The Signal: Spring '11, No. 14

Lax Blast

Kendall Boogie

“America’s Best Dance Crew” winners Quest Crew tore up Kendall Hall.

See A&E page 16

tcnjsignal.net

The College’s undefeated lacrosse team won the NJAC Championships.

See Sports page 24

The College of New Jersey Student Newspaper since 1885

April 27, 2011

SG lobbying efforts spur N. J. legislation, student activism

No. 14

Vol. CXXXIV.

Photo courtesy of Brian Block

Brian Block, chair of SG’s Legal and Governmental Affairs committee, testifies for A-3417, a bill the College’s lobbying efforts helped introduce to the state legislature.

By Emily Brill Arts & Entertainment Editor

Her words spoke volumes, but she wasn’t there to say them.

Instead, a sign bearing her message stood where she might have. On the path beside the Brower Student Center, her words braved the rainy midApril afternoon.

“I’d like to say to the state, ‘Thanks for raising tuition to the point of making it impossible to attend a four-year university,’” the sign read. “I know that even after death, the only thing that will remain are my student loans.”

Signs dotted the pathway displaying stories similar to that of the former College junior, who had dropped out after failing to scrape together enough money to pay for another semester.

On Wednesday, April 13, the signs represented part

of the Student Government Legal and Governmental Affairs (L&G) committee’s efforts to herald the first Statewide Day of Action for Public Higher Education. “(We’re doing this) to raise awareness of the cuts that are happening to higher education and to really make students’ voices heard,” said L&G chair Brian Block, senior political science major. “Higher education is not seen as a priority in the Garden State as per 14 years of cuts or flat-lining … so we’re trying to make an impact.”

L&G launched a comprehensive lobbying campaign last semester to urge New Jersey legislators to “prioritize higher education,” according to Block.

Since then, the committee has met with 26 legislators.

Its nine members have also helped found the New Jersey United Students (NJUS) activist coalition and push two bills through the legislature.

L&G was also partially responsible for the Day of Action. The statewide event, held to raise awareness about cuts in higher education funding, was sponsored

by NJUS. “(At) the first meeting (NJUS) had, we kind of had this idea of what to do … We decided that day that April 13 would be our day, but it culminated in various conference calls and lobbying actions,” Block said.

NJUS was established in February as a “coalition of interested student groups” from 11 public colleges and universities in New Jersey, including the College.

All groups expressed the desire to further their schools’ lobbying efforts.

With help from a summit held at the College in March, all NJUS member schools adopted the College’s lobbying model.

“We had a summit here because we’re the most experienced at lobbying,” Block said. “We taught … how to lobby, how to use technology to your advantage, how to portray yourself, how to get your message across, everything you need to know to be a

To Write Love on Her Arms founder offers hope to disillusioned

see LOBBYING page 2

see ARMS page 2

Matthew Mance / Staff Photographer

Jamie Tworkowski brought little fanfare to his speech at the College, during which he shared stories of people his nonprofit movement To Write Love On Her Arms has helped.

By Hilarey Wojtowicz News Editor

Jamie Tworkowski may have been the main speaker of the night, but he had no trouble sitting with the audience while the opening act, Jared Gorbel of the Honorary Title, played a few songs. With lyrics such as “I know life is so unfair” echoing through the auditorium, the music reflected the theme of the night and the movement that Tworkowski would be discussing a little while later.

On Monday, April 18 on the Kendall Hall Main Stage, the nonprofit movement To Write Love on Her Arms came to the College. According to its website, the movement’s goal to spread awareness about the importance of giving hope and help to people who are struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide.

“It’s really as simple as, how do we move people, how do we be

Ecofeminism class’ efforts revitalize Demonstration Garden

By Jamie Primeau Features Editor and Julia Corbett News Assistant

An informational session on ecofeminism kicked off the College’s early Earth Day celebration, an all-day affair held on Wednesday, April 20.

Students from an ecofeminism course taught by Janet Gray, assistant professor of women’s and gender studies, led the forum. Gray gave her class a project, which she said was “intended as a second-level community engaged learning activity.”

Based on this assignment, the students developed a devotion to the Demonstration Garden on campus and decided to work in conjunction with the Bonner Center for Civic and Community Engagement after speaking to the center’s associate director, Paula

Delisa O’Brien / Staff Photographer

Students from Janet Gray’s ecofeminism class get their hands dirty in the Demonstration Garden. The class worked with the Bonner Center to revive the garden this semester.

Figueroa-Vega.

According to Gray, the group aimed to raise awareness and funds for the garden.

“Actually, I didn’t have much to do with it,” Gray said, “besides give them the assignment to put together an eco-

Rock ’n’ roll avalanche Vinnie Caruana of I Am the Avalanche played the Rat. See tcnjsignal.net

Senegurl says goodbye Laura Herzog writes her final column from Senegal.

See Features page 13

adventure and get involved.”

She explained how the students took the project into their own hands and created a day filled with pow-wows that explored environmental issues. There was also a film screening and raffle.

The group began its discussion

with an open-ended question: What is ecofeminism?

Brad Gilbert, junior English and women’s and gender studies double major, defined it as “the study of the environment from a feminist point of view.”

For a more theoretical definition, the students agreed that is it the theory that all systems of oppression are somehow linked, creating a correlated relationship between oppression and nature.

Gilbert said that there is a notion that the environment needs to be controlled and that the earth is humanity’s for the taking.

Ecofeminists advocate a more holistic relationship with the environment, he said.

Specific novels read in class were discussed during the forum to further the students’ understanding of ecofeminism.

No love for Muhlenberg The tennis team defeated Muhlenberg College 8-1.

See Sports page 19

see EARTH page 12

INSIDE Nation & World Editorial Opinions Features Arts & Entertainment Sports

7 9 10 12 16 24

page 2 The Signal April 27, 2011

Women’s Center urges students to ‘Take Back the Night’

By Jamie Primeau Features Editor

Solitude and solace were two themes of the night as students gathered to reclaim a space free from sexual assault and violence and silently marched around campus on Wednesday, April 20.

Yet while some aspects of the evening were enveloped by a respectful hush, it was through shattering the silence and sharing their stories that survivors and supporters successfully “took back the night.”

“Take Back the Night” was introduced by its sponsors, who were members of the Women’s Center, as an “international event taking place for 30 years” and an annual occurrence at the College.

Startling statistics were shared as individuals stepped up to the podium in the Art and Interactive Multimedia (IMM) Building courtyard.

These included: “15 percent of sexual assault and rape victims are under 12” and “Every 10 minutes in the U.S., someone is sexually assaulted.”

It is through dialogue that guest speaker River Huston has come to terms with her experience.

“I often talk about being a survivor, and I always say to myself that it’s my least favorite

thing to do,” Huston said. “And the reason I continue to talk about it is because how life-changing it is, how absolutely and completely devastating sexual assault is … and to stand up here and tell you that you can survive.”

At age 14, she went from taking tequila shots and hitchhiking with a friend to being tossed naked out of a stranger’s car into the snow, and waking up in a hospital after having her stomach pumped.

For years after that, Huston looked to alcohol for comfort, but this only led to her internalization of self-hatred and depression, she said.

Since then, she has learned that one of the most healing and helpful routes is talking.

“What I am — I’m a writer, I’m a poet and I’m a painter. I’m a wife and a daughter. I’m a lot of things, and I happened to survive sexual assault, but I don’t let it define me,” she said.

Urging those in the crowd to not blame themselves or hold everything in, Huston said, “What I ask of you, go on a journey of healing. It’s worth it. Don’t negate it.

Don’t let it define you. Don’t limit your life by an experience.”

After Huston spoke, participants partook in a march around campus, showing solidarity and support for those who have experienced sexual assault.

Janika Berridge / Staff Photographer

A candlelight vigil commemorated victims of sexual assault during ‘Take Back the Night.’

In previous years, individuals chanted while walking, but this was the first year with a silent march.

According to Sharanya Mohanty, president of the Women’s Center, this change occurred after previous participants reported feeling “uncomfortable” and “selfconscious” about the chanting, since there was only a small group of them shouting around campus.

“We heard their opinions and are trying this method to see how it works out,” the senior psychology major said.

When they returned to the courtyard, students lit candles as

a dozen of their classmates — 11 females and one male — took to the podium and opened up about their own experiences with sexual assault. This open mic portion of the evening was introduced as “a place free from judging and fear.”

For a majority of the 12, sharing their stories was a first — whether it was the first time speaking out in front of a large crowd or literally the only time they opened up about the abuse.

“It was a really healing night for people who have been impacted by these issues and for people who are coming here to support them,”

Mohanty said. “It showed how important it is for you to be there for people when they need you the most.”

Wax dripped from the candles and tears were shed as students sat on the steps and listened to the speakers during the empowering evening.

A reading of “Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou concluded the event: “Leaving behind nights of terror and fear / I rise / Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear / I rise.”

Jamie Primeau can be reached at primeau2@tcnj.edu.

Lobbying / SG committee meets with 26 state legislators continued from page 1

good student lobbyist.”

L&G’s lobbying strategy has served it well over the past few months, though Block maintains that the model is a work in progress.

“We’re still tailoring and developing to this day,” he said.

The committee set aside several months to prepare for its first lobbying meeting and then hit the ground running.

“First semester was really planning — planning our strategy, tailoring what we need to do, and the first meeting … was in December,” Block said. “Second semester was all lobbying, all the time — testimony and budget testimony, legislative meetings … It’s gotten to the point where sometimes it’s four per week.”

L&G bases its strategy around the “Tell It Like It Is” campaign, which it has employed to collect stories such as the one featured during the Day of Action.

The committee sifts through these stories to find quotes that will stick with senators.

According to Block, L&G uses a mixture of L&G played a crucial part in the student stories and statistics to advocate for a introduction of S-2830, which allows for a 5 percent increase in aid to public colleges in three-year extension of the public-private New Jersey. partnership bill’s Sunset Clause. The clause “We sell ourselves as much as we sell facts grants public colleges access to funds in order and figures,” Block said. to undertake large-scale The committee has “We want to make building projects such as employed the model College’s Campus students aware that the at meetings with 26 Town project. legislators since Decem- we have a team of “We (had) been ber. L&G’s final legis- students lobbying on pushing it … when we lative meeting, scheduled met with Senate President for Thursday, April 28, their behalf.”

(Stephen) Sweeney, who will bring that number to is an original supporter …

28 by semester’s end.

— Brian Block, chair of It was introduced a week “A lot of the SG’s Legal & Governmental after we met with him,” (legislators) are very Block said. “It should Affairs committee speed through, especially enthusiastic about higher education,” Block said. “A after the budget hearings lot of times they’re very impressed … with that are going on right now.” our breadth of knowledge.”

According to Block, the extension would L&G has garnered more than just praise for give colleges until February 2015 to submit its lobbying efforts, however. Two bills might their projects if it is passed. be cycling through the legislative process a He was pleased with the bill’s introduction, little faster due to a push by L&G members. particularly because it showed a step toward

accomplishing goals laid out by former N. J. Gov. Tom Kean in his Higher Education Task Force report. “(S-2830 is) probably the first proposal to come out of the Higher Education Task Force report that’s been put into bill form at all, and it’s kind of through us that that happened,” Block said.

L&G was also instrumental in pushing A-3417, a bill that would eliminate tax on commuter parking passes at certain state institutions of higher education, including the College.

Much of L&G’s work takes place quietly.

Sometimes, brief legislative meetings and modest letter-signing tables in the student center seem to go unnoticed. Block hopes to change this. “(We want) to make students aware that they have a team of students lobbying on their behalf,” he said. “To make students aware that we’re working for them is really our first goal.”

Emily Brill can be reached at brill3@tcnj.edu.

Arms / Nonprofit founder Tworkowski talks suicide prevention continued from page 1

creative in presenting our message which is hope and help and community,” Tworkowski said.

Tworkowski explained how the movement, first seen as more of an art project than a charity, began as a story written about a friend’s struggle with addiction and self-injury.

In February 2006 in central Florida, Tworkowski met a girl named Renee through a friend. After hearing of the challenges she faced everyday with drugs, alcohol and cutting, Tworkowski helped her seek the rehab that she needed. In the process, Tworkowski asked Renee if he could write her story down, and with consent, he moved forward with “To Write Love on Her Arms.”

“Renee is 19. When I meet her, cocaine is fresh in her system. She hasn’t slept in 36 hours and she won’t for another 24,” Tworkowski’s story read. “Six hours after I meet her, she is feeling trapped, two groups of ‘friends’ offering opposite ideas. Everyone is asleep. The sun is rising. She drinks long from a bottle of liquor, takes a razor blade from the table and locks herself in the bathroom. She cuts herself, using the

blade to write ‘FUCK UP’ large across her left forearm.”

According to Tworkowski, it was a story written to help her understand there was a “purpose for her pain,” and that maybe others would be able to relate and learn that a “better life is possible.”

Prior to the start of his nonprofit, Tworkowski was living a life he had dreamed about since his childhood.

As the Florida state sales rep for the surf companies Quicksilver and then Hurley by age 22, Tworkowski was making over $100,000 a year.

Four years later, while attending a conference in California for the company, Tworkowski and the other sales reps from around the U.S. learned one of their colleagues from Virginia Beach, Zeke, had committed suicide.

“Zeke was great at surfing, fishing,” Tworkowski said. “He had great style. He was alive. And he struck me as happy.”

Tworkowski discussed the idea of a type of suicide prevention campaign through the Hurley corporation, but received negative feedback from one of the vice presidents at the time.

“He said there was no such thing,” Tworkowski said.

