Breaking news, blogs and more at TCNJSignal.net. Vol. XLVII, No. 8
Local rap artist shot dead near campus By Connor Smith, Ashton Leber and Brielle Bryan Editor-in-Chief, Features Editor and Opinions Editor
EWING — A local rapper was shot to death outside his home, about a mile from the College, early Thursday morning. Devon Green, 23, was shot multiple times and pronounced dead at the scene after two unknown men approached him and his friend in Green’s carport area at his home on Lanning Street, the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office said. The suspects remain at large, according to College spokesman Dave Muha. “As long as I’ve known (Green), he’s never been the person to have any conflicts with anyone,” said his friend, who was sitting next to Green and spoke on the condition of anonymity. “He stays to himself. He’s a cool dude. He just smokes his weed and minds his business. Makes his music and that’s it.” Green, known as
October 25, 2017
Serving The College of New Jersey community since 1885
the local rap artist Savy G, had just returned from the gym around 1 a.m. and was outside smoking with his close friend. “A dude in a mask ran up and was like, ‘where’s the weed at?’ the witness said. “And then (Green) was like ‘what chu doin’ runnin’ up like that?’ And he just shot him. Plain and simple, just shot him.” The suspects fled in the direction of the College, according to the witness. While police did not release information on a possible murder weapon, the witness believed it was a .22 hunting rifle. “It doesn’t make a lot of noise but it packs a punch and it travels,” the witness said. “Pretty much once it hit him, there was no coming back, because he got hit five times. He got shot in the side of his head, his chest and his arm. Two in his chest, two in his arm and one in his head.” Jackie Vairo, who lives see SHOOTING page 2
Students take a knee in peaceful protest
Students kneel in front of Trenton Hall to advocate for marginalized groups. By Nadir Roberts Staff Writer There was an unexpected addition to this year’s Homecoming festivities. At approximately 1:15 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 21, students gathered in front of Trenton Hall to form a peaceful protest group and speak out about the marginalization of minorities.
As Homecoming attendees began to question what was happening outside of Trenton Hall, their questions were answered at 1:21 p.m., when around 50 people knelt to peacefully protest the injustices that historically marginalized individuals have endured. At 1:26 p.m., everyone who took a knee rose their fist. Leading the large, diverse crowd
Miguel Gonzalez / Sports Editor
was Sam Serrato, a junior urban education and Spanish double major. Sarrato, who organized the event within the span of approximately two weeks, specifically put the peaceful protest together to show some of the disparities minorities face, not only in the world but on the College’s campus. see DIVERSITY page 2
Students and alumni celebrate annual Homecoming tailgate
Meagan McDowell / Staff Photographer
The tailgate compliments the Homecoming football game.
Kristen Frohlich Staff Writer
Students, families and alumni garbed in blue and gold swarmed the campus on Saturday, Oct. 21 to partake in the College’s annual Homecoming tailgate. “As with every year, the football game will be the highlight of Homecoming, complemented by the other sporting events, stage performances and activities guests,” said a campus-wide message from Elizabeth Bapasola and John
INDEX: Nation & World / page 11
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Castaldo, co-chairs of the Homecoming Steering Committee. Aside from the football game, many students, families, friends and alumni look forward to the tailgate that takes place in Lots 3 and 4. “I enjoy going to the tailgate, for I am able to meet and talk to alumni in my fraternity, Beta Theta Pi, about their experiences from TCNJ,” said sophomore finance major Stephen Stockton. “It is a lot of fun to see students and alumni come over to my fraternity’s tent to grab food and have good conversation.” Editorial / page 13
A large turnout for the Homecoming Tailgate enhanced the social experience for students. “It’s fun to be able to attend an event like this on campus because it is a large portion of the school all at once, socializing together,” said Ben Villari, a junior health and exercise science major. The Homecoming tailgate draws many alumni back to visit the College and provides a chance for graduates to reunite with each other. “The TCNJ Homecoming Tailgate is an excuse for alumni to come together and reminisce on their days at TCNJ or if they’re old enough, it’s Trenton State for them,” said sophomore sociology major Jessa Feinberg. Feinberg played an important role during the tailgate, as she was Roscoe’s handler for the day. The new mascot design was debuted during the Homecoming football game. “Being Roscoe’s handler was a great experience for so many people wanted pictures with the famed new mascot,” Feinberg said. “It was fun to take part in the school spirit. I normally don’t attend school events, but going to the tailgate and being Roscoe’s handler made it a great day to be a lion.” Consumption of alcohol during the tailgate remains a point of campus controversy. Attendees who are 21 years of age
Opinions / page 14
Features / page 17
and over are not allowed to bring in outside alcoholic beverages. “A third-party vendor has been retained to sell alcohol (beer and wine only) and monitor consumption. No off site alcohol will be permitted,” Bapasola and Castaldo wrote. While this policy aims to ensure the health and safety of all attendees, it also frustrated some tailgate goers. “The tailgate was not as satisfying as I thought it would be. As someone who can legally drink, it is frustrating that I cannot bring in my own alcohol and have to pay for it,” Villari said. With protection provided by Campus Police and Lions EMS, the Homecoming tailgate ran smoothly. “I think campus police did a great job at risk management, making sure everyone is having a good time by having a safe time,” Feinberg said. “I can tell how campus security has buckled down on the tailgate policies as to ensure that everything runs smoothly with as little incidents as possible. The entire Lions EMS team was on duty and near by in case anyone needed help.” At the end of the tailgate, students were happy that they attended the annual Homecoming tradition. “At this tailgate, I was hoping to make lasting memories with my friends, and I felt like I did that,” Stockton said.
Arts & Entertainment / page 19
Sports / page 24
Feminism 101 Students attend seminar on gender equality
Cub Alt Tigers Jaw duo performs in student center
Womens Soccer Lions beat Kean University, 7-0
See Features page 17
See A&E page 19
See Sports page 24
page 2 The Signal October 25, 2017
Shooting / Suspect remains at large
Campus Police works to ensure safety of students “He has a happy spirit. He’s a happy person. From hearing things from all different angles, I never heard of him being involved in any crimes or in the streets, or anything negative.” —Raymia Geddes
Local resident
continued from page 1 a few houses down from the victim and across the street from her daughter and grandchildren, didn’t know about the shooting until Thursday afternoon, when she saw emergency personnel outside Green’s house. “When I saw all the engines down there, I thought either one, it’s a fire, or two, one of (Green’s pet) snakes got out,” Vairo said. Though the College sent out an emergency text message
to students, Vairo did not receive any alerts from the township or public schools. “The area should be notified,” Vairo said. “Something, say, ‘stay indoors’ or ‘be careful where you go,’ or ‘keep your children.’ That’s what my concern is, the kids. That’s what scared me when I found out this afternoon: all these kids.” Green, a graduate of Ewing High School, was an employee at FD Subs and would occasionally stop at the Dollar General next door. Raymia Geddes, a part-time employee at Dollar General, said she knew Green from when he came into the store, and spoke with multiple customers about his character. “He’s a friendly individual,” Geddes said. “He’s pleasant. He smiles. His temperament is a mild temperament. He has a happy spirit. He’s a happy person. From hearing things from all different angles, I never heard of him being involved in any crimes or in the streets, or anything negative.” Lanning — which is known as a safe and quiet street, according to multiple local residents — is just off Pennington Road, across from the College. This is the first murder in Ewing in 2017, according to Mayor Bert Steinmann in a report from The Trentonian. “This is not a place where you have to worry about crime,” Geddes said. “People walk around anytime of
Green performed under the name ‘Savy G.’
night, walking dogs, walking with their babies. You never worry about anything.” In response to the incident, Campus Police will patrol Lanning Street, where some students live off campus, according to Campus Police Chief Tim Grant.
Diversity / Students kneel in solidarity for marginalized groups Protest serves as reminder of College’s future plans for inclusion
Miguel Gonzalez / Sports Editor
Students kneel to protest stereotypes and misperceptions.
continued from page 1
“We take a knee for our melanated
community that has been deemed a threat due to misperceptions, stereotypes and fear,” Serrato said in his “take
a knee” speech. The peaceful protesters not only called for strides to be made for racial equality, but also for inclusion and acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community. “We take a knee for the LGBTQ community who has been subject to many accounts of homophobia, transphobia and hate crimes,” Serrato said. “We take a knee for the necessity of diversity, inclusion and exposure that is needed to acknowledge and alleviate the hardships that minorities face.” There has been recent controversy on what “taking a knee” represents. While some believe that kneeling is an act of defiance against President Donald Trump, participants of the Homecoming protest knelt to demonstrate their lack of acceptance for marginalizing minority groups. “This is a reminder of where we need to go as an institution and where we’re going,” said Trahan Jr., the College’s
director of diversity and inclusion. Trahan plans to hold campus-wide diversity events such as Critical Conversations, a speaker series on diversity, to promote inclusion and acceptance of minority groups at the College. Danielle Parks, a junior philosophy major and the vice president of Black Student Union, believes the event was fitting to occur during Homecoming to mirror the movement’s prevalence at NFL games. “It represented the unspoken marginalized pain,” Parks said. “It spread awareness. These issues are alive and well. I didn’t want to miss it.” Once the event concluded, participants gathered around Serrato and thanked him for organizing the event in a heartfelt moment. The peaceful protesters were happy to have raised attention to diversity and inclusion issues on campus and leave spectators with a clear message about what it means to take a knee.
SFB funds Caribbean Game Night, Interactive Dinner Theatre By Eric Preisler Production Manager
Two events planned for November were fully funded at this week’s Student Finance Board meeting. The Haitian Student Association was funded $510.01 for HSA Caribbean Night, which the board tabled at last week’s meeting. The event will be held on Nov. 30 in the Student Center from 8:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. This event allows students to come together and relax before a stressful week of finals. Students can play games such as dominoes, which is common in Caribbean culture, according to the event’s proposal packet. “Caribbean Game Night is a chance for the caribbean students to
experience a fun game night filled with laughter, jokes and music,” according to the proposal packet. HSA wants to represent other Caribbean cultures at this event, in contrast to previous years. Instead of exclusively serving Haitian dishes, HSA plans to include Jamaican dishes, such as jerk chicken. “It’s our way of including other Caribbean cultures on campus, because we are HSA but we are trying to expand to other Caribbean clubs on campus,” said Rosebernoude Cherilus, the president of HSA and a sociology and anthropology double major. All College Theatre was fully funded $1,975 for its annual Interactive Dinner Theatre, which
will be held on Nov. 10 and Nov. 11 at 8 p.m. in the Decker Social Space. Tickets will cost $8 for students and $10 for general admission. ACT expects a turnout of 150 people per night. Expenses include funding for catering, props, costumes, and hair and makeup. “It allows a lot of students to get involved in different aspects,” said Natalia Byrdak, a senior interdisciplinary business major and president of ACT. The show will also provide some improvisation between the performers and the audience. “It gives all of the actors a really good opportunity to improvise and a really good opportunity to interact more one on one with the audience,” said Molly Knapp, a junior public
Kim Iannarone / Photo Editor
The board fully funds HSA’s Caribbean Game Night.
health and women’s, gender and sexuality studies double major and the treasurer of ACT. The show is written by students, and includes roles for
actors, directors, stage managers, designers and more. Multiple extras are also used in the show, so no one who auditions will be cut from the production.
October 25, 2017 The Signal page 3
Homecoming Spirit Week successful, despite controversy
Student Government hosts a Homecoming T-shirt swap. By Breeda Bennett-Jones Staff Writer
Homecoming Spirit Week kicked off across campus, preceding the Homecoming tailgate and athletic events on Saturday, Oct. 21. The joint effort to encourage school spirit was organized by Student Government, the Office of Student Involvement and the Department of Recreation and Wellness. Despite the tight timeline, few meetings and recent controversy about possible changes, Spirit Week unfolded as planned. There were 13 registered teams, and 10 participating teams, according to Dave Conner, the College’s director of Student Involvement. With the exception of United
Colors and SASCO, a combined team consisting of College Ambassadors, Student Government, College Union Board, Student Finance Board, the Leadership Development Program and Synergy Dance Company, all of the teams were Greek organizations. “These organizations have gotten really good at the events,” Conner said. “It’s created some high barriers of entry.” The lack of team diversity was part of the reason why the Office of Student Involvement made some minor changes this year to their approach to Homecoming Spirit Week. An experimental attempt to prevent the alienation of nonGreek organizations during
Kim Iannarone / Photo Editor
Spirit Week by structuring teams based on grade level was voted down nearly a month ago by SG. “Outside of the participants, we didn’t have a lot of students there to watch or cheer on their friends,” Conner said. “Ultimately, the goal of Spirit Week is to build spirit and to provide fun activities throughout the week leading up to Homecoming.” The Spirit Week planning committee was open to all students regardless of club affiliation, according to Conner. This year, team captains were required to serve on the planning committee. “Students have always been the driving force behind the programs that were chosen,” Conner said.
