BUDGET CUTS White House’s decision to decrease funding for programs is misguided
FASHION WEEK Student club FORM hosts first annual fashion week with six local designers SEE culture, page 8
SEE opinions, page 6
MEN’S BASKETBALL Rutgers squanders lead in second half, falling to Michigan at home
WEATHER Foggy and mostly cloudy High: 67 Low: 51
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DACA recipients at U. face uncertain future Camilo Montoya-Galvez staff writer
If Josue Serrano, a School of Arts and Sciences junior, managed to get an audience with President Donald J. Trump, he said he would not use the statistics he usually relies on to get his points across, but rather, he would ask the president one question. “These are people who are young, who have gone to high school here, who have gone through many background checks and who can’t commit any serious crime,” he said. “Why would you want to look them in the eyes and tell them that they are no longer granted a work permit or a social security number — the most basic of needs to function in this society?” Although Serrano believes the question would probably not move Trump, he said that for the sake of himself and thousands of other recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, he hopes it would. If DACA is terminated, Serrano would no longer be able to commute to school or go to work to help finance his education, as he would lose his driver’s license and work permit, he said. The end of the program would also remove the prosecutorial discretion exercised for about 750,000 DACA recipients, commonly known as “Dreamers,” leaving them subject to deportation, according to a Pew poll.
Serrano said he could be sent back to Mexico — the country he left when he was three months old. “It would entail a greater sense of insecurity, being that I could be a target of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE),” he said. Serrano is vice-president of UndocuRutgers, a student organization he created with Carimer Andujar, a fellow DACA recipient, that advocates for undocumented students. Andujar, a School of Engineering junior, said their work has become more difficult after the election. “If DACA is taken away, it would be difficult for me to finish school,” she said. “Even if I do finish school, I would have no prospect here because I would be unable to work.” There are about 450 students like Serrano attending the Rutgers University campuses in New Brunswick, Newark and Camden who are shielded by DACA, said Karen Smith, the acting senior director of University News and Media Relations. “We can’t speculate on what may happen to DACA protections under the law, but President Robert L. Barchi has been very clear in his strong support of all of our students, including undocumented students and those who have DACA protections,” Smith said in an email. According to statistics from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Ser vices, as of September 2016, See future on Page 4
Students convened at the Vice Chancellor’s office after the University overlooked a search committee’s selection for a new director for the Office of Violence Prevention and Victim Assistance. Students claim this is indicative of a larger communicative divide. COURTSEY OF MARIA ALBA
Rutgers administrators dismiss student input on new VPVA hire Kira Herzog news editor
Students from multiple facets of the University have come together to draft a petition, urging administrators to acknowledge student input in the hiring of a new director for the Office for Violence Prevention and Victim Assistance (VPVA). Last April, a search committee was formed to interview candidates. Members of the committee included representatives from Student Affairs, the Center for Social Justice Education and LGBT Communities, the Rutgers Police Department, Residence Life and the student body. But after nine months of work and a near unanimous recommendation to select Interim Director
Laura Luciano for the position, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Felicia McGinty and Dr. Melodee Lasky, executive director of Rutgers Health Ser vices inexplicably deemed the committee’s search “failed,” said Maria Alba, a student representative on the search committee. The University proceeded to disassemble the committee and omit student input entirely from the hiring process, Alba said. “Now, there will be no search committee and instead Dr. Lasky will be the one finding a new director. This is concerning for numerous reasons: We are told that, as students, our voices matter and are heard. These events have indicated otherwise,” she said. “The director of VPVA will work closely
with students so it doesn’t make sense to not include student input and feedback.” In response to this sequence of events, students compiled a letter and attended McGinty’s office hours to ask why students’ voices were not accounted for, Alba said. VPVA provides 24-hour assistance and counseling to survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence. The office also oversees events like Denim Day and the Clothesline Project on campus and coordinate SCREAM theater. The committee’s chosen candidate, Laura Luciano, attended Rutgers as an undergraduate student and worked with VPVA for 16 years as a coordinator, assistant director See hire on Page 5
Man arrested in connection to 2016 shooting of Rutgers student Sophie Nieto-Munoz staff writer
Josue Serrano and Carimer Andujar are members of UndocuRutgers. Serrano said he is afraid of what will happen to the Rutgers community if DACA is repealed. Camilo Montoya Galvez / STAFF WRITER
After nearly a year on the run, a second man was arrested Tuesday by U.S. Marshals in connection with a 2016 shooting of a Rutgers— Newark student, according to Acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn Murray. Fraynned Ramirez of Hartford, Connecticut, was arrested in the
Dominican Republic and can be extradited to the United States as early as tomorrow. Ramirez is accused of committing felony murder by shooting Toms River native and Rutgers—Newark junior Shani Patel, according to a press release. He also faces charges of robbery and weapons offense, the statement said. Patel was killed at an off-campus apartment on Central Avenue
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during a robber y on April 10, 2016, and Ramirez has been on the run ever since then, the statement said. Authorities say Ramirez was the second man wanted in connection to the shooting. Marcus Feliz of Newark was the first man arrested just days after allegedly fatally shooting Patel, See shooting on Page 4