The Signal: Spring '19 No. 11

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Breaking news, blogs and more at TCNJSignal.net. Vol. L, No. 11

April 17, 2019

Serving The College of New Jersey community since 1885

Awards night recognizes staff members’ work

Foster addresses campus controversies

By Lara Becker Reviews Editor The unparalleled elation of the award-winners and their families was palpable in the Education Building Room 212 on April 10 at the inaugural Staff Recognition Awards. The ceremony began at 3:30 p.m. with opening remarks from College President Kathryn Foster, President of the Staff Senate Joseph O’Brien and Chair of the Staff Senate Christopher Larthey. Foster discussed how the event was theorized by the Staff Committee this past summer as a way to give back to the faculty, who she said are greatly deserving of praise. She welcomed all guests and analogized the College staff to baseball coordinators on the shoulders of opening day. “The game cannot happen without the staff,” Foster said. “They are the people who built the stadium, they fix the grounds, they print the programs, they take your ticket money, they design the logos, they do the play-by-play and they generally make sure that the game happens.” The night then segued into personal recognition of College administrators. The winning staff members were awarded a trophy, a “TCNJ swag bag” and a free parking space of their choice. A total of seven awards were given, ranging from Outstanding New Employee and Unsung Hero to Lifetime Achievement. Peers, colleagues and friends of each winner see FACULTY page 8

Miguel Gonzalez / Photo Editor

The president begins to reflect on her first year at the College. By Elizabeth Zakaim Editor-in-Chief

As the College begins its recovery process from a rather tumultuous year, The Signal sat down with College President Kathryn Foster to assess how she has been processing her first year so far and what her hopes are for the rest of the semester. While a typical day for the president might involve attending Gov. Phil Murphy’s release of his new plan for higher education –– think closing income inequality and more transparency around financial aid –– or meeting thousands of College alumni from all over the country, Foster has found some time to reflect on the highs and lows

of her presidency at the College so far and what she is still looking forward to come in April and May. For Foster, one of her biggest challenges was the transition from being just a visitor at the College to becoming its leader. This change involved countless meetings with cabinet members, the Board of Trustees and the foundation board –– all of whom help shape the College’s policies, fundraisers and other programming. The process also includes putting together the budget for the next fiscal year. Foster wants to see the discretionary budget being put to better use in terms of offering more support for disability services, health and wellness and the new division

of diversity, equity and inclusion. An even longer term investment includes renovating the buildings on campus. Armstrong Hall is still in the midst of some necessary touch-ups, and Foster said that the athletics facilities and the residence halls are likely next. “Our housing stock is old, we know it’s old, it’s been old for a long time,” she said. “They’re tired and need some attention. We’re being responsible for the physical fabric of the campus as well.” Foster also had much to say about the recent campus controversies that occurred this past year in terms of how the campus has grown and how she is personally healing from those wounds. Can you share how you’ve been feeling personally about the controversy surrounding the University of Maine at Farmington since the news first broke in January? It remains difficult because I can’t satisfy the curiosity. These are issues that hit close to home. This is personal to me. You come to those cases as a decision-maker with a sense of the case and although that’s not satisfying for a lot of people because they can’t get details and people are into the details of it, I think it helped people too and helped me to try to say that these are very difficult situations. There’s a whole other deeper backstory that if only I could tell it. But the good news is, if there’s good see INTERVIEW page 3

College launches statewide PR campaign

Students participate in the social media contest. By Camille Furst and Kalli Colacino News Editor and Production Manager

The two-letter word has been used countless times on hats, banners and in many advertisements promoting the inclusivity the College has been striving for throughout this past year. Now, the College’s “Hi” campaign has been promoted

both on and off campus since the College officially launched its new public relations campaign earlier this month. The program has been active since April 2, when Associate Vice President of Communications, Marketing and Brand Management Dave Muha released a campus-wide email explaining the details of the campaign and its efforts to engage students and spread the word of the College

INDEX: Nation & World / page 9

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Editorial / page 11

throughout the state. The new program consists of a month-long contest with prizes for current students, a distinct social media presence using the hashtag #TCNJsaysHi and different spins on the word “Hi,” such as “Hidrate” as displayed on new College water bottles, and various terms such as ‘Hi energy’ and ‘Hi potential,’ found in the viewbook given to incoming students. After the program’s inception in 2016, Muha found it necessary to include input from students at the College by hiring student interns. They would offer a fresh perspective and be able to tap into the mindset of the program’s intended audience. The student interns consist of junior communication studies major Kristen Frolich, senior marketing major Collin Pecci, sophomore communication studies major Bryanna O’Keefe, junior marketing and communication studies double major Urja Sevak, senior business management major Kelly Kozar and junior biology major Teresa Dinh. “By doing this, we wanted Opinions / page 12

to show mostly how we are a friendly campus … by saying ‘Hi TCNJ’ you’ll be able to find lifelong friends, internship opportunities (and) take cool classes,” Frolich said. The interns said the main audience for the PR program is current students, and the goal is to promote a sense of community at the College rather than simply focus on academics. “Dave has really been pushing us to show off the excellent community here at TCNJ,” Pecci said. “A lot of people know we are a high-quality school … (but) we want to kind of bring the community back together … to remind people what kind of community is at TCNJ.” The interns also kept in mind the potential impact the program could have on incoming students. Currently, there are multiple Instagram posts with the official hashtag of the campaign, #TCNJsaysHi, posted by incoming freshmen who have committed to the College for the class of 2023. “We were able to help provide the student perspective and how

Features / page 15

students would be able to engage with the ‘Hi’ campaign,” Frolich said. “We were really able to kind of hone in on things that would pique the interest of students.” The College’s official Instagram account has more than 10,000 followers and can reach a variety of current and future students. The interns used this platform to develop an interactive community engagement campaign –– an Instagram competition. In his campus-wide email sent out on April 2, Muha shared the news of this month-long competition and the prizes that students could potentially win. “This challenge will help us tell the story of our school,” he said in the email. “What makes this college special? It’s more than just the high quality of the education, it’s also the quality of our community. TCNJ is a place where people say ‘hi.’ We’re welcoming. We value and support one another.” For this month’s competition, people must post a photo to their see BRAND page 8

Arts & Entertainment / page 19

Sports / page 24

Deepher Dude Competition raises funds for cystic fibrosis

Stand-up comedy night Students’ humor entertains crowd

Softball Lions continue 13game winning streak

See Features page 15

See A&E page 19

See Sports page 23


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