Breaking news, blogs and more at TCNJSignal.net. Vol. XLVII, No. 5
September 27, 2017
Serving The College of New Jersey community since 1885
Despite forum, Spirit Week remains unchanged
CUB hosts Silent Disco
By Nicole Bruno Correspondent
By Connor Smith Editor-in-Chief Hoping to hear a larger variety of voices, Student Government, the Office of Student Involvement and the Inter Greek Council hosted an open forum on Tuesday, Sept. 19, in Brower Student Center room 101 to discuss potential changes to the annual Homecoming Spirit Week competition. But flyers, Facebook posts and several mass emails weren’t enough — just under 20 students showed up, and only three said they weren’t affiliated with a Greek organization. The students that did voice their opinions emphasized several concerns about possible changes from a group-based model to a class-based model, especially the timeframe for rolling out a new system before this October. SG agreed with their sentiment, as it decided on Wednesday, Sept. 20, to focus on improving Homecoming’s current system rather than introduce an experimental model. With the current system, any group of students can form a team and compete in Spirit Week events. At the end of the week, a team wins the title of Spirit Week Champion and celebrates its victory at the annual Homecoming tailgate. Fraternities and sororities make up the majority of the teams, raising concerns that non-Greek organizations may feel see FORUM page 9
‘SNL’ director shares industry experience
Disco on the Green Hall Lawn. Students were given headphones with the choice of three color-coded stations, controlled by three different DJs. Genres included hip-hop, alternative and rock and roll, according to Stephanie Dipietrantonio, a junior biology major and a CUB student board chair.
Students got a taste of the tumultuous and fast-paced world of television as Don Roy King, the director of Saturday Night Live, held a discussion and Q&A session in the Kendall Hall Television Studio from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 22. The lecture, hosted by the department of communication studies, was attended by communication studies majors on the radio, television and film track who aspire to work in the industry after their undergraduate study. King discussed the realities of working in a business that is quite unforgiving and difficult. Throughout his lecture, he shared the hardships and stresses of working in such a high-profile position, while never once discouraging students from following their dreams to work in television and film. “It is by far the most rewarding, challenging, thrilling work I have ever had,” King said. “I am truly blessed. It gives me the opportunity to be a part of making people think, learn and laugh, and I could not be happier doing it.” Students in attendance interested in directing, acting and stage crew hoped to learn a few tricks of the trade from the seven-time Emmy award winner. “This is a pretty big deal for me to be able to meet one of the most well-known directors that
see GLOW page 14
see TELEVISION page 7
Jason Proleika / Photo Editor
Glow-in-the-dark paint and colored lights energize Green Lawn. By Alyssa Louis Correspondent
This year, the College Union Board made the 21st night of September one to remember. Students gathered to dance, glow and sing Earth, Wind and Fire lyrics at the top of their lungs on Thursday, Sept. 21, when CUB hosted its annual Silent
Sophomore prepares for Pyeongchang Paralympics
By Julia Marnin Staff Writer
Ever since he was 3 years old, nothing has stopped Jack Wallace from pursuing his passion for playing hockey. Not even an extreme boating accident could shatter his dreams of playing again. Now a sophomore biomedical engineering major at the College, Wallace says he’s one of the youngest professional players on the U.S. Men’s National Sled Hockey Team. Wallace and his teammates have their sights set on victory as they prepare to compete in the 2018 Winter Paralympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. “Jack Wallace is one of the young guns on our squad,” said Dan Brennan, the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team’s general manager. “He is a big strong player with a great deal of offensive skill as well. He has a bright future and we’re excited to have him on the team.” Wallace didn’t originally start out playing sled hockey, though. Up until he was 10 years old, he spent his time playing ice hockey. But things drastically changed
one summer when Wallace became severely injured during a family vacation. While water skiing on Lake George, New York, his sister fell off the ski. After she fell off, Wallace had let go of his line. While left floating in the water, Wallace’s dad pulled the boat between them to untangle their lines. In the middle of untangling the two, the boat’s throttle was unintentionally pushed, causing it to spin around 180 degrees and run over Wallace. “It hit me on my right side and broke my femur,” Wallace recalled. “I spun, and then the propeller caught my right leg and completely shredded it.” In and out of consciousness and going into shock, Wallace was raced back to shore where an ambulance picked him up. Eventually he was airlifted to a nearby hospital where his leg was immediately amputated. Due to the accident, Wallace was in a coma for three days and spent two months in the hospital. There are two scars on his left foot that remind Wallace of
Wallace does not let his accident hold him back.
the accident. “I was very lucky,” he said. Then, everything changed when he turned 11 years old. After receiving his first prosthetic leg, Wallace tried to go back to the sport he loved: ice hockey. Unable to play
INDEX: Nation & World / page 12 Arts & Entertainment / page 14 Slam Down the Walls Follow us at... The Signal @tcnjsignal
Students recite their original poetry See A&E page 15
Editorial / page 17
Photo couresy of Jack Wallace
because of his prosthetic leg, Wallace decided try sled hockey and has been playing ever since. “There’s a classification for playing sled hockey, and it’s basically having a really difficult time playing stand up hockey,” Wallace said. Opinions / page 18
Parent and Family Day
“There’s a wide range of disabilities in sled hockey.” In the sport, players sit on sleds that have two blades underneath them. They move around by see SLED page 21
Features / page 21
Sports / page 28
Cross Country
Families attend president’s forum
Women place second in Stockton Open
See Features page 24
See Sports page 25