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(02/26/18 10:40pm)
By Elizabeth Zakaim
News Editor
The first time Dean William Keep set foot on New Jersey soil was as a 17-year-old Coast Guard recruit starting boot camp in Cape May. He never imagined that he would end up at the College, but he is grateful that he did.
Keep, who is currently the dean of the School of Business at the College, was named Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs on Feb. 6, according to a campus-wide email from College President R. Barbara Gitenstein. The announcement came shortly after a Jan. 31 email that explained that the College’s current provost, Jacqueline Taylor, intends to retire at the end of June.
Taylor’s accomplishments during her tenure include the revision of the College’s governance document, her work with diversity and inclusion and help with the development of the new STEM building, according to Gitenstein’s email.
As interim provost, Keep will be responsible for the academic programming involved in all seven academic schools, the library, global engagement, liberal learning and other academic programs at the College.
The change in the College’s presidential leadership will pose a new challenge of its own for Keep, whose job will not only include hearing from students, faculty and administration on academic issues, but also include aiding in the new president’s adjustment.
“My first day on the job will be this person’s first day on the job,” Keep said. “My job will be to continue to hear from faculty and students and administration … and at the same time try to help the new president become familiar with the culture.”
Keep is originally from Jackson, Michigan, and served four years in the U.S. Coast Guard. As a married veteran, he later earned his degree in social science and economics at Michigan State University’s James Madison College.
He also completed various internships with the State of Michigan Office of Intergovernmental Relations and the Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, D.C. After he graduated, he worked in the marketing department of an international trade association, according to Keep’s biographical sketch on the College’s School of Business website.
His undergraduate degree, however, was not enough to satiate his need for knowledge. In 1986, Keep went back to school for his PhD in marketing at the Eli Broad College of Business. His research can be found in publications including the Journal of Marketing, the Journal of Public Policy and Marketing and the Journal of Business Ethics, according to the College’s website.
He also worked at Quinnipiac University for 11 years, and served as associate provost there for three years, prior to his time at the College.
Keep felt his time in the Coast Guard helped prepare him for the sometimes hawkish atmosphere of the professional world. His thick skin helped him get through the challenges that come with the responsibility of his position in higher education.
“In an environment like the military you realize not to take everything personally –– there are things that have to be done and people who have to evaluate how you’ve done,” Keep said. “It may feel personal but it really isn’t –– if you let it get personal you can’t be productive.”
Moving forward, one of Keep’s main goals is to make sure that student’s voices are heard. He was made aware through Twitter of Student Government’s recent decision against establishing a “smart casual” dress code.
“To me, there must be some solution where a young person can have access to professional dress even though their family situation may not allow that,” Keep said. “Those are little things, but they’re important.”
Keep has served as dean of the School of Business since 2009. Under his leadership, the School of Business has been regularly recognized as one of the top 100 business schools for undergraduates, according to Businessweek. He looks fondly back on his time as dean, which he described as the highlight of his career.
“We have had a positive culture here and I think I’ve helped build that and I’ve had help along the way,” Keep said. “This has been a really great nine years.”
(02/06/18 10:06pm)
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By Elizabeth Zakaim
News Editor
Members of this year’s graduating class will leave the College with their diplomas, senior portraits and four years of education under their belts, but one memento of their time at the College will be missing – yearbooks.
Due to low demand and a lack of incoming leadership, the College’s yearbook club, The Seal, is no longer an active organization on campus. The Seal’s editor-in-chief during her junior and senior years, Angela Arguson (’17), could not find a successor to lead the club before she graduated.
Ziyi Wang, president of the Student Finance Board and a senior marketing major, said the club has also been in debt for years.
The College is not the only school that has said goodbye to its yearbook in recent years. In the past decade, there has been a decline in the production of college yearbooks nationwide, according to Steven Chappell, the College Media Association’s yearbook committee chairman and professor of media and journalism at Northwest Missouri State University.
Schools like Towson University in Maryland published its last yearbook in 2009, and the University of Maryland printed its last copy in 1986, according to a 2016 Baltimore Sun article.
Chappell pointed out that this trend is specific to colleges, not high schools. The culture in high schools, where there are fewer students who are also familiar with each other, is vastly different than in colleges.
“A sense of community disappears,” Chappell said. “You’re no longer in a confined space 10 hours a day – there’s less of a sense of belonging and the yearbook isn’t as important.”
The yearbook is dying out across college campuses for more reasons than the lack of a strong sense of community.
“It’s a quick fix for universities with budget problems,” Chappell said. “Yearbooks are not cheap to print.”
The Seal usually sold 125 to 175 copies a year, though there are about 1,600 to 1,700 graduates in each class, according to Donna Shaw, adviser of the The Seal for 10 years and professor of journalism. Last year, the yearbook started at $90 for the early purchase discount, and then increased to $100 by the end of the year. Shaw imagined it would have been the same for this year as well.
Students have found a less expensive alternative to the yearbook that also functions as a more convenient alternative –– social media.
“Students think, ‘I’ll always have that connection, I don’t need a yearbook for that,’” Chappell said.
The Signal conducted a Facebook survey to hear from students of this year’s graduating class. Out of 40 participants, 46 percent reported that they wished they had a yearbook as a way of remembering their time at the College, and 54 percent said it was either too expensive to bother purchasing or that they’d rather keep in touch with friends through social media.
Arguson, who started working as a layout editor for The Seal during her sophomore year, recalled how little interest there was for the yearbook.
“It was definitely a little disappointing when it came to trying to market and sell the yearbook and seeing that our work did not get much recognition,” Arguson said.
However, after obtaining her bachelor’s degree in interactive multimedia, Arguson understood why there was such little interest in the yearbook.
“I do think we have lost some sense of personal touch that cannot be recreated virtually or online, which is why I saw value in the yearbook,” Arguson said. “But we rely so much more on technology – it’s just the times we live in.”
Some students are upset that there won’t be a yearbook this year. Michael Battista, a senior journalism and professional writing major, was looking forward to having a yearbook come graduation.
“I always felt having a hard copy or at the very least the online files saved to your computer is the better option,” Battista said.
For Battista, the best option would be to have both an electronic and physical copy of his memories at the College, but he acknowledged that little else compares to print content. Technology changes with time, but print stays constant.
“People in 2004 probably thought, ‘man, MySpace is going to be around forever,’ and look how that turned out,” Battista said.
Shaw agreed that the demise of the yearbook could be due to a lack of foresight into the future of technology.
“Who knows what will come after Facebook,” Shaw said. “Who knows how we will stay in touch with old friends 30, 40 or 50 years from now? The yearbook may be retro, but decades from now it will still be somewhere in your house and you can pick it up and read through it.”
Social media may be the quickest and cheapest replacement for a yearbook for the College’s class of 2018, but Arguson hopes that the College does not bury its yearbook for good.
“It is a loss in the sense that the TCNJ tradition of issuing a yearbook is over,” Arguson said. “The Seal has been around for years.”
The Seal was first published in 1911. It is the oldest club on campus, second only to The Signal, according to Dave Conner, the College’s director of student involvement.
Even though students are running with the technological tide for now, Arguson still believes the club has potential to make a comeback.
“If interest for a yearbook peaks again in the future and the trend returns,” Arguson said, “I think it’d be worth a shot to revive it.”
(01/23/18 7:03am)
By Elizabeth Zakaim
News Editor
The College’s Kendall Main Stage Theater was nominated on Jan. 8 for JerseyArts.com’s 2018 People’s Choice Award in the “Small Performing Arts Center” category, according to the College’s School of Arts and Communications newsletter.
The Kendall Main Stage Theater has been hosting student productions and guest performances since it opened in 1932. This is the venue’s first nomination for an award, according to Albert Brown, the recruitment and outreach specialist for the College’s School of Arts and Communications.
“It certainly is an honor,” Brown said. “The Kendall Main Stage Theater has served as a home for the arts at TCNJ in all the best ways –– a sense of community, creativity, growth and entertainment. We would like to acknowledge students and staff who work tirelessly to make performances and events successful.”
Jersey Arts is cosponsored by the ArtPride New Jersey Foundation and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, according to the program’s website. The organization was created to increase awareness and appreciation of artistic endeavors within the state.
Winners of the competition will be announced in March with awards presented soon after at the New Jersey Tourism Conference, according to Brown. The award includes a special mention on JerseyArts.com and a gold plaque.
Other performance centers nominated for the award include the Stockton Performing Arts Center, Shea Center for Performing Arts and Monmouth University Center for the Arts’ Pollak Theatre. The South Orange Performing Arts Center won the award in 2017.
Campus stakeholders are encouraged to vote for the theater at JerseyArts.com/vote. Voting ends on Feb. 20. Voters may also enter a grand prize contest to win a $100 gift card by providing a mailing address along with their ballots.
(11/12/17 5:25am)
By Elizabeth Zakaim
Arts & Entertainment Editor
Although students came to the College Union Board’s Fall Comedy Show to hear comedian and talk-show host Chris Hardwick perform stand-up, it was Hardwick’s musical finale that really won over the Kendall Hall crowd.
Hardwick closed his show with Mike Phirman, the opening act and longtime co-performer, to sing their original song, “Corazon,” in a tribute to the romantic nature of Latino music, with a more literal twist on the heart.
The lyrics, sung in Spanish, were translated on a slideshow behind the two performers that also included anatomical images of the heart and other videos of heart dissections.
“The human heart is a hollow, four-chambered organ. The heart is a muscular pump that maintains the circulation of our life’s blood,” the translation read as the duo sang in Spanish.
Hardwick treated the audience with lively anecdotes and raunchy jokes at his show on Tuesday, Nov. 7.
The comedian endeared himself to the crowd with personal stories. One time, while vacationing with his wife, a romantic moment took an unexpected turn.
“Give me your finger,” his wife, Lydia Hearst said.
Hardwick thought he’d hit the jackpot, until he learned exactly just where his finger was going to go.
