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(12/09/10 4:20am)
After some dissent, the Student Government Association granted club status to the Caribbean Student Association during last week’s general body meeting. Sophomore open options major Danique Robinson is president of the 57-member organization.
“The Caribbean Student Association is for anyone on campus of Caribbean descent or who identifies as Caribbean, so we have a place to express ourselves in terms of our culture,” Robinson said. “We’d like to bring attention to the issues affecting Caribbean nations … We have a culture that is very close and fosters a familial atmosphere. We struggle together.”
The organization hopes to assist the College’s Here for Haiti campaign and host campus-wide cultural events.
“We’re trying to bring more of the Caribbean culture to (the College),” sophomore nursing major Tanya Green said. “That could include food (events), and we’re thinking of trips.”
Green mentioned a possible trip to New York City’s West Indian American Day Parade in September, an annual event that celebrates Caribbean culture.
Several SGA members expressed concern that the Caribbean Student Association looked to serve a niche already filled by the Black Student Union and Haitian Student Association. Robinson addressed these concerns when describing another of the club’s missions.
“We’d like to bring to the table that (the Caribbean) is not just Haiti,” she said. “There are more islands … and there are different languages spoken as well.”
Some SGA members remained unconvinced.
“You don’t need a pocket organization to serve each sect,” said Olaniyi Solebo, junior political science major and SGA executive president, who questioned the organization’s distinction from existing clubs and its ability to last.
Others advocated for the club.
“We need to make sure each group has a safe haven-type of organization and a place to express their culture,” said Lynette Barnes, senior psychology and women’s and gender studies double major and vice president of Equity and Diversity. “The more, the merrier.”
Still others defended the organization’s ties to existing clubs, citing these ties as a factor that would encourage, not discourage, longevity.
“If you have a sister organization or a brother organization, or as we call them here, an umbrella organization, you are more likely to prosper at (the College),” said Randi Lynn Veenstra, junior history major and alternate student trustee.
Caribbean Student Association passed by majority vote.
Also during last week’s SGA meeting, senior political science major and vice president of Legal and Governmental Affairs Brian Block introduced the committee’s “Tell It Like It Is” lobbying campaign. This challenges students to share personal stories about how they’ve been affected by the state budget cuts that impacted the College last year. The committee hopes to use these stories to lobby to the New Jersey State Government for state budget reform.
“We want to hear a lot about the students and what they have to say … anything with facilities they think isn’t being done (as a result of the cuts),” Block said. Students can e-mail sga@tcnj.edu or any Legal and Governmental Affairs committee member with their stories.
Senior journalism major and Signal web editor Cameron Prince warned students of Campus Police plans to start writing citations for students who don’t stop for pedestrians at the College, according to Campus Police Chief John Collins. Prince learned this while attending a Facilities and Construction Planning Council meeting on behalf of the SGA.
“I know at least one person in this room has been stopped for not yielding to pedestrians,” Prince said. “They haven’t given any citations yet, but they’re going to start.”
Emily Brill can be reached at brill3@tcnj.edu.
(12/01/10 5:46pm)
The Student Government Association sanctioned Stitches, a knitting and crocheting club, during its Nov. 17 meeting.
“We’re a group that teaches the skill of knitting and crochet,” said senior marketing major Theresa Buckalew, president of Stitches.
The club has also taken on philanthropic endeavors.
“We’re doing a service project right now where we knit red scarves for orphans … to go in their Valentine’s care packages,” Buckalew said.
“We do different projects to keep our members interested,” said senior marketing major Natasha Srinivasan.
Current members emphasized that new members needn’t know how to work a needle to join the club.
“We teach you how to knit,” said senior international business major Kafele Boothe. “You don’t have to be a professional knitter.”
The club passed by a majority vote.
Now that SGA has approved Stitches, the club can request funding from SFB. Representatives of Stitches hope to obtain minimal funding to purchase knitting and crocheting supplies for new members’ use, according to Boothe.
After passing the club, the SGA moved into closed session.
Executive president Olaniyi Solebo, junior political science major, motioned for all non-voting SGA members to leave the meeting.
An SGA press release sent to campus media outlets reports that the Legal and Governmental Affairs committee plans to meet with N.J. Assemblyman Louis Greenwald to discuss the state budget as it pertains to higher education.
Emily Brill can be reached at brill3@tcnj.edu.
(12/01/10 5:41pm)
Willie Cole took the stage smiling.
“You know, when I came here, I thought about bringing a shield,” he joked.
The relatively unknown assemblage artist stirred controversy at the College last Fall when “Pixels” was installed outside the Art and Interactive Multimedia Building. Cole’s public art — four colorful, fiberglass and steel spheres — drew ire from students, who rallied in the form of a nearly 1,600-member Facebook group, “Whoever destroys those giant sparkly balls in the middle of TCNJ is my hero.”
The mud slung on the group’s Wall provided ample justification for Cole’s statement. But the artist took it in stride as he spoke to a packed crowd in the Mildred and Ernest E. Mayo Concert Hall on Nov. 18 as part of the Brown Bag Series.
“Thank you for the publicity,” he said. “Whether it be good or bad, it’s all good for an artist.”
Before beginning a presentation on the evolution of his art over more than 30 years, Cole defended “Pixels.”
“I decided minimalism was the primary aesthetic in Western art today. It breaks down all our decorative and emotional (flourishes) into their most basic components,” Cole said. “That’s how I came to the concept. I thought it was good thinking on my part … I thought it was kind of deep.”
Cole incorporates minimalism into his gallery work as well, a concept he showcased through a slideshow of his work.
“‘Pixels’ are public art, and my public art approach is different from my gallery approach,” he said.
Cole’s “gallery approach” began in his first studio, a 3,000-square foot workspace in Newark he obtained after art school.
“I was a graphic designer, but the studio inspired me to become a fine artist,” Cole said.
Slides depicting his work provided the backdrop to Cole’s account of how he began crafting fine art from discarded junk.
“In the ’80s, we didn’t shop in stores, we shopped in abandoned lots,” Cole said, laughing. “Assemblage and found art was the big thing in that community of artists — in Newark in the 1980s. I was one of the leaders in that community … I was the most excited about it.”
Cole steered viewers through a short history of his “found art” phases — he went through a period of deep fascination with irons, then African art, then shoes.
“My original art career in the so-called professional world began with me making pieces out of irons,” Cole said, speaking of his work from 1988 to 1994.
Five of his iron-focused works appear in the College’s art gallery — “Infestation,” “Iron Board I,” “Iron Board II” and two untitled works. Cole presented others in his slide show, including a work titled “American Beauty” depicting a kneeling woman made of assembled irons.
“This piece was called ‘American Beauty’ because the brand of the iron used to make her breasts was called ‘American Beauty,’” he said.
Cole’s presentation revealed an artist heavily driven by ideas. He described a work called “Malcolm’s Chickens,” three chickens sculpted out of Styrofoam, matches and wax.
“I went to high school in the 1970s, and I was a fan of Malcolm X,” Cole said.
Cole said when he saw the World Trade Center towers fall on Sept. 11, 2001, he thought of a phrase commonly associated with X, “The chickens have come home to roost.” He crafted “Malcolm’s Chickens” in response to that idea. Of the three chickens, one was shipped to a gallery across the country.
“This chicken is essentially a firebomb. If I lit one of these matches, you’d all run out of here covering your noses. But he got through airport security and went safely on his journey,” Cole said.