“But we truly don’t see students who come out who want to become part of planning.” Spirit Week kicked off on Oct. 16 at Traditions, where teams tried to outsmart each other in trivia. Activities on Oct. 17, which were open to the entire student body, included pumpkin carving and a tiedying activity sponsored by RECreate Your Night. On Oct. 18, SG dished out grey long-sleeve Homecoming T-shirts in exchange for old high school shirts or shirts from other colleges during the annual T-shirt swap. “(SG) believes the T-shirt swap provides school spirit by promoting TCNJ,” said Chris Blakeley, a junior civil engineering major and executive president of SG. While some activities have stayed the same throughout Spirit Week’s 29-year history, the committee tried to depart from the standard events this year in an effort to encourage more student participation. In the Field Games event on Oct. 18, Spikeball was introduced to the competition. “I think Field Games definitely encourages school spirit,” said Rachel Ottman, a sophomore psychology major and member of team Sigma Sigma Sigma. “It brings a lot of people together. It seems like it will be a very positive experience for the groups involved.” On Thursday, Oct. 19, team banners hung from the second floor balcony of the Brower Student Center. That night, teams competed in Canoe Battleship, sponsored by RECreate Your
Night, at the pool in Packer Hall, where teams attempted to sink their opponents’s canoes by splashing water into them. On Friday, Oct. 20, the last day of Spirit Week, students prepared for Homecoming across campus. In Eickhoff Hall, students snacked on blue and gold cupcakes while surrounded by similarly colored balloons, flags hanging from the ceiling and posters from the College’s sports teams. Spirit Week culminated with the Lip Sync & Dance Competition. Hundreds of people gathered in the Recreation Center to watch 10 teams dance to choreographed routines. The TCNJ Dance Team kicked off the event before multicolored LED flashing lights illuminated the venue as teams performed self-made mashups with themes like SASCO’s “Day in the Life of Roscoe” or United Colors’ performance of step dance, rap and groove. Wellexecuted dance moves and perfectly placed sound bites drew loud cheers from the audience. “(Lip Sync & Dance) has always been a part of the program,” Conner said. “It truly draws the largest crowd.” Team Delta Phi Epsilon and Delta Tau Delta emerged victorious after Spirit Week concluded. Though Spirit Week may need to become more inclusive in the future, Conner maintains that “it’s one of the things that students look forward to every year … and one that continues to grow and change to meet the different needs of our students.”
Students make fashion decisions easy with mobile app Wardo Founders seek to make an environmental impact in fashion industry By Corinne Castaldo Correspondent
Picking out an outfit in the morning can be a difficult feat, especially for busy college students. Sick of this daily struggle, two students at the College launched Wardo, an app that allows users to upload images of their clothes, create outfits and save potential outfits in a virtual calendar.
“Don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone and make mistakes because you are only helping you and your brand grow.”
—Arjan Sahni CEO of Wardo
Priya Soni, a senior marketing major, and Arjan Sahni, a sophomore innovation and entrepreneurship self-designed major, were the minds behind Wardo, which is available on the Apple App Store. “I found myself constantly asking my friends what they planned on wearing for an occasion or even just a normal school day,” Soni said. “Hours were spent thinking about what I was going to wear and at the closet sifting through my hoards of clothes. I wanted it to be easier for individuals to dress with no
stress and look and feel their best.” The app contains features such as LookBook, where saved outfits can be stored, and a calendar, where saved outfits can be planned for appropriate locations. Soni and Sahni hope that the app will help students feel more confident while planning outfits for important events and occasions. “Fashion is inevitably a part of everyone’s lives,” Soni said. “With Wardo, we strive to simplify and enhance all interactions people have with fashion through innovative features.” The duo is also hopeful that Wardo will make an environmental impact in the fashion industry. “Apart from providing fashion inspiration and lessening time spent trying to find the perfect outfit, we hope to impact the planet in a positive way by informing others of the environmental harm caused by the fashion industry,” Soni said. “Not only does Wardo give tips and tricks on clothing maintenance, it provides green initiatives for its users to follow to ensure the Earth’s sustainability.” As the vice president of marketing for Wardo, Soni manages social media accounts and is always seeking new growth opportunities for the app. “Another important goal for us at Wardo is to spread awareness about the disastrous environmental impact of the fashion industry, the second most polluting industry in the world,” Soni said. The app also includes a social aspect, where users can “discover new styles, and borrow or lend clothes with their friends,” according to Sahni. Soni and Sahni have worked hard to
Wardo users can save potential outfits in a virtual calendar.
prepare Wardo for success. “As college students with no experience in running a business, building a mobile app and working with professional teams — we faced a lot of adversity when attempting to raise funds,” Soni said. In addition to lack of experience, the team also ran into financial obstacles. “As we were able to raise a very small amount of initial capital, we had to settle with a cheap development agency located in India,” Sahni said. “It is extremely difficult to communicate with them due to the difference in time zones, resulting in lots of sleepless nights.” Sahni, the CEO of Wardo, works closely
Wardo
with Soni to oversee many parts of the company, including recruitment, app development and web design. “In short, I ensure our team is aligned with the company’s mission and is taking the appropriate steps to implement our vision,” Sahni said, describing her role in the business. The Wardo team shared advice for students who wish to create their own businesses. “Ask for help and ask lots of questions,” Sahni said. “Don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone and make mistakes because you are only helping you and your brand grow.” Soni agreed. “It’s definitely not easy, but very rewarding once completed,” she said.
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October 25, 2017 The Signal page 5
College unveils two new lions at Homecoming
Left: Four students alternate portraying Roscoe. Right: The bronze statue is named after McLagan. By Maximillian C. Burgos and Heidi Cho Sports Editor and Nation & World Editor
Two lions made their debut on Saturday, Oct. 21, during this year’s Homecoming celebration. The College revealed the newly trained and re-designed Roscoe the Lion mascot, as well as the William M. McLagan
bronze lion statue. The new, more huggable Roscoe the Lion mascot made its debut during the halftime show of the Homecoming football game. While dancing and gesturing to the crowd, Roscoe the Lion showed off his new look during the Homecoming festivities, after years of needing an update. “The old costume would scare children,”
said a junior member of the Roscoe mascot team. “It would even scare some people our age. It really needed to be replaced.” The former Roscoe costume was retired with a hug by the new Roscoe and then was swiftly driven off the field in a golf cart, ushering in a new era of a more friendly-looking Roscoe. The new Roscoe costume will be donned by one of four trained students
Kim Iannarone / Photo Editor
at any given time, who met this past summer at mascot camp at the University of Delaware. The camp, while intense, served as a bonding experience for the new mascot team. “Mascot camp was incredible,” said a male senior member of the team. “It was pretty sick. I was nervous heading into see MASCOT page 9
Student ghost hunters caught trespassing in Kendall By Brielle Bryan Opinions Editor
Missing microwave unravels student narrative Campus Police was dispatched to the third floor of Decker Hall to investigate an odor of marijuana on Oct. 17 at 11:20 p.m. Upon arrival, two Campus Police officers detected an odor of burnt marijuana by the door to one of the rooms, police said. While standing in the hallway, Campus Police was able to hear multiple people in the room and observed a white towel being stuffed at the base of the door. Campus Police knocked on the door where the smell was emanating from, and a male student opened the door. The male student’s eyes were bloodshot and watery, police said. Campus Police told the male student that they were investigating an odor of marijuana, which was reported to be by his door. Campus Police immediately detected a strong odor of marijuana coming from the room and observed a plastic bag secured over the smoke detector, according to police reports. Campus Police entered the room, in which five other people were present. The individuals were all identified as students at the College. Campus Police immediately read the Miranda Rights to all occupants of the room, police said. The occupants stated that they were microwaving popcorn in the room and did not want to set off the alarm, however, there was no microwave in the room, police said. There was also no visual evidence of any controlled dangerous substances in the room. While one of the officers was asking questions regarding the smoke detector being covered by a plastic bag, the other officer noticed a glass bottle of Bacardi rum on a desk in the room, police said. The two residents of the room claimed ownership of the bottle. The bottle was collected and destroyed. The two residents of the room were issued a summons for underage possession of alcohol. Students investigate ‘ghostly occurrences’ in Kendall Hall Campus Police was dispatched to Kendall Hall on report of four individuals entering the building through a window on the side of Kendall Hall that faces the Social Science Building on Oct. 11 at approximately 1:30 a.m. No description of the individuals was provided by the caller. Upon arrival, Campus Police pulled open the door on the opposite side of Kendall Hall, where they observed four individuals walking down the steps toward the basement, police said. Campus Police entered the building and walked toward the steps. Campus Police looked down the steps and observed two males and two females standing near the base of the stairs. Campus Police confronted the four individuals, advising them to line up against the wall and
get their TCNJ IDs out, police said. Campus Police collected the TCNJ IDs from the four individuals. The four individuals stated that they came into the building through the first floor men’s bathroom window, which was slightly open, and stated that they had entered the building to see if they would encounter any “ghostly occurrences” because they heard about the murder that occurred in the building decades ago, according to police reports. Campus Police explained to them that it is considered trespassing to enter an academic building after the doors are locked or to enter any building through a window while the rest of the building is secured. The individuals were advised that they would not be issued a summons, but would be referred to Student Conduct for unacceptable behavior, police said. Campus Police escorted the students out of the building and locked the window. Raspberry vodka pushes students over the edge Campus Police was dispatched to the statue outside of the Education Building on a report of intoxicated individuals on Oct. 11 at 12:45 a.m. Upon arrival, two students were lying on the retaining wall by the statue, with vomit on the grass behind them. As Campus Police approached the two students, they asked how the students were doing, police said. The male student began talking in an unintelligible manner, while the female student began to sit up next to him. Campus Police asked the students if they had been drinking and both replied, “Yes.” The intoxicated male student stated that they had both been drinking raspberry vodka in his room earlier that night, police said. TCNJ EMS arrived on scene with ProStaff. TCNJ EMS determined both students were able to return to the male student’s room, where the female student would stay for the night. Both students were issued a summons for possession or consumption of alcoholic beverages in public place or motor vehicle by persons under legal age. Berry-flavored vodka leads to another summons Campus Police was dispatched to the New Residence Hall lobby on a report of an intoxicated student on Oct. 17 at 1:05 a.m. Upon arrival, a female student was seated on a hall bench with a security officer standing by, police said. The security officer informed Campus Police that he noticed the female student get out of a vehicle in front of New Residence Hall, staggering as she walked to the front door. The security officer asked the female student if she had been drinking, and she stated, “Yes.” Campus Police asked the female student for identification, and she handed them her TCNJ ID card, police said.
Campus Police could smell alcohol emanating from the female student’s breath. At this time, the female student needed to use the hall bathroom to vomit, police said. TCNJ EMS arrived on scene. TCNJ EMS evaluated the female student, who stated that she had consumed five shots of strawberry vodka. Pro-staff arrived on scene. TCNJ EMS determined that the female student was able to remain on campus, and she was escorted to her room for the evening, police said. The female student was issued a summons for possession or consumption of alcoholic beverages in public place or motor vehicle by persons under legal age. Intoxicated female heads to hospital A Campus Police officer was dispatched to the rear entrance of Wolfe Hall on a report of an intoxicated female on Oct. 18, at 1:50 a.m. Upon arrival, the officer observed a female student lying on a bench and vomiting, police said. Two female students were attempting to help the intoxicated female. The two female students stated that they did not know where the intoxicated female was that evening. The first they heard from the intoxicated female that night was when she called them when she arrived back on campus. TCNJ EMS and Pro-staff arrived to assess the female student. The intoxicated student said that she consumed three Four Loko alcoholic beverages at an unknown location and started vomiting, police said. Ewing EMS arrived and transported the intoxicated female to the hospital for further assessment. The intoxicated female was issued a summons for minors consuming alcoholic beverages. Bike villain leaves lock behind A female student arrived at Campus Police Headquarters to report that her bicycle was stolen on Wednesday, Oct. 18, at approximately 9:25 p.m. She reported having secured her bicycle to the bicycle rack in front of Cromwell Hall on the night of Oct. 6 at approximately 5 p.m., police said. She returned to the rack on Oct. 18 at 7 a.m. and noticed the bicycle was gone and the lock was still secured to the rack. The female student stated that she walked around campus to several racks that she uses, with negative results. The female student described her bike as a teal mountain bicycle with pink lettering on the frame, police said. The female student said that the bicycle was an older model. Campus Police advised the female student to attempt to locate information on the make, model and value of the bicycle and to return that information to Campus Police via email to proceed with completing the investigation, police said. Campus Police assured the female student that they would look for a bicycle matching her description while on patrol. Anyone with information can contact Campus Police at (609) 771-2345.
page 6 The Signal October 25, 2017
October 25, 2017 The Signal page 7
Investigative journalist shares family history at Brown Bag By Judith Patrick Staff Writer Award-winning writer, filmmaker and producer Jennifer Lin visited Mayo Concert Hall on Friday, Oct. 17 to present a Brown Bag lecture on her quest to uncover her family’s experiences during the Chinese cultural revolution. Lin has 30 years of experience as a journalist working as the Philadelphia Inquirer’s New York financial correspondent, Washington foreign affairs reporter and Asia bureau chief. She discussed book, “Shanghai Faithful: Betrayal and Forgiveness in a Chinese Christian Family,” and the process in which she traced her family’s history back 150 years, all the way through their horrific experiences during China’s cultural revolution and how they overcame their many struggles. Lin discussed how to go about tracing back family histories, and how investigative journalism and narrative storytelling can go hand in hand with this process. Lin’s father left China before it became the People’s Republic of China, and had limited contact with his family still trapped in their native country. Thirty years later, when Lin was about 18 years old and the U.S. began to formally open relations with China, she and her father returned to visit their family.