“I have sunscreen on my hands. Could you put my contact lens in for me?”
That was the first time Hardwick had touched his wife’s, or anyone’s, eyeball, and he hoped it would be the last.
While he never ran short of any jokes or laughs, Hardwick’s career ranges further than his stand-up. He is the founder and CEO of Nerdist, a media empire that includes a website, podcast and various YouTube channels. He is also known for hosting the Emmy-winning internet-based game show “@midnight.” Hardwick continues to host “Talking Dead,” the aftershow of AMC’s “The Walking Dead” and its spinoff “Fear the Walking Dead.”
Hardwick showed off his improv skills by interacting directly with the audience. He approached one audience member who Hardwick claimed was wearing “sports shorts,” attire that ran contra to his proud nerdy persona.
“So what sports thing do you do,” he asked Jesse Peterson, a senior health and exercise science major, glad to have an athlete in his comedic clutches.
“Your mom,” Peterson answered without missing a beat.
“That does explain why she’s been so thoroughly unsatisfied lately,” Hardwick replied.
The raunchy jokes, a trademark of Hardwick’s self-described “juvenile humor” only got more vulgar as the night went on.
Hardwick asked Dylan Broadwell, a junior psychology major, why –– from a psychological perspective –– Peterson would brag about showing off his supposed sexual relations with Hardwick’s mother.
“What would you say about that sports kid,” he asked Broadwell.
“He has a tiny penis,” Broadwell replied.
Neither Peterson nor Broadwell planned for their interactions with the comedian, but it had the audience hooting and laughing.
Hardwick also had a great time playing around with the props backstage and infusing them into his comedic bits. He accompanied a pot he threw from backstage with the cheesy pun –– “I didn’t know pot was legal here.”
He also shared his advice on everything from self-driving cars to dancing in public.
“It’s an exceptionally bad idea,” he said on cars that could be programmed to drive themselves, except for one unexpected feature, “you can jerk off in traffic.”
Hardwick found the shyness he’s always felt while dancing in public withered away when he found the key to the ultimate dance move.
“Just pretend that you’re surrounded by thousands of penises,” he said, swinging his fists up and down continuously to an imaginary beat.
Hardwick and Phirman’s finale, “Corazon,” was the perfect closing to an eccentric and interactive performance.
The audience loved the show as well. For Broadwell, a long-time fan of Hardwick, Broadwell's chance to exchange banter with the comedian was the highlight of the show –– that, and the chance for Broadwell to mention that Hardwick’s mom follows Broadwell on Twitter.
“That was my main goal for tonight,” Broadwell said. “It was incredible.”
(11/04/17 10:43pm)
By Elizabeth Zakaim
Arts & Entertainment Editor
Change is often unavoidable, usually natural, yet sometimes forced by hand. Society changes and grows with time, but often leaves footprints of its past buried so deep that people question whether it should be uprooted or left as a reminder for the future.
The College’s decision to rename Paul Loser Hall, now Trenton Hall, this past May has left some people satisfied and others disgruntled. Those who have attended the College have differing opinions on the issue.
Princeton councilman and Trenton State alumnus Timothy Quinn (’81), recalled Princeton University’s struggle in 2015, when the school considered removing former President Woodrow Wilson’s name from its buildings. Wilson, also the president of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, was a segregationist, according to Princeton’s Board of Trustees committee. Despite student sit-ins and protests, Princeton University ultimately decided not to remove Wilson’s name in 2016, according to NPR.
Quinn, who graduated before Paul Loser Hall was built, was a strong supporter of the name change. He appreciated that the College was being transparent in acknowledging its history.
“It really spoke to me as a Trenton State alumnus that they were not whitewashing the history of the College and its beginnings in Trenton,” Quinn said.
The name change has left a sour taste in the mouths of some alumni, who believed that the change stripped the College of some of some credibility.
Alumna Gabrielle Okun (’17) believes that the College was adapting to the whims of today’s “political correctness.” According to Okun, history is not about sanitizing past wrongdoing, even if some people find it to be offensive.
“This action sets a dangerous precedent,” Okun said. “If we take down anything that is deemed offensive to a 21st century perspective at a school, regardless if it’s a statue of a historical figure or a name of a building that does not represent present-day values, we would simply have no history.”
While Okun was disappointed to learn that Paul Loser was a proponent of segregation, she acknowledged that it was a common belief for many at the time, as hard as that fact can be for people to swallow. She said that while the New Jersey Supreme Court ruling in 1944 made segregation of public schools illegal, it didn’t automatically change people’s personal views on racism.
“It was a common belief for the time, whether or not we want to admit that,” Okun said.
College President R. Barbara Gitenstein contested that notion in an Oct. 11 meeting with The Signal.
“If you look, as I’ve presented in my letter to the board, the issue with regard to changing the name had to do with the history of an individual who was a public employee who broke the law,” Gitenstein said.
Real estate broker T. Christopher Hill of Robbinsville, New Jersey, who attended the College from 1978 until 1982, took issue not with the name change, but with the naming of the building.
“I think the school didn’t do a good enough job vetting the person,” Hill said. “They should have done more research before they took the family’s money.”
The story of how Paul Loser Hall earned its name was best told by the president of the College at the time, Harold Eickhoff.
During the 1980s, Eickhoff and other administrators saw a strong need for a foundation independent of state and alumni donations, neither of which were satisfying the College’s financial needs. Pete Loser, at the time the executive vice president of a company now called Verizon, agreed to head this dynamic fundraising arm: The Trenton State College Foundation.
During the 1982-83 academic year, Pete Loser approached Eickhoff with a donation proposal. The donor, who wished to remain anonymous, wanted to make a gift to the College that would also serve as a memorial. Pete Loser and Eickhoff had grown very close, and the vagueness of the request puzzled the president, but he did not press for details. The original offer was for about $30,000 to $50,000, which was not quite enough for the investment.
During this time, Eickhoff and Pete Mills, the College’s business officer, were already working out the plans for what is now Trenton Hall.
“It was going to be a statement of our commitment to quality and we knew that would cost extra,” Eickhoff said.
Mills and Eickhoff agreed to memorialize the building in the donor’s name if it could be worked out.
Pete Loser soon revealed the donor –– his brother, Tom Loser, who was willing to donate $1 million to memorialize his father, Paul Loser. Tom Loser asked for complete privacy and anonymity at the time, and the deal was sealed verbally. According to Eickhoff, none of this transaction was put in writing.
“It was one of those things where you have an established reputation that goes unquestioned,” Eickhoff said of his decision not to document the agreement.
In 1997, Eickhoff made the donation public in his yearly speech to the College’s faculty and administration.
While there was controversy surrounding the donation, there was no question as to the reputation of Paul Loser. The controversy was not about the name, but about the money and how it was used –– faculty members at the time would have preferred to have seen the $1 million go to the College’s library, or other school expenses. They were slightly appeased, however, when the administration decided to expand the building’s role to not only be used as a reception area for students and families, but as the heart of the School of Nursing as well.
There was no doubt at the time over Paul or Tom Loser’s reputation –– they were considered to be upstanding people, according to Eickhoff. But had people been more aware of what is now known about Paul Loser, would his name still have been memorialized, or has the nature of time been the real catalyst all along?
“I don’t know,” Eickhoff said. “The issue of race in America has become much higher profile now than it was back then –– it never came up.”
Even proponents of the name change agreed that values have changed since Paul Loser’s time. Alumna Natasha Piñeiros (’17) thought that the name change should have happened sooner, but acknowledged that the atmosphere today is more politically correct than it used to be.
“Segregation was very palpable back then,” Piñeiros said. “I think that’s part of our history –– it’s not about Paul Loser Hall, it’s about how TCNJ decides to bring to life his legacy in our building.”
Piñeiros wanted the symbolism behind the action to resonate with the College and other institutions.
“It can very well just end there,” Piñeiros said of the protestors’ efforts, “but there’s always change to be made, there’s always more work to be done.”
Piñeiros felt the student protestors were brave for standing up for what they believed in, and wished she had been more involved during her time as a student.
“I understood the fight,” Piñeiros said. “If I were to give back to TCNJ, it would be to specific programs that help students with these marginalized identities who oftentimes don’t get support from different areas.”
When asked why it took until recently for this issue to be brought under such a strong light, Quinn credited the students of the College and the changing educational curriculum.
“We didn’t understand things like implicit bias,” Quinn said. “We didn’t understand white privilege at all.”
Times have changed in the academic world, and historical perspectives have changed as well.
“I really think the scholarship caught up with our understanding of history,” Quinn said. “We’re able to say, ‘wait why are we putting a guy’s name on a building who set up a system that would have prevented kids in his district from attending college here?’”
For Quinn, the change was an acknowledgment of the College’s past, and how history in general is being taught differently.
“I was taught a history that was written by the winners,” Quinn said. The College made a change based on a re-evaluation of its past, which Quinn said was justified. “It did merit the kind of change that came out of this.”
(10/24/17 12:07am)
By Sean Reis
Staff Writer
PHILADELPHIA — Diehard fans crowd-surfed above. Mosh pits, for the brave few, broke out left and right. The remaining, rowdy attendees screamed their favorite lyrics at the top of their lungs. On Saturday, Oct. 14, Philadelphia pop-punkers Modern Baseball mirrored the passion of the 1,200 or so fans that sold out Union Transfer, as both sides were aware that the night could ultimately be one of their last concerts together.
The show was the second of three consecutive performances on the weekend of Friday the 13th. The trio of shows was also the beloved Philly band’s first appearance together since the announcement of a hiatus in February for mental health reasons.
The crowd seemed pleased to see “MoBo” back together, but band members Jake Ewald, Brendan Lukens, Ian Farmer and Sean Huber seemed even happier to share the stage for what could perhaps be the final time.
“I’m pretty sure I peaked,” said Nicholas Wodeshick, a senior communication studies major who attended Saturday’s concert.
