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Students accuse company of using sweatshops, want contract ended AVALON ZOPPO MANAGING EDITOR
Chioma Ekedede, a School of Engineering junior, found a screw in a burrito she bought from the Douglass Café last week. COURTESY OF CHIOMA EKEDEDE
Wooden screw found in burrito sold on campus MANYA GOLDSTEIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Nothing seemed out of the ordinary when Chioma Ekedede sat down for lunch at Douglass Café last Monday afternoon — until she found a screw in her burrito. “I ordered my burrito and while I was eating it, I looked inside the burrito and there was a screw,” the School of Engineering junior said. “I couldn’t even comprehend what was going on.” Ekedede reported the incident to Rutgers Dining Services about an hour after it occurred. The University Sanitarian conducted an investigation the same day with inconclusive results. The screw did not originate from a food preparation area, and its source could not be determined, said Joe Charette, executive director of Rutgers Dining Services, in an email. Ungwaga Roberts Orya, a School of Environmental and Biological Sciences junior, was eating lunch with Ekedede when she discovered the screw. “I saw it and I was like ‘that’s crazy’ so I asked to take a video of it,” he said. Ekedede posted a video on the Rutgers—New Brunswick Class of 2017 Facebook page. While most students expressed outrage, certain individuals were skeptical about the validity of the video. “I think the whole screw claim is bogus,” said Charles Shvartsman, a School of Arts and Sciences junior. “Why would a screw ever be in the kitchen? A screw is too convenient for the whole ‘RU screw’ pun.” Anissa Bousellam, School of Arts and Sciences junior, said the video seemed legitimate.
“We can hear her voice ... if she wanted to really get noticed, she might have thought to show her face,” Bousellam said. “It seemed way too ‘spur of the moment’ for her to even think about what she just found.” Finding a foreign object in food is unacceptable, Bousellam said. Ekedede could have been seriously injured if she did not notice the screw in time. “I believe the incident isn’t the first and most definitely won’t be the last. Rutgers needs to make sure that the health and safety of its students is of the utmost priority,” she said. Many students have encouraged Ekedede to take legal action, but due to time and financial constraints, she is unsure whether she will consider a suit at this time. Orya said he was unsure if a suit would be a good idea, but he would support Ekedede if she decides to take legal action. “I’m not sure it is the best decision because of the fact that you have to be really persistent and determined to do something like that,” Orya said. “I told her if that is what she decides to do, I’ll be ready to testify.” Ekedede said she would like the University to acknowledge the incident. “I would appreciate an apology. I would appreciate some action be taken and that they take more caution when making this food,” she said. The manager of the Douglass Café provided Ekedede with a replacement meal before reporting the incident, Charette said. “When presented with the screw, he informed us that it was not a SEE CAMPUS ON PAGE 4
Last Friday, about 24 student activists from the group, Rutgers University Students Against Sweatshops, marched to Old Queens hoping to speak to University President Robert L. Barchi regarding Nike’s recent labor practices. The student-led activism group, which was joined by faculty and alumni during the march, works to expand the amount of Rutgers apparel sourced from ethical factories, according to a press release. The group was protesting Nike, a company that Rutgers has an apparel contract with. It recently announced a decision to prevent a watchdog group from reviewing their factories. “Last month, Nike refused members of the Workers’ Right Consortium, an independent factory-monitoring association, access to its factories, news which is indicative of potentially inhumane working conditions, as well as a breach of contract for this massive manufacturer,” reads the press release. Nike also failed to disclose the locations of the factories that produce Rutgers apparel, according to the press release. The group is asking Barchi to place Nike on notice under the University’s licensing agreement and call on Nike to disclose the locations of factories producing Rutgers apparel. The student group is also asking that Barchi provide Nike with a 90day notice to reverse their policy
Nike said it would not allow monitors to see factory conditions. Rutgers University Students Against Sweatshops wants the school to stop buying apparel from the company. COURTESY OF RUTGERS USAS to prevent access, according to the press release. The group asked Barchi to terminate the University’s contract with the company if their demands are not met. These laborers have the second-lowest wages among those who produce value for Rutgers University, said David Hughes, a professor in the Department of Anthropology, in an email. “The football and basketball players receive the lowest wages — zero, that is. Ironically — as part of their unpaid jobs — sports workers wear the apparel and act as billboards for the very corporations underpaying workers overseas,” said Hughes, president of the Rutgers chapter of the American Association of University Professors-American Federation of Teachers. Patrick Melillo, director of the President’s Office at Rutgers, received the
students’ letter on Friday because Barchi was unavailable to meet, according to the press release. In the coming weeks, the group plans to meet with Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Felicia McGinty and Rutgers—New Brunswick Chancellor Richard L. Edwards. The group planned to meet with “lower-level administration” last April, according to an article in The Daily Targum. Rutgers is also a member of the Worker’s Rights Consortium, said University spokesperson E.J. Miranda in the ar ticle. “We look for ward to continuing to make progress with (the group) because Rutgers University has a long and proud histor y of supporting workers’ rights and promoting safe working conditions around the world,” Miranda said.
The Eagleton Institute of Politics recently released a poll discussing New Jersey residents’ views on living in the state. Most were divided on the quality of life here. ACHINT RAINCE / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Eagleton poll finds New Jersey residents divided on quality of life, job prospects NOA HALFF ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR
For some, life in the Garden State is as pretty as it sounds, but many still recognize New Jersey’s weaknesses. New Jersey residents are mixed about their state’s quality of life,
according to the latest Eagleton Institute of Politics poll. Respondents thought the state is a good place to live, but not to find work or raise kids. About 58 percent of respondents think the state is a good or excellent place to live and raise a family, and
VOLUME 148, ISSUE 2 • UNIVERSITY ... 3 • TECH ... 5 • OPINIONS ... 6 • CLASSIFIEDS ... 7 • DIVERSIONS ... 9 • SPORTS ... BACK
70 percent think the same with regard to education and recreation, according to the poll. But 63 percent think New Jersey is a fair or poor place for job prospects, 55 percent think it is a fair or SEE PROSPECTS ON PAGE 4
February 2, 2016
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Campus Calendar TUESDAY 2/2 The Department of Germanic, Russian and Eastern European Languages and Literatures presents “Empire on the Post-Soviet Screen Spring 2016 Film Series” at 5 p.m. at Scott Hall on the College Avenue campus. The Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers presents “Art After Hours: First Tuesdays” at 5 p.m. at Voorhees Hall and the Zimmerli Art Museum on the College Avenue campus. The event is free and open to the public. The Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology presents “Accordion-style genome dynamics: engineering novel biodegradation pathways in bacteria” at 11:30 a.m. at the Marine Sciences Building on Cook campus. The event is free and open to the public. University Career Services presents “Get Ahead Successful Career Tips” at 5:30 p.m. at the Busch Student Center. The event is free and open to the public. The Rutgers University Law Review and the Rutgers—Camden Center for State Constitutional Studies presents “27th Annual
State Constitutional Law Lecture: Equality and the Impossible: State Constitutions and Marriage” at 12 p.m. at the Camden College Center at Rutgers—Camden. The event is free and open to the public. WEDNESDAY 2/3 The Department of Landscape Architecture presents “Common Ground: Parks as a driver for public process & Community empowerment” at 4 p.m. at the Cook/Douglass Lecture Hall on Cook campus. The event is free and open to the public. The Center for Teaching Advancement and Assessment Research & the TA Project presents “Online Grade Reporting & Communication” at 9:45 a.m. at the Center for Teaching Advancement & Assessment Research on the College Avenue campus. The event is free and open to the public, but requires registration online. The Department of Nutritional Sciences presents “Body composition in healthy term newborns and infancy” at 2:30 p.m. at the Institute for Food, Nutrition and Health on Cook campus. The event is free and open to the public.
