THE DAILY TARGUM
Volume 142, Number 47
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
OPENING STATEMENT
High: 53 • Low: 37
The Rutgers wrestling team began its season with victories over Sacred Heart and East Stroudsburg by a combined score of 88-6 at the Louis Brown Athletic Center.
U. professor studies privacy on social sites
BY JOSHUA ROSENAU
BY DEVIN SIKORSKI
STAFF WRITER
ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR
For Anthony Bonelli, a student born without the use of his arms, legs, hands and feet, the benefits of the digital age are not as easy to come by. Bonelli, a School of Arts and Sciences junior who transferred to the University this fall and has a rare and severe form of cerebral palsy, makes no excuses for himself. “As far as easy or difficult, I don’t view myself as different than any other college student,” Bonelli said. “I am just on wheels.” But Bonelli’s time at school has become much harder since he transferred because he is without access to a personal computer he can use on his own. “I know I am an adult, and I know it’s college, and I know they’re not going to hold my hand, but I feel like I’m being hung out to dry,” he said. The Of fice of Disability Ser vices, the agency charged with ensuring equal access of school programs to disabled students, after two months of school has not tackled Bonelli’s problem. Falling behind in his classes and frustrated with his situation, Bonelli first called ODS in late September to request reformatted class materials that he could hear being read aloud, he said. ODS responded, giving him electronic scans of paper materials and instructing him to download Adobe Reader, Bonelli said. “But I know Adobe Reader, and it didn’t really help,” he said. ODS then contacted a student who offered Bonelli a copy of ZoomText, a more powerful screen-reading application designed for users with disabilities, he said. The disabled student who loaned the software also offered to teach Bonelli to use it, but because of a scheduling conflict, the training never took place.
SEE DISABLED
ON
NOVEMBER 8, 2010
1 8 6 9
Today: PM Showers
Digital divide broadens for disabled student
MONDAY
PAGE 4
SCOTT TSAI / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Calvin Kwon, an Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy sophomore, browses the Internet. Research by University Professor Jack Bratich focuses on how college students interact and engage on social networking sites, like Facebook and Twitter.
From posting a status about what they had for lunch or commenting on a close friend’s profile picture, the world of social networking sites has seemingly become a regular part of people’s lives. Rutgers College senior Ricardo Mercader said many of his friends are always on such social networking sites as Facebook, posting constant statuses about their day. “Sometimes, they just put every single idea that they have on their mind,” he said. “They draw it out into notes almost.” The desire to connect with others in the community, open up to new experiences and interact with a person after a face-to-face meeting are all enhanced by the use of social networking sites, said Jack Bratich, an associate professor in the journalism and media studies department.
SEE PRIVACY ON PAGE 4
Student’s art to bring awareness to city BY RASHMEE KUMAR CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Every time Maria Giancola dips a brush into her paint palette, she does so with hopes of skipping the starving artist phase after she graduates. The Mason Gross School of the Arts senior visual arts major worked to make her name known through several art exhibitions in New Brunswick and her hometown, East Brunswick, in pursuit of her goal. “I’m tr ying my hardest to be an artist right now,” she said. “I’m going through a crisis like, ‘What do I want to do with my ar t? How is it going to work into my career?’”
As part of her efforts to spread her name, a series of Giancola’s paintings will be on display starting today through Dec. 17 at the New Street Gallery in New Brunswick. New Jersey Blood Services will feature Giancola’s work this winter at the New Street Gallery to attract potential blood donors. The exhibit, entitled “Drip: Paintings by Maria Giancola,” will feature 30 of the artist’s pieces. “I called [the exhibit] ‘Drip’ because [NJBS] is a blood center, and I put the drip in my paintings a lot,” Giancola said. “I’ll be painting and if it drips, and I think it looks really nice, I’ll leave it. Pretty much all the paintings [in the exhibit] have drips in them.” Together with New York Blood Services, NJBS opened a gallery in Scotch Plains,
N.J., last year to create a destination for blood donors to meet other donors and view artwork, said Jan Zepka, NYBS manager of Community and Volunteer Relations. “It was so successful that we decided to repeat the same idea in New Brunswick,” Zepka said. “This exhibit is exclusive to Maria, and it’s absolutely awesome. Her work is incredible.” Zepka encouraged University students to not only see Giancola’s contributions to the gallery but to make a contribution of their own by donating blood. “We try in any way we can to bring attention to the fact that the need for blood is ongoing,” she said. “If we got 15 people to
SEE ART ON PAGE 7
BAKA event raises questions about fundraising BY NATALIE FLYNN STAFF WRITER
A controversial fundraising event Thursday evening ignited tension between organizers of BAKA: Students United for Middle Eastern Justice and Jewish student group Rutgers Hillel. The event’s purpose was to raise money for U.S. to GAZA, a flotilla planning to set sail against the Israeli blockade of Gaza. Although both groups want a resolution to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict in Gaza, Hillel raised concerns over where the event’s proceeds would be going, said Andrew Getraer, Hillel’s executive director. Regardless of criticisms, BAKA chose to hold the fundraiser, which about 350 people attended, said Hoda Mitwally, public relations officer for BAKA. “The point of U.S. to GAZA is to bring much needed supplies to the Gaza strip, which cannot enter now because of the Israeli siege, illegal under international law,” said Mitwally, a School of Arts and Sciences senior. BAKA Events Coordinator Ghalib Mahmoud was proud his organization was hosting the fundraiser.
“Other ships have left from Turkey, Cyprus, Ireland — so the idea that a U.S. boat, for the first time, [would be sailing] … would not only be bringing across the issue of how problematic the issue in Gaza is, but we would also be embarking on a moment in history,” said Mahmoud, a School of Arts and Sciences junior. “You would have the first U.S. boat setting sail, and we would be contributing to that.” Getraer and Hillel students were not against fundraising for Gaza, but they were concerned that legal barriers would prevent U.S. to GAZA from receiving the money. “Our issue is that they’re doing something to raise money which violates U.S. law,” Getraer said. Sarah Morrison, president of Hillel, said the organization agreed that the content of the event itself was not disagreeable. “What we did object to was, if U.S. to GAZA were to break the Israeli blockade, there is no guarantee that Hamas won’t take that aid,” she said. The blockade, which prevents arms and weaponry from being sent to Hamas,
SEE EVENT ON PAGE 7
INDEX UNIVERSITY Sigma Chi raised more than $90K last week for the Children’s Miracle Network.
OPINIONS Taxpayers push John Boehner to cut spending by slashing congressmen’s salaries.
UNIVERSITY . . . . . . . 3 OPINIONS . . . . . . . . 8 DIVERSIONS . . . . . . 10 CLASSIFIEDS . . . . . . 12 SCOTT TSAI / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
At the BAKA fundraiser, Col. Ann Wright says the flotilla intending to sail against the Israeli blockade of Gaza is a peaceful resistance movement.
Students with 90 or greater credits may register for classes between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m.
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