The Signal: Spring '15 No. 13

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Vol. XLII, No. 13

April 29, 2015

Serving The College of New Jersey community since 1885

‘Ain’t it fun’ at the spring concert

Students march to end violence

By Mylin Batipps Social Media Editor

whom have been along for the ride since the very beginning.

While the band incorporated much of their newer material into the set, it made sure to play the older songs that started it all like “That’s What You Get” off the 2007 album “Riot!” that launched

Sharp voices echoed off the College’s residential and academic buildings as students marched and chanted across campus to protest sexual assault during the College’s 22nd annual Take Back the Night on Tuesday, April 21.

Kicking off the event at the AIMM Building Amphitheater, sophomore early childhood education and women and gender studies double major Brianna Dioses read a slam poem called “One Color” alongside junior history and secondary education major Dane West. According to Dioses, sexual assault can happen to anyone at any time — as the poem suggests.

“It doesn’t have to be an alleyway with a stranger that tried to kidnap you,” Dioses said.

“It doesn’t always have to be like that.”

Take Back The Night started in 1973 in Los Angeles as a protest for pornography and serial killings of African-American women in California, according to Erin Shannon, a junior English and women’s and gender studies double major. Another protest was organized 1975, in which Philadelphia protesters rallied in response to the murder of microbiologist Susan Alexander, who was stabbed to death while walking home alone.

Forty years later, Take Back The Night still stands and is adapted by organizations all over the country, according to Shannon. The event, traditionally hosted by AVI, was run by WILL this year.

see PARAMORE page 14

see NIGHT page 5

Kimberly Ilkowski / Features Editor

Paramore’s lead singer, Hayley Williams, shows off her strong voice at CUB’s spring concert.

By Kimberly Ilkowski & Jonathan Edmondson Features Editor & Arts & Entertainment Editor What would a Paramore concert be without fieryhaired frontwoman Hayley Williams giving her all to incite a riot in her alwayspacked audiences? It wasn’t

hard to get the crowd jumping along to their favorite angstridden, middle-school songs and new hits alike at CUB’s 2015 spring concert featuring opening act The Wonder Years on Saturday, April 25, in the REC Center.

The show had been a long time coming — Paramore’s name had been tossed around

PhiAD ‘braves the shave’ to support cancer research

before as a potential option for a show at the College. This spring, many students watched their fantasies come to life as their favorite band sprung onstage to the slick bass-line of “Daydreaming” to start off its wild and diverse set.

“Tonight kind of feels like a family reunion,” Williams said to the crowd, many of

Rathskeller to shut its doors for good

By Sean Harshman Staff Writer

As clouds rolled in and winds picked up, the brothers of Phi Alpha Delta fraternity braved the impending storm and gathered to shave their heads in solidarity of pediatric cancer research. The event, held on Wednesday, April 22 on the T/W Lawn, culminated a fundraising effort in support of St. Baldrick’s, a non-profit organization dedicated to raising money for childhood cancer research.

St. Baldrick’s asks supporters to “brave the shave” by shaving their heads in solidarity with those who lose their hair during cancer treatment. In doing so, the brothers not only spread awareness of the cause but also helped raise nearly $4,000 for the organization.

As the brothers prepared themselves for the shave, many shared the same nervous smile. see BALD page 3

INDEX: Nation & World / Page 7

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Natalie Kouba / Former Editor-in-Chief

The Rathskeller has been a dining option for students for nearly 40 years.

By Natalie Kouba Former Editor-in-Chief

The beloved Rathskeller pub, better known as “The Rat,” will be closing its doors for good at the end of the semester

Editorial / Page 9

after serving nearly 40 years as the College’s proverbial watering hole.

In place of the Rat, a rec hall used for movie screenings, meetings and lectures will be built, while a more

Opinions / Page 11

Features / Page 12

updated restaurant will open in place of the College bookstore. In addition, the new restaurant will swap out the grease-stained blue carpet for a polished-stone floor; brick walls for reclaimed wood

walls; and oversized, glass windows overlooking neighboring buildings, collectively turning fond moments at the Rat into mere memories.

“For me, the Rat was its own fraternity and sorority,” said Juan Torres, a member of the class of 1995 who worked as a server at the Rat. “Most students who worked there needed the money, but it was such a fun job. I miss the cast of characters I worked with.”

With renovations to the Brower Student Center beginning to take shape in phases, the demolition of the Rat and construction of another eatery will be among the first parts of the project undertaken. Dobco Inc. contractors and KSS architects are heading up the project, which will total about $26,740,000, according to see RAT page 3

Arts & Entertainment / Page 14

Sports / Page 24

Bell’s Roar Musician hosts a Queer Music History Workshop

‘#Proud2BeMe’ Event advocates for self-love and positivity

Softball Team is headed to NJAC tournament

See A&E page 17

See Features page 12

See Sports page 23

page 2 The Signal April 29, 2015

Intoxicated student thinks math binder is her ID Police on the scene, you know what I mean

By Colleen Murphy News Editor • Nine college employees had their identities stolen this year, Campus Police said. The victims discovered the identity theft as they were filing their 2014 taxes and realized that someone had already filed a fraudulent tax return. It is unknown at what level this breach occurred, whether it be at the College or with the IRS, according to Campus Police.

• An underage student was found intoxicated in the first floor women’s bathroom of Centennial Hall, according to Campus Police.

On Sunday, April 19, at 4:05 a.m., Campus Police met with the girl in the building’s lobby and observed that she appeared to be in “an incoherent state of mind” and had an odor of alcohol as well as bloodshot, watery eyes. Campus police asked the girl for identification, so the female led officers to her room, where she said her ID was located. On the way to the room, Campus Police saw that the girl was stumbling, unable to keep her balance. Once she entered the room, the female looked through items at the foot of her bed and then handed the police a “TCNJ binder filled

with papers containing math equations” and said the item was her ID. She was instructed to sit on a wooden chair until EMS arrived. Lawrence Township EMS arrived and she was transported to Capital Health. Campus Police issued her with a summons for underage drinking.

