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THE DAILY TARGUM
Welcome to Rutgers Dear New Students:
From the President’s Desk
Welcome! We are very glad that you have chosen to enroll at Rutgers as you join a long tradition of students developing their talents and interests “on the Banks.” RICHARD L. Rutgers places a high value on the undergraduate student experience and has worked hard to expand your learning opportunities. We want you to explore all the options available, such as our First Year Seminars, as you begin your education at Rutgers. The heart of a Rutgers education is, of course, the vital connection between our students and the gifted faculty members who teach and inspire them. I encourage you to get to know your professors and make the most of your opportunities for learning, inside and beyond the classroom. Just as important, get interested and get involved. Join a club, write
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for a publication, join a learning community, take part in student government, take advantage of our recreation programs or attend a public lecture on a fascinating topic outside your intended major. Some of MCCORMICK your most cherished Rutgers memories will come from these experiences. This is a special time in your life, and Rutgers is a remarkably diverse and dynamic public research university. My wish for each of you is that you take full advantage of your time at Rutgers and enjoy all we have to offer.
JOHN S. CLYDE . . . . . . . . . . EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ANGELINA Y. RHA . . . . . . . . . . MANAGING EDITOR CAITLIN MAHON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NEWS MATT STEELE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DESIGN MEGAN DIGUILIO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . OPINIONS SARA GRETINA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . UNIVERSITY DAN BRACAGLIA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ASSOCIATE PHOTOGRAPHY KYLE FRANKO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ASSOCIATE SPORTS SAM HELLMAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ASSOCIATE SPORTS AMANDA RAE CHATSKO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ASSOCIATE COPY MARY DIDUCH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ASSOCIATE NEWS CAGRI OZUTURK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ASSOCIATE NEWS
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Rutgers University Alma Mater
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I. My father sent me to old Rutgers, And resolv’d that I should be a man; And so I settled down, In that noisy college town, On the banks of the old Raritan. Chorus: On the banks of the old Raritan, my boys, Where old Rutgers ever more shall stand, For has she not stood since the time of the flood, On the banks of the old Raritan.
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II. Her ardent spirit stirred and cheered me From the day me college years began; Gracious Alma Mater mine; Learning’s fair and honored shrine; On the banks of the old Raritan. (Chorus)
IV. My heart clings closer than the ivy As life runs out its fleeting span, To the stately, ancient walls Of her hallowed, classic halls On the banks of the old Raritan. (Chorus)
III. I love her flaming far-flung banner I love her triumphs proud to scan, And I glory in her fame That’s immortalized her name. On the banks of the old Raritan. (Chorus)
V. Then sing aloud to Alma Mater, And keep the scarlet in the van’; For with her motto high, Rutgers’ name shall never die, On the banks of the old Raritan. (Chorus)
Targum Connection Dear Fellow Rutgers Students,
From the Editor’s Desk
On behalf of The Daily Targum, welcome to Rutgers! As the eighth-oldest college in the United States, Rutgers has a JOHN S. CLYDE long histor y and many traditions that you now have the opportunity to explore. On Jan. 29, 1869, more than 140 years ago, the Targum, then a monthly publication, began to chronicle that histor y and has become a part of the Rutgers tradition. The same year the Targum was founded, it reported the first ever intercollegiate football game, in which Rutgers defeated Princeton 6-4. The inspiration for our publication’s name came from the University’s vernacular during the era. The word “targum” literally means “interpretation” in Aramaic. In 1891, the paper became a weekly publication and it began publishing five days a week in 1956. Today, the paper publishes 17,000 newspapers each day classes are in session. Though a part of the Rutgers tradition, the Targum has long prided itself on being independent, in that it does not receive money directly from the University’s mandatory fees. Since the Targum became independent in 1980, students have voted to support the paper through a referendum process, which places an optional fee on students’ term bills. This funding helps the Targum pay for the printing and delivery of the paper and excel in its efforts to inform the community and to provide an educational experience for the more than 120 students on staff. The Targum is among the most prestigious newspapers in the country and continued its success last year, winning numerous local and national awards for excellence in student journalism. These awards included placing first in the Associated Collegiate Press National College Newspaper Convention Best of Show award category for four-year daily newspapers. The Targum won this award for its coverage of the 2008 presidential election in which staff writers and photographers covered the election onsite in Chicago, Ill. and Phoenix, Ariz. In addition to winning awards, Targum staff members have opportunities to learn marketable skills that can be used in many fields. Any interested student can join the paper and learn how to report news, sports and entertainment, shoot video, manage a webpage, take and edit photographs, write editorials, proofread articles, design graphics and much more. There are also opportunities for students to learn marketing and business management skills. In these difficult economic times the skills I have learned at the Targum have proved valuable in searching for jobs and internships in fields unrelated to journalism. As a learning institution, no experience is needed to get started and the Targum encourages students to get involved at any time during the year. To join the staff, visit our office at 26 Mine St. in New Brunswick Sunday through Thursday between 5 to 11 p.m. Our staff would be happy to speak with you about the opportunities we offer for students. If you cannot come to our office during this period or have a comment or suggestion for the Targum, email me at eic@dailytargum.com. John S. Clyde is the Editor-in-Chief of The Daily Targum and a School of Arts and Sciences senior.
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High retention rate yields largest student population BY MARY DIDUCH ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR
The University will see its highest enrollment in history as more than 53,700 new, returning, undergraduate and graduate students are projected to step foot on the University’s three campuses this fall. This 1,100 increase far exceeds last year’s record of 52,471 students, said Courtney McAnuff, vice president for Enrollment Management. McAnuff said the primar y reason for the growth is the increased retention rate, mostly due to last year’s record-breaking class. “While new student enrollment is projected to be up slightly, we have been able to limit [the] growth of first-year and transfer students,” he said. According to University admissions data, first-year applications actually decreased more than 3 percent from last year, but those who did apply had stronger academic credentials. The mean SAT of the incoming first-year class is about four points higher than the previous class, McAnuff said. According to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions’ Web site, the middle 50 percent of last year’s incoming class — previously the strongest academically in University history — had SAT scores in the range of 1720-1990. McAnuff said part of the reason for the growth stems from the University’s strong academic programs.
DAN BRACAGLIA/ ASSOCIATE PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
The large University population attracts famous musicians to New Brunswick during the annual Rutgersfest celebration. Last semester, N.E.R.D., Motion City Soundtrack and Ryan Leslie performed before the crowd of students.
“The University also of fers a reasonable cost for an outstanding academic and social experience,” he said. “Families are also considering staying closer to home as the economy has problems.” The economy has also led to an increase in transfer students, he said. “More students are starting out at community colleges as families struggle to pay higher education costs. With the STARS program in New Jersey, the community college becomes a more popular option, thus leading to an increase in transfer students to Rutgers in the future,” McAnuff said.
While first-year applications dwindled this year, transfer applications increased about 2.5 percent. On the New Brunswick campus alone, the number of enrolled transfer students increased more than 4 percent, according to University data. Busch Campus Dean Thomas Papathomas said the limited availability of jobs also keeps people in school. “The fact that people don’t find jobs makes them turn back to the University for graduate studies,” he said. More graduate students chose to be Scarlet Knights this year, as the number of new
student applications and admitted students increased, according to University data. Graduate student enrollment went up about 9 percent from last year. The University’s tradition of diversity is projected to continue despite a state reduction in Educational Opportunity Fund slots — state-funded grants and services available to qualified lowincome college students — and fewer minority students admitted this year, McAnuff said. New minority-student enrollment is actually expected to increase as more minority students have accepted their offers of admission, he said.
Throughout the University, the number of new first-year students dropped about 1 percent. In New Brunswick, this number went up about one percent, according to University data. Papathomas said the University’s scientific, academic and athletic successes have helped the University boost its popularity and keep students. “We have had a lot of successes on the field and off the field … We have different activities beyond the classroom to benefit students academically and socially,” he said. McAnuff said he thinks more students will apply in the future, but students should not expect their college experiences to suffer due to the increased number of students. “We expect classes to be available since increased enrollment provides additional revenue to allow more faculty and classes to be added to meet the demand,” he said. The University has even added significantly to the financial aid budget to meet the increased need in financial aid, McAnuff said. Papathomas said the combination of improved academics, great diversity and a large number of students is hard to achieve. “But this time,” he said, “we had the largest class in 30 years, the most qualified in terms of SAT scores and also the most diverse … Rutgers is finally getting to be appreciated by the residents of New Jersey.”
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Expanded stadium set to open for first football game BY CAITLIN MAHON NEWS EDITOR
As the Rutgers football team faces off against Cincinnati Sept. 7, nearly 11,000 more people will be able to support the University’s team inside the stadium’s walls. Two years after the controversial introduction and approval of the stadium expansion by the University Board of Governors, the stadium will open with an enclosed south end zone, among other amenities, at the final cost of $102 million that will be paid for by revenue generated from the stadium. “Besides the 11,000 seats, the scoreboard is going to be a high definition scoreboard that will measure 37-by-114 feet, and it should be phenomenal,” said Deputy Director of Athletics Kevin MacConnell. “There will be four new concession stands in that south end zone [and] restrooms so they’ll be able to accommodate the people in the new south end zone.” With several changes to the stadium, students will now be seated on the opposite side of the stadium from previous years. “All the students are going to sit in the south end zone,” MacConnell said. “They used to sit on the other side in the north end zone, but we’re putting them now in the south end zone with the new seats. [The north end zone seats] are sold as season tickets.” While the stadium will be open to the public Sept. 7, there are interior parts of the stadium that will not be completed until the end of the year, said Vice President of University
Facilities and Capital Planning Antonio Calcado. “There will be some work on the interior sections that will be buttoned up,” Calcado said. “There’s a stair tower on the west side that will still be under construction, [but] that’s not really critical to this piece at all. Probably some work out front, some graining, some paving [and] some painting I’m sure will still be happening.” MacConnell said naming rights for the completed stadium expansion are still up for grabs. “Right now, it’s still something that’s being worked on and worked through, but there’s no one that’s close to having the naming rights. The athletic department [is actively seeking someone],” MacConnell said. As for tickets, he said season ticket sales are going well but are not sold out at this time. “We just introduced a mini plan last week, and those are going well, where you can buy the four Big East games or you can pick three games, including two conferences and one non-conference,” MacConnell said. “So we’re still selling; we have six [more] weeks to sell and so far, so good.” MacConnell said he did not know the number of tickets sold so far but Calcado said there is a demand for stadium tickets. “We are adding over 11,000 seats and there is a tremendous demand for the seating,” Calcado said. “I think it’s a real plus, not just for the athletic program, but a real plus for Rutgers as a whole and certainly puts us in a good light. I think it’s extremely popular across the state.”
As for student tickets, the firstcome, first-serve claim process will still stand from past years unless students opt to pay for student season tickets. “I think it’s two weeks before each game [that] you can go online and claim your ticket. It’s first-come, first-serve; we didn’t do a lottery last year. Once you go [online] and grab [a ticket], it’s yours. There’s no lottery,” MacConnell said. “We’re offering [student] season student tickets again … and they’re the same as last year, $77, and what it does is it guarantees you tickets for every game and it’s a onetime [purchase].”
