WEEKEND ATTACKS Adapting to imminent threats and attacks
power generation How the U.S. utilizes various sources of energy to power nation
SEE opinions, page 6
FIELD HOCKEY Rutgers defeats Siena with record number of goals in single-game
SEE tech, page 8
SEE sports, back
WEATHER Cloudy with a chance of showers High: 85 Low: 65
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TUESDAY, september 20, 2016
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Rutgers investigates package found in parking deck avalon zoppo managing editor
Police reopened the Douglass Parking Deck two hours after closing it off during an investigation of a suspicious package found in the area. At 8 a.m. the Rutgers University Police Department (RUPD) advised students, faculty and staff to avoid the Douglass Parking Deck while police investigate a suspicious package found in the area, according to a text alert sent out to students. University spokesperson E.J. Miranda said RUPD determined the package was not dangerous and reopened the deck at 10 a.m. This follows a weekend of increased police activity in the New York and New Jersey area after a string of incidents involving explosive devices.
On Saturday, a pipe bomb exploded along a 5K military marathon in Seaside Park and a pressure cooker bomb placed in a dumpster detonated in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, injuring a total of 29 people. A second suspicious device was found blocks away from the explosion on West 23rd Street. Overnight, the FBI, Union County and New Jersey State Police used a robot to detonate a bomb that was found at the Elizabeth Train Station along with five other explosive devices on Sunday night. Police on Monday afternoon arrested Ahmad Khan Rahami, a 28-year-old Elizabeth man, following a shootout in Linden for connections to the bombings in Chelsea and Elizabeth. Police were searching his apartment and the See deck on Page 5
The Rutgers University Police Department examined an unattended package found on the Douglass Parking Deck Monday morning. The area was closed off until the police declared the package harmless. EDWIN GANO / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
RUSA considers free tampons, pads for U. bushra hasan staff writer
The Rutgers University Student Assembly (RUSA) is considering providing free tampons and pads in bathrooms after Brown University released a statement guaranteeing free feminine hygiene products to students. Brown University announced on Sept. 6 that its Undergraduate Council of Students (UCS) “will be providing tampons and sanitar y napkins in non-residential women’s, men’s and gender-inclusive bathrooms across campus,” reads a press release to its Facebook page. “This initiative is a student-run effort. UCS will be restocking and maintaining these items on a weekly basis,” the release says. RUSA Public Relations Chair Vladimir Carrasco said RUSA is aware of the news and has reached out to University Facilities and Capital Planning to learn more about the current dispensaries of feminine products on campus. RUSA has “reached out to schools in the Big Ten conference to research their university policies” on such an initiative, the School of Arts and Sciences sophomore said. While RUSA has not officially discussed the implementation of free feminine hygiene products across campuses, Carrasco said several members are “focused on making these resources more accessible.” Meenal Paul agreed, lamenting the current state of availability of pads and tampons.
“Getting free pads and tampons is secondar y,” the School of Arts and Sciences junior said. “They’re not even available for money. The bathroom vending machines are always empty.” Jessica Tuazon, a School of Engineering sophomore, said she has never used one of the University’s feminine product dispensers. “I don’t usually come to the bathroom with my wallet, let alone a few quarters. I come to the bathroom with a tampon I bought in a large box from the store,” she said. “It’s a better fit for what my body goes through once a month and a more economical choice.” Tuazon said it was more important to find ways to get pads and tampons to students who cannot purchase their own. Aasha Shaik, a Rutgers Business School first-year student student, likens free feminine hygiene products to other university bathroom products. “In bathrooms, universities provide free toilet paper. They provide free hand soap. They provide free paper towels or hand dr yers. Many schools even provide free condoms,” Shaik said. “If all of those items vital to hygiene and safety are being provided for free, why wouldn’t items as necessar y as pads and tampons be provided in case of emergency as well?” Indeed, necessity was one of the driving forces behind Brown University’s initiative. See pads on Page 4
Researcher finds food does not use 5-second rule Nick Huber Contributing Writer
Initiative, which includes the Yard, the new Honors College, the Rutgers Academic Building, a Hillel house and the New Brunswick Theological Seminary. The intention of the projects as a whole is to give a new face to Rutgers University’s flagship campus, said Antonio Calcado, executive vice president of Strategic Planning and Operations.
Although Rutgers Professor Donald Schnaffner debunked the popular “five-second rule” surrounding dropping food on the floor, Donald Schaffner admits he has eaten a chocolate chip or two after they fell. According to new research completed by Robyn Miranda, a graduate student in New Brunswick, and Donald Schaffner, professor and extension specialist in food science, bacteria does not wait five seconds before jumping on food that was dropped on the floor. Schaffner, who has been doing cross-contamination research for about 15 years, said the inspiration behind this research began when he saw a press release about the five-second rule published by an English university. “It was getting a lot of media attention and press and I went to the university website to learn more and what I discovered was they had done some research, but they didn’t have a paper,” Schaffner said. “It wasn’t peer reviewed.” He said he was irritated by this because he dedicated much of his time to doing cross examination research in his laborator y, while others were getting attention for publishing something Schaf fner “wouldn’t even qualify as science because it hadn’t been peer reviewed.”
See Yard on Page 4
See rule on Page 4
Rutgers used different sources of revenue to pay for the $91 million Yard @ College Ave. The new apartments is part of a $330 million redevelopment project. MARIELLE SUMERGIDO / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Rutgers uses grants, tax credits to pay for Yard Kira Herzog Contributing Writer
Located adjacent to the Scott Hall bus stop, the newly-opened Yard at College Avenue apartment complex houses 442 residents, eight new dining establishments, an expansive lawn and a 320-square foot LED screen. This new establishment is part of a $330 million project called the College Avenue Redevelopment
VOLUME 148, ISSUE 69 • University ... 3 • opiNIons ... 6 • classifieds ... 7 • tech ... 8 • Diversions ... 9 • SPORTS ... BACK