• Sometime between Friday, April 10, at 3 p.m. and Monday, April 12, at 8 a.m., the café in the Education Building was vandalized, according to Campus Police. Pastry boxes and a phone were thrown, resulting in damage to the phone. The phone is valued at $100. It is unknown how the suspect(s) entered the cafe, Campus Police say.

• Five students were charged with underage consumption/possession of alcohol when Campus Police entered a Townhouse East lounge after a noise complaint. Upon arrival to the noise complaint on Saturday, April 18, at 12:05 a.m., Campus Police heard multiple female voices loudly singing, they said. As they entered the lobby, police observed multiple wine bottles on a table, along with red Solo cups. Campus Police asked for the students’ identification, and all those under 21 were summoned.

• An attempted theft of a bicycle from the first floor of Lot 7 was caught on camera on Friday, April 17, at 7:24 p.m., Campus Police said. The bicycle’s owner had locked the bike to a garbage can of the center stairwell on Friday, April 17, at 6 p.m. When she returned on Saturday, April 18, at 12:30 p.m., she found that her lock was damaged and the bike was moved to the other side of the trash can. After the victim had unlocked the lock, she was unable to lock it again. Campus Police reviewed camera footage that captured a male walking up to the bike, picking it up, pulling it with force and attempting to break the lock. Another camera shows that the male was in the area of five other males. The suspect is described

by Campus Police as a white male of average height with a thin build, light color ball cap, chin-length brown hair, a light T-shirt, dark pants and dark sneakers.

• On Saturday, April 18, between 11 a.m. and 2:45 p.m., a car parked on the second level of Lot 11 was scratched on the hood and its right side, Campus Police said. There are no suspects at this time.

Anyone with information can contact Campus Police at 609-771-2345.

Public institutions still ‘the best deal in town’ How higher education creates economic inequalities

By Elise Schoening Features Assistant Today, an undergraduate degree no longer guarantees students will find financial security and a stable job after graduation. More Americans than ever before are enrolling in colleges and universities today. While a growing number of these students will not complete their undergraduate studies, those who do are often left with crippling student loans and may leave college unprepared for the competitive job market.

In a lecture to students on Thursday, April 23, Suzanne Mettler pointed out the flaws of the higher education system in America, particularly how it increases stratification between the socio-economic classes in our nation.

“It takes people in from many levels in the socio-economic spectrum and then turns them out even more unequal than they were when they came in,” said Mettler, a professor of government and public policy at Cornell University. Her lecture at the College was based on her most recent book, “Degrees of Inequality: How the Politics of Higher Education Sabotaged the American Dream.”

Mettler identified three different sectors of higher education in America: public, private non-profit and private for-profit.

She explained that the sector and institution in which a student enrolls greatly impacts their future success. Specifically, Mettler believes the for-profit sector of higher education currently reinforces and widens inequality within the United States.

While colleges and universities of all sectors could serve to improve their graduation rates, Mettler believes that public institutions

tcnj.edu

The College falls into the public sector of the three types of higher-education institutes. are still “the best deal in town.”

Among the three sectors, public colleges and universities typically have the highest graduation rates, as well as lower tuition costs and student debt.

“Most students, within a few years, are making their loan payments, and it ends up having been a really good investment for them,” Mettler said.

This, however, is not the case for students who attend forprofit schools, such as the University of Phoenix and DeVry University. According to Mettler, these institutions enroll about 10 percent of college students today. Yet, the graduation rate at for-profit institutions is a staggering 22 percent of its enrolled student body.

Most students at these universities take out student loans and remain in debt for far longer than their peers in the non-private and public sectors of higher education. In addition, the graduates of for-profit institutions often find

themselves at unskilled jobs and are unable to put their degrees to work, Mettler said. This prevents students from disadvantaged background from achieving more and reinforces social stratification.

Many blame this social inequality on colleges and universities, which have continuously raised tuition rates over the past few decades. Yet, Mettler cautioned that the issue is much more complex than it may seem. She believes the issue of higher education is rooted in public policy, particularly the failure of lawmakers to update earlier policies intended to offer financial relief to students and public universities.

As the cost of attending college continues to rise, Pell Grants from the government have unfortunately not been adjusted accordingly. During the 1970s, Pell Grants to students covered about 80 percent of tuition and fees. According to Mettler, they only cover about 30 percent of these costs today. The failure of

lawmakers to update these grants and policies means they are not helping students to the extent intended, according to Mettler.

“It’s just like having a house,” she said. “You learn that you need to maintain things, and if you don’t, deferred maintenance causes all kinds of problems.”

Mettler recognizes that one reason that many of the higher education policies remain outdated and ineffective is partisan polarization. The growing party divide in Congress means simple tasks, such as reauthorizing financial aid to public institutions, are nearly impossible for Democrats and Republicans to agree on.

Funding, however, is not an issue for most for-profit institutions. According to Mettler, these institutions are in fact permitted by law to receive up to 90 percent of their revenues from the federal government.

Members of Congress who support offering federal funding to these institutions claim that

for-profit universities value diversity and provide more opportunities for low-income students.

For-profit schools, which are comprised of largely less-advantaged students, say they accommodate students by increasing the convenience of learning through online courses.

Mettler questions the validity of these claims. She attributes the low graduation rates of forprofit institutions in part to their lacking structure.

“It’s precisely the students who come to college from lessadvantaged backgrounds who particularly need and benefit from the smaller interaction in a classroom with actual faculty members and a small group of students,” Mettler said. “That is a recipe for graduation.”

It is hard to argue that forprofit universities are increasing opportunities for students when their graduation rates are so low.

In addition, roughly 47 percent of student loan defaults come from the for-profit sector. These students are actually left worse off than they were going into college, explained Mettler.

As such, the American dream is increasingly out of reach for many students today, particularly for individuals from low-income backgrounds. The current system allows for great funding of forprofit institutions that actively recruit disadvantaged students — however, they typically hurt rather than help these students.

Mettler believes we need to prioritize higher education again and allocate more funds to students and public institutions. Until public policies are regulated effectively, higher education is going to remain a problem that exacerbates socio-economic issues and stratification in the United States.

