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(11/13/12 10:39pm)
Every year on Nov. 11, veterans are remembered and honored for their service and the sacrifices they have made to defend the freedoms Americans are lucky to have.
Veterans at the College are no different.
At the Veterans Appreciation Day Program, “Honoring Our Own,” the veterans at the College were honored and remembered on the morning of Friday, Nov. 9.
Associate director of financial aid, Robert Alston, began the ceremony by asking the veterans in the room to stand for the audience to recognize them.
The Business Building lounge was nowhere near as packed with people as Alston mentioned it was each year. However, he said Hurricane Sandy may have prevented several people from coming.
About half the attendees stood, indicating they served in a war, while the audience applauded.
Alston recited “Invictus” by William Ernest Henley, saying, “They are the masters of their fate. They are the captains of their soul.”
After the posting of the colors by four ROTC students at the College, Alston introduced Benedictus Paraan, an Air Force veteran and 24-year employee at the College.
Paraan was born in the Philippines and immigrated to the U.S. when he was 15 years old.
“Joining the military was our way of giving back to this country and the American people,” Paraan said. But in 1987, and after serving a short time in the Air Force, he was told he was not allowed to reenlist or wear his stripes because he “was not a naturalized citizen.”
He quickly got that taken care of so he could serve again.
Paraan saw the Berlin Wall fall, fought in Desert Storm, and served in Tallil Airfield where the infamous Jessica Lynch capture story took place. He teared when he spoke of 9/11 and how it “changed America and the world,” and laughed when he described some of his bases in the Virgin Islands and the Caribbean, which “sounds like a vacation.”
One of the moments that affected him while in service was not when he was fighting at all.
A fellow veteran and his wife had recently separated, and Paraan’s friend had stopped keeping in touch with everyone. His ex-wife began to worry and hacked into his email account, where she found a suicide note the veteran had not yet sent out.
Paraan notified his sergeants who then contacted his friend before he could harm himself, and got him the help he needed.
“My guardian angel kept me safe,” Paraan said, as he had experienced others were not so lucky. Veterans and families of the ones they lost were honored at the ceremony.
Kimberly Geonnotti, the Library’s bookkeeper at the College, is a gold star mother. She lost her son D.J. in Iraq, but was not able to attend the program.
“We paid a hefty price for the freedoms we have today,” Paraan said.
(11/09/12 2:53am)
A female student requested a taxi service on Thursday, Oct. 25 around 11:50 p.m., from the Sun National Center in Trenton to I Street, behind Wolfe Hall. She racked up a fare of $20 but told the cab driver she did not have money on her, police said. She said she would run up to her room and return with the due amount.
After waiting about 10 minutes for the girl to return, the cab driver called the contact number the girl had left with him, according to police. He tried several times to call the number, and eventually reported the theft to Campus Police. The driver said he would not file charges against the student and only wanted the $20 owed to him. According to police, the girl said she did not have any money and would borrow it from a friend. Around 1 a.m. she returned with the payment for the cab driver.
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The tire of a 2005 Hyundai Elantra was slashed sometime between Sunday at 3 p.m. and Monday at 11 a.m., according to police. The victim of the tire-slashing parked his car in the second level of Lot 9 on Tuesday, Oct. 21, and when he returned the next day, his tire had been ruined. He reported the incident to campus police and changed his tire.
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An “unsecured and unattended” white iPhone 5 was stolen from the College soccer field on Saturday, Oct. 27 between 12 and 1 p.m. The owner called his carrier, Sprint, but they were unable to provide a GPS location of the phone. There are no suspects on the theft. The phone is valued at $216.
(11/09/12 2:49am)
Hurricane Sandy moved this week’s Student Government meeting from the Student Center to the Internet as most members weathered the storm off campus.
Members of the executive board and committees emailed the agenda to SG members, briefing them on multiple updates, approaching events and new agenda items.
Christina Kopka, SG president and senior Spanish and marketing double major, reported the success of the Building Our Futures Rally, noting the College President Gitenstein and Senate President Sweeney were especially impressed.
To make up for lost campaigning time due to the hurricane, posters promoting the campaign will put up this week.
Sadia Tahir, senior biology and psychology major and vice president for equity and diversity, announced that SG is co-sponsoring the She’s the First tie-dye cupcake sale that will take place from Nov. 12-16. The profits from the sale help sponsor girls’ educations in developing countries.
