The Daily Targum 2010-04-09

THE DAILY TARGUM

Volume 141, Number 120

S E R V I N G

T H E

R U T G E R S

C O M M U N I T Y

S I N C E

FRIDAY APRIL 9, 2010

1 8 6 9

Today: AM showers

HILL NO MORE

High: 63 • Low: 39

Athletic Director Tim Pernetti offered Fred Hill Jr. a $600,000 buyout to step down from his position as Rutgers’ head men’s basketball coach, but he rejected.

Facility to expand for DNA studies

U. analyzes merger with state college

BY DEVIN SIKORSKI

BY DEVIN SIKORSKI

ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR

ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR

With the ever-increasing national popularity and challenges of DNA research, one University facility is expanding its dimensions to make room for further research and future discoveries.

The Rutgers University Cell and DNA Repository received $9.6 million in federal grants last week to expand their research facility on Busch campus, according to a Science Works For US press release.

RUCDR is a key facility in DNA research that looks to discover causes for genetic diseases with the highest quality biomaterials, according to its Web site.

Scientific Director of RUCDR Jay Tischfield said in an e-mail correspondence that the facility is vital in processing blood samples in order to discover causes for diseases such as schizophrenia and diabetes.

“The RUCDR receives samples from all over the world … and we process this

COURTESY OF JAY TISCHFIELD

The Rutgers University Cell and DNA Repository is undergoing expansion to include more room for research opportunities. They received $9.6 million in federal grants to fund the expansion.

SEE DNA ON PAGE 6

The University and Thomas Edison State College may soon become one, as proposed on March 16 in Gov. Chris Christie’s budget address.

The governor’s proposal calls for the merger between TESC and the University, which drew many questions from both colleges on whether the merger would be sensible.

University Vice President for Academic Affairs Philip J. Furmanski said the University does not know whether the merger will occur, but the University is looking at every aspect in case it does.

“We are, at the moment, doing a good deal of study to see what it would mean to bring Thomas Edison into our school,” he said.

Furmanski noted there is a false image of the incompatibility between the two

SEE MERGER ON PAGE 4

Mama makes home away from home at Brower Commons PERSON OF THE WEEK

BY COLLEEN ROACHE ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR

Students at the University may head to Brower for some comfort food when the stresses of college life become too much to handle. But sometimes all they need is a warm smile from a familiar face.

Thelma Williams, more commonly known as ‘Mama Brower,’ welcomes students who come to eat at Brower each day, hoping that she can make them feel a little better than they did before.

INDEX UNIVERSITY University students can expect to see a faster Sakai site that will handle more users at a time.

OPINIONS Tiger Woods returns to golf despite his publicized scandal.

Find out if his move gets a laurel or dart.

UNIVERSITY . . . . . . . 3 OPINIONS . . . . . . . . 8 DIVERSIONS . . . . . . 10 CLASSIFIEDS . . . . . . 12 SPORTS . . . . . . BACK

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“Ever ybody has their days when maybe they don’t wake up feeling great,” she said.

“Sometimes a smile will help you.”

The Tallahassee, Fla., native has worked at the University for 22 years, first as a maintenance worker, then as take-out employee in the dining hall and now, as a courtesy desk worker at Brower Commons on the College Avenue campus, a job she has held for about 10 years.

THELMA WILLIAMS

Governor proposes limit on tuition hikes

BY GREG FLYNN CORRESPONDENT

After cutting $173 million in appropriations to higher education in his proposed budget, Gov. Chris Christie aims to implement a 4 percent cap on tuition and fees increases for the state’s public colleges and universities.

Christie is also considering re-opening union contracts to try to get salary concessions at the colleges and universities, according to NorthJersey.com.

Large tuition increases are unwanted, but in the wake of significant reductions in state appropriations for higher education, an artificial tuition cap is not appropriate either, the University said in a statement.

“In this environment, restraints on tuition revenues can deprive institutions of the funds necessary to invest in academic programs that provide a quality education to our students,” according to the statement.

A recent report by Moody’s Investors warned that state-mandated limits on tuition could hurt the bond ratings of public colleges and universities, by restricting an institution’s ability to offset shortfalls in state support, according to the statement.

The governor’s proposed budget would bring Rutgers’ operating aid to about the same funding level as 1994, but the burden of funding higher education has shifted from the state to students and their families since then. “[In] 1994, state spending, adjusted to present dollars, was $9,665 per fulltime Rutgers student. By 2010, state investment had fallen to $5,024 per student,” according to the statement.

School of Arts and Sciences firstyear student Jhan Garcia said he would prefer if there were no hike at all.

Garcia, who pays out-of-state tuition, said in the current economic climate,

SEE HIKES ON PAGE 4

She credits her nickname to the students she serves.

“I’ll be a mama for them,” Williams said. “[When they are] away from home, I’ll be mama.”

Before making her way to New Jersey, the Piscataway resident grew up in a rural area with her mother, father and two siblings and graduated from Lincoln High School in Tallahassee. After visiting her sister in New York, she moved

to the Garden State, which she preferred because of the slower pace, and attended Middlesex County College.

Though she was homesick at times, Williams adjusted to her new life and raised four daughters and three sons, who now range in age from 42 to 22 years old. She also has 15 grandchildren.

One of her sons, Jeffrey Williams, is now a planner estimator for the University.

In her years at Brower, Williams has man-

SEE MAMA ON PAGE 6

IT’S ALL GLOBAL

DAN BRACAGLA/ SENIOR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

U.S. Senator Chuck Hagel discusses various points in his latest book “America: Our Next Chapter,” such as the importance of a global community and strong international relations yesterday in the Douglass Campus Center.

Undergraduate students with 30 or greater degree credits can register for Fall 2010 classes Sunday from 10:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m.

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APRIL 9, 2010

DIRECTORY

T H E DA I LY TA R G U M

WEATHER OUTLOOK Courtesy of the Weather Channel SATURDAY HIGH 62 LOW 46

SUNDAY HIGH 69 LOW 47

MONDAY HIGH 64 LOW 45

TODAY A.m. showers, with a high of 63° TONIGHT Partly cloudy, with a low of 39°

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T H E D A I LY TA R G U M

UNIVERSITY

APRIL 9, 2010

ECONOMIC HUMOR

Load balancer to crank up Sakai

BY KENDALL LAPARO CONTRIBUTING WRITER

BONNIE CHAN/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Yoram Bauman, stand-up comic and professor at the University of Washington, gave those in the Livingston Student Center Wednesday night a humorous view of the economy.

PA G E 3

Students and faculty logging onto the University’s Sakai Web site to supplement the classroom will soon notice one change that will make the site more efficient — a higher speed.

In the latest improvement to Sakai, which allows online interaction between students and their professors, the University has selected an application deliver y controller to streamline the site and make downloading assignments, completing quizzes and checking grades faster.

“Our products basically accelerate the optimized Web site,” said Kristina O’Connell, vice president of marketing at Crescendo Networks, the company chosen to provide the controller. “We have a very powerful hardware platform that improves your user experience on the student side or allows for flash crowd events when a lot of people come on at one time.”

Sakai hosts about as many users as there are faculty, staff and students at the University, and generally handles from 2,500 to 5,000 users at a time, said Charles Hedrick, University director of the Of fice of Instr uctional and Research Technology.

The application delivery controller, AppBeat DC, sometimes called a load balancer or an application accelerator, will evenly distribute user traffic across Sakai’s five computers, or front ends, Hedrick said.

“[The application accelerator] keeps track of how many people are connected to each machine and tries to keep the load balanced, but it also tests the machines, so if one of them goes down, it moves the users to another machine,” he said.

The new controller will also reduce the amount of time the site is required to be down, Hedrick said.

As of now, Sakai goes offline about once a week for routine

“The hope is that ... we can make changes to Sakai without having the students see downtime.

CHARLES HEDRICK University OIT Director

updates. But with the new controller, shutdowns will only occur a few times a year, he said. By phasing users off one machine at a time, the controller permits the site to remain functional for much longer.

“We change the program fairly often — we’ll fix bugs, we’ll make minor feature improvements,” Hedrick said. “Typically when we make changes to Sakai, we’ll take it down, but Sakai is now being used enough that we would prefer not to. The hope is that with the new system, we can make changes to Sakai without having the students see downtime.”

The new hardware will also improve regular function, like file compression and SSL encryption, which should speed up the response between the server and the browser, he said.

Hedrick estimates the controller may increase Sakai’s speed by a factor of two, though he doubts that a regular user will notice the difference.

“Sakai very seldom runs over 10 percent of the capacity of the computers on which it’s running,” he said. “I’ve seen it go to 20 or 30, but that’s unusual.”

The controller will be installed in the data center in a couple of weeks and should be online before summer session, OIT Senior System Administrator Joe Lizzi said.

Hedrick emphasized that the new machine is a useful — but not drastic — change in the ongoing effort to improve all aspects of Sakai. He feels it is important to stay one step ahead.

“It’s part of the normal process of eliminating as many roadblocks as we can in advance,” he said. “As long as we do stuff like this before we need to, [the students] shouldn’t ever see a problem.”

For Andy Drake, a School of Arts and Sciences sophomore, the upgrades to Sakai seem to be working.

“I use Sakai every day, and I’ve never had a problem,” Drake said. “It’s great. It makes studying for tests so much easier.”

Drake said he was pleased to hear about the improvements to Sakai.

“Faster is always better,” he said.

4

U NIVERSITY

APRIL 9, 2010

HIKES: Proposal reduces state aid for NJ STARS program continued from front finding a co-signer with a steady job and good credit for a private loan can be difficult.

