REPRESENTATION Rutgers administrators refuse to confront the lack of faculty diversity
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DIGITAL DECEPTION Companies have found the perfect muse for their ads, and it’s us SEE INSIDE BEAT, PAGE 8
TENNIS Rutgers claims its third win against Ivy League rackets
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HackHERS celebrates women in STEM fields CATHERINE NGUYEN NEWS EDITOR
This past weekend, several hundred students — both from Rutgers and universities in New Jersey — gathered at the Cook Student Center for HackHERS, an annual overnight hackathon. As the name suggests, the hackathon focuses on women, with the purpose of creating a “space where women feel empowered to create with code and explore tech culture,” according to the HackHERS website. The event is a collaboration between the organization Women in Computer
Science and Douglass Residential College. Students have 24 hours to team up and develop programming projects, along with making a web application and building the hardware. HackHERS’s opening ceremony began with welcoming remarks from Sally Nadler, the assistant dean of Douglass Residential College. Other speakers at the opening ceremony were members from the executive board of Women in Computer Science and company sponsors who announced challenges and prizes. SEE FIELDS ON PAGE 4
Eagleton begins science fellowship for state policy APARNA RAGUPATHI CONTRIBUTING WRITER
On Sunday, New Jersey Assemblyman Andrew Zwicker (D-N.J.) and Eagleton representatives spoke at a session to spread the word about the fellowship program. COURTESY OF APARNA RAGUPATHI
The Eagleton Institute of Politics just launched a one-year fellowship program that places recent science and engineering PhDs within specific departments of state government. The program will put four fellows through an intensive orientation and professional development program so that they SEE POLICY ON PAGE 5
Researchers find link to addiction in brain MEHA AGGARWAL CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Rutgers researchers have discovered a link between cocaine addiction and a specific set of neurons, which indicates a potential therapeutic treatment for drug addiction. In his findings, Morgan James, lead author of the study and a postdoctoral research fellow at the Rutgers Brain Health Institute (BHI), and his team discovered that the use of antagonists — drugs that block nerves from signaling — blocked orexin neurons from signaling when exposed to cocaine.
Highly addicted rats were very sensitive to these antagonists, indicating that such chemical blockers may prove to be an effective treatment for addicts. This discovery has important implications for pharmaceutical therapy for addiction, James said. An antagonist called Belsomra, which is currently used to treat insomnia by targeting orexin receptors, could be repurposed to treat addiction as well. When he started his research, James found that simulating human addiction in rats enabled SEE BRAIN ON PAGE 4
There may be a link between cocaine addiction and a small region in the brain which controls orexin neurons, which play a role in regulating appetite. CURSTINE GUEVARRA / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Rutgers Scarlet Ambassador shares experience of application process MADISON MCGAY CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Elizabeth Alt, a School of Arts and Sciences senior, helps to lead bus tours multiple times a week as part of her job as a Scarlet Ambassador. MICA FINEHART
A Scarlet Ambassador shared insight into the job of being a tour guide for the University, including the interviewing process and some of its challenges and benefits. Scarlet Ambassadors, otherwise known as the tour guides who present prospective students an impression of Rutgers, are not only required to work, but also be part of the staff at the Visitor Center on Busch campus. These ambassadors need to “embrace the importance of professionalism, leadership and teamwork,” according to
the Undergraduate Admissions website. In order to be a tour guide, they are also expected to maintain a 3.0 GPA and attend semester meetings and seminars. One of these Scarlet Ambassadors is Allison Szeliga, a Rutgers Business School senior. She said the admission process began with a group interview, then with a one-on-one interview. The overall applicant pool consisted of well-rounded students who were highly involved at the University, especially in clubs, sports, research and other activities. “The process for me was overall a cohesive and thorough assessment of applicants
VOLUME 151, ISSUE 12 • UNIVERSITY ... 3 • OPINIONS ... 6 • INSIDE BEAT... 8• DIVERSIONS ... 9 • SPORTS ... BACK
interested in the ambassador program,” she said. Szeliga said that remaining optimistic and open-minded was what allowed her to receive the job. Through the interviews, she maintained the idea that she was able to meet new people in a way to help her become successful and professional in the future. After being accepted, Scarlet Ambassadors undergo a training process that involves how to give campus tours, set up events and manage daily operations at the Visitor Center, according to the website. SEE PROCESS ON PAGE 5
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February 19, 2019
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Campus Calendar TUESDAY 2/19 Student Access and Educational Equity presents “RU1st Forum” from 9 a.m. to noon at the College Avenue Student Center on the College Avenue campus. This event is free and open to the public. Rutgers University Democrats presents “Conversation with Alan Cander” from 9 to 10 p.m. at Van Dyck Hall on the College Avenue campus. This event is free and open to the public. Rutgers University Libraries presents “The Histor y of Diners in New Jersey” from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Alexander Librar y on the College Avenue campus. This event is free and open to the public. WEDNESDAY 2/20 Department of Pathology presents “Muscles, Molecules and Movement” from 1:45 to 6 p.m. at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School Research Tower on Busch campus. This event is free and open to the public. Rutgers Radio presents “The Underground Hip-Hop Saga” from 8 to 10 p.m. at Red Lion
Cafe on the College Avenue campus. This event is free and open to the public. Department of Landscape Architecture presents “RULA Seminar: ‘The Counselor: Roberto Burle Marx and Public Landscapes under Dictatorship’” from 4 to 5:15 p.m. at New Jersey Institute For Food, Nutrition And Health on Cook campus. This event is free and open to the public. THURSDAY 2/21 Institute for Research on Women presents “Public Engagement for Academics: The Use and Abuse of Stor y” from 10:30 a.m. to noon at Ruth Dill Johnson Crockett Building on Douglass campus. This event is free and open to the public. Ecology and Evolution Graduate Program presents “Ecology and Evolution Graduate Program Seminar: Dr. Olaf Jensen - ‘The River Wolf and the Blue Pearl: Ecology and Conservation of Mongolia’s Freshwater Ecosystems’” from 4 to 5 p.m. at Marine Sciences Building on Cook campus. This event is free and open to the public.