A diehard MoBo fan since the release of the band’s debut album, “Sports,” Wodeshick picked the right night to attend the weekend-long residency — Modern Baseball started its Saturday performance by playing “Sports” in its entirety.
“I was very bummed to miss out on Saturday’s show,” said Luke Lenczuk, a junior international studies major who attended Friday’s and Sunday’s concerts. “Yet at their final show on Sunday, I was still able to catch a few off of that record. When that first break down of ‘Cooke’ hit my ears, I was dumbfounded. Sometimes you forget how great a band is, and Modern Baseball did not disappoint.”
No matter which of the three concerts fans attended, MoBo swung for the fences. Each night offered a special experience — not only in regards to Modern Baseball’s sets, but also the opening acts, who varied from day to day. After all, the band’s concert series was titled “Modern Baseball and Friends” so Ewald, Lukens and company could show off their up-and-coming colleagues.
Ewald has been a mainstay at the College since Modern Baseball first performed at the Rathskeller in 2014. Since then, Ewald has played at the College three more times — once more with Modern Baseball at the College Union Board’s 2015 Fall Concert, and twice last November, as both an acoustic duo with Lukens and as the frontman of his solo project, Slaughter Beach, Dog.
“Hearing the older songs into the latest album, you could feel how far MoBo had come,” said Amanda Brecher, a senior communication studies major who attended Saturday’s concert. “There was also a feeling of MoBo giving back by having a few relatively newer acts open up for them on every night.”
One of those openers was Philadelphia’s own Harmony Woods, a lo-fi indie rock act fronted by Drexel University freshman Sofia Verbilla with a backing band. Her guitarist, Chance Halter, was especially excited about the opportunity.
“I feel extremely lucky to be in a band at all, let alone one that got to (open for Modern Baseball),” Halter said. “It was a dream come true and I feel incredibly fortunate to have gotten to do that. It was completely surreal.”
Modern Baseball also performed more material from its sophomore album, “You’re Gonna Miss It All,” and its most recently released record, “Holy Ghost.”
MoBo closed the Saturday show with “Your Graduation,” a fan-favorite from “You’re Gonna Miss It All.” The band played the song not once, not twice, but three times, until the song’s final lyric was screamed in unison one last time: “go ahead and walk away.”
If fans could return to the opening number and “Re-Do” the weekend, many would without question. Others, however, may choose to accept the possible bittersweet end of an era. It’s currently uncertain whether or not Modern Baseball will ever take the stage together again, but fans have an optimistic attitude. Despite what “Your Graduation” suggested, no one can simply “go ahead and walk away.”
Spoken from a true fan’s heart: “All good things shouldn’t last forever,” Wodeshick said, “but I hope MoBo does.”
(10/17/17 1:19am)
By Elizabeth Zakaim
Arts & Entertainment Editor
After 24 hours of writing scripts, memorizing lines and losing sleep, the actors, directors and stage members were finally ready for their performance.
On Saturday, Oct. 14, members of the College’s theater programs, TCNJ Musical Theatre and All College Theatre, performed five shows, which they had only one day to put together.
As part of this fall’s WIRED, students began writing their scripts at 8 p.m. and finished at 4 a.m. Rehearsal started at 7 a.m. the next morning, all with the help of the arbiters, the head honchos, of the program.
The head arbiter of the event, junior English and secondary education major Katherine MacQueen, was responsible for making sure everything went smoothly behind the scenes during both rehearsal and opening night.
She and the arbiters were also responsible for adding different themes and twists to each story.
“We give them five twists throughout the night while they’re writing,” MacQueen said. “It makes all their shows a little quirky in some sort of way.”
While billed as a competition, there was much more motivating participants than just winning.
“It doesn’t matter because it’s WIRED,” said junior psychology major Kira Cohen of the relaxed and motivated atmosphere between her fellow cast and crew.
Cohen played Valerie in the first show, “Of Mice and Milkshakes,” a lighthearted production about high school students who time travel from the ’50s to 2017. She participated to form new friendships and memories, not to worry about getting everything perfect.
“The point is to get up there and enjoy the experience,” Cohen said, “not necessarily to learn your lines perfectly.”
The plot for each show was left under the discretion of each group’s scriptwriters, but with just a few exceptions –– each group had to integrate different plot twists and running themes throughout their performances.
For instance, each script had to include and complete the phrase, “you’ve heard of Elf on the Shelf, but have you heard of…?”
This was done in a number of creative ways, some lewd and others silly.
During “Of Mice and Milkshakes,” which was directed by junior secondary education and math dual major Alyssa Fanelli, the young characters traveled through time from the shy days of the mid 1950s to the in-your-face attitudes of the College’s students of 2017. A stereotypical fraternity brother, Mick Jagger (played by senior junior communications studies and journalism and professional writing double major Benjamin Zander), hit on poor Barbara, an avid student from the 1950’s James Dean High.
“You’ve heard of Elf on the Shelf,” Mick Jagger said leaning toward her and wiggling his eyebrows, “but have you heard of hoe on a bro?”
Both the ’50s kids and the audience felt nothing less than scandalized. The feeling only grew more prominent when the audience, and Mick Jagger, learned that innocent Barbara was actually R. Barbara Gitenstein, future president of the College.
Each show engaged the crowd, either through humor, or by actually breaking down the metaphorical fourth wall in the midst of the performance.
During “Repeat Sign,” the fourth play of the night directed by junior communication studies major Gretchen Newell, the characters let the audience members decide how the play would end –– either happily or horribly. Even the actors hadn’t yet read the scripts to either ending.
The audience voted against the happy ending, but the scriptwriters obviously saw that coming. No WIRED production has ever ended badly, said senior chemistry major Eric Schreiber reading off of his script. And this one was no exception.
Each play brought its own quirks, whether it was the alien hiding from the FBI on a farm in Alabama in “Farms: The Final Frontier,” or the identity of the mysterious murderer in “The Golf Cart Killer.”
By the end of the night, cast and audience members alike were eager to learn the outcome of the competition.
Winners included senior communication studies major Lauren Vogel, as best stage manager, junior marketing major Paul Chukrallah, as best director and “Farms: The Final Frontier,” as best show.
“It was definitely hard earned this semester,” Chukrallah said. “Each show was so well realized and stood out in such unique ways.”
The experience was what he hoped it would be and more. Chukrallah has participated in WIRED since his freshman year and he’s enjoyed every minute.
“It’s easily one of my favorite parts of being at TCNJ,” he said. “I’m always happy to be surrounded by good friends and good theater.”
(10/17/17 12:41am)
By Maximillian C. Burgos
Sports Editor
Two Door Cinema Club provided a night that will live glorious splendor in the memories of everyone that went to its concert at the Electric Factory the night of Sept. 30.
Fans from around the tri-state area came to see the band perform, waiting hours in line to get front row seats. The line went around the block as the night progressed, but the fans were rewarded for their wait.
Two Door Cinema Club took a long time to take the stage after the opener, Circa Waves, left. For any casual fan, it felt like an eternity. For hardcore fans, it felt like they would never take the stage.
When the lights finally faded, the crowd lost their minds. Fog filled the room and the lights accompanied the thumping drums as they flashed around the stage, highlighting each member as sound blasted into the room.
The lighting was phenomenal. Allison Glantzberg, a sophomore physics major, recalls being blown away by the band’s performance.
“It was great how the lights accompanied the music,” she said. “Everything was so great. I was speechless.”
Two Door Cinema Club played all of their best music. The lead singer Alex Trimble looked out to the crowd with a very distant graze as he delivered flawless vocals. Each song started and ended with the crowd roaring and jumping up and down. During the song “Are We Ready?” the crowd grew so loud, it was almost deafening. Glantzberg recalls not being able to hear.
“I had to cover my ears for a second,” she said. “I couldn’t hear the band or the crowd. It was just a roaring mess of sound.” When Two Door Cinema Club performed its popular song, “Sun,” the band pretended to end the concert early and quickly left the stage. The crowd chanted, “encore” repeatedly. For a second, it seemed as if they would not come back out, but once they did the night went from great to amazing.
Two Door Cinema Club played through all of their songs in rapid succession. It was a nonstop thrill ride for fans like Glantzberg, who were drenched in energy the whole night.
Circa Waves, an indie rock band formed in Liverpool in 2013, opened for Two Door Cinema Club. While many in the crowd weren’t familiar with Circa Waves, they were happily enlightened by the concert’s end.
The lead guitarist of Circa Waves, Kieran Shudall, bursted onto stage full of electric energy.
“How are you doing Philadelphia?!” Shudall yelled in his thick English accent. The audience responded with cheers and excited chants. He nodded, gave the crowd a wide ear-to-ear smile and roared, “I fucking love this city,” into the microphone, sparking more cheers from the crowd.
Shudall started off the concert with a guitar riff for the ages. The music of Circa Waves was very melodic and had a heavy influence from the Strokes, but was original enough to not be a blatant ripoff. The music was energetic and only paused for the band to briefly introduce themselves after the second song. The drummer, Colin Jones, was a sweaty mess the entire night as he pounded away, breaking drum sticks left and right and tossing them into the roaring crowd.
Circa Waves blasted their way through all of their more popular songs including “Wake up” and “Fire That Burns.” For such a young band, Circa Waves had great showmanship. Shudall never missed a beat with his intense vocals. There were moments where he would scream into the microphone, neck veins bulging but all anyone could hear was the crowd roaring with excitement.
The fog from the stage rolled out the doors into the cold fall night. Two Door Cinema Club at the Electric Factory was a night that will be remembered for decades to come.
“I’ve never been to a concert like that,” Glantzberg said. “They played everything back-to-back-to-back. They only stopped for water. It was great.”
When the concert ended and the crowds shuffled out, most of the audience left the concert tired, drenched in sweat and a little deaf from the blaring music. In the end it was all worth it because nothing can replace the memory that the concert formed for each member of audience.