They learned of the atrocities that had been brought upon their family in the years they had been away. Lin’s family was relatively prominent in the Chinese Christian community, and her family had suffered under the People’s Republic of China’s anti-Christian attitudes. The small fragments of history shared to Lin during her trip sparked an interest to follow the story all the way back to the first Christian member of her family. She wanted to find out why, in a predominantly Buddhist and Confucian nation, someone would become a Christian. Lin confessed that she was born a journalist and wanted to know, “What happened and why?” Before officially starting her novel, she was writing the pieces on her family’s history as articles for the Philadelphia Inquirer. The more she wrote and researched, the more material she found. “For every answer, I had another question,” Lin said. Lin then went on to discuss what she calls the “alchemy of writing.” Lin’s aunt, an amateur historian, had 12 pages of hand-written documents containing basic family history. Lin was able to turn those 12 pages into a 100,000-word novel in a rigorous and methodical journey. Talking to her family and writing down their oral history was arguably the most important addition to her research. The younger members of
her family who were born late into the Cultural Revolution were more willing to share their experiences. Her older family members were hesitant to share their dark pasts out of fear of the old regime returning, but Lin advised the audience that the best tool she had with eliminating their hesitation was time. As time went on and more years passed, it became easier and easier to get information from her family. Lin also found pictures and quoted statements from her grandfather, Reverend Lin Buji, in a passage from a textbook she was perusing. Through a journey of rabbit hole searches, she learned that during his time as a professor in Fuzhou, there was an instance when a small mob of anti-Christian communist students had taken Buji, put a dunce cap on his head and walked him through the streets like a dog. He had been denounced in a mass meeting and they tried to make him renounce his faith, but he steadfastly refused. She was able to find within the missionaries’ personal letters and diaries actual accounts of what her grandfather had said that day. “Then they said they would free him if he would renounce his faith, to which he replied, ‘I will never renounce my faith, you may kill me if you want to,’” wrote John Gowdy, the president of Fukien Christian University.
Emily Lo / Staff Photographer
Lin’s investigation shines light on her ancestry. Lin’s findings sparked an interest in investigating family history for audience members. “I thought Lin’s presentation was very interesting because of the history she uncovered while researching her roots,” said Kathryn Cole, a freshman music education major. “She inspired me to find out more about my own family ancestry and history.”
Lin ended the speech with encouragement for those in the audience who may want to investigate their own family history. “You can’t make anything up,” Lin said. “You have to follow every single lead, because you don’t know where those will take you … follow the paper trail because it will give you the texture you need to give a story context.”
SG discusses newly ‘minted’ resolution for campus dining
Left: SG discusses possible changes to PAWS. Right: Tran hopes to bring back old mints to campus dining locations. By Michelle Lampariello News Editor Student Government held a confirmation hearing for its first deputy speaker, accepted nominations for a new parliamentarian, passed two bills and discussed two resolutions at its meeting on Oct. 18. Brittany Cruz, a junior communication studies major, was confirmed as SG’s deputy speaker after a vote. Cruz previously served as a senator for the School of Arts and Communication. “I did great work advocating for (Arts and Communication students), we got a whole bunch of things, and I feel like now I want to transition into advocating for general members,” Cruz said. SG is searching for a new parliamentarian, who will be responsible for upholding all rules and procedures established by SG at all meetings. Nominations for the position were taken at the Oct. 18 meeting, and speeches and voting are scheduled to occur at the meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 25. Suchir Govindarajan, a freshman
economics major, presented a resolution condemning the exclusion of transgender people from the military. “The Student Government of The College of New Jersey acknowledges that the current Reserve Officers Training Program does not discriminate against applicants or volunteers based on gender identity — only on leadership, athletic or scholarly abilities,” according to the resolution. The resolution, which will be debated and voted on at SG’s Oct. 25 meeting, seeks to ensure that the College’s ROTC program remains open to people of all gender identities, regardless of national policies. Alvin Tran, a sophomore psychology major and SG’s vice president of operations, presented a second resolution seeking to bring back the mints from the 2016-17 academic year to campus dining locations. “The Student Government of The College of New Jersey recognizes that students have expressed discontent in the new mints at campus dining locations that have replaced the mints provided previously to the 20172018 academic year,” the resolution states.
The larger, individually wrapped mints were removed for the 2017-18 school year due to litter concerns. After conducting a survey, Tran found that out of 265 responses, 85 percent of students prefer the old mints as opposed to the new, smaller mints that are dispensed from canisters at campus dining locations. “There is a clear consensus in terms of what students want in these dining services for these mints specifically, and this is the most formal way of conveying student opinion,” Tran said of the resolution. The resolution will be debated and voted on at SG’s Oct. 25 meeting. Two bills were also passed at the Oct. 18 meeting. The first bill adds a responsibility for the executive president to follow SG’s strategic plan. The second bill clarifies responsibilities of the cabinet and stipulates that cabinet members must attend both general body and cabinet meetings. Elizabeth Bapasola, vice president for student affairs and SG’s adviser, announced that there is an SG scholarship
Kim Iannarone / Photo Editor
now available to students involved in SG. Any associated or elected SG member is eligible to apply for the scholarship, with the exception of SG members who receive a monetary stipend. “This is something that past student governments have fundraised for, and now it is an endowed scholarship that we give out annually,” Bapasola said. During governance reports, SG discussed efforts to modernize the College’s technology, including making improvements to PAWS and moving the College’s data to the cloud instead of storing it in servers in the basement of Green Hall. SG also discussed potentially moving the student feedback period from the end of the semester to the middle of the semester to get a higher response rate. SG acknowledged that if students could see their professors make changes to their classes during the second half of the semester based on student feedback, then they may be more likely to complete the feedback form on PAWS.
page 8 The Signal October 25, 2017
SPRING 2018 REGISTRATION APPOINTMENT PERIOD Initial Registration Period for Undergraduate and Graduate Students
Tuesday, November 7 Through Friday, November 17
Your enrollment appointment reflecting the first time you will be eligible to register for the Spring 2018 semester can be accessed via your PAWS account. To view your scheduled enrollment appointment, visit the Enrollment Appointment section in the PAWS Student Center. Once eligible, students remain eligible throughout the registration period. Undergraduate students who do not register by 11:59pm on Sunday, November 19, will be subject to a late registration fine. Graduate Students have until Friday, December 15: Late Registration Fine Undergraduate: $150 Graduate: $125
The Spring 2018 Schedule of Classes is available on PAWS and can be viewed by using the Search for Classes button. Both Winter 2018 and Summer 2018 registration are also open along with Spring 2018 registration. Check PAWS frequently for any updated winter/summer course offerings and consult with your advisor for appropriate course selections.
Visit the PAWS HELP website for complete information on how to log-in to PAWS, search for classes, browse the Course Catalog, view your Holds, add courses to your Shopping Cart, and register for classes: http://pawshelp.pages.tcnj.edu/
Use the Validate feature directly from your PAWS Shopping Cart to check for potential pre-requisite issues before registration! For more information on the Validate feature, visit: http://pawshelp.pages.tcnj.edu/files/2011/07/validate1.pdf
Check PAWS early and frequently for Holds that will prevent you from registering. All Hold Flag information can be viewed under the Holds section in the PAWS Student Center.
Access your Academic Requirements Report on PAWS to view your degree requirements via the Advising Tools link.
Make an appointment to see your advisor to discuss your Academic Requirements Report. Your advisor’s name and email address can be located in your PAWS Student Center.
Double-check course numbers and course sections prior to your registration appointment for schedule changes and periodic updates.
Graduate Students: If you are a non-matriculant who is applying for Spring matriculation, you should not register during this timeframe. If accepted for matriculation, you will be invited to register during the Graduate Orientation session in January.
THE OFFICE OF RECORDS AND REGISTRATION Green Hall 112, 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM
October 25, 2017 The Signal page 9
Mascot / New lions grace campus at Homecoming continued from page 5 it because I know it was going to be at U-Del and their mascot, YoUDee, is like really popular. Also, the four of us had never done it before.” A female sophomore member agreed. “It was wild,” she said. “We had never met before. I didn’t really know their names. I had their emails, but I didn’t know their names.” The Roscoe team members quickly connected with one another, and even won “most improved” out of the schools in attendance. “We were kind of shoveled into it all,” the sophomore female member said. “It was sort of cool to get to know each other in this kind of way. It worked out in the end though because we all got along.” The male senior member of the group echoed her thoughts. “When we were doing this, it was all kind of like, this is actually happening,” he said. “We are actually going to mascot camp.” At mascot camp, the group was trained to interact with crowds, put together skits and have the best possible in-person presence as the school mascot. All of the members of the Roscoe team want the character to have a larger on-campus presence. “We are trying to revive Roscoe here,” one male junior member said. “For us juniors, we never really saw Roscoe. We really just want more school spirit at the end of the day. We want people to be excited when they see Roscoe. If you ever see the mascot for the University of Delaware, people go crazy when they see him. Adults and kids all love him. He’s a big thing. We
really want Roscoe to be more like that.” The four students will rotate as Roscoe as the year progresses. With stellar dance moves and choreographed mascot antics, they are eager to bring more school spirit to campus. Any club can request Roscoe to attend their events and the team is very excited for every opportunity to don their suit after Homecoming. The brand new bronze statue was the other lion to greet students and alumni at this year’s Homecoming. Named after its sole donor, alumnus Bill McLagan (‘87), the statue was revealed at the entrance to Lions Stadium prior to the Homecoming game. While planning the statue’s design took McLagan and College administrators six years, the majority of the process has occurred within the past six months. The entire process cost between $68,000 and $70,000, according to McLagan. When McLagan was a student, the school was still called Trenton State College and the lion statue outside Roscoe West was new. It has been a personal goal of McLagan’s to give back to the College. His wish to donate a lion statue was fulfilled 30 years after his own graduation in a series of fortunate coincidences. The William M. McLagan Lion was manufactured at the world-class foundry Art Castings of Colorado. Sculpted by Herb Mignery, the maquette has a very realistic style and pose, according to McLagan who was impressed with the final product. Revealing the statue at Homecoming was made possible through one vital meeting McLagan had with John Kinkade, the
The statue cost approximately $70,000 to manufacture.
executive director of the National Sculptors Guild. Kinkade had to personally call and beg Mignery to come out of retirement to sculpt the piece. The commission process was successfully expedited three to four months faster so that the statute could be ready for Homecoming, according to Kinkade. McLagan “couldn’t be happier” to see the final outcome and to stand next to the statue on Homecoming day. The statue will be stored away in the winter, according to the College’s spokesman Dave Muha. The statue’s permanent
Kim Iannarone / Photo Editor
home between the Art and Interactive Multimedia Building and the Brower Student Center will be constructed in the meantime. The permanent home will likely include benches, landscaping and a stone pedestal. The statue will be permanently mounted sometime in the spring, according to the College’s Major Gifts Officer Guy Calcerano. Lions young and old alike came together this Homecoming to show how much the College means to them. The heart and enthusiasm behind the new statue and mascot shone through this Saturday.
page 10 The Signal October 25, 2017
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October 25, 2017 The Signal page 11
Nation & W rld
Over 300 killed, hundreds injured in Somalia bombing
Civilians carry out a victim of the blast.
By Zachary Sobol Staff Writer
More than 300 people were killed, and hundreds of others wounded by a truck bomb on Oct. 15 in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, according to The Guardian. This is the deadliest terror attack in Somalia in the last 10 years, according to BBC. Mogadishu alone goes through two explosions every month on average, according to The New York Times.
AP Photo
The Al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group, AlShabaab, is suspected to have been behind the attack due to its history of vehicular bomb attacks, according to Al Jareeza. A Toyota Noah minivan and a larger truck were carrying 350 kilograms worth of homemade and military grade explosives, The Guardian reported. The larger truck was stopped at a military checkpoint, where it was detonated at the highly populated crossroads, according to The Guardian. The detonation caused an
explosion vast enough to ignite a fuel tanker nearby, which caused a large fireball. The minivan was also stopped at a checkpoint, The Guardian reported. The driver was detained, and no one was killed by the bomb. The intended target was an airport compound in Mogadishu, where many embassies, the African Union Mission in Somalia headquarters and the United Nations are located, according to The Guardian. The Guardian reported that an expert said it was probable that Al-Shabaab didn’t anticipate that the bomb would explode next to a fuel tanker, calling it “just very, very bad luck.” BBC reported Somalia does not have a public health record database or ability to test DNA, which makes the identification of lost loved ones difficult. “May Allah give patience to all families who lost their loved ones in the tragic blast. … And I pray that one day Allah will bring justice to the perpetrators of that evil act,” said Muna Haj, a 36-year-old who lost a son in the explosion, according to The Guardian. Mohamed declared three days of national mourning, according to Al Jazeera. The United States stands with Somalia. A
U.S. military aircraft with medical supplies was sent to Mogadishu, according to ABC. Kenyans are also donating blood to help victims, according to BBC. Al Jazeera reported that Mayor Thabit Abdi Mohammed of Mogadishu entreated “the Somali people to visit the city’s hospitals and donate blood. Please, come to the rescue of your brothers.” Maryam Abdullahi, a victim, was going to graduate medical school a day after the attack, according to BBC. “She was planning to start training at a mother and baby clinic after her university graduation. She had ambition,” said Anfa’a Abdullahi Mohamed, Abdullah’s sister, as reported by BBC Somali Service. Abdiaziz Omar Ibrahim looked for over 48 hours for his older brother Ahmed, according to Al Jazeera. “I went to all the hospitals in Mogadishu. I looked through every — all the wards, but we haven’t found him,” Ibrahim told Al Jazeera. “He has seven children. The youngest is four years old. He is the family’s only breadwinner. We don’t know if he’s dead or alive. I spoke to him one hour before the explosion. Now there is no trace of him.”
