecoming.
According to Haas, besides getting to re-connect with his friends from school, the best thing about coming back to the College was seeing all of its recent updates.
“My favorite part is to see how much it’s grown. It’s huge. Same space, but it’s unbelievably huge. There’s so many new buildings here,” Haas said.
There was a performance by the College’s cheerleading and dance teams before the winners of the two-week Homecoming Queen and King contests, seniors Ryan DeAngelis and Stephanie Rindosh, were crowned.
“It’s a huge honor. You know, everyone out there deserved it, and they’re a great bunch of guys and girls. It was really cool, especially representing the Ambassadors. I really appreciated it,” said DeAngelis, a chemistry major who represented the Ambassadors.
Rindosh, a civil engineering major who represented Delta Phi Epsilon, was also elated and said that being honored with the title “means that you just truly embody the TCNJ spirit and that you make the most of this place while you have it here.”
After the ceremony, the Lions took the field once again to defeat SUNY Morrisville 21-20.
“It was my first and last Homecoming as an undergraduate, and I’m really glad I went because it’s a big experience that undergrads have,” Cervino said. “I saw a lot of alums and it was good to see them again, and I know next year it’s going to be me doing that.”
(10/22/13 3:14pm)
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Twenty-eight College organizations, 13 teams and one week to prove that your team has the most school spirit.
To rally school pride in time for this year’s Homecoming, the Homecoming Spirit Week Committee and the Office of the Dean of Students held the 26th annual Spirit Week, with the theme of “Musicals,” from Monday, Oct. 14 through Friday, Oct. 18.
After competing in the week’s 11 events, the “Phantom of the Opera” team of Sigma Kappa and Phi Alpha Delta came out victorious, proving they possessed the ultimate school spirit. The team captured first place in six events: the backdrop, lip sync and banner reveal contests, as well as the three-legged, human pyramid and potato sack races.
The winning organizations’ names will be added to the President’s Spirit Trophy. The winners will also receive a dinner hosted by President R. Barbara Gitenstein, as well as $300, according to the Homecoming Spirit Week Committee’s website.
Also receiving cash prizes are the second-place team of Zeta Tau Alpha and Sigma Pi (“Willy Wonka”) and the third-place team of Delta Phi Epsilon, Phi Kappa Tau and Delta Lambda Phi (“Footloose”).
According to the Committee’s website, the week was created “to bring the community together while demonstrating our campus’s student pride and involvement.”
A volleyball tournament, cheerleading competition, tug-of-war game and other field games led to the week’s biggest events: the lip sync and dance competitions.
On Friday, Oct. 18, each team performed a skit, which included elaborate backdrops, costumes and props of the team’s theme. Each skit was required to involve the College, the Homecoming football game and the team’s
musical theme. Sound bites anywhere from Cher’s “Believe,” to the “Drake and Josh” catchphrase of “Hug me brother,” to the viral video of “Charlie bit my finger” were used.
In Sigma Kappa and Phi Alpha Delta’s winning skit, the SUNY Morrisville “Phantom” took the College’s cheerleader hostage. In order to win the game, the football player had to rescue her.
In between performances, the crowd danced, celebrated and cheered their team’s name and chant.
Spirit Week is crucial to the campus because it is the one week when the College feels like a community, according to junior psychology major and Sigma Sigma Sigma education director Kaitlin Shepard, who was on the “West Side Story” team.
“It is important for TCNJ to have a Spirit Week because it brings the school together. It allows the opportunity for all different student organizations to come together, form teams and have a fun week,” Shepard said.
For those who did not compete in the week’s competition, there were free giveaways throughout the week, including cupcakes and rally towels, as well as the chance to tie-dye a Spirit Week T-shirt.
According to Shepard, the week is a great way for students to build up school unity in time for Homecoming.
“The overall atmosphere of Spirit Week is upbeat and lively. Every day of the week there is something exciting going on to look forward to,” Shepard said. “The competitive nature of the events makes things fun, but in the end, everyone remembers that they are all one school and comes together to celebrate on Saturday.”
The week was co-chaired by senior English and Chinese double major and Student Government President Tyler Liberty and senior elementary education and math double major Stefanie Grossman. According to Grossman, this year’s Spirit Week was a success, and a goal for next year is to have even more people join in on the fun.
