68 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
(11/29/06 12:00pm)
Roaches have been added to a list of problems Sodexho Dining Services has been experiencing in Eickhoff Hall, including unhappiness with the new lunch meat and continued problems with the dishwasher.
According to Director of Resident Dining Matt Hower, steps have been taken to solve the roach problem, such as contacting Cooper Pest Control, which is contracted by the College.
Sodexho also submitted work orders to Facilities for repairs pointed out by Cooper "to help avoid issues," Hower said.
Finally, Sodexho contacted Ecolab, its chemical provider, for products for the drain which would help keep the drains cleaner past the point where employees can reach.
Erik Clauss, junior criminology and justice studies major, said he was not stunned to hear about roaches in Eickhoff.
"I'm not surprised about the cockroaches. I've seen ants in there before, so I guess an expanded insect collection was inevitable," he said.
Clauss is also unhappy with the new lunch meat used for the sandwiches in Eickhoff.
"The new lunch meat in Eickhoff is, to put it delicately, sub-par," he said. "Nowadays, the ham is so slimy it looks like they pulled it out of a public swimming pool. I don't even bother with the deli anymore."
Hower said Sodexho did not bring in the new lunch meat because of student complaints about the original lunch meat.
"We continuously look for new products to better serve our customers," he said. "Sometimes the new products are good and accepted and other times they simply don't work out."
Hower said Sodexho had received negative feedback about the new meat.
"We were unhappy with the new product and had a few comments stating that the original lunch meat was better. We have since gone back to the original product," he said.
The use of plastic and Styrofoam plates, bowls and utensils, another recent issue, has been resolved with the repair of the dishwashing machine.
"The dish machine needed extensive work done to it again," Hower said. "As an issue was resolved, others were uncovered and needed to be addressed. With the dish machine getting older, it becomes harder to obtain the parts, and this delays the process."
Despite the fact that these issues seem to be resolved, Clauss maintains that the quality of Eickhoff has gone down.
"Next semester I'm changing my meal plan, just so I never have to eat there again," he said.
(11/08/06 12:00pm)
Eunice Kennedy Shriver, executive vice president of the Joe P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation and founder of the Special Olympics, came to the College on Tuesday, Oct. 31 to observe the Career and Community Studies (CCS) program.
The CCS program is designed to give students with disabilities an opportunity for higher education at the College.
Accompanying her were Jane West, her personal assistant, Madeline Will, the Assistant Secretary of Education under President Ronald Reagan and representative for the National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS), and Steve Riggio, CEO of Barnes and Noble and benefactor of the CCS program through NDSS.
Shriver and the other guests began their visit to the College by meeting the six CCS students and faculty members. This was followed by a presentation about the program. Finally, they attended a class where they observed the first year seminar Human Ability Unplugged, a class with both CCS students and non-CCS freshmen, taught by Jerry Petroff, co-director of the CCS program.
The class session featured a guest speaker, Bernard Carabello, a man with cerebral palsy who was institutionalized from age 3 to 21, when he escaped. He has since worked to abolish the institution system.
Carabello spoke of the abuse he faced in the Willowbrook institution. Such abuse included being put in a straightjacket, getting beaten with sticks and having his head kicked against a wall. He emphasized that such abuse exists today in institutions.
"This is the year 2006 and we still have institutions," Carabello said. "That is so hard to believe after all we did in the '70s and '80s. There's still abuse going on."
One story, Carabello recalled, occurred in 1966 when Sen. Robert Kennedy, Shriver's brother, came to Willowbrook to visit the institution. "They gave us new clothes all because Sen. Kennedy came to visit," he explained.
Shriver then asked him, "What happened after that?"
Carabello said everything went back to the normal conditions of abuse after Kennedy's visit.
Shriver continued to be involved in the class discussion, asking what has changed people's minds concerning discrimination toward and the institutionalization of disabled people in the last 50 years.
"I don't think we were educated enough," Carabello replied.
Shriver also emphasized that, despite the abuse cited by Carabello, America is one of the most progressive countries in the world concerning the treatment of people with disabilities.
"I think if you go overseas you don't find any country that does as much good as we do," she said.
When Shriver left, she shook hands with both Carabello and Petroff, and encouraged the students in the class.
