The Tower Sept 2015

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College Majors Word Search Page 9

Kean’s new quarterback Page 12

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THE TOWER

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THE INDEPENDENT VOICE OF KEAN UNIVERSITY

KFT protests layoffs as BOT extends Farahi’s contract

Does Kean make the grade?

A new federal database can help you find out

By Yuri Smishkewych Students often ask themselves if college is worth the investment. Well, a new federal database can help you answer just that.

Collegescorecard.gov, an online database from the United States Department of Education, now has nearly two decades worth of statistics on every higher education institution in the U.S. “Americans will now have access to reliable data,� President Barack Obama announced in his Sept. 12 weekly address. “You’ll be able to see how much each school’s graduates earn,

Protesters held signs showing their disapproval of impending layoffs for student services’ staff at the recent Board of Trustees meeting.

By Rebecca Panico The Kean Federation of Teachers protested impending layoffs for student services’ staff during the Board of Trustees Sept. 14 meeting where university President Dr. Dawood Farahi’s employment contract was extended.

About 30 people from the Center for Academic Success (CAS), Educational Opportunity Center (EOC) and library are expected to be laid off as a result of a June 29 BOT resolution, according to the KFT. “These students need more support, not less,� said KFT President Dr. James Castiglione during the public session. “Yet the reorganization seems to be targeting the programs that have the most at-risk students.�

The EOC provides students - including those in the Spanish Speaking Program - with advising, counseling and academic support services, while the CAS assists students - especially those who are under-prepared and at-risk - with services like tutoring and career placement.

In June, the BOT voted to increase tuition and fees by 3 percent and gave Farahi authority to reorganize departments after he cited a shortfall in the budget due to a decline in state funding.

Photo: Rebecca Panico

“Tuition and fees are going up, but student services get cut,� the KFT president -- who represents professional staff, librarians and faculty -- said to The Tower. “So what are they paying for?�

The BOT also voted to outsource its maintenance staff to GCA Services Group last March to save approximately $3.45 million annually, according to the university.

Castiglione was joined by Faculty Senate Chair David Joiner and Eric Richard, a union representative from the AFL-CIO, who both echoed similar sentiments. “It is difficult to imagine large scale changes being made without any impact on services or academics,�

Joiner said in his prepared statement to the BOT. “And as of yet, there has been no effort to seek input from Kean faculty or Kean students about the direction and needs of these units.�

Joiner later pointed out that no one from the Student Organization, which represents the student body, was present at the meeting, though two student representatives sit on the BOT. Farahi said he’d meet with university officials and “have lunch� with the Faculty Senate to figure out a way to lessen the negative impact to the laid off staff. “If there is a way for us to find a mechanism a tool, a procedure or a system to help the majority of the people continued on page 8

The feds did a bit of their own studying to comprise a database of schools across the nation.

Photo: Rebecca Panico

how much debt they graduate with, and what percentage of a school’s students can pay their loans.�

The database allows students to see how their college credentials stand up to other schools that fall within different categories, including cost and how much money graduates at each school make after entering.

The the median earnings of former students who received federal financial aid at 10 years after entering Kean was $46,800. That’s $4,900 more than New Jersey City University (NJCU) graduates, but $1,900 less than Montclair students.

But not to worry!

The database reveals that no matter what college you choose, you’ll make more money than if you’d never attended.

On average, college graduates earn $1 million more over their lifetimes than high school graduates, according to data on the government website.

Fourty-one percent of students who attend Kean have a family income less than $40,000 and receive an incomebased federal Pell Grant to help pay for college.

Thirty-one percent of Montclair’s students come from the same background, and NJCU’s student body encompasses 56 percent in the same category.

In the President’s words, “There are colleges dedicated to helping students of all backgrounds learn without saddling them in debt. We should hold everyone to the standard. Our economic future depends on it.�

KFT questions financial arrangement with China campus

By Daris Mendez The Kean Federation of Teachers is running a letterwriting campaign asking New Jersey legislators to investigate Kean University, especially the “hiring practices and finances of the University’s China branch campus,� according to the letters written to legislators.

James Castiglione, president of the Kean Federation of Teachers (KFT), who represents Kean’s full-time faculty and professional staff, said the union wants a forensic audit of the finances of the university and its financial arrangement with the Chinese Wenzhou campus.

The KFT started the letter-writing campaign in late Julyearly August. Castiglione said that a few hundred letters have been sent to New Jersey legislators so far. The union has 550 members.

According to the letter, Kean is hiring more than 40 faculty positions in China at the same time Kean is laying off academic and student support staff here at Kean’s main campus. The faculty positions in China were hired according to U.S. and New Jersey employment laws said Kean.

This threatens to undermine students’ retention according to the letter. “It is doubly harmful to our students that the University plans to cut vital student services while it increases tuition and fees three percent, among the highest such increases in the state,� the request stated. “No other public colleges or universities are engaging in layoffs, even though all received similar reductions in state aid.�

The letter also references recent news reports that says Wenzhou-Kean is advertising for positions in student life

Kean University’s campus in Wenzhou, China.

that state that Chinese Communist Party membership is preferred. “One of the big concerns is our NJ taxpayer funds being used to pay for the education of Chinese nationals in China, for the Chinese national government,� said Castiglione in an interview.

The letter concludes by asking for investigations into all of these matters for the “protection of students, faculty and staff both in New Jersey and China.� “It is unconscionable that the University is engaging in discriminatory hiring practices at its China campus, while

Photo: Globalbusiness.kean.edu

threatening layoffs of critical academic and student support staff here at its main campus in Union, New Jersey,� the letter stated. “The citizens of New Jersey deserve far better.�

In a statement about the KFT letter-writing campaign, Kean’s spokeswoman Margaret McCorry said they are aware of the KFT letter-writing campaign and “would welcome a dialogue with state legislators, who are focused as they are, on providing New Jersey students with access to a high quality college education.�

Castiglione said that the university is far from running a continued on page 8

2 THE TOWER

September, 2015

Kean Day comes to Downs Hall

By Nicole Brown Rain hammered down forcing Kean University to celebrate their third annual Kean day in Downs Hall on September 10th.

The event kicked off around noon as groups of new and current students huddled tightly together under umbrellas and made their way to Downs hall.

Inside the congested building over 30 tables were closely joined together with several guests including clubs and societies, financial institutions and other student services on campus.

Students swarmed around the tables of enthusiastic guests including internship and employment recruiters who quickly spilled information about their services.

Yanis Uribe, a Wells Fargo customer service sales representative spoke vehemently about the services Wells Fargo offers to college student.

“We offer scholarship and credit card opportunities for college students,” he said. “We also have a host of employment positions on our website.”

Kerrim Llyes, Director of the Miron Student Center, said he downsized the guest list of Kean day due to the inclement weather and confined space.

“We downsized a little, but it did not affect the objective of Kean Day,” he said. “Our

By Celeste Simmons A sense of belonging. That’s what most people are looking for when they come to college. They find it in sports teams, classmates, and clubs, but what types of clubs yield the most sense of belonging? Fraternities and sororities for years have been the answer to that question, and are the main attraction to many colleges and universities across the nation.

These clubs create a strong sense belonging by basing themselves off of sisterhood and brotherhood. There are specific colors, symbols and principals for each one. Some are larger than others, some have stronger histories, some are older; but what makes one more popular than the other?

If you attended “Meet the Greeks” at Kean on Wednesday September 9th, the most popular fraternity stood out almost immediately.

Without a doubt, Iota Phi Theta was by far the liveliest frat of the night.

“Right now there are 13 of us on the yard and yeah, we’re pretty much the most popular,” said senior, Jevin Brown, who became an Iota in spring 2014.

Iota Phi Theta is a nationally incorporated, historically African American, fraternity that was founded at Morgan State University on September 19, 1963. They have been at Kean University since 1988.

At the beginning of the event, there were just a few people, mainly freshmen sitting in the stand looking at all the tables, with no one really moving around. The atmosphere was a little tense, with people deciding if they wanted to get up and walk around or not. The Iota’s were

goal is to bring students and staff together; to bring awareness to Kean’s societies and opportunities.”

In a thrust theatre stage-like setting the entertainment system was displayed at center stage. Students stood beside each other in a full circular shape and cheered on fellow school mates to show off their best dance moves. A disc jockey played contemporary and old school songs from different genres of music as the students danced.

“This is more upbeat and fun,” said Joey Stefanik, a senior student. “We get to socialize more in this setting as opposed to when it is held on the outside.”

While others waited patiently in long lines to collect souvenirs , such as baseball caps with student’s name tattooed on them, Magane Clerge, a freshman student scoured the building in search of opportunities.

With papers clutched to her arms, the accounting major happily disclosed the information she collected on Kean Day. “It was a really cool experience, “she said. “I was involved in high school and now I learned how to get involved in college, and also cool internships.”

But, for Yaruby Petit-Frere, Director of Center for International Studies the music was too loud to communicate effectively with students.

“The weather wasn’t cooperating so we had

Students lined up for souvenirs at Kean Day on Sept. 10.

no choice but to stay in a closed building,” said Petit Frere. “Nevertheless, it was a great turn out and I love the students’ energy.”

From the food and entertainment system to the guests and social circles, everyone had a reason for showing up to Kean day.

For Freshman student Ashley Ellis Kean day reminded her of New Student Orientation.

