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(10/17/17 6:44am)
By Eric Preisler
Production Manager
The Student Finance Board decided to stop funding LionsGate and discussed funding for several campus events at its Oct. 4 and Oct. 11 meetings.
The board had the option to fully fund or partially fund a one-year or three-year renewal for LionsGate, but unanimously voted to not offer any funds. SFB felt that though LionsGate has potential to be useful for students, it is not being widely used by the student body.
The full cost of LionsGate for 2017 was $17,654, the cost for 2018 would be $17,654 and the price would increase to $19,095 in 2019, according to documentation provided at the meeting.
The College’s Office of Involvement can still decide to fully fund LionsGate, but there will be no financial support from SFB as of now in 2018.
SFB voted to table the Class of 2020’s proposal for a Moonlight Cruise formal on Oct. 4. The proposal was tabled until the Oct. 11 meeting due to concerns about transportation. On Oct. 11, the Class of 2020 was fully funded $11,913.29 for its formal, which includes extra money to spend on transportation. Instead of using the originally requested coach buses, the Class of 2020 is actively searching for school buses. The maximum number of students for the event also increased from 150 in the Oct. 4 application to 175 in the application approved a week later.
Justin Lewbel, the sophomore class president and a history major, explained the significance that this event could have as a class activity.
“The purpose is for students to socialize with their friends and other members of their class in a unique event that they might not usually have attended,” he said.
The Asian American Association was fully funded $2,646 for its multicultural buffet, which will be held in the Brower Student Center on Nov. 10 from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
The Asian American Association, which has successfully held this event in previous years, is expecting a turnout of about 275 students.
The costs would cover catering for Korean, Filipino, Chinese and Japanese cuisine.
The proposal packet stated that this event will also include performances from the Chinese Students Association’s Dragonflies, a chinese cultural dance team, and Taiko, the College’s Japanese drumming group.
Ranen Liu, a sophomore engineering major and secretary of the Asian American Association, mentioned the importance of holding this cultural event at the College.
“The event promotes minority groups at TCNJ and spreads awareness of different cultures within TCNJ,” Liu said.
The Chinese Student Association was partially funded $1,310 for its Museum of Chinese in Modern America bus trip on Oct. 28 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. The organization received funding for busing to the museum but was not funded was individual ticket expenses.
Hubert Hsu, a senior nursing major and the vice president of CSA, explained that the event can cater to a diverse range of people who want to learn about Chinese American History.
“Chinese culture shouldn’t be exclusive just to the asian population,” he said. “It may benefit any individual who wants to learn about something interesting.”
There is currently an exhibit at the museum called FOLD: Golden Venture Paper Sculptures. It tells the story of a ship that carried 286 undocumented Chinese immigrants in 1993.
Hsu stated that this event is relevant in today’s culture.
“With the whole atmosphere right now I think it’s especially important we know all different kinds of viewpoints on immigration and the hardships that people face and how people overcome this adversity,” he said.
Funding for the Deaf Hearing Connection’s Deaf Hearing Celebration Day was also tabled. The club requested $12,800, which would cover the costs to accommodate Sean Berdy, a deaf actor on Freeform’s show “Switched At Birth.”
The purpose of Deaf Celebration Day is to provide the College with a chance to experience deaf culture. A recent change from the event’s name from “Deaf Awareness Day” to “Deaf Celebration Day” was explained to be more representative of deaf culture. The proposal was tabled due to concerns about the cost of the event.
The College’s Chess Club was fully funded $289 to compete in a three-day chess tournament starting on Oct. 27 at the Hyatt Regency in Princeton, New Jersey. The club plans on sending three of its members to compete.
Xuan Chen, a junior mathematics major, said that tournaments can help chess players develop their skills, and he shared that his scores significantly improved after competing in a tournament.
“In the club we can’t really emulate what it’s like to play in a tournament, because when you’re in a tournament you feel that rush of adrenaline,” he said. “It’s kind of like the difference between a practice and a real game in a sport.”
Sigma Sigma Rho was partially funded $314 to screen the film “Enough” and a free self-defense class for their Sigma for Society week, taking place the week of Oct. 23.
