PRONOUNCING NAMES Campaign is launched to encourage pronouncing students’ names correctly
CAKE BY THE OCEAN Rafferty Gourment is far from the beach, but still has amazing cakes
MEN’S SOCCER Rutgers remains winless after 4-0 loss to in-state rival NJIT
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WEATHER Sunny with some clouds High: 84 Low: 57
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RUTGERS UNIVERSITY—NEW BRUNSWICK
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2016
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Rutgers Board of Governors says yes to student medical amnesty KAYON AMOS CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Eddy Iturbide, left, Carimer Andujar and Sergio Abreu started a group, UndocuRutgers, to help undocumented immigrants who need help with their time on campus. CAMILO MONTOYA-GALVEZ
Undocumented immigrant students receive help at U. CAMILO MONTOYA-GALVEZ STAFF WRITER
Heavy engineering course work, a job at a café in her hometown of Passaic, N.J., and her own financial hardships as an undocumented student did not waver Carimer Andujar’s resolve to help others in similar predicaments. This semester, her plans came to fruition when UndocuRutgers became an active student organization committed to extending support and advice to undocumented students in Rutgers—New Brunswick. The group’s membership is not only made up of undocumented individuals. They are joined by students like Eddy Iturbide and Sergio Abreu who stand in solidarity with Andujar’s belief that she is an American in every way except for a “piece of paper.” Iturbide, the group’s liaison, was undocumented until recently becoming a permanent resident. A scholarship allowed the now School of Engineering sophomore to earn his associates degree at Hudson Community College before transferring to Rutgers. Having lived without a legal status since immigrating from Mexico as a child, Iturbide is well aware of the narrative used by many, especially conservatives, that brands them as “illegal aliens” and as a financial burden to American society, he said. Not only does he think that this unjust, but said it is also factually inaccurate. “I’ve heard that (undocumented immigrants) take a lot, that they reap the benefits. That’s definitely not the case,” he said. “I started working at age 19 and ever since I’ve been paying taxes. The taxes are a lot in terms of my paycheck and that’s alright.” Iturbide cut hair and worked in restaurants to help his family until
he was able to apply for deferred action status. Once he obtained a work permit under the program, he began paying taxes and continues to as a resident. His family also pays taxes every year, he said. Not including federal taxes, undocumented immigrants pay an estimated $11.64 billion in state and local taxes every year, according to a study by the Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy released earlier this year. Undocumented immigrants residing in New Jersey pay nearly 600 million dollars in state and local taxes. The same report found that around 50 percent of the total undocumented population in the United State pay these state and local taxes. Abreu, treasurer of UndocuRutgers, is a U.S. citizen and also finds this negative perception of undocumented immigrants as “not valid.” The School of Engineering junior said the community is treated as a “scapegoat” for many of the countr y’s woes. “They are Americans. They live the same lives as anybody else…I think people place a lot of blame on them that they really don’t deserve,” he said. Although they are troubled by the rhetoric coming from Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump— his proposals to deport millions of undocumented immigrants and to repeal the President’s executive actions would have personal implications on them if enacted— Andujar and Iturbide remain confident that Trump’s claims are unfounded while their cause is just and attainable. When he announced his presidential bid last summer, Trump said Mexico was sending people with problems, rapists and SEE HELP ON PAGE 5
Rutgers students no longer need to be wary of calling for medical help if their friends are suffering from drug or alcohol overdoses. At the University’s Board of Governors’ last meeting, two amendments were made to the Code of Student Conduct, which allowed for medical amnesty to aid students suffering from drug or alcohol overdoses. This means students accused of violating a drug or residence hall policy will appear before a committee rather than be punished by a single administrator. If students drinking underage or under the influence of drugs report a potentially dangerous situation, they will not be charged with a violation of the Rutgers University Code of Conduct. Medical amnesty was first proposed last spring by a RUSA committee and approved in May by Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Felicia McGinty, said Anne Newman,
assistant vice chancellor for Student Affairs and Dean of students. “When students are drinking underage or consuming drugs, and either themselves or one of their friends is suffering from alcohol poisoning we wanted them to not have to fear calling 9-1-1 for assistance without ... repercussions because we value their life more than getting them in trouble for drinking underage or consuming drugs,” said Justin Schulberg, RUSA president and a School of Arts and Sciences senior. The RUSA committee first proposed medical amnesty because there was a gap between current state law and in actual University practice, Schulberg said. State law allows for medical amnesty, while in the past Rutgers did not. Any changes to the Code of Student Conduct must be approved first by Barbara Lee, senior vice president for Academic Affairs, and then the Board of Governors. Additionally, if students report any form of sexual violence and
are under the influence of alcohol or drugs, the University will not charge them with misconduct related to alcohol or drugs while reporting the sexual violence, Schulberg said. “We would prefer if students weren’t underage drinking or doing drugs at all, but being realistic about it, if that were to happen, we don’t want another student death on us,” he said. In 2014, Caitlyn Kovacs, a Rutgers student, was pronounced dead moments after being taken to the Robert Wood Johnson Hospital Emergency Department. Following an autopsy, it was found that Kovacs died from acute ethanol toxicity. A national survey found that alcohol is involved in the deaths of about 1,825 college students, 696,000 cases of assault, and 97,000 cases of sexual assault, according to the RUSA Medical Amnesty Investigative Report. SEE AMNESTY ON PAGE 5
School innoculates more than 21,000 students with meningitis B vaccines
About 3,000 students declined to receive the meningitis B vaccine, which Rutgers recommended for all undergraduate students at the beginning of this semester. More than 21,000 students received the vaccine from a Rutgers facility. GRAPHIC BY HELEN PICARD
KIRA HERZOG CORRESPONDENT
Following the outbreak of meningitis B last spring, Rutgers of fered prevention and vaccinations students. To date, Rutgers has administered 21,571 doses of the meningitis B vaccine to students. Of
those, 3,864 doses were provided by on-campus clinics, 3,491 were given at the Hurtado Health center and the rest were administered off-campus, said Melodee Lasky, assistant vice chancellor for Health & Wellness. Roughly 3,000 students sent in forms declining to receive the meningitis B vaccine so far.
All undergraduate students are required to either submit verification of receiving the vaccines or to sign a separate document formally declining the vaccination. The declination form outlines risks and prevention methods associated with meningitis B, according to Student Health Services.
VOLUME 148, ISSUE 90 • UNIVERSITY ... 3 • OPINIONS ... 6 • CLASSIFIEDS ... 7 • FOOD & DRINK ... 8 • DIVERSIONS ... 9 • SPORTS ... BACK
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