For any road games, four of which are driving distance from the University, students will need to pay for their tickets but prices will var y from game to game, MacConnell said. The completion of the stadium comes after controversy among students, faculty and staff members who raised concerns in early 2008 before the Board of Governors. Concerns ranged from other University areas in need of renovation to transportation issues to funds being allocated to the stadium that could be placed toward academics. But University President Richard L. McCormick stated
his position ver y early on that the project would not take any funds away from academics, salaries for faculty and staff or ser vices for students. “Over time, in fact, additional revenue from the expanded stadium will allow us to reduce the current subsidy of athletics and invest more University funds in academics, student life and other priorities,” McCormick said in a letter. “Why aren’t we spending $102 million on fixing classrooms, restoring class sections and hiring faculty instead? The fact is that we don’t — and won’t — have this money unless we add the stadium seating to generate it.”
DAN BRACAGLIA/ ASSOCIATE PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
The new south end zone features a 37-by-114 foot high-definition scoreboard, concession stands and restrooms to accomodate University students sitting in that section.
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New program eases first-year transition BY GREG FLYNN CORRESPONDENT
GRAPHIC BY MATT STEELE/ DESIGN EDITOR
Following tuition hikes of 8.5 percent in 2008 and 7.8 percent in 2007, a new University mandate limits raising the in-state term bill rates.
Change in state budget caps tuition increases BY CAGRI OZUTURK ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR
The University Board of Governors approved the resolution limiting tuition and fee raises to 3 percent at their July 14 meeting, held at Winants Hall on the College Avenue campus. The 3 percent limit comes after tuition rises of 8.5 percent last year and 7.8 percent the year before that, due in part to state budget cuts the University received in those respective years. “The fee increases are modest at 3 percent. It is a part of the state budget language, which caps tuition at that level and also as a result of our own decision-making to keep it there,” President Richard L. McCormick said. Full-time, in-state tuition for the 2009-2010 school year will be $9,546. Aside from the tuition, other items of the term bill that have risen include housing and residence education by 4.7 to 5 percent, dining and meal plan by 3.5 to 5 percent and the annual campus, school and computer fees for the School of Ar ts and Sciences rose to $2,340 from last year. “We were ver y seriously considering limiting tuition raises even before the start of the economic crisis. As President McCormick said even before the state mandated the cap, we were sensitive to the economic difficulties that the parents are facing,” Executive Vice President of Student Af fairs Philip J. Furmanski said. The mandate to cap tuition and fee increases were a part of the language changes added by the State Assembly to the original New Jersey budget bill recommended by Gov. Jon S. Corzine. The language of the state budget states that in order to receive money from the original stimulus package, senior
public institutions of higher education must confirm that they cap their tuition increases to 3 percent. “While we hadn’t fixed on a number, we didn’t exactly say 3 percent,” Furmanski said. “We did say before the ver y start of the budget process that we were going to limit the tuition rise ver y seriously.” He said regardless of what the state does, students can be assured that tuition increases will be subject to consideration for both quality and accessibility. The 3 percent is only for the current year since neither the state nor the administration made a decision on whether the mandate will extend until next year, Furmanski said. “We are now working with our deans and unit heads to determine what programs and ser vices will be restored,” he said. “The primar y emphasis will be on our educational and research activities.” Next year will feature the largest enrollment in University histor y, with more than 53,000 students in the fall, Furmanski said. “Most of the increase [in enrollment] is due to our success in retaining students, and that we owe a great deal to our financial aid office, which more than ever is working to make sure our students have more than they need to be able to keep coming to Rutgers,” McCormick said. There has been unprecedented demand in the financial aid office; a lot of our students are coming back with changed family circumstances, Furmanski said. Mandatory fees are campus and school fees, which include health, student, library and other services, he said. The Board of Governors announced they will allocate an additional $2 million to student financial aid. The working budget for fiscal year 2009-2010 is $1.9 billion.
With 53,000 enrolled students, 7,000 staff and faculty members and countless academic departments spread out over five campuses, feeling a bit overwhelmed is not uncommon among firstyear University students. A new University program, MAP-Works, is designed to help first-year students make a smoother transition to University life. “The program allows early identification of students who are struggling with making this transition and it allows us to get them connected to programs, ser vices and advisers that can help them,” said Vice President of Student Affairs Gregor y S. Blimling. “The earlier we identify students having trouble, the more likely it is that we can find a way to help them.” On Sept. 21, 2009 a link to the MAP-Works sur vey will be e-mailed to students, MAPWorks coordinator Michael Miragliotta said. After completing the sur vey in about 20 minutes, the link will direct students to a Rutgers MAP-Works log-in, he said. Students can then log into MAP-Works to read, review and use their student report. Executive Director of Residence Life Joan Carbone said after the student fills out the sur vey, they will receive a student-friendly report that tells them how they compare to the other first-year students and what they might do to improve their likelihood of success. “The survey data will be analyzed and the participating advisory staff and faculty will imme-
diately know who among the students are at risk so that they can reach out to them and provide help,” Carbone said. Executive Director of Residence Life Jennifer Frost said the program has involvement from faculty members, academic advisers, counselors, deans and student affairs staff, among others. “As depar tments realize what a great resource MAPWorks is to students and to their departments in being able
“We want to improve the lives of first-year students at Rutgers ... we care about every single student.” JOAN CARBONE Executive Director of Residence Life
to connect with students and positively impact the student’s transition, they are excited to get on board,” she said. Departments that are participating can actually contact each other through the system, Carbone said. “So for example, an academic adviser who is told by a student that she or he has a roommate problem and it’s impacting his or her academics can immediately notify the student’s hall director, who can help the student with that problem,” Carbone said. A shorter follow-up survey on Nov. 9 will help faculty and staff know how to follow-up with students, and it will help students see how they have changed after
three months at the University, Miragliotta said. Frost said MAP-Works was developed by Ball State University in conjunction with Educational Benchmarking Institute to address several issues affecting student retention in higher education. “They were finding that firstyear students arrived with unrealistic expectations of college surrounding their academics, their grades and their social lives,” Frost said. “This impacted the way students prepared and approached their first year in college, often causing students to leave school prematurely.” Carbone said large universities cannot offer personalized help for ever yone, but MAPWorks allows staff and faculty to focus on the students having the most difficult time. “We want to improve the lives of first-year students at Rutgers and let them know that we may be large, but we care about ever y single student,” Carbone said. Miragliotta said many students do not ask for help they may need, but ever y school has resources to help students with any issue that may arise. “Students do not seek out or ask about these resources, and it is my hope that MAP-Works will put finding these resources at the freshmen’s fingertips,” he said. Miragliotta wants first-year and transfer students to enjoy the University, achieve good grades and get more involved. “Nothing makes me happier than hearing a student saying that they love Rutgers,” Miragliotta said.
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Obama endorses Corzine, addresses health care plans BY CHRIS ZAWISTOWSKI
1,157,385 The number of votes Gov. Jon S. Corzine received in the 2005 New Jersey Gubernatorial election. This number is nearly 100,000 — about 8 percent — less than Jim McGreevey’s support in 2001
$100,000,000 The combined amount Corzine spent on his other two runs for office. He has declined comment on his budget this year but said he hopes to not spend as much
53,000 The number of people who requested tickets to see the Corzine rally on July 16 with President Barack Obama
41 percent Corzine’s approval rating as of July 14, compared to Chris Christie’s 53 percent
5,207,901 The number of registered voters in the state of New Jersey
10/13/09 The last day to register to vote in this year’s general election
STAFF WRITER
HOLMDEL, N.J. — President Barack Obama joined Gov. Jon S. Corzine and more than 17,000 people July 16 at a re-election rally in the PNC Bank Arts Center. Trailing Republican gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie in a recent Quinnipiac University poll by 12 points, Corzine elicited the support of the popular president to help energize his campaign. “It’s good to be back in New Jersey,” Obama said, opening his speech to a roaring crowd. Obama spent much of his time at the podium praising Corzine for his accomplishments as governor, including reducing state property taxes, reforming education and planning economic recovery. “Behind me stands a man who wakes up everyday and thinks about your future and the future of New Jersey, and that man is Jon Corzine,” Obama said. After commending the governor for his leadership while in office, Obama expressed his optimism for recovering from the state of the economy and the need for more clean energy and higher-paying jobs. “I am absolutely confident we will weather this economic storm,” the president said. He noted the need to restructure the economy once it rebounds. “We have to lay a new foundation that will allow the United States of America to thrive and compete in the global economy,” Obama said. The president addressed his plans for health care reform and stressed the need for immediate change. “The fact is that health care affects the financial well-being and security of ever y single American — even those who have health insurance,” Obama said. The president denounced the critics of his plan and the many who cringe at its price tag.
“We have reached a point where inaction is not an option,” Obama said. Corzine spoke before the president, lauding Obama for his leadership and his pursuit of the common goal of “quality, affordable health care reform for all.” “With a partner in the White House, there is no limit on what we can accomplish,” Corzine said. The governor followed suit with jabs at his critics and — though unmentioned — his rival Christie. “The same people who failed miserably in the White House now want you to hand over the keys to the Statehouse,” Corzine said as the crowd booed loudly. Representatives from Christie’s campaign did not respond to e-mail and phone interview requests before press time. But Christie posted a video on his Web site extending a “warm, New Jersey welcome” to the president. “Last year when you ran for president, your campaign gave people great hope that change could come to America,” Christie said in the video. “But your election didn’t end the people’s hunger for change here in New Jersey. They know that to get the change we need in New Jersey, we have need to start by changing governors.” Christie said he would invite the president back to the state once he was sworn in as New Jersey’s chief in January. Christie has proved a tough opponent for the incumbent Corzine, with all polls showing the governor down anywhere from 7 to 13 percent, Associate Director of the Eagleton Institute of Politics John Weingart said. There is a hope in the Corzine campaign that some of Obama’s popularity rubs off on the governor, he said. “The president’s visit will get a lot of attention, and I think the chances are good that Corzine will pick up a couple of points in the polls,” Weingart said.
“Whether that is lasting or not, nobody can know.” He said Corzine hopes to gain campaign workers and enthusiasm among supporters and potential supporters through this rally. But will he win in the fall? “Could go either way; it could be close, and it could be that one candidate gets momentum and charges ahead by a sizeable margin,” Weingar t said, noting it is still ver y early in the election. The original location for the rally, set for Voorhees Mall on the College Avenue campus, was moved because of space and security issues, said President of the Rutgers University Democrats Alex Holodak. Holodak, who was involved in the planning of the event at the University, said the Secret Ser vice was not comfortable with the security situation at Voorhees Mall. Space too quickly became scarce at the Voorhees Mall site, as 52,000 ticket requests were placed within two days, he said. Rutgers Stadium posed a security issue for Secret Ser vice with expansion construction occurring in the end zone, Holodak said. “They really had no choice but to find a venue that was available and had a ver y good layout for security and getting in and out and that would accommodate more people,” Holodak said. “It was a heartbreak; we just really wanted it to be at Rutgers, but it is understandable why [it wasn’t] and we just decided we will take Rutgers to the PNC Bank Arts Center.” The move 20 miles south did not deter University students and af filiates from attending the event and the chance to see the president. “Obama is the big thing that sold me on this and made me come,” said Jersey City resident Adrian Caballero, an incoming School of Arts and Sciences firstyear student.