The proposal states that purpose of this event is to raise awareness for domestic violence, which does not elude the campus community.
“People between the ages of 16 and 24 are most likely to experience power-based personal violence,” said Pooja Shah, a senior biology major and sister of Sigma Sigma Rho. “One in six women and one in nine men at the College of New Jersey have reported domestic violence, stalking, or sexual assault in the past 12 months.”
At the self defense workshop, students can learn self-defense moves and information about domestic violence.
Funding for the Haitian Student Association’s Caribbean Game Night was tabled. The proposal stated that the event could give students a chance to experience an event filled with laughter, music and games.
“It’s basically giving us and the Caribbean kids a taste of what it’s like back home,” said Rosebernoude Cherilus, the president of HSA and a sociology and anthropology double major.
The event was tabled due to food costs.
TCNJ Barkada, the College’s Filipino club, was fully funded $3,199.94 for its event, Barangay, which will be held on Nov. 4, in the Decker Social Space from 7 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
“Barangay… translates roughly to fiesta, block party, and it’s basically a variety show where we will attempt to highlight various aspects of Filipino culture that are important to us and that the student body, we believe, will enjoy as well,” said Alexa Sia, the president of Barkada and a junior nursing major.
This event aligns with the club’s values, which focuses on bringing those in the Filipino community together and educating the College about their culture.
“Our main goal is to one unite the Filipino Americans in campus and give them a comfortable space to come come together and share their experiences,” Sia said. “Our second goal is to share, promote and educate the entire TCNJ student body about our culture.”
The Student New Jersey Education Association was partially funded $2,205 to attend the National Teacher’s convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey on Nov. 8 and Nov. 9.
“This convention is really unique because it offers education majors an opportunity to network with other teachers across the state,” said Juliana Recarey, President of SNJEA and junior elementary education and iSTEM double major. "90 percent of NJSEA members say that the NJEA Convention is the reason why they get involved in professional development as a pre-service teacher”
SFB’s partial allocation for the event will cover the costs for one bus to take students to and from the convention on each day.
SFB fully funded TCNJ Musical Theatre’s Broadway Night for $132.38, which includes piano tuning fees and library auditorium house management fees. This event is anticipated to be held on Dec. 1 from 6:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. in the auditorium.
This event provides students with rehearsal and performing opportunities that are usually limited in TMT’s main productions.
The event “helps fulfill a constitutional goal of TMT to give its membership multiple performance opportunities each semester outside of our flagship musicals,” according to the event’s proposal packet.
PRISM was fully funded $525 for its Big Gay Bingo event for Queer Awareness Month, which will be held in Room 115 in the Education Building on Oct. 26 from 8:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.
“We will provide TCNJ students with a night of entertainment and fun while exposing them to a well known but little appreciated area of LGBTQ+ culture,” the proposal stated. “The event will allow students to come together for a break from mid-semester stress and give them the opportunity to win fun prizes.”
(10/03/17 3:56am)
By Eric Preisler
Production Manager
At this week’s Student Finance Board meeting on Sept. 27, student organizations were granted funding to bring a drag star and a children’s book author to campus for their respective events.
PRISM was fully funded $5,269 to invite Alyssa Edwards, a renowned drag star, to perform comedy, song and dance and host a Q&A session on Oct. 20, at 8:30 p.m. in the Brower Student Center.
The event’s budget covers the cost for the speaker, Polaroid snapshots and a lawn sign. PRISM is being co-sponsored by the College Union Board, who will help with outreach for the event.
“We’re mainly helping with promoting and publicizing the event,” said Sondra Nieradka, a senior communication studies major andf CUB live event coordinator. “We figured by partnering up we would have the most effective reach and target a wider range of students.”
This event will allow students to come together for a night of entertainment while interacting with a drag celebrity to raise awareness for LGBTQ+ culture, according to the event’s proposal packet.
Edwards has recently gained popularity after appearing on the television show “RuPaul’s Drag Race.”
“She’s known for being very shady,” said Max Nazario, a senior chemistry major and treasurer of PRISM. “She’s very well-known for her style of comedy and she’s one of the queens who is very popular on college campuses at this time.”
