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(05/03/16 10:08pm)
“Yes... Of course I do. I feel like you have to. Throughout one semester, you learn so much information.”
“Yeah... I make a list of all the topics we’ve gone over in class.”
“Yeah... because there’s no way I could pass any of my classes if I didn’t.”
“Yes... because I want to do well.”
(04/26/16 7:47pm)
By Tom Ballard
Opinions Editor
Growing up in Brooklyn, N.Y., alumnus James Queally (’09) knew that he wanted to be a journalist, but he never saw himself playing a role in winning a Pulitzer Prize.
But that was exactly what happened when the 28-year-old journalist found out on Monday, April 18, that he and the staff of the Los Angeles Times were being awarded the Pulitzer Prize in breaking news coverage. The staff won the honor for the newspaper’s coverage of the San Bernardino shootings that took place in San Bernardino, Calif., on Wednesday, Dec. 2. The attack resulted in 22 people injured and 16 people dead, including both suspects, according to the LA Times.
“I was kind of muted, quite frankly,” said Queally, a staff writer for the Times who typically writes about crime-related events. “(It didn’t sink in until) my managing editor walked up to me, gave me a big hug and said, ‘Thanks for keeping us all together.’”
Queally, who said that he is typically out in the field reporting on stories, said that he spent most of his time working on the story at his desk, checking information coming in from reporters, local authorities and the federal government.
According to Queally, he worked around the clock trying to piece together information as it was coming in while also looking into new leads that were constantly changing.
Queally said that when the story first broke, there was initial confusion about whether or not the shooting actually took place and what kind of shooting it had been.
Despite winning one of the most prestigious awards in journalism, Queally was humble and said that the LA Times worked as a team to report on the story.
“I’m just a part of it,” Queally said. “I’m trying to keep it in perspective.”
The Pulitzer Prize is named after famed journalist and publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is awarded to writers of exceptional journalism since 1917. In addition to journalism, the Pulitzer Prize Board also gives out awards in other areas, such as literature, dramas and music, according to the Prize’s Website.
The LA Times edged out the Baltimore Sun’s coverage of the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray, a black man, and the riots about possible police brutality that ignited in the city afterward, as well as the Post and Courier of Charleston, S.C., for its coverage of the shooting of Walter Scott, a black man, by a police officer, who has been indicted for murder.
Queally cites the wider reach of the San Bernardino shooting as the reason for why he thinks the paper ultimately won.
“The (Sun and Post and Courier)... all did excellent work,” Queally said. “Our story was really taking place in all different arenas… we had a wider scope of reporting, (but)… I don’t think that we did superior reporting.”
Donna Shaw, associate professor and coordinator of the Journalism and Professional Writing Program, said that she remembers Queally, despite him having graduated nearly seven years ago.
“He was brash and strong-willed,” Shaw said. “But he understood without anybody telling him that the way to be a good journalist wasn’t just to go to class, but to actually be a journalist.”
In addition to serving as a sports and arts & entertainment editor for The Signal for most of his college career, Queally also served internships at multiple papers, including the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Times of Trenton and the Star Ledger. After graduating, Queally was hired by the Star Ledger, where he worked in different positions, including as statewide law enforcement reporter, for five years until 2014.
During his time at the College, Queally said he was constantly motivated to work hard by the faculty to become a better reporter.
“Donna (Shaw) is excellent,” Queally said. “She was an incredible reporter… it was really valuable to have someone like her.”
Queally encouraged current journalism students to work hard in order to make it easier to secure a job once they graduate.
“I know it’s tough to be (a journalism) major right now,” Queally said. “But if you grind and do all the jobs that nobody wants to do, you will be successful… just work, don’t say ‘no’ to anything.”
Shaw said that she is proud of what Queally has been able to accomplish and hopes that other journalism students can learn from the steps that Queally has taken.
“I hope (what current journalism students) take away is not settling for just doing your homework. It’s not enough to just come to class and do your assignments,” Shaw said. “That’s not just true for journalism, that’s true (for all majors). If you want to be really good at what you do, you have to work at it and that was what he did.”
(04/26/16 4:17pm)
“Somebody from New Jersey, like a senator, (such as) Corey Booker. We have a very small school, and almost everyone is from New Jersey.”
“I would pick someone that has something to do with (politics) because it shows that we have relations with people who make important decisions.”
“Someone that works at Disney Imagineering (because they) know a lot about how to get things done and inspire people.”
“(Someone) like an alumnus that graduated a while ago, just to inspire the graduates.”
(04/19/16 5:30pm)
“(I’m) not a fan... I think she already has so many negative things (out about her) and I don’t like how the options of (a) Clinton and Bush keep coming up. I definitely think that there are better choices out there.”
“I know a lot of people have (bad) opinions about her... but she is very experienced, and if she is the Democratic nominee, I would take her over any of the Republican candidates.”
“She’s a bit of a hypocrite... her stances now (on many issues) is sort of the opposite (than in the past).”
“She’s awful, she doesn’t stand by anything she says she does... I’m supporting Bernie Sanders.”
(04/19/16 3:46pm)
By Tom Ballard Opinions Editor
The College’s Recreation Center was flooded with a sea of purple during Colleges Against Cancer’s (CAC) annual Relay for Life event held on Friday, April 15.
The 12-hour long event, which lasted from 6 p.m. on Friday to 6 a.m. the following morning, raised a total of $97,000.81 for the American Cancer Society (ACS), according to CAC.
“I feel that the event went extremely well this year,” junior biomedical engineering major Ananya Sen, one of CAC’s co-presidents, said. “We raised over $20,000 past our goal… (and) we are thoroughly content with how relatively smooth the night went (and) the wonderful cooperation and help from the participants and co-sponsors, and the great entertainment throughout the night.”
According to the event’s Website, 54 teams and more than 1,600 participants took part in this year’s Relay for Life. Team members walked around the makeshift track on the lower-level of the Recreation Center in order to raise additional funds from sponsors. In addition to walking laps, many teams also set up tables in the middle of the Recreation Center to sell snacks and other treats in order to put more toward their team’s fundraising amount. Throughout the night, students were entertained with tailgating games, live music, dance performances and even a beauty pageant.
Sigma Pi fraternity raised the most money out of all the teams that participated, according to the event’s Website. Sigma Pi raised $12,298.91, followed by Delta Tau Delta fraternity, which raised $9,532, and Sigma Kappa sorority, which raised $8,175.
Junior psychology major and Phi Sigma Sigma sorority member Lauren Plawker raised $2,539.65 for the event alone and was the top individual fundraiser.
“I began fundraising for (ACS) after losing my grandfather, Ilan Plawker, to a rare form of lymphoma,” Plawker said. “I decided that as a student and a proud granddaughter, it was my responsibility to give back in memory of this man who had given so much to supporting the education of his grandchildren… This year, I also relayed in honor of my Grandma RoRo, who I am proud to say is now two years cancer-free.”