(09/13/17 2:13am)
By Elizabeth Zakaim
Arts & Entertainment Editor
As someone who has occupied the College’s campus for quite some time, I can comfortably say that I’ve come across some of the school’s best study spots. When the third floor of the library gets too crowded, and your bedroom “study sessions” all turn into naps, below are some better spots to start hitting the books.
Before the weather gets unbearably cold, bring your books to a bench by the lake. We’ve got two of them so you can take your pick. The calm blue water and the rustling leaves make your 10-page paper a little less intimidating. There also won’t be anyone close enough to bother you with their loud chewing, paper crumpling or incessant whispering.
If you’re not the outdoorsy type, the fourth floor of the library, right in front of the circular window, has been dubbed both the best study spot and one of the best views of campus. You don’t realize how high up the fourth floor of the library is until you look down and see how far away you are from the rest of campus. This is also a good spot if you’re someone who likes total silence while you’re studying. The third floor of the library can get a little crowded, but the fourth floor –– especially in the morning –– is a much quieter place to get some work done.
The fourth floor library, however, is a rather popular study space in general. If you’re someone who likes to study alone, but you’re too easily distracted in your bedroom, a good place to try is the Social Sciences Building atrium. While it can get a little crowded during the week, especially in between classes, I’ve found the prime time to grab a table or nestle up on the couch –– Saturday and Sunday mornings. Once in awhile a few students will shuffle past, but for the most part SSB is yours for the weekend. While most students aren’t eager to hit the books every morning on the weekends, if you’re serious about getting work done, this is the place to be.
For some people, too much quiet is a little unnerving. If you like background noise, but don’t want to be sitting with headphones in your ears all day, the Barnes and Noble bookstore is a good place to do some light studying. Their hours are pretty great –– 8 a.m. until 9 p.m. during the week, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sundays. If you like getting up early, or if you’d rather start studying after dinner, the bookstore’s hours are likely to accommodate. The cafe-like atmosphere will also put you in a productive mood, that is, if you like the smell of coffee and listening to acoustic radio. The best part though, is that if you hang around there long enough typing diligently away at your computer, you’ll likely be approached by Starbucks employees handing out free samples of coffee, hot chocolate and various other yummy treats that also incentivise you to stick around and get your work done.
Whether you like studying inside or out, in a quiet space or loud, the College has a lot of nooks and crannies tucked away on campus that have already become, or are waiting to be, turned into great study spots. I wish you luck in finding the best spot and getting the most studying done.
(09/05/17 4:09am)
By Elizabeth Zakaim
Arts & Entertainment Editor
Usually, the only time I listen to Iron and Wine’s smooth whispery vocals is if a song pops up on my Pandora playlist. I’m an old fan of his song, “Flightless Bird American Mouth,” and his cover of The Postal Service’s “Such Great Heights.” And while I can’t say I’m a devoted fan, nor was I waiting at the edge of my seat for his new album to come out when it did on Aug. 25, I can wholeheartedly agree that “Beast Epic” is nothing less than a pleasure to experience.
“Beast Epic” is an album inspired by a concept that affects us all — time. No matter our age, we are always in some state of transition, Sam Beam, the singer behind the stage name, said on his website. With “Beast Epic,” Beam paints a picture of time passing by, rites of passage and coming of age throughout his tracks.
Beam has done what many artists these days are deciding to avoid — he’s staying true to his own sound, and further burrowing himself in a comfortable niche. The only noticeable difference is his beard, which has grown longer and shaggier over the years. But, his music has stayed the same since his first album, “The Creek Drank the Cradle,” was released in 2002.
“Beast Epic” is an album inspired by a concept that affects us all — time (envato elements).
The album’s first song, “Claim Your Ghost,” is simple yet melodic. His pairs his feather light harmony with simple guitar and piano accompaniment, and it reminds me of how entertaining something so simple can be.
It’s always a treat to hear artists like Beam put out music that shows off raw vocal and acoustic talent. It gives the songs a more vulnerable tone, and gives listeners something new to discover.
While his tracks seem basic, Beam hides deep seated lyrics behind his quiet melodies.
Beam gives his listeners a choice — are his tracks background music or hidden poetry? “Bitter Truth” sounds like nothing more than Beam’s signature acoustic sound until I realize that, through his lyrics, he’s reflecting on a negative time he may have experienced, like a form of catharsis, the way any songwriter would.
Beam’s talent echoes a more serious James Taylor and a more melodic Neil Young. Both, “Call it Dreaming” and “Summer Clouds” are light-hearted yet nostalgic, like Young’s “Harvest Moon,” or Taylor’s “Carolina in My Mind.”
While folk music isn’t my favorite genre, I like how “Beast Epic” infuses a little bit of acoustic rock to give each set some energy. My favorite track on the album, “Call it Dreaming,” is a perfect example of Beam taking folk to a more modern level. It starts off with his usual guitar intro, but his vocals grow clearer and more optimistic throughout the song.
Beam does a great job of giving folk a gentle twist, and I admire the fact that his style has been consistent throughout his musical career.
The album’s acoustic sound is a haven amidst a musical world of fickle artists and heavy electronic beats.
His album is a breath of fresh air for those looking to experience some softer and more alternative music.
(08/29/17 12:44am)
By Elizabeth Zakaim
I never considered myself directly invested in the outcome of our student protesters’ efforts to change the name of Paul Loser Hall. I walked past the flyers, posted strategically around campus, rather nonchalantly during the months leading up to the sit-in. I admired from afar the zeal of my fellow students and their ultimate success at getting the name changed.
It was only after the name change that I realized how hard it is to distance a name from its origins, and how even the building’s new name still strays far from the sensitive issues that once burdened the College’s student protesters.
Trenton Hall. My first thought was that it was an apt name. It connected the school with its former namesake, and with the city that we have grown quite involved with through Bonner and other programming.
My interest was further sparked when I was made aware of an additional fact about Trenton from another student and then decided to conduct additional research. The city was named after William Trent, a 17th century merchant from the Philadelphia area who was actively involved in the African and West Indian slave trade.
My next thought was, “How ironic.” After discovering that Paul Loser reportedly spited the 1944 state supreme court ruling against segregation in the Trenton public school system, students decided to protest in an effort to distance the building from the ideology of racism. The fact that the school named a building after Loser struck a chord with students concerned with equality.
I will note that both acts of discrimination were common practices of each man’s time. Federal law would only finally recognize segregation as illegal in 1954 –– 10 years after New Jersey’s ruling. The slave trade wasn’t abolished until the Slave Trade Act of 1807, and its principles didn’t begin to take effect in the United States until 1808.
These belatedly implemented laws, as well as the building’s name change, only remind students of just how deep racism is embedded in American culture.
Alumnus Tim Osborn (’17), one of the protest leaders, pointed out something critical to me: “The U.S. has many such structures and places named for and honoring people who willingly took part in morally abhorrent practices. This says a lot about the United States.”
And while he agrees that it’s important to make the city’s namesake known, he believes that the name Trenton has been “re-appropriated by the very constituencies that William Trent wronged” in order to represent themselves, not Trent. The city itself is a representation of what Trent’s practices failed to do –– completely eradicate minorities as less than human, nothing but products to be sold on the market.
In that sense, yes, naming the building “William Trent Hall” would perhaps be just as bad. But “Trenton Hall” represents more than just the man the city was named after. It represents the other side of the story; not the merchants, but the slaves themselves.
Perhaps “Trenton Hall” only rings a rather rusty distant bell to the early days of racism in comparison with “Loser Hall’s” sharper knell.
But to me, a name like “Admissions Hall” would have been a safer bet.
(04/26/17 12:11am)
By Elizabeth Zakaim
Reviews Editor
The first time freshman journalism major Dylan Calloway wondered about the College’s water quality was when he saw a picture of a moldy pipe near Eickhoff Hall on TCNJ.snap. This inspired him and several other students to research further into the College’s water quality, as part of a group project for their journalism class, Writing for Interactive Multimedia.
“It was just to raise awareness,” Calloway said. “If someone becomes aware, then they might spread (that concern) to somebody else, and we’ll all become more well aware.”
With videos of Flint, Mich., citizens setting their water on fire, students have become concerned about their own drinking water quality. The issue in Flint sparked pushes for lead testing in institutions nationwide, including the College.
Heidi Cho, The Signal’s news assistant and a freshman journalism major who is in Calloway’s journalism class, was shocked when Calloway spoke about the picture of the moldy pipe on campus, so she tried to do some digging.
The pipe, located near Eickhoff Hall, appeared severed, and while Cho doesn’t know if it had ever served the College, she and her classmates are continuing to research the process of how the College’s water is treated and filtered.
“We talked to a professor about the water quality here on campus… and she led us towards the issue of pollution coming from storm run-off drains,” Cho said.
She learned that any chemicals in the water running off of cars in a rainstorm down through unfiltered storm drains and later through the Delaware River could eventually reach their drinking water. What the group hadn’t realized was the middle step in the process –– Trenton Water Works, the local water filtration plant.
The College’s water comes from TWW where water is treated and filtered before it arrives to the school. TWW Superintendent William Mitchell said impurities found in pretreated water often come from farm runoff. This includes fecal matter, herbicides, pesticides, fertilizer and storm water discharge. During the winter, for example, chloride levels in the water increase after a lot of salting for snow and ice.
TWW treats and filters its water before it reaches local tap, according to Mitchell. The filtration process involves flash mixing of treatment chemicals to the water, coagulation, flocculation and sedimentation –– small solid particles, or flocs, stick together and become heavier in the water and begin to sink to the bottom. These impurities are then removed from the water.
Following public concerns about contaminated drinking water in the New Jersey area, the College hired EnviroTrac, an environmental consulting and contracting firm, to sample and evaluate the water quality.
The company took samples of lead and copper from lines entering campus directly from TWW, such as all on-campus dining locations and athletic fields. The analysis did not detect any concentrations of pollutants at or above the state and federal limit, according to EnviroTrac’s report summary.