Model-actress accuses Weinstein of rape By Joanne Kim Staff Writer
A 38-year-old model-actress from Italy was the sixth woman to accuse movie mogul Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault, according to the Los Angeles Times. BBC reported that Weinstein has been accused of sexual misconduct by dozens of other women as well. Actresses Asia Argento, Rose McGowan, Lysette Anthony and Lucia Evans have also publicly accused Weinstein of rape. Weinstein has been fired for his misconduct from the production company he cofounded, Weinstein Co., according to Forbes. The Los Angeles Times reported that the model-actress on Oct. 12 gave her statement to Los Angeles police detectives. The alleged crime falls within the 10-year statute of limitations. If evidence exists, the
prosecution can use this case to discuss rape, and potentially criminally charge Weinstein. Weinstein has denied all allegations of rape, according to BBC. The 38-year-old model-actress said the alleged incident occurred at the Mr. C Beverly Hills Hotel, according to the Los Angeles Times. It happened after she had attended the eighth annual Los Angeles, Italian Film, Fashion and Art Fest in February 2013. The Los Angeles Times reported after the film fest, Weinstein was said to have showed up unexpectedly at the lobby of the woman’s hotel. Weinstein asked her if he can come up to her room. She said she told him no and offered to meet him downstairs. But then Weinstein knocked at her door. “He … bullied his way into my hotel room, saying, ‘I’m not going to (have sex with) you, I just want
to talk,’” the woman said, according to the Los Angeles Times. “Once inside, he asked me questions about myself, but soon became very aggressive and demanding and kept asking to see me naked. He grabbed me by the hair and forced me to do something I did not want to do. He then dragged me to the bathroom and forcibly raped me.” Finally, Weinstein left, according to the Los Angeles Times. “It was the most demeaning thing ever done to me by far. It sickens me still. … He made me feel like an object, like nothing with all his power,” the woman said. The allegations BBC compiled speak of Weinstein using his influence in the movie industry as a threat against women at the start of their careers. The Los Angeles Times said the model-actress only persevered through the fear of retaliation to tell
this story because of her daughter. When her daughter told her a boy had been mistreating her, the modelactress told her daughter about this incident to comfort her and get her daughter to report the mistreatment. The daughter pointed out the mother should have reported Weinstein by the same logic. The Washington Post reported
that Twitter campaigns like #MeToo showed consolidation for victims by affirming many other instances of sexual assault. The trend of sexual misconduct is still prevalent in the Hollywood movie industry, as USA Today reported that 38 women as of Sunday, Oct. 22, have accused director James Toback of sexual harassment.
Weinstein denies allegations of rape.
AP Photo
Hurricane Nate shuts down power across five states
Hurricane Nate creates powerful waves. By Joanne Kim Staff Writer
The last traces of Hurricane Nate will soon be forgotten, as cleanup crews begin to pick up swathes of debris on West Beach, Alabama, on Oct. 18, according to WKRG. Hurricane Nate went from a tropical storm to hurricane on Oct. 6, according to CNBC. It became stronger as it passed through Central America and the Gulf of Mexico. CNBC reported that on Oct. 8, Hurricane Nate’s presence shut down about 90 percent of oil production in the Gulf of Mexico. Around 95,000 customers across Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia and Mississippi had no power.
AP Photo
Around the same time, energy companies turned off the tap water system, and workers were evacuated to prepare for the hurricane. Fortunately, President Andrew Lipow of Lipow Oil Associates said the damage to the energy infrastructure overall was “very minor” past the weekend, according to CNBC. CNN reported that the storm has already killed at least 28 people in Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Honduras by the time it hit North America mainland. The hurricane made two landfalls, once in Mississippi as a Category 1 storm and then in Alabama, according to CBS. President Donald Trump declared a state of emergency in Alabama, Tennessee and Louisiana, according to CNN.
In Mobile, Alabama, many people collected storm debris through a trash pickup routine. It is not to the point where these people need a special pickup plan, since there isn’t too much storm debris left over, according to the city in Alabama. Cleanup is taking the residents of Dauphin Island, Alabama more time than initially expected because of the storm. The town of Dauphin Island posted on Facebook that they are still in the midst of cleaning up three miles of the closed Bienville Boulevard. Dauphin Island as of Oct. 17 was still cleaning up, as residents start to trickle back into their homes, according to WKRG. As for Mobile, the water level grew four feet above usual tides, according to The Weather Channel. The National Hurricane Center said that Hurricane Nate turned into a tropical depression on Oct. 8 and ceased all warnings associated with the storm. CNN reported that Hurricane Nate was the third hurricane to hit the United States in succession after Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma. Victims were less fortunate, as The New York Times reported that people in Texas and Florida are still waiting for FEMA to assist them. Hurricane season is not over. It will last until Nov. 30, according to CNN.
page 12 The Signal October 25, 2017
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October 25, 2017 The Signal page 13
Editorial
Students should not let stress overwhelm them
A few years ago, I struggled with depression. Some days, it was difficult getting out of bed and finding joy in the things that once brought me happiness. I was constantly being asked if I was OK by my friends and family. Although I’ve overcome the often stigmatized challenges of depression, I sometimes still feel the hardships it brings. Even though I don’t consider myself to be “depressed” now, I feel I am able to open up about my experiences. It’s not something someone can just say to ‘snap out of,’ or ‘cheer up because things will get better.’ It attempts to take over you, tries to control you and makes you feel like there’s no escape. These past two weeks, I have felt myself under a significant amount of stress. I’ve been feeling down about myself and my ability to be a good student. I’ve always made school a priority, and I try to push myself to be the best I can in all areas of my life. Whether it’s in my classes, my position at The Signal or at my internship, I always strive to give 100 percent. While I was behind in my assignments I needed to get done, I realized I needed to change something. I wasn’t happy. I was feeling sorry for myself and just wanted to hide under my covers and make it all go away. But that wasn’t realistic. You can’t just bury your head in your pillows and make your problems disappear, and there’s no way I was going to be able to be an adult in the real world, when I graduate this December, if I was going to let this be a burden on my life. As I was sitting there feeling sorry for myself, I started thinking my attitude toward life needed to change. I was taking my frustration out on my family, but in reality — it was me. I was feeling that the world was against me. It sounds silly, but that’s when I realized it was me who was the one against myself with the thoughts I was feeding into my own head. It’s actually pretty scary how your brain works. You’re in full control of yourself, whether you believe it or not. Your thoughts, whether negative or positive, attract those vibes. So, as I was laying in my bed letting my thoughts get the best of me, I realized that life could be a lot worse. I’m feeling sorry for myself because of what? I’m stressed? I have a lot of commitments to fulfill? The reality is, everyone is always under stress. Stress is a part of growing up and being an adult. I’ve been in denial about graduating in December, but this period of feeling “sorry” for myself truly opened up my eyes to what’s really important in life. Last weekend, I decided to focus on doing something positive. I spent time with my family and surrounded myself with nothing but positivity — great food and the people that care about me most. I snapped out of it. I started telling myself that I am capable of anything. I picked myself up, patched the pieces back together and completed the tasks I needed to. I somehow managed to still get everything done on time. I proved to myself that no matter how down I feel, I can still accomplish anything I put my mind to. It’s amazing how much I learned these past couple months about my outlook and attitude toward life. I have a great internship, I go to an amazing college, and I have the best family and friends by my side. I’m happy that I got myself together, because it has prepared me for the difficulties I will face down the road. Sometimes, changing your attitude and believing in yourself can adjust your entire perspective on life. My best advice is to always stay true to yourself and find the things that make you happy. When you’re feeling down, get up and tell yourself you can do it. At the end of the day, you are your own worst enemy. — Ashton Leber Features Editor
Editorial Content Unsigned editorial opinions are those of the Editorial Board, which consists of the Editor-in-Chief, the Managing, News, Features, Arts & Entertainment, Opinions, Photo, Sports, Review and Social Media editors and the Business and Production managers, 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.
Positive thinking can keep students from feeling overwhelmed by stress.
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Quotes of the Week tcnjsignal.net Email: signal@tcnj.edu Telephone: Production Room (609) 771-2424 Business Office (609) 771-2499 Ad Email: signalad@tcnj.edu
Editorial Staff Connor Smith Editor-in-Chief smithc57@tcnj.edu Thomas Infante Alyssa Gautieri Managing Editors infantt1@tcnj.edu gautiea3@tcnj.edu Michelle Lampariello News Editor lamparm2@tcnj.edu Maximillian C. Burgos Miguel Gonzalez Sports Editors burgosm2@tcnj.edu gonzam23@tcnj.edu Ashton Leber Features Editor lebera1@tcnj.edu Elizabeth Zakaim Arts & Entertainment Editor zakaime1@tcnj.edu Brielle Bryan Opinions Editor bryanb2@tcnj.edu Kim Iannarone Jason Proleika Photo Editors iannark1@tcnj.edu proleij1@tcnj.edu
Mailing Address: The Signal c/o Forcina Hall The College of New Jersey P.O. Box 7718 Ewing, NJ 08628-0718 Heidi Cho Nation & World Editor choh2@tcnj.edu Lily Firth Reviews Editor firthl1@tcnj.edu Eric Preisler Production Manager preisle1@tcnj.edu Kyle Elphick Web Editor elphick1@tcnj.edu Danielle Silvia Maddi Ference Social Media Editors silviad2@tcnj.edu ferencm2@tcnj.edu Thomas Ballard Copy Editor ballart1@tcnj.edu
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“A dude in a mask ran up and was like, ‘where’s the weed at?’ And then (Green) was like ‘what chu doin’ runnin’ up like that?’ And he just shot him. Plain and simple, just shot him.”
— Anonymous, witness to Devon Green’s murder
“All good things shouldn’t last forever, but I hope MoBo does.” — Nicholas Wodeshick,
a senior communication studies major
“I enjoy going to the tailgate, for I am able to meet and talk to alumni in my fraternity, Beta Theta Pi, about their experiences from TCNJ.”
— Stephen Stockton, a sophomore finance major
page 14 The Signal October 25, 2017
Opinions
Don’t let Hollywood moguls abuse power By Richard Chachowski
Female artists and entertainers deserve to be afforded the same respect as men when building their careers. Prominent men in the entertainment industry, such as Harvey Weinstein, tear this right away from women. Weinstein, the famed Hollywood producer of successful films such as “Pulp Fiction,” “Shakespeare in Love” and “Good Will Hunting,” received a great deal of negative publicity last week, following a continuous stream of sexual harassment and assault allegations. Weinstein has been the center of attention in the filmmaking industry, with many female celebrities, including Ashley Judd, Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie, among others, coming forward to reveal Weinstein’s behavior with numerous actresses behind closed doors, according to Entertainment Weekly. It’s alleged that Weinstein would often abuse his position as the head of his leading production companies, Miramax and the Weinstein Company, by meeting with young, ambitious actresses who hoped to break into the Hollywood industry. The accusers say Weinstein would often act charming at first, appearing genuinely sympathetic to the young women, in order to lure them back into private areas, often hotel rooms or suites. Once alone with them, it’s alleged that
Weinstein is accused of sexually assaulting young entertainers. Weinstein would then attempt to make sexual advances toward the women, which were often denied. Weinstein allegedly would promise the women starring roles in the films he was producing if they accepted his advances. Though these allegations have only recently come to light, Weinstein’s many of these accusations say they have been going on for some time. Numerous female actresses who have had some sort of sexual encounter with Weinstein, which was covered up by Weinstein to avoid media attention, have come forward to speak against Weinstein’s actions. Approximately 43 wellknown and prominent Hollywood actresses have come forward to discuss their own encounters with Weinstein, according to
AP Photo
Entertainment Weekly. Hollywood has always been a hard industry for people to break into, especially those pursuing an acting career. Though many people move to Hollywood with hopes of landing a role to propel them to stardom, often only a prestigious few are lucky enough to receive their big break. It takes skill, luck and persistence, among many other factors, to succeed in Hollywood. The presence of people like Harvey Weinstein makes the entertainment industry so much harder for people, especially women, to thrive. Weinstein’s alleged behavior may have been the norm in the filmmaking industry a long time ago, but in 2017, a case like this is unacceptable. It does not matter if you are a Hollywood mogul, an
office manager, a corporate executive or if you hold any form of authority over others, abusing your power to exploit others is a gross and inexcusable. Weinstein did not only act indecent by manipulating the dreams and ambitions of young women for personal gain, but also acted inhumane by objectifying their bodies. The filmmaking industry, or any industry for that matter, should not continue to let people abuse their power. Careers should be built on mutual respect for one another’s talent and skill, regardless of their gender. Executives like this hold no place in the entertainment business, or any business at all. Weinstein’s behavior should not have been tolerated decades ago, and it certainly should not be tolerated now. Entertainment moguls must use their power responsibly. They need to cease using the entertainment industry as a way to exploit young women who are ambitious and crave the spotlight. Popularity, wealth and power should not protect or enable these Hollywood executives to continue using their influence to manipulate women and cover up sexual harassment scandals. Everyone, regardless of their gender, has the right to pursue their dreams. Removing men like that from power, who purposely target those dreams and exploit them for personal benefit, is not only a service to the entertainment industry, but to society as a whole.
Students can choose to say ‘no’ to bullying
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Bullying affects the lives of both tormentors and victims. By Brielle Bryan Lips pursed, fingers clenched, eyes closed. I watch myself in the mirror, staring at the reflection of an 11-year-old who was told that her clothes were too tight and her hair was too frizzy.
Body flinches, heart races, hands pull against fabric. I try on multiple shirts, but nothing fits right. They’re either too tight or too loose. I try multiple hairstyles, but none of them look right. They either make my hair look too flat or too thick. I carried the words that were
said to me as a child with me to adulthood. When I look in the mirror, I see the child who was bullied into thinking that she would never be good enough. I also see the adult who says that I should not let others define me, and that I am more than enough. Bullying is a serious issue, and
is most prevalent in the early pubescent years. Even though we might grow older, we don’t necessarily grow out of the role of abuser or victim. If we got away with teasing our peers during recess, then we will continue to antagonize others as adults. If we let our peers boss us around and make fun of us during snack time, chances are more than likely we will let others push us around as adults. To those who are bullies, how do you stop? What is driving your anger or fear? Who has played a negative influence in your life? Those who have been bullied, how do we say, “No?” What can we do to drive fear out of our lives? Who can we look up to, and how do we use that positive influence to shape our view of ourselves? Abusers can learn to stop being abusers, and victims can learn to stop being victims. Both can achieve their goals through self-awareness. We should ask ourselves questions. Why do I act the way I act? Who is the center of my problem? What can I do to change my behavior? Abusers act out of hatred or
fear. Abusers want others to feel the fear they felt, which was possibly inflicted by a family member or a peer. Abusers can change their behavior by identifying who made them feel afraid, and recognizing that what that individual did to them was wrong. Victims act out of trust and insecurity. Victims want to believe the harmful words of others, because they don’t think highly of themselves. The center of a victim’s problem is not the bully, but the victim themself. Victims can change their behavior by trusting their own judgment, valuing themselves and knowing their own self-worth. No one is innocent from bullying. Everyone that we’ve come into contact with has either been an abuser, a victim or both. The only way to cure the world of bullying is to plead guilty. We have to recognize the impact of bullying in our prepubescent years, and make the choice to not let it control our adult lives. The only way to make that choice is to come to terms with who we are, and ask ourselves selfidentifying questions. Are you an abuser, a victim or both?
