RECORDED HISTORY
CALL FOR SOLIDARITY An Iranian exile discusses the many struggles she faced in prison and how she advocates for women’s rights. UNIVERSITY, PAGE 3
Rutgers head women’s basketball coach C. Vivian Stringer became the seventh coach in Division-I history, men’s and women’s, to win 900 games in last night’s 68-56 victory against South Florida at the RAC. SPORTS, BACK
REMEMBER RACE It’s Black History Month and time to reflect on race in our society. Contributors weigh in on its role in our history and present-day politics. OPINIONS, PAGE 8
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RUTGERS UNIVERSITY—NEW BRUNSWICK
Women hesitant to discuss sexual medical condition UMDNJ, Robert Wood Johnson U. Hospital research treatment for Vulvodynia
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUAR Y 27, 2013
ONLINE AT DAILYTARGUM.COM
Alumna shares daughter’s passing Rutgers on Eating Disorders
“Do you feel that Rutgers— New Brunswick has spread awareness about eating disorders?”
For National Eating Disorders Week, Project Heal President Kelly Hoyt has surveyed Rutgers students from various campuses on their awareness of the disease.
26%
25 308 out of
not sure.
70 % no. 4% yes.
BY JUSTINA OTERO CORRESPONDENT
Given the nature of Vulvodynia, a condition found among women who experience pain and discomfort in their vulva, women may find it difficult to open up and speak about their suffering. But Dr. Nancy Phillips, obstetrics and gynecology specialist at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, said she aims to erase the stigma and find a resolution to the condition. “I think in any sexual problem, just like abuse, women are hesitant to talk about it so it’s important to ask them,” Phillips said. “Anybody that I see for any routine evaluation, I ask them about abuse. I ask about sexual function. I think that as a gynecologist that’s our job.” Vulvodynia, a condition for which source and cure are unknown, is undergoing intensive research and testing at UMDNJ and RWJUH. “It can be potentially debilitating to women,” Phillips said. “It interferes with their day-to-day function, it interferes with their sexual function — some people are so uncomfortable they can’t even sit down.” The condition’s ambiguity has created controversy in the medical field, as there are a number of theories on the origin of the pain, she said. Some doctors claim it to be a skin disease while others attribute it to a nerve problem. “It’s kind of an enigma,” Phillips said. “Nobody really knows the etiology of it. There are several treatment options but very few have been studied and validated. It’s a lot of trial and error.” While other sufferers may be comfortable sitting, they may still suffer from provoked Vulvodynia, where they experience pain from penetration, she said. This pain varies with each patient and can be either continuous or occasional. SEE
CONDITION ON PAGE 4
45%
A. 3,345 Rutgers Undergraduate women have bulimic symptoms.
of males said that they were not aware.
B. 1,065 will develop an eating disorder.
44% of females said that they were not aware.
A
MILLION
SUFFER from an EATING DISORDER
98%
12 and ARE BETWEEN AGES 25
B GRAPHIC BY HAKAN UZUMCU
SOURCES: U.S. CENSUS BUREAU, PROJECT HEAL
National Eating Disorders Week sheds light on teens’ struggles BY ALEX MEIER ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR
Judy Heilbronner Avrin will always treasure the memory of her three-yearold daughter Melissa’s high ponytail bobbing up and down as she splashed in the ocean water in Florida. Melissa Avrin grew to be a funny, quirky and bright individual. Up until middle school, she was always comfortable in her own skin. But in 2009, at age 19, Melissa Avrin died from a heart attack — a direct result of her five-year battle with bulimia. Judy Avrin said eating disorders claim more lives than any other mental
disorder. In honor of National Eating Disorders Awareness Week, she shared her personal battles with the disorder. At age 13, Melissa Avrin underwent several bodily changes from puberty, causing her to gain weight. It was then, after becoming uncomfortable with the change, that she went to summer camp. “That’s when she first started having body image issues — the girls are all changing clothes and in bathing suits and talking about boys,” said Judy Avrin, a University alumna. Eating disorders remain per vasive because those afflicted keep their suffering secret, she said. Although Melissa Avrin started her bulimic tendencies at
age 13, her mother did not know she was bulimic until years later. “People end up with an eating disorder because it becomes a coping mechanism, so they hide the behaviors, they go completely unnoticed,” she said. Judy Avrin said her daughter had trouble with severe constipation, so she took her to see several doctors. She was unaware that Melissa Avrin’s digestive troubles resulted from purging with laxatives, which hindered her body’s absorption of food. It was several months later, after Judy Avrin found glasses of chewed up food in SEE
ALUMNA ON PAGE 4
Author explains how incarceration system racially discriminates BY JUSTINA OTERO CORRESPONDENT
While many people may think the country left behind the days of segregation long ago, author Michelle Alexander believes the country’s criminal justice system still generates prejudices and injustices similar to Jim Crow laws. Alexander, who wrote “The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness,” spoke at the Livingston Student Center last night about the stark racial inequalities still present in our nation. Rutgers University Programming Association and the Rutgers University MountainView Project — a student
organization dedicated to helping at-risk youth through higher education — hosted the discussion. The country’s war on drugs and tough crime mentality perpetuates the history of racial discrimination, and stunts the progress of blacks after they are released from the prison system, Alexander said. “For centuries [there has been] a mindset that views black men in particular as a problem to be dealt with, harshly,” she said. “This had led to a brutal war on drugs, a get-tough movement, and to a prison-building boom unprecedented in world history.” In claiming to deal with the issues of drugs and crime rates, the policies focus primarily on incarcerating a distinct population,
she said, reflecting the same tactics used in the historical period of the Jim Crow laws. “Today there are more African Americans adults under correctional control in prison or jail, on probation or parole, than were enslaved in 1850, the decade before the Civil War began,” she said. The effects of the criminal justice system will cause more than half of black men to undergo legal discrimination not only while in prison, but for the rest of their lives, Alexander said. “Once you have been branded a felon, you have been swept into a parallel social universe in which the very civil and human rights others take for granted, no longer apply to you,” she said. Once convicted of a drug felony, she said a person no longer has the ability to access
benefits such as public housing, welfare, food stamps and potential employment. “What do we expect people released from prison to do? Apparently what we expect them to do is pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees, fines, court costs,” she said. Because of these conditions, she said the system is designed to facilitate a significant return rate, where 70 percent of the people released from prison find themselves back in the system within a few years or even months. “The challenges associated with mere survival on the outside are so immense,” she said. “So what do we do in the face of all of this?” SEE
SYSTEM ON PAGE 5
VOLUME 144, ISSUE 88 • UNIVERSITY ... 3 • PENDULUM ... 6 • ON THE WIRE ... 7 • OPINIONS ... 8 • DIVERSIONS ... 10 • CLASSIFIEDS ... 12 • SPOR TS ... BACK
PAGE 2
FEBRUARY 27, 2013
WEATHER OUTLOOK Source: Weather.com
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
HIGH 48
HIGH 47
HIGH 45
HIGH 41
LOW 33
LOW 32
LOW 29
LOW 26
CAMPUS CALENDAR Wednesday, Feb. 27 Rutgers University March of Dimes hosts “Bundles of Joy” at 8 p.m. in the Livingston Student Canter. Participants will wrap baskets of supplies for parents and family of premature babies staying in the hospital, including toothbrushes, hand towels and hand sanitizer. The event is free and food and drink will be provided.
Thursday, Feb. 28 Rutgers Student Life holds the 4th Annual “Rutgers on the Runway” at 8 p.m. at the Livingston Student Center. It will feature University students modeling University apparel. Students interested in modeling can visit runway.rutgers.edu. Tickets are $5.
Friday, March 1 University improv comedy group A 4 Effort performs at 9:30 p.m. in room 211 in Van Dyck Hall on the College Avenue campus. The event is open to all and free of charge.
Saturday, March 2 The Rutgers Ballroom Dance Team and the Rutgers Recreation Instructional Program host “Superball,” a combination dance social and workshop event, at the College Avenue Gymnasium. The workshops begin at 5:30 p.m., and the social begins at 8 p.m. Admission for the workshops is $15 for non-students and $8 for University students. Admission for the social is $15 for non-students and $5 for University students. Combined admission is $25 for non-students and $13 for University students. Participants are encouraged to wear semi-formal attire or dress as superheroes and bring a University ID.
METRO CALENDAR Wednesday, Feb. 27 The Stress Factory Comedy Club at 90 Church St. in New Brunswick holds an Open Mic night at 8 p.m. Admission is $5 and those attending must be at least 16 years old and purchase a minimum of two items. Comedians interested in participating must bring five friends. Sign-up starts at 7:30 p.m.