“If you don’t have credit, you can’t get loans, and being that we’re students, we’re supposed to be building our credit,” he said.

The proposed state budget reduces funding for Tuition Aid Grants and the Educational Opportunity Fund and does not

provide funding for incoming freshmen in the NJ STARS scholarship program, according to a March letter from University President Richard L. McCormick.

School of Arts and Sciences junior Anthony Addas said he hopes the $46.6 million cut to the University’s state appropriations does not result in fewer classes.

“It feels like they’ve been cutting back year after year on the programs, and how much more are they going to cut?” Addas said. “When’s it going to stop?”

Addas said he would not mind if tuition increased a bit more

than 4 percent if the additional revenue allowed the University to save classes.

The State Assembly implemented a 3 percent cap into former Gov. Jon S. Corzine’s recommended New Jersey budget bill last year.

Full-time in-state tuition at the University for the 2009 to 2010 school year is $9,546, and fulltime out-of-state tuition is $20,456. Fees cost $2,340 and room and board costs $10,376.

This would reduce the amount of funding for Equal Opportunity Fund statewide to $37.6 million from $41.2 million.

A SLICE OF TAIWAN

MARIELLE BALISALISA/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

T H E DA I LY TA R G U M

CITY DEMOCRATS UNVEIL COUNCIL CANDIDATES The New Brunswick Democratic Committee endorsed Kevin Egan and Rebecca Escobar to run for the two vacant council seats created by incumbent City Council members Joseph Egan and Blanquita Valenti, according to The Asbury Park Press.

“I’m excited. Both Rebecca and Kevin are extremely hardworking individuals,” New Brunswick Mayor Jim Cahill said in the article. “They bring really strong interest and experience in certain areas to the table.”

The endorsement, which came on Tuesday, will help Escobar and Kevin Egan, the son of District-17 Assemblyman Joseph Egan, seek the Democratic nomination in the June primary, according to the article.

“We have an exciting slate,” T.K. Shamy said in the article.

“We have a mayor who has obviously got experience and knows the city all so well, and with him are two new candidates with fresh perspectives, new ideas and new energy.”

Escobar works at the Puerto Rican Action Board and also chairs the New Brunswick Housing Authority. He has worked with groups in the city to tackle issues like domestic violence and family health.

Kevin Egan represents the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Union Local 456 and sits on the New Jersey School Development Authority and the Middlesex County Board of Taxation. He is also the vice chairman of the New Brunswick Parking Authority.

Egan hopes to tackle issues like overcrowding of rental properties, litter and crime, he said in the article.

“I want to be involved,” Egan said. “I believe I can contribute positively and effectively to the continual growth of New Brunswick.”

The Taiwanese American Student Association aimed to bring cultural awareness to Brower Commons on the College Avenue campus yesterday at its Night Market, which included games and items for sale.

CALENDAR APRIL All interested photographers are welcome to attend The Daily Targum photographers’ meeting in Room 410 of the Rutgers Student Center on the College Avenue campus. The meeting will take place from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. We will be holding a weekly photographers’ meeting to discuss important housekeeping business, assign events and facilitate several workshopping activities.

9

Come watch the V-Day 2010 benefit production of Eve Ensler’s award-winning play, “The Vagina Monologues.”

Doors open at 7:30 p.m. and production begins at 8:30 p.m. in the Student Activities Center on the College Avenue campus.

Get there early to buy your tickets because seating is limited.

Tickets are $5 for University students and $7 for general admission. Donations are welcome and T-shirts will be sold.

The Department of Sexual Assault Services and Crime Victim Assistance are sponsoring the event. Proceeds benefit VDay’s 2010 Spotlight Campaign and Sexual Assault Service and Crime Victim Assistance’s Victim Emergency Fund.

10

Teams of six are invited to join RU CARE for their indoor soccer tournament, CARE cup. Registration starts at 5:30 p.m. in the Cook Recreation Center. Winner of the tournament will receive a trophy and a cash prize. All proceeds will benefit Deborah Heart and Lung Center, which helps people living in poverty all over the nation get life saving surgeries.

12

The search committee for the next dean of Douglass campus has narrowed the field to three candidates. Each of the three candidates will be presenting a vision talk from 4:30 to 6 p.m. in the Mabel Smith Douglass Library. Candidate Claire Bond Potter will be the third and last to speak. Everyone is welcome to attend.

13

All are invited to Rutgers Chemistry Society’s meeting “Oil From Anything” beginning at 8:30 p.m. in Room 260 of the Wright-Rieman Labs on Busch campus. Alan Goldman, professor in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, will discuss how Fischer-Tropsch chemistry can convert virtually any carbon source to liquid fuel and may therefore play an important role in solving the shortage of fuel.

The Rutgers Jazz Ensemble, directed by Conrad Herwig, will be paying tribute to Duke Ellington at 8 p.m. in the Nicholas Music Center on Douglass campus. The ensemble will feature Walter White, lead trumpet with Jazz at Lincoln Center, Maynard Ferguson and the Mingus Big Band.

To have your event featured on www.dailytargum.com, send University calendar items to university@dailytargum.com.

MERGER: Proposal to cut funding from state library continued from front schools, because TESC is generally aimed at adults attempting to further their education.

“We do have a major commitment to non-traditional students at Rutgers,” he said.

“There is no inherent academic incapability between Thomas Edison and Rutgers.”

Joseph Guzzardo, director of communications at TESC, provided a different viewpoint, saying the two schools are completely different in their missions.

“They are not apples to apples. They’re ver y different when you look at the way they were set up and when you look at the academic institutions,” he said. “Our take on the proposed merger is that we don’t believe [TESC] would be able to exist in the autonomous way we do now.”

Although the two institutions do not have the same missions, this is not the biggest concern.

Christie’s budget proposal also cuts funding to the State Library of New Jersey, which students of TESC rely on for academic resources. Associate Professor of Library and Information Sciences Daniel O’Connor said if the merger does occur, this could leave the University to fund the state library.

“My remarks today are to bring into focus the implications of incorporating The New Jersey State Librar y and the New Jersey librar y network into Rutgers and the impact this may have on student tuition and fees,” O’Connor said in his April 5 testimony before the Board of Governors’ Committee.

Furmanski said the University is looking into how the merger would affect the librar y, but assured it would not increase students’ tuitions.

“Whatever happens … we would not place the burden of financing any of these mergers on our students,” he said.

Norma Blake, N.J. State Librarian, said the effect of the

— Neil P. Kypers merger would not be ideal for the University.

“It’s not a good thing for Rutgers or its students,” Blake said. “Somebody is going to have to pay for these services, and these are not services that are germane to students or professors.”

She said because of the proposed $10.4 million cut in funding for the state librar y, the University would be left to provide the money and could potentially force students to fund a library they may never use.

“The state library is not your typical academic librar y,” she said. “The state library’s function is to serve state government and Thomas Edison students who are at the age of 40.

“Obviously if the resources aren’t there, then the services can’t be provided.”

JOSEPH GUZZARDO TESC Communications Director

We are not used to serving 18 to 24-year-olds.”

Blake added it was not only a loss of funding for the state librar y but for special needs libraries like the New Jersey State Library Talking Book & Braille Center, a library for the blind and handicapped.

“It is a federally mandated ser vice, and it’s the only special needs librar y in the state,” she said. “It still needs to be operated because it has been federally mandated.”

School of Arts and Sciences junior Anthony Riga said he would not be in favor of paying more tuition for libraries that would be of no help to his studies.

“It doesn’t really make sense that I have to pay for it if I’m not going to use it,” he said. “I understand that it goes to the University but I want to pay for things I want to use.”

Guzzardo said if the University was unable to provide

funding for the state library, it would have a negative effect on TESC and its students.

“It would cause a burden on the students of TESC. They would lose the resources they’ve come to rely on,” he said.

“Obviously, if the resources aren’t there, then the services can’t be provided.”

School of Arts and Sciences sophomore Indra Murti provided a different viewpoint, saying it would not be burdening if it were only a small increase in tuition.

“If it is going to help people and if it wouldn’t really affect our tuition too much, then it’s probably worth it,” she said.

O’Connor said in his testimony the University is left with two decisions — either not to fund the state librar y and its regional library cooperatives or to incorporate funding for the library into the University budget.

“To not fund the library commitments would create a public uproar in each N.J. community where citizens and businesses would blame Rutgers for dismantling an effective and well-regarded librar y network,” he said.

“Should Rutgers students be expected to support N.J.’s State Librar y and the multi-type library network?”

Blake said the governor’s budget proposal team did not take into effect the negative consequences of their decision.

“There was thought that the missions of both Rutgers and Thomas Edison could be enhanced if they worked together,” she said. “But nobody looked closely at the big disparity in the mission.”

Blake said the proposal did not get enough attention because the budget team was dealing with two budget cycles at once.

“They had to make quick decisions on things and now they’re stepping back to wait for Thomas Edison and Rutgers to tell them the ramifications of their decision,” she said. “It’s our job as people who work for Thomas Edison and for Rutgers to let them know what those consequences are and that’s what we’re doing right now.”

T H E DA I LY TA R G U M

CDC cleans up STD testing stigma

BY KATHERINE KRZOSKA

Fenton believes the Get Yourself Tested campaign is a tangible way to engage young In support of April as STD and people from all walks of life in the HIV awareness month, MTV and fight against STD’s. the Centers for Disease Control “Given everything we know and Prevention teamed up to host about how to prevent, diagnose a telephone press conference and treat STD’s, I would say that yesterday to discuss the preva- it is unacceptable that STD’s lence and prevention of STD’s remain such a widespread proband HIV on college campuses lem in the U.S. today,” he said. around the nation.