He often toys with the provocative in his art. He completed a stint at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygan, Wis., an art studio affiliated with the Kohler Company. Each artist who completes a residency with the Arts Center spends several months working with industrial pieces. In exchange for room and board, each artist must produce one piece for the Kohler Company. Cole said he planned to create “urinals shaped like high-heeled shoes” before settling on another idea — cows made from mangled toilet bowls.
“International Balls 2000,” a work showcased in the College’s gallery, also demonstrates Cole’s tendency to create contentious imagery.
“Something (George W. Bush) said on the news just made me say, ‘That president has a lot of balls,’ which led me to this piece,” Cole said of the assemblage of 136 bowling balls painted like flags. “In the Bronx, it was actually an award-winning exhibition. I won as a little-known artist, which surprised me, and Yoko Ono won the same award as a known artist.”
Though Cole wears the title of “little-known artist,” he’s certainly made his presence felt at the College. Countless irons, three chickens made of matches and 140 balls later, Cole wrapped up his presentation, preferring to pace in front of the large projector screen showing his works than stand behind the podium.
“I’m trying to get away from the brightness!” Cole said, shying away from the spotlight beaming onto the podium, which followed him.
As it would appear, Cole cannot escape the spotlight at the College.
Emily Brill can be reached at brill3@tcnj.edu.
(11/17/10 7:47pm)
Wendy Ruderman and Barbara Laker have keen intuitions, contact information for Philadelphia police officers and drug pushers alike and, between them, a Pulitzer Prize.
But the two Philadelphia Daily News journalists can’t seem to find any pens.
“The Daily News is kind of janky,” Ruderman joked. “We never have enough equipment, and we never have enough pens.”
To Ruderman and Laker, the pen became an emblem of their adventures writing last year’s “Tainted Justice,” a series of articles about corruption in the Philadelphia police force. The series nabbed the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting.
“It was really a shoestring kinda thing, where all we needed was a notebook, a pen and sneakers to run from the crazy people,” Ruderman said.
Ruderman and Laker appeared at the College last Thursday to speak to journalism students about their experience writing the series – from finding rogue cops to finding pens.
Ruderman began working for the Daily News in 1997, after working for the Trenton Times for a number of years. She specializes in stories about police corruption.
“I’ve always had an interest in police officers, and when police officers cross that line,” she said.
Ruderman became involved in the case when Ventura “Benny” Martinez, a prolific police informant, approached her with his story.
Martinez was a former drug dealer. After the cops busted him one too many times, he became a police informant, working with narcotics officer Jeffrey Cujdik. Cujdik and Martinez forged a bond, which, according to Ruderman and Laker, ran inappropriately deep.
“Jeff rented a house to Benny,” Laker said.
Martinez and Cujdik both made money from the drug busts, but Martinez alleged Cujdik benefited most of all, taking most of Martinez’s share of the deal for “rent payment,” which was often collected arbitrarily.
“Benny would go up and try to make a buy. Jeff would write a search warrant to go over and search the house. It was a big-money operation,” Laker said. “Jeff was making money off this.”
In addition to the money collected for each drug bust, Cujdik would receive overtime for appearances in court related to each offense.
“Jeff would pick up Benny every night and go out,” Laker said. “Benny became the most prolific informant in Philadelphia.”
The duo’s efforts locked up nearly 200 drug dealers, according to Laker and Ruderman. But Martinez alleged something was afoul with a division of these busts.
“If Benny would tell Jeff, ‘Look, I can’t make that buy,’ … Jeff would say, ‘It’s O.K.,’ and send him down the road to buy from another dealer,” Laker said.
Cujdik would then obtain a search warrant for the original home under the guise that Martinez obtained drugs from it – whether he had or not.
Ruderman knew she needed to back up Martinez’s claims with evidence before writing an article about it. So she enlisted Laker for help, and the two launched their own investigation into the claims.
Efforts to corroborate Martinez’s story led to a search warrant room, drug dealers’ homes and two other explosive stories on Philadelphia police corruption.
Once the “Tainted Justice” series was complete, Ruderman and Laker had exposed three scandals in the department – the corrupt Cujdik/Martinez collaboration, unjust raids of bodegas by Cujdik’s narcotics squad and a number of sexual assaults on women by Officer Thomas Tolstoy.
Students appeared transfixed by Ruderman and Laker’s story. Introduced as “two kick-ass journalists” by Professor Emilie Lounsberry, the pair proved their mettle with stories of close encounters with drug dealers, ferocious attorneys and corrupt policemen.
Hands shot up when Ruderman and Laker asked for questions. ?One student asked if being women affected how they were treated when covering the stories. ?Ruderman and Laker smiled. ?“Since we’re both crazy and we’re both really daring, it was nothing but help to us,” Laker said. ?Read “Tainted Justice” at http://www.philly.com/dailynews/hot_topics/Tainted_Justice.html .
(11/17/10 7:00pm)
Commuters’ lives may be about to get a little easier.
A New Jersey bill proposes eliminating sales tax on commuter parking passes at certain colleges throughout the state, according to vice president for legal and governmental affairs and senior political science major Brian Block.
If the bill is passed, colleges that have achieved tax-exempt status will no longer require commuters to pay a 7 percent sales tax on parking passes. The College is one of those schools.
“This would save all (College) commuters about $7.07,” Block said at last week’s Student Government Association (SGA) meeting.
Block has endorsed the bill before the state’s Assembly Higher Education Committee.
“I testified in support of the bill … it now moves to the Senate appropriations committee,” Block said.
Residential students don’t pay a sales tax on parking passes, under the stipulation in the state’s tax code that people cannot be taxed for parking “on the same premises that constitute their primary residence,” according to A.3417.
However, commuters do. Assemblywoman Pamela Lampitt (Camden) and assemblyman Angel Fuentes (Camden and Gloucester) hope to eliminate this disparity.
The bill can be viewed online at http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2010/Bills/A2000/1910_I1.HTM .
SGA also sanctioned the TCNJ Chess Club during last Wednesday’s meeting. Junior math major Eric New presented the club.
“(The College) has had a chess club in the past,” New said. “There is no current chess club.”
New hopes to revitalize a once dynamic organization by re-establishing the Chess Club.
“Our goal is to have tournaments for students on campus. We’d also like to go to national tournaments and represent the school, and the school could benefit from the prestige of the TCNJ Chess Club if it does well,” New said. “Our advisor said eight years and two chess clubs ago, the chess club went to Argentina and won a trophy.”
The club currently has about 15 members that meet weekly to play.
SGA granted the organization club status by a unanimous vote.
Junior special education and psychology double major Alyssa SooHoo discussed the recent Dining Services meeting she attended during SGA’s Governance Reports.
“They have new breadsticks at (Eickhoff) that we taste-tested,” SooHoo said. “They’re really good.”
SooHoo also encouraged students to e-mail Dining Services with suggestions for food they’d like to see at T-Dubs.
“They’ve seen a huge drop in T-Dubs sales, possibly because of the new Eick,” SooHoo said.
Junior political science major and executive president Olaniyi Solebo announced SGA’s plans to collaborate with other major campus organizations to pilot a new event next semester.
“Next spring, we’re hoping to have a huge carnival,” Solebo said. “It’ll be on the same day as the spring concert … We’re hoping that this is going to be a legacy event.”
SGA will partner with the Student Finance Board and College Union Board to put on this event.
Emily Brill can be reached at brill3@tcnj.edu.
(11/10/10 7:31pm)
Remember Greg and Robert? You may remember their signs.
