PAID LEAVE NJ bill righteously expands existing
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program to move closer to international standards
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RUTGERS UNIVERSITY—NEW BRUNSWICK
FRIDAY MARCH 1, 2019
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Alumni create website for student housing BRENDAN BRIGHTMAN NEWS EDITOR
A team of Rutgers alumni have created an online listing service for student off-campus housing in New Brunswick. The service, Afito, refers to the Italian translation of the word “rent.” Afito was first founded by Brian Skydell, Mark Chesler, Thomas Bonanni and Ethan Gardner last August. Chesler, who handles the business development for Afito, said the inspiration for the service came from his own experience as a student. “As Rutgers students, it was very difficult for us to find off-campus housing,” he said. Similarly, Skydell, who also works on the business aspect of Afito, said while he was working as a broker in Manhattan, he found it easy to find apartments in the city. On the other hand, the sole listing service that existed at the time for Rutgers was Places4Students,
which contained only 200 listings for off-campus housing. He recalled having to physically walk door-to-door, knocking on houses to look for housing for the upcoming year. Chesler said the reason why there were so few listings was because landlords were required to pay a fee in order to be included in the listing on Places4Students. As a result, it was more difficult for students to be able to find options for off-campus housing, since these landlords would advertise their houses for rent by either relying on tenants to tell their friends, or simply putting up signs. Thus, the team decided to take matters into its own hands by building a website that would be absolutely free for landlords to post listings. Skydell began the process by speaking in-person with landlords in New Brunswick, handpicking listings to compile for SEE HOUSING ON PAGE 5
Before Afito launched, the only listing service to look for off-campus housing was the website called Places4Students, which contained a limited number of housing options and required landlords to pay a fee in order to be listed. BENJAMIN CHELNITSKY
Professor gives insight into legal gambling
Rutgers begins masters program for data analysis
JAKE MCGOWAN CORRESPONDENT
BRENDAN BRIGHTMAN NEWS EDITOR
Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy will be launching a new big data masters program in the Fall 2019 semester, the school announced on their website. Research Professor and Director of the Public Informatics program at Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy Frank Felder said in an interview with The Daily Targum that the program combines the analysis of large data sets, computer programming and statistics with different sectors. “It will prepare students for careers in … transportation, housing, development, energy, environmental issues …” Felder said. The large data sets will be used to inform planning and public policy in these areas and help them make decisions based on expected outcomes, he said. Big data has grown tremendously in recent years and advanced the way policymakers and planners do their jobs. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor and Statistics SEE ANALYSIS ON PAGE 5
The Academy Awards were available for betting under the bill signed by Gov. Phil Murphy (D-N.J.). This may be harmful to those who are in the process of developing a gambling addiction. FLICKR
Legalized gambling could increase its prevalence amongst those who are underaged, said Lia Nower, director of the Center for Gambling Studies, co-director of the Addiction Counselor Training Certificate Program and professor at the School of Social Work. In June 2018, Gov. Phil Murphy (D-N.J.) signed a bill making sports betting legal throughout the state. The bill was signed in an effort to prop up casinos and attract new businesses, according to The New York Times. But Nower said this bill may have a poor impact on young sports fans. Sports gambling, as well as online gambling, Nower said, causes an increase in the potential for underaged bettors. “The other danger with sports betting are the safeguards. A lot of sports bettors gamble with their fathers, brothers, uncles, etc. So it’s easier to find a way around the age limits by playing with someone older or using their account. That is the biggest danger posed by sports betting, that is different from other forms of gambling,” Nower said. Sports betting is also a problem on college campuses, she said. “Particularly among young males, it’s very popular. It’s very popular on college campuses. The likelihood is
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that there are going to be a lot of underaged people who are going to find a way to do it,” Nower said. The Academy Awards were also available for betting. New Jersey is the first state to allow gambling on the award show, according to The Inquirer. The ability to bet on the Oscars may be harmful for those with a gambling addiction, Nower said, as it provides another outlet for gamblers. “Problem gambling has an additive component. The more activities you play the more often at more venues, the more likely you are to develop a problem,” she said. The full impact of academy betting cannot be fully understood at this point, she said. But the inclusion of Academy Award betting may harm those who are in the process of developing a gambling addiction, or even those who have never gambled before. “However, if you’re already developing a problem, the more things you can gamble on, the more money you can lose. What gambling on the Oscars, and any new form of gambling does, is it introduces gambling to people who may not have gambled before,” Nower said. The gambling industry may be seeking out younger people as well, she said. SEE GAMBLING ON PAGE 5