April 29, 2015 The Signal page 3

Bald / Brothers of PhiAD fundraise for St. Baldrick’s Fraternity raises $5,000 for childhood cancer research continued from page 1 Tim D’Armiento, vice president of programming for Phi Alpha Delta and a sophomore management major, exuded a calmer demeanor than most due to his experience with the organization.

“I’ve been doing this since eighth grade, so I’m used to it by now,” D’Armiento said. “This is the fifth year Phi Alpha Delta has been involved with St. Baldrick’s, but this is the first year we’re bringing it to campus. We hope having it here will get more participation from students and raise more awareness.”

The event was filled with onlookers as the first three brothers of Phi Alpha Delta sat down in the barbers’ chairs. Three barbers agreed to

rid the men of their hair — free of charge — and made quick work of balding the brothers.

“I’ve taken part in the event for four years now,” senior finance major Albin Henneberger said. “I like that it helps raise awareness ... also, being bald is free and liberating!”

Sophomore English and political science double major Levi Klinger-Christiansen, who had the longest locks of the group, wore the biggest smile after his shave. Klinger-Christiansen had grown out his long blonde hair since October in anticipation of the event.

“I’m proud to be bald,” KlingerChristiansen said. “I raised $135 to shave my head, and I’m glad it also helps raise awareness.”

Phi Alpha Delta President Robert Kinloch shaved his beard, as well as his head, for the event.

According to Klinger-Christiansen, Kinloch raised $1,000 for St. Baldrick’s by growing out and shaving his beard.

“It has been an amazing experience working with the St. Baldrick’s foundation,” Kinloch said. “I raised over 700 dollars by growing my beard for six months — therefore, I had no intention on shaving my head.”

After watching his brothers shave, though, Kinloch knew he had to do it.

“The message I preached to the brothers was that are so many children who are diagnosed with cancer have no choice (but to shave their heads). You do.”

Photo courtesy of Morgan Roussos

PhiAD members go bald for pediatric cancer research.

Rat / End of an era for the College’s beloved pub

Kimberly Ilkowski / Features Editor

The Rat has served as a venue for live shows, hosting bands like Transit. continued from page 1

assistant campus architect Mark Kirchner.

The project is also funded by Student Center reserves and capital contributions from Sodexo, according to assistant Vice President of Student Affairs Sean Stallings.

Although the Rat will always be remembered as the stage for budding artists and students’ musical idols, it wasn’t always the hang-out spot is has grown to be today. Before the Rat became the local bar of the campus bubble, students gathered at Phelps Hall, or what is currently Eickhoff Dining Hall. The Hall was split into two sections — the Club and the Pub — for alcohol-free and alcohol-inclusive events, respectively.

But the Rat quickly took over in popularity when it opened inside the Student Center in 1976. Phelps Dining Hall subsequently closed, resulting in Eickhoff’s construction.

“The Rat needed lots of updating, at best. I remember it being kind of ’70s era,” said Steph Furness, class of 2003.

“I’m glad there will still be a place for people to meet up. But I definitely have some good memories of the Rat, just having a place on campus to meet up because, as you know, Ewing is not exactly a bustling college town.”

“For students with no college town, it was the closest thing to a neighborhood bar, albeit one that only sold beer and made awesome grilled cheese sandwiches,” said

Jay Butkowski, class of 2004.

Upon the completion of the Campus Town project in several months, students at the College will have a collection of restaurants at which to gather, including a sports bar, according to Greg Lentine, director of University Campus Development for the PRC Group.

But the Rat has a history unlike any other spot on campus which cannot be hastily recreated. The black-and-white photos of students in athletics, residential life and student activities which hang on the walls were chosen by director of dining services Karen Roth from the library archives in an effort to bring school spirit to the pub. It still has not been determined whether the photos will also adorn the walls in the new restaurant.

“I think students will miss the warm feeling of a place to go, get good food and also feel like it’s your own,” said Angelle Richardson, class of 1996. “It’s not the big cafeteria. It’s a space where the people know you, everyone hangs out, and you can laugh and have fun. There’s no place else like it on campus.”

During its lifespan, the Rat set the stage for a myriad of performers, some of which went on to create names for themselves. Sitcom star George Lopez, 1969 Woodstock-opener Richie Havens, Celtic band Gaelic Storm (featured in “Titanic”) and rock group Moby Grape, which had Rolling Stone magazine cover its Rat debut, all took the stage at the Rat

over the years.

“We played the Rat a few times, and it always felt like a homecoming,” Butkowski said. “My band Back Up Jackson was started at TCNJ, so playing the Rat had a sort of mythological importance, like we finally arrived.”

“Even though the Rat had ‘a clique’ of people that attended, I can safely say every student that has been to TCNJ has seen at least one performance on that stage,” said Brandon Schiff, class of 2014.

When the Rat shutters at the end of this semester, construction on the new College restaurant will begin, making a home for finger-food-loving students and hosting late-night performances.

The construction of the restaurant is set to be completed in January 2016 opening for the spring semester, but the completion of Student Center renovations is on schedule to be completed in July 2017.

Students will no longer have to squeeze through the winding close-set tables at the 2,240 square-foot Rat. Instead, the new restaurant will be nearly double in size, opening up 4,600 square feet in space and over 100 seats, according to Kirchner. It will feature beer, wine and a similar menu serviced by Sodexo, but many of the specific menu and design details are still being worked out by a committee of students,

staff and Sodexo representatives.

A stage and student lounge in the restaurant will be separated from the dining area, possibly by furniture, to be used independently, but can also be easily opened up to the entire restaurant.

“The idea is to be as flexible as possible with utilizing the premium space that will be left behind when the bookstore vacates,” Kirchner said.

A patio decorated with planters will extend out toward the Art & Interactive Multimedia building, shortening the small roundabout driveway between the buildings but providing 80 additional seats outdoors.

Just like a swim in the fountain or “riding” the lion mascot outside Roscoe West, a visit to the Rat for a student solo night or a cheap beer is a staple on any student’s College bucket list. After almost 40 years of serving students, it is only a matter of weeks before the Rat finally has last call, dims the lights and locks the door for the final time.

