Women in science present research projects
John Darling finishes in second place for wrestling See Sports page 28
see News 7
Vol. CXXXVIII, No. 8
March 20, 2013
Serving The College of New Jersey community since 1885
TCNJ Cribs Oliver entertains I-House living Dorm deco
Cultures shared
By Julie Kayzerman News Assistant
Surprising as it may be, stepping into a small room with white cement walls, yellow closet doors and a stranger as a roommate doesn’t always provide first-year students with the home-like feeling that they’ve grown used to living in. However, for two freshmen in Wolfe Hall, “home is where the heart is.” Winning the first ever TCNJ Cribs contest, roommates Gail Schulman, open options humanities and social sciences major, and Kate Caratenuto, communication studies major, both decorated their room with inspiration from home. “I always bring my paintings wherever I go,” Schulman said. “We both happened to decorate our sides in a way where it just worked, the great thing is that it feels at home whenever either of us walk into our room.” The contest was co-sponsored by the Residence Hall Association and the Sophomore Advisory Board. see CRIBS page 9
Photo courtesy of Gail Schulman
Freshman roommates win with style.
By Amy Reynolds Managing Editor
Matthew Mance / Staff Photographer
Dan St. Germain (left) and John Oliver crack up the crowd. By Shaun Fitzpatrick Features Editor
John Oliver wanted a very specific type of reception from the College students assembled at his College Union Board-sponsored show on Tuesday, March 6 in Kendall Hall. He mentioned that when he first became a puppy owner, his pooch got so excited when he returned from a trip that it pissed itself at the sight of him. That, he said, was the reaction he wanted from the audience. Hopefully the College had the janitorial staff on hand, because by the reactions of the crowd, there was probably more than a little urine running down the aisles. Oliver walked on stage waving like the Queen herself, and wasted no time in busting the College’s “balls.” “I will not perform at any College that does not have four enormous ornamental balls,” he said, mocking the infamous “pixels.” Famous for his role as a correspondent on “The Daily Show With John Stewart,” Oliver launched into a politically charged routine, starting with the most recent election. “You have to spend at least $1
billion to fail to live in the White House,” he said, mocking Mitt Romney and referring to his contempt for the poor as “borderline Dickensian.” Oliver went on to share his plans for making the debates more exciting, suggesting that new rules should be instated to liven them up. These rules included a hot dog eating contest, shots and the releasing of a live chicken half- way through the debate (the candidate who catches it wins Virginia). During an interview before the show, however, Oliver was slightly more serious about the country’s election process. “The American political system is, at best, a mess. That might be one of the things that America needs to look at the most. Elections cannot cost that kind of money … you can’t have an election cycle last 18 months because then you end up having, in a four-year term, maybe six to 12 months that you can actually govern, and the rest of the time you’re tied up with midterms, with running again, with being a lame duck. There’s not a lot of governing time,” he explained. see OLIVER page 18
From red solo cups to the average yellow school bus, there’s something about the College, and the United States for that matter, that’s “just like the movies.” For many international students at the College, this is the first time that they’ve visited the United States. However, the International House, located in Townhouses South, has helped to make the transition easier. “It was my dream to come to the U.S.,” said Laetitia Vong, an international business major at Université Blaise Pascal in France. “It sounds so cliché, but it’s true.” Vong chose to study at the College, as opposed to a larger school, mostly because of its proximity to both New York City and Philadelphia. However, she also viewed the College’s small size as a positive. In fact, she has friends who are studying abroad in Oklahoma, and there are many French students there already, so they’re not forced to speak in English all the time. “At first it was really difficult to adapt to speaking English all the time,” she said. “Sometimes it’s difficult to get into a conversation.” The goal of the I-House, according to their website, is to create an environment for international and domestic students to engage in a variety of learning activities, such as culture nights, trips and special events. “Initially it’s similar to when ambassadors help freshmen on campus,” said English major and domestic student William Westerman. “Where you go for food, if you need help with classes, things like that.” see I-HOUSE page 7
Breaking out the best ‘monthly’ moves
Graptsul crowned Mr. 2015 in class pageant By Christopher Rightmire News Editor
Half naked men, the Harlem Shake and poetry readings usually are not associated with fundraisers. However, the sophomore class council and 12 diverse male members of the class used their creativity and boldness to generate $550 in the first Mr. 2015 male beauty pageant, according to sophomore class president, Brian Garsh. The officers of the 2015 class council chose contestants after evaluating many different fields and tried to approach different sports teams,
fraternities and multicultural clubs, according to sophomore class treasurer Mehak Aswani. “The main idea was to bring in a diverse crowd and the only way we could do that was by bringing in a diverse group of contestants,” Aswani said. The Mr. 2015 contest differed from other male beauty pageant contests because each contestant was assigned a month and gift baskets were raffled off in between rounds. “I thought the baskets were a little more geared for women, but it was cool to see my friends dress up in the
INDEX: Nation & World / Page 11 The Signal @TCNJsignal
Editorial / Page 13
different monthly outfits,” said sophomore finance major Tim Curry. In addition to adding a new flare to the contest, the assignment of a month to each contestant allowed for the contestants to be more creative, according to sophomore vice president Kristen Lipari. “Earlier in the year the juniors had a Mr. 2014 and we wanted Mr. 2015 to be different. This was another reason we gave the boys their own months and raffled off baskets in between rounds,” Lipari said.
Photo courtesy of Kristen Lipari
see MR. 2015 page 5 Contestants pull out all the stops to win.
Opinions / Page 15
Features / Page 16
Arts & Entertainment / Page 18
Sports / Page 28
Women take the stage APO and WILL hold a Women in Theatre night
Stand for Freedom 27-hour campaign for 27 million in slavery
Ecology Column Learn how to stay green on campus
See A&E page 19
See News page 3
See Features page 17