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February 19, 2019
UNIVERSITY
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Club seeks to change Rutgers’ drinking culture JAKE MCGOWAN CORRESPONDENT
“RU SURE? Changing the Culture of College Drinking,” a campaign founded by the Center for Communication and Health Issues (CHI) in 2001, focuses on addressing misconceptions about college drinking for firstyear students, said Joseph Bae, head of CHI. “The campaign seeks to change the misperceptions that Rutgers students have about Rutgers’ drinking culture. Statistically, 2 out of 3 Rutgers students stop at three drinks or fewer, while 1 in 5 don’t drink at all,” Bae said. Rutgers ranks as the 14th biggest party school in the country out of 1,373 colleges, according to an article by NJ Advance Media. This can add to the misperceptions about Rutgers drinking culture, Bae said. “First-year students have this misperception of Rutgers as this party school, as this drinking school. They believe everybody at Rutgers drinks, and that everybody at Rutgers drinks to get drunk, when statistically, that’s not true,” he said. Not ever yone drinks to have a fulfilling college experience, Bae said.
Out of more than 1,000 colleges, the University ranks as the 14th biggest party school, according to NJ Advance Media. Joseph Bae, the head of the Center for Communication and Health Issues, said this can add to the misconceptions about Rutgers’ drinking culture. WIKIMEDIA COMMONS “There is this misperception that in order to have that real, authentic college experience or make authentic friendships, there needs to be drinking involved,” he said. Many students who choose to abstain from alcohol do so for personal or religious reasons, Bae said. In all, a fifth of the population does not drink at all.
Bae said the misconceptions about drinking are not about the actual physical impacts of alcohol, but instead the culture of drinking itself. “I think what people don’t understand about drinking mostly comes about in terms of the culture of drinking. Students are well-aware of the effects of drinking. If you
drink too much, you’re more prone to violence, you’re more prone to hurting yourself. Rates of sexual violence go up with alcohol use. I think, in a general sense, students do know those things, but in the back of their minds, they also think that everyone does it,” he said. The campaign promotes its message in several ways, including
holding on-campus events, Bae said. The events are held at locations such as the Rutgers Zone at the Livingston Student Center, among others. The campaign also partners with Health Outreach, Promotion and Education (HOPE). This organization works to advance health and wellness at the University through community engagement and innovation, according to its website. Bae said the events held by the campaign hold a dual purpose. “We just try to do a lot of events that serve a twofold purpose. One of those purposes is obviously to disseminate our message, but the second part of it is that we want to give students who don’t drink an outlet, or a place to go on those weekend nights,” he said. Dangerous drinking trends do seem to be improving over time, Bae said. Statistically, there have been trends, both at Rutgers and nationwide, of dangerous drinking percentages dropping and abstinence rising. Despite these trends, the impacts may not be a result of the “RU SURE?” campaign, Bae said. “As much as I’d like to say that our campaign played a role in that, it’s not like we have empirical data or internal data to show that we caused these trends,” he said.
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February 19, 2019
During the event, students team up and spend more than 24 hours coding and developing programming projects. They are involved with both making the software, such as the web design, and building the physical hardware for their project. CATHERINE NGUYEN / NEWS EDITOR
FIELDS
HackHERS features 26 project submissions, which is more than twice amount from last year CONTINUED FROM FRONT
Sonya Gande, a School of Arts and Sciences junior and lead for HackHERS, said one of the purposes of the event was to help bridge the gender gap. “The ultimate goal of ours is to foster growth and productivity among women,” she said. The companies that offered challenges during the event were ExxonMobil, Fiserv, JP Morgan and Wakefern. ExxonMobil challenged participants to incorporate high-performance computing to solve the dual
energy challenge, increase affordable energy and reduce harmful environmental impacts. Fiserv, a financial services company, asked participants to think of an application that would help meet their consumers needs. JP Morgan and Wakefern gave challenges with more creative freedom. JP Morgan challenged students to create an application to increase the amount of women in STEM fields, and Wakefern gave the open-ended question of what the participants imagined the future to be, especially regarding their experiences as shoppers.
Prizes for the various company challenges included Jaybirds, gift cards and a Google Home Assistant. This did not mean that every student took on these challenges, though. Some of the students, such as graduate student Nishka Uberoi, decided to work with her team on a project that would be more Rutgerscentric: an app that could scan for attendance instead of the iClicker. “We decided not to target any of the company goals,” she said. The event did not only include hacking, but also panels, talks from the companies and recreational activities such as cookie decorating, Pictionary and Jeopardy. Sunny Feng, a School of Arts and Sciences junior and sponsorship lead for HackHERS, said the talks during the hackathon allowed
companies to discuss and teach a topic they were passionate about or related to the company. “Wakefern talked about how to land your first technology internship, Fiserv talked about AI and financial technology and ExxonMobil talked about high-performance computing,” she said. Overall, she said HackHERS, which is in its fifth year of running, was a successful and well-run event. This year, there were 26 project submissions, which was more than twice than the amount last year. The project that received the award for best overall hack was HappiEarth, which aimed to use data from the World Happiness Report and connect it with statistics on areas such as the environment, government and even chocolate
BRAIN Humans use cocaine in somewhat intermittent fashion during their binge periods CONTINUED FROM FRONT researchers to study the neurological impact of cocaine and how to potentially reverse this change. Gary Aston-Jones, director of the BHI and co-author of the
orexin neurons’ impact on compulsion to take drugs despite physical pain. “Humans use cocaine in a somewhat intermittent fashion over a binge period. There’s a spiking pattern in their brain cocaine levels where it goes
“The increase in orexin neurons seems to persist for a long time, even when rats aren’t getting drugs.” GARY ASTON-JONES Director of the Brain Health Institute and Co-Author of the study
Gary Aston-James, the director of the Brain Health Institute and co-author of the study, said his research measured certain neurons’ effect on the urge to take drugs. RUTGERS.EDU
study, said that orexin neurons, which comprise a small region in the hypothalamus responsible for transmitting the orexin neuropeptide and are associated with sleep and reward, were first associated with cocaine addiction in 2005. A 2005 study published by Aston-Jones and colleagues found that activating orexin neurons signals drug-seeking behavior. This signaling pathway can be blocked through the use of an antagonist. Building upon the study’s results, James said he manipulated drug-seeking patterns to measure
up and down,” James said. “We adapted that pattern of intake in rats and compared it to continuous intakes.” Between three groups of rats, those which were exposed to an intermittent drug-seeking patterns similar to that of human addicts showed the strongest addiction profile. “These rats showed an excessive motivation for cocaine, mimicking human behavior to pay for drugs,” James said. “They also showed more compulsive behavior, where they continued to seek cocaine while receiving foot shocks.”
consumption. The team who created the winning project consisted of Aditya Verma, a School of Engineering junior, Amber Rawson, a School of Arts and Sciences junior, and Shantanu Laghate, a School of Engineering junior. HackHERS was an event that drew a wide range of students, some experienced in computer programming and some beginners. Nida Ansari, a School of Arts and Sciences first-year, said she wanted to pursue computer science and knew hackathons were a way to create projects to show to companies. It was also the first time she had ever been to a hackathon. “(I hope to get) a better knowledge in computer science. I like coding, and being able to use GitHub … this is the first time that I’m using it a lot,” she said.