A campaign to help students accept on-campus resources is also expected to begin in the last week of November.
The Norm campaign promotes the idea that it is “normal” to take advantage of the Tutoring Center, Career Center, CAPS and other on-campus resources.
Another campaign, which is planned to take off come mid-November, was outlined in the email.
“I am Medium” is a campaign designed to value the diversity on campus and for students to embrace their own diversity.
The campaign “allows students to express themselves as they perceive themselves … It could be … I am white, I am a leader, I am a biology major, I am a friend,” explained Kyle Magliaro, senior marketing major and executive vice president of SG.
(11/08/12 1:33am)
By Natalie Kouba
News Editor
Carly Koziol and her sister didn’t pay much attention to the storm warnings. While their father ran frantically from store to store stocking up on food and flashlights in preparation for Hurricane Sandy, she and her sister were out shopping at the mall, and assumed the storm “wasn’t a big deal.”
But when the storm surge started at 9:30 p.m. on the first night, her family decided it was time to leave their home and go to her grandmother’s house. Her next door neighbors, she explained, tried to leave only a half an hour after her family, but it was impossible.
Koziol is a New Jersey resident like most students at the College who experienced the “Frankenstorm” last week. Though some towns did not even lose power, many students’ homes remain in the dark, while other students’ homes and possessions drowned in the hurricane.
Students were relocated from their homes, temporarily moving in with relatives or friends.
When Koziol’s family found shelter at their grandmother’s house, the conditions were not much better.
“It looked like an aquarium,” Koziol said. Water surrounded the house and began seeping under the doors, although the water line did not drop for a couple days. Her dad would squeegee the floor regularly to prevent the room from flooding.
After the storm, her family went back home. There was a boat in the middle of the street, three houses burned down, and cops manning the neighborhood.
All the food in their fridge had spoiled, but there was a hot dog cart in town that was open. “We lived off hot dogs. They were soggy and disgusting, but we needed food,” Koziol said.
Four of their five cars were flooded up to the steering wheel. Koziol had just finished paying off her Mercedes Benz and was excited to finally own a car of her own. The crawl space was flooded, and they had no heat or electricity.
The chiropractic office her parents owned and worked in flooded and most of the equipment was destroyed. A small fire broke out when her father tried turning on one of the computers. Her father shouted, “Take my degrees and run!” as the fire trucks were coming nearer and her family scrambled and tore the plaques from the wall.
“In the end you have your education, family and friends,” Koziol said. “It’s so easy to say, we lost this, we lost that, but other people lost more.”
For Koziol, the most challenging part of the whole experience has been coming back to the College and being away from her home community.
“Being at home, everyone was going through the same thing … I felt really guilty being here,” Koziol said.
The insensitivity of many of her friends was another hardship Koziol faced. While her family was returning to her battered home after Hurricane Sandy, friends were sending her pictures of their Halloween costumes, and neglected inquiring about how she was doing, explained Koziol.
“In a time of disaster and struggle, you see who is really there for you,” Koziol said. “It wasn’t just our hardships. It was the revelation of friendship.”
Another member of the College community who was not hit hard by Hurricane Sandy reached out to others to shelter during the storm.
Professor Diane Steinberg opened her home in Ewing to fellow faculty members Cynthia Paces and Felicia Steele and their families, who had lost power from the hurricane.
Steinberg not only invited her co-workers and their families to stay at her home, but other friends as well. At one point, she said, there were 14 people staying in her home, although most of them were “day trippers.”
At her home, visitors enjoyed a bounty of soups, phone and laptop chargers, hot showers, and even some time playing Xbox for their children.
“We never had more people than chairs, or more people than soup spoons, so it was all good,” Steinberg said.
Up in northern New Jersey, the conditions were much different than in Ewing.
Josie Perez, a sophomore mathematics and elementary education double major from Hoboken, has yet to return to her apartment since the storm. She planned to stay on campus for fall break, but when TCNJ Alerts began sending students messages basically saying, “take cover,” Perez decided, “I should probably go home.”
The trains were so delayed that she went to a friend’s house in Paramus instead. While watching the news, Perez realized the storm was headed straight for New York.
“That’s when I knew it was going to affect my hometown,” Perez said.
The cellular services in Hoboken were out, so her mom would go out of town each night where service was available to talk to Perez.
