Breaking news, blogs, and more at TCNJSignal.net. Vol. XXXX, No. 6
February 26, 2014
Serving The College of New Jersey community since 1885
Cornel West: directions for activism Gen Y and the infinite sadness
Tom Kozlowski News Editor
On July 2, 1964, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson. It was a watershed piece of legislation, ending de jure segregation and discriminatory policies from the workplace to the voting booth. It also began to mend America’s social inequality that had persisted — and in many ways continues to do so — for so long. On this year, marking the bill’s 50th anniversary, the struggle against that inequality has not been diminished. But it’s no longer solely defined by images of the Black Freedom Movement marching on Birmingham and Washington. To Cornel West, professor of philosophy and Christian practice at Union Theological Seminary and professor emeritus at Princeton University, the movement is universal. “The black freedom movement has never been a movement solely about black people,” West said. “It’s about
By Anegla De Santis Correspondent
live in underdeveloped villages turn their crafts into desperately needed income. Poland’s fabric, Krakow, represents Polish Gift of Life, which is an organization that raises funds to help support children with heart defects. “I’ve personally bought multiple fabric from Soles 4 Souls,” mass communications and public relations major Ashley Reed said. “This is a company that provides shoes to people in need.”
Work. Very few things leave individuals with a sense of purpose and dignity. In the midst of a recession, many are not facing the ideal of self-fulfillment. Michelle McClintock, a 29-year-old college graduate, is stuck. As she sits in her small, shared apartment, she heads off to another day of underemployment, like so many years before. Three jobs, student debt and a dusty degree leave her unsatisfied and unable to maintain even a small version of the American dream. In the current age of opportunity, many people sympathize with McClintock. Despite efforts, optimism is scarce and depression in young adults is on the rise. What was successful for past generations is just a fantasy for Generation Y. “No matter my qualifications or the amount of work I took at my jobs, I’ve stayed at a consistent level of employment that has yet to financially take care of me,” McClintock said. Generation Y, the group born between 1977 to 1994, is the most depressed of all previous generations on record, according to an “All Psychology Careers” study based on the economy and modern technology. In an age of economic turnover and slow recovery, Generation Y has an overall state of mental instability and wonders if they can fill the gap that was lost. “It seems like they are in financial melancholy,” said Alice Donahue, a psychology health worker in Piscataway, N.J. “They look at the house their parents live in and say, ‘I could work for 100 years and never afford this.’”
see SERENGETEE page 12
see DEPRESSION page 5
Courtney Wirths / Photo Editor
Combining spoken-word and scholarship, West leaves an audience rapt in his words. raising these questions about what it means to be human — questions of truth and questions of love, knowing, of course, that justice is what love looks like in public.” West knows this best. As one of the premier public intellectuals of this era, his work
has closely dissected race relations in American democracy as they’ve evolved over the course of half a century. Through lenses of race, gender, culture and what he defines as the politics of “nonMarxist socialism,” West is a breathing textbook, all at once espousing economic theories
and allusions to the Wu-Tang Clan. Speaking to the College on Thursday, Feb. 20, he discussed the lessons of civil rights activism with much of the same panache, equal parts preacher and profound cultural scholar. see WEST page 2
Students stitch ties with Serengetee By Mylin Battips Nation & World Editor When it comes to raising money for all kinds of charities, you can count on students at the College to get on board. Seven students were recently chosen to be campus representatives for Serengetee, a clothing company founded in 2012 that donates proceeds to 32 nonprofit organizations from all over the world. The representatives promote the company by sharing posts and pictures of garments from
Serengetee’s social media pages, such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Local artisans from all over the world donate their fabrics to Serengetee. Fashion designers from the company create pocket T-shirts, incorporating the fabrics into the shirts. Each shirt with the specific fabric represents a charitable cause. For example, a local artisan from Indonesia donated the Gili fabric. Proceeds that are made from selling T-shirts that incorporate the Gili fabric are sent to the Bebali foundation, which helps weavers who
Miss America 2008 fights a battle with thin By Julie Kayzerman News Editor
Courtney Wirths / Photo Editor
Fighting taboos, Haglund discusses eating disorders. INDEX: Nation & World / Page 7 The Signal @TCNJsignal
Editorial / Page 9
It’s a conversation rarely had, as its struggles are often revealed only by a mirror’s reflection or a toilet seat containing the remnants of one’s shame. It’s talked about only in hushed tones or in an internal battle within one’s mind, yet typically over 90 percent of girls and 10 percent of boys on college campuses suffer from eating disorders in one way or another. But on Tuesday, Feb. 18, it was discussed by students alongside Opinions / Page 11
Kirsten Haglund, Miss America 2008, in an intimate setting in the Cromwell Lounge, in an effort to bring the issue out in the open in honor of Eating Disorder Awareness Month at the College, sponsored by CAPS. It’s often inferred that people fighting eating disorders acquired them from being in environments of high stress and participating in body image competitions such as pageants and modeling. Haglund actually used these opportunities to aid her in recovering from anorexia nervosa.
Features / Page 12
Haglund didn’t grow up dreaming to be a pageant queen and she wasn’t raised in a setting like the children in “Toddlers and Tiaras.” She grew up wanting nothing more than to be a ballerina. “I was the good kid,” Haglund said. “I fell in love with ballet. This was my entire life, this was my identity.” But as she begun to stake her life on being a ballet dancer, Haglund realized she might not be good enough or even thin enough see DISORDER page 2
Arts & Entertainment / Page 14
Sports / Page 28
Williams’s milestone Reaching 200 career wins over 15 years.
Olympic endings Though Sochi draws to a close, plenty more awaits.
An Evening of Shorts Students write and direct their one-act plays.
See Sports page 28
See Features page 12
See A&E page 14
page 2 The Signal February 26, 2014
Disorder / Miss America 2008 speaks out
Detailing a painful past for a better tomorrow
continued from page 1 to do the things other dancers were doing, and that’s when her self-esteem took a dangerous toll. “To feel like you have no future because you’re not good enough and not thin enough — that is awful,” Haglund said. And it was that feeling that led Haglund to begin her disease like so many others, with a small diet and a goal to lose just five pounds. “You lose (weight) and you feel euphoric for a few days,” Haglund recalled. “But this voice comes back saying, ‘You could lose more.’” Haglund continued on in a tearful yet elegant tone, explaining that she couldn’t understand why she still felt insignificant and worthless even though “she followed all of the rules” in an effort to obtain the perfect physique for a ballerina. She detailed not a childhood of playing with friends or gossiping over the latest drama, but one of sleepless nights, because the hunger was too painful and all she could do was cry on the bathroom floor and hide alone, drowning in her depression. “It’s a deceptive disease,” Haglund said. “It’s hidden very easily.” However, as her condition grew worse and became more apparent, Haglund’s mother dragged her to the doctor kicking and screaming, and that was when she was no longer able to hide her darkest internal struggle. “I didn’t want to get better,” Haglund admitted, despite being forced to receive medical attention. “I thought all of the doctors were just trying to make me fat.” It wasn’t until six months later at 16 years old that Haglund blacked out and fell off of a treadmill during a workout. It was at that moment she realized she could actually die. “It actually kills you,” Haglund bluntly stated to the audience. “It sets you up for death. You will die if you keep up your eating disorder.” But upon her realization that she was putting herself in severe danger, “a seed of hope was born inside” of her and she decided she “wanted to live.” “(It was) a very small seed of hope, but that is all you need,” Haglund said. She went on to detail that the recovery process was “hellish and long and really, really hard.” After two years
Courtney Wirths / Photo Editor
Miss America 2008 opens up about her past and explains the deadly effects of eating disorders. of working, Haglund finally reached a healthy weight and was deemed to be “recovered.” However, she felt her real stamp of recovery during her involvement in the Miss America pageant. She detailed a funny anecdote about her finding herself in a situation where she had to wing a spontaneous speech in front of an audience during a 9/11 memorial. “I had never spoken in front of an audience,” Haglund said. “The only thing I (could) do (was) speak from my experience.” As she was approached afterward by people thanking her for what she said, she realized that, “I offered something unique and different just because of who I was.” Feeling the impact made by her small speech, Haglund began to share her recovery story during pageants, which most people assume are filled with superficial women.
She explained that people didn’t care about perfection or a speech about world peace — it was her struggles that made her real in that world. As Haglund’s story was clearly touching to the silent audience engrossed in her words, she lightened the mood during her story by passionately exclaiming, “You need carbs! If you leave with nothing else, you need carbs!” She closed her story — one that began as a result of a need to be perfect — asking the students to replace perfectionism with gratitude because then life becomes simpler. “This is a conversation that needs to be had,” Haglund said about the realities of eating disorders. “I just want us to leave here with a culture of openness … because we don’t talk about these issues as much as we should. We’re all in this together.”
West / Remembering ’60s civil rights activism
Courtney Wirths / Photo Editor
West discusses the values of the Black Freedom Movement and lessons learned. continued from page 1 Those lessons learned from the Black Freedom Movement are better described as values.
According to West, no intellectual stated them better than historical black activist W.E.B. DuBois. “DuBois put it best when he wrote, ‘How shall integrity face
oppression? What shall honesty do in the face of deception, decency in the face of insult,’ and ‘what shall virtue do to meet brute force?’” West said.
These questions of value have racked the minds of leaders and thinkers alike, phrased as seemingly answerless appeals with contradictions aplenty. But their significance cannot be understated. “When I started with that quote from DuBois — integrity, honesty, decency and virtue — they must never be reduced to market value,” West said in an interview with The Signal. “Once they’ve been reduced, civilization becomes a spiritually vacuous culture. Everything becomes empty.” The Black Freedom movement carried these values not as burdens, but as torches. The greatest members of their community, from Martin Luther King Jr. to Nelson Mandela, cannot be called great men on the basis that they were willing to forgive “while sitting in that jail,” according to West. To claim all activism is forgiveness would be a mischaracterization. Rather, it was the magnitude of their love that “spilt over” and raised them up to a calling, a cause, with voices that were distinct among many. “(The Black National Anthem) doesn’t say lift every echo, but lift every voice,” West said. “You’ll never be able to lift your voice if you don’t straighten up your back and ask questions about yourself and society.”
To think critically is just as necessary as love. Blacks didn’t respond to white oppression by forming a “black Al Qaeda,” West said, but answered instead with a unifying hand. Members of the movement did not “gangsterize” a country that had extorted them first. Nor did they squabble to become celebrities of their cause. The movement was grounded in a profound discourse, and the suffering of others was the suffering of the movement. “We must not believe in blind faith,” West said. “God gave us a mind and we have to think, challenge ourselves, challenge institutions. Once it’s locked into ultimate authority ... then civilization is blacked out.” In a time of economic and cultural unsettlement, the values adopted during the Black Freedom Movement are likewise the armaments for battling the future — of sacrificing, analyzing and downright loving. America grinds on the heels of troubling times. From Trayvon Martin’s shooting to the Supreme Court’s blow to equal voting rights, the struggle is clear and present. But West has seen it all. He asks that we interact with the world in ways that “touch somebody” to think critically, precisely what he does for every brother he meets, black, white and everything in between.
February 26, 2014 The Signal page 3
Regina Holliday paints for advocacy Classroom appearance Campus speech By Nicole Ferrito Staff Writer
Ruchi Shah / Staff Writer
Regina Holliday promotes hospital-patient relationship reform through art endeavors.
By Ruchi Shah Staff Writer
At first glance, everything about Regina Holliday screams ordinary. She’s a woman of small stature with short brown hair and a kind face. But her bright red jacket with an “A” emblazoned on the back indicates otherwise. Regina has designed and painted over 200 jackets herself, for individuals all across the nation. Each jacket is a painting of a personal narrative and together these jackets make up a movement called “The Walking Gallery of Healthcare.” By showcasing personal stories through art, these jackets open up dialogue and discussion and ultimately aim to change the health policy to be more patient-centered. Regina’s journey as a patient advocate and activist began back in 2009, just six days after the death of her husband, Fred. Armed with her paintbrushes and paint and fueled by anger and grief, Regina told the story of the suffering Fred, who endured a flawed health care system, on the wall of a gas station, through her painting titled “73 cents.”
Regina learned about her husband’s terminal cancer through a brief phone call from the doctor, telling her to make an appointment with an oncologist. Regina had to look up what “oncologist” meant on the Internet. When Fred was first hospitalized, he and Regina were left in the dark about Fred’s medical condition. The responses they received over the course of Fred’s diagnosis and treatment were delayed and impersonal. Desperate for answers because their own doctor was unavailable, Regina went to the hospital’s Medical Records Department, asking for Fred’s complete medical record. She was told that it would cost 73 cents per page and take at least 21 days. Experiences such as these, coupled with overall poor treatment, prompted Fred to say, “Go after them, Regina.” And Regina did go after them, the best way she knew how — through her art. When Fred’s doctor found out that Regina had been trying to get answers about Fred’s condition, he said, “I understand Little Miss A-Type Personality has been asking questions about this case.” Regina’s
jacket design with the “A” was inspired by this remark. Today, Regina travels to classrooms and conferences. The focus of her workshop and campuswide speech at the College was to explain that anyone can make a change. She added that all social media tools — such as Facebook and Twitter — are great outlets to start asking questions. In fact, Regina completed a painting while she was here, inspired by interactions she observed on campus with students and staff, titled “Hope.” This painting represents the energy she felt at the College, which makes her hopeful for the future. She believes change is achieved by legislation, and legislation is changed by people. Through her work, the “A” on Regina’s jacket has come to represent much more than “Little Miss A-Type Personality.” The “A” stands for artist, advocate and activist. It can be implied that Regina Holliday’s painting “73 cents” sends a powerful message — when it comes to matters of patient advocacy, never be afraid to give your two cents.