If you would like to submit an event for the Campus Calendar section, please email marketing@dailytargum.com. For more information please visit www.dailytargum.com. Due to space limitations there is no guarantee that your event will be listed.
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CORRECTIONS The Daily Targum promptly corrects all errors of substance. If you have a comment or question about the fairness or accuracy of a story, send an email to eic@dailytargum.com.
UNIVERSITY
February 2, 2016
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Student art history group fosters sense of community NOA HALFF ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR
Students serious about or simply interested in art have a place to share their passion at the Rutgers Art History Student Association (RAHSA.) The RAHSA is a campus organization dedicated to providing a community for all students who enjoy art and art history, according to arthistory.rutgers.edu. The aim of the organization is to provide an environment for students to express their opinions, ideas and current issues about the field. They offer members information about internships, job opportunities, study abroad and provide networking opportunities, according to the website. They provide free trips to art related events such as museums, galleries and lectures, and they also promote the Zimmerli Art Museum. Elijah Reiss, a School of Arts and Sciences junior, joined RAHSA because he is an art history major and wanted to find a community of students who shared the same passion in the field as he does. “I wanted to find people whom I could freely discuss and debate art with, while enjoy the differing opinions and perspectives,” he said. But the organization is open to all and does not only target art majors, Reiss said. “It is not some exclusive club that only allows entrance to those studying in the department,” he said. “At every meeting, we get students from all over the University community, and they bring their colorful knowledge and charisma
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Students at the Rutgers Art History Student Association discuss various aspects of art, while also allowing students to visit different institutions in the area. So far, they have visited the Zimmerli Art Museum, the Princeton University Art Museum and toured various locations in Washington D.C. THE DAILY TARGUM / OCTOBER 2014 Diego Atehortua, a board mem- spread an interest for art histo the table. It makes for a very enber of RAHSA and a School of Arts tory throughout the University joyable environment.” The RAHSA meets every oth- and Sciences sophomore, said their community, Reiss said. The orer week to discuss a chosen topic meetings are informal, yet themat- ganization wants to reach out to students who in the world of “are on the art history, Re“I wanted to find people whom I could freely discuss fence about iss said. “We have and debate art with, while enjoy the differing opinions art history,” and also those discussed periand perspectives.” who have nevods of art, styles er taken an art of art, perforELIJAH REISS history course mance art and School of Arts and Sciences Junior at Rutgers. even our least In the fufavorite types of art,” he said. “You get to hear every- ic. Members discuss a range of ture, Atehortua would like to see one’s opinion, and often there are topics, such as their favorite colors the Art History Student Association more socially and creatively heated debates between students. and what angers or disturbs them. The Art History Student involved with the New BrunsWe also organize trips to museums Association’s main goal is to wick community. and other art related locations.”
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“This semester we are planning a graduate panel with curators, art history professors and current graduate students, as well as other alumni who work in a related field,” he said. “We are also planning a trip to the Zimmerli’s Morse Research Center, and possibly to the Philadelphia Museum of Art.” They would also like to organize more trips with proper funding, Reiss said. “Last semester, we had a trip to the Princeton University Art Museum and a day trip to Washington D.C.,” he said. “To be able to go on more trips and reach out to more students would be excellent accomplishments for this spring semester.”
February 2, 2016
Page 4
PROSPECTS
financial status and employment,” she said. David Robinson, a professor in the Department of Geography, teaches 58 percent of residents like living in state, 63 a course on the geography of New percent dislike job prospects, study finds Jersey. He said mixed opinions should be expected everywhere, it is not special to New Jersey. CONTINUED FROM FRONT “There will always be individuMost New Jersey residents base their opinions on their per- als who will never want to leave the state, while others cannot wait poor place for running a business sonal experiences, she said. Retirement has a large age to depart,” he said. “So also, must and 79 percent think the same factor that plays a role in judging this seemingly apply to those about retirement. Results were gathered from the residents opinions of their state. wanting to move to the state and responses of 843 adults from a Those approaching retirement others perhaps having to move statewide poll by live callers from and middle-aged residents have here reluctantly.” New Jersey has a better reputaNov. 30 to Dec. 6, 2015, according a lower opinion than newer resition today than in years past, Robdents, she said. to the poll. A political climate can also be inson said. Most believe New Jersey’s qual“Sure, some reality television ity of life has declined or stayed a factor affecting resident’s opinprograms having cast the best the same within the last 10 years, ions, Koning said. “New Jerseyans disapprove light on the state, but I think most and only 33 percent believe it will improve now, according to the poll. highly of Gov. (Chris Christie) people know that these really aren’t what ‘realiThe majority’ is like here,” ty believes the “Whatever state we are looking at, it will depend on he said. “I also state is still peoples’ personal experience, socio-economic backdon’t think that on the wrong Sandy caused track, said Ashground, financial status and employment.” negative opinley Koning, asions of New sistant director ASHLEY KONING Jersey.” of the EagleAssistant Director of the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling at Rutgers The storm ton Center for enhanced how Public Interest and have translated their low rat- those in New Jersey and outside Polling at Rutgers. This is the most negative period ings for him into their low rating of New Jersey think about the state, Robinson said. since October 2009, she said. The for their state,” she said. “I’m not suggesting all went New Jersey residents are not results depend on different indicators and are affected by the dif- seeing anything get done and feel well with the handling of the ference in demographics across New Jersey is lagging behind oth- storm before, during and espeer states and that taxes are far too cially after it,” he said. “However the state. there is some perception that New Certain demographics are cor- high, Koning said. “I think it’s going to take a while Jersey rallied to pull out of it.” related with positive ratings while Last summer, Robinson hosted others ones with more negative for New Jersey to boost these rating up again and potentially some- the annual meeting of the Amerratings, she said. “The highest ratings are among thing we wont see until a new ican Association of State Climayounger residents, those in more governor takes office within the tologists. A number of attendees spoke of New Jersey more posiaffluent households, those living state,” she said. But this difference in opinion tively after the visit, he said. in particular regions and residents “I’m not trying to sing the praiswho are newer to the community,” is not just a New Jersey problem, es of life in New Jersey in any false she said. “On the flipside, those she said. “Whatever state we are way, shape or form but I truly bewho have been here longer, who are older and those of lower house- looking at, it will depend on lieve that one of the best means hold income have a more negative peoples personal experience, of increasing people’s opinions of socioeconomic background, N.J. is to visit N.J.,” he said. view on family life and the state.”
