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RUTGERS UNIVERSITY—NEW BRUNSWICK
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2014
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Jeff Bell’s loss marks 38-year Dem tenure in US Senate ERIN PETENKO ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR
TEANECK, N.J., —Republicans will need “divine intervention” and better preparation to regain the New Jersey Senate seat after Jeff Bell’s loss last night, the candidate said. With 42 percent of the vote, Bell lost to incumbent Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.), who was re-elected by 56 percent of New Jersey voters, according to nj.com. After the announcement of last night’s election results, Bell gave a speech at the Teaneck Marriott about his loss and his campaign. Bell, a former speechwriter for the Ronald Reagan administration, has some experience with New Jersey political campaigns. He won against then-Sen. Clifford Case in 1978 for the primary election, only to lose the general contest. This election marks a 38-year winning streak for Democratic candidates for the Senate, according to nj.com. SEE LOSS ON PAGE 5
Cory Booker (D-N.J.) delivers his victory speech as his famliy stands beside him after being re-elected for a full term of six years to the U.S. Senate at the Best Western Plus Robert Treat Hotel in Newark. DENNIS ZURAW / ACTING ASSOCIATE PHOTO EDITOR
Democrat Cory Booker wins in NJ Senate race KATIE PARK CORRESPONDENT
NEWARK, N.J. — Winning with 56.01 percent of the vote, Sen. Cor y Booker (D-N.J.) spoke at the Best Western Plus Robert Treat Hotel Ballroom last night, where he accepted his Senate victor y. Now that Booker has defeated Republican candidate Jeff Bell, the former
Newark mayor will represent New Jersey in Congress for another six years. Last year, Booker won the seat in a special election after the death of Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.). This race did not have the same level of intensity as past Senate races, both because Bell is not a “big name Republican” and nobody expected Booker to lose, said David Redlawsk, director of the Eagleton Center for Public Interest
Polling at the Rutgers Eagleton Institute of Politics. Standing against the American flag, Caroline Booker, the mother of former Newark mayor, said at 45 years old, Cory Booker still listens to her. But now that he has been re-elected to the Senate, he’ll have to listen to her and nearly 9 million other New Jerseyans.
Cory Booker strode out on stage, roaring his thanks to the crowd before he even reached the podium. “I just want to give thanks to my family, starting with my mom,” he said. “[And] I want to thank every single person around this state … this was a win earned by thousands across the state.” SEE BOOKER ON PAGE 5
Faculty talks future of MOOC programs at U. CARLEY ENS CORRESPONDENT
Massive Open Online Courses attract curious people who are looking for specific information on a given topic, said Richard Novak, vice president of the Division of Continuing Studies and Distance Learning at Rutgers. MOOCs are free online classes that offer university-level learning to anyone in any geographical location with Internet access.
Though the courses were intended to reach massive global audiences, according to The New York Times, the average user is a young, white American male who has his bachelor’s degree and a full-time job. The courses have been largely unsuccessful. Coursera, Udacity and edX remain the only large MOOC platforms, said Sesh Venugopal, director of Introductory Undergraduate SEE MOOC ON PAGE 4
The Busch Student Center was a polling location at Rutgers for yesterday’s midterm election. DAPHNE ALVA / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Students share voting decisions at ballot AVALON ZOPPO STAFF WRITER
More than a quarter of college students reported in 2010 that they did not register to vote because they did not know how or where to register or they missed the deadline, according to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement. But by the time polling stations at Rutgers closed yesterday, more
than 100 students had visited both the Livingston and Busch Student Centers to cast their ballots and fulfill their civic duty. They were among Middlesex County’s reported 477,653 registered voters, according to NJ Advance Media. Students based their electoral decisions on a number of political platforms, ranging from health care reform and matters of the economy to social issues and education.
Bhargav Tarpara, a School of Ar ts and Sciences first-year student, said he voted for the Democratic candidates. “We are in college right now, and education is most fundamental,” he said. “As the cost of education rises, it is in our best interest to vote for the party that favors that the most.” SEE BALLOT ON PAGE 5
Rutgers is offering three online courses this year through Coursera, a Massive Open Online Course platform. PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY MICHELLE KLEJMONT / PHOTO EDITOR
VOLUME 146, ISSUE 98 • UNIVERSITY ... 3 • ON THE WIRE ... 6 • FOOD & DRINK ... 7 • OPINIONS ... 8 • DIVERSIONS ... 10 • CLASSIFIEDS ... 12 • SPORTS ... BACK