“I really enjoyed today,” she said. “It was informative and fun.”

The event ended at 5pm sharp after the disc jockey announced the winners of the event’s raffle.

Kean Day which is usually held along the

Greek take center stage

Photo: Iota Photo Phi Theta

Iota Phi Theta’s first sponsored blood drive.

the first one to change that feeling. As soon as they came in the started dancing to whatever the DJ was playing.

Once more people started to walk around the Iota’s were the first to start strolling, a traditional dance or “party walk” performed by culturally based fraternities and/ or sororities, in the middle of the floor. By

“We stroll, we step, we do it all.”

False alarm proves readiness of campus police

The entrance sign to Whiteman Hall and a police SUV parked at Campus Police Headquarters.

the middle of the night they had taken over the floor.

The most exciting part of the night was the performances. The stands were packed to the point that many students were standing against the wall in the gym. It wasn’t only Kean students who attended the event, but there were also many students from

Photo: Yuri Smishkewych

By Yuri Smishkewych Although the semester had not started yet, a false alarm proved the readiness of campus police in case of an emergency situation.

On Freshman Move-In day, in the hubbub of students carting their belongings from the parking lot to their future homes for the semester, an alert Desk Assistant at Whiteman Hall promptly called campus police after observing a man with a concealed firearm inside a holster on his waist.

According to Lt. Vincent Kearney of the Kean University Dept. of Public Safety/Police, campus patrol officers and the K-9 unit—who were in the immediate area—searched the building while secondary responding officers temporarily closed off the lobby.

Within minutes of the initial phone call, police were able to locate the man and discover that he was a Jersey City Police officer whose firearm was unintentionally displayed while he helped a fellow family member movein.

The building was not placed under

Photo: Nicole Brown

Cougar’s walk started in the 1980s. Then, it was called Campus Awareness day and only catered to freshman students.

According to Llyes, the student affairs committee decided to change the name and the objective of Campus Awareness day three years ago.

As a result, it was renamed Kean Day which is designed to brings awareness and opportunities to all of Kean’s students.

“It was unfair for all the other students who were not freshmen,” said Llyes. “They requested the change and we agreed that it was important for everyone to have access to the opportunities.”

different colleges there as well.

“I’m waiting to see the Iota’s,” said Alexis Cubbage, a senior from Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. “I heard they’re really lit in Jersey.”

Throughout the performances the sororities and fraternities got up on stage and stepped, strolled, and spoke about their organization.

The last to perform were the Iota’s, staying true to the phrase about saving the best for last. Out of all the other performances, theirs was the longest and most interactive. They included the audience and even had the Kean Cougar involved in their performance. They were the ones to get people in the stands jumping and screaming.

“We stroll, we step, we do it all” said Brown.

Apart from their performance that night, the events they hold throughout the year help with their popularity.

“Throughout the year we hold educational events and parties. We do some of everything honestly,” said Brown. “We typically stroll at parties”.

When asked about what makes them so popular, senior Bhriana Smith said “because there are so many of them on campus most likely”.

With 13 current members, the Iota’s do have one of the larger numbers of members out of the fraternities on campus. So with more of them around, it’s more likely that people will want to join or support them.

If you are looking to join a fraternity or sorority here at Kean, check their website to see a list of the ones offered on campus or check in with the Greek student office.

lockdown nor evacuated due to the nature of the situation.

“An evacuation or lockdown was considered in the event that the suspicious person was not located and/or additional calls were received, but neither became necessary due to the quick work of our responding officers and detectives.” said Lt. Kearney.

Although the incident proved to be a false alarm, it demonstrated that campus police and the office of Residential Student Services staff are ever ready in the event suspicious activity, or a suspicious person.

“The Desk Assistant in this case followed the protocol and the police responded immediately.” added Lt. Kearney.

Pursuant to the National Police Officers Safety Act of 2004— commonly known as H.R. 218—all “qualified law enforcement officers employed by or retired from a local, State or Federal law enforcement agency” are authorized to carry a concealed firearm.

See page three for the Kean police blotter.

3 THE TOWER

September, 2015

Kean offers new, cheaper meal plan

By Bhriana Smith Kean University created a new, cheaper meal plan option this semester in the wake of a proposed bill that would ban all colleges from requiring residential students to purchase expensive meal plans.

Titled the declining balance option, the new plan option costs $1,500 per semester, according to the meal plan options page located on the homepage of the Office of Residential Student Services. Currently, the plan is available only for juniors and seniors.

The previous residential meal plan cost from $1,710 to $1,197 per semester, according to the information provided on the University’s web page.

Students may spend their allotted balance at any of the following eateries on campus: The Miron Student Center cafeteria, The Cougar Den, Barnes and Noble Café, Ursino, Jersey Mike’s, Center for Academic Success and the University Library Starbucks.

The university web page also states that the money can be used for the upcoming eateries –Auntie Anne’s and Smashburger –as well as selected off campus venues that will be announced later in the academic year.

Students are welcoming the new plan with open arms (and stomachs).

“This meal plan is way more affordable,” said Deanna Verringia, a senior, marketing major who lives in one of the residential halls. “The other plans in the past were such a rip off.”

The issue of expensive meal plans was raised last year in New Jersey when the state Assembly passed Act 2811, which states that all four-year public and independent colleges in the state are prohibited from requiring residential students to purchase a meal plan.

The bill was sent to the state Senate Committee on Higher Education. Legislation in New Jersey must be approved by both the state Assembly and the Senate, and then signed by the governor before it becomes a law.

The Assembly’s proposed bill states that “…the only type of meal plan that an institution may offer its students, is one designed as a spending allowance, which works similar to a bank debit card,” according to the website, www.njleg.state.gov.

Kean hikes tuition for new school year

By Rebecca Panico University officials voted to increase tuition and fees for the 2015-16 academic school year by 3 percent, up $337 from the previous year, following suit with rising costs at some nearby public universities.

Yearly tuition and fees at Kean for an in-state, full-time student who commutes now amounts to $11,580, up from $11,243 last year.

The Board of Trustees (BOT), Kean’s final governing body, voted to increase tuition on June 29, pointing to a decline in state support and estimated rising costs for insurance and utilities.

In a statement on July 28, Executive Vice President Philip Connelly called the BOT’s decision a “strategic investment in Kean Online and Allied Health programs” which are “needed to keep Kean competitive for years to come.”

The increase will also help reorganize several academic administrative units on campus to “reduce overhead and improve student services,” his statement continued.

Since 2006, Kean’s tuition has steadily increased each year, with its largest spike taking place in

Kean students will have to dish out an additional $337 this year to pay for school.

2008 with an 8 percent increase.

In 2006, yearly tuition for an instate, full-time commuter was $5,242, or less than half of what it is now nine years later.

Isaiah Rivera, a criminal justice major, noticed this year’s hike when he got a notice from the university saying he had to pay more for the upcoming semester.

Rivera started attending Kean in 2013, he said, because he thought the Educational Opportunity Fund (EOF) would cover all expenses, but soon realized otherwise. He now commutes rather than dorms to cut costs.

Photo: Rebecca Panico

“But it ain’t fair for more students to have to struggle,” said Rivera, 21, and a junior at Kean.

“They don’t have to put more stress on people.”

Talia Velez, a 19-year-old sophomore psychology major, said she didn’t know much about the increase since her parents handled most of her school finances.

Her parents hadn’t mentioned anything to her about the additional costs either, she said.

“It was the most inexpensive school,” said Velez when asked why she and her family chose Kean in 2012.

Just how does Kean compare to nearby public universities or colleges in the New Jersey? Take a look:

*Figures reported by universities’ websites or public relations offices and ref lect the cost of full-time, in-state commuters.

Kean University Department of Public Safety Police blotter 8/29/2016

By Rebecca Panico Ursino, Kean University’s fine-dining restaurant inside the S.T.E.M. building, has been temporarily closed for renovations, according to the restaurant’s website.

“Starting September 8, 2015, we will be closed while we undergo renovations,” the restaurant’s website homepage reads in big, bold text. “We will reopen late Fall 2015.”

A spokeswoman for the university, Margaret McCorry, did not elaborate on the cost, contractor or type of renovations that are underway inside Ursino.

“Ursino restaurant is closed temporarily for remodeling,” she said in an e-mail on Sept. 10. “Further details will be provided when available.”

A trip down to the offices of Gourmet Dining — a contracted vendor that operates some franchises on campus, like Starbucks and the newly installed Jersey Mikes — revealed that renovations were to Ursino’s kitchen, according to the company’s Resident District Manager Susan Rubin.

No additional information was immediately available.

Kean University is currently in litigation with Union Township over whether or not property taxes need to be paid on Ursino and the Barnes and Noble bookstore, Union Township Tax Assessor Paul Parsons said on Sept. 11. A judge has not yet ruled on the matter, he said.

Ursino opened in 2012 and received a “worth it” rating from The New York Times.

Using a farm-to-table model, the restaurant gets some of its ingredients from the four-acre farm at Liberty Hall nearby.

So what has been on the menu? For starters, you could get handmade cavatelli, priced at $15, with broccoli florets, parmesan bread crumbs, roasted garlic and butter sauce. Moving on to the main course, you could try the Long Island crescent duck for size, which would run you $30.