ANDREW HOWARD/ PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR DAN BRACAGLIA/ ASSOCIATE PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
“Working together to keep New Jersey working” graced the signs held at the rally by Corzine supporters.
Obama cites Corzine’s past accomplishments and relays his faith in the governor to pull the state out of its economic slump.
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DAN BRACAGLIA/ ASSOCIATE PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
President Barack Obama joins Gov. Jon S. Corzine on July 16 at a re-election rally at the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, N.J.
DAN BRACAGLIA/ ASSOCIATE PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
Nearly 17,500 supporters came to the rally despite the change in venue orginally set for the University.
ANDREW HOWARD/ PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
Supporters reach out to Obama as he leaves the stage and walks among audience members.
ANDREW HOWARD/ PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
Obama greets his supporters as he made his way to the podium to deliver his endorsement speech, his first political visit since his inauguration.
DAN BRACAGLIA/ ASSOCIATE PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
The president also used the platform to discuss his new health care reform policy and the ailing economy.
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ROTC summer training enhances leadership skills Cadets master their rifle marksmanship and enter a gas chamber to prepare for battle scenarios, he said. “There are a lot of things at LDAC I take with the same mindset — ‘This is part of the training, I know I’m not going to get hurt or die from it, people have done it before me’ — and you just go in there and do it and deal with it,” Cotter said about entering a gas
BY RACHEL GILLETT STAFF WRITER
Hand-to-hand-combat, land navigation and combat water survival may sound intimidating to the average civilian, but for 23 Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps students, these exercises are preparation for military battle. The Leadership Development Assessment Course is the pinnacle-training event for an Army ROTC cadet; one must successfully complete the 31-day camp during the summer at Ft. Lewis in Washington State to become a second lieutenant in the Army. “The [LDAC] … is an intense, five-week long event that will test each of the cadets’ wit and grit as they attempt to complete a series of military exercises,” said University College Class of 2009 Hector J. Mariscal and School of Arts and Sciences Class of 2009 Michael Baur, cadet second lieutenants, in a letter to The Daily Targum. LDAC incorporates a wide range of demanding challenges designed to develop and evaluate leadership ability. “When they send you here they’re evaluating you on your leadership potential. That’s what it’s all about,” said Russell Cotter, incoming battalion commander of the Scarlet Knight Battalion and a School of Engineering junior. “Leadership excellence is one the models of ROTC. It’s on the patch that we wear on our shoulder.”
“The key to success is [to] help your buddy out. It’s what it’s all about ... You can’t do it just yourself.” RUSSELL COTTER Commander of the Scarlet Knight Battalion
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chamber. “You go in there and take your mask off and it’s hard to breath and you’re coughing and stuff, but pretty much you just do what you’ve got to do.” These exercises, which include rappelling and obstacle courses, are aimed to prepare cadets for a 10-day mock deployment to the fictional countr y of “Palomas,” Marsical and Baur said. “The entire 10-day event is conducted on the move, with
cadets living out of their rucksack and not knowing the luxury of a shower or hot food,” they said. This mock deployment represents contemporary war environments and scenarios the Army faces today. Cadets utilize their training learned in the past three years of ROTC to conduct ambushes, defensive operations or reconnaissance, they said. During these exercises, each cadet is placed in a variety of leadership positions, including squad leader, platoon leader and company commander. Each day cadets rotate into the different positions and are evaluated on how well they lead their squad or the platoon. “The key to success is [to] help your buddy out,” Cotter said. “It’s what it’s all about. Even though it’s your turn to get evaluated a certain day, it’s all about how well your team supports you because you need them to succeed. You can’t do it just yourself.” There are many skills a cadet takes away from this experience. He said these skills include confidence and command presence, interpersonal skills and the ability to delegate and motivate, he said. “If you get everybody motivated, it’s going to be fun, you’re going to produce better results and the day’s going to go quicker,” he said. Confidence and command presence require an officer to
COURTESY OF HECTOR J. MARISCAL
The 31-day Leadership Development Assessment Course in Ft. Lewis, Washington puts the students in mock-combat situations. give clear, direct orders, Cotter said. An officer must give subordinates a direction and a purpose. “If you’re on an ambush or a deliberate attack and you know you’re shooting rounds down range and you’ve got the M.E. there, and you’re directing your squad and different teams and you’re telling people what to do and where you need them, you’ve got to give them clear direction and purpose in what your intent is,” he said. “You’ve got to be loud enough to command and control everything.”
GOT QUESTIONS ABOUT - College-level academics - Research - Rutgers history - University facilities - The best places on campus to read - Other university related issues
Coming away from the course, Cotter said while cadets still do not have experience being deployed overseas and there is much more to learn, these new second lieutenants now have all the basic tools for success. “At the end of LDAC you receive an overall evaluation from the person that evaluates you, and on my card it says ‘ready to be a platoon leader, ready to go.’ No doubt about it, I feel confident, 100 percent,” he said.
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ASK US NOW!
Ask your question through the Rutgers University Libraries' online Ask A Librarian service. Most questions are answered within a few hours. The Ask A Librarian service is available in the black horizontal navigation bar, on the frontpage of the Libraries’ website.
www.libraries.rutgers.edu THE RUTGERS UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES - THE PLACE TO GO, WHEN YOU NEED TO KNOW! We're interested in learning who reads our ads. If you're one of the first 20 people who contacts our communications director, Harry Glazer, via Facebook, he'll send you a small 'Welcome to Rutgers' gift from the Libraries. Please include your mailing address and mention that you saw this ad.
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Helpful Hints, Web sites for incoming students The countdown to the end of the summer has started. With only a month left before the first day of classes, students should start preparing for life at the University. Here are some ways to stay ahead of the RU Screw.
SUMMER ORIENTATIONS begin at 9:45 a.m. in the Student Activities Center located on George Street on the College Avenue campus. The program will assimilate new students to life at Rutgers-New Brunswick while simultaneously introduce them to their fellow classmates. Orientations are two days each, with an overnight stay in on-campus housing on the College Avenue campus. Students should know their NetID and password, which can be created at www.ugadmissions.rutgers.edu/pathway/login.asp, have their Scarlet Guide book, supplies for an overnight stay, comfortable clothing for outside activities and a can of non-perishable food for the Rutgers Against Hunger initiative. Doors open at 8:30 a.m. and students are asked to arrive no later than 9:15 a.m. For more information go to nso.rutgers.edu. The RUCONNECTION CARD is the student’s key to the University. It is used in the dinning halls, computer labs, recreation centers, residence halls, student centers, libraries and much more. The photo for the ID card can be taken at the Housing Offices and RU Express/Board Plan Office on all the New Brunswick/Piscataway campuses. If your photo has not been taken yet, coordinate an appointment as soon as possible. Find more information at ruconnection.rutgers.edu.
CLASS REGISTRATION is typically prepared for new students. But if you don’t like your schedule or want to explore more options go to webreg.rutgers.edu. This portal allows you to manually arrange your schedule through the use of five-digit index codes. The entire schedule of classes can be found at soc.ess.rutgers.edu/soc. Before rearranging your schedule talk to a dean or go to Degree Navigator at dn.rutgers.edu. This application keeps a record of completed and current classes, as well as requirements for majors and minors. Note that many upper-level classes require pre-requisite classes or permission from the department.
DON’T FORGET TO PAY YOUR TERM BILL. In order to conserve costs, the University does not send paper bills to your home address. To find a summary of your financial accounts go to my.rutgers.edu, click on “Rutgers Bills” and use your NetID and password to sign in. Aug. 6 is the last day to make payments without paying a late fee. CHECK YOUR MAIL. To receive University notifications, important announcements from professors and stay in touch with mom and dad, remember to check your mail by logging into webmail.rutgers.edu or my.rutgers.edu on a daily basis. STAY CONNECTED. Utilize facebook.com and twitter.com to keep in touch with everyone, including your friends, family, professors, celebrities and politicians, as well as campus groups and organizations. Both sites are also great tools to use to meet new people through your friends. RU HUNGRY?
For those late night study sessions or early morning cravings, use scarletmenus.com to peruse menus for most off-campus restaurants and pizzerias. Many of them will deliver straight to your residence hall even in the early a.m. for a small fee. Before you leave for breakfast in the morning, go to food.rutgers.edu to view menus for each meal for all campus dining halls.
WHEN IS THE NEXT BUS?
Instead of waiting at the closest stop to your residence hall for your bus to class, log onto nextbus.com to see when the next bus will be coming. Standing at a bus stop waiting for your bus wastes your time and as a student, time is everything.
HOW ARE YOUR PROFESSORS? Find out ahead of time with ratemyprofessors.com, where students who have taken your classes with the same professor comment on the class and how your professor will be for the semester. LOOKING FOR A JOB OR JUST A LOCAL ACTIVITY? Utilize craigslist.org for just about everything. Find jobs, housing, goods, services and local activities on craigslist.com. You can create an account and find what you are looking for all across the United States and in various languages.