“Nothing anyone could do about it. No one could have stopped (Zeke), and I was disappointed (by his response).”

Tworkowski quit not long after that conversation. It was only weeks later that he met Renee and was able to work on that suicide prevention campaign for someone.

With the help of MySpace and alternative-rock bands Switchfoot and Anberlin, Tworkowski’s movement took off and gained followers from all over the country.

Today, TWLOHA has received messages from over 160,000 people from over 100 countries worldwide.

Tworkowski and his team have collected and donated over $850,000 to treatment.

“Being characters in our own stories can be lonely,” Tworkowski said. “People need other people. Maybe all of us have a lot more in common than we realize. We’re all human.”

For more information on the To Write Love on Her Arms movement, go to TWLOHA.com.

Hilarey Wojtowicz can be reached at wojtowi3@tcnj.edu.

April 27, 2011 The Signal page 3

Seniors receive resources for learning beyond graduation

By Katie Brenzel Managing Editor

accounts to Gmail — planned for May 18 — is being done with alumni in mind.

“We think it’s really important to keep a connection With graduation looming, members of the class to our alumni and Google Apps for Education will of 2011 may be grappling with their imminent new allow us to do that as well,” the College’s website roles as “real” people. While the College says. “With this change, our alumni can doesn’t necessarily provide definitive “We encourage keep a tcnj.edu e-mail account for life.” guidance for this, it does provide who graduated in May 2008 you (students) stillStudents graduates with an identity in relation to possess Zimbra accounts, Sivy said, to be life-long which will be changed automatically to itself: alumni.

As an alumnus of the College, the learners.”

Gmail accounts. resources available to you are different Alumni who don’t currently use — Taras Zimbra accounts will be given the than as a student. According to Shawn Sivy, director of Network and Technical Pavlovsky, opportunity to sign up for Google Apps Services at the College, students are summer, according to Sivy. He also dean of the this shifted to alumni status after graduation said other services may be available to Library alumni in the future. as part of the Identity Management System (TIMS) — the program that “We are considering additional services manages students’ network identities. This translates for the future that may be beneficial to alumni, such as to terminated access to the College’s network. access to the campus wireless network,” he said.

Alumni retain access to PAWS and myTCNJ in As an alumnus, access to the Library changes order to request and view transcripts, Sivy said in as well. After graduation students can register with an e-mail. However, he also said that only students Alumni Affairs in Green Hall 211 for their alumni “actively taking courses” can access SOCS. cards, which grant alumni library privileges, outlined The anticipated conversion of student e-mail at tcnj.edu/~library/info/borrowing.html.

According to Taras Pavlovsky, dean of the Library, access to databases such as EBSCOhost and JSTOR, with which the College currently has license agreements, ends upon graduation, as dictated by these contracts. However, as the College is a public institution, alumni, like anyone, are able to walk into the Library and use the facilities. According to Pavlovsky, the reason the College doesn’t provide alumni with access to these databases is because, financially, it can’t.

“We encourage you (students) to be life-long learners … If there were a way to provide it (databases) we would,” he said.

Pavlovsky said that the Library plans to incorporate a citation-generating program, RefWorks, into its repertoire of databases, which will be accessible to alumni as well, as the company’s licensing agreement includes alumni as registered users. Currently, students can visit the Library’s website to sign up for a trial of the program.

For additional information regarding alumni resources, visit the Alumni Association Benefits and Services page at community.tcnj.edu.

Katie Brenzel can be reached at brenzel2@tcnj.edu.

Economic class gap affecting poverty rates in N.J.

By Allie Amendolia Staff Writer

Poverty is a growing issue and it is closer than we may think, according to speakers at an April 20 forum. With the city of Trenton battling poverty, students and faculty at the College

Abby Hocking / Photo Assistant

Herb Levine speaks on the growing poverty rates in the state and the U.S.

may not understand the ways in which we can help combat this issue that is affecting our own neighbor.

The Bonner Center for Civic and Community Engagement sponsored the “Fight Against Poverty” forum last Wednesday evening to discuss the ways in which poverty is affecting our community.

“It wasn’t always the way it is now,” said Herb Levine, executive director of the Mercer Alliance to End Homelessness. “There was a norm that was in the middle.”

According to Levine, this “norm” is the concept of a middle class that is shrinking, with more and more people falling into poverty or narrowly rising into the wealthy sphere.

“There is a squeeze,” said Alan Lichtenstein, co-director of the Poverty Research Institute of Legal Services of New Jersey, who gave the presentation, “Poverty Benchmarks 2011: Assessing New Jersey’s Progress in Combating Poverty.”

“You get people falling into poverty and a small segment of the population becoming more wealthy,” Lichtenstein said.

According to his presentation, the startling figures that face the College’s bordering city are almost double the national rate of 14.3 percent. Trenton’s poverty rate stands at 26.8 percent.

Abby Hocking / Photo Assistant

Elizabeth Borland (left) and Joyce Campbell (right) spoke on the need for change in our economy through protesting and lobbying.

Levine noted poverty trends in our state dating back to 1980, when President Ronald Reagan changed the tax law in America.

Elizabeth Borland, associate professor of sociology at the College and a member of the forum panel, said that the economy in our country, and specifically in our state, is set up in a way that “benefits few at the expense of many” with high taxes and a “downright stingy” public assistance program. “‘Taxes’ became a dirty, six-letter word, and ‘poverty’ denoted those people,” Levine said.

Joyce Campbell, director of community and government relations for the Catholic Charities, Diocese of Trenton, was also on the panel.

Campbell and Borland spoke on the need for advocacy to effect change, which could be in the form of lobbying, voting, researching, litigating, organizing or protesting.

Levine spoke once more on the way that this poverty issue will affect students at the College.

“Your generation inherits this mess that previous generations created,” Levine said. “The question is, what are you going to do about it?”

Birds evolve through eggs and songs, nature vs. nurture

By Melisa Easaw Staff Writer

Spring is here, and with more and more birds chirping around campus, the College held an informative presentation last week on the evolution of this animal.

On Wednesday, April 20, in Science Complex room 101, the College’s department of biology sponsored a presentation titled “The Convoluted Evolution of Behavior: Insights from Birds Eggs and Songs.” The speaker, biology professor David Lahti of Queens College, informed students and faculty of the internal and external factors that affect the development of two specific species of birds that he had studied.

The presentation showed Weavers evolved certain those in attendance how these characteristics to prevent bird species’ traits evolved and that from happening. The four how internal factors (nature) characteristics Lahti described and external ones (nurture) are are: individual distinctiveness of interconnected. eggs, consistency of eggs within The first study that Lahti a clutch (a group of eggs fertilized presented focused at the same time), on the African complexity of the village weaver bird “Swamp sparrows eggs’ designs and and the Diederik develop songs by a refined ability cuckoos that rely imitation — unless to distinguish on weavers to host between foreign their young. After they can do better.” eggs and a weaver’s cuckoos hatch in own eggs. weavers’ nests, “Evolutionary — David Lahti, changes in egg they push the weaver eggs out, biology professor, color affected killing the unborn Queens College weavers’ ability birds. to recognize their “If a cuckoo own eggs, which parasitizes a weaver, the weaver’s in turn had an effect on the birds’ reproductive attempt will be a ability to reject eggs,” Lahti total failure,” Lahti said. said. Because weavers evolved

the ability to reject foreign eggs, they became better at preventing cuckoos from parasitizing them.

Some weavers migrated to Mauritius 100 years ago and to Hispaniola 200 years ago, Lahti said. Because cuckoos are not present in either of these areas, weavers there do not exhibit the first three traits listed above.

“Unparisitized relatives don’t have the capacities of weavers who have come in contact with cuckoos,” Lahti said. “Village weaver eggs became less distinctive and more variable within a clutch without the cuckoo.”

According to Lahti, the weaver study demonstrates the relationship between nature and nurture because the innate characteristic — egg color — directly affected the learned characteristic of increased

recognition ability.

The second study centered on how male swamp sparrows learn songs that they use to attract females.

Lahti explained that female sparrows prefer faster songs, which are harder for males to sing. During his study, Lahti exposed male sparrows to slow songs, but then sped up the songs in order to make them more attractive to females.

“Swamp sparrows develop songs by imitation — unless they can do better,” Lahti said.

“Male sparrows don’t simply imitate — they have unlearned biases toward learning more attractive songs and improving songs. The males’ tendency to improve the songs they heard suggests an adaptive learning bias.”

page 4 The Signal April 27, 2011

April 27, 2011 The Signal page 5

Voting rights bill denied, motor club approved

By Emily Brill Arts & Entertainment Editor

A bill granting voting privileges to the student trustee and alternate student trustee of Student Government sparked an animated debate among members of the general body during last week’s SG meeting. The bill ultimately failed.

SG also passed a bill increasing its oversight of clubs and granted club status to TCNJ Motor Club last week, during its final business meeting of the semester.

Bill S2011-09 met contention from the general body after being introduced by its author, senior political science major Thomas Little, student trustee.

Vice President of Legal and Governmental Affairs Brian Block explained the bill.

“This act gives the student trustee and alternate student trustee the right to vote on anything that comes before the general body,” said Block, senior political science major.

Currently, Little and Randi Lynn Veenstra, junior history major and alternate student trustee, only hold voting privileges at Board of Trustees meetings.

According to Little, student trustees originally had the ability to vote on issues that came before both SG and the Board of Trustees. However, their SG voting privileges were rescinded in the 1990s due to a perceived conflict of interest.

“If there was an issue that came before the general body and the Trustees, it was seen as the trustees getting two votes,” Little said.

Executive Vice President Corey

Dwyer, junior political science major, argued that restoring the trustees’ right to vote at SG meetings would give rise to the same issue.

“There is something very important to be said for the trustees to be neutral,” Dwyer said. “The trustees are by nature supposed to be independent of a lot of other aspects of SG.” Little argued that the student trustees, who attend both Board of Trustees meetings and weekly SG meetings, should be allowed a voice in both governing bodies.

“I feel that the trustees have a say in (SG) as long as they attend general body meetings,” Little said.

Vice President of Community Relations Trish Krug, senior early childhood education and Spanish double major, agreed.

“If they’re a member of this organization, they should be allowed to vote as an elected member,” Krug said.

Block dissented, holding that student trustees are not elected for the same purpose as senators and class council members.

“A (student trustee) is not a representative of students. We just elect the trustee. A trustee would not be voting for any constituency on an issue,” Block said. “(Trustee voting is) not allowed in government right now, and it shouldn’t be allowed in SG.” Bill S2011-09 required 75 percent of SG to vote in its favor in order to pass.

The bill failed after receiving 31 votes for it and 30 against it.

Before consideration of S2011-09 split the general body, SG unanimously passed a bill to hold clubs to firmer

Tom O’Dell / Photo Editor

The rights for student trustees to vote in both general body SG meetings and at the Board of Trustees meetings have been absent since the 1990s. standards and subject them to additional oversight.

The bill requires organizations attempting to obtain club status to contain a minimum of 10 members and plan to sponsor at least one event open to the student body.

To maintain club status, existing clubs now must complete an SG survey delineating their purpose and goals as an organization. The survey will be released next year, according to Senator of Culture and Society Amanda Esposito, senior history major and co-sponsor of the bill.

“We need to look at clubs a little closer,” said Senator-at-Large CJ Gutch, sophomore finance major.

SG also passed a club during last week’s meeting. TCNJ Motor Club gained club status by a unanimous vote.

The club sprang from its founders’ interest in cars and motor sports and

hopes to provide an outlet for other enthusiasts.

“We want to do things like start a defensive driving course on campus.

We’d also like to hold off-campus events ranging from … going go-carting … to going to motor sports parks in New Jersey,” said junior economics major Daniel Japa, who spoke on the club’s behalf along with junior accounting major Chris Piccione.

SG members familiar with the duo commended their passion for cars.

“They’re two of the biggest car freaks I know,” said junior class vice president and junior economics and political science double major Robert Poss.

Veenstra praised their plans to initiate a defensive driving course.

“That is going to be extremely useful for (students) on our campus,” Veenstra said.

Smells of marijuana, CUB requests money for Jack’s Mannequin textbook, Mac book and game systems stolen

By Jamie Primeau Features Editor Officers were dispatched to a room in Hausdoerffer Hall at approximately 11:27 p.m. on Friday, April 22, after the odor of a controlled dangerous substance was reported emanating from a room.

According to reports, when police arrived on the scene, they could smell burnt marijuana and knocked on the door to further investigate. The male who answered the door gave over a clear bag of greenish vegetation and was placed under arrest. …

A student’s Mac Book Pro computer went missing after he left it with its power cord inside his computer bag near a coat rack in the Music Building basement at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 19. When he returned around 8:20 p.m., the bag and the items inside were gone. The computer is valued at $1,800 and the charger was $80, reports said. …

A Playstation 3 and X-Box game system were taken from Brower Student Center room 237. According to police, this theft was reported by the Brower Student Center Manager at 10 a.m. on Thursday, April 14. …

At 10:15 a.m. on Wednesday, April 20, a male left his belongings at a table in the Library while going to use the bathroom and make a phone call, reports said.

After returning 10 minutes later, the male’s chemistry book was nowhere to be found, police said.

Jamie Primeau can be reached at primeau2@tcnj.edu.

Tom O’Dell / Photo Editor

CUB requested money for Jack’s Mannequin and Christina Perri as performers for the fall concert.

By Caroline Russomanno Editor-in-Chief

At the second-to-last Student Finance Board meeting of the semester, College Union Board requested a total of $72,000 for next semester’s fall concert. CUB plans to bid on piano-pop band Jack’s Mannequin as the headliner and Christina Perri as the opener. Jack’s Mannequin would cost an estimated $40,000 and Perri would cost $20,000, according to CUB representatives.

