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RUTGERS UNIVERSITY—NEW BRUNSWICK
THURSDAY APRIL 11, 2019
Athletics raises $100 M. for new facilities
Israeli Olympic judo team talks about its experiences
BRENDAN BRIGHTMAN NEWS EDITOR
CATHERINE NGUYEN NEWS EDITOR
On Tuesday, three members of the Olympic Israeli judo team came to Rutgers to speak about their experiences with the sport, as well as their diets and the challenges they faced while competing. The event, which was organized by Scarlet Knights for Israel as well as the Jewish National Fund, began with each athlete discussing how they first became involved in judo. SEE EXPERIENCES ON PAGE 4
ONLINE AT DAILYTARGUM.COM
The three Israeli judo team members came to the Rutgers Hillel House. The event was organized by the Scarlet Knights for Israel, as well as the Jewish National Fund. CATHERINE NGUYEN / NEWS EDITOR
Rutgers Athletics announced that it has accomplished its goal of raising $100 million toward the R Big Ten Build, a fundraising campaign for athletics facilities, according to an Athletics press release. The initiative, which began in January 2016, has had 4,000 supporters and will support approximately 650 student athletes. Football coach Chris Ash and men’s basketball coach Steve Pikiell both provided donations of an undisclosed amount to push the fundraiser over its goal, according to the release. “It’s only fitting that coaches Ash and Pikiell put us over the top, as it reflects our shared commitment to
create an optimal student-athlete experience,” said director of Athletics Pat Hobbs in the release. “We are exceptionally grateful for their support and for the many who invested in our future. We are just beginning to realize our potential.” The campaign was kick-started by $25 million in tax credits under an Economic Redevelopment and Growth Grant from the New Jersey state government, according to the release. The largest such donation was $15 million for the Gary and Barbara Rodkin Academic Success Center by the namesake benefactors, according to the release. The center will serve SEE FACILITIES ON PAGE 4
Rutgers football players mentor young athletes in both Newark, Piscataway JACOB TURCHI CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Rutgers football players have recently been involved in a mentorship program with local public schools, serving as role models and teaching younger athletes how to make it in the world of college sports. For approximately 5 to 6 weeks, the players spent time talking to students in schools such as Belmont Runyon Elementary School in Newark, Arbor Intermediate School
in Piscataway and Franklin Middle School in Somerset. Roosevelt Boone, the assistant director of Player Development, said he has been involved with the mentorship program for the past two years. He wanted to bring the University’s football players to the local community because they were held to a “high regard” within the state. The program was also important because the players had the opportunity to learn their own values by making efforts to set a good example for young kids and seeing
how their actions were reflected throughout the state, he said. “The way they carry themselves will be evaluated by kids in the community. Having them give back to those kids is a positive experience and puts everything they’ve accomplished in perspective,” Boone said. “I’ve always been involved in mentorship programs as a former athlete, and it’s something that these guys can really learn from.” SEE ATHLETES ON PAGE 5
Roosevelt Boone, the assistant director of Player Development, said he plans on expanding the current mentoring program to more New Jersey schools in the state. SCARLETKNIGHTS.COM
U. is promoting student access to bus Wi-Fi ANNIE KIM CONTRIBUTING WRITER
The Rutgers Department of Transportation Services (DOTS) has been updating the Wi-Fi feature on its buses, a program that was launched in the Fall 2018 semester. But how well known it is still remains open to debate. As par t of the University’s 2030 master plan to update all college facilities, this is a small step in polishing the Rutgers transit system to better handle the heavy influx of student traf fic for the 15-year plan. As a response to the technical issues that arose with the previous transit provider, NextBus, the
DOTS has since switched over to TransLoc to prevent any further problems with the bus scheduling for Rutgers students. “We implemented the Wi-Fi when we added our new tracking system to all our vehicles for more accurate arrival times,” said Assistant Director of Transit Ser vices John Karakoglou to The Daily Targum. It was also added as a cour tesy to students so they could stay connected and be able to check email or do quick searches while traveling between campuses. Karakoglou said that this switch to TransLoc provides more data SEE WI-FI ON PAGE 5
Wi-Fi was added to the campus buses at the same time a tracking system was implemented for more accurate arrival times. Recently, a newer tracking application named TransLoc has been released to provide even more accurate estimates of where buses are. THE DAILY TARGUM
VOLUME 151, ISSUE 43 • UNIVERSITY ... 3 • OPINIONS ... 6 • INSIDE BEAT... 8• DIVERSIONS ... 9• SPORTS ... BACK