Plawker said it is important for students from all organizations at the College, not just Greek ones, to participate in Relay for Life so that the event can be as successful as possible.
One of the College’s non-Greek organizations that took part in the event was TCNJ Musical Theater (TMT).
“We come out because we don’t do a lot of philanthropy, and we also perform at the event,” said Sarah Reynolds, TMT’s team captain and a sophomore English and secondary education dual major. “We (did) very well (fundraising). A lot of our members are in Greek life and a lot of people have been coming (to support us).”
Many of the College’s social and business Greek organizations were at the event to raise support, as well.
“We have a very strong connection to philanthropy,” junior biomedical engineering major and Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity member AJ Mercuri said. “It’s our organization’s thing to bring out a large number of people (to these sort of events).”
Delta Sigma Pi (DSP), one of the College’s business fraternities, also took part in Relay for Life this year.
“It’s a great opportunity to help out the ACS and the more people we can get involved, the better,” sophomore accounting major and DSP team captain Jenny Ellenbacher said. “The College’s campus is just great to get involved with.”
According to Sen, money fundraised at this year’s event will go toward funding cancer research, as well as providing lodging and transportation for patients and their families close to cancer treatment facilities. It will also go toward educating and helping women regain confidence and improve their self-image following their battles with cancer.
“Nearly every student has been impacted by cancer,” Sen said, “Whether they were a survivor themselves or had a close friend or relative battle cancer, (this) cause touches everyone in some shape or form.”
CAC raises awareness for different kinds of cancers throughout the year. In the past, CAC has sold gold shoelaces to support pediatric cancer, held a Pink Carnival in support of breast cancer, hosted the Great American Smokeout to raise awareness of lung cancer and sponsored Paint the Campus Purple Week to raise awareness and funds for Relay for Life, according to Sen.
Many members of CAC expressed a personal connection to raising awareness about cancer.
“I was motivated to join CAC and take part in Relay for Life because cancer has had a major impact in my family’s life since I can remember,” said Dana Tedesco, co-President of CAC and a junior biology major. “My sister is a two-time leukemia survivor and my mom is a breast cancer survivor... I relay so there can be a future free of cancer.”
Many Relay for Life team members expressed a personal link to cancer, which motivates them to participate in the event year after year.
“My mom had breast cancer and is in remission and she has recovered,” Mercurio said. “I think that (Relay for Life) is a little personal for each of us.”
(04/12/16 4:24pm)
By Tom Ballard
Opinions Editor
As students at the College, we all have relatively busy lives. In addition to academics, most of us also choose to pile on extracurricular activities, social lives and even jobs to the list of things that we find ourselves responsible for handling. As a result, it’s sometimes hard to look forward and plan ahead in order to avoid the chaos of completing an assignment last-minute. For that reason, Media Services’s policy of only allowing movies to be rented out for three hours ignores the needs of students while robbing them of the opportunity to take advantage of what is meant to be a valuable resource.
Recently, one of my professors assigned my class to watch a movie that was relevant to what we were learning. He assured the class that Media Services in the College’s library had the video, so I had very little worry about being able to get my hands on a copy of the movie. About a week before we were expected to have the movie completed, I decided to go to Media Services in order to rent out the movie. As the student-worker took my student ID and checked out the movie, she informed me that the movie was due back in three hours.
But it was impossible for me to have the movie completed and returned within three hours. I had classes and other work that I had to do, and there was no way that I could sit down and focus solely on the film for my class in the petty three hours that I was alloted.
Prior to going to the library, I just expected that the rental time for movies would be longer. Although Media Services has it clearly written on its Website that the rental period for movies is three hours, my local library, which serves a community of about 60,000 people, has a rental period on movies for at least 48 hours. I just expected that the College would allow students at least a day in order to watch a movie, which is meant to be used for academic purposes, in order to take the time needed in order to completely digest the information.
Instead, I returned the movie right away and later found out that students who rent a movie within the last three hours that Media Services is opened are able to keep the movie overnight and return it first thing in the morning.
By the time 6 p.m. had arrived, I found myself sprinting to the library in order to make sure that I would be able to take out the movie that I needed for academic purposes and was told that I would be able to keep it until 8:30 the next morning.
Although this 14-hour time period was greatly maximized from the original three hours, I found myself having to cram the over two-hour long movie in at 1 a.m. in a classroom in Forcina Hall.
Even though Media Services in the library affords students the ability to take out media to be used for academic purposes, the time that they allow for movies to be rented for is so minute that it seems to be a disservice for students who have more than watching a movie on their plate.
While I understand why Media Services has the three-hour policy that it does — so that most students who need to use the material can have access to it in a reasonable amount of time — it seems to make it difficult for students to be able to use that material effectively in the time that Media Services allows in the chaotic world of college.
It might be beneficial for Media Services, if possible, to create an online library of movies and media available to students and faculty at the College so that anyone who needs to access these kinds of material could simply sign in with their College username and password and be able to use them whenever it works best for them.
Ultimately, Media Services — and the library in general — exists in order to benefit members of the College’s community. Without giving students ample amount of time to use media for classes, Media Services continues to fail students at the College and forces them to abide by their schedule instead of working around ours.
Students share opinions around campus
Is Media Services's policy OK?
“I think so... Most movies aren’t three hours, but (I can see how) that could be frustrating.”
“I feel that if you really need a movie, (the process) should be better... The fact that you can only take a movie out for three hours seems (to be) inconvenient.”
(04/12/16 4:23pm)
“I’ve never had a problem with it, but I know others have said it is stressful.”
“I thought it was a little dragged out... (As a transfer student,) I think the transfer kids were sort of thrown under the rug. I wasn’t able to pick my classes until like a week before they started, (but overall) I think (the College) does a good job.”
“I haven’t really heard any criticism about it, but I guess it’s good... (Registration) seems like a lot of work. It’s kind of confusing. There’s very specific courses I have to take at certain times... and sometimes, the courses fill up before I could take them.”
“I think it’s a pretty simple process. I (spend a lot of time) determining the classes that I want to take... It’s a lot of planning.”
(04/12/16 4:09pm)
By Tom Ballard
Opinions Editor
There is one thing that every student at the College has in common. Regardless of their geographical background, economic status or academic record, they were all, through some process, accepted to be a student at the College.
Behind the brick walls and white colonial columns of Paul Loser Hall, the College’s Office of Admissions recently worked to send out all general admissions letters to prospective students by its Friday, April 1, deadline.
The College’s nine admission counselors took on the task of reviewing the 11,818 applications the College received — a record number, according to Associate Director of Admissions Matt Middleton.
“We review applications by major, so every counselor gets assigned a variety of majors and we basically pull those applications once they’re ready to be reviewed, and pretty much from November to March, all we do is read the applications at our desks,” Middleton said.