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Thursday, Feb. 28 Comedian Bob Marley performs at 7:30 at the Stress Factory Comedy Club at 90 Church St. in New Brunswick. Tickets cost $20 and those attending must be at least 16 years old and purchase a minimum of two items. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.
Thursday, March 7 Actor and comedian Martin Short performs a variety show at 8 p.m. at the New Jersey State Theatre at 15 Livingston Ave. in New Brunswick. The event is open to everyone and tickets range from $35-75.
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F EBRUARY 27, 2013
UNIVERSITY
U NIVERSITY PAGE 3
Exiled Iranian activist discusses struggles for women’s rights BY KIANA DUNN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
The Iranian government is seeking to jail activist Mahboubeh Abbasgholizadeh, who has sought refuge in the U.S. for her efforts to fight for women’s rights. The Iranian women’s rights activist, researcher, filmmaker and video journalist spoke at the Ruth Dill Johnson Crockett Building on Cook campus yesterday for her “Iranian Women’s Leadership, Cyber Resistance and Democracy” presentation. The Institute for Women’s Leadership and the Institute of International Education’s Scholar Rescue Fund hosted the event to provide insight from Abbasgholizadeh, whose life and work were threatened in her home country, said Alison R. Bernstein, director at the Institute for Women’s Leadership. Abbasgholizadeh’s movie, “Sakineh, A Symbol of State Violence,” documents the horrors Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani faced for adultery after Iran sentenced her to death by stoning. The efforts of advocacy groups in Europe and the United States resulted in her release and Ashtiani became a symbol against the Islamic Republic’s brutality. Abbasgholizadeh cofounded the Stop Stoning Forever Campaign and publicizes cases like Sakineh’s to advocate for women’s release from prison. Abbasgholizadeh said she became involved in the Islamist
Mahboubeh Abbasgholizadeh, far left, is an exiled Iranian women’s rights activist and filmmaker. She described her experiences in prison in Iran yesterday at the Ruth Dill Johnson Crockett Building on Cook campus. FIRAS SATTAR Revolution in the ’70s while in college. She left the love of her life and married a man she did not love who was passionate about the revolution. Many American feminist groups see marriage as an institution of oppression, but Abbasgholizadeh said Islamist feminists had a different viewpoint. “Our marriage was an institution of service and we wanted to have children for the revolution,” she said.
RETRACING CHINA Joseph Esherick, former professor at the University of California, San Diego, spoke about Mao Zedong’s travel routes during the Chinese Civil War during his “China at Another Crossroads” presentation yesterday at the Alexander Library on the College Avenue campus. SHIRLEY YU, ASSOCIATE PHOTO EDITOR
In the ’70s, both the Marxist Revolution and the Islamist Revolution stirred Iranian activists. In the beginning, the leader of the Islamist Revolution promised freedom of expression and equality for men and women — including free dress for women, she said. The Islamist Revolution eventually won because supporters had more mosques, more leadership and trust in their traditional ways, Abbasgholizadeh said.
Unfortunately, after the Islamist Revolution’s victor y, leaders failed to carry out their promises of equality. The Sharia Law, enforced under the Islamist rule, abolished the progressive Family Protection Law, stripping women from many of their rights, she said. “The battle against promiscuity and prostitution was one of the clergy’s weapons against the Shah’s regime, which turned into a key focus of the Islamic Revolution
with women as the main target,” Abbasgholizadeh said. “They were forced to cover their heads, and their objections were useless.” The Iranian government arrested Abbasgholizadeh twice for peacefully protesting violations of women’s rights. She escaped Iran in 2010 and now has asylum in the United States. Although in exile, she still continues to defend the rights of women as director of ZananTV, an alternative online media space for women. She also produced several films on women’s rights in Iran. Abbasgholizadeh said she pushes for more solidarity between American feminists and international feminists and believes they need to take more proactive action to defend women’s rights. “If Americans are not worried about Iran, we should be very worried,” she said. Lisa Hetfield, associate director at the Institute for Women’s Leadership, said the dialogue helps give students a picture of international activism. “This event is an excellent opportunity for students to understand the larger picture — that scholars are threatened in their home countries due to their activism, ideas and work.” Yasmeen Fahmy, a University alumna, said the United States needs to join the fight for women’s rights and believes more women could seek refuge in this country if immigration laws were more relaxed. “We need to integrate other cultures into our country,” she said.
FEBRUARY 27, 2013
UNIVERSITY PAGE 4
CONDITION Phillips says condition is usually misdiagnosed as yeast infections CONTINUED FROM FRONT Patients can also suffer social effects as their lives and relationships are disrupted and they find themselves suffering from depression or even isolation, she said. To cope, some patients turn to narcotics as a means of pain control. “A big problem is that it’s been misdiagnosed,” Phillips said. “Most people are told they have recurrent yeast and are just treated again and again for yeast. And over-treating makes things worse. The more you put on the area, the worst it can become.” The department is now working with Gabapentin, a medication used for seizures, in an effort to turn off nerve endings and cease the perception of pain, she said. “We have a study looking at one potential treatment in a randomized fashion,” she said. “A lot of these studies have never been looked at — they are all anecdotal. Nobody has really done the studies to see if these things are really working.” She said her team is also looking into physiologic testing to find out if the issue is centrally mediated and what other things are associated. In addition to treating with Gabapentin, they screen for Fibromyalgia, an unexplained pain in the muscles and joints, to see if the condition may be associated with muscle issue.
Diane Dawicki, research coordinator for the Women’s Health Institute at UMDNJ, said the department has been studying the condition for about 13 years and they received a grant two years ago to aid them in this research from the National Institutes of Health. The University of Tennessee and the University of Rochester collaborated with UMDNJ to write a protocol that would be
“There is no set standard of care — it would be nice to be less trialand-error and more evidence-based.” DR. NANCY PHILLIPS Obstetrics and Gynecology Specialist at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey
submitted to the institute in order to receive the funding. Dawicki said through this funding, the department was able to conduct testing with the various treatments on their Vulvodynia patients. Phillips said the studies and testing will most likely continue for the next few years, but so far
they have come to the conclusion that a one-stop solution does not exist, as each woman’s case has proven unique and responsive in different ways to the different treatments. “We’re not ever going to get one fix but it would nice to know the things we’re tr ying have at least shown to be helpful and safe … There is no set standard of care — it would be nice to be less trial and error and more evidence based,” she said. She said in cases where treatments are unsuccessful, patients sometimes resor t in getting the vulva removed through surgery. “That will have about a 70 percent success rate in certain populations,” she said. “So that’s how bad this is — if you could imagine having to undergo that type of treatment.” Despite the success rate, women can suffer from scarring and other constrictions in the area, which she said replaces one problem with another. Since there are many vague areas in regards to the specifics of what causes and stimulates the condition, Phillips said it is easier for some in the medical community to shy away from the complexities, which can cause the specialists who treat the issue to be rare. “Sometimes [patients are] so happy just to know that what they have has a name — that they are not crazy, because people have been telling them that they are crazy. They are just so happy to know that … there are people trying to help with it,” she said.