Advocating on the importance of having easy access to medical records and positive doctor-patient relationships, Regina Holliday recounted her difficult hospital experience when her husband Fred suffered from kidney cancer. Holliday detailed that the doctors didn’t inform her of updates on her husband’s condition, so it came as a shock when she was informed that Fred’s cancer had spread and was now at stage four. She was also horrified to learn her husband’s hip had been fractured while in the process of being moved and no one had told her about it. Holliday was then motivated to push for hospital reform. She began by using artwork as a way to spread a message. “Change is done through story,” she said. “We need to work with everybody if we’re going to get change.” She began with a painting on a gas station wall near her home in Maryland, just six days after her husband passed away. “I am grieving, but I will not wait,” Holliday said on her drive to start informing people on issues with health information technology. The painting was titled “73 cents.” This signified what it would cost, per page, to have access to her husband’s medical records so he could be transferred to another hospital. Collecting these pages would add up to hundreds of dollars. There are many people portrayed in Holliday’s mural — her husband’s doctor, her husband and her sons. “Not one of them is making eye contact with one another,” Holliday said. “It symbolizes the disconnect between patients and doctors. It has to change.”
She started to paint peoples’ stories on the backs of their jackets. This turned into a movement called “The Walking Gallery.” Holliday now speaks at medical conferences and colleges to promote change and to share the inspiring stories of what others have overcome. At a senate press conference, Holliday did not hesitate to say, “What do you do to make sure caregivers have access to medical records?” Her question was not directly answered, so she continued to speak out to ensure that patients had a voice in the matter. She incorporated an open access hospital data of unsatisfactory patient ratings into a painting she worked on directly in front of the reviewed hospital. People came up and questioned her work, and she was able to talk to them about what she was addressing in her art. Holliday mentioned an article written about her that read, “Regina Holliday Is Not Special.” She explained that she agreed with the article. “You can make a change in this world,” she said to the audience. Holliday creates paintings almost everywhere she visits. She created a piece at the College called “Hope.” She began the piece by painting dirty snow being whisked away and a girl in a cap and gown about to take on the world. “In the moment, it’s energy and life and light,” Holliday said when reflecting on her thought process while painting the image for the College. “Everyone can talk reform, but few can actually catalyze change,” said Jim Etheridge, a junior biology and communication studies double major. “Regina is one of those few — an inspiring leader who’s brilliance, tenacity and dedication are something to truly admire.”
Lionsmatter.com: addressing campus issues By Sydney Shaw Staff Writer A demonstration for lionsmatter.com — a forum to post issues at the College — was presented to the Student Government general body during their meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 19. The site was created by junior marketing and economics double major Patrick Kelly and junior marketing and IMM double major Michael Young. “It’s a public platform for students to post comments and concerns about the College,” Kelly said. “We will forward the information to administrators so that they can do something about it, and we can see real results.” Posts can be up- and down-voted, similar to YouTube videos, to let the College know which posts are most relevant and most important to students. Kelly and Young discussed plans for a moderation system to prevent spam. “Since you have to sign into your TCNJ account, anything you post will be connected to you,” Young explained. He hopes
this will deter students from writing up ludicrous posts. “I think that the site has great potential for actual improvement of matters on campus,” freshman class council member Derek Carper said. “While the platform of @TCNJPROBLEMS on Twitter provides an output for students’ frustration, it’s not productive in solving the problems presented. So long as the system doesn’t get abused, I believe it has the potential to be a key tool in improving the little things on campus.” Young believes that Lions Matter is superior to SpeakOut TCNJ — a similar site in the sense that problems can be posted and voted on — because posts are forwarded to administrators, allowing them to respond. “One incentive we’ve been thinking about to try to encourage administrators to respond to posts is a Leader Board,” Young said. “It will show who is ‘winning’ or in other words, which administrators respond to the highest percentage of posts. Freshman class council member Ryan Molicki expressed concerns about only
Courtney Wirths / Photo Editor
SG discusses the proposal for Lionsmatter.com to address campus issues.
checking the website once a week, in case more urgent matters are posted. On Monday, for example, an anonymous user posted a photo on Lions Matter with the caption, “This is the ceiling of the Norsworthy 2 women’s bathroom. A large plate in the ceiling is slowly collapsing because the actual ceiling is crumbling. The entire plate is being supported by a wooden block on top of a pipe connected to a sprinkler head. This is absolutely ridiculous, and it has been like this for over a week.”
Kelly and Young stressed the importance of knowing when to submit a work order to Res Life instead of posting on Lions Matter. Magda Manetas, Associate Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students, fears that the site may get too personal. For example, students could use the site to complain about a professor they don’t get along with. “That certainly is not the intended purpose of Lions Matter,” Kelly said. He reiterated that a moderation system is in the works.
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February 26, 2014 The Signal page 5
Depression / Generation Y in a turnover culture continued from page 1 This condition is becoming severe for the younger “millennials.” According to Donahue, young adults who entered the job market in the start of the recession saw their parents dealing with pay cuts, job loss and household trouble. It was a foresight to their futures that left them somewhat hopeless, although not unwilling to try. “This generation is amassing much less wealth than their parents had when they were the same age,” Donahue said. “They’ve been raised to think they are special and have more chances, but few have been rewarded for the same amount of schooling, or more, as previous generations.” The overall net worth of this generation has decreased, making for a shakier retirement in the future. And as the best-educated generation to date, it seems to be an unfair correlation. Generation Y professionals entering the workforce are finding careers that once were gateways to high pay and upwardly mobile lives, now turning into
dead ends. Average incomes are still falling somewhat, even as 2014 seems more promising. “I’ve worked incredibly hard during and after college,” McClintock said. “I accepted I couldn’t get a career in what I’d gone to school for, but after finding something else I could pursue, it still seemed impossible. I’ve been stuck for too long.” McClintock resides in an openly depressive state and claims to have felt this way for many years, mostly dealing with it in the form of denial. “I just want to finally earn everything I’ve worked for,” she said. “I deserve it, and because of bad timing, I’m not getting it.” For the first time, a whole generation might not prove to be wealthier than the one that preceded it. As digital natives, young adults have also grown up in a constantly wired environment — connected by transferring from desktop, to game console, to cellphones and tablets. According to researchers at Michigan State University, multimedia use has increased about 20 percent in the past decade among
AP Photo
More students struggle to find jobs in their field of study.
AP Photo
The faces of Generation Y are emotionally disfigured through social media’s disguises. young adults. Of them, a majority are now handling more than one electronic device at a time. This trend is leading to more reported cases of anxiety issues and mental health problems. “As much as job scarcity is a hope-crusher, being able to see everyone else’s success firsthand is extremely difficult to cope with,” Donahue said. “You start to feel like you’re not in control of your life.” Social Media Depression is a coined term in the mental health field, cluttering the minds of the first fully-exposed generation. The process of using it can become an addiction in itself, according to Donahue. All types of addiction can lead to depression and damage, and “social media may be causing it on a larger scale than any other drug before.” It is no wonder to researchers why Generation Y is significantly more depressed than previous generations. Resources are changing at quicker speeds
and are having as many negative impacts as positive ones, while hope for growth in important living prospects is still stagnant. “We’re a generation that had really high expectations,” junior history major Nicole Prozzo said. “We constantly want more — that’s part of this time. The difference is it’s harder to obtain.” To increase energy and drive, both young adults and professionals believe in the idea of taking care of your body to keep you motivated. This includes sleep, exercise, healthy eating and meditation. And while many are aware of those benefits, it proves easier said than done. In McClintock’s case, multiple jobs with hours into the morning don’t lend themselves to a healthy living environment. According to a Forbes business article, personal goal-setting and having deadlines are important to success in anything. But in a generation that focuses on instant gratification, there has been a decrease in being tolerant
of what’s happening rather than what’s thought “should be” happening, Donahue said. “It seems like people think they have to pretend to be content because they see other people living their lives that way, and that just adds to depression,” junior technology education major Kevin Cardenas said. Acceptance is essential in working toward a healthier mindset. But there is no doubt that Generation Y’s mindset isn’t historically healthy as a whole. “I had a lot of faith in the system,” McClintock said. “That sort of tradition that if you work really hard you can achieve anything … it’s hard to believe in that anymore.” As hope becomes a rarity among a rising generation, depression spreads and the American dream fades. “There are dark moments,” McClintock said. “But I hope our generation can eventually see past that.”
‘Alice in Wonderland’ spring latenighter funded Julie Kayzerman News Editor
Coming back to present a list of possible bands to play a concert at this year’s Funival, CUB Rat received funding for $33,000 by the Student Finance board on Wednesday, Feb. 19. $8,936 of the funds comes from both CUB Rat’s base budget and high volume request budget within the student activity fee, while the remainder of the total, stemming from CUB’s box office line, consists of extra ticket revenues made over the years. CUB hopes to bring a band from its list of headliners, including New Politics, Cash Cash and Motion City Soundtrack, alongside its list of possible openers, including Magic Man and W.C. Lindsay. CUB was also funded for $19,595 in hopes of bringing an “Alice in Wonderland” themed spring latenighter to campus. The event is planned to include a gladiator joust, hypnotist, fun house mirrors, black light mini golf and wax hand designs, amongst several other activities. It is scheduled to take place on Friday, March 28, in the Brower Student Center at 8 p.m. CUB was also fully funded by SFB in the hopes of bringing the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey to the College in order to perform “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and teach two workshops of 30
Courtney Wirths / Photo Editor
SFB allocates funds for a Funival concert and a new latenighter. students each. The proposed event will take place on Saturday, March 29, in the Black Box Theatre. All of the previous events will be free to students. The Deaf Hearing Connection also presented to SFB this week and was fully funded with $6,790 to bring a double headliner comedy show as part of a “Deaf Awareness Day.” They plan to bring CJ Jones and Keith Wann, both of whom incorporate American sign language into their performance and are renowned in the Deaf community.
The event will be free to all students and will cost $5 for non-students. It is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, March 5, at Kendall Hall. SFB allocated $4,899.33 to the Alternative Break Club to host a Mardi Gras Masquerade in an effort to bring New Orleans culture to the campus by providing authentic Cajun meals, music and cultural events. The event will take place on Wednesday, April 2, at 8:30 p.m. Chabad was also among the presenters
of the day, asking for funds for two events, “Hilarious Purim” and “Friday Night Live.” The events were originally tabled last week, as the board felt that both events didn’t necessarily bring cultural awareness and were not fiscally responsible. However, this week, they were funded for $1,830, despite asking for $3,330 in funds, as they were not funded to bring a $1,500 Purim feast to the event. The event will include a visit from Robert Rivest to host Laughing Yoga in celebration of the joyous holiday of Purim. Chabad was also allocated $2,312.94 to host “Friday Night Live,” exposing the campus to a traditional Shabbat meal. Finally, SFB received three conference requests that were each fully funded. The Inter-Greek Council was funded with $2,197.50 to send four members to the regional Northeastern Greek Leadership Annual Conference from Thursday, Feb. 27, to Sunday, March 2. It will provide workshops for the participants to develop new programming opportunities for the College. New Jersey Christian Fellowship was allocated $1,390.75 for four members to attend the Basileia conference to bring back leadership development tools to campus. Student Government was also allocated $447 to send three students to the regional ASAGA Philadelphia SG Training Conference in June.
Four beers ‘House of Cards’ season 2 available
page 6 The Signal February 26, 2014
Rolling a ‘J’ By Tom Kozlowski News Editor On Wednesday, Feb. 12, at 2:50 a.m., Campus Police were dispatched on the report of a student experiencing chest pains after inhaling marijuana. According to Campus Police, the student attested that he, in his own words, “went to 7-11, got rolling papers, and smoked a J,” before walking back to campus. 15-20 minutes after smoking, the student began to experience chest pains that continued for about an hour and a half. The student was treated by Lions EMS and stated that he was not in possession of any more marijuana, Campus Police said.
A student was reported to be unconscious in the Wolfe 9 men’s room on Saturday, Feb. 22, at 3 a.m., according to Campus Police. When the officer arrived, he spoke with the student, who was now awake and alert. After being treated by Lions EMS, the student admitted to having consumed four Bud Lights earlier in his dorm before passing out. Campus Police said the student was allowed to remain on campus.
Courtney Wirths Opinions Editor
• Facebook Inc. announced last week that it will pay $19 billion for a startup messaging company, WhatsApp. The deal will be the largest acquisition of a startup company in history, according to the Wall Street Journal. • Natural Gas prices are on the rise again in response to forecasts that there will be another polar vortex in March. Natural gas prices are up nearly 44 percent since the start of the year, according to CNBC. • G Asset Management, a private investment management firm, offered to buy 51 percent of either Barnes & Noble or the Nook business. The firm offered to pay $22 per share for Barnes & Noble, according to the Wall Street Journal. • With beef prices in America on the rise, consumption of Bison is expected to increase. The meat is much leaner than beef and popular with those on the Paleo diet, according to CNBC.
• Google Maps is getting updated. Now users can have better access to street views, have public transportation maps, make reservations and know what events are at their favorite venues all through Google Maps, according to the Wall Street Journal. • Under Armour, the popular athletic-wear company, received underserved criticism during the Sochi Olympics when it was thought that suits made for the Speed Skating team added drag to racers. It was later revealed that the suits had no impact on skaters’ performance, according to the New York Times. • The second season of Netflix’s hit, “House of Cards,” was released on Valentine’s Day. The new season’s episodes were released all at once and led to fans everywhere beginning their Netflix binging, according to the New York Times. • The Federal Reserve released transcripts from several emergency meetings that were held during the days before the markets crash in 2008. The transcripts were able to provide a clear timeline of the volatile year, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Kevin Spacey of ‘House of Cards’ arrives at a special screening as Netflix releases season 2.
10. We don’t haze. 9. We aren’t vampires. 8. It looks good on a résumé. 7. It will make your parents proud. 6. We work out. 5. We are punny. 4. There’s a basketball hoop in our office. 3. We get free food. 2. All the cool kids are doing it. 1. Great networking skills. Contact us at signal@tcnj.edu and become one of us.
