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Serving the Rutgers community since 1869. Independent since 1980.
RUTGERS UNIVERSITY—NEW BRUNSWICK
THURSDAY, APRIL 7, 2016
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Rutgers announces journalist Bill Moyers as commencement speaker NIKHILESH DE NEWS EDITOR
Through the work of the “Committee of Enslaved and Disenfranchised Populations in Rutgers History,” the University hosted a lecture on April 6 by Wilder, author of “Ebony and Ivy: Race, Slavery, and the Troubled History of America’s Universities” and professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Former Press Secretary and journalist Bill Moyers will deliver the Rutgers University—New Brunswick Commencement address to the class of 2016. Moyers, who served under the Johnson administration in the late 1960s, has been a broadcast journalist for more than 40 years, hosting shows at PBS, CBS and NBC. He ran his own production company for nearly 20 years, and is now an independent political commentator. During his time in public service he was an aide to President John F. Kennedy and Linden B. Johnson. He served Johnson for two years before becoming press secretary, and is known for his investigation of White House Aide Jack Valenti and other administration officials. He has won 36 Emmys, along with more than a dozen other awards over the course of his career, according to a press release sent out by University communications. The Television Hall of Fame also inducted him 21 years ago. He was proposed as a commencement speaker last month, and approved at the April 6 Board of Governors meeting by unanimous consent.
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Craig Wilder, an author and a professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, spoke about the connections to slavery found in Rutgers’ history. EDWIN GANO
Author notes history of racism, slavery at school NOA HALFF ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR
A committee at Rutgers is working to uncover and broaden the conversation of our University’s history and its ties to slavery and racism. Part of their effort includes hosting Craig Steven Wilder, an author and professor, to speak on the topic of “Rutgers and Americans.”
Scarlet Knight mascot explains life in mask
Political advocacy group hosts talk on national debt
SANJANA CHANDRASEKHARAN
NIKITA BIRYUKOV
STAFF WRITER
ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR
The current national debt clocks in at just more than $19 trillion, according to securities trading website TreasuryDirect. The Eagleton Institute of Politics helped address this issue Wednesday night by hosting conservative political advocacy group Americans for Prosperity for a lecture about the growth and impending impact of the U.S. national debt. “If you were to stack dollar bills up upon itself, it would circle the equator 49 times. It would go to the moon five times,” said Daryn Iwicki, state director of AFP’s New Jersey chapter. The national debt grows every year, and will continue to do so for years to come, and every day, the debt increases by $2.48 billion, Iwicki said. SEE DEBT ON PAGE 5
Bill Moyers, a broadcast journalist with more than 40 years’ worth of experience, will be the commencement speaker at this year’s ceremony. CITIZENS.ORG
Gina Trapani, founder and former editor of Lifehacker, spoke about being a “geek” at Rutgers as part of the fifth annual Geek Week celebrations. SAMANTHA CASIMIR / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Gina Trapani discusses life, career during Geek Week JONATHAN XIONG CONTRIBUTING WRITER
The fifth annual Geek Week’s second day spotlighted Gina Trapani, Lifehacker founder and recognized “geek”’ A celebration of “Geek” culture, Geek Week aims to increase interest
and spread awareness on all aspects of “nerd” culture. It started five years ago as a week in the spring semester, said Carey Loch, director of Major Events and Programs at Student Affairs. Different SEE CAREER ON PAGE 4
The face of the Scarlet Knight — the face of Rutgers, itself — is always adorned with a huge smile. Mascots attend games for every sport, not just football and basketball, said Mike Stickle, coach of the Rutgers spirit program. Knights have also been asked to show up at birthday parties and weddings. “It’s men’s soccer, women’s soccer, hockey, lacrosse and aside from that they do a lot of campus community events. So we’ll get a request from the Rutgers Group of Literacy, and the Knight appeared at that. They will do things for admissions and just anything that’s a campus event,” Stickle said. Mascots also attend non-University events, including those held by the Big Ten Conference, he said. This year those knights made an appearance at the Countr y Music Awards.
One Scarlet Knight, whose name is being withheld due to a vow of anonymity taken by all University mascots, said one of his most memorable experiences of being a mascot was performing at the Country Music Awards in Tennessee. “This past November I was down in Nashville Tennessee for the Country Music Awards and me, the other Scarlet Knights and about 45 other mascots from (schools) around the country got to actually perform a song with Brad Paisley,” said the Rutgers mascot. “I’ve also done SportsCenter commercials, so that was also fun.” For small events, mascots receive stipends to cover expenses, like travel and food costs. The money made from appearances at larger events gets put into a fundraising pot for the cheerleading program, he said. Mascot tryouts take place Sunday, April 10. Applicants’ must be
VOLUME 148, ISSUE 42 • UNIVERSITY ... 3 • OPINIONS ... 8 • ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT ... 12 • DIVERSIONS ... 14 • CLASSIFIEDS ... 15 • SPORTS ... BACK
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