And finally, clear your palette for some chocolate hazelnut pot de crème, featuring shaved dark chocolate, whipped cream and short bread. That’ll cost you $11.

The restaurant has an extensive wine, beer and cocktail menu, and although alcoholic beverages are not allowed in most areas on campus, there are certain exemptions for designated areas.

Police Blotter

Ursino temporarily closed for renovations, officials say

Police discovered that an unknown person forcibly pried open a window screen at Burch Hall in what appears to have been an attempt to enter the building sometime before 6:20 a.m. No arrests have been made. ***

Patrol officers and the K-9 unit responded to a possible threat of a firearm on campus after a suspicious person call was made from the Whitman Building shortly before 3:30 p.m. on “Freshman MoveIn Day.” The person in question was found to be an off-duty police officer that was helping a fellow family member move into a dorm.

09/01/15

Campus police made two separate arrests for contempt. A 45-yearold Newark man was arrested at Trotter’s Creek Bridge at noon and a 26-year-old Brick man on Campus Drive later that afternoon.

09/04/15

Police arrested an 18-year-old Garfield man after he was found to be in possession of a dangerous controlled substance at the Vaughn Eames Lot. ***

Shortly after college hour, units responded to a fire alarm caused by a “vapor pen” [a type of e-cigarette] at the UC Hall. Use of any tobacco products—including e-cigarettes—is strictly prohibited inside campus “Smoke Free” zones.

09/05/15

Campus Police arrested a 49-year-old Union resident on Morris Avenue at approximately 4 a.m. and was charged with driving while under the influence.

09/08/15

A 21-year-old Jersey City man was arrested after allegedly providing false information to Campus Police after being stopped on Caldwell Ave. ***

In two separate, but similar events at the UC Hall and at Rogers Hall in the early morning hours of the Sept. 6 and Sept. 8, respectively, Public Safety personnel responded to fire alarms that were activated by “burnt microwave popcorn.”

The inside of Ursino currently remains vacant as it undergoes renovations, according to a sign posted on the door.

Photo: Rebecca Panico

September, 2015

Same-sex marriage

OP-ED

4 THE TOWER

By Anthony N. Muccigrossi Same-sex marriage should have never been illegal.

Examining same sex-marriage in a more precise manner, one major question can be answered: Who gives the general public the right to decide who can and cannot share the love for other? The answer is quite simple: No one has the legal authority to decide that. This is America, the place where you can live free and enjoy all the rights you have as a human being.

Instead of putting our minds together to brainstorm solutions to combat unemployment, bring our troops back from war, lower our poverty rate, and strengthen our economy, we’ve dedicated a substantial amount of time arguing about who has the right to love another person.

Rather than fight for gay rights, we must stop segregating one cause over the other and fight for equal rights for all people, regardless of race, gender, ethnic background, sexual orientation, etc.

America is supposed to be the place where you have many rights and the freedom to express yourself for who you are, not what you are. We need to continue

to embrace our citizens while remaining quick to offer a helping hand, even if it is to just listen to a person.

For those who object to the legalization of same same-sex marriage due to religious reasons, you are within your right. However, one must not forget that religions were curated by people. Those texts were written by people, based on their view of certain issues.

In terms of religious freedom, religious organizations and churches can object to marrying same-sex couples. An infringement upon these entities would be a violation of their religious freedom. However, any local, state or federal employee tasked with marrying citizens, does not have the right to object to signing a marriage certificate.

If the person issuing the marriage license objects to marrying a same-sex couple, there would clearly be no separation of church and state. Most recently, Kim Davis, County Clerk of Rowan County, Ky., objected to issuing same-sex marriage licenses. While she is a public employee, she doesn’t have the right to pick and choose who she would like to marry.

If she were a pastor of a church or reli-

gious organization, she most certainly could have objected marrying a same-sex couple.

Rather than create a firestorm of criticism and attention to this specific matter, all Davis had to do was ask another public employee, one with the same qualifications, to issue marriage licenses to samesex couples seeking marriage.Same-sex marriage shouldn’t be looked at any differently than traditional marriage. The only difference is that this form of marriage involves two people that are the same gender.

The quicker we as a nation end discriminating and judging our fellow citizens, the sooner we can dedicate more time and effort on making our world a better place.

In the words of President John F. Kennedy, “In giving rights to others which belong to them, we give rights to ourselves and to our country.”

Is it really just hair?

The cultural double standard

By Yayonah Bangura Metallic suspenders, a nude thong, a barelythere bedazzled cover-up and knee-high platform boots were all it took for Miley Cyrus to shake the Twittersphere at the beginning of this year’s MTV Video Music Awards.

In typical controversial fashion, Cyrus’ look was topped off with a high ponytail of long, blonde dreadlocks.

E! Network’s Fashion Police took to Twitter the following day to award Cyrus as ‘VMA’s best dressed’, raising questions within some who remembered the Fashion Police’s last encounter with a celebrity wearing dreadlocks on a red carpet as a negative one.

In late February, actress Zendaya Coleman wore extension dreadlocks, also known as ‘faux locs’ to the Oscar awards. During an episode of Fashion Police, host Guiliana Rancic commented that Coleman’s dreads made her appear as if she “smelled like patchouli oil, or weed.”

Rancic publicly apologized for her comments and all seemed to have been forgiven as the show renewed its season after its cancellation. However, many are now giving the entire cast side-eyes for praising Cyrus’ dreadlocks, raising the issue of cultural appropriation fueled by the media.

If you’re an active social media user, you may have come across the words ‘cultural appropriation’ lately, especially on Twitter.

The term can be complex, but recently it’s been used to describe a situation where a Caucasian person is deemed ‘fashionable’ or ‘trendy’ for wearing or “appropriating” a style of another culture that is usually seen as inferior for that very same style.

Case in point: several weeks ago Kylie Jenner posted an image on Instagram wearing cornrows in a promotion for her line of hair wigs. Actress Amandla Stenberg commented, calling Jenner out for appropriating Black culture and features without using her position of power to actually help African-Americans

combat racial issues.

Media outlets ran with the comment, pitting the girls against each other and calling Stenberg a bully for “attacking” Jenner. In reality, Stenberg was responding to a comment left by a Jenner fan who said “#whitegirlsdoitbetter,” implying that White women like Jenner wear braids, and other African-American hairstyles, better than African-American women themselves.

Those who disagree with the existence of appropriation may call it a simple “cultural exchange,” which can be described as a mutual sharing of knowledge, art, customs, values and behaviors between different cultures.

They may say that cultural exchange is inevitable, and that social media just gives people a platform to be super-sensitive and politically

Photo: Hhenry oliver1999 (creative commons Wikimedia)

Actress Zendaya Coleman at the Oscar Awards.

correct about things as “trivial” as hair.

But if it is “just hair,” then why did the U.S. military ban natural hairstyles like braids, twists, afros and dreadlocks and include words “matted and unkempt” in their grooming guidelines in 2014, when the styles are worn to maintain the health of Black hair?

Why did the Dean of Hampton University’s business school ban dreadlocks and cornrows in 2012, believing that the hairstyles would prevent students from getting corporate jobs?

Why was 12-year-old Vanessa VanDyke given the ultimatum to either cut or straighten her natural hair or be expelled from school because it was a “distraction” in 2013?

Why are minorities chastised for the very same styles that the privileged not only sport, but capitalize on?

Stenberg made an informational YouTube video entitled, “Don’t Cash Crop my Cornrows,” that explains the difference between exchange and appropriation.

“The line between cultural appropriation and cultural exchange is always going to be blurred but here’s the thing,” said Stenberg.

“Appropriation occurs when a style leads to racist generalizations or stereotypes where it originated, but is deemed as high-fashion, cool, or funny when the privileged take it for themselves.”

Professor Ronald Tyson, who teaches AfroAmerican Cultural Anthropology at Kean, spoke on a possible resolve for the issue from a monetary angle.

“Protests always work. Capitalists like making money and if you threaten their money, they will shift gears because they want to maximize their profit. Things like boycotts and opting out of supporting exploiters work,” said Tyson.

“There are going to be a significant number of well-meaning people who, if they don’t see cultural appropriation’s harms directly, can be shown it and will act accordingly to their conscious, which wants to do the right thing,” he continued. “We can gain allies and exert eco-

Screenshot: Yayonah Bangura

E! Network ‘Fashion Police’s’ tweet after the VMA’s.

nomic and political pressure. By continuing to point it out, we can influence change.”

African-Americans are not the only ones at the forefront of the appropriation battle. DesiIndian girls are also fighting the issue with their Twitter hash tag #reclaimthebindi, Native-Americans are speaking out against festival goers who wear warrior headdresses, and Asian-Americans are addressing celebrity pop culture’s fascination with Geisha costumes.

All over the world, people are taking a stand against the exploitation of sacred culture for profit, and the voices of the oppressed are being heard. It may take some time to see real change, but right now it’s imperative that we take the first steps to get and keep the conversation going.

Are high school sports treated like college sports?

By Celeste Simmons Fresh new uniforms, new cleats, getting excused from classes, special advisors, no this isn’t college sports, its high school.

Over the past few years, high school sports have taken on the role of something like a training camp for the pro’s and college sports. Instead of high school athletes getting looks their junior and senior year, recruiters are now looking at freshmen and sophomores, trying to seal the deal as early as possible. Which has resulted in many high schools treating their sports programs as colleges treat theirs.