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ALUMNA
touched the lives of people globally, and now doctors and social workers use her story to help Judy Avrin says her patients and high school studaughter’s journal dents, Judy Avrin said. “Her story and my ability to helped create share it really does help give documentary meaning to losing her, not always, but most of the time,” she CONTINUED FROM FRONT said. “I get emails from people who thank me for giving them hope that Melissa’s stories her daughter’s drawers, that she inspired them to reach for their began sending her to treatment. own ‘Someday.’” Melissa Avrin spent her Alexander Library will host a teenage years in and out of treatscreening of “Someday Melissa” ment. The disorder has a high on March 5 at 7 p.m. The prorelapse rate, and Judy Avrin said gram will also feature panelists to she felt powerless when bulimia answer questions from the audirepeatedly weakened her daughence, according to the University ter’s spirit. Libraries website. “You do everything and anyStudents on campus are also thing you can in terms of getting pushing to spread awareness for help and getting proper treateating disorders. ment but despite getting … all Kelly Hoyt is the president of the best help you can it’s so diffithe University’s Project Help to cult to treat,” she said. “I wish I Eat, Accept, and Live chapter, could wave a magic wand and which aims to raise money for make her healthy because it’s people with eating disorders, such a long road.” since many insurance companies If a close relative has an eatdo not consider anorexia nervosa ing disorder, people become 12 or bulimia legitimate illnesses. times more likely to develop an The group also helps dimineating disorder themselves, Judy ish the societal obsession with Avrin said. body image that helps conJudy Avrin said she suffered tribute to eating disorders, said from bulimia for many years, Hoyt, a School of Arts and but Melissa Avrin experienced Sciences sophomore. her eating disorder differently “What society is telling us [is] since it was strongly impacted what we should look like and by depression. how we should “That also [think] about ourmade me not realshe said. ize quite how “I wish I could wave selves,” “No one should severe or how a magic wand and feel like less of a dangerous her eatperson because ing disorder was, make her healthy they have a certain so I felt helpless,” Judy Avrin said. because it’s such a body shape.” Hoyt said 25 But she said long road.” percent of colshe always lege-aged women remained hopeful. JUDY AVRIN have engaged in “I always, University Alumna bingeing and always believed purging as a way that she would to control their weight, and 8.75 recover — always,” she said. percent of those will develop an “She believed she’d have a eating disorder. future also.” This means at the University, Melissa Avrin imaginatively approximately 3,345 undergradexpressed these visions of her uate women are engaging in future in the form of writing. bulimic symptoms and 1,065 Since early childhood, she wrote will develop an eating disorder, screenplays, poems and short Hoyt said. stories, aspiring to become a filmBut in a survey conducted by maker. As a teenager, she carried Hoyt, she said she discovered 70 around a journal. percent of students asked do not But after bulimia took her believe the University has spread daughter’s life, Judy Avrin hesawareness for eating disorders itated for months before buildand 59 percent would not know ing up the courage to read what to do if a close friend had an the journal. eating disorder. “I thought about tr ying to For National Eating Disorders forget about it and sticking it in Awareness Week, Project HEAL a drawer, but mixed in with the will work to bring change to the pain and the depression and University. Michelle Casey, a the illness were these powerful member of the organization, feels messages of hope and belief in personal about spreading the a future and belief that she message because she struggled would beat [her disorder],” with an eating disorder and lost she said. her mother to an eating disorder. Judy Avrin showed the journal “The tagline of the week is entries to Danna Markson, her ‘Everybody knows somebody,’” daughter’s long-term therapist. said Casey, a College of Nursing Immediately after reading the junior. “Because the statistics journal, Markson insisted her are so high, it’s so incredibly filmmaker friend Jeffrey Cobelli likely that any student on camcould transform Melissa Avrin’s pus will know somebody who story into a documentary. has an eating disorder. It’s such After two years of production, a multifaceted illness that is drivJudy Avrin, Markson and Cobelli en by our culture.” finished the film called “Someday Casey spoke at the Melissa,” named after Melissa Livingston Student Center Avrin’s poem “Someday” that Monday and Project HEAL details her hopes and dreams, tabled at the Douglass Campus Judy Avrin said. Center to spread awareness. The popularity of “Someday Today, she will give a talk at Melissa” spread rapidly. The New Katzenbach residence hall on York Times and The Today Show Douglass campus and tomorrow featured the story, and instituProject HEAL will table at the tions screened the film all over Rutgers Student Center. the countr y. Melissa Avrin
FEBRUARY 27, 2013
UNIVERSITY PAGE 5
SYSTEM U. accepted more than 44 previously incarcerated students CONTINUED FROM FRONT The lecture was part of the MountainView Project’s Prisoner Awareness Week, an initiative to highlight the issues surrounding the incarcerated population, said Terrell Blount, a School of Arts and Sciences senior. He said the University admitted more than 44 previously incarcerated students as a result of the project’s activism. Many of them have excelled academically and plan to enroll in graduate school. Blount, who benefitted from the efforts of the program, said this is his tenth anniversary of being released from prison after being incarcerated for six years. “I was counting down the days before I went home and today I sit in class at the desk, not the desk in the prison center, but in the classroom where I count down the days until my graduation,” he said. Alexander said starting a social and human rights movement would end the mass incarceration problem. “We have to be willing to tell the truth ... so a great awakening can begin, because unlike the old Jim Crow, there are no signs alerting you to the existence of this new caste system,” she said. Walter Forston, a School of Arts and Sciences senior, said Alexander’s book is both influential and provocative because it correctly assesses the current situation with the nation’s incarcerated population. “Looking at the statistics and over the years how they have occurred in the surge in what’s now been called mass incarceration, she makes striking connections that are little too much of a coincidence to slavery and Jim Crow,” Forston said. He said Alexander connects people in power today with those in the 18th century, and both groups maintained their positions in power by enforcing discriminatory legislation and continuing a caste system in America. “There were laws in the South that … would exaggerate offenses so people were put in prison for a long time for something that was very trivial,” he said. “You bring it up to where we are now … someone who has [possession] of marijuana [can] go to jail for five years.” This misrepresentative sentencing is concentrated significantly more in one demographic than the other, Forston said, and statistics show no differences between the use of marijuana among whites and minorities. But in some areas, blacks are 4 to 12 times more likely to get arrested for the crime. “People walk around and say we live in a post-racial society and since we have a black president, racism doesn’t exist,” he said. “If racism doesn’t exist … then why is there such a disproportion in the number of blacks and Latinos in these prisons?” Forston said serving five years for possessing $100 worth of marijuana is too long of a sentence. This labels these offenders as felons, and the stigma dramatically affects chances of receiving job offers, scholarships and college acceptances.
Michelle Alexander, author of “The New Jim Crow Laws,” spoke about racial injustice yesterday at the Livingston Student Center, as a part of the Rutgers University Programming Association’s “An Evening with Michelle Alexander.” PAUL SOLIN
PENDULUM
PAGE 6
Q:
FEBRUARY 27, 2013
Do you plan on attending one of President Barchi’s Strategic Planning town halls? “Yeah, if the time is right. I attend Rutgers, so I think it would be something important for me to attend.” Janice Lee School of Arts and Sciences Sophomore
CAMPUS TALK
BY MARIELLE SUMERGIDO & PAUL SOLIN Alizea Romero
Imran Farooqui
Rosmi Thomas
Rob Hardwick
School of Arts and Sciences Sophomore
School of Arts and Sciences Sophomore
Rutgers Business School Junior
School of Arts and Sciences Senior
“Depends. Right now, I have quite a bit of school-related work to do, so I’d like to focus on that before I attend any town hall meetings.”
“Probably not. It’s just not on the top of the list of things to do — like, you have extracurricular activities that you have to go to as well.”
“Not personally, no. I don’t feel like my input would really help anything here — it wouldn’t really make a difference, I don’t think.”
“I've been to town hall meetings in the past. I don't know how often they happen, but I think it's a great idea. As a commuter, I think it's nice that students can come in and voice their opinions.”
Thursday, March 7 Rutgers-Camden 401 Penn classroom 12:30 p.m.
Thursday, March 28 Rutgers Student Center Multipurpose Room 3 p.m.
Wednesday, April 17 Douglass Campus Center Trayes Hall 10 a.m.
SOURCE: UNIVERSITYSTRATEGY.RUTGERS.EDU
This week’s question: Are you in favor of in-state tuition for undocumented students? Cast your votes online at www.dailytargum.com.
School of Arts and Sciences Senior
“I don’t think I’ll have time to be honest, it’s just the hours I can't really do right now because I'm a chemistry major, and I have a lot to do, like a job and all that stuff.”
ONLINE RESPONSE Total votes: 121
? WAY US
Tuesday, March 12 Livingston Student Center Multipurpose Room 6 p.m.
Thursday, April 4 Rutgers-Newark Robeson Center Essex Room 231-232 1:30 p.m.