T H E DA I LY TA R G U M
RU CONNECTION
Rutgers A-Z BY HEATHER BROOKHART METRO EDITOR
Alexander — For those who need a quiet place to study, this library on the College Avenue campus is open around the clock during exams and is one of the most comprehensive libraries at the University. ARC — Allison Road Classroom building. Located on Busch campus, the ARC contains classrooms, a computer lab and a Math and Science Learning Center. BCC — Busch Campus Center. Located on Busch campus right next to Busch Dining Hall, here you can find a food court, convenience store, post office, arcade and much more. The BCC is a great place to relax and is the main hub of Busch campus. Bishop Beach — Located on the College Avenue campus in front of the Bishop House, you won’t find any sand on this beach, but this area makes for a great place to lay out and enjoy the sun in the warmer months, play games outside with your friends or just to take a break from classes. On any given day you can find students playing guitars, throwing around a football or just hanging out with friends. CCC — Cook Campus Center. At the CCC on Cook campus you can find a computer lab, Cook Campus Café and Market and multipurpose rooms. DCC — Douglass Campus Center. Here at the DCC on Douglass campus you can find a computer lab, Douglass Café, Pizza Uno, post office, Mabel’s convenience store, Reprographics and a lot more. Stop by the Douglass Café during certain times to use a meal from your meal plan toward food at the café. Grease Trucks — Your one-stop shop for fat sandwiches in New Brunswick! The fat sandwich comes in all different varieties but mainly consists of a sub sandwich roll and any combination of French fries, chicken fingers, cheeseburgers and mozzarella sticks you can think of. Hurtado — The Hurtado Health Center on the College Avenue campus is a good place to be familiarized with in case you get sick and need medical attention. Located next to Clothier Hall, it offers general primary care, treatment programs, laboratory tests and physical examinations. Passion Puddle — Right by the bus stops on Douglass campus is a scenic pond surrounded by greenery, better known as Passion Puddle. The Puddle is a place to meet friends, study or just relax. RU Chant — Be sure to memorize the RU Chant before attending one of the football games, because you’ll be hearing this song a lot! The RU Chant is the spirit song we sing in the audience to cheer on the Scarlet Knights. The lyrics are, “R-U Rah Rah, R-U Rah Rah, Hoo-Rah! Hoo-Rah! Rutgers Rah! Upstream Red Team, Red Team Upstream, Rah! Rah! Rutgers Rah!” RUPA — The Rutgers University Programming Association is the official programming council of the University that develops hundreds of events each year just for students. In past years, RUPA has arranged concerts at the University with artists such as Saves the Day, Third Eye Blind, Gym Class Heroes and Ludacris. They hold events all throughout the year with ever ything ranging from comedians to hypnotists to dance performers, but their biggest event of the school year is Rutgersfest — an all-out carnival and concert. The RU Screw — Didn’t fulfill a requirement for your major? Dropped a class you needed and can’t get back in? Didn’t know that you had to take that one last class? Then you’re a victim of the famous RU Screw. Most find the red tape at the University annoying and a disadvantage of the University’s large population. RSC — Rutgers Student Center. Located on the College Avenue campus, the RSC is home to the Atrium food court, computer lab, multipurpose rooms, arcade, convenience store, the Red Lion Café and more! Come here to grab a bite to eat from the food court, study at the Red Lion Café or just hang out with friends. SERC — Science and Engineering Resource Center. Located on Busch campus, there is a Center for Math, Science and Computer Education as well as numerous classrooms. The Towers — Consists of the North and South Tower residence halls on Livingston campus. Stop by the South Tower Café to enjoy coffee or tea or just to study. The Quads — The Quads on Livingston campus consists of Quad One, Quad Two and Quad Three residence halls. Each individual Quad is connected underground through the “tunnels.” Voorhees Mall — While there are no shopping stores at Voorhees Mall, this grassy stretch of land is home to the statue of Silent Willie and the main academic and administration buildings such as Murray Hall, Scott Hall and Van Dyck Hall. Here you can also find the Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum, which houses the most extensive collection of Russian nonconformist art in the world and is free to all students. WebReg — The University’s web registration system used to create your class schedule. Access www.webreg.rutgers.edu to add and drop your classes.
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CALENDAR AUGUST Come out to the Rutgers Gardens on Ryders Lane on Cook campus every Friday between May 1 and October 30 from 1 to 6 p.m. and shop at the Farmers Market. The market provides a variety of products grown and produced locally, such as buffalo meat, cheese, vegetables, poultry and baked goods. For more information, go to http://www.rutgersgardens.rutg ers.edu/farmmarket.htm.
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The annual Student Involvement Fair will take place from 2 to 6 p.m. on the College Avenue campus at Voorhees Mall. From greek life to theater to athletic clubs and more, hundreds of organizations come out to recruit and share with the University community. Check out this once a year opportunity to get a taste of all there is to do at the University. In case of inclement weather, the fair will be located in the College Avenue Gym and Rutgers Student Center on the College Avenue campus.
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Regular fall semester classes begin.
Disillusioned with mass media? Constantly surrounded by social injustices and feel like you need to report it? Have a knack for storytelling and writing non-fiction? Then come to The Daily Targum’s writers meetings on Wednesday nights in the S-lounge of the Rutgers Student Center on the fourth floor for your first steps into the dynamic world of journalism.
The College Avenue Council will meet for the first time this semester at 7:45 p.m. in the Rutgers Student Center on the College Avenue campus. For more information on the council, attend this meeting or contact CAC President Kacper Strak at kstrak@eden.r utgers.edu.
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There will be no classes for Labor Day.
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Classes will be following a Monday schedule. There will be no Tuesday classes this week.
The first Scarlet Knights football game will begin at 4 p.m. at Rutgers Stadium on Busch campus. Tickets for each game are free and available on a first come, first ser ve basis. Season tickets can be purchased for $70 at scarletknights.com.
The Busch Campus Council will meet for the first time this semester and ever y other Tuesday thereafter at 8:10 p.m. in 116ABC of the Busch Campus Center. For more information on the council, attend this meeting or contact BCC President Shaival Shah at shaival@eden.r utgers.edu.
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Rutgers University History & Traditions History of Rutgers University Rutgers University, the nation’s eighth University, was first chartered as Queen’s College in 1766. In 1825, the University was renamed to honor the investment and involvement made by philanthropist and revolutionary war hero Col. Henry Rutgers. In 1864, Rutgers gained recognition as the state’s land-grant institution. Fast-forward to 1924, and one will find that Rutgers College has become Rutgers University, and in 1956 the University became The State University of New Jersey. By 1989, the University was acknowledged as a Public Research University and 2007 saw the University consolidate the different schools into the School of Arts and Sciences. Now, the University holds more than 53,000 students and 9,000 faculty members. The Cannon Wars Rutgers students are notorious for painting Princeton’s cannon red before football games between the two teams. The legend is that during the revolutionary war, the cannon belonged to Rutgers. After repeated thefts, accusations, a debate between the two presidents of the universities and a heated rivalry, the cannon ended up at Princeton, cemented to the ground so that no one can steal it again.
Rutgers colors, mascot and the symbol The University color was originally supposed to be orange to symbolize its Dutch roots, but because orange cloth was not available in New Brunswick at the time, the color scarlet was chosen. The original mascot of the school was a fighting rooster named Chanticleer. After some name-calling, including the “Rutgers chickens,” the mascot was changed to the Scarlet Knights. The Rutgers motto is “Sol iustitiae et occidentem illustra,” which means “Sun of righteousness, shine upon the West also.” The alma mater is “On the Banks of the Old Raritan.” Rutgers Party Nights Along with having exceptionally social students, the University involves a tradition of students traveling to College Avenue on “Thirsty Thursday” to not only join in on the festivities but to watch the festivalgoers. Indeed, one can have as much fun observing the revelry as participating in it.
— Cagri Ozuturk
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SIX PLACES TO GO IN NEW BRUNSWICK
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I’s Café 42 Easton Ave. (908) 938-8858 www.is-café.com Hours: Open Daily from 10 to 1 a.m.
DAN BRACAGLIA/ ASSOCIATE PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
The teas, coffees and treats available at I’s Café are a healthy alternative to those seeking a quick snack. The café’s late hours and free wireless Internet keep students coming back for more.
Iris Chang, a 2001 Douglass College graduate, opened I’s Cafe to bring her native signature teas from Taiwan to New Brunswick. The café, in its eighth year of business, is home to healthy, organic and natural treats, teas and coffee. A popular item on the menu is bubble tea, which comes in every flavor imaginable and is dairy free. The bubbles — pearls of tapioca dipped in honey — are cooked freshly every hour, and the tea is made from leaves, not bags or powder. I’s Café also offers frozen tart yogurt with fruit, ice cream, pastries and smoothies, most within the student-friendly $3 to $4 range. University students can buy a large size for the price of a small and can benefit from the café’s free wireless Internet.
Hotoke Restaurant 350 George St. (732) 246-8999 www.hotokerestaurant.com Hours: View Web site Asian food lovers in New Brunswick can find refuge at Hotoke, a pan-Asian restaurant that serves Chinese, Japanese and Thai cuisine, in addition to sushi. While the entrees run steep at around $25 to $30, sushi rolls are more moderately priced, at about $6 to $8 for regular rolls and about $10 for signature rolls. Hotoke is also the site of nightly entertainment, where the restaurant’s bar and lounge play hose to DJ’s and parties. Now going into its third year of business, Hotoke also hosts events planned by fraternities, sororities and other University groups.
DAN BRACAGLIA/ ASSOCIATE PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
Hotoke Restaurant on George Street, which features pan-Asian cuisine, may be pricey for some University students, but their sushi rolls typically run under $10.
State Theatre 15 Livingston Ave. (732) 246-SHOW (7469) www.statetheatrenj.org
ISIAH STEWART/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
The State Theatre hosts many performances, events and shows throughout the year, such as Rutgers University Programming Association’s world-record gathering of the most Where Waldo’s in one place last semester.
Located in downtown New Brunswick is the State Theatre, which hosts a variety of shows and performances from concerts, orchestras, operas, dances, theater groups and comedians year-round. Some past shows featured a Beatles tribute band, Wayne Wright, Bill Cosby, “Rent,” the San Francisco Symphony, Momix, the New York Philharmonic and other world-famous performers, actors and musicians. But the State Theatre gives its guests more than a great show. It also offers meet and greets with the artists, receptions, happy hour, merchandise, ticket giveaways, and dance and theater workshops. University students can get tickets for half-off or purchase tickets to special events for only $10 at the Student Activities Center on George Street. Some future performances include Lewis Black, the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, Jim Gaffigan and a production of “The Grapes of Wrath” by The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey.
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SIX PLACES TO GO IN NEW BRUNSWICK
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Stuff Yer Face 49 Easton Ave. (732) 247-1727 www.stuffyerface.com Hours: Open Daily from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m.
BRENDAN MCINERNEY/ SENIOR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
With more than one billion possible combinations of their signature “boli” and wide selection of beers at student-friendly prices, Stuff Yer Face is sure to have something for everyone.
Stuf f Yer Face has been a New Brunswick favorite since 1977 and is a blend of the college and local atmospheres. The restaurant of fers many American classics, all in the $6 to $15 range, but its most popular item on the menu is its signature Stromboli, or “boli” for short. Stuff Yer Face boasts more than 35 different varieties of bolis on the menu. Customers can even make their own boli and choose from over one billion possible combinations. The restaurant also has a popular bar and wide beer selection for those of age, but its outdoor seating and warm atmosphere make it welcoming for all.
Kairo Kafe 76 Bayard St. (732) 545-2476 www.kairokafe.com Hours: Lunch Monday – Saturday 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Dinner Monday – Wednesday 5 p.m. to 11 p.m., Thursday 5 p.m. to 12 a.m., Fridays and Saturdays 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. Kairo Kafe is a Mediterranean restaurant with an American flair. While the restaurant has plenty of Mediterranean staples such as falafels, shish kabobs and Egyptian fiteers, it also serves American classics such as hamburgers, sliders and buffalo wings. Whether guests prefer to sit outside, inside or in the comfortable lounge with couches, they can be sure to find lively entertainment along with the food. Live music is available on Wednesday and Thursday nights and a belly dancer on Thursday and Friday nights. The restaurant also serves 30 flavors of hookah, ranging from exotic flavors like white chocolate to the more traditional ones like watermelon. The entrees run from $6 to $20, but the restaurant hosts a lunch special, where customers can get soup, salad, dessert and fries for $7.95. DAN BRACAGLIA/ ASSOCIATE PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
Laugh off some of the stress from your classes at downtown New Brunswick’s comedy club, bar and restaurant, The Stress Factory.
