AMAZON Company’s legal tax evasion and treatment of workers reflects nation’s broken economic system
SEE OPINIONS, PAGE 6
ONE GHASTLY GENIE Will Smith’s first appearance as Genie in the live-action “Aladdin” sets the internet on fire
SEE INSIDE BEAT, PAGE 8
MEN’S BASKETBALL The Knights drop a thriller
at home against Iowa
Weather Rain High: 47 Low: 21
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RUTGERS UNIVERSITY—NEW BRUNSWICK
MONDAY FEBRUARY 18, 2019
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Barchi issues response to ‘End Assault at Rutgers’ concerns BRENDAN BRIGHTMAN NEWS EDITOR
University President Robert L. Barchi released a message on Friday in response to the concerns raised by a student on behalf of the coalition “End Assault at Rutgers” at Tuesday’s Board of Governors meeting. Barchi’s message was sent to Rutgers’ Board of Governors Chair Sandy Stewart and Vice Chair Mark Angelson. It outlines the areas of concern the University-wide Sexual Harassment Prevention Committee is evaluating, which it will soon make recommendations toward. “This committee is charged with making recommendations that will ensure that the University
is proactive in preventing sexual harassment, bringing greater transparency to our reporting, providing world-class training for faculty and staff and engaging in thoughtful assessment on the effectiveness of our approaches,” Barchi said. The Daily Targum reported on Wednesday that 1 of the 8 demands brought by the student who spoke, Olivia Wischmeyer, a School of Environmental and Biological Sciences junior, was to de-tenure Dr. Nabil Adam. He was a former vice chancellor of Research and Collaborations at Rutgers—Newark who had been accused by one of his former graduate students of sexual assault and harassment.
Adam has been largely cleared of sexual misconduct allegations and is now being investigated for allegedly retaliating against his accuser, a graduate student, according to an article by NJ Advanced Media. Peter Englot, senior vice chancellor for Public Affairs and Chief of Staff at Rutgers University— Newark, said to NJ Advanced Media, “Dr. Adam is returning as a professor emphasizing research.” Violations of the University’s sexual harassment policy can be resolved in a number of different ways, according to Barchi’s message, including restorative justice (if both parties agree) up to SEE CONCERNS ON PAGE 4
University President Robert L. Barchi said he was supportive of considering de-tenuring a faculty member who was found to be guilty of sexual assault. DECLAN INTINDOLA
RUSA to distribute reusable bags for students’ dining hall takeout JAKE MCGOWAN CORRESPONDENT
The Rutgers University Student Assembly (RUSA) voted to pass a measure that will replace plastic bags used at dining hall takeouts with canvas bags students will receive at the start of their first semester. University Affairs Committee Chair Dominique Little said the bag is comparable to the water bottle that RUSA provides firstyear students at the start of their first semesters. “We’re trying something similar to (the companion bottle). Instead of the companion bottle, this will be a reusable bag. The reusable bag would get rid of all the plastic bags at takeout, similar to how we got rid of all the paper cups and all the
plastic lids and straws that were at takeout,” Little said. The bag would fit two takeout containers in it, as well as a space for a companion bottle on the side. While the bag would replace all plastic bags at takeout, other eateries, such as the Cook Student Center and the Douglass Student Center, will continue to use plastic bags. Should a student lose their bag, Little said, they can buy a replacement. “This bill goes through the effects of plastic bags, why we need to get rid of them and how the reusable bag will replace those harmful effects of plastic with positive effects,” Little said. The weekly meeting also addressed an initiative taken by the Rutgers football team. Brenda Tracy, survivor of a 1998 gang rape,
spoke with the team. Tracy is the founder of the #SetTheExpectation campaign, which is dedicated to combating sexual and physical violence through education and direct engagement with coaches and young men involved in high school and collegiate athletic programs, according to the campaign’s website. The Rutgers football team plans to dedicate a game to her, as well as the #SetTheExpectation campaign, said Cole Murphy, an external representative and member of the Student-Athlete Advisor y Committee (SAAC). “We had the pleasure of having Brenda Tracy come and speak with the football team. We met with our coach today, and we talked about how administration is going to
PAGE 3 The main speaker on Wednesday’s “James Dickson Carr Lecture” series, named in honor of the first Black graduate of Rutgers, is Laura Coates, a CNN legal analyst. At the event, she will speak about civil rights and activism in a public lecture. TWITTER
During the Rutgers University Student Assembly meeting last week, members voted to push back the deadline for the Internal Affairs Committee to release allocations. JAKE MCGOWAN / CORRESPONDENT dedicate one of our games to the #SetTheExpectation movement, and also wear a purple and turquoise ribbon on our helmets,” Murphy said. Also addressed at the meeting was a compromise that pushes back the deadline for the Internal Affairs Committee (IA) to release pertinent allocations information received via an audit of RUSA. The new bill (S19-02) was written by Nick Pellitta, chairman of the RUSA Allocations Board, and Nick Tharney, the parliamentarian of RUSA. The compromise is an amendment to the original bill, which mandated the RUSA Allocations Board release cap sheets, which are documents that govern the amount of money provided to student organizations. In order to increase transparency, multiple extensions have been provided to the IA and the RUSA Allocations Board. The original amendment increased the amount of time for the Allocations Board to review its allocations process in order to provide increased transparency.
VOLUME 151, ISSUE 11 • UNIVERSITY ... 3 • OPINIONS ... 6 • INSIDE BEAT... 8• DIVERSIONS ... 9 • SPORTS ... BACK
“The assembly clearly felt, when they passed the last bill (F18-10) extending the release of the cap sheets, that they wanted a full investigation,” Tharney said. “We figured that we ought to make sure that we have all of the necessary information, so that we can report back to the assembly.” The previous deadline, Feb. 15, has been moved to Sept. 20. While the compromise passed with little resistance, some students voiced their concern with the second deadline extension. Jason Yu, an external representative for RUSA, expressed his concerns. “We passed RAPTA (RUSA Allocations Process Transparency Act) last spring, 2018, with an overwhelming majority. The Allocation Board had eight months to review the allocations process, and they still haven’t done anything. They should be done by now. Isn’t this enough? It’s a year now. I think it should be enough. We don’t need another seven months of this,” Yu said.