According to Middleton, each counselor has approximately 1,200 to 1,500 applications to review from November to March. Counselors overlook applications from the early decision period — a decision option that allows prospective students to apply and receive a decision earlier with the agreement that they would be binded to attend the College if accepted — and the general admission period.
Middleton said that after a counselor reviews an application, they make a preliminary decision for admission and defend their decision to Director of Admissions Grecia Montero, who has the final say on whether or not a student is admitted.
While reviewing the information, counselors take into account six main numeric and non-numeric factors, Middleton said. Those factors include the student’s transcript, standardized test scores, extracurricular activities, leadership, community service and letters of recommendation.
“(An applicant’s transcript) is always the most important factor… I know when I open an application, one of the first things that I do is look at their senior year course load to see how they challenged themselves or if they decided to take it easy their senior year,” Middleton said. “That leaves a big impression on me right off the bat.”
Middleton said that the Office of Admissions keeps track of students that visit the College for tours, as well as students who meet with admissions counselors while they are out visiting local high schools, in order to see how interested an applicant is in attending the College.
“We take a lot of notes in our system on people we’ve had conversations with, either at their high schools or when they visit the campus, so a student that is trying to make that extra effort, especially since we don’t do interviews as part of the process, a student doing that can enhance their chances,” Middleton said. “If they advocate for themselves, we might end up advocating for them, too.”
With the amount of applications that are submitted to the College, Middleton said that it is hard to determine how long a counselor spends reviewing each application, but estimated that it’s usually no longer than a few minutes.
“There are some applications that are very easy — for both good and bad — and I’ll say those applications typically take about five minutes to go through,” Middleton said. “There are some applications that are really hard and those ones take long — how long — maybe 10 to 15 minutes. It really depends a lot on how many recommendations they send in, if they send in any extra materials. Sometimes students send in reports that they have written or artwork that they’ve done or something else just to kind of highlight who they are.”
Applications that make the decision to accept or reject a student more challenging are those that typically consist of a strong transcript, but weak standardized test scores or vice versa. Counselors often rely on seeking consultations with each other in order to make a decision for these kind of applications, according to Middleton.
“I really think that with admissions, what we try doing is try to find reasons to admit students,” Middleton said. “If we have a student that we really like because they have a great activity résumé, but maybe their grades aren’t as strong as some of the other applicants… It’s just sort of nice to bounce ideas off of one another just to get a sense of whether you’re in the right frame of mind when making a decision.
“That’s why I really like that we do the reporting at the end of the process because I know after two or three months of this, there might be a couple of students that I’m really unsure of and make a decision and I really rely on my director to check those and make sure that there’s good decisions made,” he said.
According to Middleton, the number of high school graduates on the East Coast is shrinking, and more colleges in the area are competing over a smaller pool of applications.
The College has also stepped up its focus on trying to attract out-of-state students. The Office of Admissions hired two regional liaisons to go to events and talk to high school students in New England and Long Island.
Middleton said that the College offers special scholarships only available to out-of-state applicants and has invested into placing advertisements in out-of-state regions. According to Middleton, the out-of-state student population currently hovers somewhere around 7 percent, but the College plans on increasing it to 15 percent of the student body.
Middleton said that it is important for the Office of Admissions to reach out to non-New Jersey students in order to increase the College’s national name recognition, something that he claims will be beneficial for New Jersey residents if they applied for employment outside of the state.
“For applicants now, it is better to be an out-of-state student than an in-state student right now,” Middleton said. “Does it significantly change the process? No. But if you’re on the bubble for admissions, I think that we are more likely to admit an out-of-state student right now because we are actively growing that population.”
According to Middleton, who has 15 years experience of working in the Office of Admissions, the way that the office is looking at applications is changing, as well.
“When I started my first year, the College got... about 6,000 applicants that year, and this year we got about 12,000… so there’s just a lot more to read,” Middleton said. “But I think the other big change is that the students who are applying here are just better — they’re stronger academically, they’re much more involved, so it’s really tricky when you know that you can only admit about 45 percent of the people to apply to the school.”
The College is focusing a bit less on standardized test scores, according to Middleton. The College now has programs — such as art, music and interactive multimedia — where submitting test scores is optional. Middleton said that in the past five years, the College has turned to what is called an “enrollment management model” for admissions in which the College examines applications based on the major they plan on studying as a criterion in the admissions process.
“Before that five years, we pretty much took the strongest x number of applicants and didn’t care what it was that they wanted to study,” Middleton said.
As a result, certain majors became overwhelmed with students, while others were struggling to get any students, Middleton said.
The Office of Admissions now works closely with academic departments in order to see how many seats they would have open in order to ensure that the College admits enough students for each department, Middleton said.
If an applicant is not able to get into their first choice of major, but the Office of Admissions believes that they would be a strong fit for the College, counselors might try to give them the opportunity to enroll under a different major, Middleton said.
Middleton said that of the 11,818 applications received by the College, about 5,300 were accepted and they plan on welcoming a class of about 1,450 freshmen for the Fall 2016 semester.
According to The College Board, the College received 11,290 applications in 2015 and admitted 5,495 to the institution, with 1,453 students deciding to enroll. Of the 600 early decision applications submitted, 412 were accepted to the College.
“(An increasing trend is how applications are) stronger academically, they’re much more involved,” Middleton said. “It’s really tricky when you know that you can only admit about 45 percent of the people to apply to the school. There’s a lot of good candidates that don’t get admitted.”
As for the Class of 2020 in particular, Middleton said that the future freshman class at the College will bring about similar students as the current freshman class.
“It’s another really strong applicant pool. It’s similar to the one last year in terms of average SAT, class ranks, involvements — it’s all… really good students (that we are admitting),” Middleton said.
(04/05/16 5:28pm)
“Honestly, as long as its not too bad, (it’s appropriate).”
“Yeah... It’s my dad’s birthday, so he always feels like it’s an important part of his day... So (there’s nothing wrong with) a good joke or two or four.”
“Yes... Because it’s a funny holiday... I don’t see a reason why not to (celebrate it).”
“It’s a one-day holiday (so for that one day), its fine.”
(03/29/16 5:10pm)
By Tom Ballard
Opinions Editor
It’s spring here at the College. The flowers are out, the trees are beginning to grow foliage and finals are slowly creeping upon us. But outside the College, this season of rebirth also brings with it another type of season: primary season. With the fierce national battle between Donald Trump and the establishment of the Republican Party, and Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, it is easy to overlook the other races that Republican and Democratic party members will be deciding in the upcoming primaries on Tuesday, June 7. Despite the lack of attention these local races are receiving, it is essential that voters are informed about them.
In addition to the presidential race, primary voters would be voting for their party’s candidates in the states’ 12 congressional districts and various other county and municipal races. The people elected to these positions have, arguably, more power and influence over our daily lives as average citizens than the president who oversees a wide range of issues both domestic and international.