Last year, these two men materialized in front of Brower Student Center one late September day. Identifying only by their first names, the two wielded large signs and shouted slogans denouncing “the homosexual lifestyle.” A quick counter-protest formed. Jessica Cortese, senior English and women’s and gender studies double major, said, “This should show people that they cannot come to our campus and start ranting hate-chants.”
But can they?
The simple answer is yes. But other concerns, including where, when and on whose watch these men and others like them can use campus grounds present equally important questions. The answer to them lay buried beneath stacks of paperwork and a confusing maze of policies – until recently.
The College is currently working on a Use of Facilities Policy that will govern how both College and non-College-affiliated individuals and groups can use the campus.
The Committee on Student and Campus Community (CSCC) held two open forums last week to discuss the policy with staff and students.
Despite poor attendance at both forums, held Thursday and Friday in Loser Hall, CSCC welcomes comments on the policy by e-mail until Saturday, Nov. 14. The policy is available at www.tcnj.edu/~paliwal/FacilitiesDraf102910.pdf. Address comments to wells@tcnj.edu.
“Right now there’s a patchwork of policies (in place). The policies that currently exist are really unenforceable,” said Provost and Executive Vice President Carol Bresnahan. “This is an attempt to replace those policies with one that is properly devised.”
Bresnahan, who observed last year’s protest and counter-protest, mentioned the policies governing campus use were “especially confusing if you’re coming from off-campus.”
Assistant Vice President for Student Services Magda Manetas described a litany of forms people needed to fill out under the previous system in order to use campus facilities. Potential users needed to visit several offices to obtain signatures granting permission.
“For many cases, people did come to the offices,” Manetas said.
Manetas mentioned applicants needed to obtain signatures from campus police and the dean of students, among others.
According to Bresnahan and Manetas, different departments had different policies in place regarding campus use, confusing the process further for potential facility users.
As a result, the policies lost effectiveness.
“(People) did not always get permission,” Manetas said of individuals and groups using campus facilities.
The new policy mandates that individuals and groups not from the College provide identification to Campus Police prior to using facilities. The areas of campus available for public use are stipulated in the 14-page policy as well. These areas include the spaces in front of the student center and between Green Hall and the Science Complex.
“I think we all think about this when the preachers come to campus,” Bresnahan said. “Next time they come, we’ll be able to say the proper place for them to go to exercise their free speech.”
Emily Brill can be reached at brill3@tcnj.edu.
(11/10/10 7:20pm)
The brain behind the balls is back.
Willie Cole, the artist behind last year’s “Pixels” public art installation, has had his work prominently displayed outside the Art and Interactive Multimedia Building since Nov. 2, 2009.
From Oct. 27 to Dec. 8, his work will occupy the interior of the building as well. Cole’s solo exhibition celebrates the two-decade career of an artist who blends African, pop art and minimalist influences over a variety of works – including one featuring 136 painted balls.
“This exhibit is celebrating the public art associated with the building,” said Sarah Cunningham, director of the College art gallery.
The exhibit is also the second of two galleries installed in the new Art & IMM Building to celebrate its grand opening last year. It follows last year’s Alumni Art Gallery.
Working with Cole’s gallerist, Carolyn Alexander, Cunningham chose works from Cole’s collection that would show the artist’s penchant for returning to ideas, playing with scale and working with found objects.
“He’s someone who works across media. Whatever best suits his idea at the time,” Cunningham said.
Some of that media includes a chalkboard, gas hoses and a collection of hairdryers.
“How Do You Spell America? #6” is a chalkboard scrawled with a series of acrostic poems, each spelling “America.”
“A Melting Pot Empire Rejects Immigrants Coming Ashore,” reads one.
“Ask Me Eleven Reasons I Choose America,” reads another.
Some come across as news headlines, some as streams of consciousness. All sentences are written neatly, in chalk, underneath the word AMERICA,that caps the roughly gridded space. “Alien,” “makeup,” “colored” and “engineering” are visible.
Cunningham spoke affectionately of Cole’s habit of returning to an idea “over and over again,” to explore its different aspects.
Cole struggles to literally define America in the first two works. He mines similar territory in his exposition of the iron over five works displayed in this gallery.
Cole has returned to the iron “as both a conceptual motif and mark maker,” according to Cunningham, throughout his career.
“Infestation” catches the eye upon entry. The series of four plywood panels spans 42 inches by 168 inches of the wall space facing the gallery’s door. Iron brand marks speckle the panels, creating the illusion of bugs invading the wood.
The work calls to mind slave branding, according to Cunningham.
Cole features the iron in four other works. Two untitled pieces, known by the words featured in them, “You steam out wrinkles as you iron!” and “You iron with that professional touch!” display 1950s-style advertisements of women over ironing boards. Cole juxtaposes tiny ironing boards over the women’s heads.
This “underscores the iron as the embodiment of domestic work while exploring its anthropomorphic form,” Cunningham wrote in the gallery’s brochure.
Cole crafted two oversized ironing boards from wax and wood, titled “Iron Board I” and “Iron Board II.” The pair hangs on the wall opposite the two iron-women, appearing equally iron board and shield.
According to Cunningham, this serves as an example of Cole’s tendency to experiment with scale, a concept he explored in “Pixels.”
Four creatively arranged found object pieces comprise the rest of the gallery. “Wind Mask” is an “assemblage with hairdryers” — a pile of hairdryers arranged to form a face.
“Kitchen tji wara” is a series of vinyl chairs perched atop a Formica table, arranged in the shape of an antelope. The work blends the African tradition of honoring the antelope with “a kind of classic 1950s” feel, according to Cunningham. Cole grew up in the 1950s in Newark.
Besides serving as a backdrop for his childhood, Newark also gave Cole “Double-Headed Gas Snake,” a 1997 piece. Cole found two abandoned gas hoses near his Newark studio, and manipulated them into a coil with heads raised as if poised to strike.
Cole’s final piece may be the most poignant for College students. “International Balls 2000” features 136 urethane-covered bowling balls, painted to resemble international flags. The piece ascribes a capricious nature to international relations, as the flags appear in the context of a game.
The gallery’s works span 17 years of Cole’s career — from 1989 to 2006. To see what he’s been up to since 2006, just step outside the Art & Interactive Multimedia building.
The installation of “Pixels,” four sparkly spheres outside the Art & IMM building, incited a passionate response at the College last year. The public art inspired campus-wide forums, Facebook groups and “Post-Pixels,” a student art gallery of responses to the work.
For a look at what else Cole’s created, step inside the art gallery from noon to 7 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays or 1 to 3 p.m. Sundays until Dec. 8. The gallery will be closed for Thanksgiving from Nov. 24 to Nov. 28.
Emily Brill can be reached at brill3@tcnj.edu.
(11/10/10 6:47pm)
Like many English professors, David Venturo pursues interests beyond the written word.
But whereas some professors keep their hobbies and career separate, Venturo incorporates his into his academic discourse. He marries the two in a way that allows him to analyze the world by probing different aspects of his passion.
This is how “Baseball and Material Culture,” Venturo’s essay on history, anthropology, symbolism and America’s pastime, began. Venturo shared his findings with a small group of students and faculty last Thursday in the Library Auditorium.
“I appreciate you all coming out on a day that if we were at a baseball stadium, it’d be rained out,” Venturo said with a laugh. “I’ll talk today about baseball from the perspective of a material culturist.”