SR DOE WAY ICH WH
Dates of Upcoming Strategic Planning Town Halls with President Barchi
Brandon Pater
16% MAYBE
32.8% YES
51.2% NO
PERCENTAGES MAY NOT ADD TO 100% DUE TO ROUNDING ERRORS
FEBRUARY 27, 2013
On The
re
ON THE WIRE PAGE 7
Balloon accidentally ignites Incident leaves only two survivors THE ASSOCIATED PRESS LUXOR — A hot-air balloon carrying tourists over Egypt’s ancient city of Luxor caught fire yesterday, and some passengers tr ying to escape the flames leaped to their deaths before the craft crashed in a sugar-cane field. At least 19 tourists were killed in one of the world’s deadliest ballooning accidents. The accident was a new blow to Egypt’s tourism industr y, which has been gutted by the country’s turmoil the past two years. The southern city of Luxor, site of some of the most dramatic pharaonic temples, has been particularly hard hit, with empty hotels worsening the area’s poverty. After the early morning crash, authorities suspended hot air balloon flights, a popular tourist attraction here, while investigators worked to determine the cause. The crash raised accusations that authorities have let safety standards fall amid the political instability since the 2011 fall of autocrat Hosni Mubarak — though the civil aviation chief
insisted his ministry keeps stringent inspections of balloons. The balloon was carrying 20 tourists — from France, Britain, Belgium, Hungar y, Japan and Hong Kong — and an Egyptian pilot on a sunrise flight over Luxor, officials said. According to initial indications, it was in the process of landing after 7 a.m. when a landing cable got caught around a helium tube and a fire erupted, according to an investigator with the state prosecutor’s office. The balloon then shot up in the air, the investigator said. The fire set off an explosion of a gas canister and the balloon plunged some 300 meters (1,000 feet) to the ground, according to an Egyptian security official. It crashed in a sugar cane field outside al-Dhabaa village just west of Luxor, 510 kilometers (320 miles) south of Cairo, the official said. The official and the investigator spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media. “I saw tourists catching fire and they were jumping from the balloon. They were trying to flee
the fire but it was on their bodies,” said Hassan Abdel-Rasoul, a farmer in al-Dhabaa. He said one of those he saw on fire was a visibly pregnant woman. Bodies of the dead tourists were scattered across the field around the remnants of the balloon, as rescue officials collected the remains in body bags. The crash immediately killed 18, according to Luxor’s governor, Ezzat Saad. Two Britons and the Egyptian pilot were taken to the hospital, but one of the Britons died of his injuries soon after. The other Briton and the Egyptian, who state media said suf fered severe burns, were flown to Cairo for further treatment. Among the dead were nine tourists from Hong Kong, four Japanese — including a couple in their 60s — and two other Britons, according to Egyptian officials or tourism authorities from the home countries. Hot air ballooning is a popular pastime for tourists in Luxor, usually at sunrise to give a dramatic view over the pharaonic temples of Karnak and Luxor.
IN DEFENSE OF THE INDUSTRY President Barack Obama speaks during a visit to Newport News Shipbuilding yesterday in Newport News, Va. GETTY IMAGES
Family missing after sailing trip THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MIDWESTERN WHITE OUT Buildings in downtown Kansas City are covered in snow after the area is hit by a snowstorm yesterday in Kansas City, Mo. This is the second major snowstorm the midwest has seen this week, dropping a half-foot or more of snow across Missouri and Kansas and cutting power to thousands. GETTY IMAGES
SANTA CRUZ — The Pacific Ocean either swallowed an adventurous couple and two young children aboard a sailboat off the Monterey coast this week, or someone played a cruel hoax that wasted Coast Guard resources and tugged at the hearts of coastal residents during two days of desperate searching. The Coast Guard called off the search for a boat that reportedly sank in rough seas far off the Central California coast yesterday, saying there was nothing more to be done and that the family’s distress calls may have been a hoax. “We’ve exhausted the possibilities,” Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Mike Lutz said. The Coast Guard is treating the incident as a rescue, with the possibility the calls came from a trickster. Neither the family nor the boat has been reported missing. Crews have been looking for the family by sea and air since receiving their first distress call Sunday afternoon when the boaters said their 29-foot sailboat was taking on water and their electronics were failing. The boat had no working GPS system, but investigators used its radio signal and radar to determine the call came from an area about 60 miles west of Monterey, where strong winter winds, cold water and big swells made for perilous conditions. Forecasters had issued a weekend advisory warning boaters of rough seas in the area.
An hour later, the family members reported they had to abandon the boat and were trying to tie together a makeshift life raft out of a cooler and life-preserver ring, a method taught in survival classes. The Coast Guard then lost radio contact with the boat, which the agency said might have been called the “Charmblow.” Investigators determined from the broken distress calls that the family included a husband, wife, their 4-year-old son and his cousin, Coast Guard Lt. Heather Lampert said. But the agency received no reports about a family missing at sea. On Monday, the Coast Guard released one of the recorded calls in hopes that it would lead to new information from the public that could help in the search. In the crackling recording, a man’s calm voice is heard saying, “Coast Guard, Coast Guard, we are abandoning ship. This is the [Charmblow]. We are abandoning ship.” Sailors along this renowned stretch of coastline are a closeknit group who were gripped by the news of the missing family, but also baffled by important omitted details. Harbor masters at the string of ports that dot the coastline from Monterey to Half Moon Bay told The Associated Press the same thing: No missing boat launched from their docks, and no family was missing from their community. FBI spokesman Peter D. Lee in San Francisco said the agency
was not investigating and had received no missing-persons reports that could be this family. Sunday’s choppy conditions had smoothed to flat, glossy seas by yesterday, and in harbors, neither officials nor boaters had heard of a vessel called “Charmblow.” But several noted that boats are registered in California by number, not name. Owners can call a boat whatever they want. Federally registered boats use names, but there was no “Charmblow” listed on the federal database. Capt. Gene Maly, a 40-year veteran of sailing who runs a charter sailboat out of Monterey, said the entire incident might have been a hoax. But the Czech native, who has logged 80,000 miles at sea, said it’s also possible that ill-prepared sailors set out without the proper training and equipment. “It could be that these people are neophytes and had no clue,” he said. “The last thing you want to do is abandon ship.” Maly, who carries backup GPS navigators, extra life vests and extra radar systems, said he lives by the missive: “Those that do not respect the sea will surely die. Those that respect the sea will only die now and then.” His care is typical in the deceptively mild Monterey Bay, a federally protected marine sanctuary where in just a few minutes, placid blue water can turn to roiling waves, huge sneaker waves surge over gentle currents and sunny skies can grow dark with fog.
OPINIONS
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Q&A with Michelle Alexander Joe Amditis speaks with the professor, activist, author Editor’s Note: Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, visited the University last night. The Daily Targum’s Thursday columnist Joe Amditis had the opportunity to ask her a few questions. DAILY TARGUM: What made you want to write this book?
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MICHELLE ALEXANDER: Well, the book was really inspired by my years working as a civil rights lawyer and advocate representing victims of racial profiling and police brutality, investigating drug law enforcement and beginning to learn more and more about the extraordinary barriers that people released from prison face: legal barriers, forms of legal discrimination in virtually every aspect of social, political and economic life that really led me to kind of an awakening that our criminal justice system functions more like a system of racial and social control than a system of crime prevention and control.
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DT: You talk about the system of racial control and this institutionalized way of subjugating an entire, what you call, a caste — an entire underclass of people. There must have been plenty of obstacles along the way to writing this book. Can you tell us about some of the hurdles you’ve had to overcome in this process? MA: I have to say that when I first started telling people that I wanted to write a book called “The New Jim Crow” arguing that our criminal justice system was like a racial caste system, a lot of people discouraged me and said, “You don’t want to brand yourself as some kind of radical. Just stick to writing traditional law review articles.” But I just had such a passion for these issues, and I really felt that if people had access to the data, the facts, the history, that they would have the same kind of awakening that I finally did — that they would come to see the devastation caused for communities of color by mass incarceration, the necessity of ending the war on drugs and dismantling not only this
massive prison system that we’ve constructed, but also ending all these forms of legal discrimination against people who’ve been released from prison. DT: You talk about the lack of information, that the people just aren’t aware of a lot of these facts, and a lot of the facts in the book, I’ll tell you, I was blown away by. I was surprised, to say the least. Who is the intended audience? Who did you have in mind when you wrote the book? MA: I really wrote the book for people who already care about racial and social justice. I wrote it for people like me, the person I was more than 10 years ago who cared about racial and social justice but just didn’t get it — that just didn’t get the devastation caused to so many poor communities, particularly poor communities of color, by this system. And I also really wanted the book to validate those advocates who had been saying similar things for many years, saying this is like a new slavery or a new “Jim Crow,” and had been dismissed in ways that I had once dismissed them. DT: For those who haven’t read the book, or even for those who have, can you give us the heart of the message? What do you want us to take away from this? MA: I have to say that I firmly believe that the mass incarceration of poor people of color is the most pressing racial justice issue of our time. And I know that I would have wanted to believe that I would’ve been out there marching in a civil rights movement, that I would have been working as an abolitionist during slavery, that I would have been willing to devote myself, often at great sacrifices, during those times. And we are in the midst of one of those times right now. Today. And I think if we’re going to honor those in the past who often risked their lives to end earlier times of racial and social control, we owe it to them as well as to all those who are locked up and locked out today to be willing to at least educate ourselves, raise awareness, wake up and do the hard work of movement-building today.