Former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Tip O’Neill is famed for saying that “all politics is local.” While O’Neill was discussing the importance for politicians to go out and meet with local residences in order to gain support, I think that this quote also aligns with the idea that it is easier for people to connect with more local politicians, since they are forced to address issues that have clear and immediate effects on the American people.
According to an Associated Press report in an article from NorthJersey.com from June 3, 2015, only approximately 5.1 percent of eligible New Jersey voters voted in their party primaries during last year’s primaries, the lowest turnout in at least 90 years. But in those primaries, the highest nominations up-for-grabs was for members of the state’s General Assembly, the lower house of the state legislature, and many candidates ran unopposed for their positions, making it seem almost unnecessary for party members to take time out of their daily lives to drag their feet to their polling station to vote. Last year’s general elections in November ended up having the lowest voter turnout for a general election in New Jersey history, with only 20.8 percent of voters taking part in their democratic right to pick their leaders, according to a nj.com article from Nov. 8, 2015.
But why did people decide not to vote? It seemed that the positions on the ballot might have something to do with it. In 2012, the last year there was a presidential election, voter turnout in the primaries hovered at around 9 percent across the state, according to the New Jersey Department of State, compared to the 5.1 percent figure from last year mentioned before. It seems that only a small amount of people actually care about the primaries at all and even less people care about it in years where only local politicians appear on the ballot.
But even a 9 percent voter turnout rate for primaries in presidential election years seem too low. Given the time of the New Jersey primaries — in June — the prospective presidential nominees of political parties are already known before anybody in the state could have access to a ballot. But people shouldn’t avoid the ballot box when only one seat seems to be locked up. More local positions have more influence on people’s daily lives, anyway. Mayors and city/township committee bodies have power over citizens to determine local tax rates and local services. County freeholders and other officials (such as sheriff, surrogate and clerk) have the power to lead the local county toward prosperity or despair. The 12 state congressmen are supposed to represent the interest of their constituents in the U.S. House of Representatives and can fight to bring great changes to local communities and the country as a whole.
The primary season thus far seems to be very intense, especially in some of the states’ congressional districts. According to a Bergen Dispatch article from Thursday, March 24, Republican Congressman Scott Garrett (5th District) has been taking a beating for his voting record. The congressman of 13 years, who is often touted as one of the most conservative in the state’s delegation, has voted against federally-funded programs for police, firefighters and public safety. Garrett is also currently facing heat for alleged comments he made last year saying that he wouldn’t contribute to the Republican Congressional Committee, the fundraising organization that raises funds to help elect Republicans to the U.S. House, if they contributed to openly-gay candidates, according to a nj.com article from July 16, 2015. Despite this, Garrett will face little opposition in the Republican primary and instead, has already been tossed into a head-to-head matchup with the perspective Democratic nominee and former Bill Clinton speechwriter Josh Gottheimer.
Even though the primary in the 5th District seems to have been placed on a hiatus, other candidates face fierce competition in their primaries, in which voter turnout can have a tremendous effect on who appears on the ballot in November.
Congressman Leonard Lance (R-7th District) is currently facing competition from three other Republicans in the June primaries, according to politickernj.com. The once-moderate Republican, who was often seen as an environmentalist, has since scurried to the right on political issues. In addition, freshman Congressman Donald Norcross (D-1st District), brother of state Democratic party powerhouse George Norcross, is facing a fierce competition from 24-year-old, Sanders-supporting Alex Law in June, according to an nj.com article from Tuesday, March 22.
While voters typically only think of primaries when they fall in presidential years, it is fundamentally important for voters, especially the young voters who will be voting in the upcoming decades, to remember that primaries are held every year. With the exception of candidates for boards of education across the state, the politicians that appear on the ballot in November only do so because they had been vetted and supported by members of the political party in June. While some may look at primaries as being typically unimportant and insignificant, they allow the people who belong to political parties to have their voices heard and choose candidates they believe can best represent their party and benefit their local communities. Primaries allow the people to have a voice in the two-party system of American politics. If Americans refuse to vote in the primaries (especially if they belong to one of the two major political parties), then they are forfeiting the right for their voices to be heard.
Students share opinions around campus
Are local elections important?
“Yeah, I wish that they have more stuff on campus (about local elections)... nobody on campus talks about them.”
“Definitely... I feel like people always complain about situations going on in their towns, but they don’t take the time to... do something about it.”
(03/29/16 5:08pm)
“Definitely... I just feel that everybody is getting in the mindset... I brought back all of my summer clothes over the break.”
“No, because the weather hasn’t been nice (but once it is)... They’ll be in the summer mood.”
“I think spring break was like a taste of summer (for students).”
“Personally, as a senior, I’m happy to be graduating and it’s just hitting me (now, but for other students)... it’s only halfway through the semester and there’s still a lot of things going on.”
(03/29/16 4:22pm)
By Tom Ballard
Opinions Editor
The future may seem uncertain for women’s and gender studies (WGS) students at the College, but an alumnae panel called “Designing Feminist Futures: College and Beyond” on Wednesday, March 23, in the Library Auditorium aimed to change that by discussing feminism outside of the College.
The panelists included ’03 graduate and Pace University Assistant Professor of WGS Emily Bent, ’01 graduate and Regional Manager of Law School Engagement with Bloomberg Law Noelle Petruzelli-Marino and ’01 graduate Jackie DeVore, who worked as an assistant district attorney in Bronx, N.Y., where she prosecuted sex crimes and crimes against children.
The panelists opened the event by discussing how they began to identify themselves as feminists. Most of the panelists said that it was not until college that they were able to identify themselves as feminists.
“I grew up in a very conservative area and I was always angry and didn’t quite know why,” Bent said. “I didn’t have the right language to call myself a feminist because that really wasn’t a term that people used, so I think when I started to identify as a feminist was in college.”
Bent said that her years as a teenager gave her the experience to question the difference between herself and male students.
“There were lots of kinds of moments that added to my teenage angst about why am I really bothered by sexist practices in my high school or isn’t it really strange that girl dress codes are really different from a boy’s... Teachers were always calling home to talk to my parents about the weird questions that I would ask in class,” Bent said. “But I think that it was always something that I would have identified with, but not something that I would have attached that word to.”
DeVore said that the materials that she had learned from the WGS program at the College have guided her in life since graduating.
“(My vision of being a feminist) was always sort of there but never really explicit (until college),” DeVore said. “That sort of revelation (my) sophomore year has legitimately carried me through the past nearly 20 years of my professional development — like that was the foundational aspect of my understanding of feminism, how I adopted feminism and how I started to bring it out in my own life and use it in various and practical ways.”
According to the panel, society promotes an ideal image on how each genders are meant to act and should be portrayed.
“Seeing from the time you are pregnant, the gendered stuff about the clothes, and how you decorate the room and the toys — it’s disgusting and very hard to combat as a parent,” Bent, a mother of a boy and girl, said. “I think that is (what is motivating me for action) constantly, not just for my daughter, but for my son.”