Venturo discussed familiar objects associated with the game — players’ equipment, balls, bats, gloves, shoes — and how the changes these items have undergone reflect changes in the national culture.
He spoke from the perspective of a “hard material culturist,” one who focuses on the physical aspects of an item in order to gauge its relevance.
“(Early bats) were really fat and tapered very slowly — that was the bat of the great Honus Wagner,” Venturo said, describing how bats have become more lightweight and contoured over the years. “In the early game, the emphasis was on contact, not power-hitting.”
Venturo described advances in the sport’s technology and collectables as well. He discussed the advent of computers and how their use affected the process of gathering statistics. He also discussed baseball cards.
According to Venturo, baseball cards were included in cigarette packs for many years. Just like Joe Camel, the formerly animated face of Camel cigarettes, these baseball cards tempted youngsters to pick up a pack.
“I want to emphasize how baseball has changed and how those changes reflect change in the American culture,” Venturo said.
After the presentation, Venturo fielded questions from an engaged audience.
One student, who professed to not liking baseball, was nonetheless gripped by Venturo’s presentation.
“It was interesting to see the cultural implications … and the history of objects,” said junior English major Rebecca McNulty.
Emily Brill can be reached at brill3@tcnj.edu.
(11/10/10 6:03pm)
The Student Government Association welcomed the Kappa Pi Art Honor Society and TCNJ Steel Lions Fencing to the College’s roster of student organizations during last week’s general body meeting. It also discussed the College’s forthcoming upgrade to Windows 7 computer operating systems.
Four students presented on behalf of Kappa Pi.
“We’re affiliated nationally with the organization. We currently have 15 inducted honorary members,” said Gabrielle Peterson, Kappa Pi president and senior art history major. “We would be the only honor society in the art department.”
Students must have at least a 3.8 GPA to become an official member. Students who don’t meet this requirement can still become associate members and participate in all of Kappa Pi’s activities, according to Peterson.
“Within our campus community, we have helped out with the art open house, and on a community basis, we’ve been commissioned by (a local) school to do an enormous mural,” junior art history major Caroline Eckhardt said.
The club plans to hold art workshops, host museum trips and invite speakers, according to junior art history major Hyuna Yong.
“We’d bring speakers not only relevant to the art department. For example, a speaker on art crime where the departments of criminology or history would be involved,” Yong said.
“It’s to bring a higher awareness to art on campus while showcasing its value on a college campus,” said junior art education major Matt Pembleton of the organization. “Kappa Pi will provide a means
whereby students with an artistic commitment can meet for informal study and communication.”
Vice president for legal and governmental affairs and senior political science major Brian Block praised the club’s organization and competence. Kappa Pi earned club status by a unanimous vote.
Junior elementary education and music double major Andrew Zlotnick presented on behalf of TCNJ Steel Lions Fencing.
“It’s a way for people who have fenced before to hone their skills, improve upon what they already know, and give them the chance to help students (who are just starting),” Zlotnick said.
Zlotnick, who has fenced for 10 years, called fencing an “individual and mental sport” he considers “a way to let go … and have a lot of fun meeting new people.”
The club currently has 40 members.
“I’ve been fencing for four years. I stopped by one of their practices … They’re pretty legit,” said freshman biology major Matthew Grapstul. “They organize their meetings as a practice. They teach everybody who doesn’t know how to play.”
Grapstul added that passing the club would spread awareness of the sport on campus.
The club passed by a majority vote.
Junior biology major Stephen Kornas informed the SGA general body of upcoming changes to the College computers’ operating systems.
“Over this next summer, look for the computers in the labs to be rolling out the newest version of the Windows operating system. Windows 7 will be replacing Windows XP,” Kornas said.
He also mentioned the College may switch its e-mail server from Zimbra to Gmail, but no contract has been signed as of now.
Emily Brill can be reached at brill3@tcnj.edu.
(11/04/10 1:44am)
A costumed Student Government Association general body discussed a state bill that could give $500,000 to the technology education department. They also talked about renovations to Cromwell Hall during last week’s Halloween-themed meeting.
“Right now there’s an appropriations bill sitting in no-man’s land in the legislature that could appropriate $500,000 to our technology education department,” said Brian Block, SGA’s vice president of administration and finance and senior political science major. “It’s a bill that directly addresses (the College). … We’re the only state college in New Jersey that has a technology education program.”
Filed in 2007, the bill acknowledges increasing demand for technology teachers in New Jersey.
“The (Technology Educators Association of New Jersey) has estimated that the State will need to add over 500 new technology education teachers within the next five years and over 900 within the next 10 years to maintain the current supply of technology education teachers,” the bill says, which was sponsored by District 38 (Bergen County) assemblywoman Joan Voss and District 30 (Burlington, Mercer, Monmouth and Ocean counties) assemblyman Joseph Malone III.
The College operates the state’s sole accredited technology education program. The major graduates about 25 students per year and with an additional $500,000 the College could expand its program to meet growing teacher quotas.
“A survey of New Jersey middle and high schools has revealed that approximately 27 percent of current technology education teachers are planning to retire within the next five years and approximately 50 percent are planning to retire within the next 10 years,” the bill states.
The state made technology education part of its core curriculum for K-12 students in 2003.
“My lobbying chair, Tom Little, is organizing some more research and conversations with the Tech Ed (Department) at this time,” said Block. “We will then be crafting a strategy to advocate for this intelligent and focused appropriation.”
The bill will be considered by the 214th legislature this year. The bill can be viewed at njleg.state.nj.us/2010/Bills/A0500/469_I1.PDF.
Anthony Czajkowski, SGA representative and senior accounting major, announced that an architecture firm has been chosen to renovate Cromwell Hall, though its contract is pending approval by the Board of Trustees.
A committee comprised of faculty and students selected the Kimmel Bogrette architecture firm of Conshohocken, Pa. to complete the renovations. Kimmel Bogrette completed last year’s renovations of Decker Hall.
The committee will recommend the firm to the Board of Trustees for approval at the Board’s Dec. 7 meeting.
Cromwell Hall, a first-year student residence hall constructed in 1966, will undergo changes between 2012 and 2013. The building’s six-person suites will be converted to double-occupancy rooms and communal bathrooms will replace suite bathrooms.
More information on campus renovations can be found at tcnj.edu/~campplan.
The SGA also issued a commendation for Lions’ Emergency Medical Services (EMS).
“This commendation was to thank Lions’ EMS for all the things they do,” Stephen Kornas, junior biology major, said.
Lions’ EMS was nearly shut down last year following the resignation of advisor Holly Heller, who stepped down because the organization required a licensed EMT supervisor. Student Financial Services billing manager Scott Sferra took over duties as supervisor this year. The organization is in its 12th year of service to the College.
Emily Brill can be reached at brill3@tcnj.edu.
(10/28/10 1:14am)
The New Jersey Comedy Festival, a stand-up competition for college students, has been in existence for four years. The College has given it half its winners—alumni funnymen Adam Mamawala won in 2007 and Kevin “Vegas” Lancaster won in 2008.
The festival’s founder, Dennis Hedlund, said he had high hopes that he may find his festival’s fifth winner in the pool of students selected at the College’s preliminary round, held Tuesday, Oct. 12, in the Rathskeller.
And the next winner very well might come from the College, in the form of Brad Emdur, senior technology education major, Nick Maloney, 2010 alumnus and education graduate student, Kiley Remer, junior history major or Matthew Rusay, freshman mathematics major. The four students took top honors at Tuesday’s event and will continue on to the New Jersey Comedy Festival, to be held Saturday, Jan. 29, 2011 at Rutgers University.