Fenton said the two most comDr. Kevin Fenton, director of mon STD’s are chlamydia and the National Center for gonorrhea, and since early treatHIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD ment is more effective, early and TB prevention at the CDC, diagnosis is necessary. and Jason Rzepka, vice president Though the disease affects of MTV public affairs, hosted the both sexes, in the past years the press conference that aimed to majority of reported chlamydia spread awareness and remove cases actually occurred among taboos regarding STD’s in young teenage girls between the America and promote the “Get ages 15 to 19, he said.

Yourself Tested” campaign.

Human Papillomavirus, or “The reality is that stigma, HPV, is also of particular concern shame and lack of testing remain for women, he said. CDC data some of the key factors that con- suggests that from 2003 to 2004, tribute to the high number of STD as many as 7.5 million women infections in our country today,” between the ages of 14 to 24 years Fenton said. “Young men and old were infected with the virus. young women have to take the Prevention is key in the fight responsibility of protecting both against HPV, therefore girls themselves and their partners.” between the ages of 11 to 26 The CDC estimates that as should be vaccinated, Fenton said. many as one in two sexually active The African-American populayoung people will contract an tion has also been disproportionSTD by age 25 and 19 million new ately affected by chlamydia and cases of STD’s occur each year, gonorrhea, Fenton said. many of which “Despite makgo undiagnosed. ing up just 12 per“I don’t think “STD testing is cent of the U.S. one of the most population, there’s enough effective prevenAfrican Americans tion tools availinformation about accounted for able,” Fenton said. about half of all STD’s out there.”

To help comreported chlamybat the negative dia cases and PATRICK BANAL perceptions of about 71 percent School of Environmental and testing, “It’s Your of all gonorrhea Biological Sciences junior (Sex) Life,” an cases reported in ongoing partner2008,” he said. ship of MTV and the Kaiser There is also an increased conFamily Foundation is working cern with the increasing number with Planned Parenthood of HIV infections, particularly Federation of America, the CDC among those in the gay and bisexand other partners nationwide to ual communities, Fenton said. implement the Get Yourself The rate of new HIV diagTested campaign. noses among men who have sex “All of our programs were with men is more than 44 times developed to de-stigmatize test- than that of other men and more ing — to make it something you than 40 times than that of women, can be proud of as a part of a he said. healthy lifestyle,” Rzepka said.

University students like “We’re really committed to part- Patrick Banal, a School of nering with our audience and all Environmental and Biological of you to reverse the course of Sciences junior, think the joint the national HIV and STD trend.” MTV and CDC project is a great The campaign is hosting a Get way to garner awareness for HIV Yourself Tested Now campus chal- and STD’s. lenge, asking students nationwide “I don’t think there’s enough to pledge to get tested, he said. information about STD’s out there The campaign offers reward — both in general and on college incentives beyond just general campuses,” Banal said. “I think good health, Rzepka said. The that the media promotes young school that gets the most pledges people to have sex more than the will be featured on MTV News, consequences of those actions.” and students on the winning camLatoshia Bost, a School of Arts pus will win a trip in summer and Sciences senior, said there is 2010 with accommodations and not enough information about tickets to see Cobra Starship, STD’s available on campus and Travis McCoy and more. supports this project as a way to Students can sign up for the help the situation. challenge on the campaign’s Web “I think a lot of students aren’t site, GYTnow.com, which also getting testing because they are provides facts on STD’s, tips on scared to talk about it and know bringing up the issue of testing the results,” Bost said. “If there is with your partners and health information, it’s not prevalent on care providers, and a testing cen- campus. I rarely see anything ter locator. regarding STD information.”

“It’s key to note that we are School of Arts and Sciences making this a top priority [with junior Dan Scheiber said he our] efforts throughout the believes that the campaign’s month working to connect with Facebook page will be an effecyoung people everywhere they tive way to reach out to students. are,” Rzepka said.

“A lot of people use Facebook Statistics showed success right now, so I would say that’s from last year’s campaign, with the easiest method to [spread an increase in traffic to Planned awareness], and it would get the Parenthood clinics across the most people [involved],” country, he said.

Scheiber said.

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

U NIVERSITY

APRIL 9, 2010

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APRIL 9, 2010

DNA: Facility to include new 5,000 square-foot annex continued from front blood to DNA, RNA, cell lines and protein,” he said. “We then send processed materials back to the submitter for their research, and we serve as a central repository to distribute the remaining samples to the broad scientific community.”

Tischfield said the expansion of RUCDR is needed because they are doubling in size every two to three years.

“Existing storage facilities are full and processing laboratories do not have suf ficient capacity to handle the volume of samples,” he said. “Expansion will enable us to conduct the projects of the future, the volume of the future and to hire many new employees.”

Associate Director of Technology Development Andrew Brooks said the expansion would have happened even if the repository did not receive the federal funding.

“We were preparing to do this expansion with or without the federal funding,” he said. “The federal funding affords us the

opportunity to vie for other grant opportunities and to also keep our services in line and competitive in what we do.”

There are two parts of the expansion, the first involving the addition of cr yogenic storage facility used for such high quality biomaterials as DNA, RNA and plasma, said Associate Managing Director of RUCDR David Toke via e-mail correspondence.

“This project has spanned three years from the design phase, site selection and construction,” Toke said. “This stateof-the-art facility is to be completed sometime early this summer.”

Tischfield described what this first construction phase would entail.

“The construction of Annex Two will hold our nearly 75 to 80 degrees Celsius freezers full of DNA and other bio specimens,” he said. “This will be a 5,000 square-foot structure on the back of Nelson Biological Labs [on Busch campus].”

Toke said Phase Two of the construction would involve the demolition and renovation of the C Wing in Nelson Biological Labs. He said this 11,000 square-foot structure would hold the RUCDR Nucleic Acid Separation and Analysis labora-

U NIVERSITY tor y. By the middle of 2011, it would be completed.

“A large open laboratory floor plan will allow for the location of automated nucleic acid extraction robots, in addition to high throughput liquid handling robots, used in the preparation and distribution of biomaterials,” he said. “[The biomaterials would

“Not only are we helping to find the causes of these diseases, but we are also putting Rutgers on the map ...”

JAY TISCHFIELD RUCDR Scientific Director

be distributed] to [National Institutes of Health] approved researchers investigating the underlying causes for a number of complex genetic diseases.”

Tischfield added that the new C-wing would not only offer robots to help with a highthroughput screening of samples but also of fer room for members to work together more efficiently.

MAMA: Williams looks to retire, move back to Florida continued from front

MARIELLE BALISALISA/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

aged to achieve celebrity status outside of the dining hall, making cameos in a play on campus, student films, radio shows and at last year’s Dance Marathon.

“I love my job,” she said. “I just enjoy helping the students.”

Though most students may be used to her swiping their cards through a machine at Brower’s entrance, Williams does more than that. She also answers questions for groups who want permits to table in the lobby, helps lost students find Records Hall on the College Avenue campus and clears up any misconceptions about meal plans.

One of her favorite parts of the job is the dining hall’s theme

T H E DA I LY TA R G U M “There will be office space and conference space for genetics department faculty members who do computational research in genetics,” he said. “These individuals will now have adjacent spaces in which they can collaborate and share ideas among themselves and with students and support the analytical mission of the RUCDR.” Tischfield also focused on the importance of the RUCDR at the University, especially when the nation is fighting a dire fiscal situation.

“The RUCDR feeds and nurtures the research and academic missions of Rutgers, but it also provides great economic value on campus and within the state.

This is particularly important at a time when we are in an economic recession,” he said.

“Over the last decade, the RUCDR has brought about $200 million of research money into the Rutgers community.”

The benefits of expanding RUCDR are numerous, and it will help in discovering more causes for genetic diseases than they have already uncovered, he said.

“The RUCDR has provided the materials and some of the analyses that have led to finding

genes responsible for autism, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder as well as alcoholism and drug abuse,” he said. “Not only are we helping to find the causes of these diseases, but we are also putting Rutgers on the map as a major player in human genetic disorders.”

With the dim outlook on jobs in the United States, a benefit from the expansion would create employment opportunities, Tischfield said.

“The RUCDR provides jobs for some students but even more students after they graduate,” he said. “All of the building provides construction jobs and jobs for the people who will maintain the buildings, ranging from heating to landscaping.”

The RUCDR is a major role in the analysis of DNA, and cell research has grown tremendously over the years, which will increase even more with the expansion, Tischfield said.

“In recent years, the RUCDR has been conducting more molecular analyses of the samples that we produce,” he said. “Plus, we now play an even bigger role in research aimed at understanding the genetic causes of the most common diseases that take the greatest toll on mankind.”

nights, like Monopoly Night, which she saw start about 10 years ago.

“I just thought it was so exciting,” Williams said. “In Florida, we have a lot of state fairs, county fairs, things like that … I was just so excited about how it turned out.”

Of the 12 months a year she works, December is about the best, she said.

“Holiday time is a good time for me,” Williams said. “[Students] bring me gifts, they bring me cards, all kinds of nice things.”

Williams tries her best to repay the gifts students have given her with her kindness.

“I know a lot of them are away from home, and sometimes it’s kind of depressing … when they leave home as a freshman,” she said. “It can be a little scary, but I try to make everybody comfortable when they come in.”

The self-described “people person” said she has had good times at the University, but is nonetheless eager to return to Florida when she retires in four years.

“When I retire, I’m going to buy myself a big book and put all my memories in it,” she said.

Williams said she would bring the spirit of service she employs every day with her even after she leaves the students here.

“I’m hoping to do some volunteer work at a hospital or a nursing home,” she said. “I want to really help people.”