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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 email 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 email us at signal@tcnj.edu.
October 25, 2017 The Signal page 15
Students share opinions around campus
“What is your view on the accusations against Harvey Weinstein?”
Brielle Bryan / Opinions Editor
Eric Yavorsky, a junior political science major. “He’s a bad guy.”
Brielle Bryan / Opinions Editor
Steven Derby, a senior finance major. “(The accusations) make me sick.”
“Do you think bullying is an issue at the College?”
Brielle Bryan / Opinions Editor
Joey Stambouly, a sophomore economics major. “Not that I’ve seen. TCNJ is a pretty accepting community, for the most part.”
Brielle Bryan / Opinions Editor
Alberto Gonzalez, a sophomore chemistry major. “I think sometimes it can be passive, rather than direct bullying.”
The Signal’s cartoons of the week...
page 16 The Signal October 25, 2017
2017 WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP SUMMIT
Do Less, Achieve More:
Reclaim Your Life Without Sacrificing Success
NOVEMBER 8, 2017 • EDUCATION 115 • 10:30 – 11:45 A.M. Tiffany Dufu, summit keynote speaker, will share actionable advice with students from her book, Drop the Ball: Achieving More by Doing Less. Students of all majors and genders are encouraged to attend. EXCLUSIVE AND FREE FOR TCNJ STUDENTS Pre-registration required to: beaginn@tcnj.edu
Named to Fast Company’s League of Extraordinary Women, Tiffany Dufu was a launch team member to Lean In and is Chief Leadership Officer to Levo, the fastest growing millennial professional network. Having raised nearly $20 million toward causes to benefit women and girls, she’s been featured in The New York Times, ESSENCE, O, The Oprah Magazine, and on NPR. She is a consultant to Fortune 500 companies, a sought-after speaker on women’s leadership, and has presented at Fortune Magazine’s Most Powerful Women Summit, TEDWomen, and MAKERS.
The Student Session is sponsored by Johnson & Johnson; the Women in Learning and Leadership Program; Women in Business; the School of Business; and America’s Small Business Development Center at TCNJ.
tcnj.edu/womensleadership
Fun Stuff Have a safe and Happy Halloween!
October 25, 2017 The Signal page 17
Features
Students shed light on feminist movement By Corinne Castaldo Correspondent
Feminism — a pressing issue in today’s society that affects all people, young and old, student and faculty, male and female. Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, Inc. hosted Feminism 101 on Oct. 18, in the Library Auditorium to discuss the important matter of feminism with students at the College. Chi Upsilon Sigma National Latin Sorority and Women In Learning Leadership also co-sponsored the event. A panel with one person from each organization was set on stage. The speakers opened the event by asking members in the audience to take out their cell phones and participate in a Kahoot! Kahoot! is an online quiz creator that allows users to answer questions and submit their answers anonymously. Some of the questions included, “what is feminism?” After each question, the panel discussed their own opinions on why feminism is an important issue to them. “Feminism has always been important to me,” said Christiana Buz, a sophomore communication studies major. “I think that it’s crazy that it hasn’t been a topic of discussion until recently.” The Kahoot! activity was a successful way to shed light on the topics of feminism, and engaged the audience with an interactive experience. One of the main discussions of the event focused on the misconceptions of feminism itself. The panel was quick to dispel certain misunderstandings of the feminist movement, such as the exclusion and hatred of men. “It isn’t about excluding men from the conversation of feminist topics,” said Luisanna Lugo, a member of Chi Upsilon Sigma.
Panelists discuss misconceptions of feminism. “But women are the focus of discussions like these because when we (women) leave, men become the focus.” The panel continued to highlight the fundamental need for discussions where women are the sole focus, because in most spaces — such as classrooms and in the workplace — the focus is primarily on men. These misconceptions are a crucial part of why feminism is a topic that is often shied away from. “I think that it’s crazy for (feminism) to not be important in everyone’s life,” Buz said. The discussion led to many different topics of feminism — such as social media, racial perspective and how discussions about feminism often become unfocused. Members of the panel touched upon the issues that social media brings into the feminist movement, such as the effects of radical feminists. “There is not just one social media,” said Cidney Robinson, member of Chi Upsilon
Emily Lo / Staff Photographer
Sigma. “Consumers of media should not take every piece of information from radicals and attribute that to the feminist movement as a whole.” The panel was quick to point out that the majority of social media users are radicals, and that students should use caution when deciding who and what to follow so that the goals of the movement do not become lost in the mix. Radical feminism is often the cause of common misconceptions regarding men, making them believe that they have no place in the feminist movement. Men can get involved by stepping into spaces such as these and actively thinking about the perspective of women and their roles in society today. The racial perspective of feminism was also a topic that was heavily discussed at the event. With the members of the panel from diverse backgrounds, they were able to share
their opinions on how race has impacted their experience with feminism. The overwhelming majority of both the panel and the students agreed that the opinions of colored women did not matter as much as the opinions of white women in classroom environments. Also featured in the discussion was the unfocused nature of many feminist conversations that exist today. Conversations that are solely focused on women and women’s issues can often lead to the assumption that feminism excludes men, or that men do not have a place among feminists. Discussions such as the ones that took place at the event are aimed to target issues that oppress women in society such as misogyny, rape and wage gaps, according to the panel. The discussion brought to the surface many important issues regarding the representation of women in society, while also engaging the audience with an interactive platform. While we still have great strides to make in the journey of equality, discussing the issues is an important first step.
“I think that it’s crazy for (feminism) to not be important in everyone’s life.” —Christiana Buz
Sophomore communication studies major
College partners with migrants from Myanmar By Grace Gottschling Staff Writer Surrounded by the Grecian-accented, pale green walls of the First Baptist Church of Trenton, students from the College and immigrant children filled the pews in preparation to practice their conversational English skills. Students enrolled in the College’s American English and World English courses are partnering with immigrants from Myanmar, the country formerly known as Burma. English professor Felicia Steele, who teaches the courses, said the program was established roughly 10 years ago. “The goal is to provide (the immigrants) with an opportunity where they are not feeling judged for their English language use,” Steele said. “Research shows that the way you learn a language is by using it. We are trying to provide an opportunity to these students to use English.” Adam Sibley, the program coordinator for the Advanced Center for Engaged Learning, said Steele is one of the many faculty members at the College who believes learning is enhanced when
students get out of the classroom and into the community. “The project is borne as much out of her (Steele’s) desire to challenge students to think and act critically as her passion for service,” Sibley said. Since the start of the program, Steele has worked with a number of different sites to fulfil her classes’s engaged learning component. The most successful site she found has been working with the First Baptist Church of Trenton with the church’s reverend, Calvin Powell. The Rev. Powell has allowed Steele’s classes to work as conversation partners with the immigrants from Myanmar in his church. This is the fourth time Steele has worked with Rev. Powell’s church in the past six years. The current immigrants are between the ages of eight and 20 years old. Together, the students and immigrants are able to foster and learn new skills, whether that be through practicing English or studying how it’s acquired as a second language. “I’ve learned it’s so important to give some of your time to children in communities like these, with the goal of improving their
spoken English, providing them with a conversation and a friend,” said Meriah Murphy, a senior English major. There are currently five or six children from immigrant families who are working with students at the church. In the first year of Steele’s program, there were about a dozen. The smaller class size makes it easier for students to work in a oneon-one setting. “Making sure they feel heard and understood can go a long way in boosting their confidence,” Murphy said. “I’m grateful I’ve had the opportunity to connect with this issue on a level beyond the textbook.” Twice a semester, Steele sends four students to meet with the immigrants, and the program has left its mark on those who have taken the class. “The kids were much more outgoing than I expected,” Murphy said. “They were happy to have us, which made the experience all the more rewarding.” Steele’s model focuses on establishing new experiences for the betterment of both her students in the class and the young immigrants. “That’s part of the reason that we do this, so that (students at the
College) can develop empathy for English language learners,” Steele said. According to Steele, the classes’ goal is to examine the materials for teaching English as a second language and evaluate what kinds of ideologies are embedded and reproduced through learning English as a second language. “The class gets to see English language learners as they are struggling to make sense of American English,” Steele said. Steele, along with the Center
for Community Engaged Learning and Research, is making strides toward establishing an immersion model that will greatly advance students by giving them tangible methods to better understand and prepare for practical application in the real world. “Through programs like Advanced Community Engaged Learning, the College is creating a generation of graduates who, no matter their choice of profession, is prepared to live civically engaged lives,” Sibley said.
Immigrants practice their English speaking skills.
page 18 The Signal October 25, 2017
: O c t . ‘ 01
Campus Style
Students show Lions pride at Spirit Week
Ashton Leber / Features Editor
The College welcomes students and alumni for Homecoming.
Every week, Features Editor Ashton Leber hits the archives and finds old Signals that relate to current College topics and top stories. Each year, alumni and current students at the College gather for the most anticipated event of the year — Homecoming. The various events of Spirit Week 2017 began on Oct. 17, and prepped students around campus for the excitement of the football game that took place on Oct. 20. Lot 4 was filled with delicious food, music and games for all ages to enjoy. Alumni come back to relive their time in college for one day of the year. In 2001, Spirit Week had Greek organizations around campus participate in week-long competitions, similar to the events of Spirit Week today. Lions spirit for one week. It’s blue and gold, pride for the College, pride among alumni and pride for one’s team. While many students were away on fall break, Spirit Week 2001 The Magical World of TCNJ, began on Sunday, Oct. 22. Participating organizations took part in a week-long competition to show their Lions pride for the weekend’s homecoming festivities by competing in different events where each team is themed as a Disney movie. The Toy Story team, Delta Phi Epsilon sorority and Sigma Pi fraternity, were the overall champions, scoring 228.5 points, edging out Beauty and the Beast team, Kappa Delta and Sigma Tau Gamma with 227. Sigma Pi fraternity brother Keith Ritson was also named the homecoming king, and Dana Tsivikis, member of the women’s rugby team, was crowned homecoming queen. Homecoming began with a canned food
drive, which collected more than 3,500 cans for The Crisis Ministry Center in Trenton. On Monday afternoon sneak a preview was held, followed by pool events in Packer Hall that night. On Tuesday were the powder puff football and cheerleading competition (renamed the Tim Asher Cup after the founder of homecoming) and a tailgating where many of the participants enjoyed hoagies and snack. The finale for homecoming week was the football game and the parade on Saturday. “Homecoming is just fun,” said sophomore Mariano Pellegrino. “It’s a party.” Homecomings of the past have said to be too competitive. Some of the participants of the past have also been criticized for poor sportsmanship. This year’s spirit week was competitive but students were in much greater spirit. While the fraternities, sororities minority organizations and freshmen are usually the organizations that take part in spirit week, club sports, rugby and the ambassadors represented some of the organizations aiming to win the Lions spirit award. This year’s homecoming was combined with the alumni reunion weekend. The College’s alumni were invited back to enjoy the weekend festivities. The class of 1951 celebrated its 50th anniversary and about 2,000 alumni returned to support the Lions at the homecoming game. Mike Curry, director of alumni affairs, felt that “(homecoming) was highly successful and it was neat to see the alumni come back.”
The Culinary Club Presents...
By Julia Dzurillay Columnist
Sometimes, lunch on the go means a bowl of half-cooked ramen noodles from the C-Store. I remember being a freshman and feeling guilty with each bite of Kraft Easy Mac I scarfed down. But no need to fear unhealthy eat-
Left: Over-the-knee boots return as a popular fall trend. Right: Fauxfur coats are comfortable and stylish. By Jillian Greene Columnist It’s hard to believe Halloween is right around the corner, especially when this weather makes me believe we’re still stuck in September. In just one day, we can experience three different seasons. In the morning, I walk to class bundled up in my winter jacket. Around lunch time, it begins to feel like spring weather with temperatures reaching the mid ’70s. Before you know it, it’s dinner time and it finally feels like fall. Not only am I confused, but so is my wardrobe. The leaves are falling off the trees, regardless of the spring-like temperatures. As I’ve packed away most of my summer clothes, I’m wondering if that was the right thing to do. This weather frustrates me, as I’m sure it does for many others. Walking to class freezing in the morning and coming out only to start sweating is not ideal for anyone. My fashion advice to you
is to layer up — it’s the only way to be comfortable in this weather. You can’t go wrong with a short sleeve T-shirt or tank top and a zip-up. These past few days, I’ve seen students across campus in a variety of outfits ranging from boots, all the way to sandals. Before you know it, we’ll all be in our fall clothes — some of us wishing for warmer weather back and some of us loving every second of it. Although I adore my fall and winter boots, I can do without the cold weather. This fall, we’ll be seeing some new and old trends in the fashion world. Always remember that fashion comes full circle, so if you’re wondering about your clothes from last fall, I can guarantee you they will be “in.” There’s no need to go shopping and break your bank for new fall clothes. We’ll be seeing lots of fringe, faux-fur, oversized flannels and, of course, the classic overthe-knee boots. Once the weather starts to get chillier, what will you be wearing?
: Easy mason jar salads
Lions Plate
Mason jar salads are great on the go.