The study then measured withdrawal and relapse in addicted rats. After 150 days of abstaining from cocaine, they were re-introduced to cocaine, which re-activated orexin neurons and memory circuits associated with drugs. When the rats went through withdrawal, they showed increased depression and anxiety-like behavior. James said this is similar to the behavior of human addicts. In addicted rats, the number of orexin neurons increased over the course of two weeks of drug exposure, and remained high throughout withdrawal. Their neurons were also very receptive to drug-seeking context, similar to an addict leaving a rehabilitation facility and re-entering an old way of life, James said. “The increase in orexin neurons seems to persist for a long time, even when rats aren’t getting drugs,” Aston-Jones said. “The addicted brain becomes more dependent on the orexin system than the non-addicted brain.” Moreover, restoring the number of orexin neurons to the pre-addiction levels meant that rats were no longer addicted. In humans, this could help addicts remain abstinent, Aston-Jones said. “We are now writing grants and collaborating with clinical researchers at Rutgers to potentially use Belsomra to treat human addicts,” AstonJones said.
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February 19, 2019
POLICY Eagleton’s program is designed in spirit of people being ‘not entitled to their own facts’ CONTINUED FROM FRONT can serve as content experts for state legislators. The goal is to use science to encourage evidence-based decision making in politics, said physicist and New Jersey Assemblyman Andrew Zwicker (D-N.J.). “There is an enormous number of issues in government where an understanding of scientific methods and evidence is essential to making sound decisions. We have come to realize that society would be better off if there were more scientists working in government and if more scientists, wherever they worked, understood how government works,” said Eagleton Professor John Weingart.
Weingart said the program was designed in the spirit of the following quote by former New York Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan: “Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but they’re not entitled to their own facts.” The hope is that the program will be a small step toward getting facts to be more prominent in the discussion and deliberation of government, Weingart said. Weingart, with his firsthand experience working with science issues in the New Jersey state legislature, said he oversees the program and spearheaded its founding with Zwicker. After speaking to a colleague in California and reaching out to Weingart, Zwicker worked with Eagleton to create a proposal for
the funding of a pilot program. The proposal was then approved by the state legislature, Zwicker said. “That’s how the program got off the ground,” Zwicker said. “It all fell into place.” Eagleton was chosen for the planning grant by a selection committee, because the University has been working on related issues for years, Zwicker said. Eagleton has also held related programs and workshops such as the Eagleton Science and Politics Workshop (ESPW) for years, Weingart said. The fellowship program is the next step in expanding the vision. The fellows will be contributing to policies on solar energy, medical marijuana and autonomous driving. But their contributions go far beyond technical issues, Zwicker said. “Legislators on both sides of the aisle have enormous respect and appreciation of science. One of the major problems in Washington, D.C. is that too often, facts are
not even considered before we get to politics,” Zwicker said. “I know many colleagues, both Democrats and Republicans, who will eagerly welcome scientific advice into things that go well beyond science.” Hopefully, Zwicker said, the program will introduce scientists to something they may consider as a career. Some may return to the laboratory and others may use their science background to do more with policy, which is a decision that will be made at the end of the program. But the overarching mission of the program is two-fold, Zwicker said. “First, provide a level of scientific expertise to state legislators that is not always accessible. That’s a valuable resource. Second, introduce the fellows in the first class and the following classes to what’s going on in Trenton and how they can be an effective piece of crafting evidence-based public policy that
can improve the lives of New Jerseyans,” he said. This past Sunday, Zwicker and representatives from Eagleton presented a session on the partnerships between scientists and state legislators at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) conference in Washington, D.C. The goal was to spread the word about what is going on in New Jersey, Zwicker said. The fellowship, the first of its kind to impact New Jersey state government, was inspired by state and federal programs run by the California Council on Science Technology (CCST) and the AAAS, Weingart said. While the team is optimistic, it acknowledges that these are only the first steps toward bridging science and politics, Weingart said. “We don’t expect to revolutionize the world or even New Jersey with four students in one year. But we hope to plant seeds that can be nurtured,” Weingart said.
PROCESS Scarlet Ambassadors must answer prospective students’ questions CONTINUED FROM FRONT Szeliga said one of the highlights of being an ambassador was being able to connect with prospective students and influence the way they feel about attending. “My favorite part of the job is after a tour, when a prospective student lets me know how my tour influenced their decision to attend Rutgers,” she said. “One
the opportunity to let visitors take in the beauty of Voorhees Mall on a bright, sunny day.” As a Scarlet Ambassador, Szeliga has to answer many questions about herself and the University. Since she studied abroad, she said many prospective students ask her about her experience studying in Rome, Italy. Families also often generally ask about the study abroad program at Rutgers.
“I often wish students realized how much their experience at college depends on their own motivation.” ALLISON SZELIGA Rutgers Business School senior
time I even received a thank-you note addressed to the Visitor Center thanking me.” One of the parts she disliked about being a Scarlet Ambassador, though, was when the weather did not cooperate. “My least favorite part of the job is when I need to give tours in the rain,” she said. “Although we’re mostly on the bus, I hate missing
Szeliga said her main concern was letting prospective students know that their experience in college was what they put into it. “I often wish students realized how much their experience at college depends on their own motivation,” she said. “Your college experience is what you make of it, why not do it at a school that has limitless opportunities?”