“It was the epicenter of social life back when FaceTime involved being in the same room,” Torres said. “I don’t know whether today’s students will miss it or not. But they will learn, as I did, that you don’t know what you have until it’s gone.”

Remembering the Rat

“Not everyone really ‘gets’ the Rat and what we do, but I don’t think they’re supposed to. We’ve built an entire community for people who want to care, who actually give a shit about music and want to find home on campus in more than their dorm room or the library.”

-Connor Meany, CUBRat co-chair 2015 “The Rat is undoubtedly one of the greatest and most under appreciated gems of TCNJ ... To current and future students: Music is important. Art is important. Expression is important. Community is important. Keep it alive.

On campus. In your classes. In your common areas. In your dorms. In your basements. However you’re going to do it, do it. Don’t be afraid to reach out and be part of something awesome.”

-Matthew Mance, CUBRat co-chair 2013-14, Sound Technician 2011-14 “I really enjoyed working whenever there were shows going on because the atmosphere was always a lot more fun ... getting to know everyone who worked there was a really great experience.”

-Ashley McKenna, server at the Rat, Class of 2017

page 4 The Signal April 29, 2015

Two a cappella groups receive funds for concerts

By Jackie Delaney News Assistant

Kim Iannarone / Photo Assistant

SFB approves the College’s chapter of TWLOA for future funding.

The Student Finance Board met on Wednesday, April 22, to review appropriation requests from two popular a cappella groups on campus, as well as a new club request for a non-profit organization.

The TCNJ Treblemakers requested $133 for the group’s Spring Concert, which will showcase the music arrangements they have learned over the spring semester.

The group will perform a “variety of genres and styles arranged to suit the unique sound of an all-female a cappella ensemble,” according to the proposal packet. The free concert will be held for the first time in Mayo Concert Hall on Saturday, May 9. The event was fully funded by the board.

The TCNJ Chapter of To Write Love On Her Arms requested to be recognized as an SFB-funded club. It is a “non-profit organization that aims to raise awareness about mental health issues, specifically depression, suicide, self-harm and addiction,” the presenters said.

The organization holds fundraises and also has several general body meetings, which

are divided into two categories: light meetings and heavy meetings. Light meetings are for members to get to know each other, while heavy meetings are to discuss mental health issues. Last year, the organization held an event called the “Hope-N-Mic Night.” According to the request form, the event was a “night of expressing hope to the TCNJ community and discussing mental health issues.”

TWLOA was picked up as a club eligible for SAF funding.

Lastly, iTunes A Cappella presented for $361 for their Spring Concert. They will be performing the songs they have learned over the last semester, which include samples of international a cappella music. The concert was fully funded and will take place on Sunday, May 10, in Mayo Concert Hall.

The board also approved the SFB Master Budget. Next week, it will go to the Student Government for endorsement and then to Vice President of Student Affairs Amy Hecht for final approval in May. *Even though SFB agrees to finance certain events, there is no guarantee these events will take place. The approval only makes the funds available.

Breaking down the work of 14th century Italian writers

By Gabrielle Beacken News Assistant

Glenn Steinberg, English Department chair and professor, was puzzled over why Italian author Dante Alighieri put scholar Brunetto Latini in Hell among the sodomites in his epic poem “The Divine Comedy: Inferno.”

Steinberg explained that Latini, a prominent Italian scholar and key figure in Dante’s life, was a proto-humanist — a person who seeks legitimacy from outside sources.

Dante, a notable Italian author of the late Middle Ages, was an autonomous person who sought legitimacy not from aristocrats, but from art and himself.

Placing Latini in Hell in “Inferno” was Dante’s way to oppose some of Latini’s beliefs — Dante used his literary work as a way of taking a diplomatic and societal stance.

Delving into the world of Italian authors and their positions in cultural productions in the Trecento period, a political forum was held on Wednesday, April 11, in the Social Sciences Building, where students and staff were able to analyze the political, gender and social context of 14th century Italian writers.

“Dante was really invested in his position in the field of cultural productions, and if we ignore the position he was taking and what he was responding to, then we kind of ignore … what he was really about,” Steinberg said.

“That’s a bad, bad plan.”

According to professor and Associate Chair of the English Department Jean Graham, it’s significant for students to view that “learning is not limited to the classroom,” and professors here at the College are interested in debating new ideas and theories with one another.

Not looking into the positions and opinions of authors while

reading their works, “you lose any kind of human touch,” Steinberg said. “If you take the literary works out of their context and out of their very human and personal and political concerns … you kind of take away their human quality.”

Steinberg questioned the Trecento period writers’ legitimacy and what positions they took.

“When a writer writes something and puts it out there in the world, that’s definitely taking some kind of position,” Steinberg said.

According to Steinberg, there were five separate groups Trecento literary authors sought legitimacy from: the indocti, who were semi-literate; the litterati, who were highly educated; the aristocrats, with inherited money; the mercantile elites, who gathered their own revenue similar to the aristocrats; and the vernacular litterates, who did not understand Latin. Anyone with an education would’ve known Latin, Steinberg said.

Dante frequently wrote his pieces in the vernacular form, so all people with diverse education could understand his works, including the indocti.

It is suggested that Dante not only wrote for the general public, but that he specifically targeted a female audience, according to Steinberg. Since many of Dante’s poems are not in Latin, women of the time period were able to understand the meanings of his literary works.

Steinberg also emphasized that bas in many Romance languages with gender associated words, the plural, indicating a group of both men and women, will take the male plural. However, Dante used both the masculine and the feminine plural in his works, a rarity for its time in a male-dominated society.

To write love poetry in the vernacular form during the Trecento period was called “Dolce Stil

Kim Iannarone / Photo Assistant

Steinberg says that Dante’s “Inferno” is an interesting piece to dissect.

Novo,” with the English translation, “sweet new style.” Dante, as well as other distinguished Italian authors, comprised the core authors of this new style. A common theme of “Dolce Stil Novo” was writing love poems to the other “gentle hearts,” according to Steinberg.

“What’s important is the gentle heart — not your bloodlines, not your acclaim. It’s something interior that cannot be seen,” Steinberg said. “The gentle heart is far more important.”

