The Signal: Spring '20 No. 4

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Breaking news and more at TCNJSignal.net. Vol. LIII, No. 4

February 19, 2020

Serving The College of New Jersey community since 1885

Cheerleading triumphs at nationals

Lack of parking spots frustrates students By Kalli Colacino Opinions Editor

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The team brings home a championship title. By Colleen Rushnak Staff Writer Ranking at the top of the collegiate cheerleading world requires ruthless practice, intense athleticism and unwavering dedication. These athletes push themselves to the extreme to perform complex stunts, and the College’s cheer team is no exception. The team took home the gold in the 2020 UCA National Championship, ultimately winning by a margin of six points in the open all-girl division. The competition unfolded from Jan. 17 to 19 in Orlando, Fla. The team holds year-round practices in preparation for the competition. During

summer break, the athletes practice one to two times each month before a weeklong camp in August, which kicks off the season. During the fall semester, practice is three to four times each week, and each training focuses on weight lifting, conditioning or tumbling. Over winter break, the team ramps things up with a twice-a-day practice schedule until they head to Orlando. “When you are going for a back-toback championship, you not only need to beat everyone in your division, but you need to beat yourselves,” said Karlie Lombardi, a senior member of the College’s cheer team. “You need to be better than you were last year. The judges are expecting great things from a winning

program, and it takes a lot to impress them a second time, so we needed to show them why we were champions and why we still are.” The practices consist of a stretch and dynamic warmup and then move into standing and running tumbling.The team then starts working on partner stunts in small groups of four and typically end practice with basket or pyramid stunts. Once nationals approach, they are focused on preparing the routine. The cheerleaders run pieces of the routine to get their bodies in shape until they start running full outs, which is a run of the full routine with no modifications.

With fewer parking spots on campus than there are registered decals, students circle around lots like vultures, sometimes spending upwards of 30 minutes trying to find a spot. Off-campus and commuter students are the most affected by parking spots — or lack thereof. “Everyone is fighting for a spot,” said Anisa Lateef, a sophomore biomedical engineering major who commutes to campus every day. “I allow at least 30 minutes for parking. It can take me anywhere from 10 to 35 minutes to find a spot.” There are 2,643 parking spots in the parking lots allocated to students, and 3,043 student parking permits for all classifications of students issued for the current academic year, according to Luke Sacks, the head media relations officer at the College. Both undergraduate and graduate students have access to park in lot 5, lot 6, the first two levels of the lot 7 parking garage and lot 17 (commonly known as the Education lot), according to Parking Services. Students do not seem to be satisfied with the allocated lots. Some academic buildings are across campus from the available parking lots, causing an extra hassle for students. After searching for a spot, they can be seen sprinting to their classes to make it in time, sometimes in unfavorable weather conditions. “I wish there was more parking near the buildings I utilize,” said Kenny Villanueva, a sophomore biomedical engineering major. “I’ve been 15 minutes late because of parking.” Commuter and off-campus students are required to purchase a parking decal in order to legally park on campus. This decal, as of the current academic year, costs $105, which is unaffordable for some. Administration is currently undertaking a parking study to review the supply, demand, pricing and policies at the direction of College President Kathryn Foster, according to Sacks. “If the right move is made in regards to campus parking, everyone coming to campus would benefit,” said Michael Cordon, a sophomore see CAR page 3

see PEP page 16

tcnj_memes provides comedic outlet By Michelle Lampariello Former Editor-in-Chief

Students voiced their concerns about things like construction, bureaucracy and less-than-stellar dining options long before social media paved the way for jokes to be rapidly shared with wide audiences. Reddit threads, Facebook groups and now-defunct YikYak channels have all served as platforms for students to make fun of life at the College, but in the past year, a new, more memorable space has emerged: tcnj_memes. Founded in July 2019 by an anonymous group of student moderators “of various ages and majors,” tcnj_ memes is an Instagram account with more than 4,600 followers that has taken the campus by storm. With over 100 memes, each post makes fun of common student experiences including final exams, residence hall issues and the cost of tuition.

INDEX: Editorial / page 4

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“We were inspired to create this account because we like making people laugh and the other meme accounts associated with TCNJ were stale, so we took it upon ourselves to become TCNJ’s dankest meme distributors,” the moderators said, who agreed to be interviewed under the condition of anonymity. While most of the content on the page is created by the moderators, they do accept submissions from their followers. The moderators emphasized that follower engagement is a priority to them, and that they do their best to post submitted memes to their Instagram story. Uplifted by the “constant positive feedback” in the form of likes, comments and shares, the moderators are motivated to produce more memes to delight their followers.

Opinions / page 5

see JOKE page 9 Features / page 9

Julia Meehan / Photo Editor

Drivers search for a spot in packed lots.

Arts & Entertainment / page 11

Sports / page 16

Megan Thee Stallion Rapper’s performance empowers students

‘Survivor’ Beloved show celebrates its 20th anniversary

Baseball Astros scandal throws fans a curveball

See Features page 9

See A&E page 13

See Sports page 15


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