As of 2015, Trenton public schools reportedly did not contain any lead in their water, according to NJ Future, a nonprofit organization that promotes infrastructural and environmental redevelopment. Yet in an NJ.com article from 2016, 26 samples from 10 schools were found to have lead levels as high as 100 parts per billion.
According to a 2016 Trentonian article, the New Jersey Department of Health published a Childhood Lead Poisoning report in 2014, which stated that out of the 3,421 tested in Trenton and other state municipal agencies, 6.3 percent of children under the age of six had elevated blood levels higher than children in Flint, where about 3 percent of children had elevated lead levels.
The Signal sent a water sample from the water fountain in the Bliss Hall basement to PRO-LAB in Florida on April 17. The report cited a lead level of 2.7 ppb. The federal limit for lead levels is 15 ppb.
The Signal also conducted its own water quality test on Feb. 20 using a water fountain on the second floor of Forcina Hall. The water did not have any measurable levels of lead, pesticide or bacteria.
The total chlorine level reached 0.5 parts per million, which is under the federal limit of 4 ppm. Nitrate nitrogen levels were at 5 ppm, which is under the federal limit of 10 ppm. The test found a copper level of 1.3 ppm in the water, which just meets the federal limit. There were no levels of iron found in the water, and the pH level of 6.0 was under the federal limit.
The hardness level of 6 grains, or 100 ppm, found exceeded the federal limit of under 50 ppm, yet the maximum contaminant level cited by TWW is 250 ppm. As of 2015, TWW reported having 90 ppm in its water, which was not deemed a violation.
Both the Bliss Hall Annex and Forcina Hall were built in 1979 and 1969, respectively, said Luke Sacks, the College’s head media relations officer. Most homes that were built before 1986 are more likely to have lead pipes, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
However, the College is not aware of lead pipes in its buildings, according to David Muha, the College’s spokesperson.
Keith Pecor, an associate professor and department chair of biology whose research focuses on freshwater ecology and invertebrates, said all he can conclude from The Signal’s assessment is the state of the water quality specifically in the Forcina water fountain, not the College’s water quality as a whole.
The fountain’s hardness level is due to calcium and magnesium, according to Pecor. The disadvantages of too much water hardness are primarily aesthetic — it might require more soap or water softeners during laundry and can contribute to scaling in industrial equipment, but hardness is not considered a health risk under the Environmental Protection Agency’s standards.
However, the state of New Jersey has had health risks from its water in the past.
One contributor to New Jersey’s industrialization and prosperity was Ciba-Geigy, a company that manufactured chemical dyes in Tom’s River, N.J., from 1952 to 1990. Although, as Dan Fagin documented in his book “Tom’s River: A story of science and salvation,” that prosperity had downsides: The company was dumping toxic waste chemicals into aquifers that polluted the town’s drinking water, which may have contributed to childhood cancers among other diseases.
New Jersey’s water quality continues to pose problems. New Jersey is still in the midst of cleaning its lakes, rivers and other bodies of water more than 40 years after the Clean Water Act was passed, according to a 2014 article from NJ.com. The EPA cited more than a thousand instances of contaminated water across the state, NJ.com reported.
The struggle for better water comes from the efforts of organizations like Isles, which provides services aimed to help the Trenton, N.J., community. Its efforts include lead testing in community homes and educating local citizens on environmental issues.
Isles Managing Director Pete Rose recommends replacing lead fittings with inline filters in drinking fountain pipes to prevent lead from dissolving into the water at schools.
“(This is) cost effective and easy to do,” Rose said.
Because of federal regulations, the risks to water quality are not what they used to be. Nicky Sheats, director of the Center for the Urban Environment at Thomas Edison State College, researched water pollution before her focus shifted to air pollution.
Sheats said both forms of pollution contributed to the phenomenon of acid rain that gained a lot of national attention during the ’80s and ’90s.
According to the EPA’s website, both sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide were gases emitted from different industry power plants across the country. Sheats said when contaminated with these elements, rain would flow into surface water, making it more acidic and dangerous to consume.
The EPA established the Acid Rain Program in 1995, which offered incentives to power plants to reduce emission. By 2010, emissions were reduced to about one-half of what they were in 1980.
Despite past and present attempts at improving the water quality, Sheats’ biggest fear has become the Trump administration’s role in environmental protection.
“We’re really afraid that (the president) is going to cut back on existing laws that’s become a bedrock of environmental protection,” Sheats said. “I’m worried about the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act.”
President Donald Trump signed an executive order that will allow him to essentially roll back on regulations under the 1972 Clean Water Act, according to an NBC news article published in March.
This includes former President Barack Obama’s 2015 clean water rule, which gives the federal government the right to limit pollution in major bodies of water and other streams that flow into larger waters.
The rule stirred some controversy, according to the article, regarding the federal government’s right to exert such broad authority. Rural organizations like the American Farm Bureau Federation have been against the rule, as they argue it forces them to apply for federal permits to use fertilizer near streams that might flow into larger bodies of water.
While Trump’s legal orders may take longer than his term to be put into action, a more lenient prohibition on water pollution will make filtering and treating water an even more critical process.
Rose is most worried about the administration cutting back funding from the EPA and other environmental agencies. Those cuts won’t just threaten the health of the communities Isles is trying to help, but it will likely hurt “the health and well-being of all Americans.”
Cho believes that the government should continue to focus on environmental issues.
“I think that if the laws were more lenient, businesses would take the most cost-effective option to getting rid of waste, which is usually to the detriment of the ecology of the surrounding areas,” she said.
It’s important to take care of local communities and be mindful of the potential damage people can cause, according to Mae Calacal, a junior journalism major who is Cho’s and Calloway’s classmate.
“The fact that (government) funds will be cut shows that these issues are not of great concern to these major figures,” Calacal said.
This is issue is not just in the hands of anonymous public officials –– it is the average citizen’s responsibility, too.
“It should definitely be focused on more,” she said. “What happens in the environment affects everyone.”
(04/24/17 3:42pm)
By Elizabeth Zakaim
Reviews Editor
Nerf blasters, sock flails and rubber duckies. Students wasted no time arming themselves with “weapons” as they congregated on the lawn behind the Library.
A student cocks his nerf blaster. The games are about to begin.
On Saturday, April 22, room 101 in the Physics Building transformed from a lecture hall to a villain’s debriefing room filled with characters like the conniving Count Olaf, sadistic Joker and voluptuous Poison Ivy.
The Manhunt Club held its semesterly day-long Humans vs. Zombies event, a game that started with a debriefing in the Physics Building, but soon spread across campus.
The game, painstakingly planned throughout the semester, is a battle for survival. Humans are tasked with attacking the players that began the game as zombies, in order to “stun” them and temporarily prevent them from turning more humans into zombies. However, if every human is tagged and turned into a zombie by the end of the day, then the zombies win the game.
This semester’s game was villain themed. All six of the game show-styled missions were hosted by moderators, or club members dressed as a villains who made sure the game ran smoothly.
“We want everyone having fun,” said Kristina Malmstrom, president of Manhunt Club and a senior English major. “That’s the only reason we do this.”
Malmstrom was also a moderator at the event. With her hair tinged fluorescent green and her eyes shining brightly against the two large bruises around them, her look as The Joker was complete.
During the first mission, “Zeporady,” humans scrambled to pick up cardboard cutouts with different categories labeled on them, each worth a certain amount of points, according to Maggie Paragian, vice president of Manhunt Club and a sophomore communication studies major.
Paragian was also a “zombie moderator” in charge of her “hyper-organic beings,” as she called them. Both her eyelids and fingertips were a sparkly green, the product of her transformation into the DC Comics villain Poison Ivy.
The humans then brought the category to the host of the mission, in this case The Joker, and she challenged them with a “Jeopardy”-style clue. While the humans racked their brains for the answer, the zombies were hunting vulnerable humans to tag.
Hassan Al Dawod, a sophomore biomedical engineering major and one of the original zombies, was tasked with tagging as many humans as possible. It was not his first manhunt expedition, and he embraced the challenge of being only one of the three original zombies.
To Al Dawod, the game is more than fun, it also gives him the chance to get to know other students.
“I’m naturally (an introvert),” Al Dawod said about getting to know other Manhunt members.
He is happy with the friends he’s begun to make in the club.
“It (helps) me get to know people,” he said.
In the next mission, “Legend of the Zombie Temple,” the humans must build a tower of stuffed animals before the zombies get the best of them. The humans won the round and then took a break in their “safe zone,” where they could reboot and plan future strategies.
During other missions like “The Price is Fright,” humans had to guess the price value of different objects labeled on cardboard that were strewn about outside. For example, a piece of cardboard labeled “box of Oreos” might be price ranged at anywhere from $2.50 to $3.50, according to Jonah Dicorcia, public relations officer of Manhunt Club and a junior interactive multimedia major.
“It’s just like ‘The Price is Right’ except they also have to deal with zombies attacking them,” he said.
Dicorcia, dressed as Count Olaf from the book series “A Series of Unfortunate Events” –– complete with an eye tattoo on his ankle and a wiggly unibrow –– later hosted a mission of his own. The objective of “Z-vivor” is similar to a relay race, he said. Humans had to race each other in the bunny hop, wheelbarrow and other forms of relays. The humans who were not racing protected their teammates against impending zombies.
The final mission, “The Generators,” was left up to the few humans who were left.
They had to fill two of the four generators, by filling up empty soda bottles with water, to power open the gates and allow them to escape from the zombies for good.
Who will win?
The tables turned in the zombies’ favor, and they ended the day with victory on their side.
Paragian, who trusted her zombies’ savvy skills on the playing field, was excited to see how both groups responded to the different challenges of the game.
“At the end of the day, we’re just here to have fun and have a good time,” she said. “It’s a good way to get a whole group of people together that you normally wouldn’t see.”