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Heard about the sequester? STATE OF THE UNION MATT KUCHTYAK
M
arch 1 — That’s the date when sequestration is set to kick in and the next deadline for Congress to take their typical evasive action and avoid damaging automatic budget cuts. You may have heard about the sequester in the news, but not understood exactly what is going to happen. It seems vital to go over some questions you may have and explain what will occur March 1, how it affects Americans and why should you care. “What is the sequester?” The sequester is a set of automatic budget cuts that will take effect March 1 and will slash roughly $1.2 trillion from the federal budget over the next decade. Just fewer than half of these cuts come from discretionar y defense spending, while the rest come from non-defense discretionar y spending, Medicare, other mandator y spending and interest.
“Why is this happening?” The sequester is the result of Congress kicking the proverbial can down the road. The sequester was supposed to happen as part of the “fiscal cliff” threat Jan. 1, but Congress decided to kick the can down the road again and delay action until March 1. Surely the threat of the sequester would incentivize Congress to strike a deal. Oh, wait… “What programs will be cut?” Military research, airport security, NASA, special education, the Librar y of Congress, the National Institutes of Health and many more. Go Congress. “How will it affect New Jersey?” According to figures released by the White House, New Jersey will fare comparatively well against other states, with cuts falling in the bottom third as a percentage of state revenue. But the state will still be severely affected by the cuts. For example, this year alone, 160 teachers and aide jobs will be at risk in primary and secondary schools. Furthermore, a George Mason economist estimates overall job losses in New Jersey resulting from the sequester to be in the 10,000 to 50,000 range. “How will it affect me?” If you’re currently a child in Head Start who has interests in
military research, space exploration, reading, and plans to fly somewhere soon, you should be pretty concerned. “Very funny. What should Congress be doing?” Congress should delay the sequester and begin crafting a long-term fiscal plan that will work to raise revenues and reform entitlement programs to help bring long-term debt to a sustainable level of 60 percent of GDP. These reforms must be contingent upon completion of short-term economic recovery. “Well that seems sensible. What is wrong with Congress?” Congress has become a symbol for the political polarization that has swept the nation, rendering legitimate compromise a pipe dream. Specifically, House Republicans have been unwilling to budge on higher tax rates and have not made an attempt to meet the tepid president halfway. “What exactly is wrong with House Republicans?” Ah, well I only get 600 words here, so I’m not going to attempt a complete answer to that question now. Matt Kuchtyak is a School of Arts and Sciences senior majoring in economics and political science with a minor in general history. His column, “State of the Union,” runs on alternate Wednesdays.
Stem cell research deserves your support BEST PARTY ON CAMPUS CONNOR MONTFERRAT
I
can’t say the past 20 years of my life have been ordinary or even boring. Most of my teachers, friends and family would describe me as a versatile, conscientious, intelligent and charismatic individual. But my real story is about being a pediatric cancer survivor, diagnosed at the age of four with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. I finished active treatment at the age of seven, but I still go back for annual check-ups. I remember most of my treatment, the constant intravenous therapy and chemotherapy, the viruses, the seizure, the spinal taps and most importantly the people who came to support me. Now, I know what you’re thinking, not another survivor story. But, hear me out. As a patient of the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and the Cancer Institute of New Jersey, I was involved in many cancer fundraisers, walks and holiday gatherings. During my initial cancer treatment I was also featured in a publication for the Children’s Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders. I look at my photograph in that publication now and it reminds me of how far
I have come through the trials of the disease. I had the privilege to be treated by many doctors, nurses and staff members who took a special interest in me. They taught me about my illness, pushed me and still influence me today as I visit them and their patients. Through the experience, one of the most challenging times of my treatment was resuming my studies in school. While one of my doctors explained I was not contagious, I stood patiently in the front of the classroom with a hat on and a smile on my face. I put school first and, as a result, excelled. I always am reminded of the struggles I went through during my treatment. I continue to be involved today for those who are in need of the support I needed so many years ago. The University provided an exciting, new avenue for more life-changing experiences and personal accomplishments. Participating in politics introduced me to a new method with which I can help cancer patients and survivors. Cancer stem cells were first identified in certain types of leukemia. The research for stem cells could speed up attempts to wipe out cancer by targeting cancer stem cells that drive the disease. Cancer stem cells now can be isolated and grown in a culture, which could pave the way to developing drugs that attack cancer at its root. I believe I can affect stem cell research and development funding for other survivors and those in treatment through
activism, legislation and political participation. The University has left a huge mark on my life, and I believe I have made a large impact on the University as well. My illness has allowed me to recognize how often leadership and compromise are about the coming together of heart and the mind. We need to put stem cell research back on the state for referendum. It failed in 2006 by very few votes. What excites me about life is living. I desire to endlessly read and learn. It may sound cliché, but surviving brought me to a new understanding of life and the value of education at any age. As a matter of personal choice, I choose to learn something new every day. I try to live my life to fullest each day. It is my firm belief that no one should take life for granted. As I go back every year, I am reminded of my treatment, but I am also reminded of what I can do for the patients and future survivors through my activism and education. Surviving the rigors of cancer has given me an innate curiosity, a compassion for others and a drive to succeed. Everyone has a story and I encourage the readers and writers of The Daily Targum to share theirs as well. Connor Montferrat is a School of Arts and Sciences senior majoring in political science and criminal justice. His column, “Best Party On Campus,” runs on alternate Wednesdays.
Learn all aspects of black history COMMENTARY MIKAL NAEEM NASH
A
lthough the evidence has been presented in scholarly publications, few students know that African Muslims came to the West before Columbus. I found this to be true in my many years of teaching “African American History” at Essex County College and “Islam in the Black Experience” at the University. African and World History, as handed down to us in the last 500 years, has been a very Eurocentric history, although some have tried to balance the equation. We have been informed by such scholars as the late Rutgers Professor Ivan Van Sertima and Abdullah Hakim Quick of a pre-Columbian African presence in the Americas. Van Sertima popularized the phrase “they came before Columbus” in his reference to Africans of the Mali empire spearheading an overseas exploration project in the 14th century. In his book, “Deeper Roots,” Quick writes: “long before Columbus
became aware of the possibility of land in the West, Muslims, among other people, had made contact with the Americas and had already left an impression on the Native cultures.” That Muslims explored the Americas before Columbus, is not farfetched when we consider what we have learned from and about African Muslims. Old “Lizzy Gray,” an American slave who died in South Carolina in 1860, stated: “Christ built the first church in Mecca.” Sylviane Diouf states, in regard to this: “After years of Christianity, acquired under unknown circumstances and pressures, the old lady found a way to affirm her original faith by substituting the name of prophet Jesus for that of the prophet Muhammad.” Islam had a long proud heritage in Africa many years before the start of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. Indeed, it was this heritage that AfricanAmericans — Muslim and non-Muslim — of the 20th century, would also lay claim to. This became evident when Alex Haley, a Christian AfricanAmerican, as well as co-author of the “Autobiography of Malcolm X,” and author of the acclaimed book and TV series, “Roots,” brought
to the light, for the world to see, his African Muslim lineage, as he was a descendant of the featured character in the series, Kunta Kinte. Indeed, like Haley, many African-Americans of the 20th century, before him, began to reconnect with their African heritage. Upon doing so many found, like Haley, that Islam was there. For some, such as those who joined the Moorish Science Temple, the Nation of Islam, the Addeynu Allahe Universal Arabic Association, and others, seeds would be planted for the growth of a “new world” Muslim consciousness among AfricanAmericans. However one chose to reconnect with Africa, upon looking back, it seems clear that they would find that Islam was there waiting to call them home. Come join the Center for Islamic Life, in conjunction with the Rutgers University Department of Africana Studies and History, as we discuss these and other issues relating to Islam and the African-American experience tonight at 7 p.m. in the Rutgers Student Center Multipurpose Room. Professor Mikal Naeem Nash is a lecturer in the Department of Africana Studies.