Flickr
dessert, try making a mason jar parfait with layers of yogurt, granola and fresh fruit. When you’re done, rinse and fill the mason jar with water, lemon, cucumber and mint to cleanse your body. If you’re looking for something sweet to bring to class, blend a milkshake with one part milk, two parts cookies and cream ice cream and a little chocolate syrup. Think outside the jar! Flickr
ing anymore, because the Culinary Club is here with a healthy alternative: mason jar salads, a quick and easy meal for anyone on the go. Most of these ingredients can be found in Eickhoff Hall or in the C-Store, which is perfect for any student on a budget. If you’d rather have a healthy snack for
Black beans Corn Shredded cheddar cheese Ranch dressing
Directions: 1. Wash the vegetables and cut them, as desired. 2. Add dressing to the bottom of
the mason jar first to avoid making the leafy vegetables soggy. 3. Add a desired amount of each ingredient to a mason jar, leaving the leafy vegetables, (such a lettuce or spinach) at the top. Screw on the lid. 4. Keep salad refrigerated until needed. Enjoy!
Tomato and mozzarella salad ingredients: Cherry tomatoes Spinach Bocconcini Basil Balsamic vinaigrette dressing Southwest salad ingredients: Romaine lettuce Cherry tomatoes Crushed tortilla chips Avocado
Fresh fruit makes for delicious smoothies.
Flickr
October 25, 2017 The Signal page 19
Arts & Entertainment
Acoustic duo performs jaw dropping set
Left: Collins delivers an intimate performance. Right: Fans find Tigers Jaw’s show surreal.
By Mae Kristy Calacal Correspondent Outside the closed doors of room 100W of the Brower Student Center, a line of students stretching over the steep staircase located by the east entrance waited to be seated. Some gathered in groups of two or more, discussing everything from the show’s headliners, Ben Walsh and Brianna Collins of Tigers Jaw, to their opinion of the “Rocky Horror Picture Show.” While some opted for the simplicity of a pair of jeans and a sweater, the majority of students preferred styles associated with the alternative and punk rock subcultures — combat boots, leather jackets and T-shirts with band logos like The Wonder Years and Modern Baseball emblazoned across the front. The students had come to watch three acts that are huge hits in the local New Jersey and Pennsylvania music scene: Dylan Walker of Aw Shucks, Sarah M. and Walsh and Collins of Tigers Jaw. While some performers at CUB Alt are not as well known as others, Cub Alt coordinator and junior English
major Morgan Lubner sees their merit. “It’s cool for (the bigger bands) to come around,” Lubner said, “but the shows are also great opportunities for those starting out to put their name out there.” She cited Walker, of Aw Shucks, as an example. A longtime fan of the main act, Tigers Jaw, Lubner recounts the time she had emailed the band, asking them to perform at CUB Alt. According to Lubner, “it was a surreal moment” when they agreed to come. Walsh and Collins played a sample of their discography, starting from their album “Charmer” to the newly released “Spin.” In between songs, the pair spoke with the students and dedicated a cover of The Cure’s song “In Between Days” to Walsh’s family members, some of who were present at the show. Walker of Aw Shucks, the opener, performed his song, “PJs.” The song had lyrics that could easily resonate with the average college student, such as “Won’t you look at the time? I’m running late for my classes.” Two others joined him after the song, representing 3/4 of the band, Aw Shucks, from Westampton, New Jersey. Aw Shucks played its set, which included songs like “Spitting
Connor Smith / Editor-in-Chief
Flowers” and “Signals.” Following suit were the tracks “Oh Sheesh” and “Backroads.” After a five-minute break, Philadelphia-based musician, Sarah M. took the stage touting only a black bass with an amber-colored pickguard. To conclude her act, Sarah M. chose to open up to the audience about the negative effects of drugs and show business. She advocated for more discussions in the music industry regarding these issues. She then dedicated her final song to a friend lost to drugs, whom she misses dearly. “I lost a lot of beautiful people to drug overdose,” Sarah M. said. Walsh, meanwhile, was grateful for the opportunity to perform with his band. “It is a really amazing thing to play music and make a living out of it,” Walsh said. Walsh recognized the divide between local bands and those who have more experience in the music business, however he said “college shows are great for (closing that gap).” While everyone has their different interests, goals, and area of study, many agree that music, no matter where it comes from, brings people together. In this case, the unity took place in room 100W of the student center.
Modern Baseball makes final weekend a walk-off hit
Sydney Shaw / Former Editor-in-Chief
Members of Modern Baseball play their final show for the foreseeable future.
By Sean Reis Staff Writer
PHILADELPHIA — Diehard fans crowdsurfed above. Mosh pits, for the brave few, broke out left and right. The remaining, rowdy attendees screamed their favorite lyrics at the top of their lungs. On Saturday, Oct. 14, Philadelphia poppunkers Modern Baseball mirrored the passion of the 1,200 or so fans that sold out Union Transfer, as both sides were aware that the night could ultimately be one of their last concerts together. The show was the second of three consecutive performances on the weekend of
Friday the 13th. The trio of shows was also the beloved Philly band’s first appearance together since the announcement of a hiatus in February for mental health reasons. The crowd seemed pleased to see “MoBo” back together, but band members Jake Ewald, Brendan Lukens, Ian Farmer and Sean Huber seemed even happier to share the stage for what could perhaps be the final time. “I’m pretty sure I peaked,” said Nicholas Wodeshick, a senior communication studies major who attended Saturday’s concert. A diehard MoBo fan since the release of the band’s debut album, “Sports,” Wodeshick picked the right night to attend
the weekend-long residency — Modern Baseball started its Saturday performance by playing “Sports” in its entirety. “I was very bummed to miss out on Saturday’s show,” said Luke Lenczuk, a junior international studies major who attended Friday’s and Sunday’s concerts. “Yet at their final show on Sunday, I was still able to catch a few off of that record. When that first break down of ‘Cooke’ hit my ears, I was dumbfounded. Sometimes you forget how great a band is, and Modern Baseball did not disappoint.” No matter which of the three concerts fans attended, MoBo swung for the fences. Each night offered a special experience — not only in regards to Modern Baseball’s sets, but also the opening acts, who varied from day to day. After all, the band’s concert series was titled “Modern Baseball and Friends” so Ewald, Lukens and company could show off their up-and-coming colleagues. Ewald has been a mainstay at the College since Modern Baseball first performed at the Rathskeller in 2014. Since then, Ewald has played at the College three more times — once more with Modern Baseball at the College Union Board’s 2015 Fall Concert, and twice last November, as both an acoustic duo with Lukens and as the frontman of his solo project, Slaughter Beach, Dog. “Hearing the older songs into the latest album, you could feel how far MoBo had come,” said Amanda Brecher, a senior communication studies major who attended Saturday’s concert. “There was also a feeling of MoBo giving back by having a few relatively
newer acts open up for them on every night.” One of those openers was Philadelphia’s own Harmony Woods, a lo-fi indie rock act fronted by Drexel University freshman Sofia Verbilla with a backing band. Her guitarist, Chance Halter, was especially excited about the opportunity. “I feel extremely lucky to be in a band at all, let alone one that got to (open for Modern Baseball),” Halter said. “It was a dream come true and I feel incredibly fortunate to have gotten to do that. It was completely surreal.” Modern Baseball also performed more material from its sophomore album, “You’re Gonna Miss It All,” and its most recently released record, “Holy Ghost.” MoBo closed the Saturday show with “Your Graduation,” a fan-favorite from “You’re Gonna Miss It All.” The band played the song not once, not twice, but three times, until the song’s final lyric was screamed in unison one last time: “go ahead and walk away.” If fans could return to the opening number and “Re-Do” the weekend, many would without question. Others, however, may choose to accept the possible bittersweet end of an era. It’s currently uncertain whether or not Modern Baseball will ever take the stage together again, but fans have an optimistic attitude. Despite what “Your Graduation” suggested, no one can simply “go ahead and walk away.” Spoken from a true fan’s heart: “All good things shouldn’t last forever,” Wodeshick said, “but I hope MoBo does.”
page 20 The Signal October 25, 2017
Netflix ‘Vandal’ tries to prove his innocence
Dylan faces expulsion and $100,000 in fines. By Thomas Infante Managing Editor
Netflix has never been afraid to take risks when it comes to producing original content. While the company has had a string of successful and critically acclaimed funny cartoons like “Bojack Horseman,” “F is for Family” and “Big Mouth,” their live-action comedies have been far less original. Usually, the company tries to bank on audience nostalgia by producing derivative garbage like “Fuller House” and the fourth season of “Arrested Development.” Perhaps as a result of these failures, the company released “American Vandal,” one of the funniest and most ludicrous shows Netflix has ever made. The show is structured as a satirical documentarystyle series like “Making a Murderer,” but the investigation centers on high school senior Dylan Maxwell (Jimmy Tatro),
Netflix
who has been expelled from school for spray painting phallic imagery on 27 of the school faculty’s cars, though Dylan maintains his innocence. After Dylan’s expulsion, sophomores Peter Maldonado (Tyler Alvarez) and Sam Ecklund (Griffin Gluck) begin an investigation into the incident, gathering information and interviewing students and faculty along the way to figure out “who drew the dicks?” Even very minor characters that are interviewed are very believable, and the overall depiction of how the kids talk and act seems very authentic in a way that most movies and shows about high school usually fail to achieve. The show is presented so seriously that it’s easy to forget how juvenile the subject matter is. When Maldonado is narrating over a slideshow of pictures and videos, you really feel drawn into the mystery of who was responsible for the vandalism. This suspension of disbelief is both reaffirmed
and shattered by Dylan Maxwell, who is the embodiment of the class clown you knew in high school. Dylan doesn’t go to school to learn, he goes to draw penises on the whiteboard and make whale noises in class. He either spends his free time with his crazy girlfriend Mackenzie, or smoking weed and making “Jackass”-style YouTube videos with his friends. To the school board, it seems obvious that Dylan is the vandal, even if there is no hard evidence to pin it on him. Character flaws aside, every moment Dylan is on screen is wonderful. He embodies the essence of an 18-yearold burnout stoner just as thoroughly as Daniel Day-Lewis did Abraham Lincoln. After watching Dylan for a while, you really want to believe that he’s innocent, and so does Maldonado. Even though Dylan’s case looks bleak, the documentarians pursue every possible lead to exonerate Dylan. The evidence they look for, however important to the case, is almost always completely ridiculous. For example, Dylan’s alibi during the incident was that he was with his friends, pretending to be Kiefer Sutherland while prank calling a senile old man who lives nearby. Maldonado insists that if they can obtain the voicemail of the call from the old man, they can prove Dylan’s innocence. Other leads involve some hilarious side characters. Since the security camera footage of the incident was deleted, the school board relied on the testimony of Dylan’s classmate Alex Trimboli (Calum Worthy), whose honesty is known to be questionable. One of his alleged falsehoods includes getting a hand job at summer camp from classmate Sarah Pearson (Saxon Sharbino), and Maldonado goes to great lengths to
challenge the validity of this in order to delegitimize his testimony. Maldonado also relies on information from history teacher Mr. Kraz, who tries way too hard to be the “cool teacher.” He makes Twitter polls about his students and still says “yolo” in 2017, but he does provide a valuable perspective to the documentary as a faculty member. In one breath he’ll tell Maldonado valuable information about fellow teachers, and in another compare female colleagues to “the bald guy in ‘Game of Thrones’ with no dick.” In between the hilarity and stupidity are really profound and heartfelt moments for these characters. In one episode, Maldonado and Ecklund each profile the other, in order to objectively find whether or not one of them could have been the perpetrator. While Ecklund takes the opportunity to make fun of his friend, Maldonado legitimately attempts to dig up dirt on Ecklund, causing a rift between the two. Even Dylan has some serious moments, especially toward the end of the show. In one scene, Dylan and his classmates are watching the finished documentary at a house party, and Dylan is forced to watch the interviewees talk about how dumb they really think he is. You can tell he realizes that all the people around him are fake and that his fame is worthless, even if he can’t articulate it as such. “American Vandal” is a show that draws you in with its absurdity before hooking you with actual emotional investment. It combines the humor and vibe of “Superbad” with the presentation of “Serial.” It’s extremely well done, and shows the potential of an idea that, like Dylan himself, is so hilariously simple that it almost seems stupid.