If those two acts are not available, CUB said, they would bid on acts such as Sara Bareilles, Dashboard Confessional, Regina Spektor or Ingrid Michaelson. The concert would take place in the Kendall Main Stage Theatre and those costs are included in the allotment. SFB voted unanimously to fund the bid.

“I like the concert because I don’t think we’ve had a soft and mellow concert in Kendall in three to four years … It’s been a lot of heavy stuff,” Warren Samlin, junior political science and finance double major and SFB

Emily Brill can be reached at brill3@tcnj.edu.

administrative director, said.

SFB Executive Director Brad Van Arnum, senior economics major, expanded upon this in an e-mail interview: “The board felt that the fall concert artists would offer a different type of music than what has been offered at the fall concert in recent years. Whereas CUB has brought more punk and hard rock bands in the last two years, Jack’s Mannequin is a quieter artist that can make novel use of Kendall Hall (his performance, as well as that of the opener, would feature a piano for example).”

SFB denied funding to CUB’s fall comedy show by tabling the motion, which CUB proposed would include Bo Burnham as the headliner at $25,000 and Jo Koy as the opener for $15,000.

“We just wanted to make sure that for $15,000, the opener would perform for longer than 30 minutes, since the $25,000 headliner was performing for at least a full hour,” Van Arnum said. “Since last Wednesday, CUB has contacted the (opener) they had selected and has confirmed that this person would be willing to perform for longer for $15,000.”

Other names CUB suggested for the show were Mike Birbuglia, Donald Glover and Ralphie May. Animal Rights New Jersey was allotted $379.75 for the rights to show the award-winning documentary “The Cove” today, in a venue that is yet to be announced.

SFB unanimously voted to fund CARIBSA, the Caribbean Student Association, in the future.

“I like this group a lot,” Garrett Hoffman, senior mathematics major and SFB equipment manager, said.

“I really like the events these groups put on … This is a culture a lot of people will get excited about.”

“CARIBSA seems to be a group that has already proven itself as an organization by holding interesting and well-attended events,” Van Arnum said. “They also have an event planned for early next year that they will be requesting (today), a bus trip to New York City.”

Her Campus TCNJ was denied future funding because, according to the executive board, the group did not have any exact events or reasons for funding decided yet.

Caroline Russomano can be reached at russoma4@tcnj.edu.

page 6 The Signal April 27, 2011

April 27, 2011 The Signal page 7

Nation & World

Anniversary of Chernobyl sparks controversy MOSCOW (AP) — Ex-Soviet governments are failing to protect their people from the deadly legacy of the Chernobyl disaster, former cleanup workers and environmental groups charged Monday on the eve of ceremonies commemorating the 25th anniversary of the worldʼs worst nuclear accident.

Russia, Ukraine and Belarus have cut the benefits packages for sickened cleanup workers in recent years, and many workers complained directly to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev as he handed them awards for their work at a ceremony in Moscow.

Officials in Bryansk, the Russian region most contaminated by the disaster, have failed to make necessary repairs at the local cancer hospital, worker Leonid Kletsov told the president.

“Itʼs the only place of rest for us,” he said.

The blast on April 26, 1986, spewed a cloud of radioactive fallout over much of Europe and forced hundreds of thousands from their homes in the most heavily hit areas in Ukraine, Belarus and western Russia. The disaster did not become public knowledge for several days, because Soviet officials released no information until 72 hours after the accident.

The explosion released about 400 times more radiation than the U.S. atomic bomb dropped over Hiroshima. Hundreds of thousands were sickened and once-pristine forests and farmland remain contaminated.

The U.N.ʼs World Health Organization said at a Kiev conference last week that among the 600,000 people most heavily exposed to radiation, 4,000 more cancer deaths than average are expected to be eventually found.

Chernobyl has come into renewed focus since an earthquake and tsunami triggered

a nuclear disaster in Japan last month, with the country still struggling to bring the radiation-spewing Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant under control.

Japanese newspapers Monday highlighted the significance of Chernobyl, with the major daily Mainichi running a frontpage article headlined: “25 years from Chernobyl accident: 30km-zone still banned from residence — 100 years for complete decommissioning.” Inside, it carried interviews with former residents who lived near the reactors.

The Asahi, meanwhile, interviewed a former Chernobyl worker under the headline: “Fukushima, donʼt tread the same route.”

For many, the experiences of the people of Belarus, Russia and Ukraine present vivid examples of long-term government mishandling of nuclear catastrophe.

The government of Belarus says natural disintegration of radioactive materials such as strontium and cesium has allowed the replanting of nearly 40,000 acres (16,000 hectares) of formerly contaminated fields.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko toured some of those farms on Monday, declaring that “Weʼve saved these lands.”

Environmentalist say the fields remain unsafe and the products grown there pose a direct threat to human health.

“Authorities are covering up the facts.

Contaminated products go straight to the dinner tables of Belarusians,” said Irina Sukhiy, head of the environmental group Ekodom. “There are no clean territories — radiation has spread across the country.”

Vladimir Volodin, a Green Party activist, accused the Belarusian authorities of classifying the statistics of diseases in contaminated areas.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich

AP Photo

Chernobyl nuclear power plant photographer Anatoly Rasskazov is pictured above two months before the April 26, 1986 explosion.

Rasskazov was the first photographer to take photographs of the Chernobyl disaster. and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill planned to commemorate the victims of the nuclear accident with prayers and candle-lighting in Kiev on Monday night before traveling to the Chernobyl station on Tuesday. A 19-mile (30-kilometer) area around the plant has been uninhabited except for occasional plant workers and several hundred local people who returned to their homes despite official warnings.

Soviet authorities initially offered a generous package of benefits to Chernobyl cleanup workers. But over time the benefits have been cut back.

About 2,000 veterans of the Chernobyl cleanup rallied in Kiev earlier this month to protest cuts in their benefits and pensions after Ukraineʼs Yanukovich said fulfilling the past promises to Chernobyl workers

was “beyond the governmentʼs strength” amid the financial downturn.

Chernobyl veterans in Belarus are facing similar cuts. Authorities in Minsk prohibited a Chernobyl-dedicated march throughout the city, restricting it to a small rally.

Evgeny Akimov, a nuclear engineer and the former head of the Chernobyl containment facility, said he is convinced that the scale of the disaster at the Fukushima plant is far smaller since “no fuel has been discharged outside the reactor vessels.”

An international donors conference in Kiev last week raised 550 million euros ($798 million) of the 740 million euros needed to build a new shelter over the Chernobyl plant and a storage facility for spent fuel.

Health care bill review denied News Bits WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a call Monday from Virginiaʼs attorney general to depart from its usual practice and put review of the health care law on a fast track.

Instead, judicial review of President Barack Obamaʼs signature legislation will continue in federal appeals courts.

The Supreme Court justices turned down a request by Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, a leading opponent of the law, to resolve questions about its constitutionality quickly.

The Obama administration opposed Cuccinelliʼs plea.

Only rarely, in wartime or a constitutional crisis, does the court step into a legal fight before the issues are aired in appellate courts. Hearings already are scheduled in May and June in three appeals courts.

The case still could reach the high court in time for a decision by early summer 2012.

Cuccinelli said he asked for speedy review to end “crippling and costly uncertainty” about the law.

“Expediting our case would have been the exception and

AP Photo

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius speaks in Seattle on Feb. 2011. so, although disappointing, this is not surprising,” he said.

Justice Elena Kagan apparently took part in the courtʼs order Monday, as there was no announcement that any justice sat out.

There had been questions about whether she would participate because she served as Obamaʼs solicitor general when the law was

passed. Kagan indicated in Senate testimony last year that she played no role in the administrationʼs planning and handling of challenges to the law.

So far, five federal judges have ruled on challenges to the law. Two Republican appointees, in Florida and Virginia, have declared it unconstitutional in whole or in part. Three Democratic

appointees, in Michigan, Virginia and Washington, D.C., have upheld it.

Cuccinelli filed suit on behalf of Virginia, while 26 states joined in a separate lawsuit in Florida claiming that Congress exceeded its authority in requiring citizens to buy health insurance or pay a penalty starting in 2014.

In December of 2010, U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson in Richmond declared that the individual mandate, the heart of the sweeping legislation, is unconstitutional.

Florida U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson came to the same conclusion in January in striking down the law in its entirety. Both rulings have been put on hold pending appeals.

In the meantime, both the federal and state governments have begun to put in place other parts of the law, including payment rate changes under the Medicare system for elderly and disabled Americans. There is also a provision allowing children up to the age of 26 to remain on their parentsʼ respective health insurance policies.

Forces loyal to Yemenʼs embattled president opened fire on protesters in the city of Sanaa, Monday, killing two and wounding dozens at various protests, activists said. The latest violence came as a Gulf Arab proposal for President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down appears increasingly doomed, raising prospects of more bloodshed and instability in a nation already beset by deep poverty and conflict.

Taliban insurgents spent more than five months building a 1,050-foot tunnel to the main prison in southern Afghanistan. Sunday the diggers spent 4 1/2 hours ferrying away more than 480 inmates without a shot being fired, according to the Taliban and Afghan officials.

The reported first quarter Netflix earnings soar on a gain of 3.6 million customers.

Scott May, a 23-year-old British stunt man, died during a “daredevil” stunt show in southern England. Police said they believe the death was caused by the safety net “failing to engage.”

Information from AP Exchange

page 8 The Signal April 27, 2011

Join the fun! Go to https://gtools.tcnj.edu

April 27, 2011 The Signal page 9

Editorial

Fond farewells to The Signal

For the last three years, I didn’t exist to the world on Mondays. I left my room in the morning and told my friends I’d see them Tuesday. I’d emerge from the bowels of the Student Center at ungodly hours and stagger back to the soundtrack of birds just waking up.

Goddamn birds.

I don’t want to say The Signal made my “college experience” — whatever that really means — but it did. I seriously considered transferring my freshman year and raged a passive aggressive war against the College. I don’t want to say that The Signal was a major reason for my decision against this, but it was. I’m sure to some this seems like a fairly pathetic reason. I don’t care. Sure, my résumé is better for the experience. Which is great. (PLEASE HIRE ME!) But also, it provided me with a place at the College. I know, sappy. I even contemplated adopting a minor to avoid graduating a year early, so that I could take on the position of Editor-in-Chief. Admittedly, I’m not sure I’m ready to leave The Signal.

I’ve met some of the most intelligent, ambitious and insane people at The Signal; people I greatly respect and consider my friends. I will miss our C-Store runs, and I will miss scolding them about correct comma usage. And, perhaps most of all, I will miss the 3 a.m. versions of these people. You’d be surprised how your peers’ personalities morph at this hour. For instance, you may all discover that narwhals are the most magnificent creatures on the planet and deserve a place of honor everywhere. BECAUSE THEY DO. Despite how much I complained, despite the insomnia and caffeine-induced squiggle vision each Monday brought, I believe that The Signal has defined my time at TCNJ — that’s right, TCNJ, not the College. Good luck to the new staff — I know you all will continue doing a stellar job. Keep microwaving lions, braving the Oregon Trail and always honor “Narwhal time.” In other words: Stay brilliant, stay weird.

— Katie Brenzel How has The Signal changed my life? Let me count the ways.

It took me off the fast track to a teaching job and happy days because a certain Joe said “What are you doing down here?” and so I decided to become a journalism major – a new career!

Since Christie cut school funding, that doesn’t matter now; I don’t think I really want to be a journalist anyhow.

I’ll be a starving artist or perhaps a PR rep, but one thing’s for sure: No matter what, my Signal memories will help me endure.

There will always be a little Jeff, dancing in my heart, Todd will be reading literature and picking it apart, Bobby will always wear that light blue hat in my mind, and Jamie will be making outfits for Roger with whatever she can find.

Brandon knows his sports; Alyssa was always ready with Opinions.

Tom took amazing photos and recruited awesome photo minions.

Hilarey likes the Red Sox, but I still like her anyway.

Emily really came into her own and she’ll definitely have her day.

Matt’s a talented guy and I couldn’t have passed EIC to anyone better, Katie B has become like a sister to me and I will really miss her, But I know that all I have to do is click my heels together And I’ll be back in my home away from home, my beloved Signal lair.

It has truly been a life-changing experience, some bad, mostly good. But that little freshman is super happy that she decided to go to that interest session so long ago! Thank you for an awesome four years, guys. I’ll miss you all and I’ll never forget my time down in our basement.

— Caroline Russomanno

Editorial Content Unsigned editorial opinions are those of the Editorial Board, which consists of the Editor-in-Chief, the Managing, News, Features, Arts & Entertainment, Opinions, Photo and Sports editors and the Business Manager, unless otherwise noted.

Opinions expressed in signed editorials and letters to the editor are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Signal.

Tom O’Dell / Photo Editor

Editor-in-Chief Caroline Russomanno (far left) and Managing Editor Katie Brenzel (far right) bid a final goodbye, recalling long Mondays, time with friends and narwhals.

The Weekly Poll:

Quotes of the Week

Which excuse would you most likely use to get out of taking finals?

“The weather makes a huge difference, which is why many good sprinters run in the South“ — Miriam Khan, senior sprinter for women’s track and field.

* My horoscope told me not to. * I have contracted a horrible illness. * I’m going back to my home planet. * I DON’T KNOW!!!!! cast your vote @ tcnjsignal.net

Results of last week’s poll: 50% No. 30% Lies. He wasn’t here.