CAMPUS Investigation could not determine origin of screw, Charette says CONTINUED FROM FRONT
incident, but she does not think she will eat there again. “It’s always easy to pick somestainless steel screw, as is used in food service equipment,” Charette thing up before classes because said. “The screw was not even a I have a lot of classes on Cook machine screw, but rather a wood (and) Douglass,” Ekedede said. “I haven’t eaten there since Monscrew in a dark brown color.” He also concluded that all of the day. I don’t think I’m going to eat café’s equipment was well-main- there again.” Rutgers Dintained and in ing Services good working takes food condition. “I haven’t eaten there safety seriousEkedede since Monday. I don’t ly and fully said she nevinvestigates er heard back think I’m going to eat all allegations, from the health there again.” Charette said inspector re“We have garding the inCHIOMA EKEDEDE made every vestigation. School of Engineering Junior effort to re“He said he emphasize the was going to impor tance investigate and call me back. I never heard from of close inspection of both unthem. I’m not sure when I’m go- cooked and cooked foods with ing to hear from them, or if I’m our food preparation employees,” going to hear from them,” Eked- he said. “In our many years of experience, serving approximately ede said. Ekedede ate at Douglass Café 6.7 million meals a year, we have almost every day prior to the never seen this occur at Rutgers.”
CRIME FEB. 1 NEWARK — Sean L. Scott, 28, has been identified as a victim in the fatal shooting in city’s West Ward last Sunday. Scott and another man were walking down South 18th Street when a third man approached them and started firing multiple times. Police found 13 shell casings at the scene. He was pronounced dead just after midnight bringing Newark’s total homicides for 2016 to 11 and the seventh person killed since Wednesday. No one has been arrested in connection to the case yet. FEB. 1 BERLIN BOROUGH — John Hayes was hit by a two cars
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while crossing the intersection at Tansboro Road in a fatal hit and run on Friday. The first driver stopped at the scene of the car, but the second car continued to drive away after its part in the accident. Police are now on looking for the driver of the mid-2000s Nissan Sentra. Anyone with any information about the incident should contact Camden County Prosecutor’s Office Detective Doug Rowand at 856-225-8514, Berlin Borough Police Detective Mike Sheer at 856-783-4900 or email ccpotips@ccprosecutor.org.
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February 2, 2016
TECH TUESDAY
Page 5
Hoverboards banned after several reports of battery failure MICHAEL MAKMUR
If the separator is punctured, the anode and cathode can come together and create a short circuit. This quick discharging results in a large In an email sent to all Rutgers current and subsequently a large University students last month, amount of released energy, causing the Department of Emergency a fire and possibly an explosion. Services issued a temporary ban While many well-manufactured on all “hoverboards,” according to Li-ion batteries contain not only The Daily Targum. well made separators but also many These hoverboards, which are desafeguards to prevent a short cirscribed in the email as “hands-free cuit, the third party batteries used segways,” have recently been in the by some manufacturers may not. news for exploding and catching fire A more fragile separator means in dramatic fashion. that if the hoverboard is put under Many believe the cause for enough stress where the battery these explosions reside in the is stored, it can lithium-ion easily catch fire. batteries that Overchargpower the “These batteries have occasionally been responsible ing these batterhoverboards. ies can also reThese batterfor fires, at one point grounding every Boeing 787 sult in fire, along ies have occaDreamliner aircraft.” with overuse. sionally been So far these responsible for fires have refires, at one Alkaline batteries are small and sulted in 29 emergency room vispoint grounding every Boeing 787 cheap to mass-produce, but have its, along with 10 different fires in Dreamliner aircraft. Li-ion batteries are extremely issues with leaking. Most alkaline nine different states. The simple solution to preventcommon and usually not dan- batteries are also not rechargeable. While alkaline batteries are less ing hoverboard fires is to simply not gerous, as they are used in cell phones, laptops and even electric susceptible to fire, they also pose get one, or if you have one, not to cars. They are small, lightweight hazards during disposal. Most use it or charge it on or off campus. If you really insist on getting and hold a lot of energy, so they devices using them also require tend to be popular with manufac- several batteries, creating a new one for home use, it is recomturers in comparison to lead-acid problems with logistics. Old and mended to get a higher quality new batteries cannot be mixed, as hoverboard from a trustworthy batteries or alkaline batteries. These batteries work by trans- the current differential can cause location, as they are more likely to ferring lithium ions, or charged shorts, leaks or small explosions. have fail-safe circuitry. STAFF WRITER
Hoverboard fires have resulted in 29 hospitalizations and 10 fires. The lithium-ion batteries inside the devices may be the cause. SUSMITA PARUCHURI / DESIGN EDITOR
particles from the negatively charged part to the positively charged part, creating an electric current. The anode, which is the negative side, and cathode, the positive side, are kept apart by a semi-permeable separator, which the lithium ions can flow through. Lead-acid batteries work similarly to Li-ion batteries in that they use a positive and negative part to create an electric current. They are much bigger and slightly more complicated than Li-ion batteries to manufacture.
We’re Hiring Campus Team Leaders for Referendum Wanted: Rutgers Juniors and Seniors! What is a Referendum? The Daily Targum conducts a referendum every three years, in which a campaign is held to get students to vote for its funding via the students’ term bill. A referendum is a procedure that has to be undertaken every three years to allow for funding for educationally valuable student sponsored programs and organizations. Team leaders are extensions of the Referendum Coordinator. They will be responsible for: · Promoting referendum awareness around the university · Assisting with the hiring process of poll workers/promoters · Managing polls and employees on their assigned campus · Creating and managing work schedules and recording employees hours · Keeping track of traffic and supplies at all designated locations · Transporting, sorting, and tabulating ballots · Communicating with Referendum Coordinator daily to review completed tasks and duties
Individuals must be self-starters, charismatic, great problem solvers, and able to manage people.