Stress Factory Comedy Club 90 Church St. (732) 545-HAHA (4242) www.stressfactory.com Stress Factory has been New Brunswick’s premier comedy club, restaurant and bar since 1992. Owners Vinnie and Vicki Brand wanted to create a comedy club that differed from the more uptight clubs found in New York City. Its $13 cover charge, laid-back, friendly atmosphere and audience incorporation gives the Stress Factory its unique personality. For University students, special promotions are often available, sometimes unannounced, so it’s best to always show an RUID card and reserve seats in advance. Famous comedians such as Ray Romano, Chris Rock, Chris Titus and Kevin James have all graced Stress Factory’s stage, and upcoming performers include Tony Rock, Dave Attell, Adam Ferrara and Bill Burr. DAN BRACAGLIA/ ASSOCIATE PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
Hookah, belly dancers and Egyptian favorites transport customers across the Atlantic at this local Mediterranean-American restaurant and lounge.
BY MARY DIDUCH ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR
RU CONNECTION
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New courses explore recent global challenges BY AMIT JANI STAFF WRITER
Instead of taking the typical firstyear classes of calculus and expository writing this fall, first-year students will have the opportunity to study war, energy and extinction in three new courses offered by the School of Arts and Sciences. The three courses, “War: Critical Perspectives,” “Extinction” and “Energy and Climate” are the first classes being offered as part of the School of Arts and Sciences’ new Signature Courses starting in September and are all three and four-credits. “This is a really nice time to be an undergraduate at Rutgers because there’s a lot more focus on the course work and the connections that the school is trying to help the students make,” said Assistant Dean and Director for First-Year Advising Julie Traxler. The courses are offered to all students, but are mainly targeted toward first-year students and sophomores. The School of Arts and Sciences Signature Courses are designed to introduce students to
SPORTS Want to find a fun after class activity, make new friends and tr y your hand at various sports? Rutgers Recreation has over 50 intramural sports leagues throughout the year. Students of all ages and skill levels can participate as a free agent, create a team of their own or even volunteer as a sports official — and make some money while doing it. For all the details on how to get involved in the various men’s, women’s and coed sports, visit www1.recreation.rutger s.edu/Content/Intramu rals.asp or visit your local campus gym for more information. Intramural sports include: • Volleyball • Outdoor soccer • Flag football • Beach volleyball • Tennis • Basketball • Ultimate Frisbee • Softball • Kickball Besides intramurals, there are various club sports, including: • Roller hockey • Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu • Table tennis • Ski/snowboard • Fencing • Rugby • Lacrosse • Paintball • Equestrian • RoadRunners For a full list see http://sportclubs.rutgers. edu/MainFrameset.html.
questions of lasting importance, according to the School of Arts and Sciences Web site. Each course is made of lectures and small discussion sections and count for various School of Arts and Sciences requirements. “The Signature Courses are taught by faculty members who are not only intellectual leaders in their fields of specialization but also edge-of-your-seat, spell-binding lecturers,” said Dean for Education Initiatives and the Core Curriculum Susan Lawrence. “The grand lectures are supplemented with small enrollment section meetings lead by outstanding [teaching assistants].” Assistant Professor of Anthropology Robert Scott said the Signature Courses are meant to bring together the best of what University faculty has to offer as scholars and teachers in terms of understanding the real challenges of the twenty-first century. “I think they are going to be a lot of fun to take, and I am really looking for ward to teaching ‘Extinction,’” he said. “Extinction” presents contemporary debates about extinction
and survival and teaches students how to assess current and future extinction threats, said Assistant Professor of Anthropology Frances Mascia-Lees. “Maybe I’d take ‘Extinction’ just to know how we’re going to end up surviving in this world,” said Josselini Rodriguez, an incoming School of Arts and Sciences first-year student. All three of the courses offered this fall meet the global awareness requirement, two meet the diversity requirement, two meet the natural sciences requirement and two meet the interdisciplinary requirement, Lawrence said. “I wish these courses were offered my first year of college, because math, literature and science was being taught to us our entire lives,” School of Arts and Sciences sophomore Parth Gandhi said. “However, these courses are different because they challenge what we hear and read in the news everyday, they expect us to go beyond what is simply given to us and force us to find answers for ourselves.” The Signature Courses are framed within a global perspective
because the world can no longer be understood without addressing its increasingly global nature, Mascia-Lees said. Students who are aware of these interconnections will be at the forefront of creative answers to complex problems in the coming century. “I’d like to take the ‘Energy and Climate’ class because I want to learn about global warming,” said incoming School of Arts and Sciences first-year student Sarah Banu. “I read about [the course] and it sounds interesting, so I really want to find out more.” Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering Monica Mazurek said “Energy and Climate” is a course that will empower this generation of students with knowledge about energy use, energy options, global biogeochemical cycles, climate trends and impacts. Several faculty members teaching “Energy and Climate” were members of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which shares the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. “We are going to think critically. We are going to write. We are
going to talk about the issues of our day,” Scott said. “Everybody is going to need these skills for the rest of their lives.” Traxler said these courses focus on current events, and the ideas coming out from these courses will be about what is occurring now, not from lecture notes from 10 or 20 years ago. “I signed up for ‘War: Critical Perspectives’ because I don’t know about war and feel that fighting never solves any problems,” School of Arts and Sciences incoming first-year student Cha’mier Isom said. “So I wanted to take a class that talked about war just so I can get a little more insight on it.” There are also plans to add at least two more Signature Courses in the spring semester, Lawrence said. “One of the courses we are planning for this spring is ‘Democracies’ Laboratories: Social Welfare, Environmentalism’ and ‘Economic Globalization at Home and Abroad,’” she said. “We hope to soon be able to offer at least a dozen Signature Courses each year.”
T H E D A I LY TA R G U M
OPINIONS
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EDITORIALS
RU involved yet?
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s a high school student, one of the most important things you could do for yourself was to join extra-curricular activities and clubs. This gave you the opportunity to make friends, develop leadership skills and build up your resumé for college. You may now be under the impression that you no longer have to fill your schedule with group meetings and club activities now that you have been admitted into a university. Actually, joining a club or some form of extra-curricular activity is just as beneficial to you in college as it was in high school, and perhaps even more so. Joining clubs or taking non-credit classes at the University opens new doors for any student who takes advantage of them. If you are starting college without knowing many people, joining an activity gives you a chance to meet other people with the same interests. It is through these activities you can meet new groups. Another advantage of joining an extra-curricular activity or club is that it offers students real world experience. Activities such as the student government or even the daily paper give students a first-hand look at how to run an organization and make decisions. These types of activities also help in building leadership and management skills. Many of the groups and clubs are student run, giving you the opportunity to work your way up in the group and have the opportunity to learn how to schedule and run meetings, manage many people and events. The activities that are not student run and are connected to classes or professors can also offer a lot to students. You are able to learn a lot about the professor, but also have them learn a lot about you. It is through this connection that you are able to have a good source for recommendation letters that you may need in the future. You are also able to make great networking connections through various activities and clubs. Depending on what you are doing, you may learn not only valuable skills for a possible future job but also connections to have access to such jobs. If joining a club or organization is not for you but you want to be involved in something at the University, non-credit recreation classes are held throughout the day. For a low price you can explore different interests. If you always wanted to play guitar, take ballroom dancing or kickboxing, the University has a class available for you. One of the best things you can do for yourself with the start of the school year is to go to an involvement fair and explore your different options. It is through looking into different groups that you may be able to find your niche, make great friends and gain experience.
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n becoming a University first-year, you will make your first of many large purchases. The term bill, being the most important of these payments, will be the first to plague you. If you are living on campus, you have your meal plan and housing payments included in that. The next major purchase that can drain your wallet is the buying of textbooks. Usually excitement or anxiety drives first-year students to one of the three University bookstores. Retrieving your textbooks is a way to peek into what you will be expected to learn all semester, a way to see what will be going on in your first semester of college classes. How much does this supposed sneak peek cost? Hundreds of dollars more than you were expecting to pay. The average college student at a four-year school spends between $700 to $1100 on textbooks each year. It is a big jump to go from high school, where books are just handed out the minute you walk into class, to college, where you’re expected to get the book yourself from a store. Depending on what campuses your classes are on can dictate where you go for books. Trying to gather all your textbooks for a semester can be a daylong process of waiting on ridiculous lines and crowded bus rides from campus to campus. Yes, it is exciting to start off your college experience and look into what your classes are by getting your books, but a common first-year mistake is rushing into it. Waiting to get your books is beneficial because a lot of times books are listed for classes, but depending on what section you are in you may not need a book. You also learn by waiting what classes you might actually not need a certain book for. You will get a feel for the professor and how they will test you on information learned in class. There is also the possibility that you may switch classes after the first few weeks. Switching classes would mean returning any books you had already purchased for the class you are dropping and buying new ones for the class added. Depending on the time period in which you are doing this will determine whether you get a full refund for your book or only part of the money back. In the event that you do need to purchase many books for all your classes, it is always best to get them used either from a bookstore or from a friend who has taken the class already. A cheaper way to get books, either used or new, is through Web sites. Sites like Half.com allow students to obtain books quickly and at a low cost because you are buying them through students who attend the University. Once purchased, books travel through intercampus mail and get to you in a short amount of time. The only difficulty that can come with ordering online is you need the ISBN number from your professors. Professors are now putting these numbers on the syllabus so you do have the option of ordering books from sites like Half.com, Amazon.com and Albris.com, but that would also mean waiting until after the first few class sessions to order them. Students should try to email professors for the syllabus and ISBN numbers in advance, that way they can calculate how much they will be spending and also weigh out their options for how they would like to go about buying their books. Professors should also just post their syllabi online somewhere for students to have access to before class starts. It can be a crazy experience trying to gather all your books and get to classes your first semester at the University, but by following the above tips you can learn from the mistakes of most first time buyers to make the experience easier for yourself.
