press President Donald J. Trump’s negative
perspective on news outlets is severely problematic
Genetic Counseling Rutgers has the only
officially accredited gentics counseling program in N.J.
SEE opinions, page 6
MEN’s basketball Rutgers drops late loss to Northwestern on the road, 69-65
SEE science , page 8
SEE sports, back
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U. proposes creation of new Douglass bus stop Nikhilesh De correspondent
Rutgers University’s Department of Transportation Services (RUDOTS) ceased using the Cooper Dining Hall bus stop on Douglass campus in January. The stop was re-implemented last fall in response to a request from New Brunswick, said Jack Molenaar, senior director of RUDOTS. “We used to have the Cabaret Theatre bus stop on Nichol Ave., and the City of New Brunswick didn’t want that bus stop because they said it was interfering with emergency response times on Nichol,” he said. “So we moved it to Cooper stop on George Street because that’s where we used to stop prior to 2005. The city felt that that stop was also impeding traffic, and they requested us to not use that stop anymore either.” The first bus stop for students going to Douglass is the Red Oak Lane stop near the Douglass Parking Deck. RUDOTS is working on a new master plan, which includes a proposal to put a bus stop on George Street near the Douglass Student Center, Molenaar said.
Students take part in national ‘strike for democracy’ Stephen Weiss Associate news editor
On Friday, students held another strike on the College Avenue campus to protest the actions of President Donald J. Trump. Students and strikers gathered at Voorhees Mall to protest Trump’s conservative policies as part of a nationwide general strike. The larger movement was organized by the advocacy group Strike for
Right now, buses cannot turn right from Dudley Road onto Nichol Avenue because the intersection is not large enough, he said. As a result, buses only drive in one direction when approaching the first few Douglass campus stops. The plan will call for expanding the intersection between the two streets, which will allow buses to turn right onto Nichol, Molenaar said. The new bus stop would be at the parking lot behind the Douglass Student Center, he said. “In fact, we use that (location) as a bus stop during Rutgers Day,” Molenaar said. The master plan is not yet finalized and there is no set timeline for building this new bus stop. “(We) always put these things in (the plan) saying ‘this is what we want to do. What would be the biggest thing, what will help students get around campus the most?’” he said. The master plan will also help address traffic issues that prevent buses from moving between campuses easily, he said. The buses themselves are always kept up to state standards to ensure their safety and reliability.
Democracy in partnership with the Women’s March on Washington. The strike lasted from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. and was the first step in a campaign to stand up for America’s democratic principles, said Laurent Reyes, an event organizer and graduate student in the Rutgers School of Social Work. “We are striking, we are not buying anything, which is why we brought food and water … We are not participating in the economy today, and we are asking other people to refrain also,” she said. The feelings and opinions of the students regarding the strike were mixed, Reyes said. Some people seemed interested in the action, but others were indifferent. The activists handed out flyers to inform people on ways to contribute
A handful of Rutgers students held a six-hour strike at Voorhees Mall on the College Avenue campus Friday to contribute to a national movement. DIMITRI RODRIGUEZ / ASSOCIATE PHOTO EDITOR
A plan proposed by the Department of Transportation Services aims to minimize traffic by expanding the intersection near the Douglass Student Center and adding a bus stop. Casey Ambrosio While it might seem that another bus has broken down ever y day, there have not been any abnormal breakdowns or an excessive number of incidents, said RUDOTS Manager of Transit Ser vices John Karakoglou. “First Transit takes really good care of their buses. They go in for their 5,000, 10,000 and 15,000 mile routine maintenance, and then twice a year (the state Department of Transportation) comes out and inspects our buses,” he said. “New Jersey is not going to allow these buses on the road if they aren’t safe.” The buses also have their brakes checked every 30,000 miles and
to the cause. “So I think it’s a little bit about (spreading awareness) and also for us we are thinking about what this will mean for the future, so thinking more strategically, outside of the protest,” she said. Reyes said academic departments should come together to take a stand as one force. “I think that would be really great if we could form some kind of coalition or some kind of group from all the different departments to kind of think about what each of us can bring to it and how each of us can sort of organize within those sections to fight what is happening,” Reyes said. Stephanie Robert, a Robert Wood Johnson Medical School student, said the strike was the first step for thinking critically about how the Rutgers community can make their voices heard and take a stand against the Trump administration. The gathering worked as a tool to reflect on the situation and discuss ways to progress and expand the movement, Robert said. “Protests are fantastic and important and necessary, but they are really one small piece,” she said. “And so what’s been really great is that we have sort of a diverse group here and we are not only flyering and encouraging people to resist in whatever way they are able and willing, but we are also thinking about different ways we can resist.”
