THE DAILY TARGUM
Volume 141, Number 70
S E R V I N G
T H E
R U T G E R S
C O M M U N I T Y
S I N C E
WEDNESDAY JANUARY 20, 2010
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Today: Partly cloudy
THE WRIGHT STYLE
High: 43 • Low: 26
Villanova head coach Jay Wright leads the No. 4 ranked Wildcats against the Rutgers men’s basketball team tonight at Louis Brown Athletic Center.
Christie assumes office in era of economic turmoil BY MARY DIDUCH
Service and Community,” and Christie called on the necessity to use the hard work of New Jerseyans as an example for the new administration. “You, the people, have shown us the path to change,” he said. Some of the changes Christie pledged in his speech include ending bipartisanship tactics in the legislature and increasing accountability. “To all the people of our state, whether you voted for me or not, whether we have agreed or disagreed in the past, today, I am your governor,” he said. “Young or old, Republican or Democrat, rich or poor, regardless of color or heritage, I promise you this: I will work every waking hour of every day to build a better life for every one of our citizens.” In his speech, Christie asked Senator Stephen Sweeney and Assemblywoman Sheila Oliver, both Democrats, to join him at the podium to
ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR
Change has arrived in New Jersey, as Gov. Chris Christie took his oath of office at the Trenton War Memorial to become the 55th governor of the state — the first Republican elected to statewide office since 1997. In his inaugural address at the swearing-in ceremony, which followed a morning mass at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, the former U.S. attorney emphasized the state’s economic troubles, the need to work together to make a positive change and his faith in progress. “To all those with hope in their heart, with determination in their soul and a willingness to pitch in and work together, I say keep going, have faith, for today, change has arrived,” Christie said. The inaugural celebrations honored the state, as the theme was “Rebuilding New Jersey Together: Pride Through
COURTESY OF THE STAR LEDGER
Gov. Chris Christie swears into office at the Trenton War Memorial, becoming New Jersey’s 55th governor and the first Republican elected into office since 1997.
SEE CHRISTIE ON PAGE 7
Medical marijuana law brings relief to state-approved patients
HUDDLING FOR HAITI
BY JOSHUA M. ROSENAU CONTRIBUTING WRITER
ANDREW HOWARD/ PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
The University comes together in a candelight vigil to raise awareness for the victims in Haiti, organized by the Haitian Association of Rutgers University. The group will hold a benefit concert on Jan. 29 in the Rutgers Student Center on the College Avenue campus.
As one of his last acts as governor on Monday, Jon S. Corzine signed the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act (S119), legally allowing marijuana to be used as a medicine for patients with certain state-approved illnesses. But for patients like Diane Riportella, the act could have come a lot sooner. According to the bill, doctors can prescribe marijuana for the treatment of certain debilitating illnesses, among them, cancer, glaucoma and AIDS. Other chronic illnesses like wasting syndrome, chronic pain and severe nausea, seizures and muscle spasms
associated with multiple sclerosis or Crohn’s disease may also qualify for treatment. For the last two years, Riportella, of Egg Harbor Township, has been adapting to life with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also called ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease. Since her diagnosis, the disease has slowly robbed her muscles of their ability to function. This loss of muscle-function has led to atrophy and wasting, a process by which the body breaks down inactive muscle, absorbing it in much the same way it would food. Now bound to a wheelchair, Riportella endures chronic pain coupled with a loss of appetite, a side effect of wasting.
SEE LAW ON PAGE 6
New bandwidth policy renders limits obsolete BY JUSTINE D’SOUZA CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Last semester, Internet users on campus risked losing their web privileges for a few days if they downloaded or uploaded more than the University’s bandwidth limit of four gigabytes a week. Now, users will no longer have to take that risk, as the University removed the limit, allowing Internet users unlimited uploading and downloading privileges. The motivation for the change rose from student feedback related to Internet suspensions, said Frank
INDEX UNIVERSITY Look inside to read how the University adopted hundreds of needy families for the holidays.
Reda, director of information technology for the Rutgers-New Brunswick campus. “We are implementing this based on student feedback on [a] policy that turned people’s Internet off for seven days,” Reda said. School of Arts and Sciences first-year student Ashwini Dhokte recalls losing her Internet connection after exceeding the download limit. “In a building where you can’t get wireless, I had to travel to a dif ferent place to get my work
SEE LIMITS ON PAGE 6
OPINIONS Obama’s broken promises and Haiti’s issues remain despite a large inernational relief fund. MARY CONLON
The University recently changed its maximum bandwidth policy, allowing Internet users on campus unlimited downloading and uploading, including RU Wireless users.
Women leaders gain ground in NJ politics BY COLLEEN ROACHE CORRESPONDENT
New Jersey inaugurated its first lieutenant governor, Kim Guadagno, yesterday but that was just one of a few firsts this year for women in state government. While the spotlight may be on the state’s executive branch now, women
made strides in the state’s legislature also. Assemblywoman Sheila Oliver, DEssex, took office last Tuesday to become the state’s first black female and second overall female speaker of the Assembly, while Rutgers School of LawCamden graduate Senator Barbara Buono, D-Middlesex, rose to a position as the legislative body’s majority speaker.
“To have women in such significant leadership roles really marks a change in politics in the state of New Jersey,” said Debbie Walsh, director of the Center for American Women and Politics at the Eagleton Institute of Politics. The state now ranks 16th in the nation in terms of the percentage of
women serving in state legislature, she said. “When I think of 1776 to the year 2010, and I represent only the second woman given the opportunity to exert leadership, I think that says something very significant about our state and
SEE LEADERS
ON
PAGE 6
UNIVERSITY . . . . . . . 4 OPINIONS . . . . . . . . 8 DIVERSIONS . . . . . . 10 CLASSIFIEDS . . . . . . 12 SPORTS . . . . . . BACK
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