MAX GREENZWEIG
School can get in way of learning O Frontlines
did not necessarily mean n behalf of the editothat you were successful, rial board here at and likewise people without The Daily Targum, college educations were let me say: Welcome to fully capable of learning all Rutgers, Class of 2013! You the keys for a happy and have no doubt already been prosperous life by not told countless things by famgoing to college. ily, friends and magazines AMANDA RAE CHATSKO Technology and the genon how to better your coleral consensus that “knowllege experience and will no edge is power” have changed this, and for that doubt learn many more things as you go along. we should all be grateful. As I said before, colLet me impart to you some “sage advice” of my lege is a wonderful and empowering experience own, from a person who was once in the same that is second to none in the American rite of pasposition you were: Don’t let school interfere with sage. But beyond advanced mathematics, your education. physics and maybe a foreign language or two, This may sound contradictor y so don’t let me college is not going to teach you anything you do steer you astray. College is a wonderful place for not already know — it’s only going to reinforce your social life, networking and expanding your your preexisting knowledge and morals with real mind with new ideas and ways of thinking, espelife examples and introduce you to the viewcially from the best of the best. Your family has points of others. This might gone through a lot in these hard sound ludicrous now, but tr y times to ensure that you are “College is a wonderful your hand at, say, Introduction here, and it is a great privilege Cultural Anthropology one to be here. Yet it is awfully easy place for your social life, to semester and realize just how to get caught up in information much you know about people’s overload (or, for most of us, networking and lives and how much more you information under-load) as you expanding your mind can stand to know; tr y our linstar t your journey through guistics course and you will find higher education. Many stuwith new ideas and it is no surprise that we make dents experience learning withways of thinking ... ” assumptions about people out ever stepping back to reexbased on how they speak. See amine all that knowledge and all that you already know? The say, “How does this apply to the real journey in life — the journey for knowledge real world in which I actually live?” In fact, many that is not just academic but applicable — is one students go through the process of forgetting that begins and ends outside of the classroom. ever ything they’ve learned after their exams and Here you are given all the tools to do something begin their educational lives next semester from productive with the world and more than ample square one. In a way, there’s nothing really wrong time to decide on what to do with them. The real with this; plenty of students have coasted through challenge is not realizing this but realizing that to the top of their classes by doing so and happily many people never use these tools and deciding obtain the degrees that society has deemed so to take a more proactive stance in being “sucessential in your ability to be successful. But if cessful” in life. you are going to put yourself into so much debt So here you are, first-years, ready for college. for the socially constructed golden ticket to I hope that you obtain whatever it is that you today’s world, don’t you think it would be at least came here for, whether it is to get your degree, somewhat worthwhile to do something with all develop meaningful relationships or drink beer at the stuff you spend hours cramming for? the local fraternity house – and in reality, you Not too long ago, a bachelor’s degree did not should probably tr y your hand in all three of mean instant success. In fact, not too long ago those things while you’re here, because that is an most people our age could only dream of going essential part of the experience. You may or may to college, if they wanted or needed to go at all. not care yet about the bigger world that awaits Colleges were institutions for people to improve you once your time here is finished, and for right socially among their peers, a place for the now you really don’t have to. But one day, before brightest and wealthiest of society. Education — you know it, you are going to be a senior in debt all of the meaningful knowledge one needed — looking at the next wave of students, smile and was learned in the real world, from families, say to yourself, “If only you knew how much you trades, blood, sweat and tears. No carpenter meant to the world.” needed a fancy degree to make a good table; he Trust me, I would know. needed but knowledge of various trees and their wood, knowledge of his tools and a graceful Amanda Rae Chatsko is a School of Arts and hand. In fact, as Former President John Adams Sciences senior majoring in Linguistics. She is also once said, there were two types of education, the associate copy editor of The Daily Targum and and “one should teach us how to make a living, wishes all of our new students good luck. and the other how to live.” A college education
Due to space limitations, submissions cannot exceed 750 words. If a commentary exceeds 750 words, it will not be considered for publication. All authors must include name, phone number, class year and college affiliation or department to be considered for publication. Anonymous letters will not be considered. All submissions are subject to editing for length and clarity. A submission does not guarantee publication. Please submit via e-mail to oped@dailytargum.com by 4 p.m. to be considered for the following day’s publication. The editorials written above represent the majority opinion of The Daily Targum Editorial Board. All other opinions expressed on the Opinions page, and those held by advertisers, columnists and cartoonists, are not necessarily those of The Daily Targum. The Daily Targum has openings for students columnists and wants to hear from you. If you are interested in writing a column for publication with a daily circulation of 17,000 contact Megan DiGuilio at oped@dailytargum.com. Columnists have the opportunity to gain valuable experience while reaching a large audience.
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U. provides great return Lifesaving tips for picking classes on state investment C Frontlines
they have won, and we are competing aggressively for many of the new funds made available in RICHARD L. MCCORMICK the American Recover y and In this troubled economy, as Reinvestment Act, but that’s not local and state governments what motivates our faculty to do struggle to balance budgets this work. They dedicate themevery dollar counts, and each selves to this research for the investment must be measured by solutions it creates and the hope what it can do to address urgent it brings. needs and stimulate economic To cite one example of this growth. From that perspective, work, a Rutgers team led by one of the most effective investProfessor Robin Davis is studyments the state has made has ing two neurotrophin proteins in been in Rutgers, the State the ear’s cochlea. They have disUniversity of New Jersey. covered that these proteins play a Rutgers is especially well situated key role in the way sound mesto find solutions that create jobs sages are relayed to the brain. and bolster prosperity. Their work may lead to signifiFirst, a few key statistics, most cant improvements in cochlear of them taken from a new univerimplants that bring hearing to sity report on Rutgers’ economic those with congenital and proimpact on the state of New Jersey: found deafness. For ever y dollar the state In addition to the high qualinvests in Rutgers, more than $6 ity education that our more is channeled than 52,000 back into the undergradu“Rutgers is the state New Jersey ate and gradeconomy in students university and, as such, uate direct and indigain each rect spending year, Rutgers must continue to meet by Rutgers and touches the New Jersey’s needs and lives of many its students, faculty and more New seek solutions to its staff. Last year Jerseyans ongoing challenges.” this amounted through a to a $3.8 billion wide array of return on $595 outreach promillion from the state. grams. Business people turn to Each year, Rutgers sends Rutgers for continuing educa11,000 well-educated graduates tion and cer tificate programs into the world, armed with a that help them advance in their Rutgers degree that a recent careers. Local gover nments Wall Street Journal’s rely on Rutgers for training SmartMoney magazine study courses and technical assisranked as the sixth best value in tance. Families in each county the nation. call on Rutgers Cooperative One of New Jersey’s largest Extension for help — learnemployers, Rutgers suppor ts ing, for example, which plants 35,000 jobs, including nearly are most resistant to deer for10,000 full-time faculty and staff, aging. Among our student 13,700 student and temporary body’s numerous public ser vemployees and nearly 8,000 jobs ice ef for ts, Rutgers undergradcreated by university purchases uates mentor urban teens and and capital improvements. Rutgers law students provide Our employees paid nearly $83 pro bono ser vices to indigent million in state income tax, sales residents. tax and property taxes last year. Providing these functions — Last year the New Jersey Small and many more, such as training Business Development Centers social workers, helping restore that are headquartered at the oyster fishery in the Delaware Rutgers–Newark helped 879 Bay and serving as the world’s clients start businesses and obtain largest university-based DNA $40 million in loans and equity repository — requires investinvestment, leading to the crements by taxpayers and their repation or retention of 12,000 jobs. resentatives in Trenton and Rutgers people have donated Washington, by students and their 20 tons of food and nearly $49,000 families, by corporate and foundato New Jersey food banks in the tion grantmakers and by donors. first six months of the Rutgers To each of these constituencies, Against Hunger initiative. we recognize a special obligation A new solar energy “farm” to spend wisely and well. on the Livingston campus in Alone among our outstanding Piscataway — installed by a fellow institutions of higher South Plainfield-based compalearning, Rutgers is the state uniny — will generate 10 percent versity and, as such, must continof the campus’s electrical ue to meet New Jersey’s needs demand, saving money and and seek solutions to its ongoing reducing carbon emissions by challenges. From our historic 1,216 tons per year. dedication to teaching underThese numbers, however, tell graduates to our latest initiative just part of the story. Less quanin fighting hunger, Rutgers is tifiable but profoundly imporserving New Jersey with passion, tant, Rutgers faculty are convision and creativity. As we do, it ducting leading-edge research is gratifying to know that we are on some of the greatest global having a six-to-one impact on the human challenges, including clieconomy for every dollar investmate change, alternative energy, ed by the state — a welcome rate transportation, autism, cancer, of return in these difficult times. AIDS and regenerative medicine. We can measure activity in Richard L. McCormick is the these areas by the federal grants president of the University.
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classes. If you don’t want ollege is confusing, Coursetopia to consider one and I’m not going to of the sections, like the one tell you that Rutgers that meets on Tuesdays and is any different. Some of your Fridays at 8:10 a.m. or the classes are going to be down section with the awful proa highway and past a football fessor, uncheck it. The site stadium; others are going to is a work in progress. It include hour-long trips on doesn’t take into account the the REXB, the bus that goes ANDREW HOWARD prerequisites because that between the Busch and would mean having to give your RUID number Cook/Douglass campuses. Of course, if you are out and you should only put that into Rutgers at all like me, it doesn’t matter much where your sites. If you have a job that you need to plan your classes are because you don’t know where any of schedule around, you can put that in as an event these places are to begin with. Considering I and none of the sections that meet during that went from a high school with 150 people and two event will be possibilities. hallways to Rutgers, where I have to take a bus to I mention all of this because even though get from one class to the next even when they are these resources exist, I still see people struggling on the same campus, your confusion may not be by trawling through the Degree Navigator Web as extreme as mine. But actually getting to your site. Degree Navigator tells you the classes you classes is only half the battle; getting into them, need to fulfill for your requirements, but it disthat’s the hard part. plays a lot of classes that aren’t offered in the Midway through ever y semester, the schedule upcoming semester without any option to filter for the semester to proceed is put online. A few them out, so you then must go to WebReg and weeks after students have all built what they check the schedule to see if it is offered. Seeing believe will be their perfect schedule for the next several interesting course titles only to find out four months of their academic lives, taped a that that course isn’t offered in the sticky note with the index numbers I’m registering for is not — you’ll learn about these — of “Midway through semester only disheartening but also a bit their prospective classes to their laptops and prayed to whatever every semester, the annoying. A feature in the vein of Coursetopia would streamline the deity or deities they’re a fan of that schedule for the class registration process. A graphthey’ll get into those classes, sturepresentation of my schedule dents can register for the courses semester to proceed ical is nice once I’ve made it, but it is they hope to get a seat in. Now I is put online.” even better if it will give me a precan’t blame WebReg for making me view of what my schedule might miss out on a class just because the look like. site let someone connect instead of A feature I’d appreciate even more than visual me; that’s no different than the old system, waitpreviews of my semester is a teacher rating or ing in line to hand in a piece of paper with the commenting system. I understand the argument classes you would like. Only now the line waiting against this: There is nothing stopping a user from is at your computer and the slip you are handing posting something along the lines of “This profesin is on a Web page. What I can and do blame sor sucks!” but a moderator would be able to WebReg for is how difficult it is to actually figure delete inappropriate posts. A comment system out what classes I need to take and at what times would be a new level of communication that stuI can take them. dents have never experienced before. It is easy to When registering for classes, I usually need four find people who can tell you what psychology protabs open on my browser to make the optimal fessor you should take — it seemed like half of the schedule. The first is Degree Navigator. Degree people in my dorm took General Psychology first Navigator (http://dn.rutgers.edu) shows you what semester of their first year. But when you get to classes you can or need to take to fulfill your degree more specific areas of your major and you get to requirements. After that is WebReg, where you’ll classes that don’t take place in a Scott Hall auditoput the five-digit index number of your class section rium, the chances of finding someone one who in. In addition to these Rutgers sites, I use two supcan tell you what to expect in a class is slimmed plemental external sites that are a huge aid in pickgreatly. A student building his or her schedule ing my classes. could get the honest opinion of a teacher from any The third is an absolute lifesaver. other student who has taken the time to post it, Ratemyprofessor.com lets you know what stuensuring that more students get the most out of dents think about the professors that teach at the classes they are taking. the University. Information posted often includes In the age of the Internet, when computers can whether lecture is worth going to (but of course simplify a lot of the things in our lives, I still see a ever y lecture is worth going to), if exam queslot of people missing out on the tools they have at tions come straight from the book or what comtheir disposal. WebReg could certainly be a lot easbination of tests, quizzes and papers the teachers ier to use, but it could also give each student at give. Responses often var y, but if you know what Rutgers a more effective voice in the University kind of professor you’re looking for and what and more knowledge when performing the dreadkind of class you’d like him to r un, ed task of creating their schedule. Ratemyprofessor.com can be a big help. The next is Coursetopia Andrew Howard is a School of Arts and Sciences (http://coursetopia.com). This site lets you pick junior majoring in Journalism and Media Studies. He the classes you want, and then it will show you is also the photography editor of The Daily Targum. ever y possible schedule you can have with those
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Prince to Europe makes sense W Hell’s
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Rutgers is set to play a road game agains the Army Black Knights in 2011 at Yankee Stadium. The Stadium will also host a 2010 game between Army and Notre Dame.