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February 26, 2014 The Signal page 7
Nation & W rld
Obama disappointed in Uganda’s new anti-gay law
By Hajar Lakhouili Staff Writer
The president of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni, seeks out advice from the United States regarding their newly proposed anti-homosexuality law. Initially, Museveni did not support this law, stating that it is not homosexuals’ fault that they were born “abnormal.” Acccording to BBCNews, Museveni wants the United States to help their scientists determine if homosexuality is a genetic or behavioral trait. “I ... encourage the U.S. government to help us by working with our scientists to study whether, indeed, there are people who are born homosexual,” he said. “When that
is proved, we can review this legislation.” President Obama, in an attempt to deal with this issue, stated that the passage of this legislation would greatly harm any relations the United States has with Uganda. This warning holds a lot of weight, considering the fact that the United States is one of Uganda’s largest aid donors. There are already regulations regarding male homosexuality, but this bill tightens restrictions and now addresses female homosexuality as well. Tighter restrictions include the life imprisonment of anyone who interacts in any homosexual activities. The discussion of homosexuality without the condemnation of it is also punishable by a prison sentence. Punishment further extends to those who do not report any acts of
homosexuality, BBCNews detailed. According to Al Jazeera, Human Rights Watch, an independent organization dedicated to the defense and protection of human rights worldwide, decided to weigh in on the issue. The Africa director for Human Rights Watch, Daniel Bekele, said, “There is real urgency now that Museveni has stated his intention to sign the bill.” The Human Rights Watch group replied that Ugandan international donors should specify the consequences that the passage of this anti-homosexuality bill will cause if it is passed. Bekele goes on to say that, “Uganda’s international partners need to show unequivocally that if this bill is passed, it will not be business as usual with the Ugandan government.”
AP Photo
Supporters of homosexuality show disapproval for Uganda’s new law.
Greenhouse gases may be the cause of global warming
AP Photo
The EPA suspects that power plants’ emissions of carbon dioxide cause climate change. WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court appeared divided on Monday over the sole Obama administration program already in place to limit power plant and factory emissions of gases blamed for global warming. The justices took on a small, complicated piece of the politically charged issue of cutting greenhouse gas
emissions in an extended argument that included references to Dunkin’ Donuts stores, football games and light bulbs. The examples were meant to illustrate the vast potential reach of the program, in its critics’ view, or its limited nature, as the administration argued. The presence of Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky in the courtroom underscored the political stakes in President Barack Obama’s high-profile effort to deal with global warming — a policy Obama is pursuing after failing to persuade Congress to enact climate change legislation. McConnell is facing a tough re-election fight in which he refers often to the administration’s assault on the coal industry in Kentucky and elsewhere. The court’s liberal justices seemed comfortable with the scope of an Environmental Protection Agency permitting program that applies to companies that want to expand facilities or build new ones that would increase overall pollution. Under the program, the companies must evaluate ways to reduce the carbon they release. Carbon dioxide is the chief greenhouse gas. However, conservative members of the bench indicated they’re skeptical of the EPA’s authority, with Justice Anthony Kennedy as the probable decisive vote. Kennedy seemed
Around the World:
Afghanistan
Afghans troubled by health care
AP Photo
According to MSF, Afghanistan’s healthcare system still faces challenges meeting medical needs, despite claims of success. KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Gaping holes in Afghanistan’s health care system are being obscured by misleading narratives of success ahead of the international troop withdrawal in 2014, aid organization Medecins Sans Frontieres warns in a new report published Tuesday. MSF — or Doctors Without Borders — said that while some progress has been made from the last decade of international investment, access to medical care in Afghanistan remains severely limited and poorly adapted to meet the needs of an ongoing conflict — partly because decisions about humanitarian
aid have been influenced by political and military objectives instead of Afghans’ pressing needs. “As troops pack their bags, MSF sees a war that still rages in many parts of the country and a failure to meet people’s increasing medical and humanitarian needs,” the group said. “International donors, aid providers and Afghan authorities must urgently address serious shortcomings in health care provision.” Efforts to shape and define a legacy of international intervention in Afghanistan have contributed to overly rosy assessments of progress,
emphasizing achievements while neglecting unmet humanitarian needs, according to the aid organization’s report, which was provided to The Associated Press ahead of its public release. “It is striking how far the accounts of ordinary Afghans differ from prevailing narratives of progress,” the report said. “Any desire to package Afghanistan into a simplified political or military success story risks masking the reality of the ongoing conflict and the suffering of hundreds of thousands of people who do not have access to adequate medical assistance.” MSF was careful to note that more than ten years of investment in Afghanistan have produced some signs of progress. But international donors are cutting aid as casualty rates from violence are climbing, and maternal and infant mortality rates remain among the highest in the world. Civilian casualties in 2013 rose by 14 percent, according to a recent U.N. report. Christopher Stokes, MSF’s general director, said his group wants to “provide a reality check.” “With the conflict spreading to once-stable areas of the country and indications that the war will only intensify in many places, the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan cannot be overlooked.”
most interested in making clear that EPA would retain the ability to combat climate change under earlier high court rulings, regardless of the outcome of this case. Both sides acknowledged on Monday that the result would not impede EPA’s proposal of first-time national standards for new power plants or its regulations for existing plants expected to be proposed this summer. It will then move on to other large stationary sources such as factories. The permitting program, though, is the first piece of EPA’s attempt to reduce carbon output from large sources. Justice Samuel Alito suggested that EPA simply rewrote a provision of the Clean Air Act to justify its permitting program and avoid sweeping in tens of thousands of businesses. “In the entire history of federal regulation what is the best example you can give us of an agency’s doing something like that?” Alito asked Solicitor General Donald Verrilli Jr., defending the program for the administration. Verrilli sought to explain the EPA’s actions as a way to deal with major sources of pollution, “not to gradually expand the permitting requirement until they’ve got all the Dunkin’ Donuts in America under it. That’s not what’s going on.” About 140 permits have been issued so far, Verrilli said.
Obscure & Offbeat
AP Photo
Mayor of New York City, Bill de Blasio, grubs at a local pizzeria.
No words for Missouri’s spelling bee
After almost 70 rounds, organizers of the Jackson County Spelling Bee in Missouri were forced to shut down the event because they ran out of words. The event will continue in March.
Mayor’s used fork worth $2,500
NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio’s fork that he used to eat pizza was sold for $2,500 to an anonymous bidder in an auction. Proceeds will go to charity. Information from AP
page 8 The Signal February 26, 2014
Spring 2014 Career & Internship Fair Friday, February 28, 2014 Rec Center 9AM 9AM-- 1PM Sampling of Employer Representatives
Profit
Johnson & Johnson
Visual Computer Solutions
Accutest Laboratories
JP Morgan Chase
Whiting-Turner Contracting
AdMed, Inc.
KPMG
WithumSmith+Brown
Aerotek
Lab Support
Non-Profit
Arete Inc.
Marathon Data Systems
Alternatives Inc.
AXA Advisors
Matlen Silver
CISabroad
BioClinica
Mercadien
Educational Testing Service (ETS)
Blinds To Go
News America Marketing
Peace Corps
Brainerd Communications, Inc
Nordson EFD
CBIZ Valuation Group, LLC
Northeast Planning Corporation
SERV Behavioral Health System, Inc.
CDW
Northwestern Mutual– Olson
The Arc Mercer
Chubb
Northwestern Mutual– Savino
United Way, Monmouth County
Cintas
Pennoni Associates
Womanspace
CIT Group, Inc.
PeopleShare
Government
CohnReznick, LLP
Pickering, Corts, & Summerson, Inc.
New Jersey Judiciary
Philadelphia Insurance Co.
U.S. Dept. of Transportation
PwC
U.S. Secret Service
Deloitte Destination Athlete, LLC Enterprise Rent A Car EY Ferguson First Investors Corporation Gannett/NJ Press Media Grant Thornton LLC Guardian Life Insurance Co. Health Care Software, Inc. Hub City Media, Inc. Hunterdon Academy of the Arts J&L Marketing
U.S. DEA
Rosetta SHI International Corporation Six Flags Great Adventure
... And more!
Sobel Target Therapeutic Outreach, Inc. Townsquare Media- NJ 101.5 Unum UPS Urban Engineers, Inc. CO-SPONSORS For updated list, please check the Career Center website: www.tcnj.edu/career
February 26, 2014 The Signal page 9
Editorial
Overcrowding is hurting college housing
The recent housing debacle at the College, in which one in five upperclassmen who applied for on-campus housing were rejected, illustrates something that often bothers me about an otherwise great school: it can seem caught up with a grand, longterm plan — something from which bigger buildings, graduating classes and legacies will sprout — without paying attention to the day-to-day issues students have to work with, such as being able to make it to the classes they’re paying to enroll in. Not being able to guarantee students housing is a significant example of this, and especially disappointing for an institution that touts campus life as a major draw. The heart of this problem is the sheer number of students being sent acceptance letters. It’s an obvious and preventable problem, but one that keeps rearing its ugly head: The College admits more students every year, regularly breaking its own record for the largest freshman class, without being prepared to fully accommodate students. Ten years ago, the College was strained with 5,708 full-time undergraduates, and it’s grown to 6,455 since then — an increase of 747 people, or 13.1 percent — without sufficient housing or facilities being added in response. This is partly why the gym feels like a broom closet, the library’s meal equiv line stretches across the world twice and many students who need on-campus housing aren’t guaranteed it for next year. To be fair, the College is making an effort: Guaranteeing housing for everyone might be possible when (or if) CampusTown, and the 446 student beds that come with it, is finally completed and the current renovations being done are completed. That won’t resolve the housing issue permanently, since this school is intent on growing, but at least it will put a big band-aid on the problem for a while. In the meantime, the way housing is being handled is more anxiety-inducing than it needs to be. There has to be a lot more transparency in the system. If students knew exactly where on the waiting list they are — an email from Residential Housing and Education saying “you will probably (not) get housing” is helpful but not a substitute for transparency — they’d at least be able to make a quick, informed decision about whether to go off-campus or not. In its mass email to students, Residential Housing and Education says 80-90 percent of students who have been rejected can be accommodated by August, but anyone who hasn’t already signed a lease off-campus at that point is taking a huge risk. No one wants to wake up mid-August and realize their commute for the semester is a 15-mile walk. Another way to alleviate the headaches caused from housing is to group students together, so that a handful of friends who want to live with each other don’t suddenly find themselves short a person and out of luck. As it is, it’s too easy for a group to be splintered by chance, and everyone’s housing plans ruined for an entire year. The problem might not be as dramatic, either, if it were done at an earlier point in time. There are drawbacks to that, of course — not everyone wants to commit to a residence through May 2015 in the Fall of 2013 — but trying to find a quality off-campus option in February or March is a pretty intimidating challenge. Most importantly, though — and most obviously — the College needs to accept fewer students, even if it’s only by a marginal amount. Trying to cater to a large student population the campus is unable to accomadate can only result in headaches and heartbreak.
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— Senior wrestler Brian Broderick.
“I’ve always dreamed of being on Broadway, but I never thought I’d make it to the Rat.”
“These are dark moments. But I hope our generation can eventually see past that.”
— 29-year-old college graduate Michelle McClintock.
Editorial Content
Tom Kozlowski / News Editor
“I lost my match (at nationals) so it was a heartbreaker for me, because I feel like I wasted a whole year of work just to come up short. It takes a lot out of you, training eight months out of the year, and then it comes down to the final two days of the tournament, and it cuts you down a bit.”
— Senior international studies major Elizabeth Maricic.
— Peter Fiorilla, Sports Editor
The amount of students being accepted to the College is making it increasingly difficult to get housing.
Quotes of the Week
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.
page 10 The Signal February 26, 2014
THINK JESUS HATES RELIGION (AND YOU SHOULD TOO) WHY I
STILL
Co-sponsored by: NJCF, VOH, SG , GUM
SAF Funded
JEFFERSON
19 8pm at the BETHKE
wed march
student center
February 26, 2014 The Signal page 11
Opinions
Conspirators — a bone of contention Blue bins, please By Frank Stabile
Of the many things that regularly annoy me, one of the less frequent but more irritating subjects is conspiracy theories. Last year, the 50th anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy caused a resurgence of conspiracy talk. As the stories go, some combination of Lee Harvey Oswald, the mafia, the Cubans, the Soviets and the Central Intelligence Agency were responsible for Kennedy’s death. Oddly enough, there seems to be at least one of these theories for every major national event. The attacks of Sept. 11 were actually a series of controlled explosions coordinated by the Bush administration. The Apollo moon landing was taped at a Hollywood set, the government stores aliens and their aircraft in Area 51, and everyone knows that the Illuminati are close to establishing a New World Order. These ideas are ridiculous, but somehow manage to persist and capture the minds of surprisingly large portions of the population. In this article, I describe recent data and studies on conspiracy theory in America and discuss the implications of such unfounded ideas. The latest polls on belief in conspiracy theory are somewhat reassuring, but mostly alarming. Two polls conducted in 2013 by Public Policy Polling asked participants if they believe in a series of wellknown conspiracy theories. For the most part, less than 15 percent of respondents accepted these nonsensical theories, such as the faked moon landing and the existence of Bigfoot and Sasquatch. However,
37 percent believed that global warming is a hoax, 21 percent believe that the government covered up an alien crash at Roswell, 20 percent that vaccines are linked to autism, and 28 percent that a secret society is planning for the New World Order. This means that one in every four or five people in America probably believes in at least one of these conspiracy theories. The numbers are even worse for the Kennedy assassination. Gallup, Inc., has conducted nine polls since 1963, asking participants if they believed other people besides Oswald were involved in a conspiracy to assassinate the president. In the years immediately following the assassination, about 50 percent of participants believed in a conspiracy. This number increased steadily and peaked in 1976 and 2001 at 81 percent. The percentage has dropped since then, but still stands at a high 61 percent. Many people identified the mafia and the government as probable co-conspirators. Despite a huge body of official and independent work that agrees on the lone gunman explanation, more than half of Americans believe that a conspiracy killed the president. Pollsters are not the only ones interested in conspiracy theory. In 2010, psychologists Viren Swami and Rebecca Coles of the University of Westminster published an article summarizing recent studies of conspiracy theory. The piece, titled, “The truth is out there,” shows that belief in conspiracy theory is often linked to a lack of trust in the government and feelings of frustration and isolation. The authors suggest that conspiracy theories provide
answers in a world of uncertainty and catastrophe and give the theorist some sense of control. In this way, adherence to a conspiracy theory against all evidence seems to be a reflection of a negative worldview, rather than a strain of lunacy. With an understanding of the scope and origin of conspiracy theories, it is easier to consider the implications of such ideas. Many people are distracted by conspiracy theory and invest tremendous amounts of effort in stories that have little or no evidence. But, unfortunately, the consequences do not stop at wasted time. While people sit at their computers watching the planes fly into the World Trade Center over and over again, they miss the actual conspiracies. I often wonder if the 9/11 truthers or Bigfoot hunters care about the National Security Agency’s massive spying programs. Are they interested in conspiracies that really occurred, like the assassination of Abraham Lincoln or the Watergate scandal? I’m worried that the answer is no, and that conspiracy theories distract intelligent and otherwise reasonable people from truly important issues. The solution, of course, is to embrace a more rational way of thinking. Instead of assuming the mainstream is wrong and finding the facts to match, people must start with the evidence and decide from there. This holds true for the argument I make here. All of these poll data and studies are available online, and I urge interested readers to examine the information themselves. A more critical approach is vital. The future will continue to bring new crises and there is no time to waste on fairies and gremlins.