With the end of the semester drawing near, it’s easy to get caught up in impending exams and assignments, but the Manhunt Club knows how to cope with all of that stress –– they play to take a break and enjoy themselves.
“It seems very childish,” Paragian said. “But I like how we all just come together and play one silly game.”
(04/18/17 7:06am)
By Elizabeth Zakaim
Reviews Editor
A frustrated scream echoed throughout Traditions –– a scream belonging to one of the members of a student comedy group, Kiss on the Lips. They were in the middle of a sketch about a game show contestant with 30 seconds to call a friend for some help with an answer that could win him a million dollars.
But the contestant made the fatal mistake of calling his mother, who apparently hadn’t spoken to her son in a while.
“Mom, no mom, listen,” the contestant cried as he tried to ask for her help with the question. His mother, a prerecorded voice coming from the speakers offstage, relentlessly interrupted her son with small talk and gossip, despite her son’s attempts to speak.
“You never call!” she said, stifling her son’s protests from the other end of the line.
Unfortunately, the contestant’s 30 seconds were up. He did not win the million dollar prize.
On the night of Friday, April 14, different comedy groups showed off their talent and wit at CUB Alt’s Student Comedy Night in Traditions. At least once a semester, CUB Alt likes to shift the focus of their shows away from music and dip their toes into the world of comedy, according to Dana Gorab, CUB Alt co-chair and a communication studies major.
Different performers treated the audience to a variety of performances. The audience enjoyed improv, comedy raps, stand up and other eccentric bits.
Comprising senior marketing major Garrett Verdone, Alex Guaglianone (’15) and Jonathan Van Halem (’16), Kiss on the Lips filled the stage with various bits, including “Roll Call,” where the group acted as counselors taking attendance for their bunk in camp. An innocent rhythmic head count of the imaginary Bunk Six turned into a deep confession about the inner sinister secrets of the camp.
The counselors shouted “Roll call” as they clapped their hands in time to the beat. They then divulged to the campers that their camp is the grounds of an unsolved murder, that they’re most likely under government surveillance and that “oh, by the way” archery is at 3 p.m.
The group transformed from camp counselors into bar mitzvah partiers dancing to “The Cupid Shuffle.” The song blasted from the speakers, and they danced happily until the song got stuck and started mindlessly repeating “to the right, to the right.”
The poor dancers robotically followed the song’s demands, only growing more frantic as each step brought them closer to the wall they soon smashed into uncontrollably. The audience chuckled when the dancers begged for someone to stop the music as they teetered, as if on the edge of a ship, near the side of the stage trying fruitlessly to stop dancing to a dance song gone horribly wrong.
Over the years, the group has since developed a knack for sensing what makes people laugh.
“The formula for silly: keep it short, fun and don’t let them get bored,” they said.
Their sketches are inspired by “middle school humor” and its endless slew of embarrassing moments. The group also follows other “underground” sketch groups from New York, like Murder Fist and Derrick Comedy, which they draw a lot of inspiration from for their own work.
“We steal sketches from old episodes of ‘SNL,’” Van Halem said about their diverse cultivation of material. Verdone and Guaglianone laughed. The group writes their own scripts individually, and then meets together to consolidate their work into one big sketch.
The group started in their friend’s basement in Ewing, N.J., while they were all students at the College, according to Verdone. After they graduated, when both Guaglianone and Van Halem moved to New York City, their act moved with them.
They started performing in venues in Brooklyn and doing monthly shows at the People’s Improv Theater in the city. They suit their performances to fit each venue. Grimy bits that made their basement friends laugh wouldn’t necessarily do as well in a dimly lit bar in downtown Manhattan.
The group is excited to be showcasing other facets of their humor at the College again soon –– they will be opening for B.J. Novak’s comedy show at the College later this month.
Up next was rap group Gang King who entertained the audience with its song “I’m the Man.” Two members of the group, senior marketing major Erik Hess and Matthew Fishman who doesn’t attend the College, performed the rap, which consisted of one trying to remind the other why they’re each “the man.”
Their voices faltered over the beat as they slowly ran out of reasons for why they’ve bestowed each other with that title, but nothing stopped them from trying. “I’m sorry dude I had a list in my head,” Hess said. “I tried.”
Its was the group’s first time performing at the College, but they’ve done many other performances with the rest of their members in other venues, including opening for Kiss on the Lips at a comedy club in Manhattan.
Hess and Fishman knew each other from high school where they sang in choir together.
“We used to hang out after school,” Fishman said. “He was really obnoxious. I hated him.”
They eventually grew on each other and started “making beats and funny songs,” Fishman said.
They entered a comedy video for Campus MovieFest in 2014 and found their niche in the world of humor.
“Anything goes,” Hess said of their creative process and ideas for new material. “If an idea is stupid, a lot of times it’s good because it’s funny.”
Both groups loved the crowd at the College and hope to be back soon in the future.
“TCNJ was always our rock,” Guaglianone said.
Most of their fans are students and alumni from the College, most of whom still come to their shows in the city.
The members of Kiss on the Lips, who met while a part of the College Union Board back in 2014, were ecstatic about coming to perform back where they first found their love for group comedy.
“We’re really happy we came out of TCNJ… and we’re really happy we got invited to perform,” Guaglianone said.
(04/11/17 5:10am)
By Elizabeth Zakaim
Reviews Editor
Something I learned during my two years here at the College is the importance of using my brain.
As a psychology major, I learned the importance of being a smart consumer of research by questioning the reliability and validity of different empirical articles and their findings.
I’ve learned even more from journalism, my second major, how crucial it is to be aware of the media’s validity. The infamous notion of fake news that’s fallen out of my mouth and the mouths of so many others illustrates a stark detail I’ve been overlooking –– it’s so easy to be consumed by fake news because I haven’t taken the time to look hard enough for the real facts.
This revelation only became more prominent as I listened to a guest speaker, Wendell Potter, give a speech at the College on March 21 about his experience as a former vice president of communications for the health insurance company Cigna.
Potter spoke of the corruption he admittedly helped spread to the public –– health insurance companies played a big role in shaping the public opinion of the Affordable Care Act. He described how 10 years ago, he and other public relations executives from health insurance companies campaigned, using policyholders’ premiums, against Michael Moore’s documentary ‘Sicko,’ which was made to shine a light on America’s inefficient healthcare system.
Cigna was one of many health insurance companies that didn’t want to air their flaws out in public where it would be more vulnerable to criticism. They considered their campaign a success: The documentary didn’t do well in theaters and their work aided in reinforcing the fear of government-run health care in the minds of Americans, according to Potter.
What was worse was the journalists, trained to sniff out fake news, never realized the insurance companies were shaping their opinions.
“During the entire campaign, not a single reporter had done enough investigative work to find out that the insurance industry was behind it all,” Potter said. “We had fooled everybody.”
I don’t blame the investigative journalists at the time. In hindsight, the ulterior motive is easier to identify. Still, it’s also easy to wish that someone had uncovered the corruption. It finally took a whistleblower like Potter to reveal just how deep the insurance companies’ influence went in a political and psychological sense.
Fake news is, unfortunately, old news. The good news, however, is that while we can’t stop people from deceiving others, we can become more informed on what sources we can trust and what experts to listen to. Potter ended with a message directed not at journalists, politicians or health insurance corporations, but at us: young college students.
“We the people need to become better informed and more engaged citizens,” Potter said. He warned us not to be cynical and to avoid thinking that the system is too rigged to be fixed.
He reminded us that he won’t be around forever –– we are the future, and we have the ability to think critically about our decisions and what news and other influences we consume.
(04/04/17 3:47am)
By Elizabeth Zakaim
Reviews Editor
Most of us probably haven’t heard from James Blunt since his widely received single “You’re Beautiful” back in 2004, which people either loved or couldn’t stand.
While his voice hasn’t grown that much since that song and other hits like “Bonfire Heart” and “Goodbye My Lover,” the release of his new album, “The Afterlove,” on March 24 was not as painful to listen to as I thought it would be.
Blunt steps out of his comfort zone in an attempt to serenade us with a more bubble-gum pop sound that, while not perfectly suitable for his voice, does let you explore a side to Blunt you’d never think you’d see.
The album opens with “Love Me Better,” a sassy comeback song about how he’s better than the people who have put him down. He even references his well-known classic in his lyrics, singing, “Saw you standing outside a bar/Would have said you're beautiful, but I've used that line before.” It’s a fresh sound –– it’s something confrontational and brave, which adds some dimensions to the singer’s repertoire.
At the ripe old age of 43, Blunt makes himself a central heartthrob on the track “Bartender.” The admittedly faster pace and more upbeat message surrounds Blunt’s plea with the bartender to help him fall back in love with his sweetheart.
“Can you pour me some love?” he asks, which is reminiscent of Usher’s theme in “DJ’s Got Us Fallin’ in Love” back in 2010. Two very different artists, yet Blunt may be channeling his inner Usher in an attempt to sing about the feverish club life he so desperately attempts to navigate through in the rather new age of EDM, Skrillex and technopop.
The mood, however, shifts again in “Time of our Lives,” where a calmer, yet slightly autotuned Blunt reminisces on the early days of love, meeting his lover’s parents for the first time and seeking their reluctant approval. The soft electric guitar gives the song a nostalgic feel, which goes a long way in painting the story of Blunt crooning to another girl about her beauty and how much he loves her.
“California,” the sixth track on the album, is Blunt’s most blunt attempt at entering into the impenetrable world of pop. The song is about living in the present, seizing the moment and not worrying about tomorrow –– all long overused messages delivered to us from other artists with better breath support and more original lyrics.
Both “California” and “Lose My Number” sound too much like tired pop songs. The beat drags and Blunt swallows his words as he sings “California” almost as if he’s less invested in the song than I am. A well-played synthesizer would have done both songs much good in terms of diversifying the sound and keeping both Blunt and his listeners awake throughout.