According to her mother, she could see water rising up the stairs. They were dry on the third floor of the apartment building where they live, but the second floor and lobby below had flooded. The garage also flooded, destroying Perez’s family car.
“Our town was basically the Hudson River,” Perez said.
Another student at the College experienced flooding in her town as well.
Sarah Gugliotta, senior psychology, lives in Freeport N.Y., just on the south side of Long Island. Her family knew the approaching storm was going to be strong, so luckily they prepared by moving the valuables and furniture they could to the second floor.
Even with their preparations, the water in their house ruined their washer, dryer, and the fridge and freezer kept in the garage, along with couches, a rug, and the shed that stood next to the house.
Due to the water damage, the dry wall and insulation needed to be removed to prevent mold.
In this tough time, her community pulled together, as did many across the state. Neighbors who got their power back before Gugliotta’s family let them shower and do laundry in their homes.
“Luckily no one in my family or anyone else’s I know lost their lives, and we lost less than a lot of people in my area,” Gugliotta said.
Tim Skinner, a junior electrical engineering major from Monmouth Beach, was relatively lucky, and his home was spared from the storm.
The rest of his town, however, is still suffering from debris in roads, vanished beach clubs, capsized boats and collapsed rooves.
“You could see people shaking their heads, surveying the damage and coming to the realization that their homes had been destroyed,” Skinner said. “I hope my town and New Jersey can someday go back to the way it truly was.”
(10/23/12 11:28pm)
New Chief Information Officer Jerry Waldron visited Student Government at its weekly meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 17, to review and discuss the College’s recent wireless technology improvements.
“I think we have made quite a bit of progress,” Waldron said, referring the newly wireless buildings.
Waldron also discussed plans to initiate wireless printing in the library and improve the wireless reception for mobile phones.
“Hopefully we will be a little bit green and at the same time, make your lives a little bit easier,” Waldron said.
SG also explored new ways to bring funding to the College.
The Building our Futures campaign was discussed again this week. Members were urged to “tell five to tell five,” spreading the word to voters.
N.J. voters can vote for or against this referendum at the bottom of the November ballot. The referendum, which was clarified in an email sent to students last week, would grant between $22-26 million to the College. The College would allot the funds to improving academic buildings.
“It is definitely going to benefit TCNJ for years to come,” said Kenneth Murphy, senior political science major.
Christina Kopka, senior Spanish and marketing double major and SG executive president, thanked members who attended the Town/Gown meeting. According to Kopka, there were not many town members at the event, but several students came out and showed their support for the College.
SG advisor, Magda Manetas announced the memorial service for Paul Traina, a student who was a junior sociology major when he died suddenly of a brain aneurism in the spring. The service will take place on Friday, Nov. 2 at 3 p.m. in the Spiritual Center.
Following Ryan Alley’s memorial service last week, Manetas mentioned how she hopes this will be the last time the College will have to hold a memorial service for a student. Manetas encouraged SG to attend the service to support his friends and family, while remembering Traina.
“This was a community and he was appreciated in it,” Manetas said.
(10/23/12 11:19pm)
From magazine sculptures and experimental video clips to digital prints and acrylic paintings, the senior art exhibit, “#Modernism,” in the Art and Interactive Multimedia Building on Friday, Oct. 19 was a diverse display of seniors’ recent work.
Students, faculty and family came out for the opening reception and to view the students’ creative take on modernism.
The seniors were given an assignment to create a piece of art which reflected their interpretation of modernism.
Many of the pieces had been inspired by artists from the modernistic era.
One senior artist, Bryan Borut, documented a social experiment based on a performance by artist John Cage, who sat silently for approximately four minutes, unsettling to the audience, before finally starting a musical concert.
Borut replicated Cage by standing on a busy street holding a sign which read, “use earplugs to experience modernism.”
“It’s more about the silence of the piece than the actual music,” Sarah Andresen, junior fine arts major, said referring to the original experiment.
“It’s experiencing the world in a new way,” Josh Sender, senior fine arts major, said of his classmate’s work.
Sender chose to play off Édouard Manet’s rendition of women for his own piece.
On a rather large canvas, Sender had sketched two women whose figures were barely there, but whose eyes were definitely drawn to capture the distinct gaze Manet gave his models.