When her mother was in a nursing home, Williams went to visit her ever y two to three weeks, and she wants to make sure other people know someone cares about them too.

“It made her feel so good to see me,” she said. “We would go out for walks. I would take her home, to church and shopping.

That’s important. It makes them feel like a part of society again.”

Though she looks forward to life after Brower, Williams knows leaving will not be easy.

“They all know I love them,” she said. “They’re all my children. I have students who come from other campuses, and they tell me the only reason they walk through Brower’s doors is to see my smiling face.”

Co-worker Ruby Dubose said it has been a pleasure to work with Williams over the years.

“She’s a very nice person, and I enjoy working with her very much,” she said.

School of Arts and Sciences sophomore Elizabeth Percival is glad to have Williams around to brighten her day.

“You know when you’re having one of those days when, on a scale of one to 10, it’s like a four or a three? It’s like four points higher when you see her,” she said. “She’s always smiling, always happy. She’s just like a little ray of sunshine on an otherwise cloudy day.”

Andrew Golda, a School of Arts and Sciences junior, said Williams has been a great addition to the University.

“She’s probably the best thing that ever happened to Rutgers and to Brower,” he said, while outside the steps of the dining hall. “She makes it worth coming here.”

MARIELLE BALISALISA/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

School of Arts and Sciences junior Brian Aronson, top, and School of Arts and Sciences first-year student Elise Bastardo hand their meal cards to Thelma Williams, also known as “Mama Brower.” Williams has been a friend to University students for 22 years.

T H E D A I LY TA R G U M

OPINIONS

PA G E 8

APRIL 9, 2010

EDITORIALS

Week in review: laurels and darts

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ollege Avenue, end to end, is occupied by a series of large potholes and a long ditch that were left as a result of wear and tear. Cashstrapped, or perhaps simply unwilling to fix them, authorities have slowly approached repairs, and it seems as though our University is not alone. Looking to make streets safer, Polytechnic University of Milan students Domenico Diego and Cristina Corradini have persuaded Italian road safety experts to do something about the problem with roads in Italy. Instead of spending thousands of dollars, which is not bound to happen, authorities will paint potholes yellow so that drivers see and avoid them. We can only laurel this ingenuity and suggest it to New Brunswick authorities — although the entire street might end up yellow for the sheer number of holes. *

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A man threatened to bring down an airplane with his mind. Dart. A Qantas Airlines passenger continuously threatened to crash the Sydney to Singapore flight with his mind. Authorities handcuffed his arms and legs for the duration of the seven and a half hour long flight. *

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Citigroup, which after massive losses took a $45 billion taxpayer bailout, is in the news once again. Charles Prince and Robert Rubin, who headed the company’s near-collapse in the run-up to the 2008 banking crisis, claimed no responsibility for the enormous losses. We can only dart them for failing to stand at the helm of Citigroup and be accountable as chief executives. *

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Tiger Woods is back — back to TV spots and golf tournaments alike. A controversial Nike ad came out this week of Earl Woods, Tiger’s father, lecturing his son from the grave. The footage was spliced from an interview with Woods Sr. talking about his wife Kultida. We laurel the 33-second ad for its creativity and for putting Tiger Woods back in the world of endorsements. *

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“Weekend at Bernie’s” took a new turn this week when two women tried to smuggle a dead body onto a flight from England to Germany. The 91-year-old deceased man had donned a pair of sunglasses and was pushed in a wheelchair through Liverpool’s John Lennon airport. The women were arrested. A dart goes to them for not thinking through their plan. *

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“Yale bans sex between faculty, undergrads,” reads the New Haven Register. The previous policy at Yale University had been against students having romantic relationships with their professors — those with whom they have “direct pedagogical or supervisory responsibilities.” We laurel this move on part of Yale University for it sends a clear message —“just don’t do it.” *

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Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin came out with another witless public statement. In response to President Barack Obama’s stance on nuclear weapons, she said that it was like a kid who says, “Punch me in the face.” She was addressing Obama’s limits on the use of U.S. nuclear weapons at this time of world conflict. Not only does her comment fittingly resemble a playground argument, but she appears to be defending more expansive nuclear proliferation. We dart Palin for a lack of wits when it comes to inter-partisan commentaries — although her speeches make for great conversational pieces. *

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Continuing on a Tiger Woods’ note, the golf star made a return to the sports sphere with an opening day play at the Masters. The media expectedly swarmed the golf course for reasons different than Woods’ playing abilities. The attention though was shared between Woods and Tom Watson, the sport’s still-playing elder statesman at 60, who took the lead in opening day. We laurel Woods for playing the game that he has so skillfully dominated in years past and Watson for sticking with the sport for so long. It is good to see both of them still on the course. *

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In contrast with Sarah Palin’s remarks on the current administration’s nuclear policy, President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitri Medvedev signed a nuclear arms control treaty yesterday. We laurel this move of international importance as it is needed and serves as an example for others to follow.

QUOTE OF THE DAY “Everybody has their days when maybe they don’t wake up feeling great. Sometimes a smile will help you.”

Thelma Williams, also known as Mama Brower, on working at the courtesy desk at Brower Commons STORY ON FRONT

MCT CAMPUS

Tiger’s comeback is here

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What Tiger did hurt no n the early morning one but himself, his wife, hours following his children, his mother Thanksgiving, the man and his wife’s family. So that seemed to have everywhat unfolded that night in thing in the world had it all November is no one’s busicome to a crashing end. ness but theirs. The When Eldrick Woods’ — details of Tigers infidelibetter known as Tiger — MATT SUGAM ties, his treatment and black Cadillac SUV state of his marriage is smacked into a tree outside something the public should leave alone. his neighbor’s home, it soon surfaced that it would Tiger has not talked much about the incident be his golden boy image that took the most damage. and never will. Despite his fame he’s never been The public quickly came to know that Tiger one that is ver y open to the media. While people had been cheating on his wife Elin Woods with are enthralled by what happened they are just more women than you can count on both hands. going to have to speculate. As Tiger has said His infidelities dominated not only the sports countless times, it is between him and his wife world, but the entire news world. From TMZ to and that is how it should be.

CNN, everyone had it covered and had something Things about an athlete’s personal life that to say about it. are not illegal in the eyes of the judicial system, And I could not stand it. such as Tiger’s adulter y, is something they What Woods did was wrong. There is no arguing should keep behind closed doors. Hopefully that. There are few things worse that you can do to after facing the press this Monday and his return your significant other. While what Woods did was to golf with the Masters yesterday, wrong, I don’t care about it at all and media begins to do that. am disgusted by how much so many “But when it comes theThere’s been speculation that people do.

The guy cheated on his wife. This to Tiger against the Tiger chose to come back for the Masters because there would be a day in age, that just seems to be what field, I am picking controlled environment with fans athletes do. It is ignorant to think the media. While that is a valid Kobe Bryant and the hotel employee [him] every time ...” and argument, Tiger is coming back in Colorado was an anomaly. He just now because it is the first major got caught. tournament of the season, and at this point it his Baseball and basketball players are constantly career it is all about winning the majors. on the road with “jersey chasers” — women lookThrough his dominance Tiger transcends his ing to sleep with athletes — in ever y city. If numsport and for good reason. I for one do not watch bers ever came out of how many athletes cheat on golf. I watch Tiger in a red shirt because there is their wife or girlfriend on the road and it would be nothing like watching Tiger go to work on Sundays. astounding. Tiger said he felt entitled to do what As good of a closer as Mariano Rivera is for basehe did because he was. When surrounded by ball, or Michael Jordan was for basketball or Joe beautiful women wanting to sleep with you is part Montana was for football, Tiger is in a class of his of the lifestyle entitled to athletes. own. Countless times players have crumbled on the And it is not just athletes. Politicians are just as back nine knowing Tiger’s on their tail and when guilty. Recently it was former Sen. John Edwards ahead, Tiger doesn’t give up leads. and no one forgets former President Bill Clinton. It Coming back and winning the Masters after a is the society we live in. four and a half month hiatus will be no easy feat.

Let’s not forget the rich CEOs and rock stars either.

But when it comes to Tiger against the field, I am When you are in the position of a professionpicking Tiger every time no matter the circumal athlete, politician, wealthy CEO or rock star stances. This is the same guy that won a US Open you have the ability to get with more beautiful on one knee. women than your average Joe could ever even Golf is more of a mental game than any other imagine. It comes with the territor y. The public sport — hence why players fold knowing Tiger just does not hear about it while the media turns has them in his crosshairs. So if Tiger played as a blind eye to it, as they should, until someone well as he did, knowing he had this secret from gets caught. the entire world that could come out at anytime, The only thing Tiger did wrong was say “I do” to Elin in November of 2003 and not follow SEE SUGAM ON PAGE 9 ever ything he said he would do.

Suga Knight

Due to space limitations, submissions cannot exceed 750 words. If a commentary exceeds 750 words, it will not be considered for publication. All authors must include name, phone number, class year and college affiliation or department to be considered for publication. Anonymous letters will not be considered. All submissions are subject to editing for length and clarity.

A submission does not guarantee publication. Please submit via e-mail to oped@dailytargum.com by 4 p.m. to be considered for the following day’s publication.

The editorials written above represent the majority opinion of The Daily Targum Editorial Board. All other opinions expressed on the Opinions page, and those held by advertisers, columnists and cartoonists, are not necessarily those of The Daily Targum.

