THE DAILY TARGUM
Volume 141, Number 51
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 NOVEMBER 11, 2009
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Today: Partly cloudy
TOBACCO ROAD
High: 55 • Low: 38
Despite being the 12th-ranked team in the country, the Rutgers women’s soccer team did not earn a top-16 seed and meets Duke in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament in Columbia, S.C.
Community demands changes to intersection BY HEATHER BROOKHART METRO EDITOR
Members of the community, classmates, family members and community leaders held candles, carried signs, sang hymns and preached change in honor of the life of 15-year-old George Coleman Jr., at a Monday night candlelight vigil. A car stuck and killed Coleman on Oct. 19 at 6:30 p.m. while crossing the intersection of Route 18 North and Commercial Avenue with three of his friends. The boys were on their way to a youth group program across Route 18, said Lillian Ashie, Coleman’s aunt. The only way for the boys to walk to the program was by crossing the highway. Ashie and several speakers commemorated Coleman’s life and called for the city and state to
take action and make changes to the intersection so pedestrians can safely cross the highway. But City Administrator Tom Loughlin said Route 18 is a state highway, which the city does not control. “But we will certainly ask the Department of Transportation to take another look at this intersection and see if it’s as safe as it needs to be,” Loughlin said. “We feel terrible for George’s parents; it’s a tragic accident that no parent should have to experience. We feel very badly for them.” Ashie said the boys walked from Paulus Boulevard to the intersection, where they waited at the traffic light for it to turn red. The boys then crossed one by one. The first crossed without any problem, the second was nearly hit by a car and Coleman, the third
SEE CHANGES ON PAGE 4
JEFF LAZARO/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
JEFF LAZARO/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Latino Leadership Alliance of New Jersey President Martin Perez, left, addresses the crowd at Monday’s candlelight vigil in memory of 15-year-old George Coleman Jr., who was killed Oct. 19 while crossing the intersection of Route 18 North and Commercial Avenue. Speed limit signs at that intersection, right, still do not display the maximum speed mandated by law.
INDEX
GOVERNMENT ISSUES $3K ADVANCEMENTS TO G.I. BILL APPLICANTS
UNIVERSITY Ever slipped on that dirt path between Katzenbach and the Douglass Campus Center? The SEBS/Cook Council drafted a resolution to spark change.
OPINIONS Universities across the nation should follow in the example of William and Lee University and offer lectures about failure as well as success. UNIVERSITY . . . . . . . 3 OPINIONS . . . . . . . . 8 DIVERSIONS . . . . . . 10 CLASSIFIEDS . . . . . . 12 SPORTS . . . . . . BACK
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Veteran students who applied for the Post9/11 G.I. Bill but have not yet received their funds are now eligible to apply for an advance payment from the U.S. government. The Department of Veterans Affairs is making funds available for any veteran student who applied for the bill’s education benefit but is still waiting to receive their funds or for their claim to be processed, Vice President of Student Affairs Gregory Blimling said. “The Post-9/11 G.I. Bill was passed a few years ago, but what happened is some students that are eligible have not yet received their benefits [even though they applied],” he said. “Until they actually issue their checks, the government is willing to advance them up to $3,000.” The advancement will be recouped from future benefit payments, according to a press release.
Eligible students can request their onetime advance payments at their local VA Regional Office or through VA’s Web site at www.va.gov. The bill provides veteran students with financial support for education and housing, according to the site. To be eligible for the benefit, individuals must have ser ved at least 90 days of aggregate ser vice on or after Sept. 11, 2001, or been honorably discharged with a ser vice-connected disability after 30 days. In addition to graduate and undergraduate degrees, the bill helps provide financial support for vocational and technical training, according to the site. An institution of higher learning must approve the training programs beforehand. — Ariel Nagi
BY ARIEL NAGI Rutgers Army Reserve Officers Training Corps members plan to remember fallen soldiers and thank veterans for their ser vice in honor of Veteran’s Day today and celebrate at tomorrow’s football game. The ROTC will have its color guard group at the game because it is a better way to promote veteran awareness since so many people from the University and the state attend, said Captain Doug Larsen.
BY GREG FLYNN CORRESPONDENT
“[University] athletics is a good rally point for all of Rutgers,” he said. “To have veterans and soldiers at the game … calls for the attention and support that is needed.” Although there are many veterans on campus who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, most students are not aware that they are around, Larsen said. “There are over 400 veterans at [the University],” he said. “The person sitting to your right or left may very well be a veteran.”
Director of Transportation Services Jack Molenaar constantly shifted gears at the Douglass Governing Council meeting last night, talking about exam busing hours, a prospective University bicycle system and parking deck permits during his discussion at Trayes Hall in the Douglass Student Center. Molenaar, now in his fourth year as director, briefly barreled through an explanation of the University’s transportation system before taking questions. Due to complaints and requests, Molenaar said he moved unused bus hours from reading days to exam days and fewer buses will be available on reading days. Transportation Services will monitor the success of the new plan and tweak it in the spring, he said. Molenaar said he added more buses to exam days because it reflected academic urgency. “Weekends and nights are not my priority,” Molenaar said. Buses are often scarce for exams that do not fit within the existing exam schedules because academic departments do not notify the transportation department, Molenaar said. He would like to have more buses available during irregular exam hours. “We have a bit of flexibility in budget to add buses for something like that,” Molenaar said. He also addressed complaints about bus drivers being preoccupied while driving.
SEE ROTC ON PAGE 7
SEE COMPLAINTS ON PAGE 4
ROTC remembers U.S. veterans ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR
Molenaar answers student complaints at council forum
Students with 60 or greater credits can register for Spring 2010 classes tonight from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.