THE DAILY TARGUM
Volume 142, Number 1
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 SEPTEMBER 1, 2010
1 8 6 9
Today: Sunny
NEW MAN ON CAMPUS
High: 95 • Low: 68
The Rutgers men’s soccer team kicks off its 2010 campaign, the first under head coach Dan Donigan, tonight at 7 p.m. on the road against Lehigh.
Budget cuts force sacrifice due to $96M shortfall BY CHRIS ZAWISTOWSKI STAFF WRITER
According to University President Richard L. McCormick, this might be the most difficult budget year the school has ever faced. The University worked this summer to close a $96 million budget hole, created by a $46 million cut in state aid, along with a 4 percent cap on in-state tuition hikes and an estimated $30 million due to all University employees in salary raises. “This year’s difficult budget situation will require all members of the Rutgers community to work together to maintain our commitments to high-quality teaching, research and service to the people of New Jersey,” McCormick said at a July University Board of Governor’s meeting. To fill the gap, the University enacted a controversial salary freeze on all employees. Representatives from the school’s major unions accused the University of breaking an agreement made last year for more than 10,000 unionized staff and faculty who agreed to defer their 2009 contract raises. Lucye Millerand, president of the Union of Rutgers Administrators-American Federation of Teachers Local 1766, said the freeze represents an ethics violation by the University and claims the motives for the move are more than economic. “We’ve seen no hard evidence of fiscal exigency. We’ve seen no austerity plan for anything but salaries,” she said at the July meeting. “We believe this is a strategic decision to shred collective bargaining at Rutgers [and] convince a demoralized workforce that they serve at the pleasure of management.” Not honoring the agreed upon raises means many members will struggle to survive, said Mike Holland, president of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 888, comprised of maintenance and janitorial workers. “Most of us in 888 have two jobs just to afford to live in New Jersey,” said Holland, a carpenter who has worked at the University for 21 years. “We are not trying to rob anyone. We are just trying to survive.”
SEE CUTS ON PAGE 8
AYMANN ISMAIL / MULTIMEDIA EDITOR
The University welcomes more than 56,000 students, a 2,000 increase from last year. The University’s retention and graduation rates continue to grow, with 93 percent of first-year students returning.
Campus brings in record enrollment BY MARY DIDUCH MANAGING EDITOR
Already the largest school in the state, the University is expecting to get even bigger. The University’s three campuses this fall are anticipating its highest enrollment of more than 56,000 students, up by about 2,000 from last year, said Vice President of Enrollment Management Courtney McAnuff. “I certainly think the value of a Rutgers education is increasing in the public’s perception,” McAnuff said, adding that the University’s affordability and accessibility are attractive to prospective N.J. students. On the New Brunswick campus, 38,253 students paid their deposits, an
increase from last year’s record high of 37,364 students. While all three campuses are expecting more students than ever, the Camden campus will see the greatest enrollment boost percentage-wise. “I think there’s more interest in increasing students at Camden. I think the new chancellor is alert to retention issues,” McAnuff said. First-year applications also rose 3.2 percent in New Brunswick and 3.5 percent University-wide, he said. The Office of Undergraduate Admissions sorted through about 45,000 applications this year. “I got into all the schools I applied to, but I decided on Rutgers because I knew more people here. I always come
here, and I know the area well,” said first-year student Jaycee Wissner, who lives about 15 minutes from the New Brunswick campus. First-year student Priya Shah chose to attend the University after working with several alumni at her public relations internship. “It’s a pretty reputable school,” she said. “It’s a big school, and it’s a fun school.” McAnuff said another reason for the increase is the University’s growing retention and graduation rates, with about 93 percent of first-year students returning and the 6-year graduation rate at 76 percent.
SEE ENROLLMENT ON PAGE 6
New student lounge area transforms River Dorms BY JOVELLE TAMAYO PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
NICHOLAS BRASOWSKI / SENIOR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Campbell Hall on the College Avenue campus is now equipped with a new lounge as part of a three-step construction series to the River Dorms.
A new lounge space opened this year for communal activities on the ground level of Campbell Hall on the College Avenue campus welcomed students moving into the building. Completion of the Campbell Hall lounge construction was second in a three-part construction series on Frelinghuysen, Hardenbergh and Campbell Halls on George Street — collectively known as the River Dorms
— with the cost of about $1.6 million for each lounge space. “The lounge adds additional student space, common space that really helps to make the experience of living in a dorm and being at college that much better,” said Antonio Calcado, vice president of University Facilities and Capital Planning. The River Dorms were built in 1956 to follow the trend of International Style architecture and were raised a
ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR
The University decided not to take part in the development of medical marijuana for the state, leaving the question of who will grow it up in the air.
In a statement, the University made it clear they would have no part in growing medicinal marijuana because of federal restrictions. “If there is a change in federal law, a change in the classification of marijuana or new information presented … Rutgers would certainly re-examine a
possible role for the university in New Jersey’s medical marijuana initiative,” according to the statement. The University examined the possibility of growing medicinal marijuana by receiving legal counsel and looking at the involvement of other state universities in the field.
OPINIONS Officials plan on grading new cars using school marks and bright colors.
MULTIMEDIA Students head to the Involvement Fair to find out what the University has to offer. See the video online. UNIVERSITY . . . . . . . 3
SEE DORMS ON PAGE 4
U. rejects plan to grow medical marijuana BY DEVIN SIKORSKI
INDEX
“Based on that review, we determined that there was no way in which Rutgers could be involved in this initiative without violating the federal Controlled Substances Act.” School of Arts and Sciences first-year
SEE MARIJUANA ON PAGE 8
METRO . . . . . . . . . 10 NATION . . . . . . . . . 12 OPINIONS . . . . . . . 16 DIVERSIONS . . . . . . 20 CLASSIFIEDS . . . . . . 22 SPORTS . . . . . . BACK
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