Reflect on race and politics WEIGHING IN COURTNEY AVERETTE
B
lack History Month is here and for another four years, we have a black president. This is truly a step forward in our history, but was he elected for the right reasons? Before the presidential election my seven year old cousin approached me. He asked if I was voting for Obama and I asked why. What came out of his mouth next actually shocked me. He looked me in the eyes and stated, “Because he’s black.” Huh? I quickly told him that I wasn’t voting for Obama (this wasn’t true, although I did consider Romney for a short time) and that you don’t choose a president based on his race. I didn’t want him to think voting based on race was the right thing to do, but I figured he had to get this idea from somewhere. This caused me to wonder how many people out there were actually voting based on race and whether my friends and family were voting for Romney or Obama based on these standards. I even stepped back and asked myself if Obama was my candidate because he was African-American. Based on what I’d seen and heard on Facebook as well as in town these thoughts seemed to be shared by others. Some Caucasians believed that there were African-Americans who voted for Obama because of his race and vice versa. Some people went as far as to believe anyone voting for Romney had to be racist (which is absurd). Voting by race, however, doesn’t help our economy, education, healthcare, etc. We are still producing a low percentage of high school graduates. Our economy may be doing better than other countries who have suffered through the financial crisis, but we have a long way to go. An article done by CNN Money discusses how the unemployment rate among African-Americans has risen from 13.6 percent to 14.4 percent and is substantially higher than their Caucasian counterparts. Having an African-American president isn’t the cure-all for the woes of the black community. I think we’ve come a long way since my grandmother’s time and race will probably always be a factor, but it shouldn’t determine who we choose as the leader of our nation. Whether our president is brown, black, white or red, what’s better for this nation is the issue. In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “I have a dream, that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” Our president should always be chosen based on this same idea. Courtney Averette is a School of Arts and Sciences sophomore. Her column, “Weighing In,” runs on alternate Fridays.
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PAGE 10
Horoscopes / LINDA C. BLACK
DIVERSIONS Pearls Before Swine
FEBRUARY 27, 2013 STEPHAN PASTIS
Today's Birthday (02/27/13). Confidence is yours, and money keeps coming in, even though it requires vigilance. Home is where your heart is; stay rooted until a romantic trip or study pushes you out of the house and into the world. Group actions get the biggest results. To get the advantage, check the day's rating: 10 is the easiest day, 0 the most challenging. Aries (March 21-April 19) — Today is a 7 — Enter a two-day negotiations phase with a balanced approach. Having a reasonable and efficient plan helps. Get partnerships going where they were stuck by being unattached to the results. Taurus (April 20-May 20) — Today is a 6 — The pace is picking up. Turn your attention toward completing assignments today and tomorrow. Focus on the details, and you'll be able to take on more work, if you so choose. Gemini (May 21-June 20) — Today is a 6 — You're beginning a generally lucky and cuddly phase. Don't wait a second longer to enjoy the game. Play full out, especially in matters of love. Seize the day. Cancer (June 21-July 22) — Today is a 9 — Take the lead, especially in your household. Some important decisions need to be made. Take one step at a time, and don't sweat the small stuff. Leo (July 23-Aug. 22) — Today is an 8 — Study all the angles today and tomorrow, and you'll discover how valuable you are. You're an information sponge now. Use your powers well. Don't pour your profits down a rat hole. Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) — Today is an 8 — It's not a good time to travel right now. Figure finances out. Make sure that you'll make enough to pay expenses. A magnetic female appears onstage.
Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) — Today is a 9 — You're getting stronger and could have an impatient tendency. Your energy surges. Make sure you're protected. Reject a far-fetched scheme in favor of a practical solution. Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) — Today is an 8 — You're lucky in love. Rekindle a commitment and finish up old projects. Traveling isn't as easy now. Your dreams can inspire a shift for the better. Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) — Today is a 7 — Better check with the family before making a date with friends. When you stop thinking about yourself, you can really hear what others are saying. Love thy neighbor. Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) — Today is a 9 — What you say has tremendous impact. You may want to think twice before you post it to the four winds. You'll be tested for the next couple of days. Sing a song of sixpence. Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) — Today is a 7 — You'd rather play than work, but you'll need to find the right balance. Relax to increase productivity. Saving is better than spending now. Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — Today is a 7 — Focus on your work, and solve problems as they arise with grace. Financial aspects are looking brighter after a long winter. Celebrate with friends later.
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FEBRUARY 27, 2013
DIVERSIONS PAGE 11
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Jumble
H. ARNOLD & M. ARGIRION THAT SCRAMBLED WORD GAME by David L. Hoyt and Jeff Knurek
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M. F RY Ans:
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(Answers tomorrow) THORAX PALLET Jumbles: BLIMP INEPT Answer: He wanted to buy the classic drum set, but someone — BEAT HIM TO IT
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SPORTS PAGE 13
LINEUP Wheeler, Laney lead way with combined 44-point effort CONTINUED FROM BACK streak, Wheeler responded with a 6-for-11 effort against the Bulls from long distance. Half of those came in the second half, with the guard’s last trey coming from the corner in front of the Knights’ bench with 3:58 left. Wheeler finished with 24 points on 8-of-14 shooting. For the performance to come on such a night as this, it left Wheeler proud of her efforts. “I felt that since I was fired up, my team fed off of me and they also helped me out,” Wheeler said. “That’s one thing coach told us is to never give up.” The Bulls could not corral Wheeler in the first half, converting three of her four 3-point attempts. The Miami native went into the locker room with 13 points. Laney complemented Wheeler’s performance with 20 points, with 10 coming in the second half down the closing stretches against the Bulls. The outing almost doubled her 9.2 points per game average this season, as she and Wheeler combined for almost two thirds of the Knights’ points. “We’ve been talking about what we need to do to execute and everything, and that’s been our main focus in these last couple of practices, and it just showed up in the game,” Laney said.
THE KNIGHTS
KEPT
SOUTH
Florida’s high-scoring guards Andrea and Andrell Smith in check, as the twins combined for just 18 points in the contest. The effort can go a long way for the Knights’ chances at their 11th consecutive NCAA Tournament berth. “I haven’t really gotten over that,” Stringer said of the bubble talk. “I’m just excited of the 900th [win]. Everything will take care of itself. This was a major win, and as you know, it is important to win impressively down the road.” Andrea Smith, the Bulls’ leading scorer at 17 points per game, only dropped 11 in the contest, with six of those points coming on connections with the game well in hand for Rutgers. Andrell Smith’s seven points were only half of the 14.1 points per game she has averaged this season. Credit can go to the Knights’ defense on the twins in the first half. Besides fast break points, Rutgers forced both to pass the ball to other teammates, as they were unable to create for themselves. The first half defense resulted in a 35-24 lead at halftime for Rutgers, which they did not relinquish.
FOR A COACH WHO WAS going for an accomplishment only three others have accomplished in women’s college basketball in the past, the fan support surely did not warrant the occasion. The announced attendance at the Louis Brown Athletic Center last night was 1,304, a far cry from the 5,378 that attended the Knights 65-45 home loss Feb. 16 against Connecticut. A part of that could be attested to the Knights’ four-game losing streak before the win. Another reason could have been the day of the week.
Senior guard Erica Wheeler shoots an open 3-pointer last night against South Florida. Wheeler’s 24 points and six baskets from beyond the arc did wonders for Stringer’s campaign for her 900th victory. NELSON MORALES, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
900 Stringer becomes ninth Division-I coach to reach accolade CONTINUED FROM BACK reached that plateau. Stringer can let out a sigh of relief after being stuck at 899 for exactly two weeks. The Scarlet Knights (15-12, 6-8) snapped a four-game skid, getting back in the winning column for the first time since defeating Cincinnati on Feb. 9. “This team probably best reflects what ‘900’ has been,” Stringer said. “It helped me to remember always it was never easy.” Senior guard Erica Wheeler and sophomore for ward
Betnijah Laney paced Rutgers to the dominant performance. Wheeler finished with 24 points of f 6-for-11 shooting from 3point range. Laney chipped in with 20 points and nine rebounds. A shot with 3:58 remaining in the game painted the perfect picture of the game. Rutgers worked the ball around the perimeter until it ended up in Wheeler’s hands. She spotted up and took the shot from behind the arc. The ball sank right through the net, which it had for her done the entire night. Wheeler then looked to the bench, pumped her chest and extended the lead to 62-49. It was rather symbolic for the Miami product. She hit a shot to end the game that was ver y much like
the 3-pointer she made to open up the night to get the Knights on the board first, 3-0. “It was important tonight to definitely get that win,” Wheeler said. “I think we showed her that we could do it.” The second half was just a continuation of the of fensive clinic the Knights started from the opening tip. Sophomore guard Syessence Davis connected on a 3-pointer as time expired to give Rutgers a 35-24 lead at intermission. It was one of five scores from behind the arc that gave the Knights their first double-digit advantage of the night. Wheeler guided Rutgers on an 8-0 run to end the half after collecting 13 points — 12 coming from 3-point range. Laney complemented Wheeler by
adding 10 first-half points. She gave the Knights some momentum after nailing a baseline jumper while being fouled with 1:30 remaining. Laney completed the conventional three-point play, which led to thunderous applause and the 32-24 lead. Stringer shed tears following the game and saw a sea of fans waving posters signifying the historic victor y. She left all in attendance with one message. “The Scarlet Knights are here,” she said. “They are alive. We are on to bigger and better things. I am happy to be a part of it.” For updates on the Rutgers women’s basketball team, follow Aaron Farrar on Twitter @AFarrarTargum.