Bent went on to say that society often demands that males have to be “rough and tumble,” while females are seen as having to be “sweet and pretty.”
The panel also said that they find that gender inequality still exists in the workplace, especially in the corporate world.
“One of the things that is very prevalent is the persistence of obviousness of the male perspective and how the female and feminist perspectives in the workplace — particularly in the corporate world — they’re not fully entrenched in,” Petruzelli-Marino said. “My perspective is not granted the same obviousness as my male counterparts are. I can very clearly tell you that my male counterparts with the same title and less experience makes substantially more than I do and the only reason I know that is because my female boss was transparent with her staff, which again, is not something that is standard in the corporate world.”
The panel advised students to be optimistic and continue to fight for gender equality, but also noted that they may not always be faced with support, even from groups that they should receive support from.
“I was hired at (Pace) the same time as someone else who was a man in my department and he was (making more money) than I was by about $5,000,” Bent said. “(Higher educational institutions) are supposed to be places that are safe and supportive, (but) I am often times fighting… So by having to explain to male faculty members why you don’t get to be held at a different standard when I am also junior faculty and (can) easily (be) fired and shoved out the door is really hard (to explain) because I think that I am a very outspoken person.”
When asked what was the best way for WGS students to overcome the challenges of seeking employment, the panel told those in attendance to try to set themselves apart from the other applicants for the position.
“Just highlight… the ways you have been involved that makes you look different from somebody else,” DeVore said. “(Show) how those experiences that you had are connecting you to the job that you want.”
The panel was co-moderated by Tabiya Ahmed, a senior sociology major, and Ryan Eldridge, a junior political science and WGS double major.
“(The panel) was part of women’s history month, so (we just wanted to see) what undergrads (at the College learned) from their women’s and gender studies education and how they applied it in the real world,” Ahmed said. “I think that the people who came… are (greatly) benefiting from the panel and the information that was discussed.”
(03/22/16 8:12pm)
“It’s very convenient. I don’t have a TV at school... (I heard that students) can record (shows)... and that’s awesome... I haven’t personally used it yet.”
“I’ve heard... good and bad (things). You don’t really get to (use) your TV.”
“I feel that everyone has a laptop (to watch PhiloTV), so it’s probably (very) useful.”
“I think that it has its good and bad parts... I think that it’s good that we can record TV, (but I don’t) like how you need an HDMI cable to plug in your computer to watch it on TV... Overall, I think it’s a good thing.”
(03/22/16 8:07pm)
By Tom Ballard
Opinions Editor
It is a common occurrence in American grocery stores: A person walks up to the meat section and is faced with a large selection of varying pink-colored meats he or she can buy. The meat is wrapped in clear plastic with a rectangular, white label with basic black print that gives information on the package’s contents. Until last year, these labels included Country of Origin Labeling (COOL), which stated from where in the world the meat came. But due to political and economic interests, these labels were eradicated and so was the people’s right to information.
On June 10, 2015, the U.S. House of Representatives passed “H.R. 2393: Country of Origin Labeling Amendments Act of 2015” by a margin of 300-131, according to govtrack.us, a website dedicated to tracking the condition of proposed legislation in Congress. The legislation, which passed with a large amount of bipartisan support, began to gain traction after the Canadian and Mexican governments filed a complaint in 2008 against the U.S. to the World Trade Organization (WTO), an intergovernmental organization that regulates international trade.
According to the complaint, Canada and Mexico claimed that COOL, which required that meat products must include information on where the animal was born, raised and slaughtered on the package, discriminated against meat from foreign countries. A summary of the dispute raised by the two countries stated that COOL “(imposed) less favourable treatment to imported livestock than to like domestic livestock… creating an incentive for U.S. producers to use exclusively domestic livestock and thus… (creating limited) competitive opportunities of imported livestock.”
The problem with the viewpoint of our neighbors to the north and south is that their goal is one of purely economic benefits to their countries, while COOL legislation was meant to protect and inform the American people.
According to an article from The Chicago Tribune from Monday, Jan. 4, the repeal of COOL, which took effect on Friday, Jan. 1, only applies to beef and pork and not to chicken or lamb products, which still requires labeling.
An NPR article from Dec. 17, 2015, showed that some members of Congress supported the repeal of COOL not because they found the labeling harmful to Americans, but because of fear of retaliation from the Canadian and Mexican governments.
“It doesn’t matter if you support COOL or if you oppose COOL,” Kansas Republican Sen. Pat Roberts said, according to the NPR article. “You cannot ignore the fact that retaliation (from Canada and Mexico) is imminent and that we must avoid it.”
The same NPR report explained that the WTO gave Canada and Mexico the green light to charge American businesses $1 billion in tariffs after the U.S. lost its final appeal to the WTO in July. These tariffs would not have only applied to foreign meats, but also to other goods, such as furniture, metal tubing and jewelry.
But Americans love eating meat. In fact, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the average American consumed 195 pounds of meat in the year 2000. According to an NBC News article from Oct. 26, 2015, Americans now eat an average of 270 pounds of meat each year, an increase of 75 pounds in just 15 years. The same NBC News report stated that the average American consumes 71 pounds of red meat a year (beef, veal, pork and lamb). With Americans consuming so much meat that does not fall under current COOL regulation, Americans are often left in the dark over where their meat is from.
Consumers should have the right to know from where their meat comes. If Americans choose to buy domestic beef, which arguably has its own downfalls (but that’s a debate for another day), then they should have the right to do so. If Americans decide they want to stay away from U.S. beef, then that should also be their right to know and do so.
In a world plagued with the occasional regional breakout of some meat-related disease, COOL would make it easier for consumers to know which meat is at risk and would allow them to make the decision of whether or not purchasing meat from another country is worth the risk. Also, consumers might be worried about the conditions of which meat are bred and slaughtered in and might opt to support meat from countries with high standards that ensure that the animals are treated humanely and that labor laws protects the workers.
To be entirely honest, if I were in a supermarket looking to pick up ground beef, I would most likely not care enough about where it came from to look at the labeling. But as an American, it should be my right to be able to ignore the label and not have the outside governments of Canada and Mexico dictate to me that those labels should be nonexistent altogether. The repeal of COOL keeps Americans who actually care about the origin of their meat from having the opportunity to make their own decisions while shopping.
While Washington politicians caved to political and international pressures, the governments of Canada and Mexico celebrated the defeat of a “discriminating” measure that gave Americans the right to know where their meat comes from. This land, my land, your land, our land is a little less free than it was a year ago before Congress and other world powers squashed the American people’s right-to-know.
Students share opinions around campus
COOL labeling on food?
“I think it would be interesting to (include COOL labels), but I don’t think it’s a necessity.”
“(The government doesn’t) have to, but they can. It would probably be more informative for people.”
(03/22/16 2:20pm)
By Tom Ballard
Opinions Editor
Salah Abdeslam, a suspected terrorist involved in the Paris terror attacks four months ago that left 130 people dead, was arrested by officials in Belgium on Friday, March 18, according to CNN.