According to the Undergraduate Admissions website, Scarlet Ambassadors are expected to maintain at least a 3.0 GPA, work as part of the staff at the visitor center on Busch campus and attend semesterly meetings. MICA FINEHART
OPINIONS
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February 19, 2019
We must save Title X for health of America
T
itle X of the Public Health Service Act became a law in the 1970s. This law states that “no AmeriHARLEEN SINGH can woman should be denied access to family planning assistance because of her economic condition.” The program has been helping low-income families for decades with family planning and preventative measures. In fact it is the cornerstone of family planning in America as it enables under-served women to gain access to high-quality resources. Some of Title X’s services include wellness exams, birth control, critical cervical and breast cancer screenings, contraception education, as well as testing and treatments for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Title X has continuously served effectively to health centers across the country. In 2016 alone, its funding was used to administer 720,000 Pap tests, more than 4 million STD tests and nearly 1 million breast examinations. In 2017, 4 million family planning clients were seen through 6.6 million family planning encounters. As you can see, the mark and usage of Title X is ubiquitous as there are nearly 4,000 health centers in the United States that receive funding from the service. Of all Title X centers, Planned Parenthood services make up only 13 percent, but serve a colossal 41 percent of all Title X patients. This means that preventing patients from receiving care from Title X services also means that many will not be able to go to Planned Parenthood centers either. Although Title X has been powerful in aiding women across the country, social conservatives are not happy with its services, primarily the ones in which Title X uses its own funds to help women with abortions. In June of 2018, the President Donald J. Trump administration appointed Diane Foley to be in charge of Title X activity. One thing to note about Foley is her role as the former chief executive of Life Network, an orthodox Christian group which runs low-quality health centers that have no professional staff as well as no legal licenses to run such clinics. Under Trump’s new Title X administration, there will be several deleterious changes being made to the old Title X. There will be the elimination of many quality family planning services as well as prohibitions of abortion counseling and referrals. The new administration will also compromise the requirement of confidentiality for minors looking for contraception, as well as require women to be referred to prenatal care if she receives a positive for pregnancy, even if she does not want to go through pregnancy. All of these changes only add to the physical and mental stress women are already going through. Family planning is still considered a taboo topic in many areas and without having licensed clinicians to educate them, many women will be forced to put their lives at risk. On Feb. 15, the Senate confirmed William Barr as attorney general. In the past, Barr has shown no support of abortions and in fact rallied against them saying abortion will “ultimately be overturned.” “(Barr’s) appointment only helps to further the Trump administration’s relentless campaign against women’s essential reproductive rights,” said Adrienne Kimmell, vice president of communications for NARAL Pro-Choice America. “Barr’s confirmation is Trump’s latest move to use his administration as a weapon against women and our most fundamental right to control our own bodies and decide our own destinies.” Title X has brought forth significant impact across the nation. It provides affordable birth control that aids in preventing 1 million pregnancies annually. Title X gives women more control over their own lives, provides job and economic security and maintains good health by giving them resources to control their family planning. Title X’s aid does not stop here though. It extends beyond insuring women’s lives by detecting breast and cervical cancer in their early stages. Not only that but this service also helps people screen for STIs and STDs. “For every dollar invested in publicly funded family planning programs like Title X, the government saves $7.09 in Medicaid-related costs. In 2010, state and federal governments saved $13.6 billion from publicly funded family planning programs, including $7 billion from Title X-funded health centers alone,” according to Planned Parenthood Action Fund. Ultimately it is imperative to protect Title X from these changes. It is silly to say this in today’s modern world, but I suppose we are forgetting a rudimentary rule of thumb: each person is entitled to their own body, thus every woman gets to choose what she wants to do with hers. If she chooses to be a mother, then so be it, but if a woman simply is not ready, then there must be a second option for her so that she can choose what she wants to do with her body. Forcing a woman to have a child will only will take a toll on her life when this dilemma can easily be prevented. Taking away the option of abortion restricts and hinders the growth of an individual especially if they do not have the resources to start a family. Changes to Title X will also mean the lack of education for safe practices and preventing pregnancies. We cannot restrict women’s rights. We cannot restrict human rights.
HERE’S TO YOUR HEALTH
Harleen Singh is a School of Arts and Sciences sophomore majoring in cell biology and neuroscience. Her column, “Here’s to Your Health,” runs on alternate Tuesdays.
UNIVERSAL UCLICK
High ranks of U. refuse to fix diversity
I
write to amplify your re- union, which also represents PTLs and TAs, proposed cent editorial, “Lack of this amount to the Group of Ten. COMMENTARY Similarly, the Union of Rutgers Administrators, faculty diversity needs representing department and program administramending,” which points out TROY SHINBROT that faculty poorly represent tors who keep the University running — and who the diversity of New Jersey citizens, and that Rutgers anyone with eyes knows are largely women and miis among the worst of its peers in gender and racial norities — has also proposed a 3-percent raise. And the Group of Ten, who themselves all got 3 percent diversity in its senior administration. These remarks are very apropos: for the past 11 months ago, refused. And a final item: Rutgers leads the Big Ten in fracmonths, Group of Ten professional managers and lawyers from the senior administration, each earning tion of total salaries spent on upper-level managers — six-figure salaries, have been dawdling, procrastinat- more than 30 percent more than its next nearest coming and outright stonewalling in response to faculty, petitor. In January alone, Rutgers took on four new student and staff demands to address exactly these vice provosts and chancellors. Small surprise that the Group of Ten feels comfortable justifying their $2 mildiversity issues. Item: Female full-time professors on the New Bruns- lion cumulative salaries obstructing proposals over wick campus are currently paid $22,000 less annually the course of 11 months that 1 or 2 sensible people could decide in than male fullan afternoon. time profesIn one sense, sors. The facmany of these ulty union has “Only when the Rutgers community, parents and items are fine insisted for but 11 months on elected representatives force them to stop can we hope points, in the larger equal pay for to begin agreeing to no-brainer proposals like equal sense they are women and what men so that pay for equal work, and only then can Rutgers become simply happens when women want a university whose faculty and administration looks an organization to work at bloats its ranks Rutgers. The like its population.” with overpaid Group of Ten bureaucrats. has both reThe reason that fused to agree Rutgers looks to equal pay for equal work and refuses to implement a proposed less and less like its population as we look higher and higher in its ranks is that the Group of Ten and their Paul Robeson program to improve faculty diversity. Item: Rutgers has the highest percentage of part- fellows have put people in charge of important decitime lecturers (PTLs) among the Big Ten univer- sions who refuse. They refuse equal pay for equal work, they refuse sities — more than 17 percent more than the next nearest competitor. Replacing full-time faculty posi- to stop replacing full-time with part-time workers, they tions with PTLs tends to divert minorities and wom- refuse to provide adequate pay for those at the bottom, in favor of those at the top. And most essentially, they en into underemployed and underpaid positions. Beyond fundamental unfairness, this results refuse to stop spending tuition dollars on bloating in students and families paying full tuition, but their ranks with more overpaid and obstructionist bubeing increasingly taught by teaching assistants reaucrats like themselves. Only when the Rutgers community, parents and (TAs) and par t-time employees: not a way to train competitive professionals, either minority or not. elected representatives force them to stop can we The faculty union has insisted for 11 months that hope to begin agreeing to no-brainer proposals like Rutgers reverse the trend toward teaching stu- equal pay for equal work, and only then can Rutgers dents with PTLs and TAs. The Group of Ten con- become a university whose faculty and administration looks like its population. tinues to refuse. Item: University President Robert L. Barchi agreed Troy Shinbrot is a Rutgers professor of biomedical in public, at the January Faculty Senate meeting, to give faculty a 3-percent-per-year raise. The faculty engineering.
