The Daily Targum 2009-12-02

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THE DAILY TARGUM

Volume 141, Number 62

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 DECEMBER 2, 2009

1 8 6 9

Today: Partly cloudy

OLIVER AND COMPANY

High: 55 • Low: 50

Freshman standout Monique Oliver is making a big first impression on the court for the Rutgers women’s basketball team this season. The Scarlet Knights tip off against Temple tonight at the RAC.

Obama plan sends 30K more troops to Afghanistan BY MARY DIDUCH ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR

COURTESY OF PETE SOUZA/ OFFICIAL WHITE HOUSE PHOTOGRAPHER

President Barack Obama meets with Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, last month aboard Air Force One. Obama said that he will add 30,000 troops.

President Barack Obama announced the deployment of an additional 30,000 troops to fight the war in Afghanistan last night in a primetime speech to the nation. Speaking at the United States Militar y Academy at West Point, Obama said these additional troops — costing about $30 billion — would deploy early in 2010 to target the insurgency and secure key population centers. “They will increase our ability to train competent Afghan Security Forces, and to partner with them so that more Afghans can get into the fight,” Obama said. “And they will help create the conditions for the United States to transfer responsibility to the Afghans.” He said additional troops would accelerate this transfer so the United States can begin withdrawing troops by July 2011. “Just as we have done in Iraq, we will execute this transition responsibly, taking into

account conditions on the ground,” Obama said. “We will continue to advise and assist Afghanistan’s Security Forces to ensure that they can succeed over the long haul. But it will be clear to the Afghan government — and, more importantly, to the Afghan people — that they will ultimately be responsible for their own country.” This increase comes after Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the commander in Afghanistan, asked for more troops after deeming the situation there more dangerous than anticipated, Obama said. Roy Licklider, a University professor of political science who focuses on United States foreign policy, said ideally, local groups should drive out terrorist groups, but the forces in Afghanistan are not strong or large enough. “It’s been very hard to develop a good Afghan army,” Licklider said. After months spent reviewing all the possible options with various leaders,

SEE OBAMA ON PAGE 4

UNIVERSITY SETTLES DISCRIMINATION LAWSUIT WITH GROUNDSKEEPERS The University recently settled a racial discrimination lawsuit filed by four groundskeepers in 2006, who accused the University of denying them promotions and ignoring two acts of racial discrimination. The employees were based on Cook/Douglass maintenance grounds and were employed by the University for at least 12 years, according to an article in The Star-Ledger. The four workers were made up of three blacks and one Hispanic. The University agreed to pay each of the workers $71,875 in lost wages and other damages, and they agreed to reim-

INDEX UNIVERSITY The unofficial path outside the Eagleton Institute on Douglass campus has been covered in an environmentallysafe manner.

OPINIONS New health guidelines are telling teen girls to wait until they are 21 years old to be tested for HPV and cervical cancer.

burse their attorneys $300,000 in legal fees, according to the article. “The University is pleased that this matter is resolved. Rutgers University remains committed to a workplace that is open, inclusive and free from all forms of discrimination,” Spokesman E.J. Miranda said in a statement. “The University will continue to work with all of our employees to maintain this high standard.” The plaintif fs argued their bosses purposely did not grant them promotions but advanced their other co-workers, who were mostly whites, according to the article.

According to a court document, one of the plaintiffs was said to have flaws including not having adequate experience related to the field and low scores on the exam taken for the position, which did not make him eligible for a promotion. But another co-worker did receive the job because of his prior experience, and he was also black, according to the document. Shortly afterwards, the plaintiff was offered the opportunity to serve in an acting capacity for the position he wanted at another University campus, which he turned down, according to the document.

The plaintiff claimed the University ignored a noose found in a lawn-shop on Cook campus, which was later identified by the Rutgers University Police Department as a rope mistaken for a noose, according to the document. He also claimed the trailer, where the groundskeepers kept their tools, was shot with a paintball gun in an act of racial discrimination, according to the document. The individuals who shot the paintball gun were given disciplinary action, and they claimed it was not motivated by racial discrimination. — Ariel Nagi

Pedestrian death prompts potential intersection reform BY CHRIS ZAWISTOWSKI STAFF WRITER

As part of an ongoing investigation regarding pedestrian safety, the New Jersey Department of Transportation and city officials will meet in the coming days to discuss potential changes to the intersection of Commercial Avenue and Route 18. The meeting comes following the tragic death of 15-year-old George Coleman Jr., who was str uck and killed attempting to cross the renovated highway. The depar tment has already announced a change in the signaling pattern at the intersection. Lights for thru traf fic on Route 18 Nor th and the left-turn lane on Commercial Avenue will be synchronized so they are the same signal at the same

ANDREW HOWARD/ PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

City officials will meet with the New Jersey Department of Transportation to discuss changes to the intersection of

UNIVERSITY . . . . . . . 3 OPINIONS . . . . . . . . 8 DIVERSIONS . . . . . . 10

SEE REFORM ON PAGE 4

Council improves Quad plaza, endorses NJPIRG BY ARIEL NAGI

CLASSIFIEDS . . . . . . 12

ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR

SPORTS . . . . . . BACK

Livingston Campus Council members put together the building blocks to install more benches and tables around Livingston campus and voted to endorse the New Jersey Public Interest Research Group’s concept plan at their Monday meeting. Council members announced they received the funding from the

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Commerical Avenue and Route 18, above, where George Coleman Jr. was killed on Dec. 18 while crossing the highway.

University and the benches and tables will be installed in the Quads Residence Hall plaza. They received $8,800 and got approval from several different departments to install two more tables in the plaza, two tables in front of the Towers Residence Hall entrance and a bench in front of the librar y, council Treasurer Anthony Weingard said. “Housing is on board, residence [life] is on board and the [University]

landscape architect, he supported it,” said Weingard, a Rutgers Business School sophomore. There are only three tables in the Quads plaza area, which seats roughly 12 people, he said. Installing the tables and benches would allow more students to enjoy the outdoors rather than stay in their residence halls. “As the weather gets nicer, they’re obviously going to want to be outside rather than stay indoors,” Weingard

said. “[Students] can go outside, have a place to do work, be productive and take advantage of it.” Council 2012 Representative Ross Kleiman said adding more tables and benches would bring the campus population together, but there may be a problem with noise if more people are going to be spending time outside. “I think that benches and tables

SEE COUNCIL ON PAGE 6


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