Michael Ian Black is coming
Tcnjsignal.net arrives
Read the preview of upcoming Arts & Entertainment events, like Black’s comedy and the Roxey Ballet.
The Signal has a new Web site! The staff sounds off about the change. See Editorial page 5
See Arts & Entertainment page 10 tcnjsignal.net
The College of New Jersey Student Newspaper since 1885
August 26, 2009
No. 1.
Vol. CXXXI.
Provost grants Nagesh Rao tenure Student and peer support helps professor of English By Kaitlin Olcott Production Manager
After months of appeals and petitions, Nagesh Rao, assistant professor of English, was recently granted reappointment and tenure. With the recommendation of Carol M. Bresnahan, Provost and Executive Vice President, along with ample student support, the College’s Board of Trustees voted in favor of reappointment and tenure. “I am, of course, relieved that it is over. I feel that
the decision is a vindication of my teaching and scholarship,” Rao said. On April 15, Rao was informed that he was denied tenure. The committee also denied Rao’s reappointment for next year. Following the committee’s decision, Rao contended with a union grievance against the committee. A petition was formed the week after Rao’s denial by two professors, Snehal Shingavi of the University of Texas at Austin and Helen Scott of the University
of Vermont. The petition boasted more than 720 signatures. Students at the College also took action in support of Rao, chalking the walkways on campus, starting facebook groups, and writing to The Signal last semester. According to Bresnahan, the College’s Tenure and Reappointment document says that the provost issues an independent judgement after reviewing the files and
College student dies at 19 Students face three By Randolph Portugal Staff Writer
Stephanie Mejias, an elementary education and psychology major, passed away on July 27 near her home at Overlook Hospital in Summit, N.J. Mejias was afflicted with a condition known as cardiac arrhythmia due to myocarditis. Mejias suffered a cardiac abnormality which affected the rate of muscle contractions in her heart. With no signs of fatigue or symptoms of any illness, Mejias was unexpectedly taken away from the ones she loved. She was 19 and would have been a junior this year. Brittany Brown-Webster, Mejias’ big sister in Delta Zeta, a sorority at the College, recalls the
moments she shared with her little sister. “We only knew each other for about five months but we hit it off right away. She was always there to talk and she was quick to put people first before herself,” Brown-Webster said. “One of the fondest memories I had of her was going over to her beach house to relax and hang out under the sun,” she said. Her death quickly ended an opportunity for a dedicated student to help the ones she really cared for: her family, friends and the students she hoped to teach one day. Hector Mejias, her father, recognized her drive. “She was really into her studies. She always wanted see MEJIAS page 8
see RAO page 2
percent tuition raise By Arti Patel Staff Writer
Courtesy of the Mejias Family
Stephanie Mejias died from a cardiac abnormality.
In accordance with the state’s current tuition and fee parameters, the College Board of Trustees, during their July 7 board meeting, approved an overall three percent tuition increase for the 2009-2010 academic year. Originally proposed by President R. Barbara Gitenstein, the three percent increase was the maximum tuition limit suggested to the Governor’s office last spring. According to Matthew Golden, executive director of Public Relations and
Communications, the College recognizes the financial burden a raised tuition will be for students and their parents, but the increase was based on the cost of providing College students the education they are paying for. Golden added, however, that it was held “as low as possible.” With the state cutting higher education funding for the seventh time in the past decade and the financial strain incurred by the lack of facilities funding, a payment assistance the College has not received since 1988, has see TUITION page 3
New places to sleep and eat: Eickhoff, apartments ready By Caroline Russomanno News Editor
Tim Lee / Photo Editor
Tom O’Dell / Photo Assistant
Hausdoerffer Hall (left) is one of two new student apartment buildings now housing upperclassmen. Phase one of Eickhoff’s renovation added new deli and salad stations. Fiocco investigators awarded State police award volunteers in missing student case. See page 2
Professor furloughs College professors asked to take unpaid furloughs. See page 3
Move-in day was punctuated by a new addition to Metzger drive — the new College apartments on campus are complete and currently occupied by upperclassmen. New student apartments William Phelps Hall and William Hausdoerffer Hall were completed on budget and on schedule, according to William Rudeau, director of Campus Construction. “They turned out excellent,” Rudeau said. “It was a great design — the architect did a great job. I think (the apartments) fit really well into the aesthetic of the rest of the campus.” The apartments feature beds for 400 upperclassmen total, with each apartment consisting
of three single bedrooms, one double bedroom, a living room and a partial kitchen. According to Melisa Sternberger, senior deaf education and psychology major and resident of Hausdoerffer Hall, the new apartments are satisfactory so far. “There are a few little things that aren’t quite right though. Room D is a little smaller than the other bedrooms,” Sternberger said. “I was the first one to sign into the apartment and I found out I had the smallest room. They’re really great though. Everything that was supposed to be there was there.” Phelps and Hausdoerffer Halls replaced the previously constructed apartments abandoned in November 2004. The
New deans and provosts There are many new faces at the College this year. See page 2
see CONSTRUCTION page 3
INSIDE
Editorials, Et Cetera Opinions Features Arts & Entertainment Sports
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