February 19, 2019
Opinions Page 7
Supreme Court carried out injustice, stealing man’s liberty DISPUTED TERRITORY AMAR WASON
I
n a polarized political environment such as the one we find ourselves in, it is absolutely vital to the prospects of limiting the vitriol that exists behind policy-based divisions that we are able to make clear exactly what it is we are discussing. Far too often the substantive issues at the core of our disagreements are lost in the semantics of what exists today as a charlatanic excuse for political discourse. Well, we will give it a shot anyway. Today marks the 12th day since Domineque Hakim Marcelle Ray was put to death by lethal injection in Alabama for the 1995 rape and murder of a 15-year-old girl. In the hours leading up to execution, it is standard practice that all condemned inmates are given unfiltered access to their spiritual advisors. In Alabama, prison policy allows for these spiritual advisors to accompany a condemned inmate into the execution chamber and remain present as the condemned takes their final breath. The caveat? They must be Christian — just as the ostensibly religious-freedom obsessed, conservative majority of the Supreme Court remarkably reaffirmed by ruling to allow the execution to proceed without Ray
being able to have a representative of his own faith present. While the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found reason to believe that Alabama’s refusal to allow Ray access to an imam in the death chamber may have violated his constitutional rights by granting a stay, the Supreme Court shamefully did not. The Court ruled that Ray had enough time to bring these issues up beforehand while largely staying out of the heart of the dispute. Alabama’s defense that only “trained” staff, such
me that they be prepared to do so in a way that does not violate the religious freedoms of any inmates. Unity is a rarity within the realm of politics these days but this case has rightfully alarmed both sides of the aisle: the conservatives who saw the fiasco as a sleight against the religious freedom afforded to us in the First Amendment and liberals who saw a miscarriage of justice taking place against a religious minority. It is important to remember that I am not here to argue for or against the evidence
“But should his faith prevent him from getting the same treatment as his Christian neighbors on Death Row? Absolutely not.” as its Christian chaplain, could enter the execution chamber despite allowing the imam full access to the inmate just feet before the chamber was lacking in reason. Furthermore, if supposed training was a genuine concern of the state, why has it not already trained and prepared clergy from different faiths? Surely, the Supreme Court should have noticed that the state has had ample time to do this as well. Given that they are the ones responsible for carrying out the sentence, it seems reasonable to
in Ray’s case, nor am I here to discuss the merits, legal or moral, of capital punishment in general. In fact, there are no real doubts about Ray’s guilt regarding his crimes. He was sentenced to death following his conviction for the rape and murder of 15-year-old Tiffany Harville but was also found guilty in the killing of two boys in a separate case for which he was given a life sentence. Was Ray a saint? No. Did Ray deserve to die? We can debate that. But should his faith prevent him from
getting the same treatment as his Christian neighbors on Death Row? Absolutely not. The importance in the ruling dished out by the newly minted Supreme Court conservative majority transcends the case itself. It is the first real peek into the future of just how this Supreme Court will be operating for decades to come. But, this minimal glimpse has caused more confusion than anything else. With Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh’s arrival on the bench of the nation’s highest court, many saw an oncoming assault on issues such as abortion rights and LGBTQ+ protections as being more likely than not. What nobody saw coming was the Court’s indifferent attitude toward a religious issue within the context of the state and the power it is responsible for holding. Ray is a man who deserves no pity for the crimes he committed, but try your best to put aside whatever contempt you may have for him when considering the procedural injustices that took place as the state carried out his death. This is bigger than Ray. This is about the way in which the new-look, conservative Supreme Court will be putting its ideology into practice. Or rather, the way it will not. Amar Wason is a School of Arts and Sciences junior majoring in political science. His column, “Disputed Territory,” runs on alternate Tuesdays.
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Page 8
February 19, 2019
Parodying people for profit : When brands act like one of us JORDAN LEVY FEATURES EDITOR
There’s no question that we’re surrounded by advertisements, and the obvious truth is that we don’t really care about it. From product placement in our favorite shows and movies to the panel ads on an overcrowded REXL, ads are a quotidian feature of our lives. Most ads are boring and make no bones about it, but there’s always been a cutting edge form of advertising that plays on the popular thought of the time. It has become easy to tune out the never-ending stream of commercials, so the more “normal” an ad can feel among the content or in a space we actually enjoy, the better we may feel about that product. This is one of the guiding principles of guerrilla marketing, which was popularized in the 1980s. Guerrilla marketing, which relied on creating a surprising experience for the consumer in a public place, has evolved and shifted over time. The most common progeny of the guerrilla marketing tactics is viral marketing, which manifests itself most
deviously when adhering to the rules of stealth marketing. Viral marketing “seeks to spread information about a product or service from person to person by word of mouth or sharing via the internet or email,” according to Investopedia. Harkening back to its
roots in guerrilla tactics, this takes place in the internet’s most prominent public space, social media. And to put it lightly, in the last few years it’s gotten ... weird. Twitter may be the platform that best embodies the current public commons of the internet without
Stealthy tactics in advertising are more popular than ever. Now brands are using social media to roleplay as regular people, with varying degrees of success. TWITTER
skewing into Baby Boomer aesthetics the way Facebook does. There’s less of a need to put on a good face like you may have to on Instagram, and there’s more permanence to the statements made than what you’ll find on Snapchat. The site is continually turning into a sounding board for people to air their most political, absurd, humorous, vulgar and dark thoughts. As Twitter evolves, brands have followed these trends, for better or worse. It’s disconcerting to see the way the brand Sunny D presents itself on TV, with bright commercials usually showing active kids running themselves weary, to their presence on Twitter. At the beginning of this month, the Sunny D account somberly tweeted “I can’t do this anymore.” For such an unsettling and cryptic message, it blew up, amassing more than 152,000 retweets. Brands like Pop-Tarts and Pornhub responded, offering hugs and tissues respectively. You know we’re in the darkest timeline when there are multimillion-dollar corporations roleplaying as people working through a depressive episode.
As these brands continue to parody non-commercial communication, it cheapens the actual dialogue we have on the internet. No matter how old fashioned you are, to say that what happens on the internet doesn’t matter is a hard case to make. We may have just started to descend down this increasingly inane rabbit hole, and the question is whether stealthy viral marketing campaigns will cheapen the brands, the platforms or the people. The passion for profit might skew the supposed ideals of “connection” that are espoused by the CEOs of these social media platforms. An article by The Washington Post details the simple truth, that the best and worst of the internet are our twisted creation. “Even the most sophisticated screens — iPads, Kindles, Androids — ultimately become nothing but mirrors. They can’t invent realities, only reflect the ones in front of them. This column is not about what we’re doing online. It’s about how whatever we’re doing online is either shaping who we’ll become or explaining who we’ve always been.”