Ideal candidates must be free to work big blocks of time APRIL 4th - APRIL 15th during REFERENDUM. Pre-Referendum 1-2 days a week, 2-4 hour shifts. Please request an application and submit resumes to the Referendum Coordinator: 2016DTReferendum@gmail.com by Thursday, February 4th, 2016. Employment Dates: February 16th – April 22nd
OPINIONS
Page 6
February 2, 2016
Sanders’s agenda same as slavery reparations
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eparations for black people to repair the accumulated injuries from centuries of enslavement JOSE SANCHEZ and institutionalized racism have moved toward the center of public discourse in recent months. With the Black Lives Matter movement and the fact that a black family (indeed, through the lineage of First Lady Michelle Obama, a descendent of slaves) now resides in the White House, Americans have had to confront our country’s racist past and present in oftentimes difficult and visceral ways. One of the more famous movers and shakers of the public’s reparations discussion has been The Atlantic’s very own Ta-Nehisi Coates. His June 2014 article, “The Case for Reparations” is one of the most important public intellectual interventions in very recent memory. He recounts the numerous private and state-sponsored injustices suffered by black people. Coates writes about the inertia that these accumulated injuries have wrought on inequalities between whites and black people in wealth, home ownership, poverty and so forth. He notes the theft of black-owned land well into the 20th century, such as the Federal Housing Administration’s refusal to issue private mortgages to black families, shutting them out of the biggest mass wealth accumulating project in U.S. history that was private homeownership and shuttering them in sprawling ghettos. And then there’s today’s mass incarceration system in which black men make up less than one-tenth of the population, but almost 40 percent of the incarcerated, locking them away for years from their support networks, jobs, education and slapping them with a stigma that will last their whole lives. Coates’s essay then was an all-around tour de force, sparking and shaping a debate around an issue that has been veiled in an anxious silence for decades, which is why its been both at turns disappointing and illuminating to read Coates’s criticisms of the U.S.’s most famous socialist right now, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) who’s running for the nomination of the Democratic Party. More than two weeks ago, Sanders was asked whether he’d support slavery reparations. He responded, “No, I don’t think so.” The self-declared “democratic socialist” cited the divisiveness of reparations and that the likelihood of such measures passing a Congress controlled by the monochromatic, far right Republican Party would be close to “nil.” Coates finds it hard to believe that a socialist like Sanders, who is far from being the “candidate of moderation and unification,” and much more a candidate running on a platform of “partisanship and radicalism” could not demand specific, race-conscious reparations to black people. Although Sanders has been talking non-stop about economic and political “violence” in the form of disproportionate joblessness, poverty, arrests for non-violent drug offenses and so forth, Coates takes issue with Sanders’s supposedly colorblind, “class-first” approach to solving the U.S.’s deep racial disparities. With non-degreed black men without criminal records having the same chance at low-wage work as white men with criminal records, and then the wage and employment gaps between white and black graduates, it appears that a colorblind agenda of free public college education, higher minimum wages, drug legalization and so forth may not fully extinguish institutionalized white supremacy. Yet, let’s remember, Sanders doesn’t want to win just so he can run an entirely unfeasible plan to pay money to the descendants of slaves. Also, how many black people can name an enslaved ancestor four or five generations ago? How many Italians, Tamils, Filipinos or Dominicans can go back that far? Also, let’s remember how much we’d have to pay. On the U.S. Civil War’s eve, slaves were the nation’s most valuable asset and labor source. A blog named Squarely Rooted estimates that that value today would be some $1.75 trillion to be divvied up between over 45 million blacks. Yet the highest estimate, when you really think of how Central African enslavement was to the modern economy, was an unfathomable $12.5 quadrillion, many times bigger than the modern global economy. Also, what of the conquest of half of Mexico and indigenous communities? Where are their reparations? Coates and others seem to be downplaying the beneficial impact that a left-wing Sanders presidency would provide to people of color, who are disproportionately huddled into low-wage and shut out of getting a higher education. And besides, neither former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton nor President Barack Obama support reparations, so why all the overblown criticism of arguably the most progressive presidential candidate we’ve seen in generations, who’s garnered enviable accolades from social movements such as the civil rights, women’s rights and labor movements? We may be foolish to hope to halt the inertia of centuries of racial stereotyping, but if blacks and others can get into a public college and go to a doctor free of charge, can sustain themselves and their families with high-paying jobs and stay in their homes without fear of rapacious, too-big-to-fail banks, then pragmatically-speaking, Sanders is best hope for a significantly less racist United States. And what is the most pragmatic is oftentimes also the most ethical.
THE CHAMPAGNE SOCIALIST
José Sanchez is a School of Arts and Sciences senior majoring in history with a minor in political science. His column, “The Champagne Socialist,” runs on alternate Tuesdays.
TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE
EDITORIAL
Locals shouldn’t be treading thin ICE Wrongful seizure of German Nieto-Cruz sparks anger in Hub City
E
nvision officers knocking on the door of of Nieto-Cruz’s legality, the manner of which ICE your home. As far as you know, you’ve entered the home without warrant is definitely ildone nothing wrong, so you turn the knob legal conduct and the situation is aggravated by so as to comply with authority and you’re asked how Nieto-Cruz and his family weren’t properly about a “Rodriguez” that they seem to be after. informed of their rights. It can be gleaned from the case of Nieto-Cruz There’s no one in your household with that name, but nonetheless the officers aggressively enter that ICE raids have a sense of arbitrariness, your home without a warrant and the situation rounding up whoever they can get, and it makes quickly devolves from there — before you know ICE’s haphazard actions all the more insidious. it, you are captured and detained for deportation. They came into his home asking for a gang memThis bizarre scenario convulsed rage through- ber named “Rodriguez,” but “Nieto-Cruz” sounds out the City of New Brunswick, as it more or less nothing close — aside from the commonality that exemplified through the experience of 21-year- the names are of a Spanish origin. This explicold German Nieto-Cruz and his family. According it demonstration of discrimination and deceit is to The Daily Targum about 60 people gathered shamelessly deployed by ICE officers in almost to the intersection of George Street and Living- all their raids. His family asserts that he has no ston Avenue on Jan. 30 to protest the actions criminal record, but he is now being detained in of the United States Immigration and Customs ICE’s Newark office. Current knowledge about ICE’s inception and Enforcement (ICE) officers who have raided homes in New Brunswick, particularly targeting their tactics are limited, but based on the inforHispanic households. ICE has been conducting mation given, their actions are jarring and unjust. raids throughout the U.S. and it arrived in our Illegal immigrants may violate the law by the backyard, targeting New Brunswick’s populous sole reason that they inhabit the countr y without government sanction, but Mexican community. Niethe actions taken against to-Cruz’s case incited propersons who have the tests by community res“The foundation of his legality potential to be illegal idents, immigration and are abominable. humanitarian groups to to stay in the U.S. is based on his Rallies should continue demonstrate their frustraDeferred Action for Childhood to be held, especially with tions with the presence of Arrivals status that was valid at the activism of UniversiICE officers in their city. ty students, on behalf of ICE has violated the the time of the raid.” people like Nieto-Cruz, rights of Nieto-Cruz and who have been detained his family. According to by ICE and face possible the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, ICE utilizes tactics of intimida- deportation without being given appropriate legal tion, coercion, threats and sometimes force. The recourse. Nieto-Cruz is 21 years old, and that’s a Immigrant Legal Resource Center further ex- typical age for a college student. While he wasn’t plains that ICE’s actions have transgressed the a Rutgers student, the University has a good porfundamental rights of people residing in the U.S., tion of undocumented students indicated by a fair since the Constitution explicitly states it protects for undocumented students on Rutgers—Newark all people, including immigrants, from unrea- last week. This issue is not as remote to the Unisonable searches and seizures with the Fourth versity as you might think. Nieto-Cruz arrived in the U.S. when he was 3 Amendment and self-incrimination with the Fifth Amendment. Nieto-Cruz was not a U.S. citizen, years old, but he could be sent back to his nabut he wasn’t illegal either. The foundation of tive countr y of Mexico, which is now a countr y his legality to stay in the U.S. is based on his De- completely estranged to him. The United States ferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status that is his home, and he should be able to stay here was valid at the time of the raid. And regardless in peace. The Daily Targum’s editorials represent the views of the majority of the 148th editorial board. Columns, cartoons and letters do not necessarily reflect the views of the Targum Publishing Company or its staff.
February 2, 2016
Opinions Page 7
Congress should be active in upholding safety standards OH, THE PLACES YOU’LL GO NICK HANSEN
U
nbeknownst to many, students, commuters and others who ride trains in New Jersey faced a looming disaster late last year. In October, an NJ Transit spokesperson warned that without an extension of a federal train safety deadline, the agency would no longer be able to run trains. This would be paralyzing. In 2014, New Jersey residents made 85 million train trips, with an average daily ridership of 295,173. NJ Transit wasn’t alone, either. MTA President Thomas Prendergast warned that it would have to shut down Metro-North and the Long Island Rail Road, and PATH general manager Michael Marino noted that PATH trains would face the same scenario. A shutdown would mean an unprecedented economic collapse across the region. Fortunately, however, Congress passed the Surface Transportation Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2015, extending the deadline to the end of 2018 at the earliest. New Jersey trains will continue to run for the time being. Like many, I was relieved that I could still commute. But I’m also worried. The deadline Congress imposed may have been harsh, but it wasn’t without reason. Passed in the aftermath of the deadly Chatsworth train collision in 2008, the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (RSIA) mandated that the nation’s rail-
ways implement a safety technology called Positive Train Control. PTC creates a communication network between trains, track signal and dispatchers, and ensures that a train exceeding the local speed limit will be slowed down. It’s designed to prevent train-totrain collisions, speeding, train collisions with workers and train-to-vehicle collisions. It may sound mundane, but it’s critical: Without PTC in place, engineers work without a safety net. Any human error can be fatal. Last May, Amtrak’s Northeast Regional No. 188 crashed after entering a curve at 100 miles
eral Transit Administration grants, but the majority of funding is short-term. Michael Melaniphy, president and CEO of the American Public Transportation Association, said in a 2013 statement, “It is estimated that the cost of full implementation of PTC will be at least $2.75 billion. To date, Congress has only appropriated $50 million for PTC for this critical safety program.” Without a longterm bill, railroads are less capable of making plans for the future. Additionally, in 2008, much of the technology didn’t exist, and rail networks had to develop the system from
“When RSIA was passed in 2008, it gave the railroad industry an unfunded mandate — that is, a requirement to take action without funding for that action.” per hour, more than twice the posted speed limit. If the track had been using PTC, it could have been avoided. Robert Sumwalt, chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, made it clear: “Had such a system been installed on this section of track, this accident would not have occurred.” Eight people were killed and 200 were injured. Why, then, hasn’t PTC been implemented? As is often the case, politics are to blame. When RSIA was passed in 2008, it gave the railroad industry an unfunded mandate — that is, a requirement to take action without funding for that action. The rail industry expected a long-term reauthorization bill that would extend capital funding through Fed-
scratch during a severe economic downturn, without substantial federal funding. To an extent, train accidents are an anomaly. In 2013, there were more than 5 million police-reported car crashes. In the same year, there were less than 2,000 train accidents. This is why preventable crashes can have such disastrous consequences: If people drive instead of taking public transit or if railroads have to suspend operations, people switch to more dangerous forms of transportation, then more people will be killed in accidents. By refusing to act in these circumstances, Congress is allowing people to die. What, then, is New Jersey to do? Unfortunately, its options are limited. Much of the
track that NJ Transit operates on is owned by Amtrak, including the Northeast Corridor line that Rutgers students take between Trenton and New York, restricting NJ Transit’s ability to make modifications. If PTC is to be implemented, funding needs to come from the federal government. This has, to an extent, already started. In May, the Federal Railroad Administration approved a loan of $967.1 million to the MTA to finance PTC implementation on Metro-North and LIRR trains. Amtrak and NJ Transit need the same support. But as much as I’d like to be, I’m not optimistic. The day after the Amtrak crash, the House voted to slash Amtrak’s budget. And while the Obama Administration’s 2016 transportation budget includes $3 billion over six years to support PTC implementation across the nation, there may still be funding shortages. The FRA noted in 2012 that the nation’s railroads have a backlog of unfunded projects that total $78 billion, and it worries that any diversion of funds into PTC could create greater systemic safety issues. PTC is unfunded and overdue — but so is everything. These safety problems aren’t acts of God or forces of nature. They are the product of choices that our leaders make. How many more people need to die before Congress realizes the right choice? Nick Hansen is a School of Arts and Sciences senior majoring in political science with a minor in history. His column, “Oh, the Places You’ll Go,” runs on alternate Tuesdays.