Prep schools such as Don Bosco, St. Benedicts, and St. Peters Prep are perfect examples. Those schools treat their football, and for Benedicts soccer teams like a college team. They have study hours for their athletes, they get special gear and uniforms that they can keep for free, they

travel more for games, and get special advisors that help them keep their grades on tract.

Many people, specifically parents, argue that that’s the wrong thing to do.

They should be treated like regular students, that the perks spoil them, that the teachers let them just “get by” with their grades. And while in some cases yes that is true. There have been cases where grades have been tampered with so a student could play in a game, but those are few and far in between.

You never hear anyone complaining when the honors students get special treatment. No one complains when they get exempt from a final for having a certain GPA or when they get the newer or nicer computers, text books, or classrooms. If they can get things like that for their hard work why not a student athlete? What many people fail to realize is

that these schools aren’t giving them nice stuff, letting them end their day early for a game, and getting extra attention from teachers just to make them look good, it’s motivating them to do better. And let’s face it, the high schools that are doing this have some of the top athletes in the nation or state, those high school students work hard and deserve it.

Let’s take St. Benedicts in Newark for example. Their soccer team has been one of the top teams in the nation for years.

Their boys receive free uniforms, practice gear they can keep, and food before away games. “Varsity does get special treatment compared to other students” said Ian Simmons a freshmen on the freshmen soccer team at St. Benedicts “as long as they keep their grades up I think its fine.

If it falls below the GPA your advisor gives you then you have to miss a game and no one wants to miss a game.”

I remember in high school I hated doing homework with a passion. My freshmen year I barely did any and my grades suffered. When I went out for the track team, I had the fastest time trials, I knew I would make varsity, but I didn’t. Why? Because my GPA was too low. You needed a 3.0 or better. It was the most devastating moment of my life, I didn’t get the new spikes, I didn’t get to go on the nice coach bus to away meets. It hurt but it made me work harder. It gave me a reason to do my homework.

Everyone talks about a lack of motivation, a lack of focus, but treating these young athletes this way gives them just that. They want to play in college, they want to go pro, and they’re getting a taste of what that’s like. To keep getting the perks, they have to keep their grades up.

Take that away from them and they’ll just feel like what’s the point.

5 THE TOWER

September, 2015

HEALTH

The trend toward detoxification and cleansing

By Dr. Josh Palgi The premise of body cleansing is based on the ancient Egyptian and Greek idea of auto-intoxication, in which foods consumed can putrefy and produce toxins that harm the body. Biochemistry and microbiology appeared to support autointoxication theory in the 19th century.

In the early 20th century, detoxification-based approaches fell out of favor.

In recent years, notions of body cleansing have undergone resurgence, along with other alternative medical approaches.

Detoxification, sometimes called body cleansing, consists of an approach that aims to rid the body of toxins -- accumulated harmful substances that allegedly exert undesirable effects on individual health.

Some health care practitioners do differentiate between the two, designating a detox as being more targeted to removing an unwanted waste product or substance from the body. In such cases, a detox may be advised after exposure to chemicals such as pesticides, overindulgence in alcohol, and use of certain medications. A cleanse provides more general support for the organs of detoxification including the colon, liver and kidneys.

On the other side of the issue are those who contend that body cleansing is unnecessary as the human body is naturally capable of maintaining itself with several organs dedicated to cleansing the blood and the gut.

So if you want to cleanse or detox, it helps to get educated and learn the basics.

Three main systems play a crucial role in the elimination of wastes. The circulatory system; that pumps blood throughout the body, delivering oxygen to and carrying waste products away from cells.

The digestive system; that processes the food we eat, separating nutrients from waste and eliminating anything the body does not need. And the lymphatic system that collects intracellular fluid from throughout the body and transports it to the lymph nodes where anything harmful (such as bacteria or other contaminants) can be removed before the lymphatic fluid is returned to the bloodstream.

The purpose of detoxifying- or cleansing- the body is cleaning (or helping clean)

THE TOWER Department of Communication Kean University Center for Academic Success 1000 Morris Avenue Union, NJ 07083 Telephone: (908) 737-0460; Fax: (908) 737-0465 Email: thetower@kean.edu; www.kutower.com

The Tower is an independent, laboratory newspaper of Kean University’s journalism option in the communication major program.

It is published monthly through the regular academic year and supported by advertising and the Department of Communication.

The Tower is not responsible for claims made by its advertisers. The Tower is a public forum and is free from censorship and advance approval of content by the university administration. The Tower staff is responsible for its content.

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: ANNALISE KNUDSON CO-EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: REBECCA PANICO out the body from toxins (toxins are anything that can potentially harm the body tissue) that are inhaled in the air or absorbed via water or food. It is said that they help with washing out pesticides and chemicals the body is not naturally set up to deal with.

People give a variety of reasons for “going on a cleanse” Among the benefits, people say it gives the immune system a break. The immune system works nonstop whenever we ingest foods that contain or carry harmful chemicals, pesticides or toxins.

They also say it gives the body essential nutrients without chemical additives, large quantities of sugar or sodium or preservatives. Some people say their cleansing program increased both their quality of life and their productivity at work.

They listed attributes such as increased energy, feeling better physically, more mental clarity, relieving chronic fatigue, relieving food intolerance, and potential to reduce weight There are numerous types of cleanses and for the most part, they usually involve a combination of different dietary recommendations, herbal products and lifestyle changes.

A change in diet focuses on removing foods that are considered problematic for the health of the particular individual.

This can include suspected food allergies or intolerances, processed foods and products with artificial colors, flavors or other additives. In some cases this included a period of fasting or the consumption of liquids only.

“If you want to cleanse or detox, it helps to get educated and learn the basics.”

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OPINION PIECES AND LETTERS TO THE EDITOR The Tower welcomes guest columns and letters to the editor from any source. Such material should be submitted to thetower@kean.edu or left at The Tower’s offices. To verify sources of written material, submissions must include the writer’s name and contact information. Students should include their class (sophomore, graduate, etc.) and major. Faculty and staff should include campus title or position. On request, names may be withheld from publication if The Tower staff determines there is a legitimate reason to do so, but no anonymous letters will be accepted for publication. The Tower reserves the right to edit, and refuse publication of any submission.

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September, 2015

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

6 THE TOWER

Visual art of Katherine Ace A poetic tale perspective

Photo: Gabrielle Gale Prendatt-Carter

“Frog King” by Katherine Ace

By Gabrielle Gale Prendatt-Carter A conjuror-artist, Katherine Ace’s paintings, displayed in “Behold Revelation: The Fairy Tale Paintings of Katherine Ace,” rearranges the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm and brings magic to life. Located in Kean University’s Karl and Helen Burger Art Gallery in the Center for Academic Success until September 30th, 2015, Ace’s angle is one where visual art meets prose with no clear-cut format, breaking all industry rules, and setting an original standard.

Not at all shy to take risks, Ace leaves her audience with thought provoking questions, allegory to decipher, and poetry to analyze. Providing a difficult task for an average interpreter to grasp, there are three consistent layers found in Ace’s gallery; all of which are necessary to be aware of when navigating the true essence of

her work. Just when you think you’ve got Ace all figured out through her symbolic and informational accents, yet another perspective forces her audience to engage in her mysterious style.

Ace incorporates “little intricacies in each piece,” said Erin Coffey, overseer of the new Katherine Ace Exhibit. “If you look close in the rocks, there are things collaged underneath where you’ll find faces, or Mona Lisa, an octopus, the wings, the newspapers, all butterfly wings underneath, and then the pieces that have anything that’s a log or a wood,” Coffey explained. “There are small pieces inside of little mannequins, or paper clips worked into the wood, to make it look like wood from afar. Then you get up close and realize that there are things collaged inside of them,” Coffey clarified. “This has drawn in the most amount of people so far that I’ve found,” concluded Coffey. “It’s our most

successful exhibit since I’ve been here in January.”

Featured paintings include “Ashputtle,” “Clouds,” “Constellations,” “Devil’s Three Hairs,” “Fisherman’s Wife,” “Fitcher’s Feathered Bird (with eggs),” “Fitcher’s Feathered Bird (with feathers),” “Flood,” “Frog King,” “Hansel and Gretel,” “Holes,” “In The Beginning,” “Little Red Cap,” “Many Fur,” “Rapunzel,” “Six Swans,” “Tales From The Ground Up,” and “Wishing Well.”

Other art exhibits featured at Kean University this semester include Jun Ku Kang & Garam Lee’s Bit & Soom Chapter 2 located in the Nancy Dryfoos Gallery in the Nancy Thompson Library until September 28th, 2015 and, An Exhibition on Social Justice and Immigration at the Human Rights Institute Gallery from September 2015 through January 2016.

Photo: Gabrielle Gale Prendatt-Carter

“In The Beginning” by Katherine Ace (above) “Devil’s Three Hairs” by Katherine Ace (below)

Photo: Gabrielle Gale Prendatt-Carter

“Ashputtl” by Katherine Ace

Photo: Gabrielle Gale Prendatt-Carter

7 THE TOWER

September, 2015

trending The Newest Trend Taking Kean by Storm

By Rose Marie Kitchen A new way of getting from point A to B is hitting the streets and college campuses across the country.

The days of casually walking to class are starting to become extinct. We’ve seen bicycles, skateboards, longboards, and now the new hover board/glider trend has arrived.

