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(04/15/03 12:00pm)
When I arived home from Sunday's Signal meeting, a daisy that looked as if it had been plucked right out of one of the many cracks in the campus sidewalks was stuck onto my door handle.
It was plastered there with a little label saying "No matter how you pick 'em, a vote for Laura goes with any bunch."
My first thought was "how old are we now? Am I back in high school?" I was reminded of how I once lost a student government position in my middle school to a candidate who had given out cupfulls of gummy worms in exchange for votes.
Then, I remembered how much of this campus doesn't actually pay attention to SGA. I thought of how many people I knew that were informed about SGA, and for the most part, it was only SGA members and their closest friends who knew anything about the elections.
It was in this that I found justification for cheesy slogans, corny graphics and even the little daisies. If not for these gimmicks, I don't think students would notice their peers' electoral platforms.
Which would catch your attention more? A flier with facts about what the candidate hopes to accomplish, or one with a goofy picture of them?
Of course, the picture ad will draw more eyes to it. This is especially true if the candidate posts a fairly goofy picture that they think they look good in.
This "vote for me, I'm pretty" philosophy will get more votes from students than George Bush would get from Texas.
I think that the biggest campaign that I've noticed is the Nadia-Christina-Annelise trio that's plastered in every room of every building on campus. The girls each took a graphic with a claim to represent peace, love and happiness.
I didn't know we formed coalitions for SGA elections, but if you're promising that the three of you together will return us to the 70's-era ideals of peace, love and happiness, you have my vote.
I have no idea about what their plans are once they get into office, but hey, they're hippies, they've got to be cool.
Jesse Place's campaign is up there, too. Making a top 10 list about why he should be elected and posting each number separately makes for quite a stir.
If you see reason number eight and reason number three, don't you want to know all the reasons in between?
He gets his name out there and he sends you on a scavenger hunt. Very clever, Jesse.
Then there's the typical candidates, who give out labels or stickers for you to wear to support them.
Some of them even spend lots of money making t-shirts that they'll probably wear for about a day.
These are great ideas and all, but you're not going to get noticed unless you add some cheese to your routine.
I'm not saying I want Mike Cillia to hand out cup fulls of gummy worms. I honestly believe that as college students, we need to run more mature, professional campaigns.
But I don't see that working on this campus.
For the time being, I'm all for corny logos and cute, little daisies - do what you have to do to get noticed.
In the big picture, candidates are just trying to make this campus care, and I am impressed with anyone who can do that.
(04/08/03 12:00pm)
A series of "transformed" courses have been added to The Electronic Student Server (TESS) this semester in order to start the "transformative change" process set to begin in Fall 2004.
Subject areas including history, psychology, sociology, communication studies, journalism, mathematics, statistics, women and gender studies and all major sciences have reformed some classes. These new classes are worth four credits and are intensified, although they require only the usual classroom time of 80 minutes.
"Students will earn four credits even though they have the same amount of contact time," Shirley Daniels of records and registration said.
According to Daniels, each department decided which courses they would begin reforming.
Gail Simmons, dean of the School of Science, said that all the majors in the School of Science are highly structured. In order for a student to graduate in four years, a specific sequence in each major must be followed closely for the first two years.
"Therefore, most of our emphasis in transformation has been on the introductory majors' courses," Simmons said. "Students entering in Fall 2003 will be able to take a 'transformed' freshman sequence and be ready for transformed sophomore courses when the whole college transforms in Fall 2004."
According to Simmons, the transformed courses in mathematics and biology will reduce the number of introductory courses.
"We were told that the freshman and sophomore level classes should be among first to be transformed and they have been," Raymond Fangboner, chair of the the biology department, said.
Simmons also said that for chemistry, physics and computer science majors, the number of introductory courses will remain the same.
More problem-solving sessions will be added to reinforce material covered in labs and lectures, she said.
Arthur Hohmuth, chair of the psychology department, said that all psychology courses taken by incoming students in their freshman and sophomore year are being transformed. Remaining courses, mostly for juniors and seniors, will be transformed for Fall 2004.
"The idea was to make sure all incoming freshmen would be 100 percent of the new program and to make it possible for current freshman to also get on board," Hohmuth said. "Juniors and seniors will finish out their current program."
Suzanne Pasch, dean of the School of Culture and Society, was unable to be reached for comment.