Kappa Delta Pi, the education honor society, was partially funded $350 to host Marcie Aboff, a children’s book author, for their event “Connecting Educator and Families: Engaging Literary Strategies and Activities,” planned to take place from noon to 1:30 p.m. on Nov. 29 in the Education Building.
The proposal explains that this event would expose students to new teaching materials and strategies.
Marcia Schleppy, co-president of KDP and a senior special education and psychology double major, explained that this event will primarily consist of talking about the promotion of literacy among young children.
“It can be applicable to anyone on campus because many people are going to be aunts, uncles, parents, who are going to be working with children and encouraging literacy in them,” Schleppy said.
Aboff will also interact with the audience during the event.
“It’s going to be very interactive. There’s going to be activities involving the members and attendees,” Schleppy said.
(10/03/17 12:47am)
By Eric Preisler
Production Manager
The Traditions stage became a stand-up circuit on Sept. 25 at 7 p.m., as eight students entertained an enraptured audience as with their standup routines.
Tabitha Dell’Angelo, an associate professor and co-coordinator of urban education at the College, explained that this was part of an interactive multimedia topics course, comedy writing.
The students had to be ready to perform after only their third class of the semester.
“We did improv, created sketches, did storytelling and put together stand up sets,” she said.
Dell’Angelo also expressed that this course could be a great learning opportunity for students, and could help them meet personal goals.
“For some students, public speaking was their main goal,” she said.
Dell’Angelo hopes they’ll one day, his students will perform on bigger comedy stages.
“I hope they gained some confidence in themselves, and will think differently about how they approach some of their future endeavors,” she said.
Students had various reasons for enrolling in this course and performing standup.
Some students have had previous experiences with comedy and felt that this could be a good opportunity to further explore the discipline.
Taylor LaCaze, a junior marketing major, explained that he and his friends have been involved with comedy, and this could give him a chance to add it to his transcript.
“I’ve done a lot of improv and theater in the past and I thought standup would be a fun change of pace,” he said. “I’m not going to pass up the opportunity to have a comedy class on my transcript.”
While some students already had experience with comedy, some felt that this course could offer exposure to something new.
“The reason I took this class was for the experience,” said Evan Jones, a senior interactive multimedia major. “I feel that I should go out of my way to have as many experiences as possible.”
For some, the idea of performing is difficult enough, but creating ideas for performances can be even more challenging. Jones’s comedy was inspired by personal experiences.
“Honestly most of the material I came up with was looking at my sorry life and saying ‘yeah normal people don’t experience that, let’s share it,’” he said.
Desiree Aponte, a senior English and secondary education dual major, based her stand-up off of experiences she had with her family, describing details that occurred in her life.
“My professor gave us assignments to recall funny stories and to roast ourselves, so I incorporated a bit of both into the routine,” Aponte said. “When I think of comedy in my life, it usually comes in the form of my family and friends, so creating a set about family get-togethers was an easy choice.”
She chose to talk about funny family interactions and the inside jokes that they share.
“Not everyone is Puerto Rican and can relate to my family,” she said, “but people are familiar with their own ridiculous family, so I tried to bring in elements that were relatable.”
Another challenging aspect of creating the content was strategically shedding light on funny aspects of everyday life, which might not seem evidently funny from the surface.
LaCaze explained the planning for his standup routine.
“It was all about exaggerating certain parts of it for comedic effect, and inserting jokes during the exposition to keep it interesting throughout,” he said. “I also came up with a few jokes on the spot, with no idea how they would actually go over, but they seemed to do well enough.”
While performing standup is a challenging process, Jones explained that stage performance was not his biggest fear.
“The worst was sharing my ideas,” Jones said. “Ideas that I had ownership over –– any critique would be a critique of me.”
LaCaze, who based his performance off his experiences in theater, explained that the planning process and relatability of his content most challenged him.
“I was worried that the audience might not laugh because my story about a performing a rather niche type of theater, pantomime, wasn’t very relatable,” LaCaze said, “but I feel like I explained it well enough.”