have their oil changed every 5,000 miles, Karakoglou said. The buses are regulated to ensure they are safe to be on, he said. While some buses may break down or develop mild issues from time to time, the worst case scenario is that they will have to pull over to the side of a road and wait for a mechanic to take a look. Rutgers has an on-call mechanic who can drive to any of the campuses to visit a bus which might have issues, Karakoglou said. The mechanic is available 24 hours ever y day. “We have a maintenance truck that’s on-site all the time, so if a bus has a windshield wiper
problem, any kind of road issue, anything we can deal with on the road we have a mechanic … who can come out and assist the buses,” he said. The mechanics respond to between five and 10 calls every day on average, Karakoglou said. Often a bus driver will call them in just to make sure there is no issue. Very rarely is a bus taken out of service due to a breakdown. Usually a mechanic can fix whatever issue a bus has on the road itself, allowing it to run relatively quickly. “We have, during peak times, 48 buses on the road,” he said. “We (also) have about 10 buses that are spares. Out of these 10, these can be in the garage for many things. They can be in for a major overhaul to a (RU) DOT inspection to a tire change.” The buses are rotated into and out of service based on a preset schedule, Karakoglou said. Usually between two and three buses are taken out of service for maintenance, repairs and state inspection. The state inspectors will take a few days looking over every facet of a bus, he said. “They’ll check the brakes, the tires, the lights, anything you can imagine on the bus to make sure it’s safe,” Karakoglou said. “They’ll go through every single bus and no bus gets a sticker unless it’s in good operating condition.”
RUSA works to reform mental health treatment Christian Zapata contributing writer
The Rutgers University Student Assembly (RUSA) brought focus to mental health issues on Thursday by curating a comprehensive list of suggestions to better serve students seeking help. The student-run town hall meeting was held at the Student Activities Center on the College Avenue campus. It was designed to touch on a variety of student-related affairs and hold legislative polls for pending student ballots. This weekly meeting starts at 7:30 p.m. and can run for two hours. Topics of discussion range from improving commuter student experience to sexual assault prevention. At Thursday’s meeting, the Mental Health Task Force, a culmination of students looking to study the effects of mental health, shared its ideas. With help from its “What’s on Your Mind?” sur vey as well as communication with other Big Ten schools, the group designs ideas for reforming mental health treatment at Rutgers. It works to improve both Rutgers Health
VOLUME 149, ISSUE 11 • University ... 3 • opinions ... 6 • science ... 8 • Diversions ... 9 • SPORTS ... BACK
Ser vices and its affiliates, said Zachar y Sinkiewicz, a School of Arts and Sciences senior and chair of the Mental Health Task Force. Some of the recommendations involved embedding counselors throughout campus in order to increase their availability and recruiting more bilingual counselors to better service international students, Sinkiewicz said. Both ideas aim to reduce the stigma surrounding mental illness and make it easily accessible to students. Additionally, the group looks to establish a set of concrete policies through the University that allow students to address any mental health issues before worr ying about schoolwork, he said. By initiating a makeup policy the University reassures students that mental health is always the first priority. “One of the fundamental problems with CAPS (Center for Counseling, Alcohol and Other Drug Assistance Program and Psychiatric Services) and other organizations alike is that they focus on this short-term ‘shock therapy’ that See treatment on Page 4