The School of Education has not transformed any classes yet.
"It's all a work in progress so that everything isn't happening all at once," Roberta Conjura, assistant director of STEP (Support for Teacher Education Programs) in the department of Education, said. "We're in progress now planning the changes."
"We're deliberately provoking conversations within each department because each department has to be able to specify the most important elements of their curriculum," Stephen Briggs, provost, said.
According to Briggs, the initial idea for the transformation came in Jan. 2001 when faculty members made the recommendation.
By Fall 2004, implementation of the new curriculum for incoming students will be complete.
"I'm an education major and I worry if I'll be able to graduate in time with all these changes," Christine Brower, sophomore elementary education and psychology major, said.
"We don't want to harm any student because of the impact of the changes," Daniels said. "Somehow it will all be taken into account."
(04/08/03 12:00pm)
In an extended best-of-five game match, the Lions lost their last home game of the season, 3-1, to the Princeton University Tigers last Wednesday.
The Lions played a close first match. Princeton had a seven-point lead at one point, but the Lions shortened the gap, losing by only two points.
Taking an early lead in the second match, the Lions pushed Princeton behind by eight points in their widest margin. Princeton managed to close up the gap, but lost the match by three points.
Lions' freshman middle hitter Lauren Veith blocked well and came up with hard hits.
"I thought that the harder we played and the more we tried to make them make mistakes, we'd be able to feed off of that," Veith said.
The Lions started off the third match solid but ended sluggish. Princeton won the match 25-14, but their game-winning point came on a penalty.
"It was disappointing to lose the game on a penalty like that because we were playing hard and playing well before that," Lauren Kidd, junior outside hitter, said.
Princeton maintained a slight lead throughout much of the fourth match, with excellent hits by middle hitter Toya Randolph.
Veith brought the score within one with an ace, but Princeton dominated the end of the game, winning by five points.
"It was disappointing to lose but I think we played really well together," Kidd said. "Everyone got to show what they could do."
The line-up for the first and fourth matches was the same, but the team tried different combinations of players in the second and third matches.
"We did a nice job of communicating because we had different people next to us," senior outside hitter Jamie Cooperstein said. "It added to the depth of our team."
Throughout the game, Cooperstein delivered powerful hits and spikes. Sophomore defender Carolyn Moran held up a solid performance.
The team finished the regular season with a record of 5-9, a slight improvement from last year's record of 5-11.
"This year was a rebuilding year," Christine Wilson, senior backup setter, said. "We've definitely improved."
"We're more of a team this year rather than individuals," head coach Andrea Carroll said. "Last year, we had a lot of players with little experience. Now we're more comfortable with the game itself."
The Lions will be competing in Nationals on April 10 in Columbus, Ohio, hoping to better their 0-6 record from last year.
"I hope to get far in the tournament and surprise a lot of people because we didn't do our best last year," Kidd said.
"This year we have more of a team atmosphere and we'll do a lot better," Kidd added.
Upcoming Games
In their final event of the season, the Lions Club Volleyball team will be competing in the Nirsa Collegiate Volleyball Sport Club Championships in Columbus, Ohio from Wednesday April 9 until Sunday April 13.
(04/08/03 12:00pm)
For the tenth year in a row, the Women's Center marched for a woman's power to use her voice.
Last Wednesday night on the steps of Green Hall, men and women gathered to show their support for "Take Back the Night."
"Over the past 10 years, we have worked hard to break the silence surrounding sexual assault and I hope that we will continue to do so, until the violence stops and a night like tonight is no longer needed," Emily Bent, senior women's and gender studies major, said.
President R. Barbara Gitenstein opened the event. Janet Gray, assistant professor of women's and gender studies, presented general information on the "Take Back the Night" rally. Monique Hankerson, senior women's and gender studies major, performed a poetry reading about her personal experience with silence. Her piece moved students to realize the importance of claiming their voices, according to Heather McConnell, senior women's and gender studies major.
The rally turned into a march around the residence halls on campus. There was a combination of questioning looks as well as supportive cheers coming from the buildings. About 125 people, including students, faculty, alumni and professional staff members participated.
When the procession returned to Green Hall, an open-mic forum was held. Any student who wanted to recounted stories of sexual, emotional, mental and physical abuse.