According to the Washington Post, 26-year-old Abdeslam was shot in the leg while police succeeded in arresting him and four other suspected terrorists. The same Washington Post article stated that Belgian authorities found Abdeslam’s fingerprints in an apartment that was raided by police on Tuesday, March 15. Ever since finding the fingerprints, authorities had closed in on the area and found Abdeslam hiding in an apartment in Molenbeek, a neighborhood in Brussels, at around 4:45 p.m.
Abdeslam, who is suspected to be the eighth person the Middle Eastern terrorist organization ISIS said took part in the Paris attacks on Nov. 13, 2015, was able to get past a security checkpoint at the French-Belgian border just hours after the attacks before he was identified as a suspect, according to NBC News. The attacks caused havoc at several locations, including a cafe and a concert hall.
“I have no doubt that the (Belgian) judicial authorities will address very quickly a request for (the) extradition (of Abdeslam to France),” French President François Hollande said in a press conference on Friday, March 18. “I’d like to thank the Belgian justice minister and the prosecutor (for their work).”
According to an ABC News article, Abdeslam allegedly rented a car that carried a group of terrorists to the Stade de France soccer stadium in Paris, along with the car that carried terrorists to the Bataclan theater in Paris where three gunmen took the lives of 90 people.
Four days after the Paris attacks, Abdeslam, a native of Brussels, had returned to the city and frantically tried to receive help from friends. According to ABC News, Abdeslam called friends while trying to find a way to secretly travel to ISIS-controlled land in Syria in order to evade authorities.
Following Abdeslam’s arrest, world leaders and politicians congratulated Belgian authorities for tracking down one of the most wanted terrorists in the world.
“Abdeslam’s arrest sends the message to terrorists around the world that they cannot hide and that it’s only a matter of time before they answer for their heinous crimes,” Jeanne Shaheen, a senator from New Hampshire and member of the U.S. Senate’s Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation, said in a statement.
“I want to congratulate French and Belgian investigators and law enforcement on their diligent work that led to this arrest,” she said.
Jean-Charles Brisard, chairman of the Paris-based Center for the Analysis of Terrorism, said that Abdeslam’s arrest will allow authorities to better understand the planning of the Paris attacks, according to the Washington Post.
“It’s really crucial,” Brisard said of the arrest. “Abdeslam had a role in virtually every stage of the planning and the preparation. He could be the missing link to the masterminds (of the attacks).”
A BBC article reported that Abdeslam is the only suspect from the Paris attacks that has been captured alive. Nine suspected terrorist from the attacks have been confirmed dead and authorities are still looking for Mohamed Abrini, another suspected terrorist from the attacks.
(03/08/16 8:32pm)
By Tom Ballard
Opinions Editor
Throughout the muckraking and mudslinging of the current Republican presidential election, it is easy to oversee a candidate whose virtues shine through as a welcoming reminder that politics do not have to be cruel and violent spectacles. Ohio Gov. John Kasich — who only polls at 7 percent of support of likely Republican votes, according to analysis from FiveThirtyEight.com, a website focused on opinion poll analysis published on Sunday, March 6 — is the best choice for the Grand Old Party’s (GOP) presidential nomination.
With the recent withdraw of Ben Carson from the presidential race, the field of nominees for the GOP now stands at four from the original 17 candidates, according to a New York Times article from Friday, March 4. What was once a circus of GOP contenders is now reduced to businessman Donald Trump, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Kasich. While Trump and Cruz are seen to cater to the conservative base of the party, Rubio and Kasich are seen as more moderate voices whose viewpoints are more in line with the GOP’s standpoints.
Kasich is an experienced candidate — the most experienced one left in the GOP field. He served nine terms (18 years) representing Ohio’s 12th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives. Six of those years (1995-2001) he served as the chairman of the House Budget Committee following the “Gingrich Revolution,” in which Republicans swept control of the U.S. of Representatives and elected Newt Gingrich as the speaker, according to a PBS “Newshour” article from Wednesday Feb. 10. As chairman of the committee, Kasich was seen taking on not just Democratic lawmakers, but also fellow Republicans. He played a fundamental role in passing the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, which received bipartisan support, and was known to work with the administration of President Bill Clinton in order to help reduce the deficit, according to an Aug. 9, 2015, article from Politifact, a Pulitzer Prize-winning political fact-checking website.
In 2010, Kasich went on to be elected governor of Ohio and was re-elected in 2014. As governor, Kasich supported the expansion of Medicaid included in the Affordable Care Act, despite criticism from fellow Republicans, saying that it was important for Ohio residents to receive the additional medical coverage, according to a PBS “Newsroom” article from July 21, 2015.
In comparison with his GOP rivals, Kasich has almost three decades worth of political experience in comparison to his current challengers, which includes two first-term senators and a real estate magnet that has never served in public office.
Kasich has proven that he has the willingness to reach across the political aisle in order to do what he believes is right and he fights for the betterment of the American people.
The Ohio governor is also known to be a compassionate person — not known to take political shots at his opponents, but willing to show people that he cares about them. According to a CNN article from Thursday, Feb. 18, Kasich hugged a supporter from the University of Georgia at a town hall in South Carolina after he told Kasich about recent hardships that he has endured, such as the suicide of a man who was like a father figure to him and his father losing his job.
The presence of Kasich in this race to crown the GOP’s nomination has brought a human element to the competition. While his competitors often attack each other over matters of flip-flopping on political issues to petty fashion issues, Kasich is a candidate committed to taking the high-road and discussing the issues that matter to Americans, such as taxes and the environment.
Not only is Kasich the best candidate for the White House, but he is also the best-situated Republican to compete with Hillary Clinton in the general election. According to a Suffolk University/USA Today poll from Wednesday, Feb. 17, Kasich would defeat Clinton in a hypothetical presidential matchup with the largest margin being 49-38 percent.
While I may not agree with Kasich on every issues, his record of being a leader willing to compromise is a needed trait to get things done in Washington, D.C., and is a trait that no other candidate on the GOP side seems to be willing to claim.
On Nov. 23, 2015, the Pew Research Center released a report that showed that only 19 percent of Americans, or roughly one out of every five, trusts the government. America needs a president that they feel they can trust. America needs a leader with an experienced and proven record of compromise that benefits the people. Americans need a president who is able to connect with them at a personal level. America needs John Kasich.
Although his humbleness may pale in comparison to the flamboyance of Trump and his humility may seem quiet amongst the GOP contenders who try to flaunt that they are the most conservative Democrat-despiser of them all, Kasich is an experienced candidate that hugs the country with authentic and genuine kindness.
Students share opinions around campus
Have you heard of Kasich?
“(No)... There’s a lot of candidates in the race... (Such as) Hillary (Clinton), Bernie, Trump and Ted (Cruz).”
