THE DAILY TARGUM
Volume 141, Number 54
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
UP AND RUNNING
High: 55 • Low: 38
Both the Rutgers men’s and women’s basketball teams opened their seasons at the RAC. The men knocked off Marist, while the women fell to No. 2 Stanford.
EON files petition for recount of city ballots
Greek house to reopen following March fire BY MARY DIDUCH After flames and water destroyed much of the Gamma Sigma fraternity house at 19 Union St. in March, the fraternity looks to rebuild and reopen next year. The fraternity worked to rebuild its house since the fire and reopen at the end of next semester or during the summer, said fraternity Chancellor Brandon King, a School of Arts and Sciences junior. “Because it was an electrical fire, we have to do pretty extensive work to fix everything,” King said. There was not a lot of structural damage, and the fire itself damaged only a few rooms on the third floor, but there was a lot of water damage. King did not want to comment on the cost of damages or repairs but said the reconstruction allows the fraternity to improve their house. “It’s definitely a dark point for us, but there’s always a silver lining,” he said. The exterior will remain the same, but the interior will get additions such as new wiring, walls, heating, air conditioning and a new upstairs shower, King said. The house will maintain a residence of 15 or 16 members. “A lot of great things are going to come of this and the house is going to be a lot safer too,” said
Social Chair Kai Marshall-Otto, a School of Environmental and Biological Sciences junior. Despite not having a house as a central location this semester, Gamma Sigma found ways to operate, King said. “We’ve had to kind of think outside the box. … Our fraternity operated before we had a house and we can continue operating now,” said King, as the fraternity was founded in 1946 and the house was not acquired until 1950. The house was built in 1871 and was outdated, he said. The walls were wood beams covered in plaster, not drywall, and the house had no heating system. The fraternity has been working with outside organizations to hold events and holds their weekly meetings at the Church of St. John’s the Evangelist in New Brunswick, King said. “We’re trying to get our name out there and show that we’re still doing things as a fraternity,” Marshall-Otto said. Gamma Sigma was unable to have a pledge class this past semester, but they intend to have a rush week and pledge class for the spring 2010 semester, despite their house still being under construction, he said.
SEE FIRE ON PAGE 4
BY ARIEL NAGI ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR
ANDREW HOWARD/ PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
The Gamma Sigma fraternity house has to re-wire its walls after an electrical fire last semester forced its residents to move out.
NICE DAY FOR A KOREAN WEDDING
INDEX UNIVERSITY Over the weekend, the Second Reformed Church prepared for a state-assisted food program that will be available to low-income families.
METRO Looking to learn a new dance? Find out where dancers of any age can receive free salsa lessons every week. ISIAH STEWART/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
UNIVERSITY . . . . . . . 3 METRO . . . . . . . . . . 7 OPINIONS . . . . . . . . 8 DIVERSIONS . . . . . . 10 CLASSIFIEDS . . . . . . 12
Rutgers College senior James Kim and School of Arts and Sciences sophomore Joyce Park perform in “My Big Fat Korean Wedding,” a comedic play that embraces Korean culture, last night in the Rutgers Student Center on the College Avenue campus. Hosted by the Rutgers Korean Student Association, a traditional Korean dinner followed the show.
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The fight to keep the city’s government as is or to establish a ward-based system is not over yet. Empower Our Neighborhoods, the pro-ward coalition, plans to file a petition for a ballot recount today, Coalition for Democracy Chair Martin Perez said. The dispute between EON, the grassroots organization that has been fighting to change the city’s five-member, at-large council to a ward-based system and Unite New Brunswick, the opposing organization that has been fighting to keep the system as is, did not end on Election Day, because the election results were postponed for a few days. Final results of the election were not released until Nov. 7, four days after the election, due to a number of provisional ballots that needed to be counted, New Brunswick City Spokesman Bill Bray said. But EON is requesting a recount to make sure those ballots were counted accurately, Perez said. “Now with the recount, they will have to count it one by one in front of us, so we’ll all witness [it],” he said. The Middlesex County Board of Elections would have to count all the absentee, mail-in and provisional ballots manually and check the polling machines, Perez said. The results depicted a close race, with the anti-wards votes succeeding pro-wards votes by 82 votes, according to a calculation in the Star Ledger. There were 2,474 “no” votes versus 2,392 “yes” votes. EON member Charlie Kratovil said since the numbers were so close, it is routine to request a recount. “Mistakes are made all the time. If you look at other elections where there have been recounts, they have made a difference [in the final election results],” said Kratovil.
SEE BALLOTS ON PAGE 4
Students voice concerns about smoker proximity BY KRISTINE ROSETTE ENERIO CONTRIBUTING WRITER
SPORTS . . . . . . BACK
NOVEMBER 16, 2009
1 8 6 9
Today: Partly cloudy
ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR
MONDAY
As students make their way to class, some may not notice someone taking a cigarette break just outside the entrance of a building as crowds shuffle in and out of the doors through clouds of smoke.
In a generation where the adverse ef fects of secondhand smoke are taught at a young age, only a small number of students are concerned with the proximity of these smokers to the entrances of University buildings. School of Arts and Sciences sophomore Matthew Weisser is allergic to
smoke. He is against smoking entirely and thinks that smoking right outside an entrance to a building is just as bad as smoking inside a building, he said. “Anyone who goes in and out of the building is walking right through the cloud of smoke. So if they were going to be irritated by it inside, they’re still irritated by it to
get in or out of the building,” Weisser said. While “No Smoking” signs on buildings let people know the University prohibits smoking inside, the areas right outside buildings lack clear visual definition.
SEE CONCERNS ON PAGE 4
Students with 20 or greater credits can register for Spring 2010 classes tonight from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.