Another film project, by Liz Gerger, mocked Cosmopolitan magazine through an eerie series of cutouts from the magazine, progressively moved and arranged with an unnerving high-pitched voice reciting advice which would be found in the magazine.
Three QR codes were made into art at the exhibit as well. Senior artist, Ryan Beebe, created three digital prints of well-known websites — Twitter, Pinterest and Facebook. When scanned, the QR codes read, “This is not a conversation … This is not a corkboard … This is not a relationship,” respectively.
His piece was a play off of René Magritte’s painting of a pipe where he painted “This is not a pipe” in French under the pipe.
“#Modernism” was a successful exhibit with the variety of art pieces drawing in inquisitive onlookers.
The exhibit will be on display in galleries 111 and 119 until Dec. 16.
(10/23/12 11:10pm)
Neon Trees will not be performing at the Fall Concert due to “an unforeseen personal circumstance,” according to an email the College Union Board sent out on Monday, Oct. 22.
The band was expected to perform with Cold War Kids on Saturday, Nov. 10.
The concert will still take place on that date, but Cold War Kids is now scheduled to perform with “electro-pop sensation” Dev, CUB’s email said.
The Neon Trees tickets, however, will not be accepted at the Dev concert. New tickets must be purchased to attend and will go on sale starting Wednesday, Oct. 31, at 8 a.m.
Students who would like their Neon Trees tickets refunded can do so beginning on Monday, Nov. 5, during the Center for the Arts’ Box Office hours in the Brower Student Center, according to CUB.
The Box Office is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
CUB said they will try to bring Neon Trees to the College, possibly for the Spring Concert.
(10/16/12 9:50pm)
With Homecoming plans in full swing, Campus Police are preparing for the festivities as well. At the Student Government meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 10, Chief John Collins discussed Campus Police security measures for Homecoming.
Although undercover cops will not be surveying the event, there will be “plain-clothed patrol.” Undercover cops would ask students for an alcoholic drink, or even offer them one, explained Collins.
The plain-clothed police officers will just patrol the event for suspicious activity.
It is not yet known how many police officers will be at Homecoming.
“Nobody should be worried about it,” Collins said. “It’s pretty easy to pick up on.”
Pleased with the increasing success of the past homecoming events, Campus Police will continue to have plain-clothed patrol if it remains effective.
Last year, one student had to be transported to the hospital due to excessive drinking. In the previous year, three students had to be transported.
“Our goal for the day is to make sure everybody has a safe and enjoyable event,” Collins said. “We want to see everybody come home safely.”
He urged students to have a designated driver if they are going off campus.
SG also passed two new bills at the meeting.
The first bill revised the current attendance policy for SG members. Using a points system, members lose points for missing general body meetings, retreats and internal committee meetings.
Program participation points could be earned through attending SG-sponsored events.
A member must uphold attendance and participation points to remain an active member of SG each semester.
“You would be getting credit for acting out your role as an SG member,” said Christina Kopka, SG president and senior Spanish and marketing double major.
The other bill renamed associate members of SG as general members.
During the debate to pass this bill, some SG members believed the new title of “general member” could confuse them with being part of the general body.
General Body members must be voted in, attend meetings regularly, and can vote on bills.
“It gives them more of an upbeat title,” said Kyle Magliaro, senior marketing major and executive vice president of SG.
The search for the position of provost to be filled is coming to an end, narrowing the pool down to three possible candidates. This final candidate hired will become second in command to the College president.
SG members were encouraged to attend the candidate meeting interviews.
The Building our Futures Campaign will be launched at the College. The College could be granted $22 to $26 million to help build academic buildings.
“It is simply checking ‘Yes’ on the bottom of the ballot,” Kopka said. Students can support the referendum on the ballot in November.
(10/16/12 9:45pm)
Campus Police noticed an intoxicated female student in a parked car in Lot 8A on Sunday, Oct. 14 around 3 a.m.
According to police, she was sitting in the back of the car, with an empty bottle of vodka lying on the floor of the vehicle. When the girl got out and spoke with the officer, she had trouble keeping her balance and smelled strongly of alcohol.
She was later taken to police headquarters, where she vomited twice in the holding area upon her arrival, according to police reports. She said she drank four shots of vodka around midnight. Lions’ EMS arrived to evaluate her condition. She was released and given a summons for drug use and possession and underage drinking. She was also issued a court appearance.
