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DECEMBER 10, 2010
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Today: Cloudy
OLIVER’S TWIST
High: 36 • Low: 29
The Rutgers women’s basketball team upset No. 11 Georgetown, 70-53, last night, spearheaded by sophomore Monique Oliver’s 21 points and 17 rebounds.
NJPIRG wins referendum in New Brunswick
FRIDAY
House passes DREAM Act, Senate stalls
BY MARY DIDUCH MANAGING EDITOR
BY DEVIN SIKORSKI
The University’s chapter of the New Jersey Public Interest Research Group passed its two-month long referendum this week on the New Brunswick campus. The referendum is held every three years to see if the students support the organization and its waivable $11.20 fee on semesterly term bills, said Annabel Pollioni, the University’s chapter chair. To pass the referendum and keep the fee on the bill, the group needs 25 percent of the entire student body — every undergraduate and graduate student across the New Brunswick, Camden and Newark campuses — to come to the polls. All 10 of the University’s undergraduate and graduate schools received more than the 25 percent of student votes required and the 50 plus 1 percent yes votes needed to pass referendum. The University’s referendum was also the largest PIRG vote in the nation, said Sophia Fishbane, NJPIRG State Board chair.
SEE NJPIRG ON PAGE 4
ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR
RAMON DOMPOR / ASSOCIATE PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
A student votes at a New Jersey Public Interest Research Group station for their referendum, which they passed after a two-month-long campaign.
STUDENT DIES WHILE CROSSING ROUTE 18 A University student was killed late yesterday morning when she was hit by a pickup truck while crossing Route 18 Nor th, according to an article on mycentraljersey.com. The 21-year-old student was riding her bicycle on George Street and crossed the highway’s local lanes when a 2005 Ford pickup heading nor th through the intersection str uck her, authorities said in the ar ticle. She was pronounced dead at the scene, and it was not immediately clear whether she was riding or
walking her bike across the highway, Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan and New Brunswick Police Director Peter Mangarella said in a statement. Her identity is currently being withheld until the police notify her next-of-kin. Roger Hode, a 40-year-old South River resident, was driving the pickup and has not been charged. The crash took place just south of Commercial Avenue intersection, the same place where 15-year-old George Coleman was also hit and
killed about a year ago as he tried to cross the highway, according to the ar ticle. The accident raised pedestrian safety concerns on the newly constructed highway. New Brunswick Police Officer Mark Smith and Investigator Sean O’Lone of the prosecutor’s office are still investigating the accident. Anyone with information or who may have seen the collision is encouraged to call Smith at (732)-745-5005 or O’Lone at (732)-745-3315. — Kristine Rosette Enerio
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act Wednesday night, bringing children of illegal immigrants one step closer to obtaining citizenship and an education. President Barack Obama released a statement following the decision of the House to pass the DREAM Act, in which he congratulated congressional leaders for pushing aside partisan belief to make what he termed a “historic step.” “This vote is not only the right thing to do for a group of talented young people who seek to serve a country they know as their own,” he said. “But it is the right thing for the United States of America.” By adopting bipartisanship, Obama said House representatives succeeded in breaking a pattern of “tired sound bites and false debates” that surrounded talks of immigration reform for the past several months. “The DREAM Act is not amnesty. It’s about accountability and about tapping into a pool of talent we’ve already invested in,” he said. “My administration will continue to do everything we can to move forward on immigration reform.” Although the House approved the passing of the DREAM Act, opposition in the U.S. Senate successfully stalled the bill shortly after, which Obama said is halting the chance to reduce the national deficit by $2.2 billion over the next 10 years. “Today’s House vote is an important step in this vital effort,” he said. “I strongly urge the U.S. Senate to also pass the DREAM Act so that I can sign it into law as soon as possible.” Members of the Latino Student Council at the University devoted their time this semester to raising awareness about the DREAM Act, which Political Chair Jorge Casalins said culminated in an array of emotions last night after hearing of its passage. “Tears were coming down my face,” said Casalins, a School of Arts and Sciences sophomore. “It was very
SEE HOUSE ON PAGE 6
Report shows signs of life for US economy BY ANASTASIA MILLICKER STAFF WRITER
University economists found evidence of an economic breakthrough that brings new hope to Americans searching for the end of the recession. Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy Dean James Hughes and Professor Joseph Seneca discuss “The Great Uncertainty” — the recent financial crisis and ambiguity the nation is facing during the recovery period — in the December issue of “Advance & Rutgers Report.” “The report focuses on recent developments in national labor markets and indicates there has been a significant turnaround since the start of this year,” Seneca said via email correspondence. The private sector of the United States gained 1.1 million jobs in the first 10 months of 2010, which was a sign of major improvement
compared to last year’s loss of 4.7 million private-sector jobs, according to the report. This provides a promising outlook for students graduating in the spring, Hughes said. Hughes strongly encourages students to be aware of their surroundings by picking up business reports, such as the employment reports released by the Bureau of Labor, to be more aware of economic opportunities. “The first Friday of the month, the Bureau of Labor releases reports of employment numbers and students should be able to understand those numbers and use them to their advantage,” Hughes said. He said while stability is not guaranteed, the nation is slowly growing economically. “In the past 11 months, things have improved but slowly as seen
SEE LIFE ON PAGE 4
BEAT THAT BEAT
INDEX UNIVERSITY A foundation that helps Thai youth aims to set up fellowships for student volunteers.
OPINIONS A leaked e-mail from a Fox News editor reveals the newtwork’s biased agenda. See if we give them a laurel or a dart.
UNIVERSITY . . . . . . . 3 OPINIONS . . . . . . . . 8 DIVERSIONS . . . . . . 10 CLASSIFIEDS . . . . . . 12 SCOTT TSAI / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity hosts the Battle of the Greeks: DJ Competition last night in the Multipurpose Room of the Rutgers Student Center on the College Avenue campus to raise funds for the group’s Dance Marathon team.
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