“People should want to participate in Spirit Week next year because it is a week full of fun and a way to make great memories. Everyone on campus has a different talent to offer, and Spirit Week provides an outlet for those talents to shine,” Grossman said. “It’s a busy week, but in the end, it’s something to do to show your school spirit and have a great time with friends, as well as make some new ones.”
(10/15/13 3:15pm)
Only 2 percent of women think they are beautiful.
90 percent of all women want to change at least one aspect of their physical appearance.
One out of four college-aged women have an eating disorder.
These statistics, provided by the Confidence Coalition, highlight the need for women and girls to have confidence in themselves, and this lack in confidence begins at a young age. In fact, 81 percent of 10-year-old girls are afraid of becoming fat, while every seven minutes a girl is bullied in her school yard, playground, stairwell, classroom or bathroom.
According to its website, the Coalition was founded in 2009 by the Kappa Delta Sorority in order to support the organizations, companies and individuals that promote self-esteem and confidence among girls and women.
The College’s chapter of the Kappa Delta Sorority, a member of the national Coalition, promoted confidence on campus by holding Confidence Week from Monday, Oct. 7 through Saturday, Oct. 12. According to junior marketing major and Kappa Delta vice president for Public Relations Jillian McCarthy, the sorority created a Facebook event with their confidence pledge on it, giving students the opportunity to pledge toward a goal outside the Brower Student Center and passed out blue and gold balloons with inspirational messages on them.
“Confidence is important for everybody to have in order to succeed in life. It is important to have confidence in order to stand up for yourself, believe in yourself and realize your full potential,” McCarthy said. “Confidence can be the driving factor that makes so many positive things happen for an individual, and based on the statistics, it is clear not enough women and girls have confidence.”
By holding Confidence Week, Kappa Delta hopes to spread not only confidence, but also self-esteem throughout the campus community.
“I think the week brings the word ‘confidence’ to the front of people’s minds and helps them to stand up a little bit taller and believe in themselves. We hope students walk past the wall outside of the student center and pledged to do something better, whether it was to be more confident, happy, friendly or supportive,” McCarthy said. “Hopefully the wall sparks a thought inside of the heads of our campus’ students and encourages them to believe in themselves and put their best foot forward.”
Kappa Delta continues the Confidence Coalition’s goal even though Confidence Week has ended at the College. According to McCarthy, the sorority will hold Girl Scout Days, where the sisters will act as role models for the young girls. Kappa Delta will show visiting Girl Scouts that it is important to always be confident.
“We hope to live up to the Confidence Coalition’s vision: ‘A world of confident girls and women who embrace the belief that they can achieve anything, and consistently exceed their own expectations,’” McCarthy said. “Confidence is an issue that affects everybody, not just females, and we are proud to be able to promote it through Kappa Delta. If we can help one person believe in themselves, then we have made a positive impact.”
(10/08/13 5:00am)
I remember the game that solidified my love for soccer. Ghana and Uruguay were vying for a spot in the semifinals of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. A win for Ghana would have made them the first African team to reach the World Cup semifinals. A win for Uruguay would have been its first trip to the semifinals in 40 years. A missed penalty shot by Ghana during the last minute of extra time forced the game into a suspenseful shootout where Uruguay clinched the semifinal spot.
I also remember the moment when I realized that the love and respect for soccer that other countries had would eventually catch fire in America. Algeria and the United States were tied at zero going into extra time when Landon Donovan scored the miracle goal seen ‘round the world. It was also the goal that I believe paved the way for Americans to appreciate the game, its beauty and its internationality.
Soccer has had its spikes in popularity in America. When Brandi Chastain tore off her jersey after winning the penalty shootout against China in the 1999 World Cup, there was a pique in interest. Before that, in the 1970s, Pelé was brought to the New York Cosmos. This caused a significant increase in the amount of youth who played. But after each of these events, it seemed as though America’s interest in soccer would gradually wane.
Something was different after the United States’ amazing runs from both the women’s and men’s national teams in the most recent World Cup tournaments. The interest in soccer has not only stayed alive, but it has increased.
NBC caught on to this trend and took advantage of it when they signed a three-year deal and paid $250 million for the rights to broadcast the top-notch English Premier League games. It was considered a risky deal, but numbers show that NBC made the right move.
