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MONDAY MARCH 22, 2010
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Today: Rain
HAWKEYE KNOCKOUT
High: 63 • Low: 48
The Rutgers women’s basketball team’s season came to an end this weekend after Iowa topped the Knights 70-63 with an impressive three-point shooting performance.
U. officials respond to student ideas
State budget cuts down on college funds
BY NEIL P. KYPERS
BY GREG FLYNN
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
An all-star crew of University administrators presented their solutions manual to the issues brought up at the Nov. 5 Rutgers University Student Assembly town hall meeting and during “What’s on Your Mind Month.” At the town hall portion of the March 11 Rutgers University Student Assembly meeting — the first since February — administrators distributed a 24-page report detailing all the requests and the actions, if any, being taken to address the issues students raised last November. “This is probably the most comprehensive effort to assess and respond to student issues I have seen on my watch,” said University President Richard L. McCormick at the meeting. The administration addressed issues ranging from extending library hours, increasing the printing allowance for Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy students, adding more buses and increasing vegetarian options at the dining halls. “In many instances, arriving at our answers was a matter of redirecting resources … in other cases, we were already in the process of fixing the problem that you identified,” McCormick said. “Still in other cases, we found that your concern was based on misinformation, and we’ve sought to clarify the matter.” The administration has made a commitment to not only solving student life issues but improving classroom quality as well, he said. “It’s a three-year process, and we
SEE OFFICIALS ON PAGE 6
CORRESPONDENT
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Gov. Chris Christie’s budget address last Tuesday proposes to slash funds from many public universities and other state agencies in an effort to balance the state’s billion-dollar deficit.
For many University students, a higher education in New Jersey may soon require deeper pockets. Gov. Chris Christie’s proposed fiscal year 2011 budget aims to reduce the state’s multibillion-dollar deficit by cutting into state funding, which puts $173 million in allocations for higher education on the chopping block. In a letter to the University community, University President Richard L. McCormick said the University’s direct state operating aid during the next academic year would be cut 15.1 percent and would be $46.6 million lower than the University’s original appropriation for the current fiscal year. The final University budget will not be imposed until after the state’s budget is reviewed, modified and enacted by the legislature, which must be done by June 30.
SEE FUNDS ON PAGE 4
SPRING BREAK STORM STRIKES CAMPUS FACILITIES The first weekend of Spring Break saw a bluster y storm make its way through the New Br unswick area disr upting power, bringing down trees and flooding roads and residences. “We had, much like the rest of the state, many of the same problems,” said Antonio Calcado, vice president of facilities and capital planning. “We lost 30 mature trees here in New Brunswick/Piscataway. That’s a pretty significant number — that’s trees that are generally 30 to 45 feet in height.” Some buildings flooded because pumps could not keep up, he said. Two roofs were lost at the Livingston campus compound where University Facilities is located. There were dozens of leaks and a power outage on both Cook and Douglass campus from the evening of March 13 to 7 a.m. the next day, Calcado said.
The Rutgers Indoor Practice and Conditioning Facility on Busch campus, also known as the bubble, collapsed due to the storm. The University this week expects to fix and re-inflate the facility. Cook campus was hit hardest due to the loss of power, flooding on Route 18 and fallen trees, Calcado said. Fortunately, the storm came at a time that most of the housing buildings were empty due to Spring Break, he said. But there was some relocation of students, which was done through housing. “It was fortuitous that it happened this weekend, because even the upcoming weekend would have been more difficult already because students [are] coming back,” Calcado said. But the University was prepared with a system to deal with the worst the storm could bring, he said. An emergency operations group
was activated Saturday, and the availability of resources like emergency generators and bucket trucks helped with the recovery. The storm did take its toll financially, costing around $100,000 after all the costs are accounted for, Calcado said. “From overtime costs of bringing people in to the cleanup effort in and of itself, we don’t have the final numbers … based on previous experience it will be up there,” he said. Although the storm has passed, University Facilities is working to prepare the campus for students returning from spring break. “One of the things that we need to do is to carefully look at the trees … at what’s hanging,” Calcado said. “We need to and have been looking at these things and doing inspections.”
Historic campus to trace roots at annual event CONTRIBUTING WRITER
THE DAILY TARGUM
Visitors watch the University’s marching band and dance team at last year’s first annual Rutgers Day on the Busch campus.
INDEX UNIVERSITY
BY DEVIN SIKORSKI More than 50,000 people attended last year’s inaugural Rutgers Day, and University students, faculty members and alumni are preparing to top the previous exhibition of the state university of New Jersey. Rutgers Day, scheduled to take place on April 24, will consist of more than 430 programs on every campus, providing the public with a window into what students and academic departments here have to offer. “Rutgers is the state university of New Jersey, and we serve the people and communities of the state,” College Avenue campus Dean Matt Matsuda said via email correspondence. “Yet, if you would ask, many [New Jersey] residents might say that they actually know little about what a great research university does.” The College Avenue campus this year will offer an array of activities that exhibit the rich history of that campus. There will be walking tours of a Revolutionar y War battlefield and the first residence hall at the University, according to a University press release. Visitors will also be able to see the
— Neil P. Kypers
architecture on the campus, such as Kirkpatrick Chapel and the Old Queens building. “Interestingly, during the semester, not many students spend much time in the Old Queens part of College Avenue,” Matsuda said. “But as the historic beginnings of the University are there, both current students and proud alums can be engaged in [the] ceremony.” Visitors will have the opportunity to ring Henry Rutger’s bell located in the Old Queens building and interact with costumed actors representing famous people from the campus’ history, he said. The Old Queens building was not a popular attraction last year, but the University is working to change that, Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs Delia Pitts said. “There was so much activity going on further down in the [Voorhees] Mall that many visitors did not come over,” she
SEE ROOTS ON PAGE 6
The Campus MovieFest supplied more than 50 teams with equipment to create a five-minute film.
OPINIONS The choice between paper and plastic would have to be phased out after years of wastefulness. UNIVERSITY . . . . . . . 3 PENDULUM . . . . . . . 7 OPINIONS . . . . . . . . 8 DIVERSIONS . . . . . . 10 CLASSIFIEDS . . . . . . 12 SPORTS . . . . . . BACK
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