Rutgers, Army to face off at Yankee Stadium THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The Army football team will play Rutgers, Air Force and Boston College at Yankee Stadium in addition to the Black Knights’ matchup there against Notre Dame. Army announced the three games Wednesday, two days after it said it would face the Fighting Irish at the new ballpark on Nov. 20, 2010. The Black Knights will take on Rutgers on Nov. 12, 2011, Air Force on Nov. 3, 2012 and Boston College on Nov. 8, 2014. Pairing with the storied venue will bring national exposure to a proud program that has struggled on the field in recent years. The Black Knights played at the old Yankee Stadium 38 times from 1925-69, but the ballpark hadn’t hosted college football since 1987. “If you’re a young man thinking about the service academies, this is part of the equation,” Army coach Rich Ellerson said. Notre Dame will be the home team for its game, and Army will be the home team for the other three games. Army is working out details to add a 2013 game, as well.
The Black Knights’ opponents are hardly complaining about the change in venue. Air Force athletic director Hans Mueh flew in for Wednesday’s news conference at the ballpark. Rutgers coach Greg Schiano succinctly explained the benefits for his school: “Two words — Ray Rice.” The former Scarlet Knights star running back, who now plays for the Baltimore Ravens, hails from New Rochelle, N.Y., about 15 miles from the stadium. “It sends a good message in a state where we’ve had a lot of success recruiting,” Rutgers athletic director Tim Pernetti said. Army also announced a new television deal with CBS College Spor ts Network for 2010-14. The contract will allow the Black Knights to play all their home games on Saturday afternoons. Army athletic director Kevin Anderson wanted to avoid weeknight games, which have become more common in college football because of TV. CBS College Sports Network now has the rights to games for all three service academies.
hen the word first broke on Epiphanny Prince’s decision to skip her senior season with the Rutgers women’s basketball team to play professionally, shock did not begin to emphasize my feelings as someone who’s actively covered her since the start of her sophomore year. But then the facts began to sink in and the decision simply made sense. She definitely has the talent, scoring 19.5 points per game in the best conference in women’s basketball, she’s only a handful of credits away (10 to be precise) from a degree after factoring in summer and winter courses and she’s already a lock for a top pick in the 2010 WNBA Draft. Between the loss of center Kia Vaughn and forwards Heather Zurich and Brooklyn Pope, it seemed unlikely that Prince would be able to grab championship gold in her senior year and the chance to play for money was too enticing to ignore. Prince, one of the first women’s basketball players to leave school early to play professionally, simply said that she knows the decision is the right one. “I’m not really concerned with being the first person to do this,” she told the New York Times. “This is the right decision for me and my family.” Prince will find success overseas and even more when she returns to play in the WNBA. It is a smart move for her and her family. The only people that it hurts
Kitchen SAM HELLMAN are, obviously, the 2009-10 Scarlet Knights, who now have yet another question to answer in how they will replace their best player. The bottom line is that no one person can replace a natural superstar like Prince, but junior Khadijah Rushdan is going to have to tr y. Rushdan is the only player left on the roster with the ability to take over a game on all levels, and she will only get better with a full college season under her belt, but replacing Prince is almost unfair to ask of her. Head coach C. Vivian Stringer’s hopes of a championship in her 39th season are now shattered as the team has to rely on so much unproven talent. Sophomore guard Nikki Speed almost has to start alongside Rushdan and senior Brittany Ray in the backcourt unless Stringer wants to play a freshman right off the bat, and more pressure will be placed on sophomore April Sykes and seniors Rashidat Junaid and Myia McCurdy to put up stronger offensive numbers. But here’s the biggest problem with that notion: With the exception of Rushdan and Ray, none of these players have any
sort of experience. Sure, Sykes, Speed, McCurdy and Rushdan played minutes last year and in some cases the year before but so few of those minutes were in critical situations. And in replacing the leading scorer on a team that didn’t score too much to begin with one season ago (and the already-departed Vaughn), just where exactly is the offense to come from? Fur thermore, unless Stringer makes any late additions to the squad, the Knights enter the 2009-10 season with just 10 active players after being heavily crippled in the postseason two years ago. Prince’s decision to leave the program marks the third player to leave the Knights early in the last season after freshmen Jasmine Dixon and Pope both transferred, but this one simply cannot be blamed on the coach set for Hall of Fame induction this September. It would have taken a lot of magic to deter Prince from such a logical path. Panic mode? No, not yet. But a team expected to compete that has trouble scoring points and has to master the vaunted 55-press to be successful has a ton of work to do to become a serious contender in an alwaysimproving Big East. The loss of Prince drops the Knights from a top-10 team potentially out of the top 25. But if anyone can find a way to respond to such a crippling loss, it’s C. Vivian Stringer, so the season isn’t over yet.
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Hill adds forward for Class of 2011 The Rutgers basketball team added its first recruit for the 2011 class, announcing that Andrew “Red” Nicholas has verbally committed to the program. Nicholas, a 6-foot-6 for ward from Eastern York (Pa.) High School, averaged 21.2 points per game as a sophomore last season and was named to the Pennsylvania Associated Press Class AAA Third team. The left-hander led his league in three pointers with 63 and has already scored 1,169 points in his high school career. Nicholas got the nickname “Red” because of his long curly red hair.
Rosario, a sophomore, competed for Puer to Rico in the U-19 FIBA World Championships, leading the Caribbean nation to a fifth place finish with a record of 5-4. Rosario scored 54 points in a win over France and finished as the tournament’s top scorer, averaging 24 ppg. Coburn, a junior, competed for Jamaica in the Caribbean Basketball Championship. Jamaica won the tournament, knocking off the British Virgin Islands 65-61 in the championship game. Coburn played 15 minutes, scoring two points in the championship game.
In other men’s basketball news both Mike Rosario and Mike Coburn earned playing time this summer on the international stage.
— Kyle Franko
SAM HELLMAN/ ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR
Wide receiver Jordan Thomas, from Endicott, N.Y., tied for the fastest 40-yard dash time at the Rutgers camp.
Rutgers grabs early O-line, QB commits BY SAM HELLMAN ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR
With most rising high school seniors finished with the college camp circuit, the Rutgers football team has to be pleased with the eight verbal commitments it has gathered from the Class of 2010. With one of the oldest and most experienced offensive lines in the country and two senior quarterbacks, the Scarlet Knights needed to address the two positions in this year’s recruiting class and have managed to do so along with a few other positions. Here’s a look at what Rutgers has so far: Quarterback Chas Dodd (Duncan, S.C.) — Dodd would have been a household name in the recruiting world if it weren’t for the fact that he is just six feet tall. Dodd has a strong, accurate arm and has shown the ability to move in the pocket when under duress. New quarterbacks coach Kirk Ciarrocca has a guy in Dodd that will be a more-than-dependable backup at worst or a potential starter after Tom Savage and D.C. Jefferson are out of the equation. The best part about Dodd is that he comes from James Byrne High School, a football powerhouse in South Carolina that could provide superb talent to Rutgers down the line. Athlete Jordan Thomas (Endicott, N.Y.) — Thomas may be the biggest name to offer a verbal to the Knights so far. He has the potential to play running back, wide receiver or safety at the college level. He stood out at Rutgers camp with the fastest 40yard dash time of the camp — tying with other Rutgers recruit J.T. Tartacoff — and impressed at wide receiver. Thomas stands at 6-foot-1 and just under 200 pounds. He is a three-star recruit on both Rivals.com and Scout.com and a 77 overall on ESPN. Athlete J.T. Tartacof f (Skillman, N.J.) — Tartacoff was the second person to commit to RU this season, offering his verbal in April. He impressed with a fast 40-time at the Rutgers camp
and will likely play wide receiver or corner back in college. He is a three-star recruit on Rivals.com and a 74 overall on ESPN. “It’s a great time to be at Rutgers, not only with the new stadium but with the coaching staff and the players. I mean, they’ve got everything,” Tartacoff said during Rutgers camp. “They’re on top academically out of a lot of big time Big East schools and they’re getting really, really good with some really good recruits and it’s good to jump on board … There is no chance that [I am going to decommit].” Tackle Chris Fonti (Wayne, N.J.) — The biggest Rutgers recruit so far, Fonti stands at 6foot-7 and 300 pounds and is one of four offensive line commits so far. Fonti has the size to be a strong tackle, but his speed and quickness are a concern at this point. Tackle Jorge Vicioso (Passaic, N.J.) — Along with good football size at 6-foot-5, 280 pounds, Vicioso is one of the top wrestlers in the state in the heavyweight division. Guard Betim Bujari (Secaucus, N.J.) — The No. 15 guard in the countr y on Scout.com, Bujari was the first to commit to the Knights in the Class of 2010. He also started on the defensive line with Secaucus High School. Guard Frank Quartucci (Hamilton, N.J.) — The little known guard is considered to be a solid technician on any offensive line, but at 6-foot-4 lacks the size to be a true tackle in the Big East. His 290-pound frame makes him a potential weapon for offensive line coach and co-offensive coordinator Kyle Flood. Linebacker Marcus Thompson (Lauderdale Lakes, Fla.) — The first Florida kid in the Class of 2010, Thompson is also most likely the first defensive player in the class. Both Tartacoff and Thomas are better suited on offense and, although Thompson has experience as a running back, can be a dominant linebacker.
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Beatty signs for 2009-10 season Scarlet Knights acquire junior college transfer to fill void at point guard BY KYLE FRANKO ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR
If there was a starting position on the floor where the Rutgers men’s basketball team had a glaring hole, it was at point guard. The Scarlet Knights filled that hole in late July with the signing of junior college point guard James Beatty. “What [head coach Fred Hill Jr.] told me was that they were in need of a point guard, and I had the opportunity to come in and start right away,” Beatty said. “I feel like I can excel at the point guard position while being a leader for this team.” The Wilmington, N.C. native spent two years at Miami Dade College (Fla.) where he was a two-time All-Southern Conference selection. Beatty averaged 13.4 points and 7.9 assists per game. The Sharks completed the 2008-09 season with a 23-6 overall record. “We are very excited to welcome James into the Rutgers basketball family,” Hill said in a statement. “He brings a tremendous amount of skill and intangibles into the program. James is a talkative leader with great understanding and passion for the game. He’s a winner with experience. I think our fans are really going to enjoy watching him play.” The Knights have struggled under Hill and are coming off a
season in which they went 11-21 and waon just two Big East games. “I was concerned in the beginning when they first started recruiting me,” Beatty said about joining the Big East bottom feeder. “I’ve been in situations like this before and I look at it as an opportunity to come in and make an impact with my play and leadership abili t y . Hopefully, we can t u r n t h i n g s around. There is a lot of young talJAMES ent on this BEATTY team and I feel like adding my experience will really help this team.” Beatty also said that the recruiting process was more stressful because he had to make the right decision, since he will only have two years of eligibility. “It was definitely more stressful,” the 20-year-old said. “But it was also more fun because I had a lot of schools to choose from. It was a big time decision because I only have two years left [of eligibility]. I looked long and hard, but I think I made the right decision.” Beatty will be asked to replace Anthony Farmer, a four-year starter, who graduated this year.