"Keep after them, keep it up," she said. "Just keep after everybody and say 'It's your turn.'"
Carabello said he was "honored" when he found out he would be speaking in front of Shriver and other guests. "I have a lot of respect for Shriver," he said.
"Carabello was thrilled to be part of it," Petroff said.
Carabello was unsure of how Shriver reacted to the fact that abuse still exists in institutions, however. "I'm not sure of her reaction in general," he said. "I would say . she was surprised that abuse is still going on."
Nicole Gallo, freshman open options in the school of Culture and Society and member of the Human Ability Unplugged class, said, "It was an enlightening experience to see such a strong, resilient individual stand up for his beliefs and have Shriver there to hear his experiences and show her support for the College."
William Behre, dean of the School of Education, thought the class was interesting as well. "It was neat how (Shriver) took part in the class," he said. "I thought it was interesting when she had the exchange with Carabello about Sen. Kennedy's visit."
Class member Kaitlin Drew, freshman deaf education/English major, said, "I thought the dynamic between her and (Carabello) was really interesting."
Shriver's visit was put together by Rebecca Daley, coordinator of the CCS program, and the Kennedy Foundation.
Rick Blumberg, co-director of the CCS program, was the facilitator for the morning session with Shriver. He introduced the guests and facilitated discussion with the CCS students and their mentors.
Daley prepared the CCS students with their presentations.
"The students had prepared for her arrival by putting their thoughts down on paper," Daley said. "They did some research and became very well informed of Shriver and her and her family's efforts regarding persons with disabilities. They did not appear to be very nervous, but rather looked forward to the whole event of her coming."
Asim Safdar, a freshman CCS student, said, "I felt very excited when I learned that Shriver was coming to visit us," he said. "It was neat talking to important people."
"We had an overwhelming positive response from all of our guests," Daley said. "Shriver was engaged and involved in many discussions. I think we could not have held a more dynamic and engaging event."
(11/01/06 12:00pm)
Sodexho Dining Services recently sponsored "Cans Across America" at the College, a one-day canned food drive held at Sodexho campuses across the country designed to break the Guinness World Record for the most canned food donations collected during a single event. With help from the Student Government Association (SGA) and service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega, more than 370 pounds of food were collected.
The event took place on Wednesday, Oct. 18, from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. in Eickhoff Hall, and from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the Brower Student Center food court.
"Sodexho has long been proud to support programs that work to end hunger," Steve Hugg, Sodexho director of Marketing and Business Development, said. "This year, Sodexho Campus Services decided to make our can drive a bigger event by (having) as many of our campuses as possible do it on the same day and (trying) for a Guinness World Record."
All Sodexho campuses participating in "Cans Across America" had to collect food on the same day, and the collections had to be monitored by non-Sodexho employees, according to Hugg.
SGA president Christine Cullen and Alpha Phi Omega treasurer John O'Grady served as witnesses, checking on the progress of the food drive and making sure that everything was added to the collection correctly.
At the end of the day, Cullen and O'Grady helped add up the amount of donated food. On the following day, they went with Hugg to drop off the food at Mercer Street Friends, "a great local organization that helps fight hunger right here in Mercer County," according to Hugg.
"The individuals at Mercer Street Friends were very welcoming to us and the food," O'Grady said. "They shared with us a little background information on their organization, and (told us) where (the) food will end up."
"The staff at Mercer Street Friends truly appreciated (the) donation," Cullen said. "They were extremely friendly and it was just really nice knowing that they are going to make sure the food that was donated will be received by people in need."
Although Sodexho does not yet know if the world record was broken, "Cans Across America" was one of the most successful food drives to take place at the College, Hugg said.
"I think the results of this drive are one of the largest in recent history," Hugg said. "This was one of the most successful drives I've seen."
According to O'Grady, more than 370 pounds of food were collected. "This is amazing for just a 12-hour period," O'Grady said. "I believe that this was the highest amount collected on this campus since Sodexho started this collection a few years ago."
"I believe that the food drive was extremely successful," Cullen said. "This was a difficult drive because we only had one day to donate food, but students definitely stepped up and really showed how much they care about the community."
