The Daily Targum 2009-10-06

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Volume 141, Number 25

THE DAILY TARGUM 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

OCTOBER 6, 2009

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Today: Sunny

PROVE IT ALL NIGHT

High: 69 • Low: 55

True freshman wide receiver Mohamed Sanu tries to replicate his 10-catch breakout performance against Cincinnati and prove that he can be an every-down receiver for the Scarlet Knights.

Programs assist veterans’ transition to campus life

TUESDAY

POLICE IDENTIFY ROUTE 18 CRASH VICTIMS AS SUMMIT MAN, U. STUDENT

BY ARIEL NAGI CORRESPONDENT

Student veterans and the University are working to implement new programs and services that will recruit more veteran students and provide them with a smooth transition into college. The new G.I. Bill that takes effect this year will make it easier for student veterans to go to college by allowing them to count some of their military training toward their college credits, Dean of University College Susan Schurman said. The University worked on providing more benefits and ser vices to veterans around campus this year after student veterans brought up concerns in President Richard L. McCormick’s annual address last year, she said. “We spent the last year getting ready for the new G.I. Bill,” Schurman said. “We began working on how to make sure all of the campus services veterans might need, from efficiencies to financial aid to health services to military services, [were readily available, and] we set up a veterans mentoring group where staff, faculty and post veterans can mentor students and get them up and ready [to transition into college].” Rutgers-Camden senior William Brown, a veteran, said the concerns that were addressed last year at the presidential address were the turning point for University student veterans. Many student veterans felt isolated from the rest of the students on campus and not adequately represented, Brown said. “You look at Rutgers — it has a total of 54,000 students and there’s only 438 military and veteran students combined, so

ANDREW HOWARD/PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

A fatal car accident Sunday afternoon on Route 18 South killed a Summit, N.J., man and injured a University student, police confirmed yesterday. The passenger, Taimur Ashraf, 19, of Summit, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash that occurred after the black Toyota Camry struck the back of a University bus at 3:24 p.m. in the southbound lanes of the John Lynch Sr. Memorial Bridge, said New Brunswick Police Lt. J.T. Miller. The driver, Mohammad Saquib, 23, a University student, was transported to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, where he was admitted with injuries, Miller said. “[Saquib] is listed in fair condition,” hospital spokesperson Cheryl Sarfaty said yesterday afternoon.

No one on University bus 2123 was injured in the accident, Miller said. Southbound lanes of Route 18 were closed for several hours following the crash, Miller said. The New Brunswick Police Department and the Middlesex County Prosecutors Office continued their investigation yesterday, which closed two southbound Route 18 lanes between the River Road and College Avenue exits. They re-opened all lanes around 1 p.m. The cause of the accident was still under investigation at press time. — John S. Clyde

SEE VETERANS ON PAGE 4

INDEX

Congress reviews Senate bill allowing guns on trains BY MARY DIDUCH ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR

UNIVERSITY Professors continue to ask students to purchase electronic clickers for their classes despite a long-standing objection to the devices.

OPINIONS A columnist reflects on what the Rutgers University Student Assembly really does for the University and students’ general attitude toward it.

UNIVERSITY . . . . . . . 3 OPINIONS . . . . . . . 8

For U.S. Congress this month, the issue of security in public transportation is in contention with the Constitution’s Second Amendment. Law-abiding Amtrak passengers could be allowed to carr y licensed firearms in checked luggage with the Sept. 16 passing of a U.S. Senate amendment proposed by Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss. The amendment to the fiscal year 2010 Transportation, Housing and Urban Appropriations Bill would force Amtrak to comply by March 2010 or forgo their $1.55 billion government subsidy, according to a press release by Wicker. Director of Amtrak Media Relations Steve Kulm

said the amendment’s conditions do not make this feasible for the company. A m t r a k trains do not have the same security provisions as airports to comply with the proposed conditions within six months with their resources, he said. “There’s a lot of things that have to be done before then,” Kulm said. Airports have the aid of the Transportation Security Authority to screen baggage while Amtrak trains do not, according to an Amtrak letter to the Senate. Kulm said Amtrak does have its own police department to ensure top security. “The weapons would be in a controlled environment … but not as secure as an airport in

nature of operation,” he said. Unlike on airplanes, it is possible for passengers to access the baggage cart at stops, Kulm said. Amtrak would also need to retrofit carriage areas, create more compartments to store firearms and implement more internal policy regulations, among other changes.

DIVERSIONS . . . . . . 10 CLASSIFIEDS . . . . . . 12 SPORTS . . . . . . BACK

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SEE GUNS ON PAGE 4

Recruiters tour country, globe to increase diversity BY DEIRDRE S. HOPTON CORRESPONDENT

ONLINE @

“[The amendment] is a very practical concern of ours,” Kulm said. A detailed cost analysis also needs to be conducted to see if Amtrak has funds for the

University students can be from any background, any race, any creed and any color, but not all can be from New Jersey. Although Vice President for Enrollment Management Courtney

McAnuff said the University is the most popular school for New Jersey residents to attend, recruiters are now working around the country, as well as around the globe, to attract students. “We have not in the past, until this year, consciously made an effort to bring in international students,” McAnuff said.

The University has a representative on the Linden Tour, an international recruitment tour, McAnuff said. “This year, we have an international recruiter — he’s in Indonesia today. He will visit 25 cities around the world this year, as part of the Linden Tour … [that is] going to visit 25 cities around the world

this year, as far as I know,” McAnuff said. Linden Tours provides information to various locations around the globe including Asia, South Asia, the Middle East and Scandinavia, according to the tour Web site.

SEE DIVERSITY ON PAGE 6


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