20% Yes. He’s hard to miss.

tcnjsignal.net Telephone:

Production Rm - (609) 771-2424 Business Office - (609) 771-2499 Fax: (609) 771-3433 E-mail: signal@tcnj.edu

Editorial Offices Caroline Russomanno Editor-in-Chief Katie Brenzel Managing Editor Matt Huston Hilarey Wojtowicz News Editors Brandon Gould Sports Editor Jamie Primeau Features Editor Emily Brill Arts & Entertainment Editor Alyssa Mease Opinions Editor Tom Ciccone Production Manager Tom O’Dell Photo Editor Cameron Prince Web Editor Daniel Pazos Nation & World Editor Emilie Lounsberry Advisor Jillian Polak

“They’re two of the biggest car freaks I know,” — Robert Poss, junior class vice president and economics and political science double major.

Mailing Address:

The Signal c/o Brower Student Center The College of New Jersey P.O. Box 7718 Ewing, NJ 08628-0718

Juliana Fidler Jeff Roman Copy Editors Bobby Olivier Senior Editor Alex Wolfe Sports Assistant Abby Hocking Kate Stronczer Photo Assistant Shaun Fitzpatrick Arts & Entertainment Assistant Business Office Brian Holaday Business/Ad Manager Graphic Artists Lauren Moe SFB and SG Keryn Brenzel Ratmosphere and RYE Jamie Primeau Study abroad Robert Catona Local Music Spotlight

“What I ask of you, go on a journey of healing. Don’t negate it. Don’t let it define you. Don’t limit your life by an experience,” — River Huston, speaker at ‘Take Back the Night.’

April 27, 2011 The Signal page 10

Opinions The Signal says ...

Stop: forgetting to clean the bathroom, putting off studying for finals, making rash decisions, driving too fast around the loop.

Caution: summer vacation plans, giant hats, getting caught in the rain, tanning in front of the Towers, reading days, playoff basketball, hockey.

Go: piña coladas (if you’re of age), have a picnic in the park, play volleyball in front of the Towers, use excess points at the C-Store.

Policies The Signal is published weekly during the academic year and is financed by the Student Activities Fee (SAF) and advertising revenue. Any student may submit articles to The Signal. Publication of submitted articles is at the discretion of the editors.

The letters section is an open forum for opinions. Submissions that announce events or advertise in any way will not be printed. All letters should be sent via e-mail to signal@tcnj.edu. Handwritten letters should be sent to The Signal, c/o The Brower Student Center, The College of New Jersey, PO Box 7718 Ewing, N.J. 08628 or placed in our mailbox in the Student Life Office.

Letters must be received by the Friday before publication and should not exceed 300 words.

The Signal reserves the right to edit letters for space and clarity.

All letters must be signed, with a phone number and address of the author. Requests to withhold the author’s name will be honored only if there is a legitimate reason.

All materials submitted become the sole property of The Signal. The editors reserve the right to edit or withhold all articles, letters & photographs.

The Signal willingly corrects factual mistakes. If you think we have made an error, please contact The Signal at (609) 771-2424, write to the address listed above or e-mail us at signal@tcnj.edu.

American recession a part of capitalism

By Frank Orlich

Ronald Reagan once quipped, “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.’” At a time of bailouts, regulations, and agencies overseeing every action we take, every product we buy, and attempting to control every action of our lives, Mr. Reagan’s words may never be truer.

Worse than the actions our government has taken in response to the economic meltdown is the response by citizens. Rather than allow the economy to correct itself, as it has done time and time again, Americans hit the panic button. Not all that surprising of a response; fear has lead people to do crazier things. Yet, when most realize that they acted out of fear and that the decisions they have made were wrong, they attempt to correct the problem, fix their mistakes, and go back to the way things were.

Still, most Americans are up in arms about the income inequality, the ever-increasing gap between rich and poor. Few realize that a large Gini ratio (the statistical measurement of income inequality) actually enables economic growth by promoting innovation and competition. Think about it — a more equal distribution of income (everybody makes a relatively similar amount) halts competition. Why should anybody fight for a better job or a higher salary if the government is simply going to intervene and make the differences negligible? Historically, countries with higher income inequality ratios have higher rates of economic growth.

Even fewer realize that the widening gap and the disappearance of the middle class is more statistical than real and is the result of basic market forces. The most transformative modernization, the Internet, generates a fairly high output, with a low level of input.

General Motors at one point employed over 600,000 people. Facebook has over 500 million customers and is supported by a staff of only 2000.

I’m not arguing that the loss of a middle class is not a problem, or that income inequality should be ignored, but rather that they are the result of economic forces. Improvements in productivity have undermined the need for

AP Photo

Ronald Reaganʼs words echo in the hearts of Americans who look to his legacy for guidance through the recession. low - to middle-skill labor. The economy acts in odd ways, but it always seems to correct itself eventually. My argument is simply this: place your trust in the market and it will be okay.

I can already hear the critics. Yes, I know how much the top .1 percent of Americans make. Yes, I agree that the top .1 percent are not working 80 times harder, and thus do not deserve 80 times more wealth than everyone else. And yes, I know the economy got us into this mess and it’s tough to trust it now.

We as Americans thought we were richer than we were. We operated under this delusion that America was the global hegemon, and no one could ever threaten our power, security, and most of all, our economy. We grew accustomed to habitual increases in propensity, as if they were guaranteed to us by some divine right. It’s why many bought lavish houses on a low income. It’s why many played the stock market game. We thought we were untouchable, that our purchases could never hurt us, that we could do no wrong.Americans need to

realize that recession is a part of capitalism, and though it hurts now, the pain will eventually go away. This is the primary point of economist Tyler Cowen’s new book, “The Great Stagnation: How America Ate All the Low-Hanging Fruit of Modern History, Got Sick, and Will (Eventually) Feel Better.” In it, Cowen writes, “Given that bubbles have popped in just about every asset market, and in many different countries, we can only understand the financial crisis by looking at some pretty fundamental and pretty general factors.

It’s not about a single set of bad decisions or a single group of evil or misguided people. It’s not Republicans or Democrats or farmers or bankers or old people or young people or stupid people or Christians or Muslims.”

The bottom line here is that everyone played their part in getting into this problem.

Instead of trying to figure who to blame or who to elect, rather than attacking what has been a staple of our country since its founding, I for one would contend that it’s much more important to find a way out.

Signal What are you running from this summer?

Spotlight

“The Past.”

“The Present.”

“The Future.”

“Godzilla.”

—Ian Bakst, junior mechanical engineering major

—Kelly Lisanti, sophomore English secondary education major

—Nikki Poiesz, junior English major

—Moses Pak, freshman chemistry major

Do you need people to listen to you? E-mail pazos2@tcnj.edu next semester with your opinions.

April 27, 2011 The Signal page 11

Graduation brings thoughtful reflections No student is an island.

Many of us would like to believe that once the minivan is unpacked and we are left at the College, alone and Bobby Olivier finally unsupervised, that all chains linking us to the past break off and we begin a brand new, independent lifestyle. This is partially true, as college is often about trying new things, turning over new leaves and branching out (sorry for the back-toback tree metaphors), but it comes to a point where the unadulterated fun comes to an end, and we need to reflect a little on who has helped us get to where we are.

For me, the time is now. Graduation was politely knocking a few weeks ago.

Now, I can count my remaining days on my fingers and toes. The knocking has turned to pounding as G-Day longs to break down my front door and fill my house with post-college monotony. I can hear it from upstairs. Itʼs yelling for me to get a job and asking for a final headcount of who is coming to my funeral — I mean — graduation party. I think it said something about a sale on polo shirts and slacks at Kohlʼs.

I have turned up the music to drown out graduationʼs nagging, and as I sit in my room, trying to ignore the sounds of the rest of my life, I cannot help but consider my support system over the past four years. I would be wandering blindly through the bamboo forest, trying to find my way back to the dorms without it. Most people are lucky enough to have the same thing: a network of family, friends, professors and other students who have cheered our accomplishments and kept us going through collegeʼs hardships.

Luckily for me, the Collegeʼs small

AP Photo

With graduation coming on quickly, seniors spend time reflecting on their past years and where life will take them. journalism department has led to the construction of strong relationships with two professors, with whom I have shared a combined total of seven classes.

Both have taught me plenty in the traditional professor sense, but I would say that I have learned more through candid conversations in their offices over pieces of bite-sized chocolate and good-natured Phillies-ribbing. Most students find at least one professor to act as a sort of mentor and adviser for them, providing guidance in and out of class, and I would be nowhere without the boatloads of advice given to me about paper topics, internships and my next move at The Signal. Their seasoned words have been invaluable.

Also a product of a small department has been the ability to build bonds between my fellow journalism cronies

and me. Most of us have had almost all of our major requirements together, and when the going gets tough and papers begin to form piles, we have always had each other, from intro classes to our capstone, to help with ideas and most importantly, bitch and moan like there is no tomorrow. I know these major-based cliques to be true of other departments as well, but with such a tight-knit group of lovably pissy writers, my example is a little extreme. I have sat next to, behind or in front of one student in particular for nine different classes in four years, and both of us would be considerably lost without the other. We knew each other in high school, and I can recall a hug of relief on move-in day, as if to say, “We made it to college.” At our graduation parties, there will be another hug: “We made it out of college.”

These relationships built at the College are great, but honestly, family support has been the main proponent of whatever success I have achieved here.

Most of us can relate to the fact that I cannot even begin to list all that has been done for me during my college career, but it can probably be summed up as mounds of food and miles of rides back and forth to school, not to mention my mother signing her life away on student loans with me so I could come here in the first place.

All of that is important, but the support of always having someone willing to listen to my bad days, being excited for my good days and being able to cheer me up on days in between has really been my driving force. My family, namely my mom and grandparents, have never once doubted that I would succeed in college, even when I was ready to give up and play Mario Kart for the rest of my life. They always pushed me to go a little further, and to try a little harder, and now as I write my final article for the college newspaper that has controlled my life for the last few years, I am writing to say “thank you.” “Thank you” to my family, “thank you” to my friends, “thank you” to my professors and “thank you” to anyone else who has gotten me this far. You are the best and I will try not to let you down.

I walked down Nassau Street in Princeton on Friday night, “ooh”ing and “ahh”ing at the universityʼs stoic structures. I jokingly said to my friend with feigned depression, “Why couldnʼt we be privileged and go to Princeton?”

I am as privileged as anyone. I hope that you are too.

I just turned down my music. I canʼt hear graduation anymore. Maybe it left me alone for good? Did it finally break in?

I better go check.

Student urges campus to eat local food

By Brian Block Sitting at my desk in Trenton City Hall at 2 p.m. last Tuesday, I wondered to myself where I could grab a satisfying lunch in less than 20 minutes. It then hit me that right across the street was a little inconspicuous pizza parlor that I hadnʼt yet tried out. To make a long story short, Latino Americano Pizza — generically humorous name and all — was a terrific choice, with its very large and tasty slices of specialty penne vodka pizza. In, out, very cheap and unique is how I can best put my experience — risking the invitation of sexual jokes, of course.

A few weeks back, I enjoyed a shrimp quesadilla with rice and beans that puts every one of Taco Bellʼs menu items to shame, and as a college kid guilty of late night trips to North Olden Avenue, I would know.

Where did this crustacean meal come from, you ask?

Chapala II Mexican Grill over in Trentonʼs South Ward.

As I write this, I am digesting an unparalleled meal of red snapper, mac nʼ cheese, and plantains from my housemateʼs favorite place to eat in Trenton, Sunshine Restaurant, which features authentic Jamaican cuisine.

The price for this two-meal-sized feast … 10 dollars flat.

Why am I recanting my eating habits in the campus paper? Well, the point of recanting my eating habits

AP Photo

ewingdiner.com

Eating at local restaurants in the Trenton area can be just as satisfying as fast-food chains. is that we cannot so soon forget the lesson that “Eat Trenton” bestowed upon us only a month ago: there are top of the line, affordable eateries in the town over, if we are just willing to get past our irrational fears and give them a try. Not only should you and your friends go out one night soon and patronize one the many restaurants in Trenton because they are better than the generic crap on Route 1, but

you should do it because these restaurants and the locals that own them need you to survive and eventually to thrive. Personally, I am sick of getting Facebook invitations to organization fundraisers held at Applebees and Wendyʼs. Not only is the food that these types of places not quality, but often it is expensive and unhealthy. I donʼt care about half-price appetizers and the dollar menu. Try something outside the box and get more bang for your buck.

Chain restaurants do not need your money, I promise you. The various untapped, family-owned eating establishments, on the other hand, do. Diversify your meal selection — eat Polish, eat Jamaican, heck, eat American, but do it in Trenton. As an institution of higher education, we have to practice what we preach. We all wish to see a turnaround in many of New Jerseyʼs inner cities, but to see such events, as the next generation of leaders, we have to take it upon ourselves to do the little things that can go a long way towards this goal. Spend some money in Trenton, and not just at KatManDu. You will not regret it, and you will certainly go back for more. Visit the TrentonDowntown Associationʼs website at trenton-downtown. com/eatandshop, for a full list of restaurants and their addresses. And while youʼre at it, wear some the College apparel while eating to show the staff that our school is going to come through for them.

Is it Friday? Are you winning? Should you write for the opinions section of The Signal? If you answered ʻyesʼ to any of these questions, e-mail pazos2@tcnj.edu

page 12 The Signal April 27, 2011

Features

Earth / Uprooting stigmas of environmental issues

Delisa O’Brien / Staff Photographer

Janet Gray’s class created a recycling clothesline display in the Library as a part of its class project. continued from page 1 Literature included Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring,” which can be credited for catalyzing the environmentalist movement in the United States, and “Soil Not Oil and Manifestos on the Future of Food and Seed” by Vandana Shiva.