Blunt’s album has reminded me that every artist must find their own voice, and I just wish he would work harder to find his niche instead of trying so hard to fit in where he musically doesn’t belong.
It’s true, I haven’t heard from Blunt in years, but did I really want to? Despite all of his sharp “s’s” and whiny falsetto notes, the singer, while perhaps better left in 2004, did inspire me with his triumphant new album. Blunt unintentionally reminded me of the importance of stepping out of my own comfort zone and that lesson alone makes it worth giving the album a try, if not a full listen.
(03/29/17 4:10am)
By Elizabeth Zakaim
Reviews Editor
Despite the distracting beauty of the Riverside Church in New York, music rehearsal was starting to drag as choirs from both the College and two Japanese high schools were working hard to tackle every lyric their music threw at them.
The College choirs and Japanese high school choruses held their sixth annual East Meets West concert in Mayo Concert Hall on the evening of Monday, March 20.
The concert was a project of Hand in Hand, an organization established after the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011 that spreads awareness and comfort to those affected by the earthquake through musical performances throughout Japan and the United States.
Under the project’s wing, two Japanese high school choirs traveled to the U.S. to perform at the College as well as the Lincoln Center in New York City on Wednesday, March 22.
The students in the Japanese high school choirs are from Tohoku, Japan, a region greatly affected by the earthquake, according to John Leonard, the director of choirs and an associate professor of music at the College.
Many of them have lost family members, friends and homes in the area, he said.
For the students in the College’s choir, it was hard to learn the Japanese words to the songs, but both groups were intent on learning not just their music, but more about each other, as well.
For Alyse Watson, a member of the College’s Chorale and a junior early childhood and Spanish double major, it was hard to break the language barrier and get to know the Japanese students.
That did not stop her from trying, though. During a break in rehearsal, Watson and a friend were playing a hand game. One of the Japanese students sitting next to her expressed an interest in the game.
“I could just say ‘Hi’ and smile, but that was the kind of way we connected,” Watson said. Though they did not speak the same language, they successfully taught her how to play the game.
The connection Watson and others from the College formed with their Japanese peers made performing with them more meaningful. She felt honored to share in their efforts to spread awareness of the tragedy that affected them so deeply.
“Just how they remember the ones they love through song, it was really special to share in that,” she said.
Leonard was able to travel to Japan last year to work with the singers and conductors there before they flew to this country to perform. He developed a close friendship with Atsushi Yamada, the maestro from Japan who wrote the Hand in Hand theme song the choirs performed together at the end of the concert.
Since the College became a part of the Hand in Hand concert five years ago, Leonard has since developed a friendship with Yamada.
“Just to break down the language barrier and get to know other singers, other musicians… from other countries and then perform at an extremely high level at Lincoln Center together is really cool,” Leonard said.
The Japanese choir from Miyagi Prefectural Sendai Minami High School performed a moving song, “Wasenedeya,” which translates to “Don’t Forget,” which brought tears to the eyes of many audience members.
The song was written to honor those lost in the earthquake. One member of the choir had stayed home from school the day of the earthquake, and she, her family and her home were washed away. Her remains were found in the wreckage a few days later, according to the event program.
In the middle of the song, one student briefly spoke over the undertones of the choir.
“We lost many people we couldn’t possibly do without,” she said as the rest of the choir and the conductor bowed their heads. “We will never forget them.”
Freshman psychology major Elisa Liang heard about the event through the Japanese Student Association on campus and was glad she came.
“The first song (“Wesenedeya”) actually made me cry,” said Liang, who was not expecting to be so touched by the song and the tragedy it commemorated.
Members of the College Choir, one of the College’s choral groups, joined the Chorale, the more advanced chorus, and the Japanese choirs onstage to sing the Hand in Hand finale.
“I was blown away. … (The Japanese student choirs) were so loud and powerful,” said Cayla Maratea, a member of the College Choir and a junior elementary education and history double major.
Sophomore communication studies major Kelly Scheper was impressed with not just the Japanese students’ performance, but also how well they adapted to the unfamiliarity of a new country they have never visited before.
As a member of College choir for four semesters, Scheper was glad to see some fresh faces occupying Mayo’s concert hall stage.
“It’s not everyday that people from Japan come and sing here,” she said. “We’ve been doing it for a while now, so we’re used to doing it out there.”
These performances were different, though, as they were a cultural experience.
She enjoyed the Fukushima Prefectural Yumoto High School choir’s performance of “The Sound of Music,” which the students sang in Japanese.
Students from both of the College’s choral groups felt a connection with the Japanese high school students, despite their cultural differences.
“I just love music and being able to be a part of something that’s so much bigger than yourself,” Watson said.
Having the opportunity to meet people that are so different from herself and getting the chance to learn about their world was made even more special because both groups shared something in common that brought them all together despite any differences — music.
“Being able to express our love for music together — it’s really neat,” she said.
(03/07/17 8:42pm)
By Elizabeth Zakaim
Reviews Editor
To many, he was a composer and arranger, and to others, a teacher or mentor. Those most close to him thought of him as a family member, father or brother. But to all, alumnus Jerry Nowak (’58), who died two years ago, was an inspiration and a beloved friend who will be missed by many.
On Saturday, March 4, a concert in Mayo Concert Hall paid tribute to him and his many accomplishments.
Nowak graduated with a bachelor’s degree in music education and later received a master’s degree in music composition. He was internationally revered for his music and teachings in different universities worldwide.
He formed the Philadelphia Saxophone Quartet in 1968 and founded and directed the Delaware Valley Wind Symphony in 2006.
Both of these ensembles performed some of Nowak’s thousands of musical arrangements, and all proceeds benefitted the Jerry Nowak Scholarship Fund of the Delaware Valley Wind Symphony, a registered nonprofit organization, according to the College’s Lion’s Gate webpage.
Nowak’s son, Christopher Nowak, helped put together the event and chose to hold it here at the College to honor his father’s memory.
“He was a teacher and a mentor first,” Christopher Nowak said. “So, it was appropriate to honor him not in a professional concert hall, but at his alma mater.
From an early age, it was clear that Nowak was destined to be more than a musician — he was a leader, as well. He had a knack for teaching and a passion for music, something his older brother, Henry Nowak, noticed early on in their lives.
Although he could not attend the memorial concert, Henry’s niece and Christopher’s sister, Amy Novak, read her uncle’s eulogy to the audience.
“Jerry and I got our musical instruments — Jerry a clarinet and myself the trumpet — as birthday presents probably because the kid next door played clarinet,” Novak said, reading her uncle’s words.
In his speech, he described their years in band at Trenton High School, which used to be the largest high school in the country at the time. The school led a yearly week-long competition in which students would divide up into two teams, the red team and the black team, and compete in sports, dance and music.
Nowak led the black team’s band to victory every night, his older brother recalled. Years earlier, when Henry Nowak had led the red team’s band, he did not have the fortune of beating the competition.
“Jerry was consistent about getting things done right. I think Jerry just thought it was the practical way to live,” his eulogy read.
Henry Nowak still remembers the advice of his younger brother when it came to the gritty and sometimes frustrating aspects of arranging music.
“Once he gets stuck, bogged down, trying to figure out how to compose his way out of a difficult modulation, he would simply stop and go mow the lawn,” Novak read.
Jerry Nowak knew that once his attention seemed to be elsewhere, the back of his mind was busy working his way through the roadblock.
“When Jerry returned to the piano, the solution came up effortlessly,” Novak read.
Nowak’s dedication and focus on his music were not fruitless efforts.
Early on in his career, he toured and played with renowned artists like Burt Bacharach and Stevie Wonder, and according to the event program, Nowak’s writing career began in the ’70s as an arranger for Paul Simon’s companies, Charing Cross Music and Big Bells.
Nowak’s other arrangements were tailored for both professional and youth ensembles, such as his composition “Suite for Three Muses.”
The Delaware Valley Wind Symphony performed one of Nowak’s last pieces, which he dedicated to his granddaughters, who were present in the audience. The piece symbolized his love for his family, mentoring and music education.
He taught everything from high school students at Hunterdon Central High School from 1959 to 1969 in Flemington, N.J., and college students at Bucks County Community College thereafter until 2005. He also taught classes in conducting and phrasing at different universities in the northeast and around the world, Christopher Nowak said.
According to the event program, he also taught graduate level courses in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and at schools in the states, such as The University of the Arts at Villanova University.
“He left behind a style that everybody is going to miss for his depth of musical understanding,” said alumnus Stephen Hudak (’82), a longtime friend, coworker and percussionist.
The two played together for more than 30 years, and Nowak even played at Hudak’s wedding.
“Jerry would think about musical color quite a bit when he was doing an arrangement,” Hudak said. “He would explain the arrangement and say, ‘Well, this isn’t the color I want, I want this color.’ And he would tell musicians how to get what he wanted.”
Hudak said his perfectionism rubbed some people the wrong way, “but that was one of the things I enjoyed about Jerry.”
Hudak admired his level of commitment and instructiveness when it came to his music.
“His arrangements were outstanding,” Hudak said. “He truly was a remarkable man –– a genius at arranging and composition and a heck of a nice guy, too.”
According to the event program, Nowak also returned to his alma mater as an adjunct professor for a couple years before his passing.
Music alumnus Ron Pruitt (’15) was a part of the wind ensemble his sophomore year, where Nowak was his conductor. Now a professional saxophonist and music teacher in the Matawan-Aberdeen Regional school district in Monmouth County, N.J., Pruitt appreciates what Nowak has taught him.
“It’s the kinds of things that stick with you wherever you go, wherever you’re teaching, and it sticks with me until today,” Pruitt said.
Pruitt recalls Nowak’s motivation was evident, especially to his students.
“It goes so much past his conducting ability or ensemble rehearsals,” Pruitt said. “He really wanted people to sound good.”
The last piece of the evening, “Sinatra in Concert,” arranged by Nowak was especially poignant for Pruitt.