Students expressed that both the course and the routines were a valuable and enjoyable learning experience for the students involved.
“The show was a lot of fun,” Aponte said. “Even though I had heard my classmate’s stories a few times during practice, I still laughed really hard during their performances. Their confidence was inspiring.”
(09/26/17 10:05pm)
By Eric Preisler
Production Manager
At this week’s Student Finance Board meeting, two freshmen were elected to the board and two events were fully funded.
Student Government was fully funded $6,729 to spend on a rock wall, a bungee run, a mechanical bull, a slide, a popcorn machine, pizza, water and other expenses for the Homecoming Carnival planned for Oct. 21, in the Student Recreation Center from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.
The proposal explains that the carnival is beneficial because it can contribute to high Homecoming spirit.
“The whole idea of Carnival is to give students an alternative to dangerous and illegal activities. It is to promote a healthy environment where students can play on various inflatables,” said Patricia Kou, SG’s vice president of administration and finance and a sophomore political science major.
Kou further elaborated on SG’s thought process behind planning the event.
“Here, at (the) carnival, they can have fun with their friends and make memories,” she said. “Students, therefore, should show up to gather with the rest of their peers to have an enjoyable night while also maintaining the high spirits of Homecoming.”
To keep the event well organized, Kou explained that SG is aiming to get a bigger turnout than last year, and get volunteers to help setup, supervise and clean up after the event.
Chi Upsilon Sigma was fully funded to host its 23rd Making Achievement Continuous Conference Rebooting Humanity: Co-Existing with Technology, which is planned to be held all throughout the Education Building from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Nov. 11.
The sorority was given $9,346.89 to spend on buttons, a backdrop stand, centerpieces, music, catering and the keynote speaker, Fabian Elliott.
There will be four panel discussions focussing on different facets of technology’s impact on society.
Explaining the significance of this year’s topic, the proposal packet states, “This will be one of the first opportunities for first-year students’ exposure to a professional conference that will encourage them to have more professional development, but also have the access to network with the speakers we are bringing to campus, that could lead to opportunities for them in the future.”
The Indian Student Association’s request to bring Lilly Singh, an Indian American YouTube personality, vlogger, comedian, actress and rapper, to speak at Kendall hall was tabled at the meeting.
Describing the purpose of this event, ISA’s proposal explained, “We also want to have Lilly Singh come to TCNJ to talk about her journey to where she is now, and bring a different way of thought to campus.”
ISA feels that hearing Singh discuss her accomplishments and advocacy, in spite of the obstacles she has faced, would greatly contribute to the campus.
“She has faced depression, has fought for women’s equality, has become a success in entrepreneurship, and many other things. We feel this unique blend of these things will benefit the campus,” the proposal packet stated.
ISA was funded last year to bring Singh to speak on campus but after a scheduling conflict, she cancelled the event. The board tabled the request this year to see if ISA can negotiate Singh’s $32,500 speaking and travel fees down.
At the end of the meeting, SFB elected Justin Cooke, a freshman finance Major, and Rishi Konkesa, a freshman economics major, to be the freshman class representatives on the board.
(09/21/17 10:35pm)
By Eric Preisler
Production Manager
Fresh off his performance in the summer hit “Baby Driver,” actor CJ Jones’ performance at Deaf Culture Night was among four events that received full funding at the Student Finance Board meeting on Sept. 13.
The Deaf Hearing Connection was funded $4,087 for its Deaf Culture Night, which is planned to be held at the College on Tuesday, Oct. 24, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Jones, a deaf actor, will be performing an 80-minute comedy routine at the event. Food and drinks will also be provided.
Explaining the significance of the event, Julianna Kamenakis said that, “(the event will) showcase Deafness as the culture that it is … rich with a gorgeously captivating language and its own beliefs and morals as well.”
Kamenakis also expressed excitement for the event saying that the organization looks forward to allowing “TCNJ students to gain awareness about Deafness as a culture and to provide students an opportunity to interact with people from the Deaf community — including our guest speaker CJ Jones!”
TCNJ Musical Theater was granted $4,800 for the rights and royalties to perform “Spring Awakening” during the spring 2018 semester.