"Once you name it, you can take control of the experience and not let it control you," McConnell said, commenting on the power of telling your story.
Men told stories of friends who were survivors and encouraged other men to make this issue a personal one. They were urged to not be afraid of speaking out about violence against women.
Women benefited from speaking out as well.
"We really found a strong community of women on campus that night," Keiko Suwa, senior communication studies major, said.
At the end of the rally the crowd joined together around the theme of celebrating the empowerment of women across the campus, helping to put a positive spin on the night itself.
"I am proud and honored to be able to experience this night with such amazing women and men," Bent said. "The campus really came together tonight to celebrate the empowerment of women and the TCNJ campus as a whole."
As a part of the 10-year observation of "Take Back the Night," the Women's Center held other events. These included a panel discussion on sexual assualt on campus, as well as Noelle Roope, a speaker on same-sex domestic and sexual abuse. They also held a drive collecting toiletries, especially bath products, and baby formula for women in need.
(03/18/03 12:00pm)
With the growing threat of war over the past few months, artists have been voicing their political views. Listed below are some of their beliefs about Iraq, love and karma.
"I think war is based in greed and there are huge karmic retributions that will follow. I think war is never the answer to solving any problems. The best way to solve problems is to not have enemies."
- Sheryl Crow
"Saddam Hussein is a barbaric murderous dictator. I wish the world were free of him. But the answer is not to bomb this great culture of Iraq out of existence to stop him. Why must the children of Iraq die by the thousands to stop a tyrant? It is not justice. And if we kill him, what will we achieve? We will have taken the most unpopular leader in the Middle East and turned him into the greatest martyr radical Islam has ever had." - Dave Matthews
"America, what the hell? What are we doing? Like, I can't believe it's gone this far. I can't believe that we're going to war. I still can't believe that we're a democracy and the President was voted in in a non-democratic way by the Supreme Court who were put in place by his father ... It's shooting fish in a barrel, isn't it?" - Michael Stipe
"I wish I was president. Keep us out of war - that's what friends are for." - Eddie Vedder
"We forget that bombs and missiles don't fall on top of cardboard dummies, they fall on people - children and mothers. The leaders are lacking love, and love is lacking leaders ... The values of the world are twisted and we need to go back to principles of love and forgiveness. That's the only way to survive ... The thinkers, the journalists, the artists of this generation are the ones who determine the thoughts of a generation, and we have to pronounce those thoughts so people wake up, so we prevent future disasters ... If we don't demand from our leaders a peaceful solution to the conflict, then we aren't even going to be alive to regret it." - Shakira
"Thou shalt not kill. God said that, not me. It's hard for musicians to know where to they stand. We haven't dealt with the threat of war for a long time. Everybody was preoccupied with young girls in stretch dresses. There has to be more to music than that." - John Mellencamp
"Clearly, there is no credible reason to wage war and inflict tremendous civilian casualties, in the name of some empty canister shells - which is all the inspectors have found so far. The aim of practical politics, and of this war on Iraq, is to keep the public alarmed. The Bush administration is carrying out an assault against the general population, and future generations, in the interests of narrow sectors of wealth and power. And Saddam Hussein's just the latest one in a long series of hobgoblins." - Tom Morello, Rage Against the Machine
- Compiled by Kristina Fiore, Features Editor
(03/18/03 12:00pm)
After seeing "Bowling for Columbine," I feel guilty. First, for wanting a job in mass media. Second, for ever having lived in fear.
Despite its title, this movie isn't a dedication to the tragedies in Littleton. It isn't a look into the psyche of the murderers, although creator Michael Moore provokes harsh criticisms of those who do such things.
It examines the violence, fear and ignorance that exists in society and questions why over 11,000 people die each year due to gun violence.
Using both horror and humor to get his message across, Moore explores American ideology by talking to celebrities, making comparisons to life in Canada and critiquing the media.
Everyone has heard some kind of hype that the mass media has created: Y2K, killer bees and, more recently, though not mentioned in the film, duct tape. And what has happened? Nothing.
Yet, we are still afraid. Why? Moore blames it on the top stories that always involve some form of violence. In Canada, however, top stories are more humane. After interviewing a Canadian media expert, Moore found out that his lead stories are usually about medicine, taking care of the sick and elderly and political negotiations.
