ben carson Secretary of HUD’s comments about slaves is extremely problematic
s3 Error Typo in command to Amazon’s Simple Storage Service led to issues with numerous websites
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U. community partakes in Special Friends Day Max Marcus contributing writer
From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, the Cook/Douglass Recreation Center hosted over 100 participants with special needs for “Special Friends Day,” a day of activities held for people with intellectual disabilities. Paul Fischbach, the associate director of sports, said the event has taken place every year since 1992. He served as the advisor to the organization that originally started the event, and it has since been operated by Rutgers Recreation. “Special Friends Day” began as a partnership with the Douglass Developmental Disabilities Center, Fischbach said. “What happened was, there were students who were involved with recreation, who were doing field placement with (the Douglass Developmental Disabilities Center),” Fischbach said. “We could invite the children, who were already part of the Douglass Developmental Disabilities
Center, and host them for a day of carnival-like activities. The first year we did it, we had about 25 children participate, and from there it’s just grown. Some of the kids have come year after year ... Some children I’ve seen grow up here.” This year there were over 100 participants, said AJ Edenzon, a School of Arts and Sciences senior. Edenzon has led the committee that organizes “Special Friends Day” for the past two years. She said the committee began working on the event in December. Each participant is paired with two Rutgers students for the day. Edenzon said that pairing up the participants is the hardest part of organizing “Special Friends Day.” Some volunteers have more experience working with those who have intellectual disabilities, and so they are paired with participants who may need more assistance. Many volunteers have little or no experience working with the intellectually disabled, and they are partnered
On Sunday, hundreds of student volunteers and participants celebrated “Special Friends Day” in the Cook/Douglass Recreation Center. The event gave people with mental disabilities a chance to take part in games and activities alongside Rutgers students. CASEY AMBROSIO with participants who are higher-functioning or need less attention. As fun as “Special Friends Day” may be for the participants, Edenzon said it is a great experience for the volunteers as well. “I talked to a guy last year who didn’t want to be here, kinda just
signed up because he needed community service hours, showed up at 9 a.m. for the training, didn’t want to be here. As soon as the kids walked in, his entire disposition changed. He said that he mentally shifted, physically shifted, he was getting involved, playing basketball,” Edenzon
said. “It’s amazing to see the impact it has on the students.” Because “Special Friends Day” is entirely staffed by volunteers, there is no cost to the parents of the participants, Fischbach said. See community on Page 4
Interfaith conference combats Islamophobia, anti-Semitism Stephen Weiss associate news editor
Rutgers’ Muslims for Peace held their 10th annual “Prophet Muhammad Day (s) Interfaith Conference” yesterday at the Busch Student Center. The event included speeches from multiple prominent figures of varying faiths and communities, such as Hawaiian Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard (D-2) and Rabbi Marc A. Kline. Muslims for Peace’s mission is to foster interfaith dialogue to combat Islamophobia in society, said Mansoor Rizvi, a graduate student in the School of Social Work and organizer of the event. The goal of the event was to eradicate ignorance, create a discussion about coexistence and educate people who may be misinformed about Islam, he said. “Events like this are important in working to break down barriers,” Rizvi said. “Islamophobia is rampant and unfortunately anti-Semitism is starting to creep up as well, so we want to be able to work with others who, individuals who may have been victimized but also individuals who are not sure of what’s right, what’s wrong in terms of what they hear in mass media.” Events like this are a good opportunity for students to learn about things they are not ordinarily exposed to, Rizvi said.
Rutgers Muslims for Peace held their 10th annual Interfaith Conference on Sunday, which featured a series of speakers. The event was briefly interrupted by a demonstration, triggered by a speaker’s interaction with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. JEFFREY GOMEZ / PHOTO EDITOR “The point is that it is not necessary that everyone has to agree, like I don’t have to agree with your ideology, you don’t have to agree with my ideology, but we should have a respect for one another and be able to work with the things that we have
in common,” he said. “That’s what unity is.” Gabbard is a major in the Army National Guard, has served two tours in the Middle East and is one of two female combat veterans to ever serve in Congress.
Despite the belief held by most of her fellow Democratic congresspeople that peace in Syria is contingent upon Assad leaving power, Gabbard said that the United States must stop funding rebel organizations in Syria who attempt
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to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. During a trip to the region in January, Gabbard met with Assad, which stirred up some political controversy. See conference on Page 4