arts education Eagleton Institute of Politics poll reveals N.J. residents are hesitant with funding see OPINIONS, page 6
Veganism Today is ‘Hug-A-Vegan Day,’ learn
Women’s Golf Rutgers finishes fifth at Nittany
about the veg-eating with the Veg Society
Lion Invitational
see FOOD & DRINK, page 8
SEE sports, BACK
WEATHER Partly cloudy High: 83 Low: 66
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WEDNESdAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2017
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Fraternity smashes down prejudice on College Avenue Max Marcus Correspondent
The front of the College Avenue Student Center is decorated this week with an isolated segment of wall scrawled with obscenities and racist and sexist comments. This is the “Wall of Prejudice,” a unique charity event held by the fraternity Pi Lambda Phi. Saad Mughal, a School of Arts and Sciences senior and the president of Pi Lambda Phi, said that passersby are invited to add to the wall any derogatory terms they have been called. The wall is meant to reflect the prejudices that exist in the lives of Rutgers students. “The goal is just to have conversations, to make sure people are more enlightened about what they say to people, make sure they’re selfaware of what they’re saying and how they say it,” Mughal said. He said that the wall will stand until Thursday. On Friday, the wall will be torn down. People can donate money to help tear it down — $1 buys one hammer swing, $2 buys three, $3 buys a swing with a sledgehammer and $5 buys three sledgehammer swings. See prejudice on Page 4
Organized by the Pi Lambda Phi fraternity, the “Wall of Prejudice” aims to bring awareness to the community about the existing racism that many Rutgers students experience. Students can write slurs they have heard on the wall, which will be destroyed on Friday. HENRY FOWLER
U. student assembly tackles mental health Christina Gaudino Staff Writer
The Rutgers University Student Assembly’s (RUSA) full-body meeting on Thursday, Sept. 21 included a Mental Health Town Hall event, which featured a panel of speakers from several entities on campus in a discussion of mental health. “Mental health is something that’s important to us as students and general citizens of the world,” said Christie Schweighardt, RUSA vice president and a School of Arts and Sciences junior, as she began the Town Hall. This year, RUSA started the first Health and Wellness Committee, Schweighardt said. The organization believes health and wellness should be something they are prioritizing, and mental health is a big part of that. The current chairwoman of the Health and Wellness Committee, a senior in the School of Social Work, Ini Ross, served as moderator during the discussion. “I think it’s essential that we start this conversation on campus,” Ross said. “Because we cannot be a diverse as well as inclusive
campus without the talk about mental health.” She also said that this is the first time RUSA has held this event. The five panelists included Jill Richards, director of Counseling, Alcohol and Other Drug Assistance Program and Psychiatric Services (CAPS), and Antonio Morales, a community based counselor for CAPS. There were also three members of the student population present on the panel — Sydney Glass, a School of Arts and Sciences senior who has worked as a core coordinator of the Scarlet Listeners program, which is a peer counseling crisis and referral hotline on campus, and sisters Artemis and Sophia Mazzini, organizers of the “Into the Light” 5k for mental health awareness at Rutgers. The panelists discussed resources available to students on campus seeking mental health care, as well as new initiatives CAPS is working on to reach more of the student population. Richards began by addressing the rising demand for services from CAPS on campus. See health on Page 4
Professor creates first multipurpose drone for land, air Dan Israel Staff Writer
Created by Rutgers professor Francisco Javier Diez, the Naviator is a drone that can travel both underwater and in the air. Diez hatched the idea in 2012. COURTESY OF JAVIER DIEZ / RUTGERS.EDU
VOLUME 149, ISSUE 77 • University ... 3 • opinions ... 6 • Food & Drink ... 8 • Diversions ... 9 • SPORTS ... BACK
Rutgers Professor Francisco Javier Diez is soaring to new heights after the launch of his latest project — the Naviator submersible drone. The Naviator is the first unmanned aerial-underwater vehicle of its kind and can transition from water to air seamlessly. Diez, a renowned professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, has been crafting this invention for nearly five years. The Naviator project was first conceptualized in the Fall of 2012. Diez said the first tests were finally conducted a year later before the final concept was released. Research is one of the most important phases currently being funded by the Office of Naval Research. The inception of the Naviator drone is exciting news for many within the scientific community. The drone has essentially invented a new vehicular platform. Diez said there are many vehicles that fly and See drone on Page 5