OPINIONS

T H E DA I LY TA R G U M

APRIL 9, 2010 9

Growing up Conservative brings out true ideals Letter TALEEN TERJANIAN

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he opinion piece in Tuesday’s The Daily Targum, “Conser vative ideals: Maximize wealth, take care of rich,” struck a cord with me primarily because I was able to relate with the author’s personal background, but ironically share a much different perspective on things politically. From what I understand, we both share the background of coming from conservative communities to more liberal collegiate environments. When we were younger, our parents and the socioeconomic status in which we were raised probably played a key role in forming our opinions, politically and other wise.

College, especially one as diverse as the University, is truly the first time many individuals branch out and explore different people, things and ideologies. It is therefore understandable that once previously held mentalities may be challenged and cause

students to shift personal attitudes, particularly in regards to politics, because they feel morally obligated to do so. I must urge though that if you were lucky enough to have conser vative principles ingrained into you at a young age, do not allow yourself to be swayed during your four years here, and in opposition to the previous article, you must faithfully acknowledge this platform if you intend on reaching your ultimate potential.

First and foremost, I must address the issue the author presents regarding the conservative tie to money and this fear of not having an extra car in the garage when others in the world are finding it difficult to just get their next meal. This myth of conservatives simply not wanting to help the poor and desiring to keep it all to themselves needs to be dispelled.

Radicals aside, one will find that members from both right and left agree on similar moral standards for human beings — it is just in how they attain them that differ.

For instance, a Liberal will see a man on the street begging for

money and say, “The government should really do something about this, it’s horrible that people are going hungry and have no where to turn.”

Meanwhile, a Conser vative would view the same scene and say, “There are stores all around, he should go fill out some applications and earn his keep!” The Liberal will then

“... the ‘poor’ in today’s society typically have a roof over their head and a color TV.” turn around and claim, “How do you expect him to get a job if he has ragged clothing, no home address, etc.?” The Conservative will then, coming off as arrogant and insensitive, will state, “How did my forefathers do it? And did he even try? I’ll give him a $100 for each time he made a legitimately concerted effort to find a job.” Odds are, he will not have to

shell out a penny, especially under an administration that is increasingly taking the responsibility from the individual and essentially diminishing their ultimate potential. What is the incentive in doing so if food stamps, more luxurious shelters and now health care for even those who have smoked all their life are provided for? And even worse, what is the incentive for the rich man to continue his hard work to simply be taxed until no end to pay for all of the wants and needs of the poor?

After all, the “poor” in today’s society typically have a roof over their head and a color TV. They are not dying and opportunities are presented to them day in and day out. My grandfather did not have his life handed to him from a silver platter and upon arrival to the States my father did not have his education or professional career taken care of magically either. It was through hard work and determination that he succeeded. I once heard the argument that it may have been through a loan or scholarship

provided thanks to the government that such opportunities were made available, but I would take you for an idiot if you ‘didn’t’ take advantage of the programs at hand. Hence, it may seem like the Conservatives are mad at those who are utilizing all of these various government-sponsored goods and services, but in reality it is the policy makers who are guilty. Heck, when I graduate, the first place I am looking to make some money before starting my own business is through the USA Jobs Web site, seeing that the average salary has increased by $10,000+/yr in the public sector versus a comparable one in the private. But in the meantime, I am also going to be voting in the November 2010 elections to ensure that the Republicans win back as many representatives so we do not have to go through another term of wishful thinking to bring about change.

Taleen Terjanian is a Cook College senior majoring in Animal Sciences with a minor in environmental and business economics.

Budget cuts will affect more than just students Letter ROB KLINE

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t is my personal opinion that ever yone has a natural right to education. It is both a normative value in our society, as well as a personal feeling that I harbor being religious. In most religions, educators are considered to be following a holy path. Education is the guiding light that allows for humans to overcome superstition that allows irrationality to guide our decisions. Education is good, and it should be available to ever yone since the genius that may shake the ver y foundation of our society may be found in a public school.

The budget cuts make it obvious that the rich elites are doing their best to extinguish that light. The University alone is

going to lose nearly $50 million worth of state aid, money that is obviously necessary to the operation of the school. This would not be so bad, if it were not for the fact that Gov. Chris Christie did not keep the legislation that taxes those whose income is more than $400,000. According to the New Jersey Education Association, the proposed cut to education is $1.5 billion, and the revenue from that tax was approximately $1 billion.

This is not to say that I do not appreciate the conser vative standpoint. It is unjust to pursue equality at the expense of taxing some people more than others. In fact it is hypocritical to do so.

However, the policy was already in motion, and this is not an argument that everyone should be equal, rather that the state has certain obligations. This budget cut alone is going to affect hun-

dreds of thousands, if not millions, of people in the state since the cuts are going to affect teacher’s salaries, extracurricular activities, class sizes and financial aid. Can the same really be said about a tax cut that only affects

“So what should someone do when confronted with a governing body that is evil?” those making more than $400,000? From both a consequentialist and retributivist standpoint this tax cut is immoral, since it benefits a select few over the community, and it violates normative ideology of what education’s role is in society.

I have now proven that the budget cuts to the education system is immoral from a rational standpoint. This means that the government, which is supposed to act in the best interest of the people, is acting immorally in relation to the society in question. This type of failing on the part of the government — this type of irrationality in supporting immorality from any rational standpoint — is what is commonly known as evil.

So what should someone do when confronted with a governing body that is evil? Many philosophers offer many different perspectives. Some would say that the elected officials are obviously acting in the interest of the people if they were elected by the people. This is incorrect in this case though because it is obvious that this was not the

Vote ‘Yes,’ make student government work better Letter JOSH SLAVIN

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he University undergraduate student body has been scandalously deprived of a right so fundamental to its well-being that the growing dissatisfaction it has with its University is of little surprise. From cutting courses to decreasing bus routes to subpar classrooms, the undergraduates of Rutgers-New Brunswick have suffered long enough without a student government that can ef fectively address these issues on their behalf. From a state that ignores the needs of 25,000 of its most important constituents, to an administration that makes light of the demands of those 25,000, to a student body that hardly even notices the existence of the massive, unwieldy organization known as Rutgers University Student Assembly, student government at the University has failed to deliver the kind of representation that we deser ve.

It is not for a lack of tr ying though. The good students that

devote their time to RUSA do are brought into RUSA, represo with the full intention of sentation will benefit from a effecting change and improving stronger, more unified voice their University, but they were representing ever y undergradhanded a system that simply uate student of the University disallows them to reach their instead of just one campus. The beneficent goals. We under- increased competitiveness for graduates are represented by a seats in student government mess of a system that is so ill- will ensure that only those truly suited to meet even its own dedicated to us will be elected. needs, let alone those of the Fur ther, the cost of running students it is intended to repre- student government will be sent, that it has on more than decreased and more money will one occasion be made availpassed contradicto student “... it allows students able tor y resolutions organizations. and cannot even The new structo prioritize the amend its own ture streamlines major issues facing student governconstitution.

Carr ying the the student body ...” ment to produce a relics of the past more ef ficient colleges and the and productive prejudices and mistrust there body. It prevents multiple stuassociated is not the way to dent leaders from researching move for ward in our new, and working on the same issue, unified University. just to find the same results.

That unification under the Instead of these wasted efforts, School of Ar ts and Sciences student leaders will be able to requires a unification of stu- cooperate and work together to dent government. We will not best serve the student body. By rely on a system where campus putting student leaders in the council competes against cam- same room, it allows students to pus council and the only people prioritize the major issues facing that win are the administrators. the student body instead of leavOnce all of the campus councils ing it up to administrators.

At the same time, this structure still maintains for local smaller issues to be addressed.

Since positions are broken down by campus, student leaders will be accountable to a certain student body. Local councils will still meet to ensure local issues are addressed.

These shorter more informal meetings are the perfect way for students to suggest ideas and become involved. An added benefit of the str ucture will allow campus councils to learn from each other and work together to better the University as a whole. The structure is easy to understand, and it will allow students to have a greater voice.

Let’s finally reform student government by unifying it under RUSA and at last enjoy the true, ef fective representation to which we are entitled. Please go to rusa.rutgers.edu and vote yes on the referendum.

Josh Slavin is a Livingston College senior. He serves as the Student Representative to the Board of Trustees and as Internal Affairs chair for RUSA. Ashley Brower contributed to this letter.

platform that Christie ran on, meaning that we are not required to believe him or in him. The next argument is that we should ignore the validity of his position, but this would lead to anarchy every time a politician lied, and frankly that would just lead to a state of nature because, let’s face it, it is pretty much in the job description of politicians to lie.

What I propose is to rally. If you do not enjoy being attacked, if you do not enjoy living in a society that allows for evil to thrive in the policies that govern our very lives, join me on April 27 in protest. There will be a massive walkout, and if you want your voice to be heard I implore you to come.

Rob Kline is a School of Arts and Sciences sophomore majoring in political science and philosophy.

SUGAM continued from page 8 something tells me he is going to do even better with everything out in the open.

The golf course is Tiger’s sanctuary and while he is likely going to be a bit rusty, as long as he makes the cut there is no way you can count him out.

There is no better way for Tiger to start to make people forget about his infidelities than by winning (You don’t hear Br yant’s sexual assault case talked about anymore).

I will be rooting for Tiger to put on the green jacket Sunday.

Some think it is going to be the toughest event he will ever play given the circumstances and would say that for once, Tiger’s a long shot to win. But after what has unfolded over the last four and a half months a few rounds of golf is just what Tiger needs. And after enduring what he has, doesn’t winning a major just seem easier than ever before?

Matt Sugam is a School of Arts and Sciences junior majoring in journalism and media studies and sociology.