The many forms of compassion By Maria Mostyka
What is compassion anyway? It is hard to imagine an easier question. We think we do know what it is, and we know how to be compassionate — be good and kind, help someone in need. It is also the basis of the Golden Rule: “Do not treat others as you would not like to be treated” or “Treat others as you would like others to treat you.” Compassion is often associated with religious doctrines, and observing the Golden Rule makes you a good (insert your religion here) follower and, generally, a good person. While all this is undoubtedly true, compassion is more than that. It is the ability to be fully present with the other person. It is the willingness to let yourself be seen — to show a glimpse of that protected and armored “you,” those raw thoughts and emotions. To be compassionate is to cherish the present moment and to stay with the suffering or distress of the other person. In order to be compassionate, you have to make a genuine connection and you have to be vulnerable. Vulnerability is the core of compassion. The core and the stumbling block as well. The difficulty arises because we often imagine ourselves doing an act of kindness for a stranger. Why would I open up to a stranger? The good deed is done, and we walk away feeling nice about ourselves. And hey, I did help that fallen lady get up, I did volunteer at the soup kitchen and I did donate to charity. While these acts are immensely valuable, when we are deeply compassionate, we are willing to be vulnerable in order to truly see and feel the suffering of the other person in his or her most distressful moment. Moreover, compassion is something that should extend to all of our relationships. Surprisingly, it can be hard to be compassionate with the people we love precisely
because we need to be uncomfortably honest and open in order to make a stronger connection, to have a “me-too” or an “I-feelyou” moment, to face the fear of messing up the relationship. Yet, without this raw openness and vulnerability, it is very hard to make a connection and be deeply compassionate. The hardest act of compassion is the one toward ourselves. Self-compassion. Unfortunately, people often confuse selfcompassion with selfishness: self-compassion is not selfishness. Selfishness is actually not loving yourself and consequently trying to snatch the attention, the pleasures and all the possible and impossible things to fill the void created by the neglect of self. Self-compassion, on the other hand, is the ability to be kind and non-judgmental toward yourself. It is an understanding that you do not have to be perfect, that you are enough. Self-compassion is a very counterintuitive notion because we believe harsh criticism is motivational and character building. Nothing can be further from the truth. According to Kelly McGonigal, a health psychologist and a lecturer at Stanford University, when we harshly criticize ourselves, the parts of our brain responsible for action shut down, and the brain goes into a protective mode. But most importantly, we cannot be genuinely compassionate toward others if we are not compassionate toward ourselves. As I have attempted to show, compassion deserves a second look because it is complex and multifaceted — it is intricately tied with vulnerability, honesty and ability to stay in the moment, and even our relationship to our selves. Ultimately, compassion deserves a second chance because it is up to us to dare to be compassionate and to find out what it is.
This article was written in response to Tom Kozlowski’s editorial, “Too much trash, too little recycling,” published on Feb. 6, 2014.
Courtney Wirths / Photo Editor
The College provides very few recycling bins for paper products.
By Andrew Samuel
I am writing in complete and utter agreement to the editorial piece from Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2014 about the lack of recycling on campus. When the Campus Facilities survey comes out every year, I write in my comments that there needs to be more recycling readily available around campus. I should not have to walk halfway across campus to find a blue bin to deposit my bottles or old newspapers. The latter is probably the hardest to find a place to recycle. I live in Townhouses South, and while I always say the College learned from its mistakes with previous townhouses in South, it did not learn that having a dumpster is a necessity. There also is little publicized about why this campus does not recycle. An alumnus of the college informed me why there is little recycling — when they pick up the recycling, they search a portion of it to look for things that cannot be recycled by the system, and if any of that is present, the whole batch is landfilled. This is not discussed, and while the dumpsters have labels on them, we are not going to search through our recycling to confirm what is in there once we trek to the dumpster. And finally, as a civil engineering major, I have taken an environmental engineering course and studied the management of solid waste. The culture we have, both on campus and across the country, of landfill it and forget about it is unsustainable. Between styrofoam containers that will never decay to plastic bottles that will be sitting in those landfills for another 10,000 years before they are close to gone, we cannot ignore recycling any longer. A recent proposal for a waste-to-energy incinerator in Mercer County was immediately trashed (pun intended) when the proposal put it near Trenton and there was fear it would pollute the city and the county, and that nobody wants a trash smell in their county. Have these people been to Elizabeth? Or driven through Middlesex County when the wind blows the cover off part of the landfill in Edison? Europe incinerates most of their waste for energy to ensure maximum land utilization, I think it is time the U.S. did the same. Maybe the College could make part of the power plant an incinerator, but that is pushing it a little too far right now. Let’s try to get recycling bins first before an incinerator.
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.
page 12 The Signal February 26, 2014
Features
Serengetee / New company continued from page 1 Reed is excited to be a campus representative for Serengetee. “It was founded independently by students, actually, which is why I think Serengetee is awesome,” Reed said. “It was founded right out of their dorm rooms.” Jeff Steitz, founder and CEO of Serengetee and graduate of Claremont McKenna College, decided to start Serengetee while studying abroad. He and his partner Ryan Westberg of the University of Arizona toured 15 markets around the globe and brought home authentic fabrics. They spread the word out to different college campuses across the company, including the College, and encouraged students to join the company so they could help promote it. “My roommate was a representative last semester, and another Kappa Delta was a representative,” sophomore biology major Natalia Zak said. “I just saw it last-minute and applied. And I got it, which was awesome.” Zak added that the Serengetee is encouraging campus representatives to promote the company in a larger scale. “I might do something with Kappa
Delta and see if I can get a bunch of Kappa Deltas involved,” she said. “All of us (representatives) are trying to do a bigger project together to make it well-known on campus.” From Serengetee’s progress, one can assume that the College’s representatives will have no trouble getting its fellow peers on board to promote the company. It has already made $4,000 from this month alone and over $52,000 in total donations. Over 173,000 people support the company through social media. “That’s why I like this company,” Zak said. “A lot of the times, companies don’t tell you where the proceeds are going. But with Serengetee, it shows you exactly where it’s going, exactly how much they’re making and how much they’re giving out.” Reed is proud to be one of those supporters who is giving to those in need. “Knowing that by buying these products I can support young entrepreneurs, local communities and charities is a really great feeling,” she said. “Everyone I’ve worked with at Serengetee is incredibly devoted and enthusiastic, which also contributes to the positive work environment.”
Serengetee.com
Serengetee donates its proceeds to 32 nonprofit organizations.
Chinese New Year
Colleen Murphy / Features Editor
The Chinese Students Association brings a New Year’s celebration to the Lion’s Den. A lion dance, a New Year’s tradition, is performed. By Colleen Murphy Features Editor To ring in the Lunar New Year, the Chinese Students Association (CSA) hosted the Chinese New Year Celebration on Thursday, Feb. 20. To kick off the festivities, some fun facts and a brief background of the New Year were given. Then, to chase away evil spirits and ghosts, a lion dance was held. The night also featured performances of Taiko drums, Chinese traditional
long-sleeve dance and Chinese yo-yo. Ewing’s Southern Shaolin Kung fu Academy also displayed some Kung fu moves. And, of course, there was a ton of Chinese food served throughout the event. “We hope that the students had fun while learning about the culture and some of the aspects of Chinese New Year,” sophomore biology major and CSA secretary Stephanie Yong said. “Our biggest goal is to get the whole campus and the community to be more interested and involved in Chinese culture.”
‘House of Cards’ is a binger’s nightmare By Johnanthony Alaimo Columnist
AP Photo
Pharrell looks so young because he’s happy.
“House of Cards” debuted on Netflix last week on Valentine’s Day. If you are like me (which I pray you’re not), then you spent that day in bed with Ben, Jerry and the iconic Frank Underwood. Hot. If you haven’t started watching yet, you’re an idiot. If you have started watching it, you are still an idiot, mostly because it’s so addicting. I finished 13 episodes in a weekend. There’s nothing like a good binge. The season was absolutely incredible with a premiere that hits you like a train. Just in case you were wondering, no, Pharrell Williams is not a vampire. Apparently, Pharrell is 40 years old and has looked the same for the past 20 years.
So, of course something supernatural is involved. Not a good skincare regimen. Not a balanced diet. Not good genes. He is a motherfucking bloodsucker. Pharrell released a statement (most likely at night) saying, “No, I am not (a vampire) … I’m willing to go on record as saying that I don’t drink people’s blood.” Hmmm, sounds like something a vampire would say. Has anyone ever seen Pharrell eat pizza with garlic? I rest my case. Former “American Idol” judge/Plain White T icon Simon Cowell welcomed his first child into the world. On the delivery of his child, Cowell stated, “It was the worst bloody thing I’ve ever heard. You are by far the worst crier ever. I’ve heard births on cruise ships better than this.” Then Paula Abdul walked into the delivery room and stole all the epidurals. At least that’s what I wish all happened. The
baby is a boy named Eric, who I’m sure will grow up to have his mother’s eyes and his father’s moobs. Congratulations, Cowell family!
Simon Cowell Twitter
So Simon does have a heart.
Call for Columnists
We are currently looking for dedicated writers to start a new column for the Features section. Interested in science? Know of any good places to go around here? Why not write about it? Contact murphc16@tcnj.edu with ideas!
February 26, 2014 The Signal page 13
Goodbye, Sochi (and Putin) — it’s been real
AP Photo
Russia makes fun of its Opening Ceremony gaffe during the Closing Ceremony. By Colleen Murphy Features Editor
Everything good must come to an end, and on Sunday, Feb.
23, the 22nd Winter Olympic Games were officially closed. For over two weeks, we all witnessed the world’s best athletes come together to showcase
their abilities. For over two weeks, our eyes were glued to the television, seeing which country would come out on top, by how many hundredths of a second someone won a race and by how many points a record was broken by. This year’s Games were surrounded by skepticism. Was Russia’s security enough? Why were they being held in a country with so much political strife? Will the weather be too warm? But 17 days later, the Games proved to go smoothly. While there were some events that highlighted Russia’s politics, including the violence in Ukraine, for the most part, it really was all about the athletes. And, boy, did those athletes do a fantastic job! America had a great showing. We were second in the
overall medal count with 28 medals, second only to the host country who earned 33. Our athletes represented us well — they got us nine gold medals, they displayed good sportsmanship and they showed the world how Americans get things done. We set and broke records. We showed what American spirit is all about. If you’re like me, you’re suffering from Olympic withdrawal. You miss seeing Bob Costas every night. You miss the Olympic-themed commercials. But most of all, you miss the competition. But don’t be too sad, because there is plenty more to look forward to in the upcoming months: The World Figure Skating Championships are coming up soon. From Monday, March 24, to Sunday, March 30, you
can see your Olympic favorites skate again. Tired of watching the events competed on snow and ice? The 2014 FIFA World Cup will be held this summer in Brazil. America is in a tough group this year (Germany, Portugal and Ghana), so you can look forward to some good games. Still, if it is the Olympics that you only look forward to, the wait isn’t that long. The 2016 Rio Summer Games are opening on Friday, Aug. 5, which means they’re only about 890 days away. Can’t wait for the next Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea? Those are only 1,442 days away. This is the sixth and final part of “Faster, Higher, Stronger,” a weekly column of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games.
Beef stew is filling and will warm you up By Andreia Bulhao Columnist
1. Take a pot with a tight fitting lid and place it on a stove on medium heat. Add the vegetable oil.
Ingredients: 1 lb boneless chuck roast beef 1 tbsp of vegetable oil 2 tsp of salt 1 tsp of pepper ½ of a diced yellow onion ¼ cup of flour 1 clove of minced garlic 1/3 cup of red cooking wine 2 cups of beef broth 2 cups of water ¼ tsp of dried rosemary 1 bay leaf ¼ tsp of dried thyme 1 cup of mixed vegetables 2 large russet potatoes, pealed and cut
2. When it begins to smoke, add the beef and make sure it browns well. As the beef is cooking, add salt and pepper. 3. Once the beef is cooked, remove it from the pot and set it aside for later. 4. Add your diced onions to the pot and sauté for about three minutes. Once they start to soften, reduce the heat to medium low and add the flour. Cook for two minutes. 5. Next, add the garlic and cooking wine. As the cooking wine simmers, the flour will start to thicken, stir for five minutes.
* This recipe serves four — you can adjust measurement for more or less people Bundling up in the cold weather has made me want nothing but food that would help keep me warm. While being snowed in, I decided to make a filling beef stew to warm up. Enjoy!
Andreia Bulhao / Columnist
Beef stew is the perfect dish for the cold weather.
6. Next add the broth, water, bay leaf, thyme, rosemary and beef to the pot. It should begin to simmer gently after a few minutes. Cover the pot and let it cook for about 30 minutes.
8. Finally turn off the heat and let it sit for 10 minutes before serving.
7. Once this is cooked, add the potatoes and mixed vegetables. Simmer for another 20 minutes, or until the meat and vegetables are tender.