The boards are described as a two-wheeled, self-balancing, electric scooter and have made their way to Kean University. William Asante, sophomore Business and Accounting major, has been riding his board since the semester began. Asante is a more experienced rider, as he is known to ride pretty fast and also make quick turns.

“I bought the board because I felt like it would be very convenient for me to move around and it seemed cool,” said Asante. “I ride it everywhere but I get off when I’m in some buildings or stations.”

During any given moment these boards can easily be spotted on campus. Some are even spotted being road in buildings; which leave people to wonder about the safety concern regarding these boards. Students aren’t permitted to ride bicycles or skateboards in buildings, so many wonder if this trend should really be any different? Currently, there are over 14,000 hover board fail videos are publicly displayed on YouTube for people to view just how dangerous the boards can be.

“People go fast and could possibly take down someone that’s not paying attention,”

said Karime Diaz, sophomore Communications/Public Relations major. “I believe they are equally hazardous as skateboards, because they are both fast moving objects and accidents always happen no matter how careful a person can be.”

No worldwide agreement has been accepted on the official name of these boards because no company that produces the boards owns the original patent. When there is no original patent it makes it easy for duplications to be reproduced and sold. However, these boards do commonly go under the name of hover board or glider.

The board is controlled completely based off where the body weight is positioned, while standing on the board. A person can travel up 10 miles per charge. The max speed of the board ranges from 6.2 miles per hour (mph) to 9.2 mph.

There are different styles, features and colors of every board. Based off hovglider.com the average board with seven inch rubber tires sells for $575.00 and a board with 10 inch air tires sells for $699.00.

Potential customers can find the boards being sold under brand names like Hov-Glider, MonoRover, Cyboard, IO Hawk, Hovertrax, PhunkeeDuck, Glidr, Future Foot, Airboard, Mini-Segway, Esway, Freego, and more.

These boards are a quick and fun way to get from class to class. Some students think this trend is here to stay, while others think it is just a phase.

“I love the board and I feel like it’s definitely a trend that is here to stay,” said Asante.

“I bought the board because I felt like it would be very convenient for me to move around and it seemed cool,” said Asante. “I ride it everywhere, but I get off when I’m in some buildings or stations.”

William Asante riding his hover board down Cougar Walk.

Photo: Rose Marie Kitchen

television LGBT Community Making Mainstream Waves

By Kristen DeMatos Twenty years ago, Friends was one of the hottest new television shows on the air. Throughout the series, one of the main characters, Chandler, discusses his parents and their divorce. He explains the divorce was caused by infidelity and his father being gay. In later seasons, we finally meet Chandler’s father and discover that he is a crossdresser performing in Vegas and eventually transitions to live life as a woman. At the time, Chandler’s transgender father was the butt of many jokes and provided comic relief in some of the episodes.

Two years ago, Netflix debuted an original series called Orange Is The New Black. The show is based on a book of the same name, written by Piper Kerman, and is inspired by her time in a women’s prison. One of the main characters is an incarcerated woman named Sophia, who happens to be transgender. The difference 20 years later is that Sophia is not there for comic relief. She is there to represent a marginalized group of women.

In the third episode of the first season, Sophia’s hormone pills are lowered in dosage, and eventually get taken away due to financial cutbacks. She fights for what she needs and eventually (and luckily) was able to get her normal dosage back.

Her issues as a transgender woman, both in and out of prison, are not just a central storyline in that episode but in the series itself. Representation for the LGBT (Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender) community has risen immensely in the last few years, especially in television.

The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) works hard at promoting equality for the LGBT community.

In their 2014 “Where We Are On TV” report, it was found that 3.9% of regular characters in primetime broadcast television were gay, lesbian, or bisexual. Although this is an increase from the 3.3% of 2013, it is lower than the record high of 4.4% in 2012. Of all the main broadcast networks, Fox currently holds the highest amount of LGB representation at 7%. ABC is a close second at 5%.

One of ABC’s most talked-about shows, How To Get Away With Murder, features a gay student as one of the main characters. Even though the show is about law students and (you guessed it!) murder, there were many ro-

mantic scenes that quickly got hot, heavy, and suggestive.

Closeups of an alluring touch or a passionate kiss were staples in nearly every episode, for both heterosexual and homosexual couples. The creator of the show, Peter Norwalk told E! News in an interview that gay sex scenes are featured in the show because they are simply “a part of life”.

“To me, writing gay sex into a network show is to right the wrong of all the straight sex that you see on TV,” he says. “I feel like the more people get used to two men kissing, the less weird it will be for people,” Norwalk explains.

Sabrina Rosario, a Rutgers freshman who identifies as a lesbian says, “I love seeing gay characters on TV. I feel like shows don’t always have gay or trans people because it’s viewed as controversial or something; but in reality it’s becoming more normal and more accepted.”

Glee is another show that has propelled LGBT normativity to the forefront of network television. The show has featured countless gay characters, a number of which were main characters, such as Blaine Anderson and Kurt Hummel. Their relationships play out on the show just like the straight characters. However, as Frederik Dhaenens points out in a study done in 2012, that many of the gay characters’ storylines are coupled with some kind of suffering due to their sexual orientation and identity.

“Being gay is represented as a condition that will likely coincide with unhappiness, loneliness, and the feeling of being under a constant threat of verbal or physical violence,” Dhaenens says.

Is that because of homonormativity and how society views being gay? Or is that how it really is for LGBT youth? That’s kind of a gray area, according to Kyle Abel, a student at Middlesex County College in NJ. “I feel like everyone’s experience as a gay or lesbian person is different,” says Abel, who identifies as a gay man.

“I mean, not everyone has a good support system around them so it’s more difficult for some people to come out,” he says. “People go through different things. Yeah, I was teased and stuff at points in my life, and sometimes still am, but I’ve always been the kind of person to just brush things off and not care,” says Abel.

Writer Kelly Kessler explains that often times when there is an LGBT character featured on a television show, that episode is often “special” or “featured”, making it

stand out, and in turn not the norm.

“GLBs have surely flourished on premium cable, but have managed to avoid isolation in specialty venues targeting only GLBTs with culturally edgy fare,” she says.

One show that succeeded in doing this, is Grey’s Anatomy, as Kessler points out in her article “They Should Suffer Like the Rest of Us: Queer Equality in Narrative Mediocrity”. Two female characters enter into a relationship, with just as many ups and downs as the other straight couples on the show. Eventually the pair broke up after only a few episodes, but in the short span of the relationship, writers were able to give them a good story without reducing it to the fact that they were just lesbians.

Although it is on Netflix, a streaming website and not a broadcast network, Orange Is the New Black, and it’s breakout star Laverne Cox, are doing a lot for trans representation. Cox plays Sophia, the transgender inmate and is transgender in real life. In an interview with the New York Times, she says her role as a “trans actress” as opposed to just an “actress” is significant.

“I think it’s important to empower being trans. Most of the narrative around trans identity has been about transitioning. You blend in, and that is the goal, but blending in was never an option for me. Some people are going to know that we’re trans. There’s nothing wrong with that,” says Cox. Selenis Leyva, who plays hispanic inmate Gloria on the show and has a trans sister in real life, told the Huffington Post she was excited when she first met Cox. “I knew that this was going to be groundbreaking. I knew that she was going to give a voice to the voiceless,” Leyva says.

Straight actress Natasha Lyonne who plays series favorite and lesbian inmate Nicky Nichols told the Huffington Post that she doesn’t like when the show is referred to as a “gay show”.

“It does break my heart a bit that that many years later it’s still about, ‘Oh this is a gay show, or this is a gay relationship, or you play a gay character.’ At what point does it just become, like, I’m playing a person?”

Although mainstream media is far from representing the LGBT community equally, great strides have been made in the last few years. Change is here and increasing every day.

8 THE TOWER

September, 2015

opinion

by Annalise Knudson

Would you ever try online dating?

With the Internet so readily available on cellphones, computers, and tablets, it only makes sense that dating would eventually come online. Online dating sites have popped up on the Internet since Match. com was created in 1995.

Since then, dating apps and websites are the new wave of dating because of how it easy it is to use, its convenience, and availability on all devices. Whether you pay for online dating with sites like Match.com or EHarmony, or you use an app for free such as Tinder or Plenty of Fish, more and more users prefer online dating.

But what prompts those to want to try or use online dating?

Maybe it’s the appeal to be able to become a different person behind the screen than in person or just how easy it is to communicate on a different platform than faceto-face.

Many people believe online dating to be a “last resort” to trying to date someone you meet in person. But online dating has become a worldwide phenomenon that proves that belief potentially wrong.

I do agree that it could be difficult to trust someone you meet online because the pictures and information they send could be false and dangerous. Do we not take these same risks when we agree to date someone in person, as well?

There is nothing wrong with dating someone you meet in person and there is

nothing wrong with dating someone you meet online. It is all preference on how you decide you want your personal relationships to come about.

I find it unfortunate that people feel the need to lie about how they meet someone if it is through an online dating site, but I see no difference in an official dating site compared to meeting and talking to someone through social media such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. I believe that social media can create relationships between partners, but it is not seen in the same context as dating sites.

Online dating has changed drastically since its start when finding a partner was the sole reason to use it.