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February 2, 2016
Pearls Before Swine
DIVERSIONS Stephan Pastis
Horoscopes
Page 9 Nancy Black
Today’s Birthday (02/02/16). Win together this year. Money flows after spring eclipses (3/8, 3/23), leading to a fork in the road. Focus shifts from finances to a two-year educational adventure after Jupiter enters Libra (9/9). The cash spigot gushes again after autumn eclipses (9/1, 9/16). Provide for the ones you love. To get the advantage, check the day’s rating: 10 is the easiest day, 0 the most challenging.
Over The Hedge
Non Sequitur
Lio
T. Lewis and M. Fry
Wiley
Mark Tatulli
Aries (March 21-April 19) — Today is an 8 — There’s no shortage of opportunities. Think big. Make a commitment you’ll enjoy keeping. Don’t fall for a con game. The next two days favor travel, studies and exploration. Keep your budget. Expand your boundaries. Taurus (April 20-May 20) — Today is a 9 — Review your reserves over the next two days. Figure out finances and store provisions for the future. Pay a debt. Get a profitable tip from an older person. Consider an investment in your education. Gemini (May 21-June 20) — Today is an 8 — Go further with a partner today and tomorrow. Join forces for a common goal. You’re making progress. Negotiate and compromise through adjustments. Share your discoveries. Extend your power base. Let the metamorphosis happen naturally. Cancer (June 21-July 22) — Today is a 9 — The pace picks up at work over the next two days. Slow down, breathe and prioritize. Avoid arguments for maximum productivity. Focus on details, one at a time. Check prices before committing to buy. Leo (July 23-Aug. 22) — Today is an 8 — Get into some fun. You’re attractive, and attracted, today and tomorrow. Get creative, and play with your talents, skills and hobbies. Practice, to take your game to tougher competition. Kindle a romance. Dance together. Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) — Today is a 7 — Energize your home base. Family and home issues take the forefront today and tomorrow. Get into domestic projects, and adapt to changing circumstances. Fix something before it breaks. Clean up after making a mess.
Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) — Today is an 8 — You can learn what you put your mind to over the next two days. Catch up on reading. Collect the facts, and sift through them. Write your discoveries. Friends cheer you on. Practice with renewed vigor. Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) — Today is a 9 — Focus on making money today and tomorrow. Go for your objective boldly. Don’t stir up jealousies or rely on nebulous uncertainties. If in doubt, confer with trusted family or partners. Angry words get expensive. Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) — Today is an 8 — You’re strong and especially creative for the next few days. You’re attracting positive attention. Keep to practical priorities. It’s a good time for personal transformation. Get outside and move your body. Make an amazing discovery. Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) — Today is a 7 — Contemplate your next move. Rest and recuperate today and tomorrow. Draw inspiration from afar. Get into an intuitive phase. Favor home over travel. Hide away a treasure. Nostalgic retrospection suits your mood. Settle in. Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) — Today is a 9 — Friends give you a boost. Team projects go well today and tomorrow. Provide leadership. Schedule meetings and gatherings. Advance through social means. Use your connections and networks. Talk about what you’d love to see realized. Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — Today is an 8 — The next two days bring lots of career movement. Being well organized helps. Crazy dreams seem possible. Prepare for inspection. Don’t get distracted by old fears. Do what you promised. Listen to someone you trust.
©2016 By Nancy Black distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC
Sudoku
©Puzzles By Pappocom
Solution to Puzzle #25 02/01/16 Solution, tips, and computer program at www.sudoku.com
Page 10
February 2, 2016
SENIOR
IN BRIEF
Kahleah Copper focusing on her defense was key in Knights most recent win CONTINUED FROM BACK the 10-point win. “Bri (Canty) is stepping up to become a lot more in terms of an offensive threat. Kah and Tyler need to show up.” Canty’s ability to facilitate has elevated her team’s play and that is evident when she is not on the floor. She handles the ball on offense better than any other guard on the roster. The Willingboro, New Jersey, native pointed to Hollivay’s production offensively as a key factor in snapping the four-game losing skid at home against Nebraska. “I mean Rachel (Hollivay), she can do it, she can score,” Canty said. “You just gotta keep pushing and telling her like ‘You good. You got it.’ And I think that’s basically what I kept telling her.” The constant prodding paid dividends. Hollivay had one of her best all-around showings of the season, keeping the Knights in the game in the first half with eight points and locking down on her mark defensively. Forward Jessica Shepard torched the Knights for 23 points the first time the two schools met back on Jan. 15. Shepard is a candidate for Freshman of the Year nationally and can play at a level well beyond her years. Shepard scored 23 again, but she had to work for it thanks to Hollivay, whose five blocked
shots move her within four of the school record of 293, set by program legend Sue Wicks. “I think she’s a really good player on both ends of the floor just ‘cause she has the post presence on the offensive end where you have to guard her,” Shepard said of Hollivay. “And defensively, she moves her feet really well.” Copper’s unselfishness has lent to building Hollivay confidence on offense. And Rutgers will need its senior center to score down the stretch if they want to remain in the hunt for an NCAA Tournament selection. Copper made it clear during the postgame press conference Jan. 30 that despite her 16.1 points per game (2nd to Scaife) and her team leading 8.1 rebounds per contest, she is no one thing on a basketball court. “I’m not just on the floor to score. I have to be able to make people better,” she said. “I have to get rebounds, I have to play defense, so I think that’s going to be key, key for me because like Coach Stringer said at the beginning of the year, if I wanna be a professional I have to own two things and I think I’m just trying to focus on trying to do that and also trying to make people better around me.” For updates on the Rutgers women’s basketball team, @KevinPXavier and follow @TargumSports on Twitter.
Senior guard Briyona Canty filled up the stat sheet in Rutgers’ last win, totaling 11 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. ACHINT RAINCE / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER / JANUARY 2016
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T
he Phoenix Suns have fired head coach Jeff Hornacek. Just a season after falling just shy of the playoffs in a competitive Western Conference, the Suns have stumbled out to a 1435 record this season. Suns’ owner Robert Sarver did reach out to former Suns’ point guard Steve Nash about the position, but Nash wasn’t currently interested in the position according to Marc Stein of ESPN. A trio of assistant coaches currently on staff were interviewed for the interim job on Monday, and an official hire is expected to be made by Tuesday according to ESPN. Phoenix posted a 101-112 record in the two-plus seasons with Hornacek at the helm.