According to Hugg, "The nationwide results will be tallied to see if we beat the record, but regardless, we will help a lot of local organizations. If (the College) is an indicator, we've done a lot of good."
Everyone involved with "Cans Across America" agreed that the event was beneficial for the campus community as well as those receiving the food.
"'Cans Across America' is a great way to focus the desire a lot of students have to help others in our community," Hugg said.
"It pulled us all together for a great cause," Cullen said. "Giving back to the community is something very important to (the College) and food drives like 'Cans Across America' teach us what a huge impact our individual efforts can make."
(10/18/06 12:00pm)
In response to complaints from Eickhoff Hall residents, Campus Police ticketed cars without decals parked in the Eickhoff parking deck. This action was taken on Sept. 2 despite the fact that ticking for lack of a valid decal officially began Sept. 5.
Matthew Santos, senior elementary education/psychology major, is a Community Advisor in Eickhoff. While on duty Sept. 2, a resident informed him that Campus Police was issuing tickets in the Eickhoff parking deck.
He went to go check if his car had a ticket and saw that he had been issued a $50 fine. While in the parking deck, he noticed the only cars with tickets were those that were parked correctly but didn't have a parking decal.
"The only people who had tickets were people who did not have the decals on their car," he said. "This made no sense because Parking Services said that ticketing for lack of valid decal would not happen until (Sept. 5)."
Although Santos noticed that the 10 to 12 cars with tickets all lacked a decal, the actual tickets were for "improper parking." All of the cars that were ticketed without parking decals had the same thing written on the tickets.
"Campus Police only ticketed people without decals," Santos said. "People in the Eickhoff deck (were ticketed) for improper parking even though they parked fine."
The next day, Sept. 3, Santos put in paperwork to appeal his ticket and attended an appeal meeting on Oct. 4. The appeal board told him that Campus Police could not ticket for lack of a decal, so they must have ticketed for something else instead.
Because Santos attended the appeal meeting in person, the appeals board took his fine away; he was able to explain that the ticket was not for "improper parking," as the ticket said.
The tickets were issued by Officer Michael Lukosius. Although Campus Police did not attend the appeal meeting, Santos called them. He was told residents were complaining that the Eickhoff lot gate was open and that the lot was full.
As of press time, Lukosius was not available to comment.
"(Campus Police) said (it) got complaints and had to do something about it," Santos said.
The Eickhoff lot only has about 100 spaces, but Eickhoff Hall has about 200 residents, Santos said. Residents must sign up early to get into this lot. Since the gate was open prior to Sept. 5, the lot was full for the entire week.
Christine Ng, junior secondary education/pyschology major, also recieved a ticket on Sept 2. She saw the ticket as she was about to drive home for the weekend.
"The issue with ticketing is that Campus Police ticketed for the incorrect offense," Santos said.
"It's pretty unfair because (Campus Police) sent out an e-mail earlier in the summer saying (it) wouldn't ticket until Sept. 5," Ng said. "(It) should have stayed with what (it) originally wrote in that e-mail."
(10/04/06 12:00pm)
Fall elections for the Student Government Association (SGA) ended smoothly with the election of a freshman class council, a new senior class council secretary and 12 senators on Tuesday, Sept. 26.
"I was very satisfied with the election process this fall," SGA Executive President Christine Cullen said. "There was a good deal of competition for the freshman candidates, but they all ran clean, respectful campaigns."
Mohammad Amer, freshman biomedical engineering major, was elected freshman class president with 199 votes. Amer said he hopes to have more inter-floor activities during his term as president. "(SGA) puts me in a position where I can implement the ideas I have to make sure that the class of 2010 will have the best freshman year possible," he said.
Anthony Lista, freshman nursing major, was elected freshman class vice president with 241 votes. "I'm excited about SGA because it's at the center of almost every major decision affecting students," he said. "I get to be part of that process."
With 149 votes, freshman chemistry major Christy Middlecoop won the secretary position. Also joining the freshman class council is Brianne Stratton, freshman technology education major, who won the treasurer position with 184 votes.
In addition to the freshman class council, senior finance major Christie Pirro was elected senior class secretary in her third year as an SGA member. In previous years, she served as senator of Business.