SPORTS PAGE 14
FEBRUARY 27, 2013 GYMNASTICS D’ELIA SAID HER KNIGHT JOURNEY TAUGHT HER VALUABLE LIFE LESSONS
Senior Danielle D’Elia will compete on the floor exercise Saturday in the Livingston Recreation Center for the final time. She earned a career-high score of 9.900 in her last outing at home Feb. 2 in the event. D’Elia called the performance the individual highlight of her career. NISHA DATT, PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
Mixed emotions dawn on senior before last home meet BY GREG JOHNSON STAFF WRITER
When Danielle D’Elia tries to reflect on her Rutgers gymnastics career, all she can think about is how quickly the time has passed. The senior said her debut for the Scarlet Knights as a freshman a little more than three years ago feels like hardly a distant memory. As she cringes at the thought of her final home meet Saturday, D’Elia is most proud to have been integral in something special. Over the last few years, Rutgers has seen an improvement from years past. For two consecutive seasons, the Knights have broken the school’s previous record score at the EAGL Championships, and they are on pace to do it again this year. “It’s definitely something that 10 years from now I’m going to look back and say, ‘I was a part of
that,’” D’Elia said. “I was a part of those moments when everything started to change.” She firmly believes the program is in good hands and knows these uplifting times will not end once her career is complete. “It’s really nice to know that even when I’m gone, all that stuff is going to still happen, and that this isn’t just like a one-year thing,” D’Elia said. “This program is going to keep growing. They’re going to do so much more than what we did this year. But it was really honestly such an honor to be part of that.” For D’Elia, her senior season to this point could not have been better scripted. It marks both her individual and team highlight, which came when she set a career-high score of 9.900 on the floor exercise Feb. 2 to lead Rutgers to its first 195.000 team score in almost 13 years.
Both the career-high mark on floor and the historic team per formance have always been two of D’Elia’s biggest dreams. But seeing that day actually come to fruition was surreal for her. “That was such a memorable moment, and it was definitely something that I won’t ever forget because that was something that we had never done before,” D’Elia said. “And to do it was just — I guess, in a way, almost over whelming — over whelming of just so many really good emotions.” Rutgers reaching that moment was no accident. Before last season, a major transition was made. Former head coach Chr ystal CholletNorton resigned and former assistant coach Louis Levine stepped into her position. With it, he brought in a new mentality of competition that
has helped mold his gymnasts into believers of their potential. “When he first came in last year, it was a change,” D’Elia said. “That’s not something that ever ybody is ver y accustomed to, and people get ver y comfortable with where they are. So it was hard — it was hard to make the transfer over to where we are now, and it took time — but in the end, it was something that benefitted our team, and it made us better.” Now that her days of competition at the Livingston Recreation Center are coming to an end, she is consumed by another whirlwind of emotions. “It’s going to be really nice to have all those people there one last time and ever yone cheering us on, and my family and my friends … and experience it one last time,” D’Elia said, “but it’s going to be really sad for it to have to be the last time.”
As her time as a collegiate athlete has almost come and gone, D’Elia has learned lessons that transcend gymnastics. She has been instilled with the understanding that nothing can be taken for granted — even a spor t that the Colts Neck, N.J., native has played for almost 20 years. “I always tr y to tell the freshmen you don’t realize how fast it really goes,” D’Elia said. “Before you know it, it’s over, and this is such an impor tant par t of your life because it really has developed who you’ve become as a person. So it’s really important to enjoy ever y moment and make ever y single moment count, because it’s not going to be there forever.” For updates on the Rutgers gymnastics team, follow Greg Johnson on Twitter @GJohnsonTargum.
SOFTBALL KNIGHTS ADJUST TO LIVE PITCHING
Knights push for more consistent offensive output BY GREG JOHNSON STAFF WRITER
As the Rutgers softball team prepares for its second tournament this weekend, the focus is on finishing games to improve upon its pedestrian 2-3 record. Over their first five games at San Antonio from Feb. 15-17, the Scarlet Knights scored only 3.2 runs per game and posted a .296 on-base percentage. Aside from an outlier final contest in which Rutgers exploded for nine runs, the Knights averaged exactly one run per game prior to that. The scarce offensive production offered little help to a defense that had its way with opposing hitters. Its starters went the distance in three of five games and the
pitching staff allowed three runs or fewer in all but one contest. In the field, the Knights made less than one error per game. But the Knights believe kinks at the plate will work themselves out as they play more games. “All through the preseason, we’ve only been able to see our pitchers. That’s the only real live pitching we’ve been able to practice off of,” said sophomore outfielder Jackie Bates. “So I guess being able to see new pitchers was a lot different for us, but we actually got the hang of it and we were able to generate a lot of runs [in Game 5].” But Bates never joined the hit parade. The outfielder drove in two runners while batting only 1-for-14 with three strikeouts in the series.
She chalked it up to being mentally plagued by what much of the team suffered from. “It definitely was not my best, but I guess it was just the whole first tournament out, a little bit of nerves and kind of adjusting to this new pitching,” Bates said. “I guess it just kind of got in my head a little too.” With a tournament under their belts, the Knights hope to establish a balanced attack early in games at Virginia. “Tr y and set the tone earlier,” Bates said of necessar y changes. “Sometimes we’ll score a lot and then kind of stay off a little bit and not continue it throughout the game. So just get on top of it quickly and not — if we don’t score early — pull it back in our heads.”
The template for doing so may be jumping on pitches early in counts. Sometimes the Knights are too passive at the plate, Bates said. “I know [assistant coach Ryan McMullen] always tells us to look for a good pitch and hit it,” Bates said. “I know a lot of times I let those go by, so I’m going to try and swing at the better pitches.” Though Rutgers fields plenty of experience — freshmen accounted for only 18 of 125 team at-bats in the opening series — these fundamentals may get lost in the shuffle when everyone must adjust to new leadership roles. “A lot of us were used to the older players on the team, and a lot of us have become the older players,” said junior outfielder
Loren Williams. “We just have to adjust to our new roles, and I think as soon as we’re just able to get comfortable playing … everything will be good.” According to head coach Jay Nelson, much of that transition was made in the Knights’ last game Feb. 17 against Boise State. He insists the nine-run offensive output in that contest was no aberration, and that Rutgers must simply pick up where it left off. “I think it was just early in the season and they hadn’t seen enough live pitching yet,” Nelson said. “You could see them improving each game as they got in there and faced the live pitcher.” For updates on the Rutgers softball team, follow Greg Johnson on Twitter @GJohnsonTargum.
FEBRUARY 27, 2013
SPORTS PAGE 15 SWIMMING, DIVING BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIPS, TODAY, 10 A.M., 6 P.M.
RU plans to repeat standard in championships BY IAN ERHARD STAFF WRITER
The Rutgers swimming and diving team travels to Indianapolis tomorrow to compete in the Big East Championships. The meet is the most important competition of the season for the Scarlet Knights and has been on the minds of coaches and athletes throughout the year. Every competition during the regular season is spent attempting to qualify or improve seeding times for the meet. These championships can potentially define careers. For senior co-captain Taylor Zafir, the Big East Championships would be her final collegiate competition, barring qualification for the NCAA Championships. Rutgers arrives at the four-day event after a successful conference matchup Feb. 9 in which it defeated Georgetown and Seton Hall. Overall, the Knights finished the regular season with a 9-2 record and have defeated four of their last five opponents. Zafir enters with victories in the 400-meter individual medley event in the last two meets. Head coach Phil Spiniello said Zafir’s goal is to place in the top eight in the event, where she has consistently finished at the conference championships in her career. Junior Olivia Harry qualified this season in her first year of diving in competition.