The review of these readings sparked a discussion about preservatives and the mass production of food.

There was particular emphasis placed on Monsanto’s prominence in the food and farming industry due to its high yielding cost yet negative effect on the environment.

Monsanto’s website claims its objective is to work with farmers by selling crop protection chemicals and seeds developed by biotechnology.

Another topic covered was the effect of capitalism on the environment. According to Gilbert, capitalism teaches against environmental value.

“We need to stop trying to control nature. Nature is going to outlast us,” he said.

The students made a call to change priorities in regard to food production.

“We’re addicted to the convenience of modern culture,” Gilbert said.

After the introductory discussion, Winnie Fatton of Sustainable Jersey, a web-based certification program for communities that wish to become environmentally friendly, spoke to the students.

Fatton, who also serves on the College President’s Climate Commitment Committee, talked about the development of Green Teams and how communities come together and complete certain requirements to attain either bronze or silver municipality levels of achievements.

“It’s a free program, but it does cost time,” Fatton said, which she explained makes it more difficult for poorer municipalities to spend time completing the program — essentially, time is money and it is done on a volunteer basis.

Lauren Serrano, senior international studies major, spoke about her experience as a vegan during an informal interaction with fellow vegans and others interested in moving beyond the stereotypes associated with this lifestyle choice.

A Bonner Scholar, Serrano

became a vegan because of stomach problems.

To her surprise, she found flavor and satisfaction in the diet that she said some assume is only the eating habit of extremists who wish to protect animals and must pursue a flavorless diet.

“One of the stereotypes is if you’re a (vegan or vegetarian), you’re giving up everything that tastes good,” Serrano said. But she’s learned otherwise.

She recommended one of her personal favorites, the Cinnamon Snail, a vegan food truck that is in the New York, Hoboken and Red Bank area, where even the cutlery is made of recyclables.

A grassroots group furthered its cause by holding a forum on marijuana legalization, advocating a branch of Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) at the College.

Sophomore history major Caitlin Kelleher led the discussion. She said she understood that the legal status of marijuana is “not going to change within the next four years” but wants to “work with the system” in order to dispel the stigmas attached to marijuana as well as to legalize

the drug for national financial gains.

Kelleher stressed a generational gap between the people in Congress enforcing drug laws and college students. The younger generation is more inclined to advocate legalization, she said, but the older generation still comprises Congress.

“Marijuana criminalization is so ingrained,” Kelleher said. “It can’t be legalized (yet).”

Kelleher and her audience members, including Gilbert, highlighted the benefits of hemp as a “cash crop.”

“You can make building materials and clothing out of hemp,” Gilbert said.

“We need a call for reform of the legal system,” Kelleher said.

“We need to tax (marijuana) and get the money flowing.”

She furthered her financial point by rhetorically asking, “How much money does it cost to keep people in prison just because of marijuana offenses?”

“As educated people, we understand the benefits and we would be making financial gains,” she said.

Her goals for leading a branch of the SSDP would be short-term

at present, including campus policy drug reform and less severe consequences for marijuana usage, if any at all.

Potential marijuana legalization education for the club would include documentary viewings, guest speakers and open forums.

The group wants to create “a dialogue” on campus.

“This is so much bigger than just smoking weed,” Kelleher said. “It’s about actually affecting change.”

According to Gray’s students’ mission statement, they also aimed to create change on campus through their Earth Day event, which occurred two days before the actual Earth Day. Gilbert provided the mission statement, which included the group’s goals: “to raise funds which will be used to make improvements on the Community Garden and to also supplement operating budget for this growing season; the second goal is to promote student Eco-awareness and involvement with the garden as a more active part of campus life.”

Jamie Primeau can be reached at primeau2@tcnj.edu.

Delisa O’Brien / Staff Photographer

Winnie Fatton talks about her job with Sustainable Jersey. In the photo on the right, students in Janet Gray’s class (left), Kate Devine (center) and Brad Gilbert (right), discuss what ecofeminism is all about.

Moving out: leftovers, goodbyes and compromise

By Katie Brenzel Managing Editor

rituals, critters and oh, that pesky, thishouse-is-falling-apart-around-us thing. In the first semester, we discovered rotting Living with people is like cleaning out vegetables in the drawers, which we each, your fridge. It’s all about compromise. in turn, threw out without disclosing. We In our house, the ceremonious purging of raged silently about the dwindling our refrigerator is an affair, a debacle of delevel of Parmesan cheese that bates of expiration dates and “does this mysteriously disappeared afsmell edible?” It is also an inconsistent ter only a handful of our own monthly — bi-monthly if we are feeluses but retaliated by snaging particularly adventurous — event. ging a smackerel of someOn these holidays, heard in the hobbit one’s something else. Creatkitchen are: sounds of disgust, laughter ed a warped sense of justice. nce erie Exp r Yea ial The Resident and a serious discourse on maximizLeft passive-aggressive notes. ing space, a consensus that the Brita Filter can, Rearranged with reckless abandon to indeed, go unrefrigerated … in order to make make room for our own items. room for more beer. I mean, replacing water As time passed, we learned to work with alcohol has been done before, so in a with what we had. We waged a marginway, we are practically replicating something ally successful war against mice, labeled holy. We are a religious house, indeed. our food, worked out sleeping situations The first week we lived in our house, and for the most part, discovered a sense of the fridge was full of rotting food. Yes, in each other’s space. Even in the fridge. The a way, it was an omen. Things in the be- too-tiny-for-necessities-and-cheap-alcohol ginning — as you may remember from my fridge in which we each, unofficially, evenprevious articles — were a little rough with tually claimed a space that was our own. A food wars, sleeping (or lack of sleeping) hobbit fridge for our hobbit house. We’ve

managed to make it work. When the fridge is overflowing, unmanageable, unlivable, eventually something has to be done.

Ok, so we aren’t exactly the most organized bunch as a house of self-proclaimed arteeeests. It may take us longer to address issues head-on. We may leave bean sprouts at the back of the fridge for ages, whisper about the rotting bean sprouts’ presence behind the bean sprouts’ back, until finally blurting out that “The bean sprouts are a problem!” Then, it turns out, the apologetic owner of the bean sprouts wasn’t aware.

And then the bean sprouts are no big deal, really. Easily discarded. Easily replaced.

Then we parley over salvable leftovers versus the beginnings of a new civilization of green fuzzy creatures. We’ve tried our best to compromise and converse, even if it is a slimy, uncomfortable business.

As I approach my final weeks as a college student and final months as a tenant, the fridge is looking pretty good. Considerably more contained, organized, still primitive but relatively fresh, no odorous remnants of the previous tenants’ “present.” But soon

someone else’s stuff will occupy my spot in the fridge. After all, I’m the jerk that is graduating early. Though I will not miss the cave crickets and the broken … everything, I will miss my space in the hobbit house and most especially the lovely, (crazy), kindhearted friends I shared it with.

Katie Brenzel can be reached at brenzel2@tcnj.edu.

Illustration by Keryn Brenzel

April 27, 2011 The Signal page 13

Lessons learned about stereotypes and self in Senegal

By Laura Herzog Foreign Correspondent

I have been trying to avoid using stereotypes when talking about my study abroad experience in Senegal. Yet with only three weeks left before I return home, I honestly do believe that my experience here has changed me — but not necessarily in the way that you might think.

Despite what some of my articles about “poverty” and “development” in Senegal may have led some people to think, I have not become some “worldly,” sympathetic saint who is helping African children and is set to crusade for African economic and political stability.

Actually, if anything, my time in Senegal has made me less likely to tear up at the sight of a small, shoeless African child on television.

I wanted to come to Senegal so that I could get rid of my stereotypes of Africa, and it worked. For the record: There are toilets, hospitals, gas stations and highways in Senegal. People here are not all “sick” and “starving” — in fact, most Senegalese are (at least outwardly) in better shape than most Americans. Muscled, tall and strong, many of the flirtatious (albeit often sexist) men in Senegal have attracted the majority of the girls in our program. Ice cream dates in Dakar, walks on the beach at night, and nights spent dancing in the clubs will forever define how the girls on my program think of young, African men.

The women, meanwhile, with their perfect model-esque hourglass figures and penchant for swiveling their hips as they carry water on

their heads in the villages or wearing heels as they walk to work on the treacherous sandy sidewalks of Dakar, have left many of us with inferiority complexes.

Many of us in the study abroad program have had some stomach issues, but this is to be expected with all travel experiences (and the fact that we consume impressive quantities of baguette, rice, couscous, peanuts and onion sauces on a daily basis). My friend and I joke that when we get back to the states, we will forever see small African boys on television and, rather than shed a tear, mumble bitterly, “I envy you and your delicious food.” Many girls in my program are worried about having gained weight.

However, joking aside, (as I’ve said) some stereotypes exist — at least on a superficial level — for a reason. Many people in Senegal are living on less than two dollars a day, and Senegal’s (often crumbling) internal infrastructure is not well-developed at all. Many people are hopeless about development in Senegal and want to go to the U.S. to partake in the “easy life.” (Discrimination, violent crime and job scarcity aside.)

After over three months in Senegal, I still don’t know what can (or should) be done about poverty and development here.

But I have started to wonder if “poverty” is really the source of conflict and unhappiness in this world, or rather, if it is caused by the proliferation of stereotype and ignorance and the belittling of people in general.

I feel that all of these media images of African conflict, poor development ratings and statistics about African health crises are doing Africa no favors. In a world where Westerners have shifted from focusing on Africa’s

riches to focusing on its “poverty,” ignorance and exploitation of Africa continues. Only now people seem to like to call the white man’s burden “development aid.”

The fact is that people in Senegal are just as capable and dynamic as people anywhere else in the world. Amazing writers, researchers and teachers have come from Senegal (Leopold Senghor, Miriama Ba, Cheikh Anta Diop, and the College’s own French professor Moussa Sow, to name just a few). It is only by valuing the potential of the people — Africa’s best resource — that Africa, like anywhere else in the world, will truly be able to develop.

Although a few people in Dakar approach me asking for money every day, I never give it. I’ve learned that many people, aware of Western “benevolence/guilt,” play up their “poverty” to get free things from “benevolent” tourists (and wouldn’t you do the same?). Case in point: A girl in my study abroad program spent her “rural stay” in the home of a village chief. His daughter, who was happy, (relatively) welloff and going to school, was “adopted” by an American woman who wrote letters to her (in English) encouraging her to “Hang in there!” and “Be strong!”

To end with a cliché, I will always remember Senegal most, not for the fond memories I have of camel rides, kayak trips and being peed on by bats in a baobab tree, but for the people I have met here: the kind grandmother who fed me French fries and pizza and told me a story about how she beat up a monkey who ripped up her favorite scarf when she was a little girl; the guard of my street in Dakar, who asks me every day if I have a husband and sings “Pretty Woman” in broken English

Inflatable fun in the sun at Lions Fest

Kate Stronczer / Photo Assistant

Photo courtesy of Laura Herzog

Laura and her host mother.

as I walk by (I will have a rude awakening when I get back to men in the states, that’s for sure); our maid, who shows me pictures of her children in the village; the little girls I met in an afterschool program who I “helped” with French (as they laughed at mine); my host mother, who calls me every time I go away for the weekend to make sure that I am safe. And there are others, who, ahem, I do not love so much — like the little beggar who tried to steal my host mother’s purse and then snickered behind our backs.

If someone had told me last semester that I would find myself (perhaps slightly insensitively) wanting to say, “Look you little punk, go to school and get a real job” to a begging Senegalese boy, I would have canceled my plane ticket. But now I am so happy with how my thinking has changed — because ironically, this is exactly what I wanted for my study abroad experience. It means that I now see the people of the world a little more equally than I did before.

At the Residence Hall Association’s annual Lions Fest, inflatable obstacle courses and mascots like Roscoe the Lion and Tony the Tiger provided an afternoon of outdoor activities for students on Wednesday, April 20 from 12-4 p.m. There was a rock wall to climb and gladiator jousting. Popcorn, soft pretzels and tubes of candy were given out as snacks.

If attendees brought canned foods, they received one raffle ticket per can and could be entered in the various raffles held during the event. Participants made sandwiches to be given to the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen and wrote letters to veterans or hospital patients.

Take care of business before seeing what summer has in store

By Andrea Thyrring Columnist

All that stands between you and summer is a week of finals. Months of dedication to your classes and setting aside personal time for school are about to give way to a break full of nice weather, relaxation and no homework. But before you move out and leave your classes behind you, make sure you are ready for your summer.

Before you leave campus, make sure you have everything taken care of so you can enjoy your break without worrying about fees, holds on your account, or academic requirements. Check with your advisor to see if you need to have anything done before returning to campus in the fall. Also go on PAWS to make sure you have no outstanding bills or holds. If you notice a discrepancy, you still have time to get it squared away.

Once you have any outstanding obligations taken care of on campus, you can begin to set up your off-campus plans. Will you be completing an internship? Do you have a summer job lined up? Are you going to be traveling at all? If you are still unsure, it is not too late. Check with the Career Center and your academic department if you are interested in finding an internship. They should have some listed and can help you get the right paperwork to make sure you get credit over the summer.

If you are looking for a job, make a list of all the places

where you’d be qualified to work. Get the contact information, and either take a trip to the location or call to see if they have any available positions. You can secure an interview before you leave school and get in right away once you are done with finals. Whether you are working or completing an internship, make sure your résumé is up to date. It isn’t too late to go to the Career Center to have it looked over or to add in your experiences from the last two semesters.