It is questioned whether Dante was writing for “real” or “imaginary” women, Steinberg said.

Dante could’ve been pretending to write for women while really writing to other gentle hearts.

“We look at how Dante looks at women, and we understand that he is respondent to both real and imaginary women,” Steinberg said. “We recognize in ourselves that we still sometimes replace real women with imaginary women — that we’re still sometimes writing for that handful picked

audience of men.”

Reading Dante’s work, it can be appreciated how far society has come since the old attitudes men had towards women, Steinberg said.

“I thought there were two ideas that the audience, including students, should take away from Dr. Steinberg’s talk as broadly applicable,” Graham said. “Even something ostensibly created to be ‘art’ or to entertain can be a political statement.”

The second notion students should take away is that Dante’s supposed audience may “not be the intended audience, or at least not the only intended audience,” Graham said.

“If we all bore in mind these two things, we would be more informed and critical consumers of literature, film, music and media,” Graham said.

Being a more informed knower can also help people in better understanding themselves, according to Steinberg.

“By looking at the world in a

different world removed from us in time … someone else’s eyes helps us to see ourselves more critically,” Steinberg said.

In the Trecento period, nobility was viewed as “royal family with the right blood lines,” according to Steinberg. The Mercantile elites viewed nobility has thoughts who are successful by making money and gaining political power.

“What makes me love Dante is that he lives in a time period when people haven’t decided yet what constitutes nobility,” Steinberg said. “Dante seems to have a very, very different view of it all.”

Dante is seeking legitimacy through the autonomous principle because he is writing to not necessarily women, but to others with a gentle heart, just like him, according to Steinberg. “(Dante thought) it’s not about what you accomplish, it’s not about your parentage — it’s about what you are, whether you have a gentle heart or not,” Steinberg said. “I think that’s a really interesting perspective.”

April 29, 2015 The Signal page 5

Muha announces rebranding campaign

By Alyssa Sanford News Assistant A jam-packed general body session on Wednesday, April 22, opened with a presentation about improving the College’s branding strategy, the passage of a new bill and the approval of three oncampus organizations.

The College’s now-famous Spokesman, David Muha, gave a presentation on raising brand awareness at the College to a room full of vocal supporters.

“If you don’t know (Muha), you’re not from TCNJ,” President Matthew Wells said.

Muha, who is part of the Strategic Planning and Resource Committee (SPARC), proposed a new tagline for the College to jumpstart the rebranding process:

“The TCNJ Way.” The tagline, which stemmed from a SPARC meeting on Wednesday, March 4 about the College’s core values, refers to “(defining) excellence the TCNJ way,” which for Muha implies “we do it better, with greater substance” than other colleges and universities.

“It really invites a conversation,” Muha said on how he hopes prospective students will react to the tagline. “What is the TCNJ way?”

A proposed addition to the tagline, which would reinforce the College’s superior academic reputation, is “Higher Education. Only Higher.”

He threw out taglines that are linked to other notable New Jersey public colleges — Rutgers’

Jenn Ren Alford / Staff Photographer

Wells leads the vote for TCNJ’s chapter of NAACP.

“Revolutionary for 250 Years” and Montclair’s “It’s All Here” — to prove that “any of these taglines could really belong to an institution.” Muha’s ultimate goal is to create a “more specific” and meaningful tagline for the College.

According to Muha, a brand is something both “tangible and intangible” that captures “the spirit” of the institution. He cited Princeton University as a model brand, because it is so well-known on a local, national and global level.

Muha also mentioned that the College has had a “difficult time” with branding in the past, a potential reason why “we’re a ‘best-kept secret,’ which is a phrase we all hate.”

“We have pride in who we are,” Muha said. “Is the TCNJ way truly anything distinctive?

I happen to think so.”

Three student organizations presented to the general body after Muha’s presentation: the College’s chapter of NAACP, TCNJ Wellness League and TCNJ American Veterans Club.

The NAACP chapter is in the process of gaining the national organization’s recognition, but it sought SG recognition for Student Finance Board funding and the ability to advertise for events, like the upcoming “All Lives Matter” campaign in Fall 2015.

Night / A tool for healing Working against sexual assault continued from page 1 “Thousands of colleges, domestic violence shelters, race crisis centers have held events all over the country,” said Shannon, WILL’s executive chair and organizer of this year’s march. “So this (event) is one part of a much larger legacy of Take Back The Night.”

For 22 years, the College has taken part in the national initiative to spread awareness for sexual abuse and domestic violence.

Students from all corners of the campus watched this year’s march, as the protesters chanted, “2, 4, 6, 8 … No more date rape,” and “Take back the night, the time is near …

We will not be controlled by fear.”

When the student protesters returned to the AIMM Building Amphitheater, alumna of the College and former WILL e-board member Natalie Serra took the platform and expressed her gratitude for the College continuing the annual march.

“I’m very grateful that you invited me to speak tonight, and I’m grateful that a space like this exists for us,” Serra said to the students.

Dusk quickly filled the skyb and the night turned to be an emotional one, as Serra explained shortly afterward that she was sexually assaulted once while in law school.

“I lost some of the trust I had in people who weren’t there for me like I needed them to be,” she said. “But I actually came back that year to (the College’s) Take Back The Night. I knew that even though I didn’t know the students here anymore since I had graduated, I knew that this space was available as a support network. And ultimately,

that was part of my healing process.”

Students followed Serra’s lead by taking the platform of the amphitheater and sharing their emotional stories. TommiEstefan Granados, a junior self-designed indigenous studies and women’s and gender studies double major, said he was really young when a babysitter violated and took advantage of him.

“I don’t understand it,” Granados said.

“But I keep talking every single year at these events because I just grew up being silent. I was told that my opinion didn’t matter … that I didn’t matter … that I would never be enough for my parents or enough for her. But now I realize I do have a voiceb and I do matter.”

Sophomore English secondary education major Jenna Burke said she learned a very important lesson about her experience.

“On any level from an interaction with a stranger to someone you know, you should never have to be afraid of being in a situation with them — whether it’s the night time or the day time,” Burke said.

“It’s about not having to be afraid of anyone and letting them know that you’re not afraid because you know what consent means to you.”