Two senators of Culture and Society, two senators of Engineering, one senator of Science and seven senators at-Large were also elected.
"I know that these senators will bring a lot of new ideas and experiences to the organization," Cullen said.
Freshman Jennifer Hill, open options in the school of Culture and Society, was elected as a senator of Culture and Society.
Aaliyah Ali, freshman political science major, was also elected senator of Culture and Society.
Freshman Anthony Spinelli, open options in the school of Engineering, was elected senator of Engineering.
Also elected as a senator of Engineering was freshman biomedical engineering major Sana Fathima.
Mikhail Zhuravlev, sophomore statistics major, was elected senator of Science.
Finally, seven senators at-Large were elected. According to Cullen, four new positions were added to the senate this year as a result of the larger undergraduate population.
Andrew Rausa, sophomore communication studies major, was elected senator at-Large with 461 votes.
Freshman biology major Michela Fiaschi was also elected senator at-Large with 450 votes. Brian Skwarek, freshman accounting major, is a new senator at-Large as well.
Daniel Beckelman, junior political science major, said he is enthusiastic about his new role as senator at-Large. "I want to take back our school by creating a rebellion against the ineffective, established order in our school and state government. Budget cuts and bike cops are ruining our college experience and I am up for the challenge of taking the school back for the normal kids who go here," he said.
Sophomore secondary education/history major Danielle Lagnese was also elected senator at-Large.
Christopher Konel, sophomore chemistry major, and Colleen Fisher, junior biology major, were elected senators at-Large as well.
(09/27/06 12:00pm)
Campus Police is looking to employees of Sodexho Dining Services in the investigation of three fire alarms pulled in Eickhoff Hall recently.
Three fire alarms this semester were false alarms caused by someone triggering the pull-boxes. The false alarms occurred on Sept. 8, 11 and 12, Ryan Farnkopf, Eickhoff residence director, said.
According to Sgt. Mike Bell of Campus Police, the false alarms are under investigation. "We have not identified a suspect yet," Bell said.
However, the alarms occurred near the food service exit door. "We have to look at everyone who has access to that area," Bell said.
In response, the Eickhoff management team "held a meeting with the employees stressing the severities of the fire alarms and the consequences involved if (an) individual is caught pulling a false alarm," Matt Hower, director of resident dining, said. "Campus Police has also spoken to the staff about the severities and consequences."
Hower is also looking into changing the pull-box near the back door to one that uses a dye to mark who activates the alarm.
Steve Hugg, director of Marketing and Business Development for Sodexho, said, "If a fire alarm is pulled as a prank, it inconveniences our customers and staff, and we want to work with the campus community to avoid that."
Pulling a false fire alarm is a violation of state law and is a third degree crime, according to Bell. The penalties may include a $2,000 fine.
Two other fire alarms also occurred this semester. One on Aug. 31 was a planned fire drill, and one on Sept. 20 was caused by smoke from a grill, Farnkopf said.
Hower said after a fire drill, "We need to recheck all food (temperatures) and quality and make sure that we clear all of the trays so that students do not eat food that . has become unsafe."
According to Eickhoff resident Shannon Heger, junior health and exercise science major, "It's a hassle to constantly be dealing with the fire drills."
"Sometimes I have to go to class unprepared because I am unable to get into the building to get my things," Heger said. "It is an inconvenience not only to the people who live in Eickhoff, but also to all of the students who need to eat there."
(09/20/06 12:00pm)
With only a few weeks left before today's room change day, the College was left without a manager of Housing Operations.
Former manager Chris Farrell left on Sept. 1 to take a position as residence director at Montclair State University.
Residence Assignments is currently working with Human Resources to fill Farrell's position. The department is not sure how long a search will take, according to Michael Robbins, First Year Experience area director and one of the temporary fill-ins for Farrell.
"It depends on whether or not the decision is made to do an interim fill for the rest of the academic year, conduct an internal search (at the College) or open it up for a full search process," he said.
Until the position is filled, the department is using a temporary fill situation between other members of the staff. Robbins did not think Farrell's position would be filled by today's room change day. In the past, Farrell handled the logistical shuffling of the day.