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A victim of theft reported her laundry was missing from the Hausdoerffer Hall first floor laundry room at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 14.
According to campus police, she put her laundry into dryer No. 12 on the previous day around 6:30 p.m. When she returned the next day to retrieve the laundry, it was gone. Her clothes were valued at $210.
She was issued a victim notification form. There is no further information on the location of the laundry.
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A steering wheel club was reported missing from the Lions’ EMS vehicle on Saturday, Oct. 6 at 5:30 p.m. Police spoke with a College worker who was returning the vehicle to the front of Decker Hall after Community Fest, when he noticed the club was missing.
Another College worker said he had driven the vehicle at 9:30 p.m. the night before and the club was intact. A search was conducted and the club was retrieved from a drainage ditch behind the College Spiritual Center. There was no damage to the vehicle or the club. There is no further information at this time.
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A student reported on Tuesday, Oct. 9 at 1:30 p.m. that his bike had been stolen from a bicycle rack in front of Wolfe Hall, according to police. The bike was locked to the rack when the student left it on Sunday, Oct. 7, but when the student returned around 3 p.m., his bike and lock were missing.
Police checked campus bike racks for a matching description, but the bike was not found, police said. It had a black frame with blue rims and pedals and was valued at $1,210.
(10/09/12 7:00pm)
Student Government approved two new clubs for official recognition on Wednesday, Oct. 3 at the weekly meeting.
Following the perimeters of the new bill now used for approving clubs, Devin Dimmig presented the intentions of the first club, Cards for a Cause. This club is designed to teach members how to play card games, organize tournaments, and raise money for selected charities.
The founders of the club stressed that this is not a gambling club. Participants would contribute about $5 to play, and could win small prizes.
“Gambling is not an issue at all,” said Alexandra Brown, junior communication studies major.
The profits from the tournaments would be donated to a charity of the club’s choice. Currently, they are focusing on Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
Some SG members doubted the club’s ability to fund themselves as they requested no funding. They questioned if Cards for a Cause would have enough supplies to hold a tournament and give away prizes.
After briefly debating, the significance of the club proved to be vital to the campus.
“There is a void for card playing at the College,” said Kyle Magliaro, senior marketing major and executive vice president of SG.
She’s the First, a non-profit organization founded by a College alumnus, was the other club to be approved by SG. The goal of She’s the First is to raise money to sponsor girls in developing countries so they can become the first in their families to graduate high school, college, or even the first to become literate.
Jamie Primeau, senior journalism and English double major and Signal Editor-in-Chief, pointed out that the girls chosen to be sponsored really care about education. Without an education, most of these girls would have limited possibilities for significant achievement. Some of the sponsored girls hope to become doctors after graduation — a dream practically impossible for them without the proper schooling.
According to SG, there were no potential weaknesses in the club, but instead “promise, a clear concise mission and dedication.” SG also recognized the potential of the club to co-sponsor with other student organizations, such as sororities.
Voter registration sign-ups in the Towers have been successful, reported SG. “We were so surprised by how many people were so enthusiastic,” Dimmig said.
SG advisor Magda Manetas announced memorial services for two students who passed away last semester. A ceremony for Ryan Alley will be held Friday Oct. 12 at 3 p.m. in the Spiritual Center. Alley was a senior marketing major, who passed due to injuries following a car accident.
Another memorial service will be held for Paul Traina, a junior sociology major who suffered a brain aneurism. It will be announced later in the year, according to Manetas.
(10/09/12 6:58pm)
A male student was observed urinating on the walkway by Lot 8 on Sunday, Oct. 7 around 2:50 a.m. by campus police. The trail of urine was approximately 30 ft. long, going along the street lamps of the parking lot. When approached, the student said he was fine and just wanted to go to sleep. He also said it was “a stupid choice” to urinate on the sidewalk.
According to police, the student appeared to be covered from head to toe in a substance which looked like chocolate sauce. The student had been drinking at an off-campus party, which included throwing chocolate sauce on one another. Police said he would not tell them where the party was, because “he didn’t speak Greek.” Lions' EMS evaluated the student and he required no further treatment.