“(No)... I think that there is a lot of attention on Trump... for reasons not regarding the presidency.”
(03/08/16 8:00pm)
“It would cause havoc... High schools will have to change (what they teach about alcohol)... I don’t think high school (students) are mature enough.”
“I would say yes... If we’re 18 and (an) adult (then) we should be able to make decisions.”
“(It’s) debatable... I know that there’s the whole brain decay issue.”
“Yeah, I do... I feel that in the college (we’re) at, the whole drinking age (thing) isn’t stopping anyone anyway.”
(03/01/16 9:57pm)
“I think it’s pretty good... I transferred from a community college (and the food is better here).”
“It tastes all right... It probably could be better.”
“I actually don’t eat here. I like to make my salads and stuff at home... The most I get (on) campus is a (cup of) coffee.”
(03/01/16 9:42pm)
By Tom Ballard Opinions Editor
Following a closed session meeting, the College’s Board of Trustees met on Tuesday, Feb. 23, for a public meeting to discuss various topics, including changes to the College’s urban education program and the presentation of the draft of the College’s next five-year strategic plan.
The board unanimously voted to approve a plan that will put into place a five-year Bachelor of Science (BS) and Masters of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program in urban education. As of now, urban education is only an option that can be added onto the elementary and early childhood education major.
“This is a conversion,” Trustee Eleanor V. Horne said. “It does not result in any major changes in faculty or courses.”
According to the resolution, the new program will equip urban education students with a “specific and strong” social justice focus along with including the addition of an English as a Second Language (ESL) certification.
The resolution states that candidates in this program will receive bachelor’s and master’s degrees with the integration of study in urban education along with experience and certification to teach ESL, a section of teaching that the resolution said is to be a “teacher shortage area.”
According to a 2011 report from the Migration Policy Institute — an independent think tank dedicated to the study of the movement of people worldwide — cited in the resolution, New Jersey ranks sixth among states with the highest number of residents who have limited English proficiency.
“While the state of New Jersey likes to boast overall high academic achievement, one needs only to begin to sort the data by county or district to see the huge disparities in resources, school quality and academic achievement,” the resolution said. “For these reasons, a focus on providing high quality teachers in these contexts is needed.”
The resolution also stated that expanding the program to a fifth year is “financially beneficial” to both the College and students.
“A fifth year adds revenue to the College,” the resolution said. “In the case of the urban education program, that revenue includes both on-campus coursework and in some cases, ESL courses taken both as part of the off-site global programs. For the students, they finish with both a master’s degree and an additional certification. Those degrees and qualifications translate into a higher starting salary.”
The urban education program at the College began with just one student in 2009 and now has approximately 70 students, with one to 17 incoming freshmen joining the program for each of the last three years, according to the resolution.
Also unveiled at the meeting was the draft of the College’s Strategic Plan for 2016 through 2021. President R. Barbara Gitenstein, Provost Jacqueline Taylor and psychology Associate Professor Shaun Wiley presented the plan.
The new strategic plan, entitled “TCNJ 2021: Bolder, Better, Brighter,” plans on continuing to transform the College from “a respected regional institution with limited academic offerings” to “a nationally recognized institution with comprehensive academic offerings and students leadership opportunities,” according to the presentation.
The plan, which will try to set the direction that the College will move in during the course of the next five years, has five main priorities. These priorities include attracting and retaining students in a diverse and inclusive environment; enhancing the College’s “Signature Experiences,” which include community engaged learning and global engagement; continuing to promote the College on the national level; building and increasing accessibility to technical and physical infrastructure on campus and achieving an obtainable financial model for the College which includes a goal of increasing enrollment by 500 students overall.
“We determined early on, and I charged the SPARC (Strategic Planning and Resource Committee), consulted them and have been as transparent as possible,” Gitenstein said, discussing how the committee worked with members of the College’s shared governance. “Every single group has been involved in providing a voice to their perspective on the direction of the future.”
According to Wiley, the process of putting together the new strategic plan has been ongoing throughout the past year and the committee has reached out for a diverse group of input for the plan.
“This is the culmination of (about a) year-long endeavor,” Wiley said. “I’m really proud of how inclusive our process was. Over the past year… we’ve spent a lot of time going out to talk with the campus community. Multiple times we’ve gone to Student Government, Faculty Senate and Staff Senate to review certain parts of the Strategic Plan (including the) mission statement, values (and) priorities… this is something that the campus has been broadly involved in.”
Members of the board showed fondness for the plan and said that they look forward to viewing the final proposal.
“It was a wonderful presentation,” Trustee Rosie Hymerling said. “I, as a board member, really appreciate the thought… (and) passion.”
Earlier at the meeting, John Krimmel, an associate professor of criminology and president of the College’s chapter of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), addressed the board with two petitions concerning compensation for professors and adjunct professors at the College. One petition was signed by 326 faculty members while the other was signed by 63 adjunct professors, according to Krimmel.
Krimmel then handed the petitions over to Trustee Jorge A. Caballero, the chairman of the board.
“I understand the issue, but just to level set, as all (of the College’s faculty) are employees of the state, not of the College, and (they) therefore should be negotiating with the state and not the College… but we understand the issue and we appreciate your time,” Caballero said to Krimmel.
According to Gitenstein, budget season in the state for the next fiscal year has begun and there is a chance that the College might see its funding from the state decrease.
“It is the governor’s budget that starts the conversation,” Gitenstein said. “What he has presented, in regards to higher education, is flat funding for institutions. However, we have to look carefully at that budget… (we need to look at) if, in fact, modifications to the medical health benefits plan is accepted. That is supposedly to save $250 million for the state… in other words, if that plan does not go through, there will be a cut (in the College’s funding).”
Gitenstein said that the College has seen a minor increase in Tuition Aid Grant (TAG) funding, a state program that gives financial aid to full-time undergraduate students that have financial hardships, according to the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority (HESAA), which Gitenstein said was “very good news indeed.”
But Gitenstein also said that the College has seen a cut in Educational Opportunity Fund (EOF) funding, a program which supplies financial support to students who demonstrate an “educationally and economically disadvantaged background,” according to the Office of the State’s Secretary of Higher Education.
The board also heard an update on campus construction projects that cost at least $1 million. During the update, Trustee Robert A. Altman, secretary of the board, said that there has been recent obstacles that have hindered the building of the new STEM Building.
“Primarily, as I understand it, apparently as we’ve been digging, we’ve come across things we didn’t expect to find and those require additional steps and additional time and additional money,” he said. “Some of the unforeseen things that were in the way… included utilities that we did not expect to find there,” Altman said, also joking that a farm house was found while digging the building’s foundation.
Altman said that construction on campus has been progressing generally well and Campus Town has been successful in filling its commercial and residential spaces. However, he said that maintenance of utilities on campus may cause problems in the future.
“Given the age of our campus and the consultant report we reviewed last year, the likelihood of something bad happening (in terms of maintenance) is higher than (we) would like it to be,” Altman said.