Instead of Farrell, Housing Assignments Graduate Assistant Meghan Thompson "will be working throughout that day and will be managing the process," Robbins said.
In addition to the adjustment for room change day, other changes have been made as well. When the room change day process begins at 9 a.m. today, a random drawing of all students outside the Assignments Office, recently moved to Eickhoff 114, will be held. The drawing will determine the order in which the students will be seen.
Students arriving after 9 a.m. must wait in the order of their arrival.
In previous years, room change day utilized a policy of "first come, first served," causing students who wanted to be seen first to wait outside the Assignments door starting the night before, according to Robbins.
"This is a concern for Residential and Community Development as well as Campus Police in terms of student safety for those sleeping outside or in a hallway with no security," Robbins said. "The blocking of fire exits is inevitable when 15 to 20 students lie down outside a door or in the middle of the hallway."
With the new policy, someone arriving the night before will have no advantage.
According to the Residence Assignments Web site, "Participants should arrive no earlier than 8:45 a.m. and no later than 9 a.m. to participate in the mini-lottery."
The new lottery was announced on the Web site, and information will be sent through a campus-wide e-mail.
Robbins said the smoothness of room change day will "depend on the students themselves."
"We will actually have access to more staff now that the Assignments Office has moved to Eickhoff 114," he said. "So we are confident that things will be ready to go."
Despite this optimism, Robbins said that the people in the department currently working to fill Farrell's job "are learning more every day about how many issues he dealt with behind the scenes."
"Farrell's departure was a definite loss for our department," he said. "He was good at what he did."
(09/06/06 12:00pm)
The 2006 Homecoming budget is currently frozen as a result of the Homecoming Committee overspending last year.
Whenever an organization overspends their budget, the Student Finance Board (SFB) is required to freeze that budget, according to Jonathan Borst, SFB executive director.
"The Homecoming Committee overspent in their programming line," Borst said. "There was also an outstanding cash advance."
"Both SFB and the Homecoming Committee were at fault," Pamela Mirabelli, fraternity and sorority programs coordinator and co-advisor to the Homecoming Committee, said. "The Homecoming Committee should have been on top of their budget."
Lauren Szwech, Homecoming Committee co-chair, agreed that the overspending was an "unfortunate mistake." However, she added that the committee is doing "everything (it) can to correct the error."
When it found out about the frozen budget, the committee reacted by quickly brainstorming ideas to raise the required $750.
According to Mirabelli, the committee wondered, "What are the simplest things that can get us the money in the least amount of time?"
To raise the money, the committee organized two fundraisers. One took place all day at Chevy's on Route 1 on Thursday, Aug. 31. If students who attended the event said they were there because of Homecoming, a percentage of the bill went to the Homecoming budget.
The second fundraiser is scheduled for today from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Coldstone Creamery. Those who attend Coldstone between these hours will contribute a percentage of their bill to the budget.
Szwech said the committee chose Chevy's and Coldstone to hold the fundraisers because these places would bring in the best total revenue.
"Everyone on campus can participate," she said.
In addition to the events at Chevy's and Coldstone, last year's Homecoming DVDs will be on sale for $10, and staff shirts will be on sale for $5 in the Brower Student Center.
To ensure that the Homecoming Committee does not overspend in the future, the committee is required to submit a detailed budget to SFB, who will make sure the committee allots money properly. According to Borst, "SFB is working with the Homecoming Committee to develop a plan for spending."
To advertise for the fundraisers, the committee sent out e-mails, posted fliers and used word of mouth to encourage people to bring friends to the fundraisers. Melanie Hinds, townhouses complex coordinator, let all the Community Advisors know about the events so they could tell their residents.
Szwech expects the fundraisers to be successful. "All of the organizations on campus want Homecoming to proceed as it has in the past," she said. "They all know that this is only possible if they help us fundraise the needed money."
"It's such an easy thing to do," Mirabelli said. "Every little bit helps." She expects "disappointment from the students and the committee" if the money is not raised.
"Not raising this money is not an option," Szwech said. "With the help of all those involved in Homecoming festivities, Homecoming will continue as it has in the past."
The committee is "very optimistic that we're going to raise the money," Mirabelli said. "We obviously want Homecoming Spirit Week to be the best it can be."