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Police responded to a report of an intoxicated student in a residence hall on Monday, Oct. 8 at 2:40 a.m. The student was found passed out on her bed with a garbage can containing vomit on the floor nearby. When she woke up, her speech was slurred, as she said she had been drinking whiskey and “woska” earlier that night. She refused to give the names of the other students with whom she had been drinking. Lions' EMS arrived and evaluated her. She was transported and issued a summons for underage drinking.
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Police were notified of an intoxicated student Monday, Oct. 11 around 10:15 p.m. in one of the residence halls. He was sitting upright in his bed, slumped over a trash can, vomiting. His speech was slurred, said police. The student said he drank too much, about 10 shots of vodka, in celebration of his birthday. Lions'EMS arrived, evaluated him, and transported him. He was issued a summons.
The Phelps Hall sign was reported missing Monday, Oct. 1 at 12:30 a.m. The 3.5ft by 2.5ft brown sign with “Phelps Hall” in white lettering is valued at $672. Police searched the area, but nothing was found. There are no suspects in the case.
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An iPhone in a purple lifeproof case was reported missing Sunday, Sept. 30 at 1:00 a.m. The owner of the phone said she had been dining in Eickhoff the evening before, and that was the last time she remembered seeing the phone, according to police. When she realized it was missing, she locked it, making it inoperable. The phone is valued at $600.
(10/02/12 9:05pm)
A renewed legislation of the structure for approving and regulating clubs at the College was passed Wednesday, Sept. 26, at the Student Government meeting. Devin Dimmig, vice president for governmental affairs and junior history and secondary education major, sponsored and presented the bill with the hopes it will help SG with the approval of clubs, and to be sure too many clubs are not being approved.
“It is stressing our facilities,” said Dimmig, referring to the over 200 current clubs at the College. “We have a lot of clubs that may not exactly contribute to campus on a regular basis.”
The 11-step bill makes alterations to the current approach SG takes when approving a new club.
A proposal for an athletic club will be “flagged” as there have been liability concerns in the past, according to the bill.
Another change being made is that individual clubs will not speak on their own behalf when presenting to SG for recognition. Instead, the constitutional review chair will speak on the club’s behalf, “including the club’s potential strengths and weaknesses identified by the Governmental Affairs Committee,” stated the bill. Club representatives will however be present in case clarification is needed. Upon voting for or against the bill, club representatives will not be present. This precaution was put into the bill so the student body would not feel swayed by having a representative from the club in the room.
New clubs approved by SG will then register with Student Activities. They will also have to prepare for “re-accreditation” two years after they have been recognized by SG. This is meant to check up on the clubs and make sure they are following through with their initial purposes, according to SG.
After being unanimously approved by the student government body during the voting process, the bill was passed.
New members were sworn in at the beginning of the meeting after the results of the election last week. A general body retreat was held this weekend to help prepare the new SG members for their positions.
Following up on the promotional election events, Annie Montero announced the presidential-themed Eickhoff dinner Oct. 23 would feature meals from the presidents’ balls.
The newly appointed freshman class president Shap Bahary was also introduced at the meeting.
(09/25/12 5:37pm)
In an effort to promote political awareness for the upcoming election, Student Government discussed various events they will be organizing at their meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 19.
SG is in the process of planning a registration drive. Students would be able to register to vote at on-campus locations, such as Eickhoff and the Library Cafe. A presidential themed dinner at Eickhoff, panel of political science professors to speak before the election, as well as a flyer campaign to inform students of the interests of both political parties, are among other events SG is organizing to spread awareness on the presidential election in November.
Tony Gattone, the College’s construction project manager, presented further plans for the Campus Town in regards to the Barnes & Noble Bookstore to SG. The bookstore is expected be approximately 14,200 square feet and two stories high, about twice the size of the current bookstore. Gattone said it will replace the bookstore in the Brower Student Center, although it is still unknown what will fill that space. “It’s really just taking the location and moving it to a bigger better place,” Gattone said.
Plans for the color scheme of the new bookstore were also discussed. “They have a high intent in making this a TCNJ Barnes & Noble,” Gattone said. Barnes & Noble will add blue and gold to the store, and the College’s school spirit wear and supplies will be sold at the new store.
There will also be a child care center in the bookstore, to help advance the community outreach programs. The bookstore will also have an online book pick-up station, wireless internet and possibly a patio.
SG will be sponsoring events for Blind Awareness Month in October, such as inviting a blind pianist to play at the Rathskeller.
