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FRI: 2/05- 28° SAT: 2/06 - 27° SUN: 2/07 - 34°
THE MONTCLARION The Student Voice of Montclair State University Since 1928
Vol.
89
Issue 16 February 4, 2010
The Montclarion.org
Trials for Those Accused of Campus Fires in Progress Kulsoom Rizvi News Editor
Lauren Shinn, 19, who was arrested back in 2009 in connection with the Sept. 23 fire on the sixth floor of Freeman Hall, is currently at the pretrial negotiations phase, Lt. Kieran Barrett stated in an e-mail. “It is basically moving at the court's pace,” Barrett said. Pretrial negotiation deals with evidence hearings, pretrial intervention hearing and jury selection (if applicable). “The process is lengthy in that it can be postponed at several junctions and is at the leisure of the court to some extent,” Barrett said. Shinn had been charged with witness tampering, which is when a witness influences other witnesses to
provide false information during an investigation. Shinn was released on bail back in 2009, set at $25,000. The arson arrest involving Steven Romano, who was arrested back in 2008 for 14 counts of arson, is in the plea bargain penalty stage, Barrett explained. Romano has indicated he wishes to plead guilty to charges, Barrett stated. The judicial branch will be deciding on his sentencing, which is likely to include jail time. “The system works curiously in that this can all change in a minute, but this is where it is right now,” Barrett said. Romano was a sophomore at Montclair State and was arrested in 2008 after being spotted leaving the scene of a bathroom fire at University Hall.
2,000 More Beds for MSU
Drawing courtesy of Design Collective
New dorms are planned to be built in the near future. Kristie Cattafi Editor-in-Chief
Montclair State University will start construction on two new student-housing units by the Recreation Center this spring.
The new dorms are planned to be built in lot 24 A, a parking lot below the Rec. Center and lot 22, a parking lot north of the Rec. Center. The new dorms will hold 2,000 beds for freshman and sophomore students while taking away 700 parking spaces, Vice President for
University Facilities Greg Bressler stated. This will be the first new construction project under the New Jersey Economic Stimulus Act of 2009, signed by former Gov. Jon Corzine this past August. The bill alBeds Continued on Page 3
WMSC Pleads SGA for a Bill Jillian Knight Assistant News Editor
John Pope | The Montclarion
Matt Komar is a DJ for WMSC Radio Station which pleaded for a bill to pass at yesterday's SGA meeting.
U.S. Department of Education Awards $6.3 Million Grant Nicole Simonetti Assistant News Editor
Montclair State University was awarded the five-year, $6.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education on Tuesday. The grant is for the Newark-Montclair Teaching Residency Program (NMTRP). The grant was only awarded to 28 campuses nationwide, Montclair State being one of them. The three school districts that will be participating in the program from Newark are: Maple Avenue Elementary School, Benjamin Franklin Elementary School
INSIDE
and McKinley Elementary School. Montclair State is known for preparing successful teachers to go out into the world, but this new preparation will be to send teachers to Newark to teach. NMTRP will benefit both the future teachers and students. Our future teachers will go through a much more complex level of training, and the students will be rewarded with “very well prepared teachers in the district,” said Rosemary Steinbaum, NMTRP program director. Grant Continued on Page 5
news Two-Way Road Helps Relieve Traffic, Most Students Satisfied with Carlisle Renovation
pg. 7
Montclair State University’s campus radio station, WMSC, pleaded for a bill to pass during this week's SGA meeting that would entail the SGA paying $4,730 to their broadcasting company, DSI. The invoices are from April 2009 until now. Though this is not the first time the radio station has run into problems, the
SGA passed the bill to allow WMSC to repay the outstanding bills to DSI out of their budget from last year, as it was technically not their fault and they should not suffer. In previous years, WMSC has suffered many mishaps, including getting shut down by the SGA in 2007 after a housekeeping employee came across urine in a trashcan in the station’s control room. The female worker WMSC Continued on Page 7
CONSTRUCTING THE MASTER PLAN new projects and renovations on campus, shows how the university has advanced and improved through approximately a ten-year period, while the state’s financial support continues to decline.
According to the CMP, the university’s 2010 Fiscal Year (FY) operating budget is $307.8 million, and the total state support, including gen While most public institueral appropriation and fringe tions receive capital money benefit support, constitutes from the state to only 26 percent of the fund higher educatotal operating budget. tion, Montclair State State dollars per fullNEW PROJECTS University continues time equivalent (FTE) School of Business Building to self-finance itself student has decreased Center for Environmental and Life Sciences without much help 37 percent from $4,795 Communications and Media Studies Building from the state and in FY 2001 to $3,031 in Replace Calcia Hall has lagged behind for FY 2010 leaving MontCombined Heat and Power Plant years. clair State students “unNew Maintenance Building The 2010-2014 der-supported,” Greg New Public Safety Building Capital Master Plan Bressler, vice president New Student Housing & Dining (CMP), a five-year Quinn Road Realignment proposal outlining Master Continued on Page 4 Kulsoom Rizvi News Editor
feature Montclair Welcomes Ireland's Most Notable Poets
pg. 8
a&e
opinion
Film Forum Benefits All, MSU Lecture Series Proves to be Not Only for Film Students
We Love it When a Plan Comes Together!
pg. 13
pg. 18