THE DAILY TARGUM
Volume 141, Number 82
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
O LITTLE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM
High: 37 • Low: 25
The Rutgers wrestling team, unbeaten in its last 13 matches travels to Bethlehem, Pa., Saturday seeking to snap a 35-match losing streak against No. 7 Lehigh.
Obama lends support to ease college debt
STOMP THE HALL
BY CHRIS ZAWISTOWSKI STAFF WRITER
JENNIFER MIGUEL-HELLMAN/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
The Infinite Precision step group performs at the “So You Think You Can Step” step show, hosted by Mu Zeta Wednesday at the Lucy Stone Hall Auditorium on Livingston campus.
Help may soon be on the way for University students worried about their mounting student debt as President Barack Obama announced plans this week to help alleviate the burden of student loans and make college more affordable. The Obama administration’s proposals would call for an increase in funding for Pell Grants, major investments in the nation’s community college system, a restructured federal loan repayment plan to help lighten student debt and the permanent creation of a $2,500 tax credit on student tuition. “Overall, this constitutes the biggest investment in higher education since the GI Bill,” U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said in a teleconference. The hallmarks of the president’s plans include proposals that would reduce
Students rush toward greek life STAFF WRITER
Despite the recent hazing scandal, interest in greek life at the University reached an all-time high this past week with more students rushing to join a sorority or fraternity than ever before. So far, about 260 women have registered and participated in the process of joining a sorority, but this number only encompasses the six chapters who participated in rush this past weekend, said Assistant Dean for the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs Amy Vojta.
INDEX METRO Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital recently received national accreditation for its breast health program.
OPINIONS The FBI gets in trouble for using a photo of a Spanish lawmaker to digitally create a portrait of Osama bin Laden. UNIVERSITY . . . . . . . 3 METRO . . . . . . . . . . . 6 OPINIONS . . . . . . . . . 8 DIVERSIONS . . . . . . 10 CLASSIFIEDS . . . . . . 12
Although Rush Week has not yet come to a close for fraternities, 400 men have already indicated interest, and the number grows everyday, she said. Vojta said it is difficult for the OFSA to predict how many students will ultimately register, because they are still sorting through women who are interested in coed special interest groups like Mu Beta Psi, an honorary music fraternity. Many women have also shown interest in Phi Sigma Sigma, a new sorority that will recruit later in the month, she said.
BY JOE BEGONIS CONTRIBUTING WRITER
While New Jersey Books had to change its location for the city to begin construction for the multi-use commercial and residential Gateway project, employees say it was for the best. The bookstore moved from its Somerset Street location to 37 Easton Ave. late last semester, after being forced out due to eminent domain, said store manager Tom Stenstrom. “It’s great. We have more space, and people aren’t jammed down a side aisle,” Stenstrom said.
The Rutgers Symphony Orchestra will hit the airwaves alongside hiphop artist Jay-Z in a two-minute teaser scheduled to air around 6 p.m. Sunday, before Super Bowl XLIV on CBS. The teaser, which will air as a part of the network’s pre-game program, features 65 students from University orchestras led by Maestro Kynan Johns, members of the music group E.S. Posthumus and Jay-Z. Support from Mason Gross Dean George B. Stauffer and the connections of Scarlet Knights Marching Band Director Tim Smith made the opportunity possible. Stauffer negotiated with CBS-TV to make sure the University is properly credited when the teaser airs, Johns said. “The opportunity to record with a Grammy-winning artist such as JayZ does not come along everyday,” Stauffer said. “From what I understand, those involved [with the shoot] were impressed with the professionalism and talent of those at Mason Gross and Rutgers. One couldn’t be happier.” — Jovelle Tamayo
The store is open for business, but construction on the building is not complete, he said. The second floor is still in a planning phase and may possibly include a coffee bar and area for people to sit and read, he said. The transition was tough — several legal hang-ups delayed the move, and the store was unable to open in time for the fall semester, according to a press release from the company, said Tom Ammirato, who helped the store move. Though there were delays, the new store is now open with rows of
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SKYLA POJEDRIC
The new NJ Books store located at 37 Easton Ave. has two floors, but owners say more construction is underway, including a café and a place for students to read.
U. professor becomes first Muslim superior court judge BY ASRAA MUSTUFA
SPORTS . . . . . . BACK
DAILYTARGUM.COM
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JAY-Z TO JAM WITH RUTGERS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
“I would not be surprised if we hit about 1,000 people by the end of the semester,” Vojta said. The University holds 72 chapters of greek organizations, and as of Dec. 2009, a headcount of 2,048 students are involved in greek life, Vojta said. The number is expected to increase with the large amount of interest. “Greek life is kind of a cycle — it ebbs and flows,” she said. “We’re really seeing the numbers go up again, which is terrific because they’ve been flat for a long time.”
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monthly payments and shorten the repayment period for student loans. College graduates would be required to pay only 10 percent of their income on student loans, and all their debt will be forgiven after 20 years or 10 if a student decides to choose a career in public service like teaching, policing or nonprofit work, Duncan said. “We are trying to remove all the financial impediments to bringing great talent into the public sector, and we are particularly focused on bringing the next generation of great teachers into our country’s classrooms,” he said. Duncan said as the baby boomer generation retires, there would be more than one million new teachers in the nation’s schools in the next five to eight years. Under the president’s education proposals, annual maximum Pell Grants — which
NJ Books begins new chapter with expansion
STAFF WRITER
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FEBRUARY 5, 2010
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Today: Snow
BY KRISTINE ROSETTE ENERIO
FRIDAY
A University political science professor became the first Muslim ever to be appointed to the Superior Court in New Jersey on Jan. 27 when he was sworn in to the Family Division of the Court in Somerset County.
Hany Mawla, 36, is also the youngest to be appointed to the Superior Court in the state, said Hesham Mahmoud, media chair of the New Jersey chapter of the AmericanArab Anti-Discrimination Committee. Mawla was a partner at Greenbaum, Rowe, Smith and Davis in Woodbridge, where he specialized in family law.
“It’s awesome to see somebody with roots at Rutgers achieve that high status,” said Chris Keating, a Rutgers College alumnus who took Mawla’s class last spring semester. Mawla ser ved as chairman and commissioner to the New Jersey ArabAmerican Heritage Commission, which former Gov. Jon S. Corzine
established in 2008 within the Department of State. He was also a commissioner to the New Jersey Commission on Civil Rights. Mawla is also a member of the New Jersey Supreme Cour t Standing Committee on Minority
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