DIVERSIONS
February 19, 2019
Mark Tatulli Horoscopes
Lio
Page 9 Eugenia Last
Happy Birthday: Look for the good in everyone and everything, but don’t be naive. Knowledge is a powerful tool and guide to getting ahead. Do your research, and when you are ready to bring about changes, do so with confidence and a plan. Refuse to let emotional situations dictate how you handle what’s going on around you this year. Your numbers are 3, 10, 16, 21, 33, 35, 41.
Over The Hedge
T. Lewis and M. Fry
Non Sequitur
Wiley
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Don’t worry about what others do or think; it’s up to you to be accountable for your actions and take care of your responsibilities. Learn as you go, and make the necessary changes along the way as you strive to improve. 5 stars
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Use reason and offer solutions. Be willing to walk away if you are met with resistance. If someone doesn’t want help, look inward and help yourself. A change may not be wanted, but it might be needed. 4 stars
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): A steady pace will get you where you want to go. Don’t let emotions come between you and your dreams. Let go of the past and head into the future with the intent to be and do your best. 2 stars
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Stick close to home and protect your possessions, assets and reputation. Someone you work with will try to make you look bad. Don’t get angry; get even by doing your best and being successful. Use intelligence and wit, not fists. 2 stars
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Don’t lose sight of the truth, even if you want to believe what someone tells you. Home improvements will encourage you to spend more time with family and less time gallivanting with people who don’t have your best interests at heart. 4 stars
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): You’ll be fed false information. Use your resources wisely, and don’t count on a single source if you want to find out the truth. A change of pace will help you outmaneuver someone who is trying to use you. 5 stars
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Spread your wings and let your imagination help you create. Putting a unique spin on whatever job you are given will not go unnoticed. Love, romance and relationships are highlighted, and with a little nurturing, will stabilize your life. 3 stars
Pearls Before Swine
Stephan Pastis
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Race to the finish line. Don’t wait to see what someone else is going to do. Trust and believe in your ability to handle whatever comes your way. You’ll gain respect and an unexpected opportunity to use your talents uniquely. 3 stars
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Be receptive to what others say, but don’t base your actions on the information offered. Go directly to the source, and you’ll think twice before you make a promise or align yourself with someone who tends to exaggerate. 3 stars
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Charm your way through tricky conversations with people trying to trap you into taking on responsibilities that don’t belong to you. Taking action and doing your own thing will be your best options if you want to bring about positive change. 2 stars
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Don’t divulge information about others if you don’t want someone to spread rumors about you. It’s best to be a good listener and observer and to put more effort into physical and mental self-improvement. Romance is on the rise. 3 stars
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Align yourself with people in the know. Gather information using charm and flattery to encourage others to speak openly. An offer should be looked over carefully before you decide to participate. Personal improvement should be a priority. 4 stars
©2018 By Eugenia Last distributed by Universal Uclick
Universal Crossword ACROSS
67 Uses a stun gun
1 1,000 paces, originally
68 Require
5 Pungent salad green 10 Flow back
DOWN
13 Colorful eye part
1 Layered mineral
14 Entice
2 Afghanistan neighbor
15 Canine annoyance
3 Dryer residue
16 Flooring in St. Thomas
4 Guesses
Becket’s bathroom?
5 Middle: Abbr.
19 Bit of clowning
6 Yank’s Civil War foe
20 Make a model of
7 Kicking Australian birds
21 Rowdy crowds
8 Small spray
24 Wheel covering
9 Thwarted
25 Court jacket?
10 Jazz singer Fitzgerald
29 Winemaker’s container
11 Red as a ___
32 $50, for Boardwalk
12 Vulgar
33 Pet with “nine lives”
15 Manicurist’s tool
34 Want
17 Sci. with organisms
36 Longest mountain range
18 Castle tower
38 Weasel sound?
22 U.K. TV network
40 Eagle’s claw
23 Hockey shot sound
49 Hollow cylinder
41 Playground lever
25 Rubbish
50 Pare
43 “Skip to My ___”
26 French name meaning
52 Fruit with a cutesy name
45 How a bad joke may fall
“reborn”
Yesterday’s Solution
53 n., in a dictionary
46 Curse
27 Back-of-book list
54 Two-base hits, briefly
47 Tragic actor’s supply?
28 Ring-shaped reef
55 Sums
50 Word with “ping” or “beer”
29 Country residence
57 ___ hydrant
51 Cad
30 Like an excited stadium
58 Soothing substance
52 Like an octopus’ habitat
31 Campers’ shelters
59 Tear forcibly
56 To a great extent
35 Diaper securer
61 Casual shirt
60 Look elsewhere for that sock?
37 Sweet’s culinary counterpart
62 Day’s two dozen: Abbr.
63 Temporary calm
39 Wading site
64 Cow’s access point
42 Emerges victorious
65 De-wrinkling tool
44 Alien ship initials
66 ___ and outs
48 Meeting items, collectively
Yesterday’s Solution
Page 10
February 19, 2019 BASEBALL MIAMI 9, RUTGERS 3
Knights open season winless in Miami SAM MARSDALE STAFF WRITER
The new era for the Rutgers baseball team got off to a rocky start last weekend. The Scarlet Knights (0-3) were outscored 35-7 after being swept by Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. After last year in the opening series against the Hurricanes (30), senior right-handed pitcher Serafino Brito was moved to the closer’s role. He was given another opportunity to show what he had to open the season on Friday night at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field. Brito only lasted two innings, facing 14 batters in a game that Rutgers went on to lose 19-3. He yielded seven hits, 7 earned runs, one walk and did not strike out a single batter. Brito was often behind in the pitch count and was forced to throw some down the heart of the plate, allowing Miami hitters to tee off. The Knights found themselves down 12-0 by the time they came to bat in the fourth inning on Friday evening. Hurricanes starter Evan McKendry retired the first 10 batters he faced. It was then that they got on the board on an RBI single from freshman infielder Chris Brito, a Perth Amboy, New Jersey native, who was a three-time county all-star in high school. Chris Brito was one of the bright spots for Rutgers this weekend, going 4-11 at the plate, including a triple while driving in 2 runs. The Knights came out with a vengeance on Saturday, striking
Head coach Joe Litterio and Rutgers traveled to Florida for the 10th time in the previous 11 seasons, where they lost a combined 35-7 in three games to Miami. CASEY AMBROSIO / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER / MARCH 2018 first on an RBI single at the top of the second inning from redshirt freshman infielder Tim Dezzi, a St. John’s transfer who was the designated hitter in that game. That was the lone run Rutgers would get that day, though. Sophomore left-handed pitcher Harr y Rutkowski was cruising through three innings, but then yielded a 2-run home run to Miami first baseman Alex Toral in the bottom of the fourth inning, and the Hurricanes never looked back.