Some online dating apps and websites are for people who are looking for something specific in a partner such as the popular dating websites FarmersOnly.com and ChristianMingle.com.

There are interesting websites such as FurryMate.com, a site for people who enjoy to dress as furry animals, and wish to share that interest with a potential partner. Others are known for hook-ups such as Tinder, which has become increasingly popular with young adults.

From something that was once frowned upon, online dating is now a norm in our society today and the future for online dating will only continue to grow over the years.

The popular phone app for dating, Tinder, which is highly popular among young adults.

KFT Protests

Photo: Tommy Sisbarro

The opening of West College Drive, at the Kean OCC campus was celebrated with a ribbon cutting ceremony on Wednesday, September 16, 2015. The one-mile, tree-lined road will alleviate traffic and make the campus more accessible to Kean OCC students. Students from Professor Atkins’ Gender, Language and Communication class pose for a picture in front of the new road, which took six years to construct and furthers the collaborative partnership between Kean University and Ocean County College.

BROADEN YOUR HORIZONS Earn a Master’s Degree in Communication Studies (11 courses, 33 credits)

Certificate programs are available in: • • • •

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For more information visit: http://grad.kean.edu/masters-programs/communication-studies

Photo: Annalise Knudson

(Continued from page 1)

who will potentially be impacted, we’ll do that,” he said.

He also added that he’d look “within the university to see if there are other ways of achieving the financial savings and minimizing the impact on our employees.”

The Tower asked a university spokeswoman to elaborate on the cause of the layoffs after the meeting, but there was no mention of it in her statement. She did say, however, that “all three areas are in need of performance improvements to better serve our students.”

After a closed executive meeting - where the BOT said they’d discuss issues including potential litigation matters on the Merck property, real estate matters and contract matters to the budget and staff reorganization - the BOT unanimously approved the continuation of Farahi’s employment contract.

The University plans on reorganizing the three affected departments by shifting from the use of books to more digital media in the library, having faculty lecturers provide advisement for EOC students and restructuring the CAS with a “laser focus” on improving retention and graduation rates, according to a statement from the university.

KFT China

(Continued from page 1)

deficit because of cuts in state aid but on the contrary, it will run “a multimillion dollar surplus” with the three percent increase in tuition and fees, an increase that McCorry is also concerned about.

“Kean University continues to be among the most affordable comprehensive universities in the state,” McCorry said.

The statement said that the three percent tuition increase approved by the Kean Board of Trustees on June 29 will help maintain the quality academic programming and student services in light of a 2.4 million cut in state funding this year and rising operational cost.

McCorry said the Board of Trustees also authorized a reorganization plan to better serve students and will change model for three key areas including the Library, The Center for Academic Success, and The Educational Opportunities Center to encourage student support and improve retention and graduation rates according to the statement.

“Wherever possible, the University will make every effort to provide retraining, professional development and other opportunities as they become available for all interested employees who are affected by the reorganization,” McCorry said.

9 THE TOWER

September, 2015

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September, 2015

FEATURE WRITING

10 THE TOWER

How students juggle school, music and life

By Annalise Knudson His arms are growing weaker with every step he walks, as he dodges the broken sidewalks and students on his way to the building. He stops to catch his breath, and begins to rotate the arms that will carry his book bag, and the large, black box that contains his prized possession.

His friends walk towards him and laugh at him as he struggles to continue to carry the heavy instrument that he insisted on bringing to campus.

“I bring my guitar on campus and have jam sessions,” full-time junior Perry Brody said. “My friends and I sit on the lawn and jam out. My nickname was Pandora because I played so many different genres like the radio station does.”

Students pursuing music, who wish to make their name known across the nation, can relate to this young man who struggled carrying his guitar across campus at Kean University.

Whether college students pursue music as their major, or enjoy music as a side hobby, they can give insight on the struggles they face when trying to live a dream that may seem impossible, what it takes to make it in the industry, and juggle the responsibilities of attending class and receiving a degree.

Brody goes to Kean as a full-time student pursuing a degree in Special Education for grades Kindergarten through eighth grade, with a specialty in writing. He chose not to pursue music as a major in college because he said it stops being fun and enjoyable.

“I don’t want it to be work, it becomes tedious,” Brody said. “I save my weekends for all the fun.”

He started to perform at open-mic nights at local bars and clubs when he was 17 years old, surrounding himself with older, more experienced musicians. He performed at numerous open-mic’s and talent shows and was never paid until a year ago.

Brody is currently a solo artist, but hopes to find a band that prefers the genres he sings to back him up when performing.

“I’ve done the band thing and everyone wants to crank it up to 11,” he said. “They all wanted me to get loud and do some screaming and that’s not me at all. I’m about the process and the writing and storytelling as opposed to how loud we can go.”

When singing karaoke on a night off a year ago, Lisa Annitti, a Public Relations agent, approached Brody and hoped to represent him as an artist.

“I feel like I had to take this opportunity now because I have the energy and the time to commit to it,” Brody said.

Brody has now performed in many small venues using his stage name, “PD Brody” and is going on a mini-tour over the summer performing in events such as Meadowlands State Fair, the Jersey Shore

Festival, and the Black Potato Festival.

Brody said his biggest challenge is time management when he needs to travel far-away to performances in the tri-state area, mostly New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, while trying to stay on top of assignments for the 15 credits he takes each semester.

He travels up to a few hours for a gig, performs his sets, and then has to drive back home those couple of hours almost every weekend.

Brody says that although it is a lot of hard work and time consuming, he knows that this is an opportunity he needs to take now when he’s younger with fewer responsibilities.

He would consider traveling outside of the tri-state area where he usually performs for gigs. He hopes to expand when he builds more of a fan-base.

Brody played at the KUCEC’s (Kean University Council for Exceptional Children) social group event and was recently featured for Kean’s Cougar Radio, WKNJ 90.3. He was interviewed and performed songs off of his EP album that was released with four songs last summer named “Find A Way,” available on iTunes.

He hopes to make it big someday and perform at bigger venues, including Madison Square Garden, in Manhattan, New York. He knows that he needs to take any chance he gets in hopes to make his dreams come true.

With music changing almost all the time, and the small possibility of making it big, students and young adults pursuing music see this as a challenge.

According to a 2013 Billboard magazine article written by Reggie Ugwu, 20-yearold Chance the Rapper, has almost every record label chasing him to represent their company.

Starting out spreading the word about free performances and mixtapes to friends and students in his high school, he gained a team of people who helped him become involved in the music industry. He performed under headliners such as Kanye West, Donald Glover, and Eminem who are some of the biggest names in music.

All it took for Chance was charisma, charm, energy, and talent for him to gain attention from agents and record labels, especially after he won over superstar CAA (Creative Artists Agency) agent, Cara Lewis, who represents legendary names in music such as The Beastie Boys, Run DMC, and new artists such as Ludacris and Flo Rida.

This 20-year-old from Chicago who is on his way to become a bigger star was lucky with his endeavors, but everything can change within a day. He can become the most famous rapper in a few years, or no one will ever remember his name.

Chance the Rapper now has an album coming out this summer, and his album from 2013, “Acid Rap,” (the year the article was written) was listed on a few 50

best albums of 2013. This past January, he was listed number seven on “Forbes 30 Under 20” 2015 music list.

This rapper proves that not many people can make it big in the industry, but with luck and passion, it can go far. He is just one of the many young stars who used the power of the Internet and publicity on social media to get his name out into the world.

In another Billboard article written in 2014 by Steve Rennie, he said that artist development has changed for both record labels and the artists themselves.

It is easier for anyone to create their own record and distribute in the media, especially when YouTube has replaced MTV, streaming radios such as Pandora and Spotify replace commercial radio stations, and blogs replace music magazines such as the Rolling Stone.

Record labels used to have the power to choose who would be in the music industry, and now it is easy to just upload music to YouTube or another website that streams music, for their name to become popular.

College students who are interested in making music have probably created their own EP’s and have released it through different platforms to get their tracks available to the public.

For Chance the Rapper, all it took was handing out his mix-tape on CD’s with links, websites, and iTunes albums to listen to for his music to become noticed.

For Perry Brody, he was able to perform live at gigs with his name and EP album surfacing for his audience to download on iTunes.

In the modern music industry, everyone can become a musical artist.

According to Dr. Matthew Halper, a Professor of Music at Kean, full-time music students will work about 25 to 40 hours per week at non-music related jobs to work their way through paying for college. He said most students have to take on debt just to finance their education.

“Music students have to be very resourceful with their time and use whatever gaps they have in their class and work schedules to practice on their primary instrument or voice,” Dr. Halper said. “This often involves early-morning or late-night hours.”

There are a large number of ensemble classes, including wind symphony and choir that involves hours of contact time with little academic credit. They will have more contact and classroom hours than a major that typically requires the 120 to 140 credit hours.

To pursue music, it is more than learning notes and playing instruments, but giving all the time and energy a musician has just to get even a fraction further to where they want to be in the future.

“It’s a hit or miss with music,” Brody said. “I’m going to do it until I feel like I can’t anymore.”

SPORTS OP-ED Growing up a New York Rangers fan

By Annalise Knudson I was only 4 years old when I first walked into Madison Square Garden surrounded by white, red and blue jerseys that made every man in the building look the same from behind. My own jersey fell past my knees and I tripped a few times while walking. It felt like hours by the time we reached the top of the Garden after traveling up the multiple escalators that I couldn’t count.