Live on campus? There stoves available for use scattered throughout campus, including in the lounges of Townhouse South, Hausdoerffer, Phelps and Cromwell.
The immense power a tiny seed holds
In order to save the plants that help us, we must save the seeds. By Neha Vachhani Columnist
It’s no secret that plants are vital to people on Earth. Whether providing food, medicine, fuel or clothing, they are a necessity to humankind. Plants are used for educational, recreational and cultural purposes, and without them, we wouldn’t stand a chance. Although plants are purposeful and valued, climate
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change and the excessive industrial pollution that humans inflict on the environment are constantly destroying them. Plants are dying at an accelerating pace and albeit humans are the cause, they are also the solution. The seeds of all plants allow them to continue to grow anew and carry on. Holding all genetic information, seeds are the future of plants. In order to save plants, we must save the seeds. In Sussex,
England resides the center of the world’s largest seed bank — The Millennium Seed Bank — in which scientists and ecologists store plant seeds in order to preserve the plant’s future. The bank also extends across the globe, encompassing over 120 institutions and organizations in over 50 countries. All of these people in various locations across the globe unite in an effort to achieve one goal — to save the plants. In approaching this monumental task, they have to start somewhere. It only seems fitting that those plants that are endangered are saved first. The dry land species are the plants that are most under threat, so those residing in areas where these plants are inhabitants come to Sussex to learn how to preserve them. They then venture off and tag the exact locations of the plants, and then return again once the plants have flowered. The seeds are collected, examined, separated and labeled in their packages. They are also dried in a very specific manner for
optimal preservation. They are stored in -4 degrees with little to no moisture. The seeds will be capable of germination for centuries to come, thus proving that humans are indeed capable of doing some good for the environment after all. In order to make sure the seeds are still viable, germination tests are performed every 10 years on every sample of seeds. The seed preservation industry has been expanding in the past few decades and as of 2011, the Millennium Seed Bank has stored its three billionth seed, which represents 10 percent of the plants on Earth. The 24,000 species that have been saved are no longer at risk of extinction — at least not within the next couple centuries. At the rate in which seed preservation is occurring now, 25 percent of the world’s population of plants will be preserved by 2020. Saving a species of plants through seed storage costs less than $3,000 on average, which proves the methodology to be fiscally attainable in today’s society.
page 14 The Signal February 26, 2014
Arts & Entertainment
‘An Evening of Shorts’ not short of talent
Courtney Wirths / Photo Editor
Students from All College Theatre wrote scripts, directed, put together a set and rehearsed four one-act plays to perform for the College. By Courtney Kalafsky Staff Writer On Saturday, Feb. 22, All College Theatre performed two showings of “An Evening of Shorts,” which consisted of four short plays that were performed by individual casts. Three of the shows were student-written, and all four were student-directed. The impressive variety of emotions and themes within the four works kept the audience intrigued throughout the entire show. The first play, “Henry’s Dead,” was written and directed by Garrett Verdone, a junior marketing major. The show portrayed the unfolding of a pseudo love triangle between characters Chris (played by Matt Steuerer), Sam
(Ryan Farmer-Smith) and Kris (Jenna Burke), amusingly triggered by the death of Chris’s cat, Henry. The comedy provided a lighthearted and funny atmosphere, opening the show with a positive ambiance. “Smitten,” written by Anna Stillaman and Mark Matthews, was directed by graduate student John Eldis. The story follows the witty lovers Nichola (Emily Brady) and Peter (Jake Burbage), who make ironic and deadly discoveries about one other. The intensity of this short kept the audience on the edge of their seats for the first half of the show, and the unexpected plot twist was hilariously clever. Freshman journalism major Jonathan Edmondson wrote and directed “Crestfallen,”
an intriguing short showcasing the powers of perception and passion. Viola (Rachael Scott) is an amateur actress caught up in her own world. Her daughter, Grey (Rachel Friedman), enlists the help from Greg (Keith Mellea), Anastasia (Nina Shulgach) and Dr. Lockwell (Michael Krakower) to bring her mother back to reality. Edmondson’s short portrays that sometimes ignorance is bliss, but when reality sets in the consequences can be severe. The final short within the show, titled “Dear Grief,” was written and directed by junior English and secondary education dual major Blaire Deziel. The thought-provoking short followed a therapist (Carly DaSilva) as she handled patients in varying stages of grief: Anger (Fred Stange), Bargaining (Hillary
Siegel), Depression (Courtney Johnson) and Acceptance (Cindy Walker). The actors’ emotional performances absorbed the audience, many of whom were tearing up by the end of the short. The meticulous work of the writers, directors, actors and production staff provided an incredible final product for “An Evening of Shorts.” Their obvious passion for the arts combined with natural talent allowed each short to be performed masterfully. As director Garrett Verdone explained, “We love theater because theater can make us laugh, it can make us think and it can make us feel.” The four shorts touched upon all three of these reactions, evidencing the success of the performances.
‘Wolf of Wall Street’ a howling success
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Hill and DiCaprio’s chemistry brings humor to the film. Matthew Defeo Correspondent The past decade, or perhaps, more broadly, the modern era of film, has seen more than its fair share of illicit substances, scantily clad women and cussing. In that regard, “The Wolf of Wall Street” does not differ in the existence of these overdone gimmicks, but it does vary in the utilization of them. The film, which includes literal hills of cocaine and harems of women to properly depict this real-life tale, tells the story of Jordan Belfort, the notorious
conman from the ’80s who made millions off of selling crummy stocks to investors. This film, however, is not another cheap, gawk-filled three-hour time slot of nude women. Although there are plenty of sexual scenes throughout the movie, most of the time sexually explicit body parts are cropped out, and this is where the viewer can see the effects of these actions much more clearly. Leonardo DiCaprio’s demented facial contortions are framed much more prominently than the mountainous amounts of cocaine and uncovered females. This was meticulously designed
by director Martin Scorsese to turn the focus onto Belfort’s inner degradation. Filling out the cast is Jonah Hill, who dons a near perfect New York accent and dresses in neon pink. Hill and DiCaprio complement each other perfectly, adding humor to this seemingly unfunny corrupt crime spree. DiCaprio may have singlehandedly ushered in a new era of method acting with his performance as Belfort. After all, DiCaprio became free to act like a money crazed sociopath during the screening of the movie and much to my surprise, he made me believe he was who he was portraying. I sat open-mouthed and with an unbroken gaze for the majority of the entire movie in the same way I did when I first watched “Raging Bull” — ironically another Scorsese film that starred the illustrious method actor Robert De Niro. That said, “The Wolf of Wall Street” is hardly a film without fault — an example is the complete overdoing of the scenes involving drugs. I believe a whole 15 minutes was spent on watching the two conmen ingest Queludes and then
bumble around the house drooling like fools. Scenes like this do little to move the plot forward and lose their shock value in the first hour and a half of the film. Despite the redundancy of certain scenes, Scorsese does a fabulous job of making the film an allpurpose movie — it is hilarious, morose and informative. Interwoven between the cinematic genius of the film are simple explanations for people who simply do not understand the Wall Street trading aspects of the movie or the various exotic drugs
the characters choose to ingest. Too often in movies, music and other media, the creator assumes the audience knows certain background information, which might leave one lost. I, for one, was not the most excited at the prospect of seeing the film, due to my interest in more literary topics and a lack of understanding about Wall Street. I had no trouble mentally forging my way through the movie. So be sure to check out this modern marvel of film if you want to be stunned by cinema again.
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Scorsese directs the film to appeal to a wide audience.
February 26, 2014 The Signal page 15
Spectacular Student Soloist Night at the Rat Final time for solo performances this semester
Courtney Wirths / Photo Editor
Seto’s original compositions are well received. Kimberly Ilkowski Staff Writer
The Rathskeller will be packed in the upcoming months,
as established artists take to the stage, but not before one last night for students to showcase their own talents. Friday, Feb. 21, marked the last Student
Soloist Night of the semester, which will usher in CUB Rat’s exciting spring lineup. The first of the four performers of the night, Dan Gibson, a senior marketing major, wailed on his electric guitar as he sang both original and cover songs. Gibson played songs by Bruce Springsteen and Alkaline Trio, as well as a passionate rendition of “Hallelujah” by Jeff Buckley, which he told the crowd is his mom’s favorite. Gibson also played original music from the EP “Two Songs One Cup” from his band, The Dundees, who played at a Student Band Night last spring semester with TCNJ punk band Save Face. The next performer, Allyn Calvis, a senior biomedical engineering major, played an acoustic set. Calvis pumped up the crowd with two medleys of popular songs that featured “Hold On,
We’re Going Home” by Drake and “Thinkin Bout You” by Frank Ocean. Her second medley combined the works of Bruno Mars, Capital Cities and Macklemore, where the audience clapped and rapped along to “Thrift Shop.” Calvis dedicated one song to her Barkada family, a Filipino organization on campus, which cheered her on throughout her set. “Your confidence in me has given me confidence,” she said about everyone’s support for her musical endeavors. Up next was junior health and exercise science major Selena Seto, who thrashed on her cherry-red electric Santana guitar. Seto has played a variety of events on and off campus and mainly displayed original songs that she had been working on until she felt they were ready to be shared. “I wanted to perform tonight,
partially because I wanted to kind of see how people liked my songs, partially because there’s something about performing in front of people that I find nerverackingly satisfying,” Seto said. Closing the show was Elizabeth Maricic, a senior international studies major. The tables at the Rathskeller were packed with her fellow Sigma Kappa sorority sisters who were rooting on one of their own. Maricic played the guitar while singing Nelly’s “Hot In Here,” in what she called a “rap song gone acoustic.” Her rendition of “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” by the Proclaimers had the sisters singing and stomping along. “I always dreamed of being on Broadway, but I never thought I’d make it to the Rat,” she jokingly said with a smile.
A Great Big World is headed for great things Brooke Schmidt Staff Writer Singer-Songwriter duo A Great Big World released their first full-length album, “Is There Anybody Out There,” in December of 2013. The band is comprised of Ian Axel and Chad Vaccarino. Both members attended New York University together as music business students. Axel is originally from Fair Lawn, N.J. and was featured at the College’s campus radio station last year for their show exposing local artists. What originally paved their way to fame was the hit television show “Glee” covering their song “This Is the New Year.” Since then, their other song, “Say Something,” has gained a recent upward
spike in popularity due to the addition of Christina Aguilera. Originally recorded as a solo, the new duet version premiered on “The Voice” last fall and was exposed to listeners who may not have heard of the band prior. What resulted was a boom in radio play and a huge jump in iTunes sales, making the song one of the most popular for the last quarter of 2013. What makes A Great Big World so enjoyable is the sheer variety found throughout the album. Yes, it is very much a pop album, but there are many layers found within. The lyrics are dynamic and well thought out, appealing to many audiences. Songs such as “I Don’t Wanna Love Someone Else” reveal the heartfelt nature of the band and showcase the pure
talent behind the lyrics and vocals. Other songs, such as “Rockstar” and “Land of Opportunity,” showcase their fun side with upbeat pop melodies. The mix of slow and fast-paced songs break up the monotony that would exist if they pigeonholed themselves to the stereotypes of the pop genre. Throughout the album, a medley of different sounds are present, which adds to the growing appeal. In some songs, the band is reminiscent of Fun., while others are evocative of Owl City, who are both very popular and have unique sounds. For right now, “Say Something” is the song they are known for, but I can see many singles becoming popular in the near future due to their wide appeal. A Great Big World definitely has a
bright future ahead of them in the music industry, and I cannot wait to see where they end up.
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New album gains popularity fast.
Dia Art turns to nature for inspiration Foundation creates artwork out of landscapes
Courtney Wirths / Photo Editor
Dia Art Foundation strives to preserve work in public space. Jaclyn Kraus Staff Writer
Assistant curator Kelly Kivland held a Brown Bag discussion on Friday, Feb. 21, in partnership with the International Sculpture Center that focused around a few
of their projects that have had significant impacts. When people think of art on display, they generally think of museums and galleries. Looking to support artists who may not have found support otherwise, the Dia Art Foundation was established
in 1974. The foundation works in partnership with artists to help bring their visions to life largely through landscapes. “Our goal is to illustrate the preserving of work in public space,” Kivland said. “That means somewhere you can access at any point in time.” The first project discussed was Walter De Maria’s “Vertical Earth Kilometer,” located in Friedrichsplatz Park in Germany. It is a one–kilometer long rod placed in the gound, and a square redstone plate adorns the sumberged rod. The project was originally met with a lot of negative press at its unveiling in August of 1977, but was kept open to the public and is currently still preserved by Dia. In the 1980s, an idea belonging to Joseph Beuys, called “7,000 oaks,” became a reality and one of the first powerful
social sculptures. He gathered 7,000 trees, each accompanied by a tall rock, and lined them up along streets in an attempt to raise ecological awareness. In an area closer to home, Robert Smithson engineered the “Spiral Jetty” on the northeast of the Great Salt Lake in Utah. Smithson’s idea of “earth sculpting” required 7,000 tons of black basalt rock to be moved with the help of construction builders into a spiral shape that extends out 1,500 feet into the lake for people to walk on when the water level was low enough. According to Kivland, microbes in the surrounding water occasionally causes it to turn a reddish color and create a unique site. Dia acquired the jetty in 1999 to make sure others could still enjoy it years after its completion. The last piece of artwork that
Kivland brought to attention was the “Gramsci Monument.” After 42 communities denied artist Thomas Hirschorn help with his project, a community in the Bronx embraced his ideas with open arms and helping hands. The monument was made with everyday utilitarian objects, such as wooden crates, and served as a place for the community to gather and learn. There was a stage, café/bar, open mic nights, a bridge, art classes and more. It may have only been up for 77 days, but the impact it had on the community will last for years to come. “The heart of our mission really is to, and it has been since 1974, commission work for the artists as they envisioned the environment to which it was presented,” Kivland said. “It is entirely opposite from most museums today. It’s original.”
page 16 The Signal February 26, 2014
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February 26, 2014 The Signal page 17
‘High Hopes’ for Springsteen’s new album Collection of unreleased songs falls short
‘High Hopes’ for live performance and new tour. Jared Sokoloff Staff Writer
Seeing as 95 percent of the College’s student body comes from New Jersey, I’m going to assume I don’t need to give too much (or any) background information on who Bruce Springsteen is. Springsteen’s latest album, “High Hopes,” is a collection of unreleased songs (and three covers) stemming back to around 2000.