One of the first games aired was Chelsea v. Manchester United, and it broke records for the station. NBC Sports Network averaged 536,000 viewers for the game — its best weekday audience since the 2012 London Olympics — while viewership peaked at 682,000, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Though these ratings aren’t anywhere close to those in other countries, it does show that more and more Americans are getting interested in the sport. According to the New York Daily News, Pelé said that the sport is more popular than ever among the nation’s youth and now played at a higher level. Of course, it would be wrong not to mention the tremendous impact that the FIFA video games have had on this trend.
The excitement that I had watching all of the World Cup games has transferred over to the Premier League, largely because my brother is a huge Chelsea supporter. Because of him, I know the chants for Chelsea, Fernando Torres and Frank Lampard. I know that it is football, not soccer. It is a kit, not a uniform. It is a boot, not a cleat. And it is the pitch, not the field. I get excited when I see a game on in the dining hall. English Premier League offers some of the best soccer in the world, and Americans are lucky that NBC offers these games.
My professor asked the class the other week which of their teams were playing over the weekend. Most people said Giants and Rangers, but one person said Liverpool. This just goes to show how the game is creeping into American society.
Though soccer is not yet a mainstream sport in the United States, I think one day it will be one. With some of the world’s best players coming from the United States, such as Alex Morgan and Clint Dempsey, soccer supporters have a lot to be excited about. Also, now that NBC broadcasts the Premier League without any subscription needed like FOX had done in the past, all Americans can be witnesses to some of the best players in the world.
Soccer is not boring. It is an exciting, beautiful, international game, and the United States. is continuing to understand why the rest of the world has already been in love with the sport for so long.
(09/17/13 3:39pm)
By Colleen Murphy
Review Editor
I was like a giddy little schoolgirl the whole week leading up to seeing “One Direction: This is Us.” I watched interviews with them and blasted all their songs in my dorm room. I even forced my family to watch their music videos so I could teach them who is who in the band.
Because none of my friends “had time” to see it, my mom, being the good mom she is, took me, her 19-year-old daughter, to see the One Direction movie.
We were surrounded by a bunch of elementary and middle school girls. At the first site of the five boys of One Direction, the theater erupted in adolescent shrieks. My mom looked at me with wide eyes — is this how it would be throughout the whole movie? Luckily, for her sake, the screams did subside. But I thought the other girls made the film fun to watch. I was surrounded by a group of “Directioners” who could appreciate the movie as much as I would.
So, with my $5.75 small popcorn (I only buy popcorn for REALLY special movies, like “Harry Potter,” and I considered this to be a REALLY special movie), I settled into the seat and for an hour and a half and had the opportunity to feel as though I was getting to know Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik and Liam Payne on a more personal level.
Directed by Academy Award nominee Morgan Spurlock (“Supersize Me”), “One Direction: This is Us” follows the boys’ rise to fame from their humble beginnings in the UK to their third-place finish on the “X-Factor,” and well, we all know what’s happened since. The band wanted to show audiences who they truly are and that they do things their way, hence the title. Cameras followed the boy band as they embarked on their sold-out summer 2013 world tour. Spurlock traveled with the band for six months and collected hundreds of hours of footage.
The documentary was shot for 3D, but I saw it in 2D and was perfectly fine. The concert footage was crisp, almost as if you were actually in the front row watching them goof off on stage as they sang “Kiss You.” The backstage clips gave viewers the chance to see the boys as they prepared for the shows. Yes, this means we got to see them as they changed clothes. Then there were the scenes of the five boys visiting home, exploring the cities they were in and just enjoying life.
After seeing the movie, it would be hard for anybody to not like the boys. Viewers get to see that they are just five 19- to 21-year-old boys who like to have a laugh and who still need their mothers. In one scene, the bodyguard explains how he has to act like a parent to the boys. With five minutes until show time, the bodyguard was seen chasing the group around the backstage area as they ride away on golf carts, skateboards and Segways. Antics like this were shown throughout the movie and made the boys extremely relatable to any person watching the documentary.
The feature film is innocent fun. I found myself smirking at their shenanigans and singing along to every song. Even my mom was tapping her foot throughout the movie and could not believe how likable the boys actually were.
“These guys are disarmingly charming. I challenge you to not like them when it’s over,” Spurlock said during the movie’s press conference.