Representatives from the Class of 2013 announced the success of senior night, and the Class of 2014 will begin selling class T-shirts.
At the meeting, C.J. Gutch, a senior finance major, was sworn in as vice president of Administration and Finance. Previously, he was a student advocate, senator of business, and was on the Committee for Legal and Governmental Affairs.
(09/18/12 7:28pm)
The Student Government officers held a brief moment of silence on Wednesday, Sept. 12 for the late Orlando Sanchez, a dining hall worker at the College who was killed last week. They are passing around a card to express their condolences and having the SG members to sign. Later in the week, the card will be given to Sanchez’s family.
Applicants for the provost search are still being reviewed. “The process is in full swing,” according to SG president Christina Kopka, senior Spanish and marketing double major, regarding the search for a Provost. The references of the applicants are now being checked before the Provost is selected.
In an effort to improve the wireless technology on campus, vice president of Student Services, Annie Montero, will be meeting with Chief Information Officer Jerry Waldron this week to develop a feedback survey.
Sadia Tahir, senior biology and psychology double major, announced the overall success of the 9/11 Blood Drive which SG co-sponsored with the Muslim Student Association. The drive accumulated 35 units of blood.
The PRC Group will be coming on Wednesday, Sept. 19 at 10 a.m. to the Education Building to discuss further plans regarding the Campus Town project. Tony Gattone, a representative from Barnes & Noble will be visiting, regarding the bookstore in the campus town.
The Helen R. Shaw staff awards were held on Friday, Sept. 14 in the Business Building.
A representative for the Class of 2014 announced the success of their class fundraisers. They sold over 200 wristbands and will begin selling T-shirts.
The Class of 2015 is planning to create a “Welcome Back Presentation” which would look back on freshman year and help them to publicize for future fundraising, mainly for senior week.
A representative for the Class of 2016 has not yet been selected.
Katie Cugliotta, senior history and secondary education double major, pointed out SG meetings are typically not as short as this one was, which ended after only 19 minutes. She said, “We are still picking up where we left off from last year."
Pictures and a closed session followed the general body meeting.
(09/11/12 10:29pm)
Eight students were observed wading in the Science Complex fountain at 1 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 9, according to reports. Campus police approached the group. An officer informed the students that swimming in the fountain was prohibited, and chased the students when they fled in different directions.
Two female students disappeared out of sight. A male student stopped running, put his hands up and was asked to stay where he was, while the officer chased another female student. When stopped, the students said they were running because they were scared. The officer smelled alcohol on the male and asked if they had been drinking. The male responded that they had had two or three drinks that night. Both students nodded when the officer asked if they were under 21 and said they drank jungle juice at an off-campus fraternity party.
The officer was then informed via police radio when another officer located the two female students who had run from the group. The students said they had been drinking. Lions EMS and Pro Staff evaluated the group and determined they did not need further medical treatment. The students returned to their dorms and all four were issued summons for underage drinking.
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Campus police observed a male student at 12:45 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 8 leaning on a gate of the south end of the Townhouse East sidewalk. The student said he was waiting for his roommate to hand him his key, police said. The officer smelled alcohol and said the student’s eyes were glassy and bloodshot. While performing a sobriety test, the student had difficulty following directions. He then said that he consumed three to five mixed drinks of Seagrams 7 whiskey and club soda at a friend’s off-campus house. An ARD arrived and Lions EMS evaluated the student, but he refused further medical attention and received a summons.
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A swipe card reader was reported missing at 6:30 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 9, at the Wolfe Hall rear entrance. According to reports, there were wires hanging from the spot where the reader was missing. An immediate search of the area proved to be unsuccessful. There are no suspects or witnesses at this time, according to police. The reader is valued at $650.
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An Apple Mac Book Pro was reported stolen on Friday, Sept. 7, from the lounge on the third floor of the library. A male student said he left his possessions unattended on a table in the library to go eat at 3:45 p.m. When he returned, his laptop was missing. He asked the students in the area if they had seen anyone take it, but no one had any further information. The laptop was valued at $1,199.
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A staff member reported her Gopher Heavy Duty Inflation pump missing on Thursday, Sept. 6, from the Recreation Center Room 201. The pump — which is used to inflate sports equipment — was last seen at 3:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 29, but the staff member noticed it missing at noon. Staff and coworkers reported that they had not seen it since. The pump is valued at $259. There is no further information on the whereabouts of the pump.