Kelly Ganning, a junior graphic design major and co-production manager of “Spring Awakening,” explained that “Spring Awakening” was chosen by TMT’s members because of its mental and creative ,which differ from the family-friendly productions of “Legally Blonde” and the “The Addams Family” last year.
“‘Spring Awakening’ is a musical about coming of age and the navigating teenage sexuality, and deals with themes such as sexual violence, teenage pregnancy and censorship,” Ganning said. “It will definitely be a challenge TMT hasn’t faced in a while but I’m sure our actors and designers will grow from the experience.”
TMT is optimistic about the challenge of the production.
“In the upcoming months I can’t wait to see what creative minds will eventually be working with us, and what ideas they will come up with to make this a groundbreaking show for TMT as well as TCNJ,” Ganning said.
Chi Upsilon Sigma National Latin Society, Inc. was funded $491.75 for its Week of Wisdom Event, which will consist of a variety of events from Monday, Oct. 2, to Friday, Oct. 6. Funding will cover the expense of personal trainers for Cussie Bootcamp, which will provide instruction for intensive exercise and healthier lifestyles. Additional events will include DIY terrariums and the Cussie Luau.
The proposal explains that the Cussie Luau program will teach students the meanings and representations of certain movements in Hawaiian culture. Describing the significance of this, the application explained that participants will have a better understanding of the Hawaiian culture by being able to communicate using the important things that Hawaiians enjoy from their culture.
When asked what she is most looking forward to, Cenadra Gopala-Foster, a sophomore deaf education and biology double major and a sister of Chi Upsilon Sigma, said that, “the wide range of programs we are doing all in one week.”
While Chi Upsilon Sigma’s Week of Wisdom requires complex planning, the sisters are excited to participate in various programs throughout the week.
“When we were planning it during our retreat we knew it would be difficult, but we have really stepped up to the challenge and I’m excited to learn more about the programs and topics that I’m not personally running and bringing new topics and discussions to the campus community,” Gopala-Foster said.
Chi Upsilon Sigma hopes that students and community members will broaden their global perspectives by attending the event.
“I think students will gain a new perspective on a wide spectrum of topics that we decided to focus on, such as the Polynesian culture through their traditional dance, to creating an entire terrarium that can thrive within a dorm room, and in (a) way show the power human beings have over the environment and vice versa,” Gopala-Foster said.
The Class of 2019 received $8,741.25 for bussing, venue, food, parking, and security fees for their formal, which is planned to be held on Friday, Oct. 29, from 8 a.m. to 12 a.m. at the Adventure Aquarium in Camden, New Jersey.
“The Aquarium formal will be a class unity event for the class of 2019,” according to the event’s proposal. “(The formal) will build cohesion in a unique environment.”
(09/17/17 8:07pm)
By Eric Preisler
Production Manager
The Student Finance Board met for its first weekly meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 6, and voted to partially fund two events for the fall semester.
SFB decided to partially fund TCNJ Musical Theatre’s fall production of “Sweeney Todd,” which will take place from Tuesday, Nov. 14, to Saturday, Nov. 18. TMT received $14,279.50 from SFB for sound, set, lighting, costumes, props, hair and makeup, stage management, programs, Kendall staff charges and rental instruments, and accompanist costs.
“We have a very talented membership, and we are lucky to have a strong cast of actors for ‘Sweeney Todd’ since so many incredible people auditioned,” said Cat Janis, a senior psychology and women’s, gender and sexuality studies double major and TMT’s president. ‘Sweeney Todd’ is a musical thriller, and (composer Stephen) Sondheim’s music combined with the unique vision of this specific production is sure to delight the audience. I’m excited for us to put on a bit of a darker show, and to showcase a different style of music and storytelling than we’ve done in recent years.”
While “Sweeney Todd” is a different style than TMT is used to performing, the club is excited to meet the challenge of a darker production.
“I think the cast and production staff is going to tackle ‘Sweeney Todd’ in such a way that brings out our problem solving skills and will really develop ourselves as creatives and create an impressive experience for our audience,” said Kelly Ganning, a junior graphic design major and TMT’s publicist.
