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Serving the Rutgers community since 1869. Independent since 1980.
RUTGERS UNIVERSITY—NEW BRUNSWICK
FRIDAY, MARCH 25, 2016
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Nicolle Wallace, political analyst and former communications director for President George W. Bush’s 2004 campaign and senior advisor to John McCain’s 2008 campaign, spoke to the Rutgers community about presidential candidate Donald Trump’s efforts since last June. SAMANTHA CASIMIR / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Political analyst Nicolle Wallace discusses Trump’s campaign NIKITA BIRYUKOV ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR
Voters should get ready for a “Clinton-Trump smackdown” next November, political analyst Nicolle Wallace said in a lecture delivered to Rutgers students, faculty and community members Thursday. The Eagleton Institute of Politics hosted the card-carrying Republican for her talk “Election 2016: The Media, the Messages and the
Madness,” which discussed the looming general election, its likely candidates and the steps that are leading the U.S. to a battle between two titans in American politics. Instead of mourning the seemingly-inevitable outcome, Wallace said the Republican establishment should acknowledge its role in the process. “We broke faith with the base of our party and they came roaring back this cycle by not only embracing Donald Trump at the very beginning
of his announcement of his run for presidency, but voting for him in large enough numbers so that now he is leading in delegates,” she said. Trump, she said, is the only Republican candidate addressing the people’s economic anxiety. Talking about free trade, tax cuts, rolling back Obamacare and defending Wall Street, topics close to the heart of other Republican candidates, would not deliver someone a nomination— at least not in 2016.
The absence of press agents in Trump’s campaign, a boon to a campaign seeking to attract voters disgusted with the “corruption that … took hold of the Republican establishment,” is key motivator behind the Republican frontrunner’s widespread support, said Wallace, who was communications chief for President George W. Bush’s 2004 campaign and a senior advisor the McCain-Palin campaign of 2008.
From the start of Trump’s campaign last June, his supporters formed a strong emotional connection with the candidate, she said. He spoke to their “gut worries,” and they have stuck with him ever since. “He just got right at all of their anxieties about the country and promised to do something to make it better,” the frequent “Morning Joe Show” contributor said. “He SEE CAMPAIGNS ON PAGE 4
Program helps students in foster care ease transition SAMANTHA KARAS CORRESPONDENT
A Rutgers program is helping students in the child welfare system who do not have a home during the summer by providing a number of summer housing and internships opportunities. The Summer Housing and Internship Program is a subset of Project MYSELF, which works with 400 college-enrolled youths attending 110 different schools from Mahwah Township to Cape May, said Maureen Braun-Scalera, director of the Office of Child Welfare Initiatives in the Rutgers School of Social Work. “We have support coaches who are all masters in social work graduates,” she said. “They provide support coaching to these youths.” Qualifying students are participating or transitioning out of the child welfare system. The system works with families facing problems such as abuse, neglect, substance abuse and poverty, she said. “All of the youths we work with are in that situation,” she said.
“At some point in time, they were placed in out-of-home care because they were not safe in their homes, and they are now either currently involved in foster care or they were formally involved.” Legally, children can age out of the system as soon as they turn 18, but can stay until they are 21, Braun-Scalera said. Some youths cannot wait to get out, regardless of the system’s benefits. Others do not withdraw until they turn 21. Staff members are assigned to different campuses where the students participate in the program. Support coaches meet with students individually or as a group two to three times a month to provide support and help connect them with resources. “(They help) purchase textbooks, get them food donations. They made need some tutoring, they made need some help to advocate for financial assistance,” Braun-Scalera said. “The support coaches also teach them life skills like financial literacy and emotional resiliency.” SEE PROGRAM ON PAGE 4
The results of the 2015 iSpeak survey found that nearly one-quarter of women were victims of sexual violence before college. Of the 20 percent to experience this violence on campus, only 11 percent spoke with University officials. GRAPHIC BY RAMYA CHITIBOMMA AND SUSMITA PARUCHURI / STAFF DESIGNERS
Sexual assault rates at Rutgers consistent with national trends DAN COREY EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
About 20 percent of undergraduate women at Rutgers—New Brunswick experienced some form of unwanted sexual contact at the
University, compared to a 5 percent rate for undergraduate men, according to the latest #iSPEAK campus climate assessment. This statistic is considered to be consistent with other universities in the United States, said Julia O’Connor, a
VOLUME 148, ISSUE 34 • UNIVERSITY ... 3 • OPINIONS ... 6 • CLASSIFIEDS ... 7 • LIFESTYLE ... 8 • DIVERSIONS ... 9 • SPORTS ... BACK
doctoral student and researcher at the School of Social Work’s Center on Violence Against Women and Children. “It wasn’t surprising — it was what we expected,” O’Connor said. SEE TRENDS ON PAGE 4