According to Shannon, Take Back The Night is a way for students to regain ownership of their dignity and to support each other in every step of the way.

“It is a safe space for people to reclaim their right to feel safe, and it’s really important to me because some of the most important people in my life have actually survived sexual assault,” Shannon said.

“So this is probably my favorite WILL event because of that.”

According to the NAACP executive board, it’s an organization for “the advancement of all people who feel like they don’t have a voice.”

TCNJ Wellness League, a coalition of mental health clubs on campus, has been actively meeting with representatives from different mental health organizations on campus since Fall 2013.

The executive board sought recognition from SG for SFB funding and the ability to reserve space and advertise for events. It recently co-sponsored the “Breathe In, Breathe Out” campaign on campus.

Finally, the TCNJ American Veterans Club, which seeks to fundraise for veterans who have suffered physical and emotional trauma, said that it does not plan to seek SFB funding because it will donate 80 percent of its funds to the Wounded Warrior Project and reserve 20 percent of its funds in order to sustain the organization.

The general body voted in favor of recognizing NAACP, Wellness League and TCNJ American Veterans Club as clubs.

Next, Adam Bonnano, vice president of Community Relations, advertised several upcoming events.

The Ewing Township Police

Department will hold an Off-Campus Safety program on Wednesday, May 6, at noon in Roscoe 202 to talk about building better relationships with the Ewing community.

The Senior Sendoff will also be held on Wednesday, May 6, at 9 p.m. in the library auditorium, and will feature a photo slideshow to honor the senior class.

Bonanno also announced a cleanup of Pennington Road with members of the Ewing community on Sunday, May 3, from noon to 3 p.m. It is Community Relations’ goal to make it a “sustainable, long-term” campus-wide service project for years to come.

Javier Nicasio, vice president of Equity and Diversity, talked about his committee’s newlyformed Bias Response Team.

Any interested students are invited to apply to sit on the board, and a “diverse” group of students will fill seats to reflect the campus’s diverse community.

Senior Class Council President Brian Garsh said that between 300 and 400 people are expected to attend the combined senior and junior night out on Cinco de Mayo.

Junior Class President Emily Montagna announced that the class is looking for Commencement volunteers.

page 6 The Signal April 29, 2015

SUMMER AND WINTER SESSIONS

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MAYMESTER: MAY 26–JUNE 12, 2015 SESSION A: JUNE 15–JULY 16, 2015 SESSION B: JULY 20–AUGUST 20, 2015 Travel and blended courses may begin sooner.

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Check for winter courses, too.

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BLOOMBERG BUSINESS WEEK’S #1 UNDERGRADUATE BUSINESS SCHOOL IN NEW JERSEY Questions? Contact George Hefelle at BI@tcnj.edu or 609.771.2540 businessinstitute.tcnj.edu

April 29, 2015 The Signal page 7

Nation & W rld

7.8 earthquake leaves Nepali cities in ruin

By Jessica Ganga Nation & World Editor

A devastating earthquake shook Nepal on Saturday, April 25, causing mass destruction and chaos. The 7.8-magnitude quake was followed by numerous aftershocks the next day, one of which reached a 6.7 magnitude in the country’s capital, Kathmandu, according to MSNBC. The death toll from the earthquake drastically rose to 3,000 on Monday, April 27, and is expected to climb as more bodies are being dug out of the rubble, according to CNN. Among the dead, three were U.S. citizens, a State Department official told CNN. The three citizens were all killed in an avalanche on Mount Everest.

Survivors slept in the open, frigid air following the earthquake, but were at least safe from falling

debris, reported CNN. In Kathmandu, the city went completely black as the power was cut off to save energy.

“The entire city was under darkness,” Christina Berry, a writer for the CNN affiliate, IBM, wrote from Kathmandu. “There was not a single light anywhere. The power supply had been cut off. Our caring hotel manager gave us some food and some candles, too. Me and Alexandra were so scared. We slept in the open verandah of the hotel fearing more quakes in the night.”

According to CNN, the earthquake has caused one of the most scenic regions in the world to become a “panorama of destruction.”

“The journey toward my family home in Sitapaila was a map of quake destruction, with many houses — old and new — torn apart,” freelance journalist Sunir Pandey wrote.

Some of the nation’s most historic pagodas that once stood have now been reduced to rubble.

The worst architectural losses have included the 100-year-old Shiva temple pagoda and its twin, the Narayan temple pagoda, both of which stood in Kathmandu’s main Durbar Square, CNN reported. Some pagodas and temples survived the earthquake and remain standing, like the Sundari Chowk temple.

People have begun digging through the piles of debris and fallen buildings in search of survivors, and some are searching for momentums from their fallen homes. The search for survivors is not an easy one, as many of the villages are accessible only by helicopter, according to USA Today.

International help has begun as well for the country and according to MSNBC, several nations have

AP Photo

A Kathmandu landmark collapses after the earthquake. pledged to send help. The U.S. pledged an initial $1 million in humanitarian aid. On Sunday, April 26, the U.S. sent out a military C-17 Globemaster aircraft carrying 70 personnel that included a response team, journalists and a search-and-rescue team. India, the country’s neighbor from the south, flew over Indian air force planes with 43 tons of relief material.

Among destruction and devastation, there remain stories of hope and survival. People of Kathmandu are banding together to get by with stores shut down and few sources of food and water remaining, according to CNN. Communal kitchens have been set up — ­ not by the government, but rather by the people, CNN producer Ingrid Formanek reported.

Italian authorities fighting back against terrorists

Vatican heightens security after years of terrorist threats.

By Candace Kellner Staff Writer For years now, suspects associated with Al Qaeda have been threatening to attack a range of targets, including the Vatican.

Italian authorities announced Friday, April 24, that they are fighting back and have officially launched a “vast anti-terrorism operation,” according to CNN. Seven Italian

AP Photo

provinces were raided Friday, and some suspects who had been under surveillance for years were taken into custody.

Wiretaps and other intelligence showed that some members of the terrorist group were associated with Osama bin Laden’s network. They had planned to carry out assaults in Afghanistan and Pakistan, in addition to the Vatican attack, according to Caligari Chief Prosecutor Mauro Mura.