The Muslim Student Association was funded $10,923.76 for its 12th annual Eid Dinner, which will be held on Thursday, Oct. 5, from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. in the Decker Social Space.
The budget will cover the costs of food, speaker fees, utilities, wristbands, a backdrop and accommodations for a guest speaker.
The Eid-al-Adha holiday celebrates the sacrifice Abraham made for God, and marks the end of Haj, a pilgrimage to Mecca.
“With this event, we hope to educate the TCNJ community of a religion that is usually falsely cast with negative connotation. We hope to come together as a campus and stand united against prejudices with a friendly, welcoming atmosphere and diverse cuisine,” MSA explained in its proposal.
The Eid-al-Adha holiday celebration will highlight the College’s diversity and educate people about Islamic traditions.
“It’s important to celebrate the diversity we have at TCNJ. A lot of people might not know too much about Eid or Islam in general so it’s nice to have an event that not only celebrates one of our most important religious holidays, but also informs people while having a good time,” said Roshaan Iqbal, MSA Treasurer and a junior biology major. “We can’t say too much about the guest speaker because contracts aren’t signed, but she is a well-known journalist and activist.”
Even though SFB agrees to finance certain events, there is no guarantee these events will take place. The approval only makes the funds available.
(09/12/17 1:52am)
By Eric Preisler
Production Manager
From Wednesday, Sept. 6 to Oct. 15, the College’s art faculty will showcase their works at the TCNJ Biennial Faculty Exhibition in the Art and Interactive Multimedia Building.
This year’s theme of the exhibition is Community and Practice, and Margaret Pezalla-Granlund, the College’s art director, explained. “We wanted something that connected the campus learning theme, which is ‘who we are,’” she said.
She commended the faculty and staff who participated in the exhibit for being both practicing artists and phenomenal educators.
“This is the research work or the scholarship that the faculty members are participating in and this is what they are bringing to the larger community of the College,” Pezalla-Granlund said.
During the panel discussion on Wednesday at 4 p.m., the art faculty explained their projects and their values as artists.
Eddie Villanueva, one of the presenters, expressed how he enjoyed using a variety of materials and processes for sculptures, such as an arcade game in one of his pieces.
When describing his reason for working with various mediums in his work, Villanueva explained, “It’s because I just have a lot of interests in different kinds of materials and a lot of interests in learning new processes.”
Faculty member Liselot van der Heijden enjoys using people and actors in her works, including in her latest video loop titled, “Just Looking, Part III.” In the video, two actors face each other in the busy streets of Chelsea, standing still for a period of time as pedestrians navigate around them. The staged actors create an obstacle, which passersby must work around.
“It creates a juxtaposition between stage, actors and the uncontrolled reality or events taking place,” Heijden said of her piece. She receives a lot of feedback from people who interact with her live action works.
“That shows something not just about ourselves, but about our culture,” she said. It’s about “how we interact and how we share a common space.”
Art professor Elizabeth Mackie focused her work around the Ortler glaciers in the Alps, which relates to the school’s theme of “who we are,” as she believes that glaciers are an important part of the environment in which we live.
“Without the environment around us we are nothing,” she said. Mackie wants students to learn how to create their own medium.
“I also hope that they gained the idea of the interaction of science and art,” she said of the impression left on her students.
Marchelo Vera, an art professor at the College, explains how he uses a variety of mediums in his work including hand drawings, digital drawing techniques, and photography.
“Abstractly, I’m really interested in culture and identity and the way that technology and art kind of run parallel,” he said. “The way we’re incorporating technology in art today and the convergence of all the different medium coming together, I think it’s very representative of the twenty first century and global identity.”
When addressing the benefits of the converging mediums, Vera adds, “I think it’s great, different mediums coming together, because they all offer different perspectives.”
Professor Kenneth Kaplowitz, whose work focuses on photographing bird droppings, explains his motivation for his project.
“I’m exploring the things that are right in front of us,” he said. “I’m trying to make art wherever I go.”
Kaplowitz also offered advice to those in the midst of their own artwork or photography — “carry your camera wherever you go. It will train you to look at the world.”