Emdur warmed up the crowd as the first contestant. His low-key delivery and dry humor received a warm response.
He spoke slowly and deliberately, at one point making an amusing transition to his next joke.
“I was having trouble thinking of a segue into my next topic of conversation, but then I realized Segways are for assholes,” Emdur said. “Speaking of assholes…”
Maloney discussed problems with technology during his five-minute set.
“One time, actually, my whole life, I had phone problems,” Maloney said. “One time, my phone was stuck on capital letters, so of course everyone thought I was fucking insane.”
Peals of laughter greeted Maloney’s recap of his digital woes.
“Have you ever tried dirty texting in capital letters?” Maloney asked.
Remer and Rusay took the stage back-to-back. Remer, a recent transfer student, relayed his thoughts on the College’s demographics.
“Even when it’s raining, I feel like I have to put sunglasses on to see through all these happy, bright, shiny white people,” Remer said.
Rusay capitalized upon his lanky figure and an awkward scar for laughs.
“If it ever gets to the point where America needs me to fight, fucking move to Canada,” Rusay said. “The only scar I have is one in the shape of a penis on my ankle that I got from ice skating, ’cause I’m so cool.”
Ten other contestants took the stage to take their shot at becoming “New Jersey King or Queen of Campus Comedy” and taking home the festival’s grand prize of $5,000.
Two judges from the New Jersey Motion Picture and Television Commission — Steven Gorelick, executive director and David Smith, commissioner — joined Hedlund to determine the three winners.
Hedlund delivered the announcement, and a surprise.
“Because (the College) has a warm place in our hearts, instead of three finalists, we came up with four,” Hedlund said.
With smiles, Emdur, Maloney, Remer and Rusay became finalists.
“It was a bit shocking,” Remer said.
College Union Board Rat committee co-chair Jillian Polak was pleased with the outcome of the event.
“There were a lot of people there and a lot of new competitors,” said Polak, senior journalism major. “I think it went really well.”
(10/27/10 5:13pm)
The Student Government Association considered granting two organizations club status during its Wednesday, Oct. 13, and Wednesday, Oct. 20 general body meetings.
The TCNJ Engineering Honor Society earned club status by a majority vote. The SGA will decide the fate of Campus 2.0, a social networking website exclusively for College students, after a legal review of several of the site’s policies.
Senior electrical engineering major Chris Brinton presented on behalf of the Engineering Honor Society.
“(The College’s) engineering department has grown to be quite reputable,” Brinton said. “We’re trying to establish a chapter of Tau Beta Pi at (the College).”
Tau Beta Pi is a national engineering honor society. The organization will send a representative next year to assess whether a chapter should be set up at the College, according to Brinton.
Should Tau Beta Pi approve the College, the society will establish its sixth New Jersey chapter here.
“I think the School of Engineering would greatly benefit from the presence of an honor society,” said Brian Franco, senior biomedical engineering major.
The TCNJ Engineering Honor Society functioned without club status for a year and a half. It became an official club after a majority vote approved it.
SGA also heard a presentation from Campus 2.0, an organization that hopes to establish a social networking site for College students.
“You need a (College) e-mail to join. It’s kind of like how Facebook used to be,” said Brent Keyes, senior business management major. “It’s basically going to keep students up to date on … what’s going on around campus.”
Certain SGA general body members asked whether it would provide the campus with anything it didn’t already have.
“What sets Campus 2.0 apart from services and resources we can access on Facebook and the (College) website?” asked Kevin Hodulik, senior math and secondary education major.
Others mentioned liability issues.
“If you were a student group, you’d technically be part of the College,” said Olaniyi Solebo, SGA executive president and junior political science major.
SGA executive vice president and junior political science major Corey Dwyer explained that this meant the College could be held accountable for anything posted on the site.
Ultimately, the SGA tabled Campus 2.0’s request for club status pending a review of legal issues surrounding the website by general counsel Tom Mahoney.
The next SGA general body meeting takes place Oct. 24 at 3 p.m. in Brower Student Center 202W.
Emily Brill can be reached at brill3@tcnj.edu.
(10/27/10 5:01pm)
Residents of Phelps and Hausdoerffer Halls received an unwelcomed surprise upon returning to their apartments the evening of Thursday, Oct. 21 — the heat was set to an uncomfortably high level, and, for a night, there seemed to be no escape.
Many residents noticed the change in temperature upon returning from classes and meetings Thursday night.
“When I got back to my room that night, my door handle was hot as well as everything else in my room,” said Monica Debowska, senior biology major and Phelps resident. “The hallways were also like a sauna.”
Just how hot was it?
“I felt like I was in India,” said senior marketing major Natasha Srinivasan.
“It felt like the Sahara desert,” said junior nursing major Cate Moore.
Students estimate temperatures hovered at around 90 degrees. According to junior biology major Ravi Shah, one resident’s clock thermometer registered 109 degrees.
To cope, students opened windows, slept in their underwear or left the apartments entirely. Casualties included posters (melted), cosmetics (liquefied) and moods (soured).
“I was sweaty, bothered and my friends and I were a bit edgy,” Srinivasan said.
Students were urged not to tamper with the Heating, Venting and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system in their apartments during the crisis.
“These systems are designed to stay on indefinitely. Damage to these systems will result in fines for residents and/or suites,” wrote Olaniyi Solebo, the Metzger apartments’ Assistant Residence Director (ARD), in an e-mail to Phelps and Hausdoerffer residents. “Also, please don’t attempt to cover your HVAC system with towels, tape, paper, etc. Covering the HVAC could pose a significant hazard to suitemates and the greater community.”
Some students were skeptical.
“My logic was, it’s too damn hot to do nothing, and if they didn’t want us to turn them off, they wouldn’t have switches,” said Sam Paternostro, junior communication studies major.
The temperature returned to normal during the afternoon on Friday, Oct. 22.
“It appears there was a malfunction in the system, but it has since been corrected,” Solebo wrote in an e-mail to residents at 4:05 p.m. “Over the next few hours, the temperature will continue to decrease and should return to a temperature much more comfortable for everyone.”
Students hung posters back up, removed makeup from the freezer and rediscovered “room temperature” — hopefully, a limit that won’t be tested again.
A few of the incident’s effects linger. Debowska credits the excessive heat with her current illness, and says she’s heard other apartment residents mention they’ve felt sick as well.
Representatives from the Department of Facilities Management declined to comment over the phone on this issue.
To report an issue with building services, students may fill out a work order, available at tcnj.edu/~facility, or call 609-771-2353 in the event of an emergency.
Emily Brill can be reached at brill3@tcnj.edu.
(10/14/10 1:08am)
Students went largely without tap water for three days last week after the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued a Boil Water Advisory for the College and its surrounding community.
The DEP urged citizens of Trenton, Ewing Township and Lawrence Township to boil their tap water before consuming it from Monday Oct. 4 to Thursday Oct. 7. The department deemed the water potentially hazardous after flooding of the Delaware River led to shutdowns at Trenton Water Works’ pumping station.
The DEP issued the warning as a “precaution” for Trenton Water Works customers, after it “determined that a potential or actual threat to the quality of water being provided currently exists,” according to an e-mail TCNJ Facilities and Administrative Services sent to students by at 10:42 p.m. Monday Oct. 4.
As a result, members of the College community were forced to adapt to the lack of clean tap water available. This required a number of adjustments to student services. Dining Services and Residential Education, or ResEd, were two of the most significantly impacted.