Rutkowski faced three batters in the fifth inning, and did not record an out. Junior left-handed pitcher Eric Reardon then came in for two batters and did not record an out. Freshman right-handed pitcher Garrett French then entered the game and recorded every out in the inning, but by then, the game was 7-1 in favor of Miami. On Sunday, junior left-handed pitcher Tevin Murray made his first career start, and showed some promise. He struck out
seven batters in 4.2 innings en route to allowing 3 runs (2 earned), but the Hurricanes’ bats were just too much for the Knights’ pitching staff. This was the case all weekend, as Rutgers dropped the series finale, on Sunday, 9-3. It was 4-0, Miami before the Knights scored their first run of the day on an RBI single from freshman catcher Peter Serruto. A Short Hills, New Jersey native, Serruto was a 22nd round pick by the Cincinnati Reds in the MLB
Draft last year. He went 3 of 6 this weekend, appearing in all three games and started behind the plate on Sunday. Rutgers will attempt to rebound in New Orleans this weekend, where they will take on Butler on Friday, New Orleans on Saturday and round out the weekend with Chicago State on Sunday. For updates on the Rutgers baseball team, follow @TargumSports on Twitter.
SOFTBALL LIBERTY 5, RUTGERS 3
RU drops 4 of 5 games in College Station ALEC SPECTOR STAFF WRITER
This past weekend, the Rutgers softball team faced off against Liberty, McNeese State and No. 22 Texas A&M in the Texas A&M Invitational. In this packed schedule against three opponents, the Scar-
let Knights (4-6) were only able to come away with one win. Even though Rutgers went 3-2 last weekend at the Mercer Invitational, the Knights were unlucky toward the start of this weekend, losing 3 of the first 5 to the Flames (4-6) 2-1, the Cowgirls (6-5) 6-4 and the Aggies (8-3) 7-6.
All of the games that Rutgers played in this series have been very close, with a scoring margin of 2 runs or less. This statistic is even displayed in the Knights’ first win of the series against McNeese State 2-1 in eight innings. With these scores in mind, many players have done well in
Senior infielder Jess Hughes was 2-for-3, including a double in the Knights’ 7-6 loss to the Aggies last Saturday. THE DAILY TARGUM / APRIL 2018
this series. One player who did an excellent job at pitching was senior Whitney Jones, allowing no runs, one walk and three hits in the entire game against Liberty on Feb. 15. “I have been able to trust my defense, which has been a huge help. I have been trying to get ground balls for them, and in turn, they have been a big help for me,” Jones said. “I can throw more strikes, not get behind in the count as much and not give up as many walks.” On top of Jones’s performance, freshman pitcher Corah Price also allowed only one hit and picked up the final two outs in the game against Texas A&M. Senior shortstop Jess Hughes went 2-for-3, with a double, 2 runs scored and a stolen base against the Aggies. On top of Hughes’s effort to gain momentum on the base path, another instrumental player in this series was junior left fielder Anyssa Iliopoulos. She hit two doubles, scored 2 runs and added a RBI against Texas A&M. “I’m just trying to be aggressive, do what I can for my team, help my team productive and score runs, trying to keep the ball in play,” Iliopoulos said. “I think I can always work on staying aggressive, and not get caught up on waiting for certain
pitches, and making sure to not get behind the count.” After the game against the Aggies, Rutgers earned its first win of the weekend against the Cowgirls with the help of an impressive performance by freshman second baseman Aleah Marra. Marra had a multi-hit game, going 2-3. On top of that performance, junior first baseman Nicole Bowman drove in the initial game-tying run, with a two-out single, to help keep the Knights alive. With this play, Rutgers was then able to take the lead off an error, grabbing a 2-1 win. Even though the Knights lost 4 of the 5 games they played last weekend, it should be noted that it is only the beginning of the season, and there are many more games to go. “It was a big day for us,” said head coach Kristen Butler, according to scarletknights.com. “I am very proud of how our team played and made adjustments all day. We scored in all but two innings against Texas A&M, and scored late against McNeese. Whitney Jones did a great job pitching for us in both games.” For updates on the Rutgers softball team, follow @TargumSports on Twitter.
Page 11
February 19, 2019
LOSS Knights contend with ranked Hawkeyes for full 40 minutes CONTINUED FROM BACK ward the corner of the Iowa bench where Wieskamp, who had just 6 points on the night and was 0-2 from behind the arc, stood. Now with just more than a second remaining and Rutgers’ tallest player in graduate student center Shaquille Doorson closing out, Wieskamp chucked the ball toward the vicinity of the basket and much to the shock of every fan inside the RAC, the ball banked off the side of the backboard and somehow went in. What makes this more unworldly is that this is the second time in as many games that the Hawkeyes have won a game on a tough buzzer-beater. Sorr y Nor thwestern.
WHAT COULD’VE BEEN
True freshman guard Ron Harper Jr. scored a career-high 16 points and led all scorers in the first half with 14 points. CASEY AMBROSIO / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER / JANUARY 2019
WIN Rutgers earns doubles points at No. 3, No. 2 spots CONTINUED FROM BACK said. “It was great to see them put into action what we have been talking about and working on.” Jacobs claimed her fourth consecutive singles victory when she defeated the Bears’ Sophia Reddy. Jacobs put together a stellar 6-0, 6-2 performance for the No. 1 spot. Falling at the No. 2 position, Fisher lost to Brown’s Taylor Cosme 6-3, 6-4. Cochrane was also outplayed for the fifth spot against the Bears’ Julia Newman with a final score of 6-4, 6-1. Muzik, Kaplan and Zahare were able to come away with their own singles wins to contribute to the Knights’ 5-2 victory. Zahare defeated Brown’s Katie Ta in a 6-4, 6-3 match for the No. 6 spot while Kaplan closed out a similar match against the Bears’ Juliana Simon 6-3, 6-4. Muzik secured the No. 2 spot by edging out Brown’s Ryan Peus in a close 7-5, 6-4. “Each match is an opportunity for us to come out on top,” Jacobs said. “And (I) think we are doing a good job of staying focused and moving forward.” Interestingly, this was the first competition where Rutgers didn’t have to play to three sets in any of its singles matches. The Knights have worked on closing
out matches at the start and not settling in the second set. Rutgers knows how to finish strong in the third set, but being aggressive at the first serve through to the second set
is something the Knights have struggled with. Rutgers is quickly developing and implementing its skills into competition, which should help them to bode well for the rest of the season. Opponents will only get tougher, but the Knights are fired up to take them on. Rutgers has a short turnaround as it will stay in New Jersey and head down Route 1 to face Princeton on Wednesday at 5 p.m. The in-state matchup will be the
Before “the shot,” the Knights actually took the lead on an incredible shot of their own. Down 2 points with less than 15 seconds left, sophomore guard Geo Baker dribbled around the outside of the arc, found some room at the top of the key and put up a 3. Apropos to the suspense of the game, the ball bounced off the front of the rim, hit the backboard and dropped in sending the soldout RAC into an absolute frenzy. And despite not winning the game in the end, Rutgers not only competed with a top-25 team for a full 40 minutes, but played better than a top-25 team for a
Knights’ first mid-week competition of the season. The Tigers (5-3) have had a small break since competing at the ECAC Championships a week and a half ago against three other Ivy league teams. They held Cornell scoreless and defeated the Bears 4-1 in that tournament. Princeton ended the ECAC Championships final with a loss to Columbia, 4-1. Additionally, the Tigers are strong in doubles and captured
full 40 minutes and deserved to win the game.