Members of the board also discussed seeking ways to form a more active group of alumni from the College and encouraging them to help fundraise for the school as a whole.
“It’s wonderful to have alumni come together and have a good time,” Horne said. “But there are other things that we need them to do (such as fundraising).”
According to Gitenstein, in compliance with recently passed state legislation, she will be attaching a list of crime statistics to the agendas of the Board of Trustee meetings.
According to the statistics in the report from Nov. 1, 2015, to Jan. 31, 2015, 56 crimes and other emergencies were reported at the College, including 15 thefts and 13 incidences of underage alcohol consumption.
The next Board of Trustees meeting will take place on Tuesday, April 26, and will discuss the issue of tuition at the College, according to Caballero.
(02/26/16 3:49am)
By Tom Ballard
Opinions Editor
If you are tired of the cable on campus, you might be pleased to find out that the way you watch cable TV on campus is about to change, according to an email recently released to the College community on Thursday, Feb. 25.
According to Sean Stallings, assistant vice president for Student Affairs, there will be a new cable service on campus that is set to be implemented in the next couple of weeks. The new service will differ greatly from the one currently provided by the College’s current contract with Comcast.
“The new (cable service) that we will offer is a product called Philo TV,” Stallings said. “(The College will) be able to offer students portable television on (their) phones, tablets, computers — we (will) be able to offer (students)... DVR (digital video recorder) capabilities, high-definition and premium cable channels, such as HBO and Cinemax, as well as expanded cable (to include channels like) Spike TV and Food Network.”
According to the email, the new service will include eight “over the air” channels and 62 satellite channels, most of which will be provided in high definition, along with two channels especially for the College that will be provided in standard definition.
Stallings said that the first set of changes in cable comes as the College transitions from a traditional cable service and builds the infrastructure to become compatible with the new internet-based service.
“There was some infrastructure stuff (the College) had to do, and that is what’s being installed now,” Stallings said. “Satellite dishes, and what’s called ‘racks’ are being installed on the campus — that (is what) will receive the signal, decode it (and send the signal) out.”
Stallings said that there are two main phases that residential students at the College will go through in the transition to receive the new cable service on campus.
In the first phase, Stallings said that students will be able to access the new cable on any portable or internet compatible devices, such as smartphones, tablets and computers. According to Stallings, students will be given a website to go to and log in using their College username and password. The system will then authenticate the user to make sure that they are a residential student at the College. The new services, according to Stallings, will only be available on students’ devices while they are on campus.
“If you’re sitting out on Alumni Grove, you can open up your phone or your tablet or something, and (if) you want to record a show, you’ll be able to do that. And it’s your own DVR. You can, eventually, not in this first launch, but eventually, you will have HBO GO capabilities, which is HBO that you can basically take with you (on the go) and, in that instance, you will be able to use that at an off-campus location,” Stallings said.
During this phase, cable will not be available for televisions connected to a coaxial cable in dorm rooms, and would instead have to be connected by an HDMI cable to a computer or a Roku box — a digital media player device that is able to stream videos online via Wi-Fi or an ethernet cable, Stallings said.
After the initial services are provided to residential students, the College will enter into the second phase of the project, which would include restoring cable service to televisions connected by a coaxial cable.
“There is existing equipment that we have to (determine)... if it can receive the satellite signals,” Stallings said. “We’ve been bringing in an old signal over old wires for a long time, and now we’re bringing in high-definition service over, in a new format, and essentially what we’ll like to do is just plug (the new equipment) in once we cut the old one.”
Stallings said that while the College is optimistic that the second phrase transition with the new wires will run smoothly, he noted that there is a chance that it might require additional time to restore cable service to televisions connected by coaxial cables, depending on how compatible the old and new equipment are.
“These wires are too old,” Stallings said. “So because of the timing, I set the priority that we have to get students something, and we also know from other reports that almost all of our students have smartphones, and we believe all of them have computers, and so, no one should really be shut-out of this format.”
Residence halls that do not have Wi-Fi — the townhouses and Travers and Wolfe halls — will still be able to receive cable during the first phase by using a computer connected by an ethernet cable to the internet, according to Stallings.
“(Students) will have to plug (their devices) into the wall… through the ethernet, so they wouldn’t be able to do it on their phones using the Wi-Fi signal,” Stallings said.
Under the new cable services, academic buildings will lose connection to cable, according to Stallings. After reaching out to Academic Affairs, Stallings said that it was found that cable is not frequently used in the academic buildings, and professors would still be able to access cable if a residential student in the class signed into their account.
According to Stallings, the new cable services — with its additional channels and viewing outlets — will come at no additional cost to residential students. Stallings said that as the College’s three-year contract with Comcast came to an end, they then offered a new five-year contract to the College, which offered the same service currently being provided to students with an increase in the rate of roughly 50 percent, or $100,000.
“I couldn’t justify paying that much more for what we already get, and that’s what ultimately led to us asking the questions about, ‘Are students evening using (cable)?’” Stallings said, referring to a survey sent out to residential students last semester that asked them to discuss their on-campus cable use. “We did learn that there’s still a contingent of students who are watching television... They are watching (television) traditionally, (with programs like) live shows, sporting, basketball, football, college football (and) the Oscars, etc… So we didn’t feel that we could completely go dark and students will be OK with that.”
Stallings said that the new services provided to students will actually cost the College less than the current one. He also noted that the investment that the College has placed in building the new infrastructure will help the College save money over time.
Stallings said that the new service provided the quickest way to give a better quality cable service without increasing pricing for room and board. According to Stallings, the new contract will be with Campus Televideo, a television programing service that specializes in providing programing to college residence halls, and will provide the services that Philo TV provides.
He said that when public institutions, like the College, do large contracts, they are required to go through a bidding process in the state of New Jersey in which private companies would bid to do the contract. Stallings said that since another public state college, William Paterson University, has a contract with Philo TV, the College was able to use that contract as a way to expedite the process.
“This is… the only thing we could do given the timing that we have,” Stallings said. “It would have taken probably months to a year to actually (go through the bidding process and replace the equipment) and I didn’t feel comfortable saying to students, ‘You’re going to be in the dark for an undetermined amount of time,’ so this was our only option because… there was an existing state contract that we could jump on.”
Some students expressed support for the new changes but also admit that online video streaming websites have traditionally kept them from watching cable television on campus.
“I haven’t really looked into it,” freshman biology major Alyssa Webster said of the program. “I’m more into Netflix… but since it’s (coming at no additional cost) I may want to look into it.”
Stallings said that the department of Residential Education and Housing will prepare residential students and provide them with resources in order to help them transition into the new service.
Door hangers and signs on napkin dispensers in Eickhoff Hall along information provided to community advisors (CAs) on campus will soon provide additional information to students in regards to the new services, according to the email.
If students experience any problems with the new cable services, they can contact Philo TV for support in troubleshooting cable connection problems.