Mura told CNN that talk of the Vatican attack took place back in March 2010, around the same time a suspected suicide bomber entered Italy before promptly leaving the state.

According to Italy’s ANSA news agency and Caligari police, a prospective attack may have been prevented thanks to a search of one of the suspected Al Qaeda member’s homes. However, Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi told CNN that he is not convinced that the Vatican plot is relevant today.

“It seems that we are talking about a hypothesis of the year 2010 that didn’t come to fruition,” he said. “So this matter is not relevant today and there is no particular reason for … alarm.”

Italian police forces are confident that their arrests have given logical support for their mass raid. Two of the arrested suspects were found to be supporting members of bin Laden’s network before his death in 2011, according to police. The police also told CNN that some of the suspects were involved in a bombing in Pakistan back in

2009 which killed more than 100 civilians.

The operation conducted by Italian State Police on Friday was what they called a first-of-its-kind operation.

One of the seven raids took place on the island of Sardinia, which is allegedly home to the terrorist cell’s headquarters.

This operation intended to target and arrest 18 people, most of them Pakistani, according to Paolo Meloni, the spokesman for the police in Sassari, Sardinia.

Police said that some of the suspects were heavily armed with weapons and had an abundance of cash on them. They told CNN that one suspect was captured on a flight from Italy to Pakistan with 55,000 euros, or nearly $60,000.

Some of the detainees are suspects believed to have been involved in the 2009 bombing in Pakistan, Meloni told CNN. This attack, which took place in the Pakistani city of Peshawar, caused the death of 137 people and left more than 200 injured. Other suspects are believed to be involved in migrant trafficking, according to Meloni.

Two hostages accidentally killed during US airstrike

By Roman Orsini Staff Writer President Obama announced on Thursday, April 23, that a drone strike against an Al Qaeda compound in Afghanistan this January inadvertently resulted in the deaths of two hostages being held there, one of which was an American.

The intended targets of the drone strike were Al Qaeda leader Ahmed Farouq and senior ranked Adam Gadahn. Farouq was killed in the strike and Gadahn was killed in a separate operation along the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. According to CNN, both men were U.S. citizens at one point. Gadahn was born in Oregon and became an American spokesman for the terrorist group.

The operation was conducted after days of surveilling the area and there was no indication that

hostages were present in the compound. After the strike, however, the intelligence community was able to confirm that the two hostages, Warren Weinstein and Giovanni Lo Porto, were in fact in the compound and killed.

Weinstein was a USAID worker in the region, kidnapped in Pakistan in 2011. Lo Porto was also an Italian aid worker, kidnapped the following year, according to the Guardian.

President Obama made a public apology for the killings.

“As president and as commander in chief, I take full responsibility for all our counterterrorism operations including the one that inadvertently took the lives of Warren and Giovanni,” Obama said in a White House briefing room, CNN reported.

Officials are now investigating the intelligence failure behind the

strike to prevent such miscalculations in future.

In recent years, drone strikes have become a key component of U.S. counterterrorism strategy, particularly in remote areas around Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Their use began under the Bush administration and has been expanded under Obama.

According to a report released by the Guardian, the U.S. has targeted 41 men for assassination by drones, resulting in the deaths of 1,147 people. In spite of the supposed accuracy of these targeted attacks, civilians are often killed in strikes. Faulty or incomplete intelligence prior to drone strikes increases the likelihood for collateral damage or unintended civilian casualties.

“Drone strikes have been sold to the American public on the claim that they’re ‘precise’. But they are

AP Photo

Obama takes full responsibility for hostages’ deaths. only as precise as the intelligence that feeds them,” said Jennifer Gibson, a US lawyer who led a study of drone strikes. “There is nothing precise about intelligence that results in the deaths of 28 unknown people, including women and children, for every ‘bad guy’ the U.S. goes after.”

The rise of civilian casualties

in places like Pakistan undermines the efficacy of drone strikes by worsening America’s reputation in these areas. A study by the Brookings Institution found that drone policy was worsening perceptions of America among more liberal, urban Pakistanis — a group on which the U.S. relies to counter the rise of radical groups.

page 8 The Signal April 29, 2015

THE 2015 STUDENT ACTIVITIES PROGRAMMING AWARDS Student Activities would like to congratulate the following organizations: Outstanding New Program of the Year 2015 "What I Be" Project - Circle of Compassion Outstanding New Program of the Year 2015 Evaluations Methods Workshop - Student New Jersey Education Association Outstanding New Program of the Year 2015 Literacy Across the Curriculum Conference - Kappa Delta Pi Education Honor Society Outstanding Program of the Year 2015 Large-Scale Program - TCNJam - Inter-Greek Council Outstanding Program of the Year 2015 Small-Scale Program - Tackle the Traffick - Project Stay Gold Legacy Program of the Year 2015 Coming Out Monologues - Prism The dedication and contributions of these programs serve to enhance our sense of community and enrich the student experience at TCNJ. We look forward to recognizing our student organizations’ continued programming efforts in 2016!

April 29, 2015 The Signal page 9

Editorial

Changes to Funival met with dissent; students should embrace change

Every TCNJ student knows that along with the stress and sleep deprivation that happens at the end of the semester as we try to finish those final papers and exams, there is always one saving grace before finals start — Funival. Hosted by CUB and Student Government, the end of the year carnival held at the College presents itself as an evening of fun fair rides, games, food and entertainment.

However, this year’s announcement of activities to be offered has come with some controversy.

This year, CUB has announced that among the usual rides and games presented at Funival there will be a one ring circus and a globe of death motorcycle show instead of a concert or fireworks display, as in past years. Additionally, there will be no ferris wheel at this year’s event. Many students have become disgruntled with this announcement, taking to the event page to question CUB’s decision.

It is obviously impossible to please everyone when organizing such large-scale events, but students have been especially harsh critics this year. Many have complained about the lack of an outdoor concert because it was the event they looked forward to the most in the past. CUB has explained that they have tried to create a variety of events to change up the expected list of activities and keep things fresh and new. They also stated that an outdoor concert was still being hosted with Ratfest — it was just not occurring on the same day as Funival.