Eddie Cole, supervisor at Eickhoff Hall, remarked upon the dining hall’s substitution to tap water – bottled Aquafina, shipped in from PepsiCo, the College’s provider.
“It’s a lot of water,” Cole said. “We’re going through two to three pallets a day. And there are 50 or 60 cases in a pallet, 24 bottles in a case. That’s just here – I don’t know what they’re doing at the other places.”
Eickhoff Hall began distributing free water bottles to students on Tuesday Oct. 5. Employees also cooked with bottled water at the dining hall. The staff used bottled water instead of boiled tap water to cook as a “precaution,” one supervisor said.
No fountain drinks or coffee was available at any dining location during the advisory’s three-day span. Eickhoff Hall employees provided iced tea and lemonade made with bottled water to students.
Water bottles were also distributed at residence halls and sold at other dining locations for a discounted rate while the advisory was in effect.
“Once we realized this was going to extend beyond a very short window, we began distributing water in the dining halls,” said Matt Golden, executive director of Public Relations and Communications. “Once it carried into a second day, we determined we’d start ordering extra waters to bring them to the dining hall so students could brush their teeth … They were ordering 4,000 bottles at a time.”
Facilities and Administrative Services notified students of updates in the Boil Water Advisory via e-mail. The first e-mail went out at 12:40 p.m. Monday, Oct. 4, telling students of a water pressure drop due to area flooding that affected the Trenton Water Works pumping station.
The City of Trenton issued a press release at 4 p.m. and a citywide e-mail at 5 p.m. Monday warning residents to boil their water before using it. The first College-wide e-mail detailing the advisory went out at 11:44 p.m. that night.
The advisory was lifted in Trenton at 4:30 p.m. Thursday Oct. 7. Although Ewing Township posted a Twitter update reading “Boil water advisory – it is no longer necessary for customers of Trenton Water Works in Ewing Township to boil their water before use,” at 11:57 a.m. that day, the advisory wasn’t considered officially lifted in Ewing until 10:10 p.m. Friday Oct. 8, according to Mercer County’s website.
Students at the College received an e-mail saying the advisory had been lifted at 12:02 a.m. Friday Oct. 8.
Administrators and students alike were relieved to have water back.
“You don’t realize how much water you use ’til you don’t use it,” said Michelle Marchese, sophomore biology major.
“It’s a relief to have the water advisory lifted,” Golden said. “This represented a challenge for the institution and the students and faculty who were on campus during this period.”
One challenge that pained many a student was the sudden lack of coffee available. Sophomore biology major Billy Cavallo felt the strain acutely.
“I was falling asleep in my classes because I didn’t have my coffee,” Cavallo said. “It was very good to get the coffee back.”
Emily Brill can be reached at brill3@tcnj.edu
(10/14/10 12:58am)
The College’s bachelor of science degree (B.S.) in engineering with a specialization in biomedical engineering will be converted to a full B.S. in biomedical engineering degree (BSBME) after the Board of Trustees unanimously passed a resolution making it so during its meeting on Oct. 6.
The new B.S. in biomedical engineering can be sanctioned by ABET, Inc., the recognized accreditor of degree programs in applied science, computing, engineering and technology. The widely respected nonprofit cannot accredit specialization programs.
“The basic reason for (the change) … is that while we already have the courses, the faculty and the equipment to provide students with a full degree, it is currently called something that cannot be accredited by (ABET),” said Robert Altman, Board of Trustees treasurer.
Altman said ABET accreditation would make the College’s biomedical engineering program a more savory draw for students planning to attend graduate school in the field.
“Graduates of a BSBME program that could be accredited by ABET would benefit from increased degree recognition…when seeking employment or admission to graduate school,” the resolution stipulated.
Changing the College’s specialization in biomedical engineering to a B.S. in biomedical engineering does not guarantee that the program will be accredited by ABET.
But, as Altman stated, offering a B.S. makes accreditation an option.
According to the resolution, the current curriculum “is comparable to that in ABET-accredited biomedical engineering programs.”
Altman emphasized the value in that fact — it means the specialization program won’t have to undergo excessive modification to become a full degree program.
According to Altman, it won’t need to undergo much modification at all. Everything the program needs to become a full degree, it has.
“It’s particularly good because (changing the program) doesn’t involve any new (resources),” Altman said.
The resolution’s words mirrored the trustee’s.
“The existing faculty, equipment, laboratory, computer and facilities resources of the School of Engineering are sufficient to support the proposed BSBME program,” the resolution said.
The current specialization program will need to go through a state approval process before it can become a BSBME, according to Carol Bresnahan, provost and executive vice president.
However, “once that process is complete, we can offer the new degree,” the provost and executive vice president said in an e-mail comment.
The Board of Trustees also passed a resolution to establish a “non-state-defined” retirement fund to benefit former members of the College faculty who made more than $141,000 while employed.
“Last year … we were well aware the government budget included a plan to cut state contribution to individuals with retirement accounts that made more than a state cabinet’s employee,” President R. Barbara Gitenstein said. “We were prepared to cover it with our resources, because from our standpoint, it was a contractual obligation.”
The resolution allows the College to establish a plan that will “make ongoing annual contributions with non-State funds on behalf of affected employees,” according to its text.
This plan will ensure retired College faculty members collect the same amount from their retirement funds they would have before the state issued regulations.
“Some of our employees were going to have their compensation cut quite significantly,” Gitenstein said. “(This is) our opportunity to (give) these individuals a supplement that was once provided by the state.”
The president added that “several other sister institutions have already carried out similar programs.”
The resolution passed unanimously.
The next Board of Trustees meeting will be its annual tuition hearing, which will be held Tuesday Dec. 7, at a time and location to be determined.
For more information on the Board of Trustees, go to www.tcnj.edu/~trustees.
Emily Brill can be reached at brill3@tcnj.edu.
(10/13/10 11:51pm)
Junior health and exercise science major Lindsay Gagliano announced the Inter Greek Council’s decision to welcome a new sorority to the mix this semester during last week’s Student Government Association meeting. Sigma Kappa will establish a chapter at the College later this year.
The national sorority was established in 1874 at Colby College in Maine. Its 110 collegiate chapters span 36 states. It will welcome its first pledge class at the College this spring.
“They were approved, and they’re going to come to campus at the end of the fall and in the spring they’ll be part of formal recruitment,” Gagliano said.
Gagliano, who is a member of Zeta Tau Alpha (ZTA), said the Panhellenic Association (PHA) began its eight-month search for a new sorority after last semester drew an unprecedented amount of pledges for many of the Greek organizations.
“The pledge classes were so big. This past spring (ZTA) had a pledge class of 23. That’s unheard of,” Gagliano said. “A lot of people are interested. This is just to give them more options.”
Sigma Kappa joins 12 existing sororities at the College. It will be the eighth National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) approved sorority, joining Delta Phi Epsilon, Delta Zeta, Kappa Delta, Phi Sigma Sigma, Sigma Sigma Sigma, Theta Phi Alpha and ZTA. These organizations comprise the College’s PHA.
“On behalf of the PHA, the Inter Greek Council would like to welcome Sigma Kappa to (the College),” reads a bulletin on the Inter Greek Council’s website. “We look forward to your arrival later this semester and developing a partnership that will help advance the entire fraternity and sorority community at (the College). Congratulations.”
For more information about Sigma Kappa, visit tcnjigc.wordpress.com or sigmakappa.org.