(04/03/12 7:04am)
Simple communication can put a violent city on the right track, according to David Kennedy, criminal justice professor and director of the Center for Crime Prevention and Control at John Jay College.
Kennedy lectured in the College’s Library Auditorium on Tuesday, March 27.
Celia Chazelle, department chair and professor of history at the College, briefly introduced Kennedy and his new book, “Don’t Shoot: One Man, A Street Fellowship, and the End of Violence in Inner-City America.”
Kennedy was first inspired to take action against inner-city violence after experiencing the crime in Nickerson Gardens, Los Angeles. “I have never been so scared in my life, before or since,” Kennedy read aloud from his book.
After traveling across the U.S. to numerous cities, he shared his experiences, many of which were shocking. On his latest trip to Kalamazoo, M.I., he explained how three pastors who served as his guides saw their city affected by gang violence. To them, he said, “Corners are not just corners. They are where my brother got shot.” While having conversations with people in the city, Kennedy was stricken that “people can’t even remember their own dead.”
In order to change the atmosphere in inner-cities, Kennedy works with various communities of the neighborhood — gang members, officers and officials and the other citizens affected by the crime. He ventures from city to city bringing these three very different groups together, in hopes of putting an end to inner-city violence. For one hour, these three communities are brought together in a room to talk, share stories and change opinions. The reason this works, Kennedy said, is because “everybody involved wants what’s going on to stop.”
“Communication is the answer. It’s so simple,” said Jessica Lee, freshman biology major, following the lecture. “They just need to talk.”
In 1994, Kennedy worked with the Boston authorities to hold these open hour-long sessions in their own city. It became known as Operation Ceasefire, as crime was greatly reduced. “Youth homicide went down two-thirds. Homicides across the city went down 50 percent,” he said. Once seeing the successful results in Boston, he continued helping other cities change to become more peaceful places.
The results of these sessions have proven to be quite effective, according to Kennedy, and are therefore being implemented throughout the country.
Following the lecture, Kennedy held a book signing for the attendees.
(01/31/12 11:12pm)
By Natalie Kouba
Correspondent
Education is the leading factor to crime prevention and a safer community.
Two current prison inmates and two former inmates visited the College’s Mildred and Ernest E. Mayo Concert Hall on Tuesday, Jan. 24 to speak about their accomplishments with Project P.R.I.D.E. (Promoting Responsibility in Drug Education) as well as their experiences in prison.
Project P.R.I.D.E. is a program which helps students give back to the community by volunteering their time to tutor inmates.
The Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Corrections, Gary Lanigan, spoke about the program as well as NJDOC’s goal to “protect public safety by operating safe facilities and preparing inmates to reenter the community.”
Michael Ritter, director of Project P.R.I.D.E., introduced the inmates — all of whom volunteered to participate in the event. Their last names were not disclosed to the audience.
Mike, 27, grew up with a “regular childhood” in Trenton. As the eldest of 11 children of divorced parents, he “grew up angry at his father” and never found an effective way to communicate his anger to other people. Although he was “on the right track” through high school, once he got involved with a bad crowd he dropped out and began selling and using drugs.
At the age of 15, Mike went on juvenile probation, but saw it as “a slap on the wrist.” He now has been incarcerated with a six-year sentence and has not been home since 2007. After Mike realized the effect his actions had on his family, he decided to seek help, earn his G.E.D., and take advantage of the programs the Department of Corrections had to offer.
Once he returns home Mike would like to pursue a higher education at a community college and eventually transfer to a four-year university. “It might be right here,” he said, “I might stick around.”
Ronnie, 27, was raised in South Philadelphia. As a biracial child attending a largely white school, she “was angry at a very young age”. When she was 12 years old, she became involved in selling drugs through her uncle.
Ronnie stopped going to school after she hit her principal and lost a cheerleading scholarship. After selling drugs for 14 years, she was incarcerated, causing her to leave her young daughter at home. Taking AP Literature in high school, she dreamed of becoming an English teacher. Because of her incarceration, this is no longer a possibility for her.
After the program, a question and answer session followed and students had the opportunity to sign up for the tutoring program.
Upon signing up, sophomore biology major, Raagini Som, stated how it was “inspirational how (Project P.R.I.D.E.) helped the inmates.”