It was my first New York Rangers game with my dad, a season ticket holder, who was almost as excited as I was to wear my brand new jersey, get my face painted, and witness my first celebration of a Rangers goal.

I remember my short legs trying to run to catch up with my dad as he greeted friends that he saw only two nights before. The smell of beer plugged my nose as I begged him to buy the cotton candy that came with the striped hat that I eventually placed on my small head.

My legs were dangling off the chair and my feet swung back and forth as I licked the cotton candy off of my sticky fingers. The hat covered my whole head, but I refused to take it off, because I wanted to look like everyone else who was wearing their own hats. The men all sat around talking and drinking their beer, yelling words that were too profane

for me to understand.

I only stood up as the buzzer went off and everyone jumped out of the green and purple seats.

I cheered for a team I didn’t recognize. I cheered with the strangers around me that high fived me every time that buzzer went off. I watched as their hands were fisted and pumped into the air as they sang a song. I mimicked these strangers, trying to mouth the same lyrics they said.

It wasn’t until a chant arose in the Garden that roared with the words, “Let’s go Rangers,” that I realized this was the same team that my dad cheered for on television a few nights a week. The same team where jerseys hung in the closet, signed pictures, pucks, and hockey sticks took over any wall space in the basement of my house.

My team, my second family, are the New York Rangers.

Fifteen years later, my jerseys are now a bigger size that are the same white, red and blue jerseys that now have different names printed on the back. Signed pictures of my favorite players cover my walls in my room, and hats dangle from the curtain rod in front of my window.

I have countless tickets that fill up my box of memories that I refuse to get rid of and memories of games that I will never forget. The seats in the Garden are no longer the same purple and green

colors, but all black. The old scoreboard is replaced with a state of the art, brand new, scoreboard and my old season ticket seats are now moved to a different location after the renovation of the arena.

It doesn’t feel like the same arena I remember going to when I was younger. I sit in my new seats and stare at the strangers I don’t recognize, instead of the familiar faces I grew up to know.

But I still go to the home games at Madison Square Garden and I still take the Staten Island Ferry. I still travel my 10 stops on the subway to reach 34th street and eat at my favorite restaurant.

I still wear my favorite player on my back as I go through security and have my ticket scanned. I still travel up the multiple escalators that I am too lazy to count.

The first game of the 2014 to 2015 season, my dad and I piled into our seats and I took my new Rangers hat that I bought in the store and placed it on my head. I adjusted the hat to fit my head and I watched as younger kids begged their parents to buy the cotton candy with the striped hat. I smiled and remembered when that was me as the lights turned off and the Rangers videos started to play on the scoreboard. I felt the same thrills I feel at every game as the Rangers take the ice and a permanent smile comes over my face.

I am home.

September, 2015

SPORTS

11 THE TOWER

Junior Damian Corredor runs past defenders in Kean’s victory. (above) 2015 Kean Football team roster photo. (below)

Photos: Kean Athletics

Kean’s football team defeated Bridgewater State 47-21 in their season opener back on September 12.

Photo: Pinterest

Kean Football wins first home opener in four seasons

By Joel Joly Prior to the first game, Kean’s Head Coach Dan Garrett stressed the importance of beginning the season on the right foot.

Kean University’s football team won their season opener for the first time in four years against Bridgewater State 47-21 back on September 12.

Quarterback Tyler Rodriguez led the offense with four touchdowns, as he tallied 190 yards on ten completions, and ran for 86 yards.

Junior Damian Corredor ran for

“Every week we talked about how we have ten single week seasons and every week we have to win one game at a time.”

a total of 122 yards. Senior wide receiver Qaudir Johnson ended the game with a total of 116 receiving yards.

Robert Meade III led all players on defense with 14 total tackles, including a forced fumble, and a pass breakup. Junior Stephan Lewis finished with nine tackles, and Junior Tom Winters provided eight tackles and a sack.

“Winning the first game obviously reinforces everything I’ve been talking to this group about since December 1 of last year when our season ended,” Garrett said. “Every week we talked about how we have ten single week seasons and every week we have to win one game at a time.”

When asked about key returning players for this upcoming season, Coach Garrett had high hopes for many of them.

“Tom Winters is a defensive lineman I expect really big things from him,” Garrett said. “Steph Louis is going to be a three year starter for us. Austin Da-

vis played at corner for us last year. He had a heck of a camp and just really did everything the right way.”

On the offensive side of the ball, Damien Corredor returns as running back, along with both Jonathan Schmitt and Quadir Johnson at wide receiver, and Anthony Mangan on the offensive line.

There were some adjustments made to the team, as well. Robert Meade III, who was the starting quarterback last season, was converted into a linebacker. Coach Garrett was very impressed with what Meade has shown him.

“We moved him up to the linebacker position this season,” Garrett said. “I’ve jokingly said with him that he’s been playing the wrong position his whole life. I’ve been coaching football now for a long time, and he’s probably one of the better linebackers I’ve ever seen, since I’ve been coaching and defense is kind of my forte, he’s like a heat seeking missile; he’s physical, he’s fast, he understands the game, and he processes things so well”.

Roundup for fall sports Football

Women’s Soccer

Women’s Volleyball

Head Coach: Dan Garrett, tenth season

Head Coach: Brian Doherty, seventeenth season

Head Coach: Don Perkins, seventh season

Staff: Keith Migliorino, John Liberato, Joe Martucci, David Galante, George Williams, Chris Suozzo, Gary Andrewshetsko, Dan Wollman, Nick Graff, Chris VanFechtmann, Billy Kvalheim, Nick Fuentes

Staff: Michelle Zuber, Randy Velasco, Jaime Manjarres, Carly Snyder

Staff: Audrey O’ Donnell

2014 Record: 10-7-2

2015 Record*: 7-4

2015 Record*: 4-3

Outlook: In his previous six seasons as head coach, Don Perkins and his teams have won a total of 111 games. Perkins also has three 20+ win seasons under his belt as head coach of the women’s volleyball team.

After finishing the 2014 one game below .500, Perkins and his girls have played tough at the start of the 2015 season, winning seven of their first eleven matches.

The volleyball team is enjoying a solid record at home this season so far, going 4-2 in that time.

2014 Record: 2-8 2015 Record*: 1-0 Outlook: In the 2014 season, the men’s football team turned in a record of 2-8, with their two victories coming against Southern Virginia University and William Patterson University. Despite the losing record, Kean played competitively in many of their games, with a few losses only being by single digits. Dan Garrett returns for his tenth season as head coach of the Cougars. The team began their 2015 season on September 12, and started on the right foot, by defeating Bridgewater State University by a score of 47-21. It was the first time Kean had won its season opener since 2011.

Upcoming Home Games: 9/25 vs. William Patterson University, 10/10 vs. Christopher Newport University, 10/24 vs. Salisbury University, 11/7 vs. Rowan University.

Outlook: Head Coach Brian Doherty began his seventeenth season as head coach of the soccer team.

Since becoming head coach in 1999, Doherty has led the team to 10 winning seasons, earning 148 victories in that time. The 2015 season got off to a bumpy start, as the team dropped their first two games, but quickly rebounded by winning their next three. Kaitlyn Pallitto leads the team with 10 points (5G, 0A), followed

by Emily Jurcsek with seven points (3G, 1A).

Upcoming Home Games: 09/26 vs. TCNJ, 09/30 vs.

New Jersey City University, 10/10 vs. William Paterson University

2014 Record: 17-18

Upcoming Home Games: 09/29 vs. William Paterson University, Kean Invitational on 10/2-10/3 vs. Trine University, Springfield College, Olivet College, Baruch College

Women’s Tennis

Women’s Field Hockey

Men’s Soccer

Head Coach: Jodi Valenti, third season

Head Coach: Leslie LaFronz, seventh season

Head Coach: Rob Irvine, second season

Staff: Jaelynn Lee

Staff: Diane Boccella, Catherine Beaudoin, Krisha Giammarco

Staff: Carlos Baltodano, Jorge Tuesta, Merlin Villagomez, Joe Brisindi, Greg O’Brien

2014 Record: 8-5

2014 Record: 13-8

2015 Record*: 3-2

2015 Record*: 7-0

Outlook: Jodi Valenti returns for her third year as head coach for the tennis team. She served as an assistant under former head coach Evelyn Alfaro for six seasons before being promoted. After the team went 6-8 under Valenti in her first season, they picked up their play in 2014, collecting a record of 8-5. Valenti and her team began the season with a strong start, winning their first three out of five matches, defeating Cairn University, Hunter College, and John Jay College.

Outlook: Leslie LaFronz enters her seventh season as head coach for the field hockey team. Since taking over the position, LaFronz has led the field hockey team to a winning season on five occasions. This is the team’s best start since 2013, when they won their first eight games. In their first seven games of the 2015 season, the Cougars have dominated their opponents, outscoring them 37-2. Krista LaMaina leads to the team currently with 29 points (12G, 5A), followed

by Marissa Robinson, with 22 points (9G, 4A).