Y
Junior swimmer Rachel Stoddard finished with two NCAA “B” cuts in the 100 and 200 breast events against New Hampshire. EDWIN GANO / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER / OCTOBER 2015
WILDCATS Knights close out regular season competition with win over Wildcats on Senior Day CONTINUED FROM FRONT
It was also senior day. Rutgers recognized seniors Sarah Coyne, Sophie Newton, Morgan Pfaff and Joanna Wu before the races kicked off. The swimmers capped off the home portion of their careers in the best way possible — with a win. “It was pretty awesome,” Wu said. “(We) wish we could’ve actually swam with UNH, but nothing’s better than to end the year with my fellow teammates so it was great.” In the 500-yard freestyle, junior Meghan Kiely came in first with a final time of 23.88. Freshman Vera Koprivova raced to a time of 56.20 to win the 100-yard backstroke. Pfaff hit the wall in 2:04.48 in the 200-yard individual medley earning a win for Rutgers. The staple of Wu, Kiely, freshman Cynthia Wu and sophomore Karli Rymer concluded the 200-yard freestyle relay in 1:35.56 crossing the finish line first. In the 200-yard medley relay, Joanna Wu, junior Rachel Stoddard, freshman Francesca Stoppa and Kiely were victorious in the event putting together a finals time of 1:41.71 “I think it was a strong meet for us,” said head coach Petra Martin. “We put the kids in different, more challenging situations. We had a lot of back-toback swims but we’re obviously building tough competitors and it’s something that they might be challenged at different competitions, different meets ... how they respond to it mentally and physically is what we are doing today, trying to prepare them better and they did a good job with it.” Sophomore Addison Walkowiak swept both the 1-meter and 3-meter dive events. The Ballston Spa, New York, native put up a 306.59 in the 1-meter dive and a 3:07.50 in the 3-meter dive. Walkowiak’s marks in both events were NCAA Zone Regional Scores.
Freshman Rachel Byrne placed second in both dive events posting a 2:52.97 in the 1-meter and a 2:75.11 in the 3-meter. Stoddard and Stoppa each put up NCAA “B” cuts during the meet. Stoddard posted both of her cuts in the breaststroke events. In the 100-yard breaststroke, Stoddard had a final time of 1:02.20 and a 2:15.32 in the 200-yard breaststroke. “I’m really happy with how I swam,” Stoddard said. “I wasn’t feeling too well during warm up, but I pushed it out of my head and my time shows. So I was happy about that.” In the 100-yard and 200-yard butterfly events, Stoppa earned two NCAA “B” cuts. The Trento, Italy, native touched the wall in 54.18 for the 100-yard butterfly and swam to the finish in 1:58.26 for the 200-yard butterfly. “I think it’s a really good time for this part of the season,” Stoppa said. “I hope to improve my time the next week during the Big Ten Conference (Championships). So I think we can do good work with the team.” The meet was both a happy and sad occasion for Rutgers as its seniors near the culmination of their careers on the Banks. The senior swimmers and their fellow teammates still have one more competition left on the slate, the Big Ten Championships on Feb. 17-20. “They’re a great group of kids,” Martin said about her seniors. “They had fun here the last four years, did some great work. Obviously, we saw the couple of big meets ahead of us so they’ll have the opportunity to have their last punch, but we’ll miss them and wish them all the best with their future lives.” For updates on the Rutgers swimming and diving team, follow @EvanCBruno and @TargumSports on Twitter.
esterday was a monumental day in Duke basketball history, but for the wrong reasons. In the most recent Top25 poll from the Associated Press, Duke was not voted in as one of the top-25 teams in the country for the first time in more than eight years. At 15-6, the Blue Devils have lost four of their last five games, three of which coming against unranked opponents. While Duke’s 167-week streak in the Top-25 was snapped, Oklahoma was able to keep their threeweek streak of being the No. 1 alive. The Sooners (18-2) used a two-point, road win over LSU to receive 45 of the 65 first-place votes and remain as the top-ranked team in the country. For the third consecutive week North Carolina came in right behind the Sooners at No. 2. Villanova, Maryland and Iowa rounded out the top-five.
J
ust because the Oakland Raiders lost out on relocation bid to move the team to Los Angeles doesn’t necessarily mean they’re locked into staying in Oakland long term. A prospective football stadium builder in Las Vegas met with Raiders’ owner Mark Davis last week, according to ESPN. The prospective builder, Las Vegas Sands CEO Sheldon Adelson, plans to construct a $1 billion domed stadium on the campus of the University of Las Vegas. The Raiders’ lease with the Oakland Coliseum, where they currently play, expires next month.
T
he New York Yankees’ bench took a major hit yesterday, announcing that first baseman Greg Bird would need to have surgery to repair a torn labrum putting him on the shelf for the 2016 season. Bird, age 23, started 43 games at the tail-end of the 2015 season, taking over the position for the then-injured Mark Teixeira. The rookie posted a .261 batting average to go along with 11 home runs and 31 runs batted in. Bird was projected to be a valuable insurance at first base, in the case of Teixeira getting hurt.
B
randon Phillips was nearly traded to the Washington Nationals and Arizona Diamondbacks over the offseason, but vetoed both potential trades because of asking for more money than teams would give him. Even though the Reds have certainly made an effort to try and deal the 35-year-old second baseman, assuming he is still with the team, he still projects to be their starter come Opening Day.
February 2, 2016
Page 11 FOOTBALL ASH BROUGHT PARKER, OKRUCH WITH HIM FROM OHIO STATE
Coaching staff brings Big Ten pedigree in first year at RU GARRETT STEPIEN CORRESPONDENT
After two years, the Rutgers football team finally has a sense of experience in the Big Ten Conference. Partnered with some of the nation’s elite, the Scarlet Knights have taken their lumps on their way to a mixed bag of results over two seasons. To show for it, they have a 12-13 overall record coupled with a 4-12 mark in Big Ten play. But perhaps the biggest piece of experience came in the offseason. When Rutgers pried Chris Ash from Ohio State and hired him as the football program’s 30th head coach, the Knights gained a leg up. Ash boasts three years of experience as a defensive backs coach and defensive coordinator at Wisconsin (2010-12) before his most recent two-year stint at Ohio State as a co-defensive coordinator and secondary coach (2014-15). But Ash isn’t the only one in Piscataway with a resume featuring Big Ten pedigree. And that’s exactly how he drew it up. “Where are these guys from? There’s been a lot of talk about not a lot of connections to New Jersey,” he said. “To be honest with you, it didn’t matter where I got a job. I wasn’t concerned with where they were from.” What did stand out to Ash as he got settled in on the Banks was where the potential new members of his first-year coaching staff had previously stopped along the way. And as much as he emphasized finding people of character, compatibility and loyalty, Ash underlined it all with the reminder that there was a reason for majority of the staff having ties to Ohio State. “That was really important to me because they’re going to understand the expectations of the program, they’re going to understand the day-to-day operations because a lot of the things I’m going to do are going to be modeled by what we did at Ohio State,” he said. Drawing the pipeline back out to Columbus extends deep into the Knights’ new staff. It’s that sense of familiarity that, along with the crossing paths that many of the coaches on board have gone through in one way or another, leads head strength and conditioning coach Kenny Parker, a former Ohio State staffer (2012-15) to believe it plays into Rutgers’ favor entering year three of Big Ten play. “It’s good to have people around you that knows the coaches,” he said. “I mean, just take my staff that I’ve got. They all know me or they know something of me. They was all a part of that coaching somehow, someway. So absolutely, you need that. As a coach, as a player, you definitely want that loyalty. You want that comfort knowing that we are all on the same page. It’s no hidden agendas.” But even past the ties to the Buckeyes, the surface of 55 combined seasons of coaching or playing experience in the Big Ten brings Rutgers an advantage it didn’t particularly have under Kyle Flood in his four years at the helm.