Though Canada has the same television violence, gun laws and even higher unemployment rates than the U.S., Moore suggests that our news media instills a greater sense of fear into its public, in turn making us quicker to react with violence.
"In the U.S., it's just like 'we'll kill you' and that's the end of that," a Canadian woman said, attempting to explain the difference that she perceives to exist between the bordering countries. Is this the image that our media really gives off?
Besides showing the media as they appear on camera, Moore filmed a reporter during and after a serious broadcast of a school shooting. Somber and sad on camera, the newscaster was nothing more than a whiny actor off-camera. When the cameras stopped rolling, in a lighthearted manner, he complained about his need for a hair cut while demanding a doughnut.
Other apathetic actors, such as Dick Clark, who owns a restaurant where poor people serve the rich for minimum wages, and Charlton Heston, president of the National Rifle Association, seemed baffled by Moore's questioning. Clark refused to give Moore the time of day, while Heston couldn't break his chain of circular reasoning and succumbed to Moore's wit.
The famous interviewee with the most intelligent commentary had to be Marilyn Manson, who completely backed up Moore's suggestion that it was bowling, rather than music or video games, that influenced the behavior of the Columbine murderers. Of course, Moore doesn't really believe this. He just uses it as a metaphor since the Columbine murderers bowled during their first period class before the massacres. He jokes that bowling had as much influence on their actions as the music they listened to, hence the title.
Continuing with his critique of the media, Moore examined the popular show "Cops" and how its stereotypical criminals were black or of some other minority. He portrayed the fear that is drilled into peoples' heads because of race, and suggested that this fear be balanced out by a show called "Corporate Cops."
All humor aside, the film was a tear-jerker at some points. Interviews with survivors of the Columbine shootings, along with actual hidden camera footage of students squatting under tables in the cafeteria, brought the situation almost too close to home.
Besides its riveting emotional effects, the film makes you question your belief in what the media says. It leaves you wondering who is worse: Marilyn Manson for singing about evil things or President Bush for actually dropping bombs on people.
And it makes you think twice about being afraid of what you normally fear. After learning that Canadians never lock their doors at night and feel safe, I made the conscious effort not to lock the car doors when I got into the car after the movie. But only a minute later, my mom hit the automatic lock button and we both laughed.
"I can't help it," she said. "It's just a habit."
(02/25/03 12:00pm)
Students have been receiving tickets in Lots 8 and 9 due to confusion about weekend parking policies.
"In Lot 8, faculty and staff parking becomes visitor parking on the weekend," Kathleen Ragan, director of student financial assistance, said.
According to Ragan, students with decals for other lots are not allowed to park in these spaces. They get ticketed because they are not in the lot that they are assigned to, she said.
"The student parking section of Lot 8 is only for bearers of the Lot 8 decal," Ragan said.
According to Ray Nesci, professional services specialist for Campus Police, visitor parking in Lot 8 begins at 5 p.m. on Friday and ends at 9 p.m. on Sunday.
"All of Lot 9 is subject to ticketing for the rest of the weekend," Nesci said.
Jessica Hamway, junior exercise science major, received a ticket after parking her car in Lot 9 at 8 p.m. on a Friday night.
"I figured I could park there simply due to the fact it was a weekend and supposedly there was no ticketing on the weekends," Hamway said. "I was furious."
Jason Butkowski, a visitor to the College, was ticketed for parking in the designated student parking area of Lot 8.
According to Ragan, SGA was debating whether or not to open the student parking sections of Lots 8 and 9 to visitor parking on the weekend.
According to Nesci, the Lot 9 gates may open for special events on campus, such as open houses.
Confusion about parking policy in Lot 8 may have sprung from the policy that stood last year, before the lot was turned into a deck.
At that time, visitors were assessed a penalty of $50 for parking in a faculty/staff space. Only the student parking spaces were available to visitors.
If a visitor parks in a student space in Lot 8 on a weekend, the fine is $25. However, students are given a chance to appeal their ticket.
"With every ticket there is an appeal process," Ragan said. An appeal form must be filed, and it can be found in the Office of Student Accounts.
Rather than appealing, some visitors decide to not pay at all. This may put them in trouble with the New Jersey State Police Department.
According to the NJSPD, Campus Police has "police powers" within the confines of the area of the College.
This includes Pennington Road, where Campus Police can ticket for parking and speeding, make arrests and do whatever the township police force can do.