Upcoming Home Matches: 10/3 vs. Baruch College, 10/12 vs. Rutgers-Camden, 10/15 vs. Rutgers

Upcoming Home Games: 10/3 vs. William Patterson University, 10/6 vs. Montclair State University, 10/13 vs. Delaware Valley College

2014 Record: 12-8-1 2015 Record*: 6-1 Outlook: Rob Irvine returns for his second season as the head coach of the soccer team. In his first year, Irvine led the team to a 12-8-1 record, the first winning for the men’s soccer team since 2011. In their first seven games of the season, the team is 6-1, having outscored their opponents 31-4. Sophomore Sevag Kherlopian leads the team with 21 points, with eight goals and five assists. This is the team’s strongest start to a season since 2013.

Upcoming Home Games: 10/3 vs. Rutgers-Camden, 10/5 vs. Baruch College, 10/17 vs. Rutgers Newark * Team Records as of deadline

SPORTS

12 THE TOWER

September, 2015

Transfer student Tyler Rodriguez proving his worth as Kean’s starting quarterback

By Angel Ospina They say nothing is permanent except change, luckily for Tyler Rodriguez change came at the perfect time.

Rodriguez, a junior student-athlete here at Kean University, felt change was necessary when he made the decision to transfer from rival school Montclair State University this fall semester.

“I left Montclair because the coach told me I was a backyard football QB and couldn’t play there,” said Rodriguez.

However, he’s flourished at Kean. Rodriguez quickly proved his worth and earned his role as the starting quarterback for the Cougars.

“I’ve felt very comfortable with the team and the coaches since I’ve been at Kean,” Rodriguez said. “It just feels like the right fit for me.”

The 21-year-old Carteret native made his first career start as quarterback on September 12 and led the Cougars to their first season opening win since 2011.

“Tyler’s performance was what we expected from him when we named him the starter,” said Head Coach Daniel Garrett. “We are looking forward to seeing Tyler get better one day at a time.

Tyler led the team on the season opener with a total of 190 yards in the air and another 86 yards rushing.

“It was his first college start at QB and the game didn’t seem to move too fast for him,” stated Garrett. “He was poised and was in charge on the field, he has great field demeanor.”

Tyler’s long road to his first collegial start as a quarterback started when he was five years old and he’s been in love with the game ever since.

Photo: Facebook “I love the intensity of the game and love the fact Tyler Rodriguez threw for 190 yards and ran for 86 yards in Kean’s win over Bridgewater State. that I have all the responsibility during every play as a quarterback,” Rodriguez said.

Standing at 6’1 with a muscular build, Rodriguez’s personality may be Rodriguez has always handled the intensity a quarterback faces well, even bigger than his appearance. as he led his Carteret High School to a Central Jersey Group II state “He is confident and poised, but he also likes to have a good time and championship in 2012. joke around,” said Garrett.

“He’s always been really good and was always one of the best players Rodriguez is a Global Wellness and Fitness Major and plans to join the on his team since a young age,” said his older sister Chelsie Rodriguez. “ I military after school. always loved watching him play and watching him lead,” she said caringly “Tyler’s a good leader and he’s cool, definitely cool,” said sophomore over the phone. wide-receiver Tahj Hammary. “He interacts all the time, and he’s always Whether it’s a state championship game or his first college game smiling.” starting, Rodriguez’s leadership abilities allow him to step up and adjust On November 14, Rodriguez will get to play against those who said he to any moment. can’t, when Kean travels to Montclair to take on his former team.

“I just want everyone to know they can rely on me to make the big play With one of those big smiles, Rodriguez said, “I’m motivated by the when needed,” he said. people who said that I couldn’t play QB.”

Kean’s take on Deflategate

Texas Football players attack on official leave many outraged

By Jaime Alicea III

Tom Brady warms up prior to Super Bowl XLIX.

By Alyssa Davis Eight months have come and gone since the fateful game that gave birth to Deflategate, yet the Kean community is still debating the National Football League playoff matchup between the New England Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts.

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and his team were accused of cheating after it was discovered that 11 of the 12 game balls that were allotted to them during the contest measured under the regulation size of 12.5-13.5 pounds per square inch (PSI).

An under-inflated football is easier to catch and throw providing an unfair advantage.

The victor, in this case New England, of the American Football Conference (AFC) Championship game moves on to the Super Bowl. This is part of the reason that Deflategate gained so much prominence.

Some gridiron fans are convinced that the Pats were rightfully accused.

“My initial reaction was the initial reaction of any logical person: The Patriots are cheaters and they obviously cheated again,” Sports Writing Professor Jerry Carino said referring to Spygate, a similar scandal that the Patriots were disciplined for in 2007. “It’s clear to anyone with a brain that the Patriots bended the rules and deflated the balls.”

Patriots fan and senior Geology major Jaime Parello believes that the deflated balls did nothing to change the outcome of the game.

“I read an article that said the Patriots’ passing game only contributed 14 points to the teams overall score,” she said. “The final score in the game was 45 to 7 so even if the deflated balls were significant the Pats still would’ve won by like 24 points. And plus, who says they even knew that the balls were soft.”

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell issued Brady a four game suspension without pay to be carried out in the new season.

“I think the reason it was made into such a big deal is because of the stage they were at when they played the Colts, but to me the ruling of

Photo: Gawker

four games was crazy because that’s the same amount of suspension some other guys have gotten who have done way worse things,” said Kean’s head football coach Dan Garrett. “I understand why they did it, but I don’t think it was the first time something like that happened and I don’t think it will be the last.”

Others believe that the punishment was just.

“The teams in the league should abide by the commissioners ruling, that’s the whole reason to have a commissioner,” Carino said. “The NFL was right to suspend Brady for four games.”

In August, the NFL Players Association along with Brady met the NFL in court with the hopes of coming to a settlement. No settlement was reached. Finally, on Sept. 3 the judge threw out Brady’s suspension saying that there was a lack of fair due process for the signal caller. The NFL then announced that it would appeal the judge’s decision.

This only opened up more avenues for debate.

“Nothing in sports should ever wind up in court it’s just tying up the legal system that should be dealing with life and death matters,” Carino said. “It’s so painful to see these things go to court. The NFL should have a better procedure in place for adjudicating their controversies. The whole thing is a joke, it makes the NFL look silly and it’s a misuse of the court system.”

Others feel that Brady had every right to take this case into the legal system.

“There was no clear evidence to prove that Tom Brady or any players or coaching staff were at fault,” freshman Chicago Bears fan Zack Hofschneider said. “He had every right to plead his case and try to get out of a suspension which was issued on no solid grounds.”

Brady opened the 2015 season and his team edged the Pittsburg Steelers 28-21. In an interesting twist, Mike Tomlin, Steelers head coach, complained that his coach-to-coach headsets picked up a Patriots’ radio broadcast for most of the first half, which prevented him from communicating with his staff. New England said it had the same problem.

Tomlin and the Steelers plan to file a complaint with the league.

coach was put on administrative leave.

Goldberger also denied the allegations that Watts used racial slurs prior to being Two John Jay high school football hit by the players. players in Marble Falls, Texas are being “He didn’t last 15 years as an official charged for assault after blindsiding by being a jackass,” Goldberger said. “You a referee on the final moments of a would have to be living under a rock to controversial game. Referee Robert Watts make a comment like that. How ignorant was assaulted viciously from behind by a would you have to be to utter anything defensive back and then struck again by remotely racist? It would be laughable another incoming defensive back as he if it wasn’t so awful and hurtful. But fell head first into the football field. it doesn’t surprise me at all, it only The vicious attack was recorded on continues to sicken me.” video, making national news as it clearly The brutal attack even reached the ears showed the two players maliciously of the NFL referees association executive targeting the referee as the play ended in director Jim Quirk who released a a 15-9 loss at Marble Falls. Watts, who statement disgusted at the brutal truly loves the game of football, hopes to blindside hits. return to the field this season if doctors “These types of actions against any determine that he is eligible to do so as game official at any level are inexcusable,” the hits he suffered may have caused a Quirk said. “We fully support the concussion. suspensions of the players involved, The Attorney for Watts, Alan along with a full investigation by the Goldberger blasted the two players for Texas University Interscholastic league”. what he calls a “Heinous Crime”.

Kean University Football Head coach “This wasn’t a passion turning into Dan Garrett was outraged and disgusted violence this was a premeditated crime,” at the news of the assault that occurred Goldberger said. “Two crimes were at the Texas high school stating: committed in a period of just a few “I think it’s absolutely insane,” seconds. Being on the field doesn’t excuse Garrett said. “They could have caused a you from assault, just because you are serious injury and made the game about playing a game”. themselves not the team. All parties The players were not the only ones involved should be held accountable for angry with the referee, as a John Jay their actions since in life, actions have Assistant Coach Matt Green allegedly consequences. The coaches there have told the players, “This guy needs to pay for a responsibility to lead as role models, cheating us”, after two other players were and it is embarrassing to hear that an ejected from the game by the referee. assistant coach would tell a player to do In an even more bizarre twist of events, such a thing.” a few John Jay The two players players defended are awaiting possible the two defensive assault charges and players’ actions have been assigned to stating that the Juvenile Justice the referee had School run by Bear used racial slurs County, while John Jay twice before High School waits for the incident possible punishments occurred. for the team and coach, The two players which could include who assaulted the termination of Watts have since Photo: ESPN.com their head coach and been suspended suspension of the from the school Referee Robert Watts was blindsided by two team for the rest of the and team, while John Jay High School football players, after season. the assistant Watts was accused of using racial slurs.