Passing students pick up impromptu poetry By Miguel Gonzalez Sports Editor
On a warm afternoon by the side of the Education Building, professor Tabitha Dell’Angelo was creating poems with one push of a lever at a time. No internet, cables, adapters, Wi-Fi or even electricity were needed. Just a typewriter, a table, a box full of ideas and students hungry for quickly printed poetry. Dell’Angelo, an associate professor in the department of early and elementary education and the coordinator of the urban education program, and students participated in Poetry 2 Go, an event where passersby requested poems to be immediately written on a typewriter. The three-hour event, sponsored by the urban education program and Sigma Tau Delta, lasted from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 18. Students had the option of pulling ideas out of a box or requesting any topic for a personalized poem. The majority of poems featured two stanzas with four poetic lines. “I’m a geek for typewriters,” Dell’Angelo said. “You don’t need technology, internet or even electricity to slide in a piece a paper and tell a story.” Dell’Angelo then explained the origins of the QWERTY keyboard design and how typewriters are not so old in 2017. “It wasn’t long ago when typewriters still existed,” Dell’Angelo said. “Word processors only begun to emerge in 1988. The QWERTY keyboard was designed for key writers to slow down and not jam their keys.” Dell’Angelo and several students were using a typewriter that dated back to 1950, when it was produced by L.C. Smith Bros. and Corona Typewriters, Inc. “It’s exciting to use a typewriter,” said Nina Navazio, a freshman secondary education major. “You get what you see in an instant. The letter. The space. The return to the next line.” Alan Amtzis, the director of the College’s Regional Training Center graduate degree program, joined in and recalled his younger days of using a typewriter. “Using the typewriter takes me back to when I was a
Students write poetry using typewriters that date back to the ’50s. kid,” Amtzis said. “The tippy-tacky sound. I wish typewriters were still used. It brings a different type of connection for a poet and it’s enjoyable. Sure, you can’t erase with a typewriter but you can never lose your data!” The most important part of the event allowed students to freely type poetry and share it with their peers. Navazio and Fernandez had their own distinctive approaches. “I rhyme in most of my poems,” Navazio said. “It’s all about rhythm and flow. Say like I want to rhyme rooms, I would think of spoons and somehow find a way to make them related.” Meanwhile, Fernandez writes her poems freely. “I’ll write about anything and everything,” Fernandez said. “Though, I do have a passion for love stories. Some of my lines can be cliché, but it turns out great in the end. If I want to write a really good poem, I won’t constrain myself and start freestyling.” Ultimately, students were able to use an antique device and showcase fun poetry. Amtzis also emphasized
Kim Iannarone / Photo Editor
the impact of great poetry. “It’s always a challenge to write,” Amtzis said. “What makes a poem? We try to take a human experience and express it on paper. I’m always inspired by good poetry. Sometimes it takes days or weeks to understand a piece of poetry.” When asked by a Signal photographer to write a poem about the paper, Dell’Angelo responded: The Signal A pile of papers Full of news With different words And different views From Josh Peck To good food You can count on the Signal For all your good news
Visiting poet inspires audience
October 25, 2017 The Signal page 21
By Nadir Roberts Staff Writer
The Library auditorium was packed on Thursday, Oct. 19, with dozens of poets, listeners and supporters of INK’s Visiting Writers Series. This time the poet was Danez Smith, who provided a vivacious performance and captivated his audience. Smith’s multitude of awards and accomplishments make him an astounding poet and author. In 2014, Smith won the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Poetry, in addition to being a two-time Individual World Poetry Slam Finalist, and three-time Rustbelt Poetry Slam Individual Champion. Smith also has two poetry chapbooks, and two books entitled “[Insert] Boy” and “Don’t Call Us Dead.” From the very moment Smith stepped foot on the stage, he had the crowd involved and excited. When asked how Smith always conjured up his excitement to perform, he said that being a comedian was his dream job and that his appreciation for stand-up leads to his outgoing and happy nature. “The more energy y’all give, the more the performer does,” Smith said. Smith discovered his love for poetry and spoken word his freshman year of high school through a theater assignment. Since then he has been writing poetry and performing. “My blood is in cahoots with the law but today I can say I’m alive,” said Smith in one of his pieces. Smith’s poetry for the night revolved
around the topics of his personal life, problems in black America and his sexuality. Isiah Sams, a sophomore philosophy major, who listened to Smith for the first time Thursday night, was astonished by his work. “He was amazing,” Sams said. He was glad he came to see Smith. “I wasn’t expecting this type of performance — it was mind blowing.”
“Because there is no Amber Alert for amberskinned girls! Because our heroes always end up shot or shootin’ up!”
—Danez Smith Award-winning poet
As an aspiring poet, Sams liked that Smith incorporated his personal experiences into his poetry and writing. “It sets him apart,” Sams said. Smith’s performance provided a fun, light-hearted time, but also carried a rather serious tone. Smith was able to capitalize on many prevalent issues not addressed regularly about racism in America, and his experiences as a queer black male. With titles like “Genesissy,” “Alternate Heaven for Black Boys” and “Dinosaurs in the Hood,” his
pieces sent a strong message to the audience. Throughout the night, many snaps were heard but his poem, “Dear White America,” seemed to resonate most with the audience. “Because there is no Amber Alert for the amber-kinned girls! Because our heroes always end up shot or shootin’ up!” Smith shouted. Toward the end of Smith’s set, he opened up a Q&A session and offered critical advice for upcoming poets and writers. “You have to write what scares you,” Smith said. In addition, Smith suggested that students take a theater class, seek mentorship and most importantly read. Before Smith took hold of the crowd, the night kicked off with two performers from the College. The 2017 spring and fall “Slam Down The Walls” poetry slam champions, Kendel Stiles, a junior political science major, and Kristen Cefaloni, a mathematics and secondary education dual major, shared their own pieces and captivated the crowd. Cefaloni had the opportunity to be an opening act for Smith, and said she was “blown away” by his performance. As co-publicist, Cefaloni loves what INK has been able to do, both personally and for the community. INK has been able to spread the love of literature to the campus community. “It’s nice to sit down with creative writers,” Cefaloni said. The event was for poets and nonpoets alike. “It’s great for people who aren’t English majors but enjoy poetry and writing,” Cefaloni added.
King inspires another haunting film Farmer conspires to murder wife in ‘1922’
This week, WTSR Assistant Music Director EJ Paras highlights some of the best new music that the College’s own radio station, 91.3 FM WTSR, puts into its weekly rotation.
Band Name: Camp Cope Album Title: “Camp Cope” Release Number: 1st Hailing From: Melbourne, Australia Genre: Indie Folk Rock Label: Run For Cover What started as a solo project that turned into a three-piece, Camp Cope is the offspring of Georgia Maq’s insightful musings. Her witty, biting and emotional observations of the world around her result in very genuine lyrics that are amplified by her booming voice. All of these components are complemented beautifully by Kelly-Dawn Helmrich’s melodic basslines, the underrated MVP of this band. Run For Cover’s latest addition will take the indie circuits by storm very soon. Must Hear: “Done” and “Flesh and Electricity”
Left: James’ actions lead to his demise. Right: Family members betray each other in ‘1922.’ By Nicole Zamlout Staff Writer Guilt is often depicted as nature’s way of punishment when one does something wrong. It is not swift like human law, it’s slow and cautious. It lulls you into a false sense of security before snapping in the most devastating ways. This is exactly what happens in the new Netflix original “1922.” Based on the novella by Stephen King, this haunting film follows a farmer in 1922 who allows his dark side to come out against his conniving wife, and who must suffer the consequences afterward. The story explores the ways in which guilt functions. It does not simply fester in you, but it infects everything around you. It pollutes you until
it rots away, or until something comes sniffing to chew up the corpse. The storytelling in this film was simply phenomenal. Though the premise seems simple, the director made sure the audience questioned if the macabre events of the film really happened, or if they were simply the guilt exacting its purpose. It makes you realize that guilt can do something so elaborate in order to force you to atone. The acting helped drive this point home, with Thomas Jane’s performance as the main character, Wilfred James, outshining the rest. His fear and slow deterioration alongside that of his farm really intensifies the haunting tone. Fear and anticipation were not brought on with cheap jump scares, which are found in many
films. In this movie, the horror did not stem from anything waiting around the corner, but from something that has taken roots in your mind, your home and everything you love. The musical score and use of disjointed noises and sound effects helped add to horror. The noise helped keep the audience on edge, making one wonder what fresh hell would come next. Its lack of sound also helped make the scene even more unsettling because the pauses of silence made it appear as if something were about to pop out and begin to feast. Not only did this work as a horror movie, it worked as a terrifying example of the power of the human mind. Throughout the film, James faces his own slow descent into hell.
Netflix
However, he isn’t dragged there by otherworldly demons. He is taken there by the creaks in the house, the feeling of being watched, the horrible turn of luck and of course, the rats. The rats, slowly creeping closer and closer, crawling and chewing on everything in sight. Such simple household pests slowly drove him out of his mind. He would run as far as he could, only for them to swarm and take what was left. This idea of something so simple being the driving force of the horror is a strange idea. But it worked well. All in all, this is definitely a film you should save to your Netflix queue for this Halloween. But I’d advise setting up a few mouse traps first. Never know what sins they may come to chew on.
Band Name: Leif Erikson Album Title: “Leif Erikson” Release Number: 1st Hailing From: London Genre: Alternative Rock Label: Arts & Crafts Showing maturity beyond its years, this London five-piece plays some tight, introspective rock ‘n’ roll, strongly influenced by Kurt Vile and The War on Drugs. Meaningful lyrics, varied chord progressions and hazy guitar solos equal Leif Erikson. My favorite excerpt from their promoter co-sign: “They’re only still at the foot of their career, but like their explorer namesake, Leif Erikson are what happens when you find yourself, however you get there, right where you are supposed to be.” Must Hear: “Get Free,” “Real Stuff” and “Looking for Signs”
page 22 The Signal October 25, 2017
Sports
Football
Football falters against Kean at Homecoming
Left: The Lions celebrate after keeping Kean at bay. Right: Glover runs for 33 yards against Kean. By Maxmillian C. Burgos Sports Editor
For the second time in five years, Kean University came into Lions Stadium and spoiled the College’s Homecoming game. The Lions struggled on both sides of the ball in the 26-3 loss to Kean, their fans sitting quiet for most of the game. When the Lions did have success, it was shortlived. After the game, head coach Casey Goff discussed the team’s struggles. “We came out flat,” Goff said. “We came out flat and played uninspired, unemotional football. We’re going to look at the film and see what we got.” Earlier in the week, the Lions looked sharp during practice. The team got in many snaps, preparing
for Kean’s explosive offense. Goff preached to his players that the game would be different than others. Homecoming would provide a lot of distractions, but they needed to shut those things out. “There’s a lot of distractions at Homecoming,” Goff said. “There are a lot of things that take you out of your mindset. Frankly, it is what it is. It’s great opportunity to see the team and see old friends. It simply is what it is. As a football team, you must learn to overcome outside distractions. That’s something that comes with time.” The Lions were only able to amass 169 yards on offense, a far cry from what they have been able to field the past two weeks. Senior quarterback Trevor Osler
struggled to get the ball to his receivers without tossing interceptions. The offensive line was blown up at the point of attack and as a result, Osler was under constant pressure and was knocked down frequently. Osler came into the game after two back-to-back career games. Unlike his previous performances against Rowan and Montclair State, Osler spent most of his time under duress against the Cougars. In the fourth quarter, Osler left the game with a non-throwing shoulder injury and did not return. “Trevor is a little banged up,” Goff said. “He got a little banged up in the game. A lot of that was making sure we are protecting our starting quarterback. Trevor is our guy. We are going to finish the season out with Trevor. He is playing
Miguel Gonzalez / Sports Editor
at a high level. He is playing intelligent football. We are going to protect him and that shoulder.” Sophomore defensive back Sam Jackson set his team up with excellent field position after catching a clutch interception in the middle of the field. Osler rallied the offense and drove the ball down field, showing his football intelligence in the process. To start the drive, the Lions ran the ball with senior running back Khani Glover, who racked up six yards. Then the Lions set up a screen play where Osler pump faked to a deep route, stunning the defense and allowing him to flip the ball out to Glover, who picked up a first down. see KEAN page 23
Men’s Soccer
Cougars dash Lions’ hopes for postseason berth By Miguel Gonzalez Sports Editor
As the sun shined bright through Homecoming festivities, the men’s soccer team lost its chance at making the New Jersey Athletic Conference Tournament after a loss against Kean University. On Saturday, Oct. 21, the Lions were defeated by Kean, 3-2, in a back-and-forth matchup. The team then bounced back on Sunday, Oct. 22, when they pounced on the College of Saint Vincent Dolphins, 9-0. Heading into Saturday’s game, both the Lions and Kean urgently needed a win to keep their playoff chances alive. The Cougars were hanging onto fifth place in the New Jersey Athletic Conference standings while the Lions were making a late season surge for sixth place. In the 26th minute, the Lions struck first when junior midfielder Nick Sample dribbled past opponents and blasted in a shot from 15 yards. The Lions then fought for possession for the rest of the first half as both teams struggled to score. “We tried to keep steady possession and pacing during the game,” freshman goalkeeper
Michael Kayal said. During halftime, the 1997 men’s soccer team was honored by head coach George Nazario. Twenty years ago, the team reached to the NCAA national men’s soccer tournament final but, ultimately lost to Wheaton College, 3-0. During the tournament, the team defeated conference foes Kean University and Rowan University. “It’s really an inspiration to see this team,” Kayal said. “They remind us that anything is possible. It’s possible to make it all the way to the national finals. It’s crazy to think that was 20 years ago, I’m still 18.” Nazario was only in his third year of coaching when he led the Lions to the NCAA finals. He continues to hold the ’97 team in high regard. “The 1997 team was all about building character and translating it to the field,” Nazario said. Afterward, President Gitenstein visited to honor the College’s recent Blue and Gold Hall of Fame recipients. After the ceremonies, the Lions couldn’t slow down Kean’s offense in the second half. Kean quickly countered in the second half by pressuring the Lions until they received a penalty
kick. In the 50th minute, Kayal jumped to block a header shot. The Lions defense, led by junior defensive duo Nick Provenzano and Nick Zolofra, continued to anchor the team and block shots as the game progressed. In the 65th minute, Kean received a penalty kick after the Lions committed a foul in the penalty box. Senior defensive back Alex Noriega tied the match with a hard ground shot. In the following play, Kean scored again when freshman forward Vinceroy Nelson secured a long pass from the midfield and tapped in a shot from the inside penalty box. With the energy of the home crowd in hand, the Lions fought hard to score an equalizer. In the 76th minute, senior midfielder Peter Dresch sent a cross into the penalty box where freshman midfielder Ryan Vazquez leaped in front of opponents and headed in the game-tying goal. Ten minutes later, Kean countered when sophomore forward Kamsi Udodi skipped through Lions defenders and smacked a shot straight at Kayal. Kayal bobbled the ball and Udodi reclaimed the ball and put it through the net. With the team down by 3-2, the Lions scrambled to score another
Dresch dribbles past a defender. equalizer, but it was too late. “Each team had a fair share of chances,” Nazario said. “The goalkeepers from each side had their success and mistakes, but we fought hard to the end.” On their last home game of the season, the Lions rebounded against the College of Saint Vincent, 9-0. During halftime, the senior squad of forward Michael Kassak, defender Matthew Paulo, midfielder Kevin
Miguel Gonzalez / Sports Editor
Nelan and Dresch were honored for their accomplishments. The Lions offense flourished as Vazquez netted in four goals and freshman forward Abdullah Afridi scored twice. Paulo, Kassak and freshman midfielder Kevin Esteves scored as well. The Lions will conclude their season in Glassboro on Wednesday, Oct. 25, when they take on Rowan University.