Senior Taylor Zafir enters the Big East Championships hoping for a top-eight finish in the 400-meter individual medley event. She has won the event in her final two regular season meets. SMARANDA TOLOSANO, MULTIMEDIA ASSOCIATE While Harry said she is happy just to be at the event, there is an opportunity for her to make a mark in the standings. Harry took a top-three finish in the 3-meter event for the second time this season Jan. 26 against Fordham and Rider. She nearly claimed a top-three spot in the Big East quad meet when she placed fifth in the 1-meter dive. The Knights’ diving squad has been consistent as a whole this
season and never failed to finish in the top three of any event. Senior co-captain Kate Kearney is among those travelling to the Big East Championships for the unit. She has managed to provide leadership and find consistent results on the boards after undergoing shoulder surgery in the offseason. Another swimmer looking to make an impact in the Big East Championships for the first time is freshman Joanna Wu.
Wu has racked up several firstplace finishes in the backstroke, freestyle and relay events. She proved her ability to excel against conference opponents by taking first in the 200-meter freestyle and 100-meter backstroke at the Big East quad meet. The quad meet gave Rutgers a chance to compete on a date closer to the Big East Championships than the schedule would normally allow.
The Knights took advantage, with their only defeat coming to Villanova — a topfive school in the conference — by a mere six points in Feb. 9’s quad meet. For the athletes that qualified for the Big East Championships, the meet is a chance to extend their season and potentially grab a spot at the NCAA Championships in late March.
MEN’S BASKETBALL KNIGHTS DEFENSE SLUMPS IN LAST THREE GAMES
Rutgers finds defensive instability in midst of losing streak BY JOEY GREGORY CORRESPONDENT
The Rutgers men’s basketball team has been hard-pressed to find consistency this season, even in the way it struggles. Early in the Big East season, most of the Scarlet Knights’ losses came courtesy of an inability to score. In eight of their first 12 conference games, they failed to put up more than 60 points. But in their last three contests, they scored at least 63 points. Rutgers’ defense, though, has not held up to the same standard. After allowing opponents to put up 70 points or fewer in 10 of those first 12 games, the Knights have not done so in the most recent three games, all losses. Those defensive issues culminated Saturday night in a home loss to Providence. Rutgers allowed the Friars 76 points — including 19 unanswered — which marks the highest total by an opponent since Syracuse scored 78 points Jan. 2 in a 25-point rout. “We didn’t have it [against Providence],” said head coach Mike Rice Saturday after the game. “It got tight — a one-possession game. We just didn’t get a stop when we needed to and that was the difference.” In two of the three games of its current losing streak, the Knights held a double-digit lead. And both of those leads
evaporated thanks to a let-up on the defensive end. Rice is the first person to admit that. “[We’re] completely losing that edge and it’s frustrating,” he said. “Again, it goes to different players. [Against Providence], it cost us the game.” The 19-0 Friars run to end the first half did not help. Rutgers’ defense broke down for nearly five minutes as Providence sank shot after shot, turning a 10-point deficit into a nine-point halftime lead. Junior guard Mike Poole believes the defense was too fragmented to stop its opponent. “You can’t play defense without communicating,” he said. “For that stretch we were the worst-communicating team in the country. We just have to get better at that. We have to trust each other and communicate, then stuff like that won’t happen.” But this was not the first sizeable run the Knights have given up this season. In their Big East opener, they allowed Syracuse a 24-0 run. Poole said limiting those would have led to much better results throughout the season. “Basketball is a game of runs,” he said. “We just have to make sure their runs aren’t 17-0 runs and try to keep them to 6-0, 4-0 runs.” Runs, though, are not the only mark of Rutgers’ defensive struggles.
Sophomore guard Jerome Seagears defends guard Vincent Council on Saturday in a loss against the Friars. Rutgers has allowed more than 70 points in three consecutive games. MICHAEL BOON The Knights have also failed of late in earning individual defensive stops in the moments they needed them. Against DePaul — one of the three recent losses in which the Knights never held a sizeable lead — failure on the defensive end in a close game was still prevalent. In this case, the Blue Demons held the double-digit lead. But
with 1:56 remaining, Rutgers closed the gap to one point. On the ensuing possession, the Knights needed to keep their opponent of f the scoreboard. Instead, DePaul guard Worrel Clahar conver ted an and-1, pushing it back to a two-possession game. But there is one theme that has run throughout the entire season — glimpses of the team
the Knights can be is sandwiched in between extended letdowns. “That energy level you have to sustain when something isn’t going right, that’s what good teams have,” Rice said. “We lose our intensity at times and it’s bewildering.” For updates on the Rutgers men’s basketball team, follow Joey Gregory on Twitter @JGregoryTargum.
DEFENSIVE LAPSES The Rutgers men’s basketball team seeks to eliminate defensive letdowns and get stops down the stretch of games. PAGE 15 TWITTER: #TARGUMSPOR TS DAILYTARGUM.COM/SPOR TS TARGUMSPOR TS.WORDPRESS.COM
OPPORTUNITY WAITING The Rutgers swimming and
FINAL HOMECOMING Rutgers gymnastics senior Danielle D’Elia reflects before her final home meet. PAGE 14
diving team hopes for a top-eight finish in several events at tomorrow’s Big East Championships. PAGE 15
QUOTE OF THE DAY
SPORTS
“For a stretch we were the worst-communicating team in the country.” — Rutgers men’s basketball guard Mike Poole on Providence’s 19-0 run Saturday
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2013
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL RUTGERS 68, SOUTH FLORIDA 56
Head coach C. Vivian Stringer celebrated proudly with her players at midcourt after the Knights snapped a four-game losing streak and delivered her 900th career victory. The Hall of Fame coach joins a tier comprised of three other coaches that have won at least 900 games in women’s basketball history. TIAN LI
900 CLUB Stringer earns milestone as Knights down USF, end four-game losing streak to keep NCAA Tournament hopes alive BY AARON FARRAR CORRESPONDENT
C. Vivian Stringer stood in the middle of a circle surrounded by her players and pumped her fists in triumph. After being bombarded with a series of hugs from several players from both Rutgers and
South Florida, followed by an embrace at half court with Athletic Director Tim Pernetti, her 900th win was finally a reality. The waiting came to an end, and the celebration began. The Rutgers women’s basketball team cruised to a 68-56 victory over South Florida (19-8, 8-6).
“I am happy that it is over,” Stringer said, fighting back tears. “I have such a passion for this game. I told [people] at the beginning of this year how much I love this team. I appreciate the support that we have had from our fans and everybody else.” The Hall of Fame head coach became just the four th women’s basketball coach
to reach the milestone, joining former Tennessee coach Pat Summitt, former Texas coach Jody Conradt and Nor th Carolina coach Sylvia Hatchell. She joins the elite group of nine coaches, of both men’s and women’s programs, that have SEE
900 ON PAGE 13
KNIGHT NOTEBOOK FRESH STARTING FIVE PICKS UP FOR OLIVER, RICHARDSON
New starting lineup lands Stringer historic victory BY BRADLY DERECHAILO ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR
There were two things that stood out in the Rutgers women’s basketball team’s 68-56 victor y last night against South Florida besides the obvious milestone.
Winnipeg New York R.
4 3
Dallas (OT) Columbus
5 4
Boston New York I.
4 1
Buffalo Tampa Bay
2 1
0 3
Pittsburgh Florida
Though Stringer might have been happy with the production from the forward duo — both combined for 14 points and 15 rebounds in the contest — the change might have had the most effect on adding pressure on the minds of the starters who remained.
EXTRA POINT
NHL SCORES
Carolina Washington
The first one came before the opening tip. Head coach C. Vivian Stringer went with a different starting lineup than usual, starting sophomore forward Christa Evans and freshman forward Rachel Hollivay for ailing senior forward Monique Oliver and sophomore guard Shakena Richardson.
4 6
NICK FAVATELLA scored four runs for the Rutgers baseball team Sunday in the second game of a double-header at Old Dominion. The junior second baseman reached base five times.
The evidence can be seen in the play of senior guard Erica Wheeler and sophomore forward Betnijah Laney. After shooting just 13 percent from behind the arc during the Knights’ four-game losing SEE
LINEUP ON PAGE 13
RUTGERS SPORTS CALENDAR SWIMMING, DIVING
WOMEN’S TRACK
MEN’S TRACK
TENNIS
at Big East Championships
at ECAC Championship
at IC4A Championship
vs. Marquette
Today, 10 a.m., 6 p.m. Indianapolis, Ind.
Friday Boston
Friday Boston
Friday, 1 p.m. RU Tennis Complex