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monday, DECEMBER 12, 2016
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First annual independent film festival to debut in Red Bank next weekend sharbel skaff contributing writer
A Rutgers professor said the high temperatures this fall resulted from unusual wind activity in the Northern Hemisphere. GRAPHIC BY MICHAEL MAKMUR / STAFF DESIGNER
Warm weather in N.J. is part of arctic trend Stephen Weiss correspondent
Despite freezing temperatures caused by the most recent polar vortex, the end of 2016 is expected to remain warmer than in previous years. The warm weather is the result of a combination of environmental changes which all stem from an excess of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, said Jennifer Francis, a research professor with Rutgers’ Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences. “The temperatures are off the charts right now,” Francis said.
She said the high temperatures are part of a long-term trend over the past 30 years. Though the unusually high temperatures of 2016 should alarm the public, this year’s spike in temperature was not a sudden phenomenon, Francis said. While researchers have long been aware of this particular trend, the polar jet stream, a fast-moving river of air circling the Northern Hemisphere, is under close watch because it has had unusual activity over the past fall, Francis said. See trend on Page 4
The Monmouth Film Festival, an event created and run by Rutgers, will soon of fer a platform for independent filmmakers to gain exposure and network with other ar tists, press and industr y professionals after it launches later this week for its inaugural season, according to their website. The festival will be held at the Two River Theater in Red Bank, N.J. from Dec. 16 to 18 and will feature several award-winning feature films, shorts and screenplays.
atmosphere where all levels of film-making, including high and low budget pieces, can be seen and heard, according to their website. “The Monmouth Film Festival is a film festival for filmmakers, by filmmakers,” Muchen said. The filmmakers involved have an interest in film and know that the process is not always as easy as it seems, she said. Among the films in the lineup is the feature film “Swim Team,” which shows the rise of a competitive swim team composed of autistic teenagers, and trained with See weekend on Page 4
The Monmouth Film Festival is scheduled to run from Dec. 16 to Dec, 18 at the Two River Theater in Red Bank. It will feature work from independent creators and is intended give amateur filmmakers a place to exhibit their work. WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Students reflect on casting 3rd party votes
More U. members file for FAFSA than nationwide
stephen weiss correspondent
samil tabani contributing writer
Rutgers first-year students are generally more likely to fill out their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) than students at Universities nationwide or even in New Jersey. While 55 percent of U.S. students did not fill out FAFSA in the 20142015 school year, roughly 90 to 95 percent of incoming Rutgers students do, said Jean McDonald-Rash, executive director of Financial Aid at Rutgers. It is important for students to fill out FAFSA because unlike other forms of financial aid, the application is evaluated entirely on the basis of need, said McDonald-Rash. This statistic is high because New Jersey secondary schools provide information on and hold financial
“The festival will be run in blocks throughout the weekend that we are holding it,” said Georgia Muchen, a School of Arts and Sciences senior, in an email. “We have many interns working with us to make the festival run as smoothly as possible.” The festival provides internship opportunities for college and high school students with an interest in all aspects of the industr y including programming, marketing and production, according to their website. The festival lends a hand to many new filmmakers taking their first steps in the industr y. They strive to create an
The number of Rutgers students who fill out applications for finanical aid is greater than both the national and the statewide averages. PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY DIMITRI RODRIGUEZ / PHOTO EDITOR aid workshops for students, McDonald-Rash said. Wayne Yu, a School of Arts and Sciences first-year student, said students should do everything in their power to obtain the greatest possible amount of financial aid, but that she understands why students might be hesitant to fill out to form.
Depending on how much financial aid students are offered in their first year, Yu said they may not choose to fill out FAFSA in the following years. McDonald-Rash said another reason students might not fill out the form is concern that their income is too high for them to qualify for aid. See members on Page 4
An estimated 8 percent of millennials cast their votes for third-party candidates in the 2016 presidential election, according to Bloomberg statistical analysis. While some news outlets have framed third-party voters negatively, Ross Baker, a distinguished professor in the Department of Political Science, said this portion of the electorate is exercising their civic duty in the form of opposition to the system rather than deciding not to vote at all. “Every third-party vote is cast as a protest,” Baker said. “It is a protest to the fact that the two major parties have a monopoly, duopoly actually, on government. You have a choice of one or the other.” It is commonly believed that in the election of 2000, Ralph Nader’s independent run contributed to Bush’s victory, Baker said.
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“It is better to have voted third-party than to have just stayed home,” he said. “Faced with what you consider a distasteful choice between the two major party candidates, voting third-party is a perfectly rational choice.” Baker said he understands the frustration of third-party voters, but that he does not think people should regret voting. Dan Cretella, a School of Arts and Sciences sophomore, voted for Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson in the 2016 race. He said he voted for a third-party candidate because of his belief that the two-party system is flawed. “I want to make it heard that the Republican and Democratic parties are both unfavorable,” Cretella said. “Having two parties limits your options since they are so opposite.” Cretella believes most young people who voted for a third-party candidate were protesting the See votes on Page 4