October 25, 2017 The Signal page 23
Lions drop matchup with No. 13 Kean Field Hockey
Photos courtesy of the Sports Information Desk
Left: Field hockey fights for the ball. Right: Tiefenthaler scores three goals for the Lions. By Miguel Gonzalez Sports Editor It was a tale of two contrasting stories for the No. 4 nationally ranked field hockey team this week. On Oct. 17, the Lions bulldozed Stockton University, 6-0, on the road in Pomona, New Jersey. The team then returned to Lions Stadium for an anticipated matchup against the No. 13 Kean University on Saturday, Oct. 21. The Lions lost to Kean, 2-1, in overtime. The Lions offense pounded Stockton defenders. Freshman forward Tori Tiefenthaler contributed
three goals for the Lions. The offensive surge began when sophomore forward/midfielder Kayla Peterson blasted a shot off a penalty corner from junior forward Taylor Barrett. In the eighth minute, Tiefenthaler flickered a shot upward and netted in the Lions second goal. Stockton immediately countered and pressured the Lions defense with four consecutive penalty corners. Senior goalkeeper Christina Fabiano thwarted Stockton, as she captured three saves. By the middle of the first half, the Lions showed intense offensive aggression. After senior forward Elizabeth Morrison shot twice on goal,
Tiefenthaler tapped the ball past left post to put the Lions ahead, 3-0. But Tiefenthaler was not done yet. In the 30th minute, junior midfielder/defender Sydney Padilla launched a hurling shot from the top of the arc. Tiefenthaler caught the rebound and tapped in her third goal of the match. With two minutes left in the first half, Morrison added her own goal when she secured a rebound and blasted the ball into the net. The Lions had a commanding 5-0 lead by halftime and carried their substantial lead to a 6-0 shutout victory. The Lions welcomed conference rival Kean University on Homecoming night. Both
the Lions and Cougars fought to stay undefeated in the New Jersey Athletic Conference, but Kean prevailed in a crushing loss for the Lions in overtime. After a quiet first half, the Cougars struck first when senior forward Krista LaMaina tapped in a goal with an assist from senior midfielder/defensive back Shauna LaMaina. In the 60th minute, the Lions began to press hard against the Cougars as they attempted three consecutive penalty corners. Junior midfielder/forward Caroline Quinn and Barrett both recorded shots, by they were blocked by Cougars freshman goalkeeper Megan Houser.
With three minutes remaining, sophomore forward Cayla Andrews knocked in a rebound and scored the equalizer to send the game to overtime. However, Andrews’ celebration was short lived when the Cougars scored the game winning goal within the next minute during overtime. The team’s loss to Kean University marks the Lions’ third regular season loss to a ranked opponent. The Lions conclude their conference schedule with a 5-1 record, while Kean has a chance to clinch the top seed in the upcoming NJAC Tournament with their next match against William Paterson University.
Football
Kean / Football struggles at home against Kean continued from page 22 The Lions offense stalled, but Osler made veteran decisions. His first was to run out of bounds, on what could have been a sack for a massive loss, then to throw the ball away to set up for a Lions field goal. Senior kicker Zach Pharo kicked the 36-yard field goal to put up the team’s only points on the board. The Lions offense stalled a lot during the game. The Lions went two for 11 on third down and only managed to pick up 11 first downs. The rushing attack just was not active for the third straight week, only squeaking out 40 yards. Prior to the Homecoming game on Thursday, Oct. 19, defensive lineman coach Marcel Wynychuk noticed the offense’s identity change. “I think it’s the team coming together,” Wynychuk said. “I think it’s the offense starting to believe in each and in the system. Especially on the offense, it takes time for the team to start to gel and they are really getting to that point. Trevor has battled through a lot of different things. But, let’s be honest, he gets hit a lot. He always bounces up though. He’s a competitor.” Ultimately, the Lions took steps backward at Homecoming. The Lions were not able to gel the way they did in the previous week where Osler had 340 yards and three touchdowns through the air. When Osler was pulled out of the game, freshman quarterback Andrew Donoghue came into the game. Donoghue has played a few times this season, showing potential as the Lions’ future signal caller.
Osler escapes a defensive pursuit. Donoghue showed athleticism when he entered the game. On a second down play deep in Kean’s territory, a Lions’ passing play broke down which allowed multiple Kean defensive linemen a path straight into the backfield. Feeling the pressure, Donoghue faked left and spun right, slipping two tacklers in the process. He got a few yards with his legs and the Lions lived to fight another down. Junior wide receiver Ibn Bailey tried to spark the Lions offense. Bailey woke the crowd with a few catches and some gutsy maneuvers. Unfortunately, it was all a mute point at the end of the game.
Miguel Gonzalez / Sports Editor
There were some bright spots on defense as well. Senior defensive back Rob Agoni proved to be a true student of the game. On one play, he broke up a pass that could have extended the Cougars lead even further. Kean’s quarterback delivered a dime to his receiver and Agoni managed to win the battle in the air with precision positioning. Junior linebackers Jesse Streb and Max Busca also had impact on the field. Streb recorded 10 tackles and Busca recorded seven, including one for loss. However, there were also many missed tackles and a feeling of confusion on the defensive side.
Goff talked about the missed tackles and how the team played better in previous games. “It’s something we have worked hard to correct,” Goff said. “It’s something we’ve been better at since the Wesley game, where it was a mess looking at the missed tackles. Today, we have to look at focus and those things. Defensively we missed a ton of opportunities. We had plays made in the backfield didn’t hold on.” The Lions will look to bounce back against NJAC rival William Paterson University this week on Saturday, Oct. 28.
Signal
Sports
Lions pounce on competiton in back-to-back wins
Photo courtesy of the Sports Information Desk
Levering becomes the Lions’ all-time scoring leader.
By Michael Battista Staff Writer
The women’s soccer team is entering the final phase of its regular season. The No. 2 nationally ranked Lions played on the road, but the results have not differed. On Oct. 18, the Lions beat No. 6 Stevens Institute of Technology, 1-0. They wrapped the week up by crushing New Jersey Athletic Conference rival Kean University, 7-0, on Saturday, Oct. 21. The team jumped from third to second when the United Soccer Coaches national rankings were announced on Oct. 17. Washington University in St. Louis, fell to No. 5 after suffering its first loss of the season. This gave the Lions a
chance to catch up to No. 1 University of Chicago. The Lions shifted their focus away from their new ranking and toward their next opponents as they traveled to Hoboken, New Jersey to face off against the No. 16 Stevens, one of the best teams in the northeast region. For the first time this season, the Lions were outshot by their opponents in the first half. Stevens put up eight shots compared to the College’s seven. Sophomore goalkeeper Nicole DePasquale made two saves and two more shots were blocked by members of the team. After the near even first half, the team regrouped. In just the first 21 seconds of the second half, sophomore midfielder Taylor Nolan took
a shot that went wide to the right. The Lions kept the ball in the Stevens’ zone, nonetheless. In the 49th minute, senior midfielder Jessica Goldman blasted a shot toward the goal, but it was saved by the fingertips of the Stevens’ goalkeeper. Being in the right spot at the right time, senior midfielder Elizabeth Thoresen jumped on the loose ball and put it into the back of the net. The goal marked Goldman’s 24th assist, placing her in sixth place in the Lion’s record book for career assists. Stevens was unable to get themselves fully back into the game after this point. The College outshot the home team 15 to one in the last 45 minutes, giving Stevens few chances to even the score. The Lions starting defense, sophomores Jen McGrogen and Ally DeRiggi and senior Kelly Wieczerzak stayed on the entire duration of the game and helped give DePasquale her 10th complete shutout of the season. The team’s penultimate regular season matchup brought them to Union on Saturday to face off against fellow NJAC rival, Kean University. Kean has found itself in the middle of the conference table, vying for a first round spot in the
upcoming NJAC Playoffs. Kean could not elevate their playoff seeding against the Lions. Only 17 seconds into the game, the Lions pounced on a unsuspecting defense. Goldman took the ball up the sideline and served it toward the net, finding senior forward Christine Levering open for a header past Kean’s goalkeeper. With the goal, Levering moved into first all-time for career points as a Lion with 138. The former leader was alumnae Dana DiBruno (’07). Levering’s 11th goal of the season also moved her into second place alltime for career goals with 56, only two goals behind all-time leader and alumna Traci Tapp (’98). The Lions pulled further away from Kean when freshman defender Devon McDonough gained possession after a deflection from the goalkeeper in the 6th minute. She found freshman midfielder Kelly Carolan and set her up for the goal. Freshman forward Kayla Bertolino, the sister of current senior midfielder Kayla Bertolino, also had a big match. First, she aided senior forward Hannah Richman in the 27th minute with an assist by passing to set up a goal. Later in the 41st minute, she not only kicked off a scoring spree, but she also notched
her first ever goal as a Lion. Sophomore midfielder Despina Lianidis found Bertolino 10 yards out from goal and passed to her, allowing the latter to rip a shot past the goalie. Sophomore midfielder Alexa Beatty did not need to wait long after Bertolino to score a goal of her own. About 20 seconds later, Richman set Beatty up with an opportunity to shoot from the left side, which she made. With just 20 seconds to play in the first half, freshman defender Ally Weaver’s shot hit a defender blocking the net. Beatty rushed toward the open ball made a goal, giving her team a 6-0 lead heading into halftime. The team slowed down in the second half, but Weaver still found a way to score her first goal as a Lion. In the 60th minute, freshman midfielder Faith Eichenour took a set piece in the left corner and found Weaver in the box to give their team a 7-0 end result. The College outshot Kean, 46-4, with none of Kean’s attempts being on target. The team finishes its regular season on the road against Rowan University at Glassboro on Wednesday, Oct. 25. The Lions will have a chance to clinch the NJAC regular season title with a win or tie.
Swimming and diving begins new season on high note By Miguel Gonzalez Sports Editor Records to break. Titles to win. Another chance to win the annual Metropolitan Conference Championship. With the end of October approaching, a new season has begun for men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams. On Friday, Oct. 20, the men’s team swept Division II’s Southern Connecticut State University, 189-100 and the women’s team swam past Connecticut, 162-126, in Packer Hall. After finishing in 12th place at NCAA Division III National Swimming Championship last year, the men’s swimming and diving team had to say goodbye to a beloved core of seniors who have led to great success. “The three seniors, Scott Vitabile, Andrew Nesbitt and Ryan Gajdzisz along with Adam Coppola will be sorely missed,” said head coach Brian Bishop. Coppola is ineligible to compete in his last year because he participated in a club team during his freshman year, according to Bishop. “We were hoping Coppola would be eligible this season, however, the NCAA ruled that since he competed with the TCNJ club team as a freshmen, last year was his final season of eligibility,” Bishop said. “Between the four they earned over 30 All-American Awards as well as several national titles.
Lions Lineup october 25, 2017
I n s i d e
Photo courtesy of the Sports Information Desk
Raymond wins first place in the 1-meter diving event.
Replacing them will be a challenge but we have the ‘next man up’ mentality.” With the mentality in mind, younger swimmers showed their potential with wins against Southern Connecticut State University. During the meet, freshman Joseph Skotnicki placed first in the 500- and 1,000-freestyle while fellow freshman Andrew Thompson steamrolled his opponents in the 100- and 200-backstroke. Sophomore Harrison Yi, who was the New Jersey Athletic Conference’s rookie of the year last season, bursted to first place at the 200-freestyle and clocked in at 1:43.37. Yi also claimed second place in the 100-freestyle, finishing behind junior Alex Skoog.
Football page 22
Bishop commented on Yi’s growth as a top swimmer in the conference. “Harrison is training at an unbelievable pace and early season indications are that he will be even better as a sophomore,” Bishop said. “As long as he maintains focus, I see no reason why he can’t earn Individual AllAmerican honors at NCAA’s this year.” Just like the Harrison and the freshmen, the upperclassmen also dominated against the Owls. Senior Phil Binaco was the first to touch the wall in the 50-freestyle, clocking in at 22.09. Fellow senior Logan Barnes led the 200-breaststroke with a time of 2:18.14. Meanwhile, junior Sam Maquet was on
Men’s Soccer page 22
top of the competition at the 100- and 200butterfly events with times of 53.52 and 1:56.37 respectively. Bishop is confident of the senior members’ leadership will lead the Lions to a top 10 finish at the National Championship. “Our current upperclassmen led by Logan Barnes, senior Chris O’Sullivan and Alex Skoog will be integral in the team’s success,” Bishop said. “Our goal will be to return to the top 10 at the NCAA Championships this spring.” The women’s swimming and diving team also showcased the talent of their freshmen. Freshman Katie Doyle powered through 100-backstroke as she claimed first place with a time of 1:04.01. In the midst, freshman Elise Fraser won the 50-freestyle in 25.09 and freshman Jamie Brown snatched first place at the 100-butterfly in 1:00.77. Just like the men, the senior members of the women’s team also barreled through the Owls. Senior captain Jill Galindo led at two events, the 200-backstroke and 200individual relays with times of 2:16.17 and 2:19.23. At the diving board, senior Hannah Raymond won first place at the 1-meter with a tally of 306.15. Both the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams will be on the road this Friday, Oct. 27, as they take on conference foe, Montclair State University.
Field Hockey page 23