If you are traveling out of the country, make sure your passport is up to date. You don’t want it to expire and get stuck with expensive travel plans you aren’t able to fulfill. Go to travel. state.gov to review restrictions and policies on international travel if you have any questions about your paperwork.

Whether you are traveling around the states or overseas, make sure you double check your itinerary and other plans.

Review the dates on your tickets and make sure you have transportation set up and that any reservations are squared away. You can go to tsa.gov/travelers for any restrictions on carry-on size, what you can pack and other tips to make your flights easier. If you are traveling by bus or train, check with your individual provider for their policies.

If you are still looking to make plans for the summer, think outside of the box. Do you want to stay fit? Do you want to try something new? Do you want to stay in touch with your friends? Take a look at your township or county website for upcoming events. If you want to stay active, look for a 5K or summer outdoors series (many parks will host fitness events,

and cycling or running groups will advertise for the summer months). Similarly, many towns host summer series, be it for music, movies or other hobbies. Invite your friends from campus to come with you, or set up dates to meet up.

Since you no longer have the pressure of homework and assignments on your shoulders, the summer is the perfect time to do something simply because you want to. There are plenty of opportunities for you in the summer months. Getting prepared for your plans before you leave campus is a good way to ensure you make the most of your time off. Take care of the busy work now so you can enjoy your summer plans.

AP Photo

If you get the planning out of the way now, the rest of summer can be smooth sailing.

page 14 The Signal April 27, 2011

April 27, 2011 The Signal page 15

page 16 The Signal April 27, 2011

Arts & Entertainment

The College’s best dance crews wow students

By Krystal Spencer Staff Writer

Season three champions of “America’s Best Dance Crew” teamed up with two local dance teams to treat the College to a showcase of multiple styles of dance last Thursday, April 21.

Students filled Kendall Hall Main Stage Theatre to watch Quest Crew, No Mercy Step Company and the College’s own Synergy Dance Company.

Synergy opened with a trio of hip-hop infused dance numbers, ending with a number in tattered clothes reminiscent of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.”

New Jersey’s native No Mercy Step Company had a loyal fan base at the College, which was made known the second they hit the stage. The all-male group dressed in long, white coats and used audio to simulate a hospital. While they went through the most technical difficulties, the raw energy of their acrobatics and stepping quickly overshadowed the setbacks. They also incorporated comedy into the routine, lip syncing to Shyne’s “If I Ever Fall in Love.”

The most captivating aspect of No Mercy’s performance was their intricate rhythm, all produced by stomping and clapping. At the end, they invited brothers from the College’s chapter of Phi Beta Sigma to join them in a dance through the aisles of Kendall and out into the lobby.

After the warm-up by the two teams before them, Quest Crew didn’t disappoint its expectant and loud fanbase. Rather than

Kate Stronczer / Photo Assistant

Quest Crew, along with No Mercy Step Company (pictured above) and Synergy Dance Company, performed for students in Kendall Hall on Thursday, April 21.

introduce themselves, Quest Crew opened with an explosive dance number, one much longer than seen on “America’s Best Dance Crew” years ago. From isolations to traditional b-boy moves and of course, risky tricks, Quest Crew was sure to remind attendees that they were season-three champions for a reason.

“We didn’t even think we’d win,” said Danny Ryan, a member of Quest Crew, in an interview before the show.

To those unfamiliar with Quest Crew, the group is comprised of eight members: seven spiky-haired guys and one girl, Lydia Paek. All eight were in attendance, but performed the opening number without Hokuto “Hok” Konishi, a member most

known for his British accent. He had injured himself and could not perform in the opener. However, Konishi hopped out on crutches to do a playful solo routine in a chair. Drawing on the audience’s imagination, he used his hands and facial expression to tell a story from the edge of his seat.

Now that “America’s Best Dance Crew” is being played in multiple countries, Quest Crew’s fanbase has allowed them to travel internationally. Konishi was recently surprised during a show in China by a famous pop star who had heard that he was a fan of hers. The television show had brought her on to sing to him.

Exposure to other famous crews and celebrities is part of their daily lives in California.

While the crew members are now full-time, many of them used to have day jobs.

“I had a nine-to-five job,” Ryan Feng said. “I used to work eight hours then I would go straight to rehearsal and dance for eight hours. It’s nice to not have to work those first eight hours anymore.”

Now the crew spends most of its time performing at colleges and benefit concerts. They’ve made many TV appearances and even a cameo in the latest “Alvin and the Chipmunks” movie. With multiple hardhitting performances and rehearsals, injuries are almost guaranteed.

When asked about Konishi’s injury, other members of the crew recalled their own scary

injuries.

“I hit my head during a performance at UMass last month,” Ryan said. “I finished the show just fine, but I basically blacked out and couldn’t remember in the dressing room if we had already performed or not. Of course the guys taped me acting weird.”

Their character and charisma made their final performance of the night that much more electric, as they chose to individually freestyle. However, when they invited No Mercy Step Company, it spurred them to welcome students from the audience to rush up to the stage as well in a moment of absolute pandemonium.

A large semi-circle of dancers from all disciplines freestyled to instrumental music, showcasing their talents for those students unlucky enough to join them. At that point, it didn’t seem to matter who was in a crew, or who was famous, only that everyone was exercising their right to express themselves through dance and music.

In an interview, the group advised their fans to never give up.

“Yeah,” Konishi added. “If you give up, you’re running away from the dream. It’s not running away from you.”

Quest Crew is returning to California for more performances and are currently working on a 90-minute production to tour the country.

For more information on Quest Crew and their upcoming performances, check out their website at questcrew.com.

Presentation looks at LGBTQ issues in young adult literature

Delisa O’Brien / Staff Photographer

Meixner presents data on LGBTQ issues in young adult literature.

By Shaun Fitzpatrick Arts & Entertainment Assistant The Business Building lounge got a bit more literary on Thursday, April 21, as senior English secondary education major Kate Ondrof and assistant professor and director of the English secondary education program Emily Meixner presented Ondrof’s summer MUSE project at a Sigma Tau Deltasponsored event.

Titled “Approaches for Addressing Sexual Identity and Gender Variance in the Secondary English/Language

Arts Classroom: An Examination of English Journal 1969-2010,” the study aimed to look at gay and lesbian issues in young adult novels and see the way that they were being presented in the classroom. Ondrof tracked mentions of the issues in the articles, reviews and letters to the editor found in English Journal in order to look at the progression of coverage of the topic over time, consolidating her data into trend reports.

According to Meixner, English Journal is the “most widely published journal by the National Council of

Teachers of English.”

The two originally set out to answer the questions of how many articles relating to LGBTQ teachings, students and teachers were published during this period, which LGBTQ texts were being recommended to the secondary English/Language Arts curriculum and what kinds of instructional strategies were being taught to teachers of this subject.

Meixner and Ondrof decided to start with the year 1969 because of the Stonewall Uprising, a series of protests and riots that caused the gay rights movement to enter into the mainstream.

They noted that in the ’70s, the sexual orientation of characters and authors was rarely discussed or otherwise mentioned only using euphamisms.

The only article to actually talk about homosexuality categorized it simply as a phase.

As the decades progressed, LGBTQ literature slowly worked its way into the school system. The ’80s and ’90s saw an increase in positive representations of gays and lesbians in young adult literature, and English Journal no longer warned teachers about gay elements in the novels it reviewed.

More LGBTQ literature began being used in high-school and middle-school

classrooms as well.

“The conversation shifts from ‘Should we include this?’ to ‘How can we include this?’” Ondrof said.

However, bisexuality remained unmentioned in literature, and articles pertaining to LGBTQ issues still received backlash from magazine subscribers, as shown in a handout the audience received before the lecture began.

The last era looked at ranged from the ’90s to the present day, where Ondrof believes there is “less public resistance, but more behind-the-scenes, institutional resistance.”

Related articles found in English Journal during this time period have focused on practical methods of addressing LGBTQ issues in the classroom.

Ondrof began the presentation by showing a few statistics pertaining to sexual orientation issues in middle and high schools. According to the figures given, nine out of 10 LGBTQ students in these grade levels have experienced harassment at school as of 2009, yet as of 2007, only 10 states had laws protecting students against discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Ondrof will be presenting her findings at the NCTE convention in November.

Sacred Harp and leaving the comfort zone

AP Photo

Sacred Harp singing is an American musical tradition, stemming from colonial New England, designed to teach beginners how to sing.

By Matt Huston News Editor

This wasn’t like any punk show I’d ever been to.

The sound was dense and bold — a wall of voices slipping and climbing and interlocking in weird, immense harmonies. And I was singing, too.

It wasn’t terribly difficult to pick up.

That was the point.

As one of these engrossing hymns came to a close, the bald guy sitting next to me in plastic-rimmed glasses indicated his satisfaction: “Rock the house.”

At my first ever Sacred Harp singing a couple Sundays ago, I was very much out of my element. I was not there for religious or historical reasons, although this American musical tradition is deeply rooted in both. My curiosity was purely musical, and the experience — a crash-course in what is also known as “shape note singing” — was, well, out

of the ordinary.

The lineage of Sacred Harp singing, which stretches back to England and colonial New England, is rich and complicated. The main idea is straightforward. According to fasola. org, a website for Sacred Harp, “the tradition was born from colonial ‘singing schools’ whose purpose was to teach beginners to sing.”

As one of the dozen or so singers at Lawrenceville’s Edith Memorial Chapel told me, this full-throated, minimal style of choral music was designed to be accessible to “musical illiterates.”

In other words, it was spiritual punk rock for the pilgrims.

Yes, it is as awesome as it sounds.

Men and women ranging from college-aged to gray-haired sat in a square that Sunday and, united by their enthusiasm for an art form that many

Americans have never heard of, sang their hearts out. Every singer cradled a song book filled with musical staffs and foreign-looking symbols. We took turns picking from the hundreds of dated songs. I had read music before but not this kind of music. I had sang before, but not the way these people were singing.

And yet I managed to (start to) get the hang of it, with some moral support from junior political science and philosophy double major Matt Janansky — who invited me out of my comfort zone to begin with — and another tenor who seemed relatively uncomfortable with the music but no less eager to sing along.

Most of the singers weren’t exceptionally talented. Some of the voices were pretty rough. But it didn’t matter. Sacred Harp is about everyone’s inherent power to express themselves through singing — “Sacred Harp” refers to one’s given instrument, the voice — and it’s strength in numbers. The most unpracticed voices lock together in impressive arrays and make you wonder how music made for beginners could sound so deeply beautiful.

More importantly, it wasn’t a performance. It was an exercise for the dozen people in the chapel. It was basically all for fun.

In that sense, these regular gatherings — held on the second Sunday afternoon of each month — aren’t so different from my ninth-grade band practices in my friend’s basement: a bunch of (mostly) novices getting to know each other and themselves a little bit better through song. And like those crucial high-school jam sessions, the experience reminded me how important it is to step outside the box.

Matt Huston can be reached at huston4@ tcnj.edu

April 27, 2011 The Signal page 17

No ‘Blues’ for Fleet Foxes Fleet Foxes “Helplessness Blues”

By Matthew Jannetti WTSR Music Director How do you follow up an extremely successfully and universally acclaimed debut album? Ask the Fleet Foxes, because they show us how it’s done. The expectations for the Fleet Foxes were astronomical after their selftitled debut garnered universal critical praise.

For once, a band lives up to expectations.

From the opener, “Montezuma,” the listener can already tell that while this isn’t a departure, it’s not the same, either. The basis of the Fleet Foxes are still there: the wonderful harmonies, the lush instrumentation and the mellow, nature-like feeling. Also, it almost goes without saying, the lyrics are superb and paint amazing pictures. The vocals are beautiful, despite all being recorded in one take. However, the entire album sounds a little cleaner and more produced but not much more. They haven’t abandoned their sound at all. In fact, “Sim Sala Bim” wouldn’t feel out of place on their debut.

But soon after “Sim Sala Bim,” the album’s slow build starts to become noticeable, culminating in the title track, “Helplessness Blues.” Towards the end of the album, they throw in a slightly reworked and minimalist “Blue Spotted Tail,” and “Grown Ocean” is a perfect closer. It contrasts wonderfully with the previous track with its lush instrumentation.

Perfect. It’s not a word I use often, or at all, but it is the best word to describe “Helplessness Blues.”

Key Tracks: “Helplessness Blues,” “Grown Ocean,” “Blue Spotted Tail,” “Sim Sala Bim”

Author brings chills, thrills to reading

By Alexa Woronowicz Staff Writer

Accomplished short story writer, essayist and novelist Mary Gaitskill sent chills through the audience in the Library Auditorium with a reading of her short story “The Other Place” on Thursday, April 21.

The quiet, clear voice of the writer kept listeners hanging on to her every word during the event, which was sponsored by ink.

Gaitskill’s “The Other Place” begins with the male narrator describing his young son who, like him, has a strong fascination with violence.

The narrator then relates stories from his own childhood.

“Mostly I just wanted to sit and watch, to touch other people’s things, to drink in their lives,” Gaitskill read.

Coming from a broken family with only a few friends, the narrator quickly realizes he is not like other young men.

“I started to get excited about girls being hurt. Or killed … It was like porn,” the story read.

The narrator begins to enter a world he calls “the other place” where he can “sometimes passively (watch) a killer and other times (become) one.”

Although at first the narrator never imagines killing anyone he actually knows, this changes when he meets an irritating college girl. He returns to the college campus looking for her, then resorts to following any loner girls.