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While many of the featured songs were previously recorded to a certain extent, the album completes these recordings. Other than a few extra studio musicians, longtime backing musicians, The E Street Band, are on full display here. The unfortunate part of a compilation of unreleased songs is that nearly all of them turn out to be filler tracks. “Just Like Fire Would” — a track originally by the Australian
group The Saints — “Heaven’s Wall,” “Frankie Fell in Love” and “This Is Your Sword” are all OK tracks, nothing magical about them. Knowing Springsteen, I’m sure they will become awesome songs when played live, as all of his songs do. But frankly, these songs were unreleased for a reason — they just don’t hold up to Springsteen’s released catalogue. The album’s leadoff single, “High Hopes,” suffers the same fate. A cover of a song by bluesman Tim Scott McConnell that Bruce originally recorded for his “Blood Brothers” EP back in 1995, this blues-rocker is meant for the stage. It suffers from studio polish and a lack of audience energy. The album also contains three ballads — “Hunter of Invisible Game,” “The Wall” and “Dream Baby Dream” (covering the protopunk Suicide). They’re all nice songs, but they aren’t the most memorable of tunes. Rage Against the Machine guitar legend Tom Morello is all over this record, after having joined Springsteen’s touring band last year to cover longtime guitarist Steve Van Zandt (who took time off to film his Netflix
mob series “Lilyhammer”). What should be a revitalizing shot of modern guitar playing just ends up being a lot of slightly awkward “signature Tom Morello DJ-guitar sounds” appearances. Morello takes two solos on the electrified version of “The Ghost of Tom Joad” (originally off of Springsteen’s 1996 acoustic album of the same name) but it’s just a recreation of more fiery live collaboration we’ve heard quite a few times on the past couple of tours. One of my major disappointments with Springsteen’s last album, “Wrecking Ball,” was the destruction of the live classic, “Land of Hopes and Dreams.” On the current album, Springsteen does the same to “American Skin (41 Shots).” Both of these songs were previously only released on live albums such as “Live in New York City,” where they stood as simple, haunting and beautiful anthems dealing with different perspectives on death. Their album versions are overproduced to the point of losing nearly all of their intimacy, with the instrumental performances cold and stiff. “Down in the Hole” would
have to be the sole standout track on the album for me. Taking a minimalistic approach, the song showcases haunting vocal performances from Bruce, his wife Patti Scialfa, and some very atmospheric backing vocals from his three children (recorded when they were much younger). The icing on the cake is a simple yet soulful Hammond B3 organ solo from the late, great Danny Federici. “High Hopes” is a collection of over-produced, semiheartless performances of filler tracks. What saves this album from being a complete waste is that it guarantees us another Bruce Springsteen tour, which is where we really want to see the Boss.
AP Photo
New album disappoints.
Two orchestras put on a stellar concert By Dongyoung Kim Correspondent The Concert of Two Orchestras featuring both TCNJ Orchestra and Bravura Youth Orchestra was held on Sunday, Feb. 23, in Mayo Concert Hall. TCNJ Orchestra, led by conductor Michel Galante, opened the performance with “Concerto for Cello and Orchestra, Op.129,” composed by R. Schumann. Galante was accompanied by Dr. Alistair Macrae, a faculty soloist at the College, performed the solo part. “It has very romantic sound because it is a Romanic piece,” sophomore music performance major Cristina Villagomez said. “But it also has some sections where it is very impressive.”
The orchestra consists of nine different instruments but mainly focuses on the deep and sincere sound of string instruments that provoked emotions in the audience. “I thought the performance was phenomenal,” junior music education major Thomas Ploskonka said. The musical piece consists of three movements: “Nichr zu schnell,” “Langsam” and “Sehr Lebhaft.” Despite the contrast in emotion and tempo between the movements, all three sections come together as a whole to express an emotion. “This is very much about expression,” Schumann, the conductor, said while describing the piece. “This music embodies poetry — a kind of poetic sensibility.”
Despite the excellent performance by TCNJ Orchestra, the highlight of the event came when Bravura Youth Orchestra played “Provincial Suite — Five Portraits of Rural China,” composed by one of its violinists, Matthew Liu, who is still a senior in high school. This musical piece captures the Chinese culture, using five different movements: “The Great Wall,” “Village Life,” “Work Song,” “Peasant Pas de Deux” and “Final Celebration.” By incorporating eastern cultural influence with the orchestral performance, Liu created a unique experience few have experienced before, and this uniqueness seemed to bring pleasure to many of the audiences’ ears as demonstrated by a partial standing ovation.
“Lots of composition is starting with a spark,” Liu said. “Sometimes it’s an inspiration of emotion or actual melody that I hear in my head.” Bravura Youth Orchestra is a youth orchestra consisting of high school musicians. The organization brings together talented youth musicians who reside in New Jersey under the leadership of Music Director Chiu-Tze Lin. “It’s a tight-knit group,” said concertmaster Nayoung Yang. The other pieces performed by Bravura Youth Orchestra included “Concerto No.3 for Violin and Orchestra, Op.61” by Saint-Saens, “String Quartet No.1 ‘From My Life’” by Smetana and “Carnival of Venice for Flue and Orchestra” by Genin.
Music recital embraces student achievement Caitlin Filauro Correspondent
Courtney Wirths / Photo Editor
Winch wows the audience with the trombone.
A group of extraordinary student musicians showcased their abilities on Wednesday, Feb. 19, at Mayo Concert Hall for the Embracing Student Achievement recital series. The concert opened with freshman music education major and soprano Suzanne Parker performing “In Uomini, in soldati” from “Cosi fan tutte,” composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. “I’ve been singing since I was 10 and am always excited for a performance,” Parker said. Although only a freshman, Parker’s booming voice projected
stunningly throughout the concert hall and set the bar for what would be a fantastic show. The next act featured Paul Winch on the trombone, playing a dark and slightly ominous piece, which contrasted nicely with a light and playful flute performance by Alexander Mason that followed. After two purely instrumental performances, Nicole Myers dazzled the audience by performing “If Music be the Food of Love” by Henry Purcell. The piece was entertaining and a delightful change of pace. The show closed with backto-back pianists Cristina Villagomez and Yi Jessica Wang. The speedy and rapid pace of the
pieces ended the show abruptly but left the audience satisfied. The contrast in the different instruments played and pieces performed made the recital series such an accomplishment. The concert had pieces and performances ranging from dark and heavy to light and uplifting. During the concert the audience was in awe of the musically outstanding students. Freshman open options major Elizabeth Shea shared her thoughts on the recital. “I honestly didn’t realize we had kids who were that talented here,” Shea said. “I figured I would hear a lot of the same stuff but everything was so different. It was truly amazing.”
page 18 The Signal February 26, 2014
Lions Fantasy World
Nothin’ But Net
The NBA’s trade deadline came and went last week, so for the interests of this column I am going to act as though I am seeing the results of it for the first time. I’m doing this mostly because I think a lot of people who follow the NBA probably had similar and pretty funny reactions to the final few hours of the action, and because nothing else all that interesting happened this week. Yes, I’m ignoring LeBron steamrolling the Thunder so hard he broke his nose on their dignity and the fact that the Nets FINALLY signed Jason Collins, since I kind of wrote about/predicted those things already and don’t feel like tooting my own horn that much. So, here we are, approximately 10 minutes after the trade deadline passed, and I’m just now finding out the results. After all, this was bound to be a super-duper exciting season for blockbuster trades — I’ve been hearing for weeks now that the Timberwolves will be moving Kevin Love, which would make for the biggest NBA star-shift since Dwight Howard went all around the country in his “From Super Hero to Super Villian” Tour. Plus, there has been so much chatter that Boston is going to move a nowhealthy Rajon Rondo, who could totally change the title picture if he goes to the right team. I’ve heard that the Rockets are making a big push, and depending on who they send for him that could make Houston a very scary team to play come playoffs. There’s also the absolute sure thing that the Lakers will be trading Pau Gasol, since they’ve been trying to do so for years and might finally pull the trigger to escape the mountain of debt that’s really taking up too much of their rehab facilities. OK, let’s check out the damage. Hmm, Evan Turner to the Pacers for Danny Granger, that’s a good start — two players with known names in a trade involving a title favorite getting a little better. Let’s look a little more … oooh, the Rockets moved their backup point guard, looks like a benchclearing move in preparation for Rondo’s addition to me. And the Lakers traded Steve Blake, that’s probably a warm-up move as well, the Gasol trade will be coming through any minute now. Wait a second, is that it? That can’t be all. We were promised big trades all around this year! After all, we’ve had huge, league-changing trades at the deadline every year since, since, um. Hold on, let me check. Oh, the last big deadline move was Melo and Deron Williams a few years back. Those didn’t work out very well for those teams, I guess, but still, nothing? Come on, all the expert analysts assured me that big things were happening. How could the teams who actually do this for a living let me down by not acting crazy this time! I guess what I’m saying here is that we shouldn’t get so excited about what everyone thinks will happen. Remember, sports are a business first, and owners tend to care less about an exciting change in the league’s power balance than the fans do. That said, I’m still going to try to trade for Steph Curry in the fantasy league, nothing says that fantasy can’t be crazy all the time.
By Mike Herold Fantasy Sports Editor
The Scoreboard
Off the Backboard (12-4)
2303
Team Amaral (10-6)
2197
Team Molicki (7-9)
1389
Team Reynolds (4-12)
1332
Owner: Bryan Dunphy-Culp Owner: Marco Amaral
Owner: Chris Molicki
Owner: Amy Reynolds
Team Jha (0-16)
966
Love Train (12-4)
2329
Fantasy Guys (16-0)
2038
Team Matos (3-14)
1480
Team Vazquez (10-6)
2174
Rasheed Wallace (6-10)
1781
Owner: Ashray Jha
Owner: Gabe Allen
Owner: Mike Herold Owner: Rob Matos
Owner: Victor Vazquez Owner: Pete Fiorilla
AP Photo
Rondo: the anticipated, much-hyped trade that didn’t happen.
I May Be Wrong, But...
Here’s what I would do in Fantasy Basketball this week: Add: Danny Granger just moved from being essentially a role player on a title contender to being a leading man on a tanking contender. While not great for his career, it definitely ups his fantasy stock. Nene, while not on a new team, has been playing like a new man lately, definitely worth a pick-up in leagues where he’s available.
Drop: Evan Turner just did the reverse of Granger, which is fitting since the two were traded for each other. Turner had been, up to this point, having a stellar fantasy season, but by taking away most of his minutes and adding a whole bunch of stronger players around and ahead of him, Turner’s days with the Pacers will probably kill his fantasy stock. Look Out For: The Indiana Pacers, who were somehow the winners of the trade deadline without doing much. They cleared out Granger for the younger and healthier Turner and added Andrew Bynum to their bench, who could be a decent backup for Roy Hibbert. They’ve also set themselves up nicely to resign Lance Stephenson to a longer deal, which is crucial to their continued success. This team could be good for a long, long time.
AP Photo
The Pacers have evolved into Eastern Conference favorites.
Be Cautious Of: Thad Young, the lone survivor of Philly’s desperate attempt to throw away this season and start anew. OK, so it isn’t really that bad, but with all the trade rumors surrounding Young, potentially to much brighter pastures on a winning team, being stuck on the Sixers can’t be very pleasant for the guy. His numbers might drop as a result.
February 26, 2014 The Signal page 19 Cheap Seats
Team USA miraculously fails to medal
The US hockey team loses a heartbreaker against Canada.
By Matthew Bowker Staff Writer
On the 34th anniversary of the Miracle on Ice, the U.S. men’s hockey team would need another miracle to beat Finland and medal in this year’s Winter Olympics. Team USA came out flat against a team it should have beaten, falling 5-0 in the bronze medal game.
AP Photo
This was a team that came into Sochi with lofty gold-medal expectations, but fell well short of them after back-to-back shutout losses, missing the podium completely. So what went wrong? The biggest fault for the U.S. was the lack of scoring depth. General Manager David Poile went with a more defensive-minded forward corps to shut down opponents and
only a handful of proven scorers. The problem was big names and previous Olympians — Zach Parise, Patrick Kane and Ryan Kessler did not score as expected. Parise, who was awarded the captaincy after leading Team USA in points at the 2010 games, had only one goal in Sochi. Kane, Team USA’s best natural scorer, did not have a single goal in the Olympics and missed two penalty shots in the bronze medal game. The U.S. outscored opponents 15-4 in the group stage, where they played inferior opponents. However, the Americans looked lost in defeats to Canada and Finland in the elimination round, where they faced much stiffer competition. Against Canada, the Americans were chasing players in their own zone for most of the game, and when they did possess the puck, they were one-and-done in Canada’s zone. Give credit to Canadian goalie Carey Price for not giving up many second-chance opportunities, but the Americans were completely outworked in battles along the boards and in front of the net. Although the score does not indicate it, Team USA was outplayed in every zone by Canada. The next day, the Americans looked
crushed from their loss to Canada, and it carried over onto the ice. Team USA played uninspired in a deserved 5-0 humiliation. This U.S. team was equally as talented as either Canada or Finland, but the difference seemed to be in the system of play. The Americans were unable to get any forechecking going against Canada or Finland. Both teams were able to easily leave their own zone, which led to breakdowns defensively for the U.S. In the Canada game, Team USA was unable to match their line changes with Canada’s offensive changes. This constantly led to Canada having favorable mismatches and allowed them to dominate the style of play. The blame here has to go to U.S. coach Dan Bylsma, who was completely outcoached and made no serious in-game adjustments to try to spark Team USA’s sluggish offense. So whether it was the underperforming offense or the unsatisfactory coaching, Team USA will come home empty-handed and full of regret. With the NHL’s participation in question for the 2018 Winter Olympics, the image of Kane crying on the ice after a dreamcrushing defeat to Canada may be the lasting impression of a team that looked so promising and fell so far in just two days’ time.