YOUTH BASKETBALL
Ranked 326th out of 353 Division I teams, the Knights are one of the youngest teams in the nation, averaging 1.09 years of experience. Still, Rutgers’ young players continue to make plays down the stretch of the season and on Saturday night, it was true freshman guard Ron Harper Jr.’s turn to step up. Harper Jr. finished the night with a team and career-high 16 points, but it was the way he started that caught everybody’s attention. In the first half, Harper Jr. led all scorers with 14 points and was red hot from the 3-point range, starting the night 4-5 from deep. Just a two-star recruit coming out of high school, Harper Jr. is proving his doubters wrong and is just another part of a very strong freshman class that includes guard Montez Mathis, guard Caleb McConnell and forward Myles Johnson. Couple them with two more years of Baker and one more year of junior forward Eugene Omoruyi, including next year’s freshman class which already includes four-star recruit and New Jersey native Paul Mulcahy, and the Knights will be the ones winning those games. For updates on the Rutgers men’s basketball team, follow @TargumSports on Twitter.
points in all of their matches against their Ivy League counterparts. A win against Princeton’s doubles pairs would be crucial in building the Knights’ confidence. “We have such a long season we don’t have time to worry about what happened last weekend,” Jacobs said. “You get right back to it every single day.” For updates on the Rutgers tennis team, follow @TargumSports on Twitter.
Junior Kat Muzik collected the No. 2 spot on the singles draw, as she defeated the Bears’ Ryan Peus 7-5, 6-4. The match was her third victory of the season. MICA FINEHART / JANUARY 2019
TWITTER: @TargumSports WEBSITE: DailyTargum.com/section/sports
RUTGERS UNIVERSITY—NEW BRUNSWICK
SPORTS
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“We don’t have time to worry about what happened last weekend ... You get right back to it every single day.” — Sophomore tennis player Maya Jacobs
TUESDAY FEBRUARY 19, 2019
ONLINE AT DAILYTARGUM.COM
TENNS RUTGERS 5, BROWN 2
Knights edge out Bears for 3rd home win ALEX FABUGAIS-INABA CORRESPONDENT
The Rutgers tennis team took down Brown in a 5-2 win last Saturday evening at the East Brunswick Racquet Club. The Scarlet Knights (3-1) were able to claim a victory over their Ivy League opponent after falling to Army last weekend in a close 4-3 matchup. “This was an important win,” said head coach Hilary Ritchie, according to scarletknights.com. “The Ivy League is always tough in our region. It was good for the ladies to come out and fight and finish like they did.” Rutgers has struggled to claim doubles points all season but it outplayed the Bears (46) in all of its doubles matches. Team captains sophomore Maya Jacobs and junior Jaci Cochrane teamed up to defeat Brown’s doubles team 6-1, while freshmen Sydney Kaplan and Kristiana Zahare swept the Bears 6-0. The duo of junior Kat Muzik and freshman Tess Fisher was on its way to a win against Brown, but the match was left unfinished in 4-3 after the two other doubles matches were completed. “We have been fighting really hard in singles and doubles has been emphasized,” Ritchie Junior Jaci Cochrane and her doubles partner sophomore Maya Jacobs claimed the No. 1 spot in the doubles competition draw last Saturday. MICA FINEHART / JANUARY 2019
SEE WIN ON PAGE 11
MEN’S BASKETBALL IMPLICATIONS OF WIESKAMP’S BACKBOARD CORNER SHOT
Aftermath of Rutgers’ close loss to Iowa ROBERT SANCHEZ CORRESPONDENT
A regular college basketball game lasts for 40 minutes. During those 40 minutes, each second is just as important as the last as any play from a missed free throw to a costly turnover can be the difference in the outcome of the game. But in last Saturday night’s game between the Rutgers men’s basketball team and Iowa, the only second that seemed to matter was the last. As many fans are already aware, the Scarlet Knights (12-13, 5-10) suffered a heartbreaking, buzzer-beating loss at the hands of the No. 21 Hawkeyes (20-5, 9-5) inside the Rutgers Athletic Center (RAC) thanks to a contested corner 3-point bank shot by Iowa’s Joe Wieskamp in what has quickly been dubbed “the shot heard around the world” — or at least in Piscataway. Here are three takeaways from the devastating loss and almost upset:
FROM THE HEAVENS
There’s no other way to put it: the shot was miraculous. With 3.3 seconds left in the game and Iowa down by 1, the Hawkeyes heaved a full-court pass that was partially tipped toHead coach Steve Pikiell and the Knights are tied with the Cornhuskers for the No. 10 spot in the Big Ten standings. Both teams have a 5-10 record in conference play. GARRETT STEFFE / PHOTO EDITOR / JANUARY 2019
KNIGHTS SCHEDULE
EXTRA POINT ABBEY BROOKS, senior attack on the women’s lacrosse team, netted a hat trick on five shots in the Knights’ 13-9 home win over the Red Foxes last Saturday. Brooks, a team captain, had 17 goals and 33 points last season in 16 games played.
SEE LOSS ON PAGE 11
NHL SCORES
SWIMMING AND DIVING
Big Ten Championships
Tomrrow, All Day, East Lansing, Mich.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
at No. 11 Michigan State
Tomorrow, 6:30 p.m., East Lansing, Mich.
TENNIS
at Princeton
Tomorrow, 5 p.m, Princeton, N.J.
Arizona Calgary
2 5
Tampa Bay Columbus
5 1