“I’d feel the other place running against the membrane of the world but not quite touching it,” the narrator says.

Deciding he must get a victim somewhere private, the narrator obtains a gun and hitchhikes with random women. He eventually finds a lonely woman in her 40s and attempts to force her to drive

Abby Hocking / Photo Assistant

Gaitskill reads a chilling story of a wouldbe killer for the Visiting Writers Series. to an abandoned warehouse.

Instead of fighting back, the woman simply stops the car and tells the man to shoot her.

“The normal place and the other place were turning into the same place,” Gaitskill read, her voice rising for the pivotal moment.

Unable to go through with it, the narrator leaves, throwing away his bullets and gun, claiming that “she was dead already.”

Gaitskill said she showed this story to a therapist who, surprisingly, thought the narrator was troubled but very normal.

“He didn’t see him as a real killer,” she said.

The story ended with the narrator’s haunting conclusion that his son would suffer from the same affliction he does: “Inside him somewhere is the other place. It’s quiet now but I know it’s there.”

Janika Berridge / Staff Photographer

Improv groups ‘ROCK’ College

The Mixed Signals held their third annual “ROCK Improv Comedy Festival” on Friday, April 22, in the Kendall Hall Main Stage Theatre. The comedy troupe performed with members of TCNJ Musical Theatre, All College Theatre and the TourCo of the Upright Citizens Brigade, a professional improv group based in New York. The “Rather Outrageous Comedy Kickoff” took place from 8 to 11 p.m.

Read more Arts & Entertainment @ tcnjsignal.net

Page 18 The Signal April 27, 2011

Fun Stuff

Books Red Bull

FINALS!!!

Coffee Finals Grade

Late Nights Sleep

What’s up with this pie?!

Stress Studying Library

April 27, 2011 The Signal page 19 Track and Field

Lions rack up qualifying times at Princeton

By Mark Barroso Staff Writer

The College’s men’s and women’s outdoor track and field teams earned several NCAA and Eastern Conference Athletic Championship qualifying marks last week at the Larry Ellis Invitational hosted by Princeton University.

Over 35 teams attended the two-day competition, which started on April 22, under adverse weather conditions that forced the pole vault and high jump to be moved indoors.

“It was chilly, rainy and the track was wet,” senior Miriam Khan said. “The weather makes a huge difference, which is why many good sprinters run in the South.”

The women’s team earned a combination of NCAA and ECAC qualifying marks.

Khan placed third in the 100-meter dash, posting a NCAA qualifying time of 12.28 seconds. The 4x100 relay team of Khan, sophomore Brielle Doremus and freshmen Micheaux Ferdinand and Erica Roberts placed ninth with an ECAC qualifying time of 49.2 seconds.

Khan’s goals for the rest of the season in-

clude repeating as a national champion in the 100 meters, winning the NCAA 200 meters, and running well at ECACs against Division I competition.

Junior Claire Johnson finished her race in the 5,000-meter event with an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 17:21.73. Sophomores Rachel Morris and Danielle Aran qualified for ECACs in the same event by finishing with times of 17:54.97 and 18:38.59, respectively. Freshman Megan Flynn also earned an ECAC mark in this event, posting a time of 18:39.02.

Junior Katie Nestor qualified for ECACs

Courtesy of the Sports Information Desk

Kyle Gilroy clears a hurdle.

by finishing the 800 meters in 2:18.47.

Freshman Emily Kulcyk posted an ECAC qualifying time of 1:02.85 in the 400-meter hurdles, while Ferdinand earned an ECAC cut in this event with a time of 1:05.18. Freshman Katie Knight finished the 100-meter hurdles with an ECAC time of 15.92 seconds.

Freshman Brigit Roemer cleared an ECAC height of 1.6 meters in the high jump, while senior Brianna Brennan qualified for ECACs with a javelin throw of 37.1 meters.

The Lion men also met NCAA and ECAC standards.

Senior Kyle Gilroy earned NCAA marks in two different events by placing third in the 400-meter hurdles (52.92 seconds) and seventh in the 110-meter hurdles (14.67 seconds).

Junior Julio Alorro placed ninth in the pole vault, soaring an NCAA height of 4.8 meters.

Classmate Colin Gold cleared 4.4 meters in the same event, an ECAC height.

Sophomore Steve D’Aiutolo triplejumped 13.94 meters for fifth place overall, the best jump in Division III and an ECAC qualification.

Gilroy, D’Aiutolo and freshmen Michael

Spekhardt and Kevin Mulcahey ran the 4x400 meter relay in an ECAC qualifying time of 3:19.91.

Senior Dennie Waite completed his run in the 1,500-meter event in 3:54.56, an ECAC time. Classmate Rob Nihen finished the 5,000meters with an ECAC time of 15:01.36.

The Lions’ next meet will be the 117th Penn Relays, hosted by the University of Pennsylvania, which start April 28. This event is the nation’s oldest track and field competition, as well as one of the largest.

“The Penn Relays are the best of the best on the college level,” Khan said. “Over 1,200 schools, high schools too, will be attending and last year Usain Bolt was there.”

The College will then host the Lions Invitational on April 29.

Khan will run the 100 meters at the Penn Relays and said she won’t run in the Lions Invitational if she makes the finals. She offered some words of advice for her younger teammates.

“Set high goals, because as a freshman, I never thought I’d be a national Division III champion,” Khan said. “If you put your mind to it, you can achieve great goals.”

Softball

College stumbles, Lions dropping in the NJAC

By Kevin Lee Staff Writer The College’s softball team continued its playoff chase by losing two games and winning two games in the past week.

The wins and losses give the Lions an overall record of 22-10 and an 8-6 NJAC record.

The Lions began last week by losing a pair of games to William Patterson University, by scores of 7-6 and 8-3, on April 21.

“The games against William Paterson were tough,” junior oufielder Crystal Lee said. “We actually played really well in the first game. We had a lot of great hits and we played solid defense, but the other team was just able to manufacture more runs than us. In the second game, they capitalized on some of our team’s miscues and we just weren’t able to score as many runs as we did in the first game.”

The Lions jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first inning, led by senior outfielder Colleen Cawley.

The lead stretched to 4-0 in the third inning, but the Pioneers responded with three runs in the bottom of the third, two more in the bottom of the fourth and another two runs in the bottom of the fifth to give them the 7-4 lead. The Lions plated two more runs off a RBI single from sophomore shortstop Ashley Sogulzzio’s bat and a catcher’s interference call. The runs weren’t enough, as the Lions fell to the Pioneers 7-6.

In the second game, both teams plated a run in the first inning, and the score was knotted at 1-1 until the top of the fourth.

The Pioneers scored two runs in the top of the fourth and four more in the top of the fifth to push the score to 7-1. They did not look back from there, finishing the game with an 8-3 victory.

Lions freshman pitcher Alex Carisone took the loss, yielding seven runs (four earned) in 4.2 innings pitched.

The Lions took two games against New Jersey City University with scores of 10-2 and 5-3, on April 22.

“We knew that we needed to come ready to play for the games against Jersey City,” Lee said. “Our goal for the NJCU games were to win every inning, meaning that even if the op-

Cheap Seats

ponent scored or made a nice play, we would somehow do something even better to win that inning.”

The Lions set the tone in the first game by scoring three runs in the first inning, two off the bat of sophomore third baseman Kelly Hommen. The Lions continued their offensive barrage by scoring in every inning of the game. Hommen finished with a huge game with three hits and four RBI. Junior pitcher Lauren Fitzsimmons was also outstanding, as she tossed a complete-game one-hitter to give the Lions the decisive victory.

In the second game, the team used a big, four-run second inning to give them the victory. The Lions had two triples in the inning, one from senior Caitlyn Seamster and one from Lee. NJCU got a run back in the third, only to see the lead pushed back to four as Sogluizzo singled in a run. The Gothic Knights tacked on two more runs in the sixth and seventh innings, but the runs were not enough. Carisone picked up the victory, giving her a team-high of eight wins on the season.

The Lions currently sit fifth in the NJAC with an 8-6 record and only have four games left to push for a higher seed.

Tennis

Carolina’s first on the clock Bendijo and Tierney shine Lions dominate Muhlenberg AP Photo

Who will be the No. 1 pick?

By Brandon Gould Sports Editor

The NFL draft kicks off tomorrow at 8 p.m. and the Carolina Panthers will be the first team on the board.

There are plenty of possibilities out there, but only one will be the No. 1 selection of the 2011 NFL draft. Here is a look at some of the Panthers’ options.

Quarterback Cam Newton Newton erupted onto the scene this year, leading Auburn University to a national championship. He has a strong arm that is complimented by great size and an uncanny ability to break free.

The downside to Newton is that he only produced for one season and hasn’t run a pro-style offense.

Wide Receiver A.J. Green Green is as close to a sure thing that there is in this draft. He has the height (6 feet 4 inches),

speed (4.48 40-yard dash time) and production (848 yards and nine touchdowns in only nine games in 2010) that teams love to see out of a wide receiver prospect.

One thing about the former University of Georgia star that worries some evaluators is his weight. Green is a lanky 211 pounds, which is cause for concern of potential injury on passes over the middle.

Defensive Tackle Marcel Dareus The University of Alabama product went into the off season as the No. 2 defensive tackle behind Auburn’s Nick Fairley. However, after performing well in all his workouts, Dareus has shot up draft boards. When he’s on, Dareus is almost unblockable.

Similar to Green, Dareus has some injury concerns hanging over his head.

He was limited last year at Alabama due to a lingering ankle injury and a few other ailments.

Final say Carolina could try and swing for the fences with Newton, but I think they’ll give Jimmy Clausen one more year to prove he can play.

Dareus is good, but picking a defensive tackle at No. 1 with the potential for injury is too risky. So, when the clock stops, I think Carolina will welcome in wide receiver A.J. Green.

Brandon Gould can be reached at gould9@tcnj.edu.

By Krystal Spencer Staff Writer The College’s women’s tennis team almost pulled off a trashing in their 8-1 win over Muhlenberg College, as junior Karisse Bendijo had a big day in her collegiate career in both singles and doubles.

Bendijo and sophomore partner Allison Tierney defeated seniors Danielle Winston and Lindsay Schmidt 8-1. This marks their 38th win together, one shy of moving into the third-place spot for most wins at the College.

“It’s really the communication and the ability to pump each other up even when we’re down that makes us work well together,” Bendijo said. “And as for our number of wins, it’s pretty awesome, honestly. I didn’t even know we were doing that well.”

All three doubles pulled off a successful sweep against the Mules. Sophomores Paige Aiello and Lauren Balsamo pulled off a late win against freshmen Nina Sanders and Emily Szulman 9-7. Emily Petersack and Felice Trinh took down senior Sara Sutker and freshman Lauren Zakheim 8-2.

Bendijo’s day would continue to include milestones, as she beat Sutker 6-4, 6-1, giving her 20 wins this season at first singles.

Trinh gave the Lions the go-ahead point over Sanders 6-2, 6-4. Tierney and Balsamo added to the tally with wins over Winston and Schmidt, respectively. Also putting up a strong performance was freshman Alissa Migliore, who defeated Zakheim 6-4, 6-1.

“The season went by so quick,” Trinh said. “I can’t believe it’s almost over, but this does give us the first rounds of spring nationals to look forward to — and hopefully more.”

Tom O’Dell / Photo Editor

Karisse Bendijo swats the ball.

page 20 The Signal April 27, 2011

The Signal wishes you luck on finals!

Have an awesome summer!

4 6

April 27, 2011 The Signal page 21

LIONS

AROUND THE

DORM 5 3

Caroline Russomanno “The Ref”

Brandon Gould Sports Editor

Bobby Olivier Senior Editor

Alex Wolfe Sports Assistant

In the Around the Dorm Championship, the “Ref,” Caroline Russomanno, challenges Sports Editor Brandon Gould, Senior Editor Bobby Olivier and Sports Assistant Alex Wolfe to answer questions about which side of the NFL labor talks they are on, whether or not the Penguins can win the Stanley Cup and, after all the drama, if LeBron James made the right “Decision” this summer. health. I don’t think the players’ demands are that crazy, whereas some of the owners’ proposed changes are not overly realistic or fair to the players.

CR: Brandon gets the 3 because he addressed the mention of Brian Schaefering and all of the other little guys who will be hurt most by the lockout. Alex gets 2 for pointing out that both sides have good points, but that the players’ demands are far more reasonable than the owners’. Bobby gets 1 for pointing out that the players only want an even slice of the pie.

AP Photo

1. Some NFL players, like Cleveland Browns defensive lineman Brian Schaefering, are making alternate career plans in case the lockout sticks. Which side are you on in the lockout — players or owners?

BG: I back the players 110 percent. The owners have enough money to keep the limo drivers, the maids, the gardeners and the pool boys happy for life. However, some of these players may not even make it out of the summer with their heads above water. Sure, the Peyton Mannings and Tom Bradys of the league will be just fine until football starts again, but the Brian Schaeferings and all the other players who make the league minimum need that paycheck to stay afloat. Football is becoming America’s game because we feel like we can relate to some of these players, and for the owners to take away from that because they want to be super rich instead of just rich is just plain ridiculous.

BO: Although it is beyond any doubt that professional athletes get paid infinitely too much money, it is difficult not to side with the players. They are being asked to agree to a share of league revenue reduced by $1 billion in players’ salaries — an 18 percent cut in pay. They are also being asked to play two extra games … for 18 percent less pay. Owners have already signed television deals that would still pay them a nearly equal amount of money if the lockout sticks. In other words, the owners are doing just fine. The players are the ones not getting paid, because they are fighting to be guaranteed what they were promised before this upcoming season. All that players want is an even split of revenue share; 50-50. They were content with the system before, but it is the owners’ greed that has caused all of this drama. Go players!