Babson breezes by tennis through singles Men’s Tennis
By Jake Cohen Correspondent
The College’s men’s tennis team fell at home on Saturday, Feb. 22, to Babson College, 6-3, in what was the opener of the spring schedule for hosts. The match had a promising start for the Lions (0-1), who walked away with two out of three possible points in doubles. At first doubles, the pairing of senior Howard Telson and sophomore Pierce Cooper came away with an 8-5 victory, while the combination of senior Gabe Allen and junior Andrew Grossman were able to pull out an 8-6 win at the number three doubles spot. The visiting Beavers were able to dominate in singles, though, taking five of the available
six points, with Pierce Cooper earning the sole point for the Lions at the second slot. Cooper’s 6-2, 6-3 win made his day undoubtedly the most impressive by the Lions, as he was the only player to notch a win in both singles and doubles. Yet Pierce was quick to acknowledge the strong outings put forward by his teammates. “We played a good team, but all of our guys competed well,” Cooper said. While the Lions were unable to come out on top in the end, the match was bittersweet for Telson, who recorded his 50th career win at doubles. Pierce credited his win at first doubles to the experience of Telson. As noted by Cooper, Telson’s experience is a valuable asset for the team, but it is a strength that the young Lions are lacking.
“We are a young team with a lot of new starters,” Cooper said. “But I expect as the season goes on, we will gain more experience and we will see better results.” The roster for the College boasts the additions of five freshmen, including starter Mike Stanley, who teams up with sophomore Dan Presuto at second doubles, in addition to owning the fifth slot for singles. Like the roster of the Lions, the season is still young. While there are bound to be some growing pains throughout the year, the future for the squad looks to be promising. The Lions continue their season with a home match on Saturday, March 1, against Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, followed by another home match against Washington College on Sunday, March 2.
Photo courtesy of the Sports Information Desk
Grossman wins in doubles.
Club Rugby
Trainer offers new way of looking at Rugby By Courtney Wirths Opinions Editor
An unusual site took place on Friday, Feb. 21, at Packer Hall — a classroom full of students dressed for practice were instead sitting, looking attentively at a Power Point presentation in the front of the room. The unusual rugby practice was being led by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) training manager, Colin Moran. Moran oversees all of the coaches within the IRFU and is an expert in the mindset and strategies of a successful rugby team. Moran is currently visiting the east coast from Ireland and stopped by the College while on his way to a rugby seminar in Philadelphia. “To be able to bring someone from another country — it is a great opportunity to hear from someone who really knows what they are doing,” said Deborah Simpson, the head of intramurals and club sports at the College. After the presentation, the men’s and women’s rugby teams — which have been around for 16 and 15 years, respectively — were able to move down to the gymnasium and run drills designed by Moran. The players tested some of the offensive strategies Moran discussed in
his presentation, under his guidance. “He’s a professional,” Rani Shah said. “Rugby is not a common sport (in the U.S.) and he knows so many tips and tricks that we wouldn’t find here.” Shah has been playing rugby for a year and a half and stressed the value of Moran’s skills and drills for her team. “I can speak for hours on what benefits there are to playing rugby,” said Joe Maringola, the College’s rugby coach. “The most important one I see at the college level is learning to become accountable to your team. There are personal achievements — scoring a try or making a big hit — but by the second or third season someone plays, they start to understand all those little achievements serve to further the goals of the bigger program.” In the gym, Moran called players to the center of the room to simulate possible defensive lineups an opposing team may use. “Colin encourages players to make decisions for themselves, something I have been preaching for a long time,” Maringola said. “It allows for a more open, free-flowing and fun game.” Moran explained that American rugby is
Courtney Wirths / Photo Editor
Moran knows tips and tricks that aren’t common knowledge in the US.
technically sound and everyone is fit, but his goal while he is here is to provide a different way of looking at the game. The players were instructed to create space using new techniques, with Moran explaining players should aim to achieve the desired result instead of executing a technique properly. “Sometimes, it’s about doing the right thing instead of doing it the right way,” Moran said.
The men’s rugby team’s first game is just two weeks away, and the team plans to use the lessons learned during Moran’s clinic during the upcoming season. “We have to take what was shown to us and put it into play,” Nick Gardner said. “We can combine today’s lesson with what coach Maringola teaches us and watch everything come to fruition.”
page 20 The Signal February 26, 2014 Meet with Faculty and Students about Public Health Degrees and Careers
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February 26, 2014 The Signal page 21
Williams / Legacy Basketball drops its finale 200 career wins Back to the drawing board Feature
Men’s Basketball
By Mike Herold Fantasy Sports Editor
Photo courtesy of the Sports Information Desk
A variety of people have helped Williams reach the milestone. continued from page 24
For Williams, it’s not just about the win column. “I’ve never been the type of person who’s only concerned about winning,” Williams said. “I want to make sure that we’re doing it the right way. Sometimes, when you take that approach, it takes a little longer, so you just have to be confident in who you are as a person and as a coach that things will turn out. Our guys got better this season, and that’s what I got out of it.” Williams was also in the mood to reminisce. “Probably the most memorable win was here (was) opening night my very first year,” Williams recalled. “Being able to win the very first game, at home, on a Saturday night, with the crowd — it was a packed house — that was probably the most memorable one. I keep the game story hanging in my office. That’s the most memorable time,
it really felt like I was coming back home.” Looking back, without being asked, Williams wanted to make sure he thanked those who helped him reach 200 wins here at the College. “People who have played such an important role, and have been so supportive, would definitely be Lisa Angeloni, President Barbara Gitenstein and John Costanzo, who gave me the opportunity to coach — those are special people that really stand up, and I always appreciate all of their support,” Williams said. “Not to mention my other coaching colleagues. We take care of each other throughout the season. It’s a good environment. And, obviously, my family (has) to deal with me after the losses.” With 200 wins and another season behind him, Coach Williams got back to work. After all, 300 wins will take some effort to reach — not that he’ll notice getting that one, either.
Despite having a record-breaking night with a strong showing from the team’s lone senior, the men’s basketball team fell in their season finale, 68-58, to Montclair State University. In what would be the finishing touch in a season full of difficult games, the Lions (8-17, 6-12) struggled with the same issues — turnovers, foul trouble and shooting the ball — that plagued the team throughout the year. The loss put a damper on what otherwise was a night of celebration for the College, as the team honored senior forward Joe Kane with a pre-game ceremony. “It was a lot to take in,” Kane said. “But it’s a team sport, so I put that first. I wanted to win, but we came up short.” Kane had quite a bit of crowd support, as an entire section of the Packer Hall auditorium was filled with his fans — several waving signs in support of their friend, including a few less-thanflattering enlarged photos of Kane’s head. “Some of my closest friends came,” Kane said. “I told them about the game, so they made up the signs. My family was here, too. I definitely appreciate my parents for everything they’ve done for me.” The senior wasn’t the only appreciative one on the night. “Joe Kane has been a person that is so important to our program,” head coach Kelly Williams said. “He’s done so many things that just don’t show up on the scoreboard, with his work ethic and his commitment in the offseason, his team-first attitude — that’s what we’re going to miss.
We have to build our program with guys like that.” Kane posted good numbers in the final game of his career, netting nine points and six rebounds before fouling out with a little more than two minutes to play. The team was led in scoring by junior guard Jayson Johnson, who had 13 points, while freshman guard Eric Klacik and junior forward Alex Fox each contributed nine points. Sophomore forward Bobby Brackett also had nine points to go along with his 12 rebounds, the ninth of which gave Brackett sole custody of the College’s single-season rebounding title, held since 1965 by Paul Brateris (’67). “I knew (about the record), and it’s cool I got it, I guess, but I just wanted to win,” Brackett said. “Obviously I take pride in rebounding, so (the record) just kind of came with that.” In collecting the record, Brackett averaged 13.1 rebounds a game, good enough to be ranked
fourth nationally among Division III players. He also gathered 17 double-doubles this season, which placed him fourth nationally in that statistic as well. “I didn’t really expect (to have this kind of year) coming in,” Brackett said. “It turned out alright individually, but for the team, I wanted to get more than eight wins, so I’m kind of frustrated right now.” That said, Brackett isn’t done improving his own game — not even close. “I have to get better at everything — I have a lot to do this summer,” Brackett said. With this season officially in the record books, the team is already looking ahead to an improved season next fall. “Obviously we have a lot of work to do,” Klacik said about the future. “We have a lot of talent on this team, but coming together (and) playing team defense, that’s probably how we’re going to win games next year.”
Photo courtesy of the Sports Information Desk
The Lions improve over last year, but miss the playoffs.
Women’s basketball
Lions lose with NJAC playoffs on horizon By Gabe Allen Staff Writer Having fallen 63-49 to Montclair State University in its final regular-season game, the women’s basketball team failed to extend their seven-game winning streak heading into the NJAC Championship Tournament. The result was an undesirable one for the Lions, who have beaten everyone in their conference except the Red Hawks at least once. It was still a night to be remembered, though, as the four seniors — guard Tiffany DeTulio, forward Liz West, guard Kelly Roddy and guard Colleen Duffy — were honored and joined by family and friends to celebrate their collegiate careers. Roddy described the night as emotional. “I can’t say enough about this team. I don’t even want to be a senior right now. I still want to be sophomore or a junior. I want to do this whole year over again,” she said. The Lions didn’t play their A-game on this night, but as expected, they made no excuses, hung tough and fought until the final whistle. “Their defense has given us trouble,” Roddy said. “They have (Nicosia) Henry on the top — she’s long and she’s strong. She’s so
hard to pass around, she’s super athletic, and there’s (Melissa) Tobie, who’s also really long — it was so tough for our shooters to get one clean shot today. All credit to them, they’re a good team.” Lions head coach Dawn Henderson also gave the opponents credit as well while remaining optimistic about the team’s postseason chances. “They’re really good, so you can’t make too many mental mistakes,” Henderson said. “We gave up too many wide open threes. We gave up too many offensive rebounds, and we had 18 turnovers.” Henderson knows the Lions have a shot at an NJAC title if they clean up their game for the playoffs. “When we broke the press we broke it with short passes,” Henderson said. “When we tried to throw over the top we made mistakes. We just have to believe that and clean up a few of those mistakes. I really believe we have a chance at winning the (tournament).” The night ended with a defeat, but the players will remember parts of Senior Night years from now. “I wish I could say (I’ll remember) a win,” Roddy said. “But probably every moment
leading up to the game. Just getting here, getting ready, being in the locker room, coming into the gym and warming up for the last time for a regular season game. And the opening ceremony was one of my favorite things.” If the Lions defeat William Paterson at home on Tuesday, Feb. 25, they’ll either face
Kean at home or Montclair on the road on Friday, Feb. 28, for the NJAC title. The College split its two meetings with William Paterson this season, and as if the Lions needed any more motivation, the Pioneers effectively ended the Lions’ season last year in the NJAC semifinals.
Photo courtesy of the Sports Information Desk
Roddy plays the final regular-season game of her career.
page 22 The Signal February 26, 2014
fun stuff
The Thought of the Week: What do you call an animated movie about vehicles? ...A CAR-toon!
Fun Facts with Morgan Freeman •A duck’s quack doesn’t echo, and no one knows why. •The fingerprints of koala bears are virtually indistinguishable from those of humans, so much so that they could be confused at a crime scene. •10 percent of the Russian government’s income comes from the sale of vodka. • The number of possible ways of playing the first four moves per side in a game of chess is 318,979,564,000.
You know you read these in my voice.
February 26, 2014 The Signal page 23
The story of:
twitch plays pokemon
The Truest Form of the Internet our generation will ever see.
For those who are unaware of the phenomenon that is Twitch Plays Pokemon, here’s the gist of it: Right now, on the streaming website Twitch.com, a game of the original Pokemon Red version is being played. By somewhere between 50,000 and 100,000 people. At the same time. Yes, that many people are working in something resembling coordination to control one character and play through this game, leading to perhaps the most pure description of just what the internet is. Watch it for a few minutes, or follow any of the coverage (the stream has led to multiple online organizations running live commentary on the wacky things happening), and you’ll be amazed at how addicting this strange and wonderful thing is. So far, one of the highlights of the stream has come from the many, many memes spawned by the sensation. Chief among these involves the multiple players’ frequent accidental use of the item “Helix Fossil,” which led at first to multiple cries of “Consult the Helix!” before eventually morphing into a religious following, including worship of the team’s star, a Pidgeot quickly renamed “Bird Jesus” by the fans. (For those wondering, his actual in-game nickname is “aaabaaajss,” as it is very difficult for 50,000+ people to type out a name in unison). There is also an anti-religion, based on the unchosen “Dome Fossil,” complete with followers an origin story. Now nearly two full weeks into the 24-hour-a-day stream, the players have managed to collect six out of the eight badges needed to challenge the final portion of the game, and, perhaps more importantly, have revived the Helix Fossil into the Pokemon Omanyte. As a point of reference, normally completing Pokemon Red version takes around 20 hours, and the game has been completed in just over two. In this play, however, a single ledge can take 16 hours to traverse, which is how this stream has been running for over 300 hours non-stop on a single file. If you haven’t been following already, give it a quick Internet search. It will lead to two hours of your day you won’t regret losing. Praise Lord Helix! “Give an internet sensation enough time in the spotlight and it will, eventually, spawn its own religion and morality.” — Someone smart, probably
“This all makes me very happy!” — The Hiding Pikachu
page 24 The Signal February 26, 2014
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February 26, 2014 The Signal page 25
LIONS
AROUND THE
DORM 5 3
Tom Kozlowski “The Ref”
Andrew Grossman
Production Manager
Chrissy Onorato Staff Writer
George Tatoris Staff Writer
In this week’s Around the Dorm, the “Ref,” Tom Kozlowski, asks our expert panel three questions: Should the NHL stop sending players to the Olympics as a result of injuries to players like John Tavares, is Sports Illustrated putting Barbie on the cover of its swimsuit edition a legitimate controversy, and if the Indiana Pacers are the favorites to come out of the Eastern Conference.