With the hires coming sporadically throughout the past month and a half, the newest Knights coaches haven’t been together for long. But special teams coordinator Vince Okruch, who has been on his fair share of coaching staffs in his past 35 years on the college football sidelines, thinks this one is coming along nicely — even if the plethora of Big Ten experience doesn’t guarantee immediate on-field success during a transitional period. “The characteristics that those men possess, I see in Chris (Ash),” Okruch said. “And, yeah, it’s a hard job. You’ve gotta work and work hard, but you’ve also gotta work smart ... And, like I said, had things not gone the way they gone (with Rutgers in 2015), we wouldn’t be here. But I’m glad we are.” For updates on the Rutgers football team, follow @GarrettStepien and @TargumSports on Twitter.
Head coach Chris Ash has been around the Big Ten. He coached under Urban Meyer for two years at OSU after spending three years in Wisconsin. DIMITRI RODRIGUEZ / PHOTO EDITOR / JANUARY 2016
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RUTGERS UNIVERSITY—NEW BRUNSWICK
SPORTS
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“They’re a great group of kids ... we still have a couple of big meets ahead of us so they’ll have the opportunity to have their last punch, but we’ll miss them ...” — Rutgers Swimming and Diving head coach Petra Martin
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2016
ONLINE AT DAILYTARGUM.COM
SWIMMING & DIVING RUTGERS 205, NEW HAMPSHIRE 91
Rutgers honors seniors, defeats Wildcats EVAN BRUNO STAFF WRITER
The Rutgers swimming and diving team wrapped up the home portion of its season Saturday afternoon. The robust Scarlet Knights cruised to a 205-91 dual meet victory over New Hampshire. Rutgers was set to take on New Hampshire on Jan. 23, but the meet was postponed due to Winter Storm Jonas. In order to have the matchup, the teams swam against each other in a virtual meet. The Wildcats used the results from its clash with Maine last Friday while the Knights had an intra-squad meet on Saturday at the Rutgers Aquatics Center. The statistics from the respective meets were used to determine the victor. It was business as usual for the swimmers of Piscataway even though they didn’t race against New Hampshire in person. “You’re always competing, you’re always racing against someone during practice,” said senior Joanna Wu on the virtual meet. “You’re really used to it, but it’s still like they’re (New Hampshire) still missing competition wise from the other team, but it’s still like an everyday thing.” Rutgers also had to deal with a second abnormality from their usual meets, because the battle marked the team’s final home meet of the year. Senior swimmer Joanna Wu contributed to a first-place finish in the 200 medley relay in Rutgers’ virtual dual meet win over New Hampshire. Wu and the Knights will now prepare to compete in the Big Ten Championships Feb. 17-20. ANKITA VETA / OCTOBER 2015
SEE WILDCATS ON PAGE 10
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL KAHLEAH COPPER STEPS UP ON DEFENSIVE END
Senior finds other ways to contribute KEVIN XAVIER CORRESPONDENT
Kahleah Copper posted arguably her best performance of the season Saturday, and it wasn’t because she poured in 30 points and pulled down 10 rebounds like the show she put on to open the season at St. Joseph’s in her homecoming to Philadelphia. The senior wing didn’t knock down a buzzer-beater to win the game over Nebraska either. The Rutgers women’s basketball team had the game in hand with three minutes left on the clock, ultimately running away with a 66-56 win. Instead, Copper scored 7 points, grabbed seven boards and five steals, giving up her own opportunities to score to the likes of senior center Rachel Hollivay and sophomore guard Shrita Parker. “I only took six shots so I think that once the offense wasn’t going, I got seven rebounds and I got a couple steals and I got a couple stops,” Copper said. “So you just gotta keep going and have a plan B.” Plan B worked to perfection. Parker scored a career-high 14 points off the bench and Hollivay scored 12 points to go with seven rebounds and five blocks.
Senior guard Briyona Canty chipped in 11 points, seven boards and dished seven assists to further balance the Scarlet Knights (13-9, 4-6) scoring in a game where Rutgers trailed by 12 after the first quarter. Copper saw the offensive output from Parker in particular as a positive sign of both the sophomore’s personal progression and that of the team. “I think there’s a lot more to come from (Parker),” Copper said. “She can be the X-factor all the time.” But it may have been the 6-foot-1 senior’s willingness to sacrifice her own shots in order to pass the opportunity to a teammate that turned the tide. Head coach C. Vivian Stringer was pleased with the performance and the result her team received in avenging a loss to the Cornhuskers two weeks prior, but she still expects Copper and leading scorer, junior guard Tyler Scaife, to continue to produce night-in and night-out. “Tyler and Kah were averaging 18, 20 points per game for the first eight, nine, 10 games. So what we were looking for was someone to compliment them,” Stringer said after SEE SENIOR ON PAGE 10
Senior wing Kahleah Copper tallied five steals while taking a back seat on offense in Rutgers’ win over Nebraska Sunday. ACHINT RAINCE / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER / JANUARY 2016 KNIGHTS SCHEDULE
EXTRA POINT
NBA SCORES
Brooklyn Detroit
100 105
Cleveland Indiana
111 106
Washington Oklahoma City
98 114
Memphis New Orleans
110 95
Atlanta Dallas
112 97
Orlando San Antonio
92 107
SCOTT BIEDA,
senior attackman, was named a preseason Big Ten Player to Watch by the conference for the upcoming men’s lacrosse season. The 2015 First Team All-Big Ten selection was joined by teammates Zack Sikora and Christian Trasolini on the list.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
MEN’S TRACK & FIELD
WRESTLING
vs. Illinois
at Minnesota
Metropolitan Championships
vs. Wisconsin
Tomorrow, 7 p.m., The RAC
Thursday, 8 p.m., Minneapolis, Minn.
Thursday, All Day, Friday, 7 p.m., The RAC Bronx, N.Y.