SGA also officially welcomed the College’s Russian Club during last week’s meeting.
The TCNJ Russian Club takes its place among other cultural organizations recently welcomed to the College, including the Polish Club and BlackOut Step Team. School of Culture and Society dean and Russian professor Benjamin Rifkin advises the club.
“There are a lot of cultural restaurants and places we could go in this area,” said Ellina Sukharenko, junior communication studies major and founder of the club.
According to Sukharenko, the club has 35 charter members. It also has a Facebook page with 88 fans, and hopes to expand its presence on campus during its first interest meeting. The meeting has not yet been scheduled.
The club passed with a majority vote.
“I think it’s important to have organizations representing different cultures,” said Randi Lynn Veenstra, junior history major and alternate student trustee.
For more information on the TCNJ Russian Club, visit its page on Facebook at facebook.com/pages/TCNJ-Russian-Club/159900424025581.
(09/29/10 5:30pm)
Campus architect Lynda Rothermel presented the Student Government Association with the public art planned for the College’s new education building during last Wednesday’s meeting. The artwork currently under consideration is a 22-foot high, 1-inch thick anodized aluminum rendering of a schoolhouse. Designed by Tom Nussbaum, a Montclair, N.J. artist, the sculpture will feature education-related designs composing the “rooms” of the schoolhouse, such as apples.
“Many components are related to education, and some come from New Jersey quilt patterns … We discussed incorporating the former names of (the College) into the piece – Trenton State College, the Normal School,” Rothermel said.
To accommodate blind and deaf individuals, the structure will contain “visual, tactile and sound elements,” according to the artist. Plans include a working bell at the top of the sculpture and a Braille description of its elements near it.
“My goal is to create a visually compelling work of art that will be a beacon for the School of Education and is meaningful and accessible to its diverse
population,” Nussbaum said in a statement. “I hope to draw audiences into a physical and intellectual engagement with the artwork.”
“The purpose of this (structure) is to function as a pedagogical tool for academic programs,” Rothermel echoed.
A 17-member selection committee chose Nussbaum’s work from hundreds of submissions. According to Rothermel, the committee contained faculty, staff, students, the College’s gallery director, Sarah Cunningham, College architects and representatives from the New Jersey State Council of the Arts (NJSCA) and the College’s Board of Trustees.
The project will be financed by “approximately one-third of one percent of funds from the project for public art,” which translates to $133,244 from the bond.
An open forum will be held from 12:30 to 2 p.m. today, Wednesday, Sept. 29, in the auditorium of the Physics Building of the Science Complex (SBP 101). It will discuss “the College’s public art program, the campus as a home for public art, and the selection process for the artist chosen to create a work for the new School of Education … (and) provide opportunities for feedback and input from the campus,” according to an office of Student Activities e-mail.
According to the e-mail, Nussbaum will be in attendance and will participate in the open forum.
“The artist is willing to, and interested in, working with the committee and students to finalize the components,” Rothermel said.
“So if you didn’t like ‘Pixels,’ come on out,” SGA executive president Olaniyi Solebo said, referring to the public art installed in front of the new Art and Interactive Multimedia building last year.
The College hopes to engage students in the process of selecting public art this time, perhaps as a response to the outcry after the four large, colorful spheres comprising “Pixels” were installed without many students’ knowledge, according to Magna Minetas, SGA advisor.
“It’s the process of being open to feedback,” Manetas said.
Installation for the finalized public art is scheduled for Spring 2012.
Also at the Wednesday meeting, vice president of Academic Affairs Katie Cugliotta discussed a proposal by the Committee on Academic Programs (CAP) regarding mid-semester grades.
Currently, Educational Opportunity Fund students are required to obtain mid-semester grades. A sub-committee of CAP considered whether a College policy should be established requiring professors to provide students with mid-semester grades.
“While most of the current students polled supported having mid-semester feedback, a large percentage of faculty surveyed were reluctant to endorse a college-wide policy that might be broadly conceived and, perhaps, implemented in ways that restricted their professional freedom,” reads the preliminary recommendation on the policy.
CAP did not endorse a policy to require professors to provide students with grades mid-semester, but did recommend professors give students “substantive feedback on academic progress at least one week prior to the course withdrawal date,” and “that each department determine the nature of this feedback and the method in which it is given.”
“The resolution was very broad and not very specific,” Cugliotta said.
She mentioned everyone on her committee supported professors making mid-semester grades available.
“What … if it were to go on SOCS?” Cugliotta offered.
Cugliotta urged students to attend the open forum on the resolution, to be held from 2 to 3 p.m. today in Roscoe West Hall 202.
“It’s an issue that is pertinent to students,” Cugliotta said.
The SGA also commended senior English major Matty Daley and sophomore interactive multimedia major Bobby Canciello for breaking the World’s Longest Kiss record after kissing for 32.5 hours from Saturday Sept. 18 to Sunday Sept. 19.
“The (SGA) at (the College) looks forward to continuing to partner with students and campus organizations to promote a culture of diversity awareness and acceptance,” reads commendation C-F2010-01.
The commendation was passed by a unanimous vote.
Emily Brill can be reached at brill3@tcnj.edu.
(09/22/10 5:09pm)
Vice president of student services Dan Frieri mentioned the possibility of placing a Student Government Association representative on a committee to maintain the College’s student-run radio station, WTSR-FM 91.3, during the general body meeting on Wednesday Sept. 15. Frieri noted he met with representatives of the station over the summer to discuss taking WTSR into what could be a financially unstable future.
“The long-term status of WTSR was not particularly positive,” said Frieri, senior accounting major, drawing from his impression of the meeting. “I met with Dean (John) Laughton and the general manager of WTSR, (Kevin Potucek), yesterday, and it turns out that WTSR has a whole planning committee being set up, talking about how to financially save WTSR. We might want to put someone from SGA (on this committee).”
Frieri mentioned that SGA plans to take a more active role in “getting WTSR more engaged on campus.” It will determine what sort of programming students want from WTSR and reporting those findings to Laughton and Potucek.
He informally polled SGA general body members on how they’d like to see WTSR become more ingrained in campus culture.
“Who thinks it would be cool to see more (College) sporting events covered?” Frieri asked. He also asked about whether members would like to see more programming from the station, as well as coverage of professional sporting events and political speeches.
A hand-raise vote tallied the results. The general body overwhelmingly supported station coverage of political speeches. It praised covering College sporting events as well, though less enthusiastically. It expressed little interest in seeing more programming or professional sports coverage, with less than half its members’ hands raised.
SGA announced that updates to Hausdoerffer and Phelps Halls’ driveway system have been completed. It also announced new lobbying initiatives, a possible partnership with WTSR and two SGA contests
open to the student body — one for its new logo and one for a school fight song.
Vice president of legal and governmental affairs Brian Block announced that improvements to student parking outside Hausdoerffer and Phelps, nearly a year in the making, were finished. He thanked Campus Police, grounds management, Brian Webb, a manager for the office of Risk Management Services, and the student committee on the project for their efforts.
“Now there are 15-minute parking lanes. It’s a lot safer and more convenient for students,” said Block, senior political science major.
Block also discussed an initiative his committee will tackle head-on this year — lobbying the state government, particularly in support of education reform.
Though the legal and governmental affairs committee has lobbied the state in the past, Block feels the time is ripe for new strategies. The committee intends to compile personal accounts from students who have been affected by cuts to education in New Jersey.