T H E D A I LY TA R G U M

DIVERSIONS

PA G E 1 0

Horoscopes / LINDA C. BLACK

Pearls Before Swine

APRIL 9, 2010

STEPHAN PASTIS

Today's birthday (4/9/10). This is a year for sharpening the focus of your sensitivity, diplomacy and tact. Use these tools to balance your leadership skills. You want to be on your own, free from all limitations. Self-awareness can help realize dreams. To get the advantage, check the day's rating: 10 is the easiest day, 0 the most challenging.

Aries (March 21-April 19) — Today is a 5 — Adjust your focus to include group activities you really care about. Evaluate your role and choose your path.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) — Today is a 6 — When discussing matters with the group, choose your battles carefully.

You want to appear independent, but no need to go crazy.

Take the middle road.

Gemini (May 21-June 21) — Today is a 7 — Concentrated effort pays off. Although ideas expand to fill available space, you benefit from aligning heart and mind to pursue a single objective.

Cancer (June 22-July 22) — Today is a 6 — The object of your attention is far away, but don't lose focus. Put headphones on, or do whatever works to eliminate distraction. It's important.

Leo (July 23-Aug. 22) — Today is a 6 — It's time for you spend quality time with your significant other. This works creative magic. Feast at an exotic locale and take in a foreign film.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) — Today is a 5 — Narrow the scope of partnership activities to focus on independent or impulsive activities. Doesn't sound practical? This is no time for logic.

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) — Today is a 6 — From among the myriad tasks at work, choose one that appeals to your soul. Once that's complete, choose another that suits your sense of priorities.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) — Today is a 7 — Leave work at work. When you come home, include delicious food, and a movie or music. Bring someone.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) — Today is a 6 — Tiny details appear, and you want to make everything fit. Something resists being squashed into place, so a slight shift is in order.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) — Today is a 6 — You discover a single tree that represents perfect harmony and balance. Too bad you can't take it home. Use it as a symbol of how to integrate heart and mind.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) — Today is a 6 — It would be easy to spend all the available cash.

Instead, take extra time to consider each purchase. Can you wait until next month?

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — Today is a 7 — Shut most of the world out to attend to deeply personal matters today. Aligning your desires with circumstances could be thorny. Use every sense to devise solutions.

Dilbert

Doonesberry

Happy Hour

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JIM AND PHIL

T H E DA I LY TA R G U M

Last-Ditch Ef fort

Get Fuzzy

D IVERSIONS JOHN KROES

APRIL 9, 2010

Pop Culture Shock Therapy

11

DOUG BRATTON

DARBY CONLEY

Non Sequitur

WILEY

Jumble

H. ARNOLD & M. ARGIRION THAT SCRAMBLED WORD GAME

Unscramble these four Jumbles, one letter to each square, to form four ordinary words.

Peanuts

CHARLES SCHULTZ

SNALT ©2010 Tribune Media Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

TENKO

BUBYCH

Ph.D

J ORGE C HAM

NEW BIBLE Jumble Books Go To: http://www.tyndale.com/jumble/

by Mike Argirion and Jeff Knurek

FLYTAL Now arrange the circled letters to form the surprise answer, as suggested by the above cartoon.

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”

(Answers tomorrow) Jumbles: NAIVE COVEY SWIVEL APPEAR Yesterday’s Answer: What the sailor with the noisy bunkmate wanted when the ship docked — “SNORE” LEAVE

Sudoku

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T H E DA I LY TA R G U M

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PA G E 1 2

APRIL 9, 2010

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S P O RT S

T H E DA I LY TA R G U M

APRIL 9, 2010

13

Trip to Wisconsin offers new level of opponents

BY TYLER DONOHUE CORRESPONDENT

C

onnecticut’s AllAmerican center Tina Charles earned the No.1 overall pick in this year’s Women’s National Basketball Association Draft.

The selection comes just days after UConn won the national championship to complete its second-straight undefeated season and extended its NCAA Division-I record win streak to 78 games. The center averaged over 18 points and nine rebounds a game this season.

BECAUSE

OF

THE

school’s lack of academic progress, Missouri State lost scholarships for its men’s basketball and football programs.

The Division I progress rate is averaged over a four-year period, with the minimum resting at 925.

The football program recorded a 921 while the basketball program recorded a 908, costing each program one and 2.83 scholarship spots, respectively.

BRADLEY UNIVERSITY,

A

small private school in Illinois, is asking its administration for an official mascot for the school’s athletic programs. The school is nicknamed the Braves, but for the past 20 years the spor ts teams had no mascot to cheer on its teams.

The administration exercises caution in deciding on a mascot, as the school’s nickname holds a spot on the NCAA’s list of schools that present “hostile and abusive” use of American Indian imager y.

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL umpire Joe West had some harsh words for American League East rivals New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox regarding their season-opening three-game series in Beantown.

Following Wednesday’s game, West said to the Bergen Record, “It’s pathetic and embarrassing, they take too long to play.”

Although some players did not respond positively to West’s comments — Yankees closer Mariano Rivera called the umpire’s comments “incredible” — games one to three lasted 3:46, 3:48 and 3:21, respectively.

PITTSBURGH STEELERS receiver Santonio Holmes may be off the hook with his recent legal troubles.

Holmes suffered accusations last month from an Orlando woman who reported that the former Super Bowl MVP struck her in the face with his glass of liquor at an Orlando nightclub.

Holmes’s attorney confirmed Wednesday that his client sent Orlando police evidence that will exonerate him, and in the process, send a huge wave of relief throughout the Steelers’ front office.

Crunch time is here in full force for the Rutgers tennis team, as it faces the toughest portion of its 2010 TENNIS season t h i s RUTGERS AT weekDEPAUL, end. The SATURDAY, 1 P.M. Scarlet Knights journey to Milwaukee, Wis., to take on Marquette and Big East beast DePaul in a series of makeor-break matches.

Rutgers (11-5, 5-1) caught fire over the past month and a half, winning eight of its last 10 matches and creeping to the edge of the conference’s upper echelon. The Knights reeled off five straight Big East wins — the most recent two on the road.

Despite all the success thus far, the squad faces its moment of truth this weekend. Think of the two matches as the Knights’ opportunity to claim the title of “contender” or “pretender.” The easiest matches of the team’s schedule are behind them and if Rutgers wants to continue mov-

ing forward it will have to go through some formidable foes.

Judgment day comes Saturday, when the Knights go face-to-face with No. 21 DePaul. The Blue Demons (13-3, 4-1) present the biggest challenge the Knights have faced all year.

Rutgers has never beaten a nationally ranked team and head coach Ben Bucca knows it. His players know it. Quite frankly, Saturday’s match is one of the program’s most pivotal contests in years. Senior captain Katherine Arlak feels her team is wellequipped to handle the pressure.

“DePaul is a ranked team and we know they’re going to be tough,” Arlak said. “I don’t think we’re nervous though. We know we’re not expected to win the match, but if we go in there and play the best we can and play hard, we can beat them.”

Sophomore Jen Holzberg, the team’s No. 2 singles player, is just as confident as her captain that the Knights will play up to the task.

“I think we’re ready for this,” Holzberg said. “We’ve practiced hard and we’ve beaten all the teams that we should have. We’re

on the right track to finally beating a ranked opponent.”

Should Rutgers knock off mighty DePaul, junior ace Amy Zhang believes it would change the culture of the University’s tennis program.

“It would mean a lot to beat DePaul,” Zhang said. “This team has really improved since my freshman year. We’re at the point now where we could just level off or continue to get better.”

“We’re so close to becoming a ranked team and it’s time for us to get over that hump. It’s not about talent on this team, it’s about believing in our own abilities.”

Those abilities have not let the Knights down ver y often this season.

The squad’s dominance in conference play has put them in the mix for one of the Big East tournament’s top four seeds — which would earn them a bye.

The Blue Demons, along with No. 6 Notre Dame and No. 19 South Florida have all but locked up three of the four high seeds. Rutgers is in the mix for the final bye, but a loss at DePaul would likely derail any chance for the Knights to earn a day off in the tournament.

“Getting a bye is really important because it’s a day you don’t have to play and put strain on your body,” Holzberg said.

“Hopefully we can help our chances by winning.”

Rutgers has another opportunity to pick up a conference victory on Sunday, when the team is hosted

by Marquette. Though the Golden Eagles (11-11, 2-0) have dropped four consecutive matches, they are a solid team and will have extra incentive when facing the Knights.

Last spring, Rutgers bumped Marquette from the Big East tournament in a highly competitive 4-3 match. Earlier in 2009, the Golden Eagles came into Piscataway and handed the Knights a 4-3 loss.

There may be a rivalry brewing between the two teams.

“Our win over them in the tournament last year was a really great match and it was big,” Zhang said. “I’m sure they will be looking for revenge against us.”

The weekend is sure to be filled with dramatic volleys and motivated play. However, only one thing is certain — the team will have a completely new mindset when it returns to the Garden State.

14

APRIL 9, 2010

S P O RT S

T H E DA I LY TA R G U M

Unlikely senior leads resurgence in Florida

BY KYLE FRANKO

That trio leads the team in goals with 17, 16 and 14, respectively.

“He’s come up big for us,” Adam Goldberg is not the Buehning said. “He works hard most well known name on the ever yday and it’s really good to Rutgers men’s lacrosse team, see a guy like that score some but the goals especially because he’s MEN’S LACROSSE s e n i o r a senior.” is still While Goldberg is reaping RUTGERS AT f i n d i n g the rewards in his final season, JACKSONVILLE, ways to he said there is no extra motiSATURDAY, NOON c o n - vation from not being the first tribute. name on the oppositions Goldberg is fifth on the scouting repor t. team with seven goals, includ“That doesn’t make much of ing two scores in the Scarlet an impact to me,” Goldberg said.

Knights’ upset of Notre Dame “I do what’s expected of me and two weeks ago.

