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TUESDAY JANUARY 18, 2011
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SAVAGE TRANSFERS
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Sophomore quarterback Tom Savage’s decision to transfer was just one of many developments for the Rutgers football team in the early parts of the offseason.
Million-dollar funding launches Opera Institute BY KRISTINE ROSETTE ENERIO UNIVERSITY EDITOR
The Mason Gross School of the Arts is set to fulfill a longtime goal of expanding its opera program with the upcoming launch of the new Opera Institute at Rutgers. Through a $6.6 million bequest to the school from the estate of University alumna Victoria Mastrobuono, the institute will give graduate students the chance to gain practical skills and experience needed to succeed in their professional lives. “Opera is one of the most successful art forms within classical music. We have noticed that we are not only retaining our opera audiences, but we’re also growing them,” said Antonius Bittman, chairman of the music department. “There are a lot of people who really want to see this go into fruition and grow bigger at Rutgers.” The school anticipates the first wave of students to begin the two-year program this coming fall and will audition as part of admission, said Pamela Gilmore, director and producer of the Opera Institute. Once in the program, they will pursue a concentration in opera within a master’s degree, Bittman said. This offering is only temporar y while the institute waits for accreditation from entities like the National Association of Schools of Music to ultimately offer a master’s degree in opera performance. “We haven’t been able to really offer degrees in opera or concentrations in opera because we didn’t really have adequate curriculum,” Gilmore said. As it stands, the program consists of Opera Workshop, a course with 25 to 30 students involved, she said. But seven core classes will be introduced specifically designed for singers. Classes will touch upon topics like acting and movement for singers, diction in foreign languages and the histor y of opera, Gilmore said. They also hope to include courses in voice science and the business of opera.
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Gov. Chris Christie signed the Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights into law earlier this month which establishes new rules on how public school educators are to resolve bullying incidents. The bill gained prominence after the death of University student Tyler Clementi.
Law sets strict anti-bullying regulations BY AMY ROWE STAFF WRITER
Gov. Chris Christie has signed the Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights, a piece of legislation some are calling the strictest antibullying law in the country. The legislation is the first in America that sets firm deadlines for New Jersey’s public school teachers and administrators to repor t and resolve any incidents of bullying, said Steven Goldstein, chair and CEO of Garden State Equality, a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization. “The era of loopholes and vagueness in anti-bullying laws is over,” Goldstein said. “Hope for New Jersey’s children has begun.” Christie signed the bill Jan. 5, spokesman Michael Drewniak told The
Star-Ledger. The governor’s office declined to comment further. The legislation strengthens New Jersey’s cyber-bullying laws and also applies to bullying conducted outside of school that continues during school hours, Goldstein said. “I was so relieved when Christie signed the bill,” said Sen. Barbara Buono, D-Union, one of the bill’s sponsors. “I had heard he was uncomfortable with some parts of the bill, particularly the aspect of bullying outside of school, but thankfully, he signed it and kept it fully intact.” The law includes a provision, applicable to the state’s public universities, which says ever y student must be aware of anti-bullying rules and regulations within seven days of the start of the fall 2011 semester. But some students question the likelihood that the new rule will be effective.
“I don’t think simple knowledge of bullying policies will stop bullying on campus,” said Kevin Miller, a School of Arts and Sciences junior. “Although the University will distribute the rules to everyone, I don’t think everyone will read them.” Garden State Equality began conducting research in conjunction with the Anti-Defamation League and the N.J. Coalition of Bullying Awareness and Prevention a little more than a year ago before the alleged bullying-related suicide of University student Tyler Clementi, Goldstein said. The bill gained publicity after Clementi’s death, which occurred after his roommate allegedly streamed an intimate encounter between him and another man on the Internet.
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Program shelters homeless from cold BY CHASE BRUSH CONTRIBUTING WRITER
COURTESY OF LARRY LEVANTI
Graduate student in vocal performance Eileen Cooper, who performs in last semester’s production of “Flora,” said the new Opera Institute offers valuable resources to aspiring singers.
As the temperature continues to drop during the winter months, non-profit organization Elijah’s Promise soup kitchen opens its doors to the homeless, providing them with a place to spend the night and escape the cold. Code Blue, the New Brunswick-based soup kitchen’s latest program, gives those without a home a place to stay and spend the night indoors when the temperature drops below 20 degrees or when there are more than six inches of snow on the ground. Executive Director Lisanne Finston said the new program is another way the multifaceted organization is helping to support the community. “We are a connection and entr y point for people who are low-income and homeless,” she said. “Our focus is food, security and hunger, but the reality is that many of the
people who are str uggling and need food resources are also homeless.” New Brunswick’s homeless can settle down to the kitchen’s hospitality from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. during freezing nights at 18 Neilson St., Finston said. “We realized that our facility is a space that people come at night for dinner,” she said. “Then we thought, while they’re here, why not just let them stay for the night and get out of the cold?” The facility can provide not only a place to stay, but a sense of community for those who use it, Finston said. “People can come and go, although most people just come and stay,” she said. “Some people grab a blanket and curl up on the floor and sleep, some people sit in chairs and sleep, and some people just stay awake all night to drink coffee, have snacks and talk.” The program was enacted in response to an incident last January when a homeless per-
son was found frozen to death on the streets of New Brunswick, said Tony Nunno, volunteer and donations coordinator for Elijah’s Promise. Police called to refer people to Code Blue on a total of 14 nights last year, accommodating up to 15 guests each night. “A few of our patrons at the soup kitchen were upset and scared because they were on the streets, and we were having a ver y cold spell with a lot of nights where the temperature dropped into the teens,” Finston said. “[After the incident], we put our heads together and decided something needed to be done.” Although Code Blue provides the homeless with a warm room and a way to pass the cold nights, it does not provide guests with cots or beds to sleep on, Finston said. “By law, we cannot have [beds]. We’re a warming center, we’re not a shelter,” she said.
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INDEX UNIVERSITY A University alumna competes for a five-star honeymoon on TLC’s show “Four Weddings.”
METRO An organization holds cultural festivals in New Brunswick to promote global awareness.
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