“Our goal here is to relate these stories to legislators who have those students as constituents,” Block said.
The SGA also announced two student contests. One will be to create a new logo for the SGA, which adopts a revised name – SG, or Student Government – in January. The other will be to compose a school fight song.
“We talked about different things the school doesn’t have that we could use, but we can’t legislate,” said executive president Olaniyi Solebo, junior political science major.
Winners will collect $100 and “bragging rights,” Solebo said. The contests are open to all students.
The SGA also named two new student-faculty liaisons. Senior management major Elyse Hitscherich will serve as campus police liaison. Sophomore business major Chelsea Tompkins will serve as facilities liaison.
Emily Brill can be reached at brill3@tcnj.edu.
(09/22/10 3:52pm)
Jonathan Walton took to the stage rhyming.
“Couplets and quatrains bleed through my veins … because poetry is my release,” said the 22-year-old founder of the New York City Urban Project (NYCUP), an initiative to place students in internships while teaching them about Christianity and volunteerism. “A constant rhythm of rhyme is flowing through me.”
Walton rapped, rhymed and prayed his way through a presentation before members of the New Jersey Christian Fellowship (NJCF). NJCF is the on-campus division of InterVarsity, an interdenominational Christian organization for college students. Walton directs the NYCUP through InterVarsity.
During his presentation, titled “Poetic Justice,” the Columbia graduate discussed growing up in a small, impoverished town and how he discovered a larger world, activism and the Christian faith beyond its borders.
“(My high school counselor) told me I couldn’t get into an Ivy League school. So I googled ‘Ivy League’ to see what it was, and I applied. And I got in,” Walton said.
Walton enrolled in Columbia University that fall, moving from Broadnax, Va. — population 317 — to New York City – population 8 million, according to the 2000 U.S. Census. He remembered the lessons he scrambled to learn as a sleepy-town transplant in the city that never sleeps.
“I didn’t know that this world existed, where there were even bigger disparities between rich and poor, between haves and have-nots,” Walton said. “I did not know that I had a bigger chance of ending up in prison than ending up in college … what do you do when you learn about yourself?”
As an African American, Walton learned of the odds he surmounted without knowing they existed, and he developed a new perspective. His sophomore year, he saw the 2003 documentary “Invisible Children,” about child soldiers in Uganda. It was then that he turned his attention to humanitarian pursuits. Walton also credits his faith with this transformation.
“I started to think what it would be like to follow (Jesus), and that’s how the New York City Urban Project happened,” Walton said.
Walton waxed poetic about his goals for NYCUP.
“I want you to imagine a tree, and the roots are you – your passions, kids like you … The branches are opportunities. I want to be the trunk, to get (you) to that place,” he said.
Walton encouraged the audience to volunteer and to remember “don’t be concerned about the price of your shoes, ’cause if you look down, you’ve still got two feet.” He closed with a prayer.
Preceding Walton were three student performances by members of NJCF. Sophomore English major Kat Ashbahian and Alex Kim, international business major, performed the Christian song “Instead of a Show” by Jon Foreman. Ashbahian’s strong, clear voice accompanied Kim’s guitar for the stripped-down performance.
Freshman international business major Nelson Hernandez followed with a self-penned rap. Sophomore chemistry major Steve Malone closed the student performances with a reading from the Bible and the South African national anthem, read alternately in English and Xhosa, a South African language.
This was NJCF’s first large-scale event since establishing a Social Justice Committee. The organization will focus more on educating its members about social rights issues this year.
“It’s something that wherever you stand with your beliefs, you can (do something),” said senior chemistry major Devon Cocuzza, one of NJCF’s two presidents. “We know that the way the world is is not the way the world ought to be.”
Cocuzza was pleased with the outcome of the event.
“I think it was fruitful,” Cocuzza said. “Hopefully it stimulated people to think.”
Emily Brill can be reached at brill3@tcnj.edu.
(09/16/10 8:54pm)
ProfRecord, a program on the College’s website that lists professors’ grade distributions, is set to return. Members of the Student Government Association (SGA) just aren’t sure when.
Juniors and seniors may remember the program from its glory days — 2007 to 2009 — when ProfRecord was up and running at tcnj.edu/~profrec. Created by SGA and the Association for Computer Machinery (ACM), ProfRecord provided searchable grade distribution data for each semester, dating back to 2005. Students could search by class or by teacher. A comment section provided a space for student feedback.
In the fall of 2009, the program was shut down after a period of inactivity.
“One reason (it was shut down) was faculty complaints, and another was that it was not being upkept the way it was supposed to be,” said Corey Dwyer, junior political science major and executive vice president of SGA. Dwyer is currently working to reinstate ProfRecord, along with the organization’s vice president of academic affairs, sophomore history and secondary education major Katie Cugliotta.
Junior political science major Gina Lauterio spearheaded the project during her tenure as vice president of academic affairs last year.
“By the time ProfRecord had been passed to me, it was no longer active. There was no way to log in and change any data on it or add new information,” Lauterio said.
“Therefore, I started working immediately, a year and a half ago now, to try and create a new system that we could actually add recent grades and could be more user-friendly, etcetera.”
The new system will not be accessible from the College’s website — it will be “an entirely separate” page, according to Dwyer.
Those involved with the project are currently looking for a developer. Dwyer said the SGA made progress on creating the new ProfRecord during the summer, but the arrangement it drew up ultimately fell through.
“We got really far this summer. We had a developer in mind, a contract drawn up and a tentative schedule about when we wanted it done,” Dwyer said. “This all came together toward the end of the summer.”
According to Dwyer, financial concerns were part of the reason the plan didn’t come to fruition.
As ProfRecord was initially operated by an on-campus organization, ACM, SGA didn’t need to pay a developer. Compensation was issued via a SGA-funded ACM social event.
However, Dwyer mentioned the organization received funding for the project from the Student Finance Board (SFB).
“We’ve been talking to SFB, and we have $800 allocated for this year,” Dwyer said.
SGA hopes to make the new website “easier to navigate and search,” according to Lauterio. Grade distributions will still be available via the office of Records and Registration. Members are still discussing whether a comments section will be included. A professor’s objection to a comment led to the program’s shutdown last fall.
According to Lauterio, the professor asked SGA to remove the comment. However, at that point, the website couldn’t be accessed to change data.
“After working with the webmaster, I was told that there was no way that we could just take down that one page that was inappropriate,” Lauterio said. “The professor was not satisfied with this and so to avoid any possible legal repercussions, (the College) and SGA both thought it was in our best interest to take the site down, as we were hopefully making progress with a new site anyway.”
Students who used ProfRecord praised the site’s usefulness.
“I found ProfRecord super helpful, especially for liberal learning classes where I wasn’t likely to know about teachers in a department other than that of my major,” Emily Dusedau, junior English major, said. “It was nice to see a grade distribution as well as the comments from fellow students. I found that on ProfRecord people were more likely to give fair reviews of professors, versus ratemyprofessors.com where people tend to rant one way or the other based on personal opinions. I definitely was upset when I went to use it and it was no longer there.”
“I really don’t understand why ProfRecord was deleted. If you are a good, fair professor, you don’t have anything to worry about, and if you aren’t, then you should worry anyway. Everyone just uses a different site for the same information now anyway,” Carrie Graham, junior English major, said. “Now I use ratemyprofessors.com, but it doesn’t seem to have as many of my professors as ProfRecord, and I liked the grade distribution information.”
Emily Brill can be reached at brill3@tcnj.edu.