Of course, I can only describe the movie as amaZAYN, fabuLOUIS, phenomiNIALL, extradanHARRY and brilLIAM. “One Direction: This is Us” lets moviegoers into the lives of five super famous, yet down-to-earth, boys. By the end of the movie, depending on who you are, you’ll either want to befriend them, be them or date them. I’ll take number one and three, please (but preferably three).
(08/27/13 4:04pm)
Big-budget movies about aliens, robots and Earth after civilization filled the theaters this summer. But in between all the special effects came a movie that was not like the others. “The Way, Way Back” is a heartfelt, coming-of-age story that does not need 3-D to make it entertaining. The simplicity of superior acting, humor and human emotion is what makes this movie so good.
Introverted 14-year-old Duncan is stuck going on vacation with his mother, her boyfriend and the boyfriend’s daughter. The boyfriend, played by Steve Carell, does not treat Duncan right, and Duncan’s mother, played by Toni Collette, does not seem to notice. To escape the broken family and the neighbors who cheat, drink and smoke pot, Duncan finds refuge in a nearby water park and its employees. It is there, at Water Wizz, where Duncan discovers his voice and who he is.
“The Way, Way Back” is a breath of fresh air. It has a strong, likable cast that brings humor to every scene. The one downside to the movie is having to see the usually lovable Carell play a cold character, though he does it well.
This Sundance Film Festival Official Selection is definitely worth seeing.
(08/27/13 3:46pm)
Take a small-time pot dealer, a stripper, a runaway and the weird kid from down the hall. Imagine they pretend to be a family to smuggle drugs over the Mexican border. What do you get? A comedy that’s better than others.
Jason Sudeikis and Jennifer Aniston play fake husband and wife with their fake children, Will Poulter and Emma Roberts, as they bring enough marijuana to fill an RV from Mexico to the United States. The four play off each other’s humor well, and the dynamic makes for some very funny moments.
Most comedies make people believe that the actual movie will be funny by showing the one or two “laugh-out-loud” moments in their trailers. But “We’re the Millers” had a couple more humorous scenes which weren’t shown in the coming attractions, a genuine surprise when drab films like “The Internship” flop.
It wasn’t all about the comedy, though. Behind the far-fetched plot, there was meaning and a timely message.
If you’ve gotten tired of watching “Pitch Perfect” or “The Hangover” trilogy by now, give “We’re the Millers” a try. It’s sure to smoke the other summer comedies.
(04/23/13 6:26pm)
By Colleen Murphy
Production Manager
“Just kill him. Get the needed answers and euthanize him. An eye for an eye. Right?”
Dzhokar Tsarnaev, 19, and his brother Tamerlan, 26, killed three people and injured more than 170 others. The two turned an empowering, celebratory day into one of terror. According to the White House, Dzhokar will be tried in civilian court, and many news sources predict that prosecutors will seek the death penalty. But should capital punishment even be an option in the United States anymore?
Killing a criminal seems like an easy solution, but it is not the right one. I am going to prove this in three different ways: on a religious level, from a moral standpoint, and if you are still not convinced, I will argue why keeping the criminal alive is better than killing him.
The argument from a religious standpoint: no one but God should decide when someone should die. Yes, Tsarnaev decided on April 15 that innocent people would die, but he will have to pay the ultimate price for this decision when God decides it is time for him to die. The U.S. government should not be the one to decide when a person dies — that decision is up to God and God alone. In the meantime, Tsarnaev should be given the maximum penalty the U.S. Courts can give that does not include capital punishment.
The argument based on morals: if Al-Qaeda believes in an eye for an eye, why should the American government?
I do not get what justice killing a person gives. Will it bring closure to the family members of the persons who were murdered? Their loved one is not coming back regardless of whether or not the criminal is sentenced to death. Will it deter others from committing crimes? I do not think that people who are willing to commit such heinous crimes will deliberate whether or not to go through with it just because they have the possibility of being caught and put to death. The death penalty has not stopped murderers from murdering or terrorists from terrorizing. Killing a human being under the death penalty seems inhumane when compared to the rest of America’s beliefs.
Also, there are about five cases a year where a person murdered by capital punishment was later found innocent. In 1982, Lionel Herrera was arrested for the killing of a Texas Department of Public Safety Officer. After several trials, Herrera was found guilty and put to death by lethal injection. In his final statement, he said, “I am innocent, innocent, innocent ... I am an innocent man, and something very wrong is taking place tonight.” He was later found innocent.