AP Photo
1) The New York Islanders’ John Tavares, arguably the best player in hockey, suffered an injury at the Olympics, which will sideline him for the rest of the NHL season. Should the risk of injury at the Olympics keep the NHL from sending its players to the games, and if not, should the IOC compensate teams when players are injured? Andrew: While the injury to John Tavares is unfortunate, there is no reason why the NHL should stop sending its players to future Olympics. While there is the possibility of getting hurt, this tournament is one of the only times where these athletes have the opportunity to represent their country. While winning the Stanley Cup is very challenging, the hockey players are given the chance to win that title each year. The main reason why NHL players should go to the Olympics, though, is because of longevity. It is well known that the Olympics happen every four years, but in fact, in a recent study, 54.7 percent of all NHL players
retire before making it to their fifth season. From their standpoint, the players may only have one chance to play on an Olympic team, so they must do whatever they can to make it count. Chrissy: I don’t believe the risk of injury should keep NHL players from participating in the Olympics because I think many players would be willing to risk themselves to compete in the Olympics. It’s truly an experience to compete in the Olympics and many NHL players are able to do so — it becomes a spectacle to watch different players play for different countries. The risk of injury is absolutely there, but I think the players should have the choice to decide to participate or not. I don’t think the NHL should prohibit it at all. If a player does not want to risk anything, then he can decide himself if he wants to go or not. Therefore, I don’t think it is the responsibility of the IOC to compensate teams when a player is injured because it was the player’s and the team’s choice in the first
place to go, and they should be willing to accept the circumstances. George: To say Olympic injuries are a threat to the NHL is to ignore the nature of hockey itself. Ice hockey is a violent sport, and injuries are inevitable in any venue. Washington Capitals center Mikhail Grabovski, for example, was out for two weeks after injuring his ankle in a recent Devils game. Long absences from injuries are commonplace in hockey, so why does it matter if the injury occurs during the Olympics? It’s not like there’s no risk out of the rink either — Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang suffered a stroke recently that had nothing to do with the sport he played. It’s all luck. What happened to Tavares could have happened to anyone, anywhere. At the same time, it’s entirely reasonable for the NHL to want money — the Olympics are borrowing the players that make them money, after all. It makes sense for the IOC to pay for what ends up being damaged under their care.
Andrew wins for using a variety of statistics, Chrissy gets 2 points for saying the Olympics are a great opportunity, and George gets 1 point for saying chance is a big injury factor. 2) Sports Illustrated is stirring up controversy again with its swimsuit issue, this time by putting Barbie on the cover. Is the backlash against one of sports’ biggest publications deserved, or is this a non-issue? Andrew: The backlash is completely unnecessary, and, to be honest, it works in the favor of SI. While there are many complaints going around, this publicity stunt is only making people talk more about this reputable news outlet. In a time when magazines and newspapers are steadily on the decline, the media must do whatever it can to get ahead. The reason many people buy the swimsuit issue is to look at beautiful women. While the cover may be different, there are still pictures of models on the centerfold, making it a non-issue. SI is a business, and if it means that they have to put Barbie on the cover to sell more issues, then so be it. Chrissy: I believe backlash against the Barbie issue of Sports Illustrated is well-deserved, because SI has chosen to put the fakest form of a
woman to put on its cover. This is even worse than the scantily clad swimsuit models they put on there normally. Barbie is the oldest form of something that gives girls false expectations for themselves. She’s plastic and not proportional to what a real woman is supposed to be. I know young girls are not reading this magazine, but I still think it gives the wrong message to the world. Barbie has been criticized since her creation in the mid-1950s for giving girls false expectations, so I believe putting her on a magazine that normally has real women — albeit in perfect shape and ridiculously photo-shopped — would be offensive to many people and inadvertently sends the wrong message. George: The controversy surrounding the Barbie cover is ill-founded: We should be praising the folks at SI for publishing such a progressive cover, not criticizing them. In all the years publishing has existed, not once has a doll been plastered on the cover of a publication that normally centers on humans. This is
AP Photo
because dolls have always been labelled with demeaning terms like “different,” “creepy” and “not alive,” but not anymore. Now, the wall separating the animate and the inanimate has fallen, laid to waste by the progressive
minds at SI. No longer will sentient beings be above the non-sentient. All will live and not live in equality. Today, it is dolls — tomorrow, it will be indefinite lumps of plastic — and the day after tomorrow, rocks.
George wins for saying SI is being progressive, Andrew gets 2 points for saying the controversy helps SI, and Chrissy gets 1 point for highlighting the negative impact of Barbies. 3. The Pacers made the biggest splash a 43-13 record. They have emerged this season in the NBA on deadline day, improving as the dominating team in the Eastern Confertheir depth by acquiring small forward ence and will continue to dominate if things Evan Turner. Does Turner affect Indi- keep going the way they have so far this seaana’s title odds, and, regardless, are son. Turner has been a vital aspect to the 76ers the Pacers the favorites to come out of and will continue to step up for the Pacers. Afthe Eastern Conference? ter playing in the league for only three years, he Andrew: While the two-time defending has been more than impressive, and Pacers fans champion Miami Heat are still the Eastern should be excited that he is an addition to their Conference favorites, the trade acquiring team. Regardless of this acquisition, the Pacers Evan Turner certainly helps the Pacers’ title are still favorites to win the Eastern Conference chances. Although the Pacers have a strong title because of the stellar play they have exhibstarting five, they have struggled in the past ited thus far. Turner will no doubt only add to to get their bench involved. The acquisi- their success, but they have been on the road to tion of Turner helps to solidify this problem victory since the beginning of the season. by adding much-needed depth to Indiana’s George: Evan Turner is a decent player, but roster. While the Pacers had to give up the he isn’t enough to tip the scales against the fatalented Danny Granger to receive Turner, vored Miami Heat — at least not on his own. Indiana definitely made the smart move. As Where Turner is now, he makes an excellent of late, Granger has been suffering from in- bench starter, something the Pacers need if juries and has not played to his fullest poten- they want to score higher than the Heat, but tial. By picking up the 76ers small forward, they’ll need their entire team to pull together the Pacers are earning a more consistent and if they want to come out on top. And it’s not reliable player — ultimately giving them the impossible for the Pacers to do that — after best chance to take the title come June. all, last season they performed admirably Chrissy: I believe Evan Turner does not neces- against the Heat in the Eastern Conference sarily affect Indiana’s title odds — though he playoffs. For the Pacers to get out of the Eastwill contribute heartily to it. The Indiana Pac- ern Conference, they all need to be on top of ers are currently leading their conference with their game — not just Evan Turner. Andrew wins for saying the Heat are still favorites, Chrissy gets 2 points for saying Turner will contribute, and George gets 1 point for saying Turner’s impact will be limited.
AP Photo
Andrew wins Around the Dorm, 8-5-5
page 26 The Signal February 26, 2014
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February 26, 2014 The Signal page 27
ports Week In Review AP Photo
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Number of wins per season Baseball 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 0
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10
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Team total: 204 Alex Spark 53 Jillian Nealon 35 Jen Garavente 34 Lauren Pigott 23 Erin Waller 20 Kendal Borup 11 Lauren Karpovich 9
ST U D E N T AT H L E TE O F
THE WEEK Stephen Tarnowski Men’s Swimming
Helped lead Lions to eighth straight Metropolitan Conference Championship title
Senior Stephen Tarnowski posted NCAA provisional times in all five of his events at the Metropolitan Conference Championship this weekend. He won the 200-freestyle event (1:38.16) and placed second in the 500-freestyle with a time of 4:31.55. In the preliminaries of the 200-backstroke, Tarnowski broke the College record with the impressive time of 1:50.37. These results helped the senior earn the award of Division III National Collegiate Swimmer of the Week by CollegeSwimming.com.
This week’s picks from the staff Point leaders
(NBA) Rockets (NHL) Penguins (NHL) Kings vs. (NCAAM) UConn
vs. Clippers
vs. Canadiens
Avalanche
Sports Track & Field March 1 New Jersey Athletic Conference Championships Wrestling March 2 NCAA Northeast Regional, 9 a.m. Baseball March 1 @ Immaculata University (DH), 11 a.m. March 2 vs. Oswego State, 1 p.m. Women’s Basketball February 28 NJAC Tournament, 7 p.m. Women’s Lacrosse March 1 @ FDU-Florham, 11 a.m.
Andrew Grossman 3 Peter Fiorilla 2
Women’s Tennis March 1 vs. Dickinson College, 10 a.m.
Mike Herold 2 Julie Kayzerman 2
Men’s Tennis March 1 vs. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 3 p.m. March 2 vs. Washington College, 12 p.m.
Chris Molicki 2 Amy Reynolds 1
?
Signal Trivia
?
vs. Cincinnati
The Horizon For
What was the largest loss in international hockey play?
AP Photo
Last week’s Signal Trivia Answer: Of the 32 NFL teams, the Bears, Browns, Giants, Lions, Packers and Steelers do not have cheerleaders. These six teams believe the support from their fans is all that is needed.
Signal
Sports
DIII contender Broderick giving his all Lions wrestler ready to complete résumé By Andrew Grossman Production Manager
If you’re going to do anything, then do it at 100 percent or don’t do it at all. That’s what Brian Broderick’s father has told him ever since he began wrestling at the age of four. Now a senior at the College, this 184pounder is one of the favorites to come home with a national title, an achievement only a few could ever fathom. As last year’s national finalist, Broderick has the tools and the talent to go the distance. With this season being his final year of eligibility, the senior knows that in order to make it to the promised land, there is no holding back. While Broderick is a member of the 100-win club and both an Academic and Athletic All-American, it wasn’t always easy. At one point during the summer before his junior year, Broderick had enough and decided to quit the sport that had given him so much. “I lost my match (at nationals) in overtime so it was a heartbreaker for me, because I felt like I wasted a whole year of work just to come up short,” Broderick said. “It takes a lot out of you, training eight months out of the year, and then it comes down to the last two days of the final tournament, and it cuts you down a bit.”
Photo courtesy of the Sports Information Desk
Broderick shows signs of true leadership this season.
While the decision to take a break from the mats may have seemed sudden, the year off gave Broderick time to refocus and get his priorities in order. “That was my first year I really ever had off from wrestling in my entire life,” he said. “So it was nice to have a break there, because I was wrestling for 17 years straight. I just needed to reassess everything that I was doing and make sure that if I was going to wrestle, I was going to go
100 percent, and that is what I did.” When Broderick finally returned to the mats, his confidence and love for the sport followed suit. In his third year of eligibility, he had a remarkable season, finishing with a 28-3 record and making the national finals. And in addition to his individual success, Broderick was beginning to show signs of true leadership. “The other guys start performing at levels they don’t normally compete at because
Brian sets the bar so high (and) they feel the need to try to reach that same level,” head coach Joe Galante said. “He is a dedicated student athlete and a total leader by example . . . He can walk the walk and talk the talk, and he does it with a great personality.” Along with wrestling, Broderick has had his fair share of success in the classroom and was recently awarded the honor of being an Academic All-American. “I was pretty proud because I’ve been really focusing on my school work and have been putting the time in,” Broderick said. “And (although) it’s tiring, when you achieve a status like that, then it’s well worth it in the end. We have had over 120 Athletic All-Americans (in our program) and we’ve only had 31 Academic AllAmericans, which is quite a bit fewer, so it is cool to join that club as well.” With Broderick’s collegiate career winding down, he knows that the only thing missing from his impressive résumé is the national title. “I fell a little short last year when I lost in the finals,” he said. “I’ve been battling some injuries this year, but I feel like I’ve made some progress over the past couple of weeks and I’m ready to go.” When Broderick does go onto the mats in mid-March to compete, one thing is for sure: He will follow his father’s advice, and give it 100 percent.
After 200 wins, Kelly Williams reflects ‘A combination of thoughts’ for veteran By Mike Herold Fantasy Sports Editor
On Wednesday, Jan. 8, an important milestone was reached by Kelly Williams, head coach of the College’s men’s basketball team. With a win at Rowan University, Coach Williams moved to 200 career coaching victories — an impressive accomplishment by any standard. The funny thing is, the coach barely even saw it coming. “To be honest, no,” Williams said when asked if he was thinking about the number. “My mom, she pretty much keeps track of all that stuff, and from time to time, she’d call me or make me realize I wasn’t that far, but for the most part, it wasn’t a part of the process. You take it game by game, and obviously we started off a little slow, so it even went further from my mind — you just want to get to winning the next game.”
Lions’ Lineup February 26, 2014
I n s i d e
A reminder of Williams’ career accomplishment came from his players in the form of a game ball signed by the entire team that now sits on a raised pedestal in Williams’s office. “The players presented me with that ball in practice, I think it was the very next day — they’re very nice kids,” Williams said with a smile on his face. Williams has another reminder of the milestone: He was presented with a plaque by President R. Barbara Gitenstein, Vice President of Student Affairs Amy Hecht and Vice President of Human Resources Gregory Pogue, just before a game a few weeks ago. “I was so pleased to be able to join Vice Presidents Hecht and Pogue on (Monday, Feb. 10) to celebrate this milestone in coach Williams’s career,” Gitenstein said. “We are very proud of what he, the players and the other coaches have accomplished.”
Photo courtesy of the Sports Information Desk
Gitenstein, Hecht, Williams and Pogue celebrate Williams’s 200th career win.
With the team’s season now over — the team missed out narrowly on the playoffs, but looks like it has an upward trajectory — a bummed out but hopeful Williams sat back in his office, game ball close at hand, and talked about his experiences as
a coach. “I think sometimes as coaches, we are hard on ourselves,” Williams said. “We never give ourselves any type of credit. But to take a step back and to think about some of the success that I’ve had, it’s rewarding — and it
also means that I’ve had an opportunity to influence other kids, or mentor kids in regard to being young men. So it’s a combination of thoughts when I see 200 career wins.” see WILLIAMS page 21
46 53 Around the Dorm page 25
Basketall loses finale page 21
Hockey fans heartbroken page 19
Babson beats men’s tennis page 19