AW: The NFL lockout has had me torn to agree with a side. The owners want to eliminate things like ridiculous rookie salaries (couldn’t agree more), add extra regular-season games (couldn’t agree less), and to cut back the overall stake that player salaries have in the overall budget (understandable). The players want the franchise tag removed so they’re not forced to stay in situations they don’t want to be in (wholeheartedly agree), and not to have their contracts scaled back (also completely understandable). Overall, I think I agree most with the players, mostly because almost all of their proposals make sense. The league has claimed to be concerned for players’ safety, but adding two more high-intensity games to the NFL schedule would not help the players’

2. With Evgeni Malkin out for the season and Sidney Crosby out indefinitely with a concussion, can the Pittsburgh Penguins find a way to make it to the Stanley Cup Finals?

BG: I don’t think the Penguins have a shot without Malkin and Crosby. They played decently down the stretch without their two superstars, but in the postseason you need a guy to go to, and they just don’t have that guy.

Two years ago, when the Penguins won the Stanley Cup, Malkin and Crobsy each scored over 100 points in the regular season followed by 30-plus-point performances in the postseason. Filling in for one of them would have been tough enough, but both? No way.

If they’re lucky enough to get past the Tampa Bay Lightning, they’ll be stopped dead in their tracks by Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals.

BO: After trying to make myself believe that the Pens can make their way back to the finals without Crosby and Malkin, I just don’t see it happening. Right now it appears that they would play the winner of the Flyers-Sabres series (knotted at two games each), and if they play the Flyers, their defense is going to collapse. The Flyers led the East in scoring and the Penguins were in the bottom five in goals against. The Flyers also led the season series 4-2. Let’s say they luck out and get the Sabres.

They take on the No. 4 scorers in the East who ranked in the top three in power-play percentage, and Buffalo will have the all-important hungry underdog advantage. Maybe next year when they are healthy.

AW: The Penguins have proven so far this postseason that they are able to handle themselves without Malkin and Crosby. They’re playing some really stout defense, and MarcAndre Fleury is arguably the best postseason goalie in the East. However, as much as good goalie play has proven to be a major factor in

AP Photo

who gets to the Stanley Cup Finals, I don’t think the Pens will make it. I think they will take out the Lightning, but beyond that they’re most likely going to have to face the Capitals or Flyers in the next round after the reseeding, and I don’t think they can beat either of those teams. The problem with the Pens is that they don’t have much goal-scoring prowess. They rely almost exclusively on defense and timely scoring.

CR: Bobby gets the 3 for the most well-supported answer. Brandon gets 2 for pointing out that every team needs a player (or two) who step it up in the playoffs. Alex gets 1 for bringing up the Pens’ goalie.

3. Though the playoffs aren’t over, and the results could change your answer drastically, assess LeBron James’ season so far — was “The Decision” worth it?

BG: The Heat has had its share of problems and tears this season, but I think James made the right choice. He was spectacular as usual, averaging 27.3 points, seven assists and 7.5 rebounds per game, while he watched his old team struggle all season long. The Cleveland Cavaliers finished with the second-worst record in the league as the Heat ended the season with the third-best record overall — I wonder what made the difference there. Now, the Heat weren’t the powerhouse, 73-game winning team that some thought they would be, but for a bunch of guys who were in their first year playing together, they’re a pretty good squad. I didn’t like the way James made his decision — let’s face it, he was a complete asshole — but I do believe, in the end, that he is exactly where he should be.

BO: It’s hard to determine, since the primary reason for “The Decision” was to win a championship, but so far, I would say that it has been worth it. You must remember that

“The Decision” was not only LeBron James moving to Miami, but Chris Bosh following him. They have given Dwyane Wade enough support to land the No. 2 seed in the playoffs, and they are having little problem with the 76ers right now, so they should be moving forward toward the team’s ultimate goal.

During the season, the two combined for 45.4 points per game — nearly 45 percent of the offense. The Heat finished second in the East in scoring and the additions of LeBron and Bosh have brought veterans Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Mike Bibby to the team in search of rings as well. The Heat are on the right track.

So far, so good.

AW: I am a Knicks fan that was scorned by LeBron’s decision to play for the Heat, and still to this day I don’t think that he went about it the right way. He went on national TV and made it seem like he actually was making a decision, even though it has become clear in the time after “The Decision” that he and Wade and Bosh had planned to team up since at least the 2008 Olympics. However, as much as I really despise what those three did (especially LeBron), deep down I can’t find any reason to call their season anything but a success to this point. They went through growing pains, dealt with criticism and took a bunch of old guys around them and made them into the No. 2 seed in the East. And from a LeBron standpoint, he carried the team multiple times when Wade and Bosh were injured. So, I will never respect LeBron as a person, and I will never consider “The Decision” a success in any way, but LeBron and the Heat have justified their actions, and if LeBron gets his ring, nobody will be questioning his decision.

CR: Alex, couldn’t have said it better myself. You get 3 points. Brandon, I liked the mention of the Cavs’ record — 2 points.

Bobby, he did bring veterans in search of rings — 1 point.

Brandon wins the AtD Championship, 7 - 6 - 5.

“You either go big or go home. I went big.”

— Brandon

AP Photo

AP Photo

page 22 The Signal April 27, 2011

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April 27, 2011 The Signal page 23

LIONS ROUNDUP This Week’s Picks

NBA Champ?

NYM @ Phi

(Series)

NYY vs. CHW (Series)

Bos @ Bal (Series)

Bobby Olivier (30-22)

Brandon Gould (28-24)

Hilarey Wojtowicz (26-26)

Alex Wolfe (28-24)

Lion of the Week

Leigh Mitchell Women’s Lacrosse

The women’s lacrosse team won the NJAC this past week, and they owe a lot of their success to junior Leigh Mitchell.

Mitchell won her fourth NJAC Offensive Player of the Week of the season this past week. She leads the team with 99 points, with 46 goals and 53 assists.

Mitchell is the College’s all-time assist leader.

Baseball

—Kevin

Lee, Staff Writer

This Week In Sports Baseball April 26 vs. Stevens Institute of Technology, 3:30 p.m.

April 27 vs. St. Joseph’s College (NY), 3:30 p.m.

April 28 vs. Richard Stockton College, 3:30 p.m.

April 29 @ Richard Stockton College, 3:30 p.m.

April 29 vs. Montclair State University (doubleheader), 3:30 p.m.

May 1 vs. Ramapo College (doubleheader), 11:30 a.m.

Softball

Softball April 26 vs. Rowan University (doubleheader), 3 p.m.

April 30 @ Ramapo College (doubleheader), 1 p.m.

Trivia Question

Answer to Last Issue’s Trivia Question:The Warriors beat Dallas in ’06

Women’s Lacrosse April 28 vs. Stevens Institute of Technology, 7:30 p.m.

Track and Field April 28-30 @ Penn Relays (hosted by the University of Pennsylvania), TBA April 29-30 vs. Lion’s Invitational, TBA

Knicks fans across the world wept when the team failed to win a single playoff game this year in their first postseason appearance since 2004.

Worse yet, the team lost two hard-fought games in Boston, which would have been its first playoff win in a long time.

The Knicks last appeared in the playoffs against the Nets and were swept, but when was their last playoff win?

Men’s/Women’s Tennis.

April 26 vs. Washington College (women’s), 2 p.m.

April 28 vs. Washington College (men’s), 2 p.m.

AP Photo

SignalSports

Lions’ Lineup April 27, 2011

College wins NJAC Championship

By Brandon Gould Sports Editor After collecting some of its biggest wins of the season during a six-game road trip, the College’s lacrosse team was finally able to give the home crowd something to cheer for, defeating Montclair State University 18-5 to win the New Jersey Athletic Conference Championship.

The win gave the Lions their second NJAC title in three years and was certainly a moment of redemption: the team lost out on the title last year at home when Rowan University downed the Lions 12-11.

“It feels really good, especially after losing to Rowan last year. That (game) was such a heartbreaker to lose by one goal,” senior midfielder Ali Jaeger said. “This year we just wanted to come out and prove that we were the more dominant team (on the field) and the most dominant team in the NJAC.” The Lions have certainly proven their dominance time after time this season, as they’ve propelled themselves to a 16-0 record and the top spot in Division III. It’s easy to point out Jaeger and junior midfielder Leigh Mitchell — who were both honored before the game alongside alumnae Lauren Dougher and Liz O’Connor for their record-breaking seasons — as the artists behind this masterpiece. However, according to Jaeger, for most of the season, the Lions have relied on a balanced attack. “(Balance) has pretty much been what this whole season has been about,” Jaeger said.

“We’ve really tried to focus on having everyone contribute, whether you’re a veteran or a freshman. Everyone has stepped up, and that’s what makes us such a powerful team. Everyone is a

Coutesy of the Sports Information Desk

Jen Garavente prepares to take a shot. threat.”

That parity showcased itself in the College’s victory over the Red Hawks, as six Lions scored at least one goal, and five of those six scored three or more.

As expected, the experienced upperclassmen — Jaeger, Mitchell and junior midfielder Kathleen Notos — combined for 11 goals, but it was the underclassmen that really put an exclamation point on the win.

Sophomore attacker Jillian Nealon chipped in three goals, while freshman midfielder Lauren Pigott collected a goal and an assist.

But it was freshman attacker Jen Garavente who led the underclassmen in this one.

Garavente didn’t take long to get herself a point, as she assisted Mitchell’s first goal 28 seconds into the contest. She then followed that assist with three goals and one more assist over the remainder of the game.

“I think with the hours that we’ve practiced that we’ve all just connected really well,” Garavente said. “We really hit it off in the beginning of the season and we’ve been able to keep that up.”

The freshman class has been crucial to the Lions’ success and has performed without fail since the first win of the season over Frostburg State University on March 5.

Garavente, Pigott and first-year attacker Alex Spark have built on that initial game in a Lion uniform by stepping up when called upon during the Lions undefeated streak, while being able to shake the nerves that most new players might encounter.

“As soon as we gain momentum, the nerves go away and you just get excited and want to continue to play well,” Garavente said. “I think leading up to (big games) there are some nerves, but as soon as we start playing our game, it goes away.”

The Lions will need that kind of attitude from all their players, with No. 9 Stevens Institute of Technology waiting in the wings and the national playoffs slowly approaching. Even with the NJAC title in hand, the season will be a disappointment — for at least one Lion — unless the College finishes its playoff run unscathed.

“I’m not graduating without a national championship. That’s what I’ve decided,” Jaeger said. “It really doesn’t matter what kind of records you break — it’s really about the team accomplishment. I just want to celebrate with my team at the end of the season with a national title in our hands.”

Brandon Gould gould9@tcnj.edu.

can

be

reached

at

Inside

46 53 Around the Dorm page 21

Lions roar at invitational page 19

College ends the week even page 19

Muhlenberg’s no match page 19

Lions can’t be tamed, win sixth straight contest College takes two against New Jersey City University

By Alex Wolfe Sports Assistant The College’s baseball team continued its hot play this week, taking three more NJAC games and moving up in the conference.

“This past week was important for us to get three big conference wins after a rough start (to the season),” sophomore pitcher Bobby Graber said.

The team didn’t just win their games, they mauled their opponents. In their games against New Jersey City University on Thursday, April 21 and Friday, April 22, they beat the Gothic Knights by a combined

score of 29-14.

“Our offense and our pitching are really starting to work together as a unit,” Graber said.

Graber continued the success on Monday, April 25 pitching a complete game shutout against William Paterson University. He gave up only seven hits on the day as well, and the team won 10-0.

“I could throw both my fastball and offspeed pitches for strikes,” Graber said. “That kept the hitters off balance.”

The team’s offense has been stellar as well, averaging 13 runs per game in their last three.

The game against the Pioneers on Monday

Tom O’Dell / Photo Editor

Nick Cifelli’s efforts made the third baseman NJAC Player of the Week.

continued the trend.

“It was huge for us to score a bunch of runs early in the game,” Graber said. “We worked counts really well and got a ton of runners on base.”

Graber was not the only standout of the week for the Lions, as sophomore third baseman Nick Cifelli was named NJAC Player of the Week for hitting .583 with five RBI and eight runs scored on the week.

Weather also took center stage for the team again, as the doubleheader against Ramapo College on Saturday, April 23, was postponed until Monday, May 1. Unfortunately for the team, this means that it will be playing nine games over a seven day stretch, beginning with the win against William Paterson.

“The weather has played a major role this year,” Graber said. “However, we have tried to not let it affect us by staying sharp in practice and being mentally prepared to play every day.”

Also important is the fact that most of the games this coming week will be against NJAC opponents, as the team will face Ramapo, Richard Stockton College and Montclair University each twice during the week. Even with all of the NJAC games, Graber doesn’t believe the team needs to place a “magic number” on how many games to win this week.

“We can’t worry about how many games we need to win this upcoming week, Graber said. “We just need to stay focused and play our game, and the results will take care of themselves.”

With this week being the last one of the

Tom O’Dell / Photo Editor

Sean Stewart begins his motion. regular season, the team has a chance to make a jump in the standings with some more quality wins this week.

With Montclair State and Ramapo tied with the College in points, they can pull ahead of either of them with a sweep. Wins against Richard Stockton College will help also, as the team is only four points behind secondplace Rowan University and Rutgers University-Newark (each conference win is worth two points).

With only one week to go, the College will look to storm into the NJAC playoffs and maybe even make a run at the conference championship.