I’m just playing my role to help “I have to give credit to my the team win.” teammates,” the attackman said.

Rutgers (5-3, 1-1) looks to “It starts with our defense get- bounce back from a disappointing ting the ball up to Big East loss to St. us in attack and John’s tomorrow then we’ve been when it travels to “To be honest, able to put the Jacksonville (4-6) our backs are up ball in the cage.” for a non-conferWhat impressence matchup. against the wall, es head coach Stagnitta is and we’re going Jim Stagnitta the wary of the firstmost is year program. to find out what Goldberg’s abili“They have ty to be in the some real talentwe’re made of.” right place at the ed players on the JIM STAGNITTA right time. of fensive end,” Head Coach “He’s a kid he said. “They that has a lot of push the pace passion and has and do some worked extremely hard,” things that other teams don’t Stagnitta said. “He’s really do. They take a lot of chances starting to enjoy the fruits of and when they’re on and firing his efforts. He’s had a couple on all cylinders, they can score big goals and you never know a lot of goals.” how or when he’s going to do it He also knows his team canbut he puts himself in the right not afford another loss. position at the right time. He’s “To be honest, our backs our come up big for us with a cou- up against the wall, and we’re ple two-goal games.” going to find out what we’re made Goldberg said that is just his of,” Stagnitta said. experience taking over.

If the Knights can get past “I think it comes from expe- Jacksonville, there is an opporrience and playing with guys tunity to overcome three hardtogether,” the Fayetteville, luck defeats.

N.Y., native said. “Guys start to “We focus on moving forward mesh together and we know and what’s in front of us, but it’s where each other is going to be hard not to look at two one-goal and I just tr y to find holes in games where we had a chance the defense.” to get both of them and we Goldberg’s also benefits from could be in the hunt right now,” the attention opposing defenses Stagnitta said. “If we’re not it, pay to seniors it’s our fault and we have no one Justin Pennington and Gerhard else to blame, but we have the Buehning and junior games in front of us to get ourKory Kelly. selves back in it.”

CORRESPONDENT

LESLIE LIAPES

Freshman pitcher Abbey Houston was one of the few bright spots for the Knights over the weekend after giving up only three hits in four innings against Hofstra, showing potential for the future.

Turning point in sight on Banks

BY SAM HELLMAN CORRESPONDENT

While putting just two runs on the board in the Rutgers softball team’s last four games, t h e SOFTBALL threeg a m e CONNECTICUT AT B i g RUTGERS, E a s t SATURDAY, NOON series t h i s weekend against Connecticut represents a chance to work out the kinks before things get out of control.

The Scarlet Knights were three games away from breaking .500 before Notre Dame took two last weekend and Hofstra took another two Wednesday in the team’s first day at the RU Softball Complex.

With the Huskies coming to town, the Knights aim to get its first Big East win, first home win and move momentum into the right direction.

“We talked a lot about intensity and how we need to stay up and come out ready to play

because in the first game we were more lax than in the second game,” said senior ace Nicole Lindley after Wednesday’s two losses. “Then we were just like ‘Oh, we have a shot to win.’ We need to fix our mistakes.”

Lindley fell to 5-10 on the season with her loss to Hofstra, but held the 24-6 Pride to just two runs and dropped her ERA to 4.04 on the season.

“She only gave up two runs and one of them was a bad call by the umpire where the batter stuck her elbow out over the plate,” said head coach Jay Nelson. “Other wise it’s a tie game. She battled through it pretty well. She really only missed that one pitch [on the home run].”

Sophomore Holly Johnson struggled in the first game, but freshman pitcher Abbey Houston picked her up in relief, drawing praise from Nelson.

“The bright part of the whole day was Abbey Houston, who came in and gave up three hits in four innings and shut them

out,” Nelson said. “If we got down any further we wouldn’t have had a chance.”

If of fense continues to become a rare commodity for the Rutgers, relief appearances like Houston’s are crucial down the stretch.

“I think anybody can benefit from this home stand,” said Lindley of the freshman hurler from New Egypt, N.J. “It’s about getting in there and getting your confidence and getting your time. I feel like that’s a huge thing for ever ybody. She needed that and we’ll need her this weekend too.”

On the offensive side of the ball, sophomore designated hitter Mikelyn Messina leads Rutgers with seven home runs and is one shy of second place on the Rutgers single-season list.

Sophomore Brittney Lindley is second on the team with four, leading the club with her .326 batting average.

The Knights (12-19, 0-2) have seven games left on the home stand after the longest road stretch in school history.

S PORTS

T H E DA I LY TA R G U M

APRIL 9, 2010

15

Experienced freshman impresses head coach

BY STEVEN MILLER SPORTS EDITOR

Quron Pratt does not have to look far to see proof that an undersized wideout can succeed with the Rutgers FOOTBALL football team. Nor does he have to look far for an example of how to do it.

Five-foot-six former Scarlet Knight Tim Brown used to watch film on sub-6-foot NFL receivers Santana and Sinorice Moss.

Pratt just watched Brown.

“I learned a lot from Tim,” Pratt said. “He was one of the best receivers in the Big East. I watched film on him every day in the meeting room and I watched him on the field. He was a great player and I learned a lot from him.”

But the redshirt freshman wideout can draw on more than just that as he goes through spring practices, he also has game experience.

Pratt played in two games last season, against Texas Southern and Pittsburgh, before an ankle injury forced him out of action.

The Palmyra, N.J., native applied for a redshirt, which he received, giving him a step up on the other redshirts in his class.

“It definitely helped a lot,” he said. “I know some guys haven’t gotten that experience, but getting that experience early helped a lot.

It actually makes me feel more comfortable out here now, playing with the older guys and stuff.”

Pratt finds himself in competition for a role in the Knights’ offense as a wideout behind sophomore Mohamed Sanu.

Head coach Greg Schiano pointed to Pratt as one of the

SAM HELLMAN

Redshirt freshman Quron Pratt implements his experience from two games against Texas Southern and Pittsburgh into spring practice efforts in hopes of garnering a starting spot at wideout. young players impressing so far this spring, continuing what he saw early last season, but not without a reservation.

“He’s playing well,” said Schiano. “We thought he had something [last season]. We

saw it last fall and he’s living up to it now. He’s getting better.

He’s so slight though, he’s going to have to get in that weight room and grow.

But he’s good as what he does.”

What Pratt does is play the slot.

He is a 6-foot, 180-pound receiver that uses his speed and shiftiness, but does not want his small frame to become a deficiency.

“Smaller guys like me, … we have to run our routes perfectly

and same with our technique,” Pratt said. “We’re at a disadvantage because we’re smaller, so we have to go 110 percent every day.”

While Pratt is doing that during the spring, he is also attempting to gain weight. He arrived at Rutgers at 167 pounds, but is now at 180, he said. Blocking was a struggle last season, but now he is able to sustain blocks longer, he said.

Still, Pratt wants to continue to bulk up.

“I’m always tr ying to gain more weight — the bigger the better I think, especially in Division I football,” Pratt said.

“By getting better and bigger it will help take me to the next level.”

But Pratt already has his head start on the competition in getting there.

Sanu pulled in 51 catches last season and is the recognized leader of the young corps.

Behind him, no receiver has double-digits receptions and only four ever caught a pass.

Pratt is one of them.

One catch for 14 yards does not make a résumé, but it starts one.

But Pratt looks back on his time off as a valuable period, allowing him not only to heal, but also learn the offense and adjust to college.

“It was tough, but I knew it was better for me so that I could learn more,” he said. “I think it was good for me. I got experience early and I got to redshir t after and learn more, sit down and watch other people play. I feel more comfor table out here.”

Momentum key for Princeton meet

BY TYLER BARTO STAFF WRITER

ANDREW HOWARD/ SENIOR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Center Rashidat Junaid, white, heard her name called yesterday at the 2010 WNBA Draft.

Guard Brittany Ray went undrafted despite leading the Knights last season in points.

PRINCE AND JUNAID DRAFTED IN FIRST AND THIRD ROUNDS Add two more Scarlet Knights to the WNBA ranks.

The 2010 WNBA Draft WOMEN’S BASKETBALL y e s t e r d a y saw the selection of former Rutgers guard Epiphanny Prince in the first round and senior center Rashidat Junaid in the third.

Prince went four th overall to the Chicago Sky, while the Los Angeles Sparks selected Junaid with the No. 32 pick.

Senior guard Brittany Ray, the Scarlet Knights’ leading scorer this season, was not drafted.

After spending the majority of her career on the bench behind former standout center

Kia Vaughn, Junaid finally saw court time in her senior season. The center finished the year with 5.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game for the Knights. Junaid scored a career-high 16 points twice this year.

Prince continued the women’s basketball team’s strong tradition on WNBA Draft day in the first round.

Prince left Rutgers after her junior year to play professionally overseas and was not on hand at the draft in Secaucus, N.J. Prince’s parents Kathy and Jerry did attend the draft, however, and her father told ESPN he was speechless.

Prince’s mother discussed Prince’s decision to leave Rutgers with ESPN. “It was very hard at the time,” she said. “It wasn’t an easy decision. It took months.

She’s a grownup now so she makes her own decisions and it turned out very well.”

She averaged 19.5 points per game as a junior and will be best remembered for her 33-point performance against Connecticut as a sophomore.

Prince’s 27 second-half points against the Huskies in 2008 propelled Rutgers to a 73-71 victory.

It was the last time any team beat Connecticut in the regular season.