Farmer averaged close to nine ppg, but Beatty is just happy for the opportunity to play at the highest level. “I would say just having the chance to play at the top level,” he said when asked what he was most looking for ward to at Rutgers. “It’s an opportunity to play with the best in Division I basketball.” Beatty said he hasn’t played with any of his future teammates, but he still likes the young talent they have and thinks his game will translate well to the Big East. “I definitely feel like I could really excel in the Big East,” he said. “The Big East is an up and down and physical league, and I feel like I’m well equipped to play in both the half and full cour t. I’m comfor table in either style.” Beatty graduated from New Hanover High School in Wilmington, N.C. in 2007 and was the Rivals.com Nor th Carolina 4A player of the year. He was also a McDonalds AllAmerican finalist. He is the fourth and presumably final member of the Scarlet Knights 2009-10 recruiting class. Forwards Dane Miller and Austin Johnson and center Brian Okam have already committed. RU will also have the services of forward Jonathan Mitchell, who is eligible after sitting out a year after transferring from Florida.
SAM HELLMAN/ ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR
Junior left tackle Anthony Davis anchors a Rutgers offensive line with all five starters returning.
Davis No. 1 RU athlete to watch this season 10. Gaetano Panuccio, sophomore, men’s soccer — Somebody has to score goals for this team. Dilly Duka had eight of the team’s 18, but the midfielder has left the program after making the United States U-20 National Team. Panuccio scored twice last season while making 13 starts as a freshman. 9. Brooke Cantwell, senior, women’s lacrosse — Talk about a superstar and RU has one in Cantwell. She was an All-Big East selection as a junior and for good reason. The Moorestown, N.J. native scored 32 goals and led the team in points with 38. 8. Justin Pennington, senior, men’s lacrosse — If the Knights hope to erase the bad taste of last season’s four-win campaign, much of that rests on the broad shoulders of this influential midfielder. Pennington struggled out of the gate after being named the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference’s Preseason Offensive Player of the Year. The Flemington, N.J. native still managed 16 goals, but he will need to improve that as RU moves to the new Big East Conference for lacrosse. 7. Michael Lang, junior, baseball — The former walk-on led the team in hitting with a .343 average while belting a team-high eight home runs. Last season was a disappointing 22-31 campaign, but Lang was a pleasant surprise. Lang should only get better after spending the summer in the Cape Cod Baseball League. 6. Joe Martinek, junior, football — The running back gained 432 yards last season while finding the end zone four times. The Hopatcong, N.J. native did not see significant playing time until the back end of the season, but proved he can be an effective runner at this level. Expect Martinek, along with fellow junior Jourdan Brooks, to get the majority of the carries this year. 5. Scott Winston, sophomore, wrestling — Thirty-four wins and a trip to the NCAA championships is only the start for Winston. The No. 2 rated wrestler in the country when he committed to Rutgers, the Jackson native has helped revive the sport in a wrestling crazed state. 4. Khadijah Rushdan, junior, women’s basketball — Does Rushdan have big shoes to fill? You bet. She will be asked to pick up the scoring slack since
Fully Franko KYLE FRANKO Epiphanny Prince decided to depart for Europe. Rushdan averaged 9.9 points per game while making 25 starts as a sophomore for a team that went to the Sweet 16. But much of the success this year will hinge on her ability to lead the team and score in the clutch. 3. Mike Rosario, sophomore, men’s basketball — How head coach Fred Hill Jr. and all of Rutgers men’s basketball fans are counting on Rosario! This team was a disaster last year and it has been under Hill’s regime, but if things are going to turn around Rosario will be at the center of it. The Jersey City native was one of the top freshmen scorers last season, averaging 16.2 points per game. Rosario should only get better having logged plenty of miles — and games playing for the Puerto Rico U-19 National Team. On a side note, he had a 54-point outburst for Puerto Rico in a game against France, so there is no doubt he knows where to put the rock. 2. Erin Guthrie, senior, women’s soccer — The AllAmerican goalkeeper is one of the best in the country and without her play the nights would not have reached the Sweet 16. She stood on her head in a win over Oklahoma State and was under siege in the Sweet 16 clash with Stanford. Guthrie allowed just 14 goals last season while making 87 saves, posting a goals against average of 0.62. 1. Anthony Davis, junior, football — When Kenny Britt was drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the first round of the NFL Draft, he was the first Scarlet Knight to garner that honor. Davis will be the second if he chooses to come out at the end of the year (I think he will). The Piscataway native is a beast. We’re talking 6-foot-6, 325 pounds. Davis will protect (insert quarterback’s name here) blind side and anchor one of the top-10 offensive lines in the country. So yes, give some love to the big guy because Davis is the real deal.
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ATHLETICS 101 BY SAM HELLMAN ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR
Rutgers Stadium — The toughest part about Rutgers Stadium is figuring out the ticket policy. Once you get that down you’re good to go. Basically after registering your RU--ID account, you can register for a free ticket on a gameby-game basis. Make sure to actively check scarletknights.com and your MyRutgers email account to know when single games are available. You can also purchase season tickets for a guaranteed seat at all seven home games and a lot less stress. The trick is constant vigilance. Stay on top of when tickets are available and there is a 95 percent chance you will get a ticket. Just make sure to get your ticket swiped because if you get a ticket and don’t use it twice, you cannot get tickets for the rest of the season. For a set of full, coherent instructions, go to http://www.scarletknights.com/t ickets/policy-students.html. Getting to the stadium is simple. You can grab any charter bus and it will drop you off in the park across the street. Just cross toward the stadium, get to the student entrance and you’re there. And don’t forget your student ID and printed ticket or you can’t get in. Walking is another option that’s fairly popular for getting back and to the stadium during rush hour. It’s only about 30 minutes from College Avenue. Just follow the John Lynch Bridge on Route 18 or take the Landing Lane Bridge through the park. Of course none of you will be tailgating before the game because you aren’t 21 yet, but for those you that failed 12th grade a few times and enter Rutgers at legal drinking age, it is not recommend to drink too much before getting in. If you are too drunk, they won’t let you in and you don’t want to be the person that missed the first game in the histor y of the renovated Rutgers Stadium or a game against West Virginia to close out the regular season. To ensure the best possible seats, show up when the gates open two hours before kickoff,
but most people don’t show up until about 30 minutes before. You are going to get good seats an hour before hand and mediocre seats if you arrive within 15 minutes. Getting there after that is pushing it, but if there’s rain or a noon start, you might get lucky. Insider nugget: Sometimes the closest are not the best. It’s better to be in the right section than the right row. Try to pick a seat that gives you a view of the whole field. Sure it’s cool to be in the front row, but you will miss out on seeing some plays, especially with the scoreboard behind you. Oh, and don’t say “woo” during the “RU Rah Rah” chant. That’s not cool. Louis Brown Athletic Center — Also referred to as the Rutgers Athletic Center or RAC (or the Rutgers RAC according to the obnoxiously redundant sign on 18 North), the Louis Brown Athletic Center is the home of men’s and women’s basketball. Getting to the RAC is about as simple as it gets. For those taking the bus in, get off at the stop where you see a huge arena across the street. For those lucky enough to draw Livingston as your home campus, simply walk toward Beck Hall from the Quads and you can’t miss it. The ticket process is just as easy. There is a special ticket booth for student tickets at the front of the building. Just present your student ID and they hand you a ticket. If you want to preorder a ticket for a game (there is almost no circumstance where this is necessary), feel free to do so by going to the RAC during normal business hours after single game tickets for said game are available. The student section is under the far basket. The seats are first come, first ser ve. Sometimes you have to sit in the section that is on your ticket, though usually you don’t. Arriving 15-20 minutes before tip-off is ideal for a good seat. Food, like it is at Rutgers Stadium, can be purchased with meal swipes. One swipe is for $10 of stadium quality food. You can swipe as many times as you
DAN BRACAGLIA/ ASSOCIATE PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
The Louis Brown Athletic Center is home to both the Rutgers men’s and women’s basketball games and also played host to the Rutgers wrestling team once last season. want so I recommend on loading up on candy and popcorn before you leave (trust me, you are not going to use all 210 plus of your meal swipes). Insider nugget: If you show up more than 30 minutes before tip, there is a good chance you will be asked to participate in a halftime competition with decent prizes. I once won a Rutgers blanket only to see my roommate win $400 in free books the next game. Yurcak Field — Full-time home to the men’s and women’s soccer teams and part-time homes to the men’s and women’s lacrosse teams, Yurcak (pronounced yur-SACK) is simple enough to figure out. It’s very easy to find from any bus — take the A from College Ave to get there and the H to get back — and it is right next to the football stadium for Busch students wishing to walk. It’s only about a 30-minute walk from College Avenue as well. To get in just flash your ID and feel free to sit anywhere you like.
Insider nugget: If you see a lacrosse game scheduled for Yurcak instead of RU Turf Field, it’s probably going to be a good one. The men hosted No. 5 Princeton there last year and the women hosted No. 6 Georgetown. RU Turf Field — Home to the field hockey team as well as the men’s and women’s lacrosse teams, RU Turf Field is located next to the main entrance to the Hale Center on Busch campus. Get off at the Lot 48 bus stop, walk to the four-way stop and turn left. Admission is free with a student ID. Insider nugget: Although closed to the public, the Rutgers football team often holds practice at RU Turf Field. College Avenue Gymnasium — The gym is directly across the street from Brower Commons. It ser ves as both a regular gym for students to use the facilities and the home of the volleyball and wrestling teams. A student ID gets you
through the door. As the wrestling team continues to explode, get used to some packed houses come winter. The men’s basketball team also holds its annual “Midknight Madness” practice here. Insider nugget: Freshmen used to have “Throwdown” here. I don’t know if they still do, but I’m pulling for you Mettler. Bainton Field and RU Softball Complex — Both fields are located directly behind the RAC with the baseball field on the left and the softball field on the right. Although it is rare to be asked for a student ID here, bring it anyway so you can swipe back into your dorm later. Insider nugget: Travel here may be a pain for the Cook/Douglass and College Avenue crowd, especially on the weekends, but this is the best chance to get up close to Division I collegiate action and see two big time coaches in Fred Hill Sr. and Jay Nelson.
RUTGERS WOMEN’S ROWING