THE DAILY TARGUM
Volume 142, Number 17
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
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 24, 2010
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Today: Partly cloudy
CONFIDENCE IS KING
High: 89 • Low: 67
The Rutgers men’s soccer team is flying high on a three-game win streak into tonight’s Big East matchup against Marquette at Yurcak Field.
Group pushes for passage of DREAM Act BY JOSHUA M. ROSENAU STAFF WRITER
The Latin American Womyn’s Organization held a debate Wednesday concerning the merits of the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act, not long after the U.S. Senate voted the measure down. But students still believe the dream can one day become a reality. “As a member of the community, I am truly disheartened that it didn’t pass,” said Latino Student Council Male Co-chair Braulio Salas, a School of Arts and Sciences senior. The group began circulating a petition yesterday to urge University President Richard L. McCormick and the Board of Governors to change the University’s policies. The council collected roughly 200 signatures as of early Thursday evening, said Jorge Casalins, Latino Student Council political chair. Shifting away from legislative efforts, the council plans to bring its demands directly to McCormick by staging a rally today about an hour before he gives his annual address around 1 p.m. to the University. “Right now we are urging President McCormick and the Board of Governors to make some policy changes in the University in terms of undocumented students that already attend the University,” said Adrian Gutierrez, a Rutgers College senior. Despite the financial troubles of the University’s administration, the council still views pressuring McCormick and the board as its best line of attack to secure in-state tuition to undocumented students. “This all goes to the state of the economy,” Gutierrez said. “If we give them the opportunity to come to get higher education, then they will have a better opportunity to get a better job, and they’ll be able to contribute to the economy a lot more.”
SEE ACT ON PAGE 4
RAMON DOMPOR / ASSOCIATE PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
Lindsay McCluskey, United States Student Association president, explains the benefits of joining USSA yesterday at the Student Activities Center.
RUSA votes down contested legislation BY NEIL P. KYPERS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
A fier y debate over whether the Rutgers University Student Assembly should pass a bill to join the United States Student Association ended in a roomsilencing decision. RUSA, which held its bi-weekly meeting at the Student Activities Center on the College Avenue campus yesterday, voted 49 percent to 41 percent, with 10 percent abstaining, to not join the USSA. “I was hoping for [the bill] to get voted down,” said Yousef Saleh, president of RUSA. “I expected this big debate to happen … I just wish we had the presentation [on USSA] and people had time to think about it.”
The USSA is the country’s oldest and largest national student-lead organization focusing on the development of student leaders and student voices at the local, state and national level, said Lindsay McCluskey, the organization’s president. McCluskey, who was disappointed that the bill was voted down, looks forward to working with the University in the future. “I think there is interest and a lot of people that want to know more, and I hope we have the opportunity to build a relationship with RUSA moving forward,” she said. The debate prior to the vote displayed many different opinions on the topic. Proponents expressed the potential for advocacy and development of statewide student associations while opponents spoke of
the cost, lack of information on the topic and lack of administrative support. The bill, if passed, would have required a USSA membership of more than $7,000, or roughly 15 percent, of the RUSA budget. RUSA Treasurer Anthony Weingart spoke against passing the legislation because of restrictions set on RUSA allocations, which restrict using student fees to pay membership fees as well as other issues that may arise. “We have asked the administration if we would be breaking any laws by using student fees to join this organization — legal council is still looking into that,” Weingart said.
SEE RUSA ON PAGE 4
Students celebrate health care legislation BY CHASE BRUSH CONTRIBUTING WRITER
PAUL CHUNG
School of Arts and Sciences senior Sophia Fishbane talks about her experiences living without health care yesterday in front of Brower Commons on the College Avenue campus.
The country’s first nationwide health care reformation was signed six months ago yesterday, and for some students it provided a reason to rejoice. Members from the New Jersey Public Interest Research Group Student Chapters and citizen watchdog coalition New Jersey Citizen Action rallied on the steps of Brower Commons on the College Avenue campus yesterday to celebrate the legislation and to inform the community of its effects. “We’re here trying to let people know what’s in the new law and how it will benefit them,” said Crystal Snedden, health care campaign coordinator for NJCA. “We want to inform people of some of the tangible benefits that they can really sink their teeth into.” The law began a new provision of the law that allows young adults
to stay on their parent’s plans until the age of 26, Snedden said. “Even if you don’t live at home or are no longer considered a dependent, you’re still able to get back on your parent’s plan, which I think gives all of us — and especially graduating seniors — one less thing to worry about,” she said. This change comes as good news to students like Sophia Fishbane, a School of Arts and Sciences senior, who spoke yesterday at a press conference about her own experiences with health care coverage and personal sentiments regarding the new law. Diagnosed after high school with narcolepsy, a sleep disorder, Fishbane, the state board chairperson for NJPIRG, was confronted with the problem of attaining health care coverage when most young adults are busy worrying about settling into a life at college, she said.
SEE STUDENTS ON PAGE 4
INDEX UNIVERSITY LGBTQ community makes members feel welcome at the LGBTQ Fall Reception.
OPINIONS David Letterman demans $1M from Joaquin Phoenix for his movie “I’m Still Here.”
UNIVERSITY . . . . . . . 3 OPINIONS . . . . . . . . 8 DIVERSIONS . . . . . . 10 CLASSIFIEDS . . . . . . 12 SPORTS . . . . . . BACK
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