— Sam Hellman

The Rutgers men’s track and field team makes a short trip south to Princeton tomorrow for a q u a d MEN’S TRACK m e e t with the RUTGERS AT h o s t PRINCETON 4-WAY, T igers, SATURDAY, 11 A.M. P e n n a n d Villanova. The Scarlet Knights participated in the Princeton 4Way Invite since its inception in 2006, along with Penn and Big East foe ‘Nova.

Head coach Mike Mulqueen’s squad comes into the meet with a considerable amount of momentum, having won last weekend’s Colonial Relays in Williamsburg, Va., garnering a total of 128 team points.

“We’re just trying to put the best performances each week and get better,” associate head coach Kevin Kelly said. “Obviously every time we compete we want to win, but we’re not putting guys in multiple events.”

The 4x100 and 4x200-meter relays highlighted an impressive showing in Williamsburg, Va., featuring four first place finishes and 12 performances in the top-three.

Sophomore Adam Bergo saw his early-season unbeaten streak in the high jump snapped, finishing second with an effort of 2.04 meters.

Fellow sophomore Kevin Bostick — winner of the high jump event two weeks ago at Winthrop — settled for third place with an IC4A qualifying jump of 15 meters.

“Just staying technically sound,” said Bergo of maintaining his consistency throughout the 2010 outdoor campaign. “And just concentrate on the little things, bringing all those things together at Big East [Championships] and make it all happen.”

Rutgers underperformed at last year’s Princeton quad meet, capturing only two event victories and posting six performances in the top-three.

The 4x400-meter relay team collectively ran a time of 3:20.99 to finish third overall. Bergo — the reigning Big East Most Outstanding Field Performer at the time — took second place in the high jump with a Big East standard of 2.04 meters.

Then-junior Kyle Grady finished first in the 110-meter hurdles with a Big East qualifying time of 14.54 seconds. This season, however, Grady constantly expects quality performances, largely because of the competition the team faces on a daily basis.

“One thing that is important for a track team to have is competition,” the East Brunswick, N.J., native said. “You’re always being pushed forward, and you want to be the best on the team because then you’ll be the best in the meets.”

Upon completion of this weekend’s meet at Princeton, Kelly sees a host of important meets looming on the horizon, most notably the storied Penn Relays.

“In terms of where there’s a lot of recruits and you can make a statement the Penn Relays are important on that level,” he said.

T H E D A I LY TA R G U M

SPORTS

PA G E 1 6

APRIL 9, 2010

HILL ERA TIMELINE MARCH 27, 2006 MARCH 27: FRED HILL JR. HIRED AS HEAD COACH MAY 15: DAN WATERSTRADT AND ZACH GIBSON ANNOUNCE TRANSFER

NOV. 15: FIRST GAME ENDS IN 55-41 LOSS TO KANSAS STATE NOV. 19: FIRST WIN, 82-41, OVER ST. THOMAS AQUINAS

2007 JAN. 3: BIG EAST SEASON OPENS WITH 77-72 LOSS TO SETON HALL IN RIVALS’ FIRST MATCHUP JAN. 27: RUTGERS BEATS SETON HALL, 74-40, IN DOUBLE-OVERTIME APRIL 6: MIKE ROSARIO VERBALLY COMMITS

JUNE 25: OLLIE BAILEY ANNOUNCES TRANSFER

2008 JAN. 23: RUTGERS UPSETS NO. 18 VILLANOVA, 80-68, ON NIGHT FUTURE TRANSFER COURTNEY NELSON DECLARED ACADEMICALLY INELIGIBLE JAN. 26: RUTGERS UPSETS NO. 13 PITTSBURGH, 77-64, AT PETERSEN EVENTS CENTER MARCH 9: RUTGERS BEATS SETON HALL, 64-61, FOR FINAL TIME IN HILL ERA ON BUZZER BEATER BY JR INMAN APRIL 2: JUSTIN SOFMAN ANNOUNCES TRANSFER MAY 29: HILL SIGNS TWO-YEAR CONTRACT EXTENSION

DAN BRACAGLIA/ SENIOR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Rutgers’ head men’s basketball coach for the last four seasons Fred Hill Jr. will not return for another year at the helm. Rutgers offered Hill a buyout of $600,000, but he refused it, and a lengthy court battle is expected if a settlement is not reached.

HILL’S

DEC. 7: CHRISTIAN MORRIS ANNOUNCES TRANSFER DEC. 28: LARGEST LOSS IN HILL ERA, 40 POINTS, AT NO. 2 NORTH CAROLINA

2009 JAN. 31: RUTGERS BEATS DEPAUL, 75-56, SNAPPING NINE-GAME LOSING STREAK MARCH 4: AFTER 30-POINT LOSS AT SYRACUSE COREY CHANDLER ALLEGEDLY SEEKS TRANSFER MAY 12: EARL PETTIS ANNOUNCES TRANSFER

AUG. 18: COREY CHANDLER DISMISSED FROM TEAM FOR VIOLATING ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT POLICY DEC. 9: GREGORY ECHENIQUE UNDERGOES FIRST OF TWO EYE SURGERIES

2010 JAN. 8: GREGORY ECHENIQUE ANNOUNCES TRANSFER JAN. 12: JR INMAN CRITICIZES HILL IN A FACEBOOK NOTE JAN. 30: MUHAMED HASANI RETURNS TO KOSOVO, WILL NOT REJOIN RUTGERS FEB. 14: RUTGERS BEATS NO. 7 GEORGETOWN, 71-68 MARCH 17: HILL RETAINS JOB AFTER MEETING WITH TIM PERNETTI TO DISCUSS FUTURE APRIL 1: HILL YELLS AT PITTSBURGH BASEBALL COACH AFTER GAME AT BAINTON FIELD APRIL 5: MIKE ROSARIO SPEAKS WITH HIGH SCHOOL COACH BOB HURLEY TO DISCUSS FRUSTRATION APRIL 7: PERNETTI MEETS WITH LAWYERS APRIL 8: FRED HILL JR. FIRED

APRIL 8, 2010

SCORING BREAKDOWN 40+ POINT WINS (1) 30+ POINT WINS (1) 20+ POINT WINS (4) 10+ POINT WINS (14) 0-10 POINT WINS (27) 0-10 POINT LOSSES (26) 10+ POINT LOSSES (29) 20+ POINT LOSSES (14) 30+ POINT LOSSES (7) 40+ POINT LOSSES (1)

OUT

Athletic Director Tim Pernetti told Fred Hill Jr. he could accept a buyout or be fired from his position

BY SAM HELLMAN AND STEVEN MILLER STAFF WRITERS

Fred Hill Jr. will no longer be the Rutgers head men’s basketball coach after today.

Athletic Director Tim Pernetti offered Hill a buyout, but also informed the coach that if he does not accept the offer he will be fired with cause, according to Gannett New Jersey.

The Star-Ledger reported the buyout was $600,000, but Hill rejected it and a lengthy court battle is expected if the two sides cannot settle.

A source with knowledge of the situation told The Daily Targum that Hill met with the team yesterday, but ignored his own future until asked.

The source, which proved to have knowledge of the meeting’s events, said rising senior guard Mike Coburn asked Hill to address the reports that he would be fired Friday.

Hill dismissed it as rumor.

After the meeting, all players except for rising junior guard Mike Rosario broke into a pick-up game.

A number of players and coaches declined comment.

A source close to Rosario, who requested anonymity because they are not authorized to speak for him, corroborated the events of the team meeting, but did not speak with Rosario since and could not confirm whether he was present.

According to the source, Rosario is considering transferring to Southern California or North Carolina.

Prior to the developments with Hill’s job, Rosario’s main concerns with transferring involved sitting out a season, per NCAA transfer regulations, and actually going through the transfer process.

St. Anthony High School head basketball coach Bob Hurley Sr. confirmed the former to the Targum Monday, after speaking with the Jersey City native.

“I don’t think Mike would respond real well to not playing basketball for a year,” Hurley said. “We just need to talk.”

Hurley, in Ireland for a coaching clinic, said he would return to the United States and sit down with Rosario Sunday night or Monday.

In the meantime, Gannett New Jersey reported that Rosario and his family met with Pernetti, requesting a release from his scholarship.

Gannett New Jersey reported the release was not officially granted, but according to a source, the purpose of yesterday’s meeting was to inform the team that Rosario would not return.

The news of Rosario’s frustration with the program and incessant losing — the team went 26-38 and 7-29 in the Big East in Rosario’s two years — came amidst news of other players considering a transfer.

According to a source, rising sophomore forward Tomasz Kokosinski is also weighing his options and New Jersey Newsroom reported the same for rising sophomore center Brian Okam.

Both were present at the team meeting, a source indicated.

Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com also reported the 6-foot-8 forward from St. Benedict’s Prep Gilvydas Biruta, a

Rutgers commitment, asked Pernetti to be released from his letter of intent.

This all happened in the days after Hill confronted Pittsburgh head baseball coach Joe Jordano April 1 after a game — Hill’s father, Fred Sr., is the longtime Rutgers coach.

According to Gannett New Jersey, Hill reportedly used profanities toward Jordano, refused to apologize and ignored Pernetti’s order to stay away from Bainton Field for the remainder of the series.

Hill and Pernetti met March 17, after the conclusion of Hill’s fourth year, to discuss the future of the program.

Pernetti told the Targum he left the meeting satisfied, but the $1.5 million buyout Hill would be owed if fired then is considered to be the determining factor in the decision to retain him.

Hill’s behavior at the baseball game triggered a behavioral clause in his contract, allowing the University to fire him for cause without bearing responsibility for the buyout.

STEVEN MILLER/ SPORTS EDITOR

Fred Hill Jr. was not spotted at the Louis Brown Athletic Center yesterday after holding a team meeting, where he labeled his dismisssal as head coach as a rumor.