THE DAILY TARGUM
Volume 141, Number 133
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
WEDNESDAY APRIL 28, 2010
1 8 6 9
Today: Partly cloudy
PLAYING THROUGH PAIN
High: 58 • Low: 41
The Daily Targum takes an in-depth look at the culture of American football and how it drives athletes to play despite injury and endanger their careers.
Cahill reflects on past term, looks to future
U. projects no hotels next year
New Brunswick Mayor Jim Cahill sat down with with The Daily Targum’s Associate News Editor Colleen Roache to discuss his vision for the city, housing, education, immigration and why he deserves another four years as the leader of New Brunswick. For the full interview, visit www.dailytargum.com.
BY CAITLIN MAHON SENIOR WRITER
Colleen Roache: What will be your top priority if you are re-elected this year? Jim Cahill: Making New Brunswick a great place to live. All that we do, from the most important of the responsibilities as a government — which is the safety of our residents — to job creation, affordable housing, the health of our residents and the education of our children, our recreation and afterschool programming, are centered on making life better for our residents. CR: Residential overcrowding has become an issue here in the city. I was wondering how, in the future, you plan to address the issue. JC: We’ve remained stalwart in our commitment to provide quality housing to people with low and moderate-income levels. … It’s not just overcrowding for the more permanent residents, but often Rutgers students find themselves in overcrowded situations. Rather than turn our back on University students … we’ve turned to the private sector in the areas immediately around the campus and devised new concepts, which replace the older, antiquated homes that are clearly not suitable for student living. CR: A quarter of residents in New Brunswick are living at or below the poverty line. How will you handle this issue? JC: The greatest concentration of the
SEE CAHILL ON PAGE 4
NICHOLAS BRASOWSKI / SENIOR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
The University confirmed that hotels will not be needed for the 2010-2011 academic year because lottery applications project fewer housing requests than previous years.
University officials confirmed that no students will be residing in hotels next year because fewer students have requested and accepted on-campus housing. Ten thousand students went through the lottery process for all units this year, compared to 10,600 in 2009 and 10,300 in 2008. But only 8,000 students have accepted housing assignments for the 2010-2011 academic year, said Executive Director of Residence Life Joan Carbone. “Many students, who applied for [a suite or apartment] and didn’t get them, did not go forward and apply for doubles,” Carbone said. “So we were able to offer everybody who went through the lottery some kind of space.” Vice President for Student Affairs Gregory S. Blimling said the University has arrangements in place with the Crowne Plaza Hotel in case additional housing is needed.
SEE HOTELS ON PAGE 5
HUNDREDS OF STUDENTS PUSH FOR HOUSING SPACES Although the University is accommodating all students who entered the lottery and accepted housing assignments, 600 students who did not go through the lottery process are now vying for space on campus. Executive Director of Residence Life Joan Carbone said the University may be able to accommodate a good number of students, but a few factors will ultimately determine if housing assignments become available. “It’s dependent upon unknown numbers,” Carbone said. “Much of what we have to wait for now is withdrawals and dismissals [of continuing students].” At the end of the semester, some students will transfer to other universities
and some students will go abroad, she said. “But the academic dismissal lists that come to us from each of the schools are the largest number of people,” Carbone said. “As we lose those students, we will place these students [on the wait list] in those places.” Carbone said Residence Life would not receive all dismissal information possibly until the end of the summer session. “Some of the schools, like the School of Arts and Sciences for example, allow students who don’t do well academically to go to summer session and improve their grade point average,” she said. “So sometimes we
don’t know if a student is dismissed until the end of the summer.” Some students do not always want the housing units that become available either, Carbone said. “When a space becomes available, we’ll start at the top of the waiting list and offer it to them,” she said. “But we don’t say to them, ‘If you don’t take this space, you can’t stay on the waiting list.’” Carbone said Residence Life will go down the waiting list until a student accepts the housing assignments, and begin the process over again as more space becomes available.
RUSA candidates face off on campus-wide issues BY DEVIN SIKORSKI ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR
MARIELLE BALISALISA / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
RUSA Presidential Candidates Yousef Saleh and Sam Firmin discuss concerns among students like the alma mater Monday at the Eagleton Institute of Politics.
The presidential candidates for the Rutgers University Student Assembly met in their first debate Monday night, allowing the University student body to hear and see the potential leaders for their student government. On the eve of Election Day, John Aspray, Yousef Saleh and Sam Firmin debated at the Eagleton Institute of Politics on issues concerning not only RUSA members, but the student body as a whole. RUSA Secretary Ashley Brower said she felt the debate went well and gave a face to the name of the presidential candidates. “I think everybody acted very professional, and I think it was great for the Rutgers community to know who they are voting for,” said Brower, a School of Environmental and Biological Sciences senior. RUSA Elections Committee Chair Ben West said each candidate brought a different perspective and level of experience, resulting in a successful debate. “Yousef was most able to relate his personal life to issues. John had the
most substance in answers, in terms of his experience with dealing with big legislative issues,” said West, a Rutgers College senior. “Sam was able to talk about his experience working with the members of the administration.” West and Elections Committee Co-Chair Kathryn Jenkins moderated the event, asking a range of questions emphasizing concerns both RUSA members and students at the University voiced. The candidates agreed on aspects of many issues, like the recent controversy over the University’s alma mater. Aspray said although the alma mater has a long history behind it, he is also opposed to any discrimination at the University. “As a student body, we should come together collectively to decide on the way forward with this,” said Aspray, a School of Arts and Sciences junior. “So I propose we hold public forums on it, allowing an opportunity for both sides to express their views.” Saleh also said the alma mater issue should be put to a referendum
SEE ISSUES ON PAGE 6
— Caitlin Mahon
INDEX OPINIONS Are bloggers the future of journalism and do they provide unbiased reports?
METRO The city zoning board approves construction of a 34-apartment building on Sicard Street for students. UNIVERSITY . . . . . . . 3 METRO . . . . . . . . . . 7 PENDULUM . . . . . . . 8 OPINIONS . . . . . . . 10 DIVERSIONS . . . . . . 12 CLASSIFIEDS . . . . . . 14 SPORTS . . . . . . BACK
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