THE DAILY TARGUM
Volume 141, Number 86
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
MONDAY FEBRUARY 15, 2010
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Today: Mostly sunny
WHAT AN UPSET
High: 37 • Low: 29
The Rutgers men’s basketball team knocked off No. 7 Georgetown 71-68 yesterday at the RAC in the program’s first upset over a top-10 team in the Fred Hill era.
Congested classrooms prompt safety concerns BY COLLEEN ROACHE CORRESPONDENT
JEN KONG
Students complain about the unsanitary conditions of some bathroom facilities in University buildings, like Scott Hall’s men’s bathroom, above, on the College Avenue campus.
Filthy conditions deter utilization BY DENNIS COMELLA CONTRIBUTING WRITER
When you’ve got to go, you’ve got to go and some students are disappointed with the level of restroom cleanliness in academic buildings around campus. Many of the bathrooms in these buildings — such as the Allison Road Classroom building on Busch campus, Scott Hall on the College Avenue campus and Hickman Hall on Douglass campus — have fallen into a state of
disrepair due the graffiti of ever ything from obscenities to poetr y and inspirational quotes all over the stalls and walls. “The Hill Center [bathroom on Busch campus] is so awful you don’t even want to step in there,” said Dhruti Mehta, a School of Arts and Sciences sophomore. Things are not much better at Beck Hall on Livingston campus, where Chris Berkelbach, a School of Environmental and Biological Sciences first-year student, said the bathrooms are in bad condition.
“The ones in Beck [Hall] are horrible. It’s so old,” Berkelbach said. Some stall doors in the building do not close or lock all the way, and others have to be forced closed, he said. Berkelbach prefers to use the restrooms at the residence halls, which are more sanitary. “But if you have a real emergency, then you’re in trouble,” he said. The bathrooms in Hickman Hall are also dilapidated and unclean, Berkelbach said.
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CAMPUS SHOOTING LEAVES THREE DEAD
INDEX METRO Council members propose a new ordinance that may alter housing inspection rules for two-family, owner-occupied homes.
MULTIMEDIA Men’s basketball defeats the ranked Georgetown 71-68. Visit the Targum multimedia page of the Web site.
Three faculty members at the University of Alabama in Huntsville were shot to death, and three others were sent to the hospital with serious wounds Friday afternoon at a biology faculty meeting, according to an article in The New York Times. Biology and neuroscience Professor Amy Bishop was charged in connection with the murders, according to the article. The shooting occurred in the Shelby Center at the university around 4 p.m., according to the article. Few students were in the building, and none were involved in the shooting, said University of Alabama spokesman Ray Garner in the article. The three pronounced dead were all biology professors: department Chairman G. K. Podila, Maria Ragland Davis and Adriel D. Johnson Sr., according to the article. Two other biology professors, Luis Rogelio Cruz-Vera and Joseph G. Leahy, and a professor’s assistant, Stephanie Monticciolo, are at Huntsville Hospital in conditions ranging from stable to critical. Police said a weapon has not been recovered, according to the article. Bishop applied for tenure, was recently turned down and applied again, a faculty member said, according to the article. She learned the day of the shooting she had been denied again. According to the article, Bishop and her husband, James Anderson, were questioned in the 1993 mail-bombing plot against Harvard Medical School Professor Dr. Paul Rosenberg. Anderson said the couple had been cleared in the investigation. — Ariel Nagi
STAFF REPORT
METRO . . . . . . . . . . 8
With referendum looming, The Daily Targum continues to pass the torch to its newest 142nd editorial board. With a smaller than normal and new staff, the acting editors seem excited to fill the shoes of those before them while continuing the legacy of the Targum.
DIVERSIONS . . . . . . 12 CLASSIFIEDS . . . . . . 14
WIN REFERENDUM, DON’T GET SUED Neil P. Kypers, a School of Arts and Sciences junior, is the first editor-in-chief no prior editorial experience at ONLINE @ with the Targum. DAILYTARGUM.COM “The fact that people were confident enough to elect me into this position is a reassurance that people thought that I could do the job,” Kypers said. “I hope SPORTS . . . . . . BACK
SEE SAFETY ON PAGE 7
COMMONS CANDLES
ISIAH STEWART/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Gamma Omega Delta fraternity members and the American Red Cross come together at Brower Commons on the College Avenue campus Friday for a candlelight vigil in memory of Haiti disaster victims. A moment of silence followed the vigil.
New board to revamp Daily Targum tradition
UNIVERSITY . . . . . . . 3
OPINIONS . . . . . . . 10
When Professor Jenny Mandelbaum taught her “Introduction to Communication and Information Processes” class in Scott Hall on the College Avenue campus Monday afternoon, she lectured about the different forms of invisible communication. The communication may have been invisible, but the about 20 students sitting on the floor along the back wall of the room were not. “The truth is … when people come in late, they don’t want to climb over other people,” Mandelbaum said. Though her class may seem to be filled to capacity, there are enough seats for every student to sit, she said. Room 123, where the class is held, seats 450 students, according to the University’s scheduling Web site. As sufficient seating is needed when students take exams, registration is limited to 450 students. Senior Scheduling Officer Sally Martin, who is responsible for all courses at the School of Communication and Information, said 448 students are registered
for this section of the class, which leaves room for exactly two empty seats. More sections or larger classrooms could help alleviate crowding in the classroom, but they may not be financially viable at the University, Martin said. “I think a lot of departments have budgetary problems, and that makes it hard to add sections,” she said. Increased enrollment will not make finding a solution any easier, Martin said. Also, those who may unintentionally prevent a classmate from sitting in a seat by placing a coat or other personal items on a seat should hold on to their belongings during class to make room for others, even if it may be uncomfortable, she said. Vice President for Undergraduate Education Barr y V. Qualls said students sitting on the floor is not only unfair — it’s illegal. “That’s against the law, I can tell you that,” Qualls said. While the situation presents a fire hazard, the problem is likely not too many students, he said. “A lot of times students don’t want to sit in the middle of rows,
that I meet everyone’s expectations.” Kypers faces the additional task of leading the editorial department during a referendum year. “The biggest challenge is referNEIL P. KYPERS endum and making ACTING sure that students EDITOR-IN-CHIEF are informed that this is happening,” he said. “The second challenge is bringing in more staff, more writers [and] more people that are interested in being part of the Targum.” Kypers encourages anyone that has the smallest inkling of interest to come in. CALM BEFORE THE STORM From associate news editor, Mary
Diduch, a School of Arts and Sciences sophomore, is next in line to run the editorial office as managing editor. “It feels weird that I went from being the baby of the MARY DIDUCH office to the head of ACTING the office. It is a big MANAGING EDITOR change,” she said. Diduch said it is different not having former editors here but is ready to take on any challenge. “I’m nervous but excited at the same time,” she said. “While our board is young and short-staffed, I think there is a lot of talent and potential for us to make our own mark.”
SMALL IN NUMBERS, LARGE IN HEART With only two editors making up the news team, they take on the challenge of bringing in more people while putting together a paper everyday. “Despite our short staff, I think we all have good ideas and work well as a team,” said News Editor Ariel Nagi. “We are looking for a more dynamic group — people from different areas of study as well as younger people so we can plan for future editorial boards.” University Editor Kristine Rosette University Editor Kristine Rosette Enerio is fairly new to the newsroom and feels anxious yet excited to take on the challenge. “Not too long ago I was a reader of
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