With capital punishment in place, many lives have been ruined for no reason. If there had been no death penalty, these people would have been found innocent and released from jail. Their lives could have continued and their families and friends would still have their loved ones with them. And for those who just want that person dead: don’t you want the person to suffer as much as possible? How is killing the criminal better than letting them sit isolated in prison?
Lethal injection is the most often used way of killing somebody under capital punishment. That is quick. Sitting in a small prison cell by oneself for a lifetime in harsh conditions sounds worse to me.
And, contrary to popular belief, capital punishment does not save taxpayers money. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, holding a case where death penalty is being sought costs $1.9 million to $3 million more than a non-death penalty case. In fact, the death penalty in New Jersey has cost taxpayers an estimated $253 million since 1983.
Between 1977 and 2012, there were 1,411 executions under the death penalty. There have already been eight executions this year alone.
Those are 1,419 human beings who should be sitting in a prison rather than dead.
(04/16/13 4:36pm)
Ortiz was granted a year-long sabbatical last year when she studied 20th century autocracy in Latin America and how women writers were able to speak about the state of their countries through poems, memoirs and autobiographies. She presented her findings on Thursday, April 11 in the presentation, “Overwriting the Dictator: Latin American Women’s Autobiographical Literature,” for the semester’s final installment of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences- sponsored politics forum.
Nicaragua’s Somoza dynasty, Dominican Republic’s Rafael Trujillo, Chile’s Augusto Pinochet, Argentina’s Juan Peron and Cuba’s Fidel Castro were the five autocratic dictators discussed in the forum.
Ortiz then presented five women writers who wrote about their experiences under the rule of these men.
According to Ortiz, these five women were not just simply writing, they were “negotiating the circumstances of their lives.”
Poet Rosario Murillo wrote about her experience as a Nicaraguan woman. In her poem, “In all this, what woman?,” Murillo names the three women who are not supposed to exist in Nicaragua under the Somoza dynasty: a faceless woman, a woman who knows her presence in the world and a woman who writes it.
A second writer Ortiz studied was the daughter of Trujillo, Angelita Trujillo, who wrote about her life in “La Hija Mimada” (“The Spoiled Daughter”). She wrote that her father was misunderstood and that he was “the last of a dying breed of men on horseback.”
“She’s not really writing her memories,” Ortiz said. “(Trujillo) collects others’ ideas, complies them and narrates in and around them for proof that no dictatorship existed.”
Trujillo does this because she wants the nation to remember her father as a gentleman, according to Ortiz. However, this might be hard considering that he owned a house in the country where hundreds of virgins were brought to him.
Ortiz is currently researching the writings of Chilean Isabel Allende. At 16, Allende said, “I discovered that parting my knees was much more interesting than keeping them closed.” In her piece, “Aphrodite,” Allende writes erotic tales and is open with her sexuality, in a country where women were required to stay at home to breastfeed, the piece can be considered the anti-manual or anti-womanhood, according to Ortiz.
The next woman writer mentioned, Eva Peron, the Dictress of Argentina, is considered the voice of Argentina, according to Ortiz. In her book, Peron wrote, “I am only the shadow of (Juan Peron’s) superior presence.” She even began her autobiography with, “Let’s not talk about me,” and wrote about her husband. Ortiz said that Peron considers her life a Cinderella Story, thanks to her husband.
Poet and novelist Zoe Valdes was the fifth woman writer that Ortiz highlighted. Valdes was named a public enemy after exposing Castro in her writings.
Valdes was born while Castro was announcing his new revolution and said that the labor her mother endured was excruciating and that she can even remember the pain. She attributes that pain to the start of Castro’s dictatorship. Valdes wrote, “The pain was like the pain of death. Life was beginning, but it felt instead like life was ending.”
According to Ortiz, Valdes was exiled from Cuba and said that she is terribly disgusted that she can no longer write about her life in her own country. Without writing, she feels as though she lost her voice.
But some women can never read or write because they are illiterate. However, according to Ortiz, their voice is still heard and their experiences are still told through alternate ways, including weaving tapestries.
Ortiz said that some of these five women’s writings had no impact because they were not discovered until after the dictator was gone. But these outliers’ writing live on today to remind people of the life that Latin American women had to live in the 20th century under these five autocratic dictators.