“That was the last piece I played in high school,” Pruitt said. “I’ve known and loved Jerry Nowak’s music for many years.”
Nowak has left a legacy behind him: His arrangements are likely to fill the music folders of high school band students and professional musicians around the world. Even those who did not know Nowak personally may still know him through his teachings and through his music.
“He entertained people very well,” said Al Seioer, an extended family member. “He was a very sociable, very giving and very nice person.”
Nowak’s influence was widely known, and he touched the hearts of those closest to him, as well. His son acknowledged all he had learned from his father’s career and character.
With his voice growing thick, Christopher Nowak recalled his father’s values.
“The reliance on self and the commitment to excellence and drive and independence,” he said.
Nowak has inspire others and left a long lasting legacy behind him for both his family and the rest of the world.
“He has always been an independent thinker, but still a very strong collaborator,” Christopher Nowak said. “Everything from his values, his work ethic, his dedication to excellence set the bar and a standard for how I live my life.”
(02/14/17 7:25am)
By Elizabeth Zakaim
Reviews Editor
As recent as the Spring 2016 semester, the College’s journalism website was unheard of until it was accidentally unearthed from the College’s homepage. It was just a small extension of the English department that was buried under the School of Humanities and Social Sciences.
However, a decade-long dream for the journalism faculty has finally come to fruition — the journalism and professional writing major is now its own department under the School of the Arts and Communication. “I think this gives us a chance to really flex our muscles as this small, but very rigorous program,” said Emilie Lounsberry, The Signal’s adviser and an associate professor of journalism and professional writing. “We can be more visible on campus as our own department, and we’re hoping that that will enable us to grow our own program.”
Since as early as 2004, the idea of switching departments has been on the minds of the College’s journalism professors, as they were interested in attracting more students to the major, according to Donna Shaw, an associate professor and chair of the journalism and professional writing department.
The idea to move quickly caught on, and the transition began just three years after its inception in the early 2000s, according to Kim Pearson, associate professor of journalism and professional writing.
“This is the culmination of conversations that have been going on for years,” Pearson said.
Those conversations included meetings and strategic planning processes between the journalism professors and Jacqueline Taylor, the provost and vice president for academic affairs.
Some technical changes for the new department include reformatting and revising documents on journalism’s disciplinary standards that explain the program’s curriculum. The documents have to be revised to remove any references to the English curriculum, a topic discussed in the journalism department meeting on Feb. 8.
Though there was no specific timeline, the transition last semester was certainly not a surprise to any member of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences or School of the Arts and Communication.
Since Pearson’s arrival at the College in the mid ’80s, journalism had been a track in the English department, which was run by Professor Emeritus Bob Cole and Ellen Friedman, now a literature and Holocaust studies professor at the College. By the early ’90s, it became clear to Pearson that methods of journalism were changing — the world was taking a digital turn, and it was in the school’s best interest to adapt.
Pearson began by turning her magazine writing course into an online publishing course. Her and her class began collaborating with graphic design professors to create an online magazine with their students called “unbound.”
Pearson also had a hand in developing the interactive multimedia major under the School of the Arts and Communication in order to continue infusing technology into the journalism curriculum. In the early 2000s, the College began encouraging interdisciplinary courses, from which the IMM major grew.
“We created the major for it to be a space where people interested in the online and interactive aspects of journalism could develop their knowledge and their skills,” Pearson said.
That is also why some IMM and journalism courses, such as Data Journalism and Writing for Interactive Multimedia, are still cross-listed, so students get a taste of how both majors interact in the real world. Soon enough, terms such as “mobile journalism” were a regular part of students’ vocabularies.
Shaw also acknowledged how times have changed since she started at the College in 2004.
“It was painful to leave the English department,” she said. “We were surrounded by writers.”
But journalism was turning digital, and there was little anyone could do to stop it.
“We talk much more in terms of holding audiences in the digital age. We talk about graphics and data visualization, and using social media to find sources,” Shaw said. None of which were a part of the major back in the 1980s.
With the world of higher education moving in a more modern direction, it made sense for the journalism track to not only be cross-listed with IMM, but to also move to the School of the Arts and Communication in order to have better access to the equipment the school offered students.
The journalism students were eager to get a hold of the camera equipment and experience the television and radio studio in the communication department.
During the department meeting, the journalism faculty discussed more ways to engage journalism students in more communication related events. They brainstormed a possible Brown Bag event with guest speaker and alumna Kristen Zimmerman (’05), vice president of digital programming at Nick Jr.
Kathleen Webber, an assistant professor of journalism and professional writing, acknowledged that with Zimmerman’s skillset, she would be able to give advice to communication, IMM and journalism students alike. This academic diversity is just what the journalism department was hoping for in terms of engaging students from similar disciplines and showcasing what the College’s alumni are capable of accomplishing with a journalism degree.
Shaw was seeing more students pick up either a journalism or communication studies major or minor, which indicated that the transition was in the best interest of her students.
Sophomore open options major Jamie Gerhartz had not heard of the major before her adviser suggested she take a journalism class to explore different academic areas. She is now planning on declaring a journalism major.
During her freshman year, she had assumed that journalism would be under the School of the Arts and Communication, but was surprised to learn that it was in fact under the English department at the time.
She’s glad that the major is on more students’ radars, but still small enough for her to build a relationship with her professors.
“The professors are all really passionate about journalism,” Gerhartz said.
Benjamin Zander, a junior communication studies and journalism double major, started off college as a communication studies major, but later saw the benefits of picking up a journalism major, as well.
“I am aspiring to be a television news reporter, and I knew that journalism would pair really well,” Zander said.
He knew that the writing and storytelling skills he would learn in journalism would come in handy in a television or film career.
“One of the most beneficial classes for my broadcasting career happened to be a (journalism) topics course,” Zander said.
It was in his broadcast journalism class that he learned how to write a news rundown and format a 15-minute newscast for a television script. Zander said all of the jobs and internships he is interested in applying to look for applicants who have studied either journalism or communication, which is evidence that journalism is successfully wedging its way into a new career skill set.
Shaw hopes more students will be interested and aware of the major in the future. The goal of the transition was to not only help students interested in a career in journalism, communications or interactive multimedia, but also those who are also looking to benefit from the general skill set involved in the major.
“There are so many other businesses that need people who can write quickly and with accuracy,” Shaw said.
Those businesses can include nonprofit organizations and any corporation looking to hire new employees. Shaw said a recent study she had read surveyed CEOs from a variety of different corporations. They were asked what skill they looked for most in a potential employee.
“Communication skills –– in particular written communication skills,” Shaw said. “Journalism and professional writing teaches those.”
As the digital world expands around us, Shaw said we can’t forget about the importance of good old fashioned pen and paper.
“Students need to know how to write,” Shaw said.
(02/14/17 6:33am)
By Elizabeth Zakaim
Reviews Editors
Inspiration struck Chris Lundy in his stuffy dorm room on the eighth floor of Travers Hall, and he hasn’t stopped songwriting since.
The senior interactive multimedia major soon evolved from songwriter to performer, and at CUB Alt’s Student Soloist Night on Tuesday, Feb. 7, he shared his musical inspirations with the eager crowd in Traditions.
“I had been toying with the idea (of performing) for a while,” Lundy said.
Prior to this recent performance, he hadn’t been onstage in a couple of years. Once his performance started, though, he felt more grateful than nervous at having the chance to share his music with an appreciative audience.
“I was very in the moment and felt comfortable telling these stories (through music),” Lundy said.
CUB Alt hosts student soloist and band nights on a biweekly basis in the Decker Social Space or Traditions, according to Max Falvey, CUB Alt co-chair and a sophomore communication studies major.
CUB Alt posts about the events on Facebook and invites students from the College to perform. The first people to respond get a slot, according to Dana Gorab, CUB Alt co-chair and a sophomore communication studies major.
The three performers scheduled for the night each had 30-minute sets comprising covers and original songs.
When it comes to writing lyrics, Lundy doesn’t look too far to draw inspiration. He usually writes about his daily experiences.
“I tend to pull inspiration from real life, whether it be something I or a friend is going through at the time or in the past,” Lundy said. In between the cheerful strums of his ukulele, he often dedicated his pieces to his friends sitting in the audience.
However, Lundy said some of the inspiration for other pieces seems to come out of nowhere.
“Some of my songs are written about absolutely nothing, which goes back to… how dynamic and personal writing music can be,” he said.
Lundy wasn’t the only performer with a lighthearted sound and knack for creativity.
Amidst the clanging of dishes and the chatter of Traditions’s diners and kitchen staff, junior statistics major Ethan Crasto performed a few covers and originals.
“This is my first time doing something like this,” he said as he took the stage.
But his apprehension wasn’t necessary –– his friends loved his performance.
“This was his first time performing in front of an audience like this, and I'm really proud of him for having the courage to go through with it,” said Theresa Pham, a junior computer engineering major.
Chris Moncada, a junior communication studies major who has been writing songs since he was 14, took Traditions on a more serious musical journey with originals like “Loathing” accompanied by heavy acoustic-electric guitar.
Moncada’s sound held everyone’s attention, even the Traditions staff, who could be heard singing parts of Moncada’s melody in between his songs.
Moncada’s sound was something both consciously crafted and a product of spontaneous inspiration.
“In this age where everyone has the tools to record and promote their music, a lot of content is being thrown out there,” he said.
He said he is working on finding his niche in the world of songwriting, while simultaneously creating his own musical style, a challenge most singer-songwriters face.
“A lot of times, people try to stay in safe zones with their music because it's easy and more mainstream,” Moncada said. “What inspires me to write is the opportunity to sound different, but still stand out.”
The performers were grateful to CUB Alt and the audience for the chance to showcase their creativity.
“The night went better than I could have hoped,” Lundy said. “I was in the company of friends doing what I love and having a great time. I'm very thankful for the opportunity to share my music.”