I always try to keep an open mind, even when things don’t go the way I wanted them to or how I expected. If I automatically assume I am going to hate something because one small part is different, than I’m just setting myself to have a lousy time.

Although this year’s event lineup may be different from what it has been in the past, I am sure that Funival will be just as fun as it has been in previous years. If the same rides, activities, games and entertainment were offered each year, the repetition would make Funival boring and predictable.

I believe CUB is doing its best to put on the greatest Funival event they possibly can. I can understand the disappointment of not getting what was expected. After all, a circus is not the same as a concert performance. But change can be a good thing, and you may find yourself having more fun watching a fire breather than crowding around a stage.

— Olivia Rizzo Web Editor

Editorial Content Unsigned editorial opinions are those of the Editorial Board, which consists of the Editor-in-Chief, the Managing, News, Features, Arts & Entertainment, Opinions, Photo and Sports editors and the Business Manager, unless otherwise noted.

Opinions expressed in signed editorials and letters to the editor are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Signal.

Michael Cort / Staff Photographer

CUB has announced several changes to Funival, including the addition of a one-ring circus and motorcycle show in place of the traditional concert and fireworks display.

Correction tcnjsignal.net Email: signal@tcnj.edu Telephone: Production Room (609) 771-2424 Business Office (609) 771-2499 Ad Email: signalad@tcnj.edu

Editorial Staff Tom Kozlowski Editor-in-Chief kozlowt1@tcnj.edu Julie Kayzerman Managing Editor kayzerj1@tcnj.edu Colleen Murphy Sydney Shaw News Editors murphc16@tcnj.edu shaws4@tcnj.edu Matt Bowker Sports Editor bowkerm1@tcnj.edu Jonathan Edmondson Arts & Entertainment Editor edmondj5@tcnj.edu Kimberly Ilkowski Features Editor ilkowsk1@tcnj.edu Ellie Schuckman Opinions Editor schucke1@tcnj.edu Samantha Selikoff Photo Editor selikos1@tcnj.edu Jessica Ganga Nation & World Editor gangaj1@tcnj.edu Mackenzie Cutruzzula Review Editor cutruzm1@tcnj.edu

Mailing Address: The Signal c/o Brower Student Center The College of New Jersey P.O. Box 7718 Ewing, NJ 08628-0718 Chelsea LoCascio Production Manager locascc1@tcnj.edu Olivia Rizzo Web Editor rizzoo1@tcnj.edu Mylin Batipps Social Media Editor battipm1@tcnj.edu Gabrielle Beacken News Assistant beackeg1@tcnj.edu Alyssa Sanford News Assistant sanfora1@tcnj.edu Jackie Delaney News Assistant delanej2@tcnj.edu Michael Battista Sports Assistant battism3@tcnj.edu Elise Schoening Features Assistant schoene1@tcnj.edu Emilie Lounsberry Advisor lounsber@tcnj.edu Courtney Wirths Business/Ad Manager wirthsc1@tcnj.edu

In the article “The daily struggles of adjunct profs” published on April 22, 2015, it was incorrectly suggested that adjunct faculty earn $1,300 per course. The correct figure is $1300 per “faculty weighted hour,” in which a standard course is worth three fwh. In addition, the rate at the College is 14.3 percent higher than other institutions, bringing the figure to approximately $1484 per fwh.

Quote of the Week “The Rat has made me feel like I belonged somewhere, like I had another place I could call home.”

— Matthew Mance, Class of 2014, former CubRat co-director

“I’m proud to be bald. I raised $135 to shave my head, and I’m glad it also helps raise awareness.”

— Levi Klinger-Christiansen, Sophomore brother of Phi Alpha Delta fraternity

page 10 The Signal April 29, 2015

Blue and Gold Hall of Fame The Division of Student Affairs would like to congratulate the following students on being inducted into the 2015 Blue and Gold Hall of Fame.

Edward Bannister-Holmes Michael Chiumento Christopher Davis Kara Kettelkamp Susan Knox Michelle Leao Stephanie Menakis Christopher Minitelli Kevin Mount Michelle Nitti Erin Shannon Kaitlin West Thank you for your exceptional leadership, dedication, and contributions to The College of New Jersey.

April 29, 2015 The Signal page 11

Opinions

Public education system severely flawed

Time for politicians to stay out of teacher’s affairs

AP Photo

Duncan says high testing opt-out rates may lead to federal interference.

By Ellie Schuckman Opinions Editor For all of us here at the College, education is what got us to this point in our lives. For many, public education in particular is what we’ve all known since kindergarten. We’ve grown up learning from teachers who were once students, and we’ve sat in desks for hours on end waiting for the saving grace of the dismissal bell to ring. We’ve all aspired to be something, whether it’d be an astronaut, rockstar, police officer, doctor or even a teacher. However, with a rise in standardized testing, many have come to loathe the current education system, and some are now even opposed to becoming teachers at all.

This is wrong.

Education should be a form of expression for individuals, where they can learn and grow in an environment which does not force them to feel pressure to pass a test, but rather pressure to succeed to the best of their ability. Tests which

inaccurately depict what students learn in the classroom should not judge an individual’s intelligence or negatively impact their learning.

The current education system has become flawed — with politicians who have no experience in classrooms crafting laws and passing legislation, barking orders and telling teachers how to do their job.

The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) testing is a prime example.

From its commencement in midFebruary, there has been strong backlash from parents, students and teachers alike regarding the true nature of the test. A part of the Common Core standards — goals set by government officials to regulate standards in English and mathematics across different states — students are now required to pass these strictly online tests.

Inability to do so may result in penalties for teachers and could eventually negatively impact the students themselves.

In the meantime, teachers are slowly

being forced to teach how to take a test instead of helping their students truly understand the material. While there needs to be some way to judge how well a teacher can do the job, basing his or her ability off of student test scores is not the answer. Some individuals simply have difficulty grasping concepts, to no fault of their educator.

Outraged when the tests first began, some students opted out of taking it, sending politicians, who fought to implement the new exams into a rage.

New Jersey Education Commissioner David Hespe stated last week that districts which have less than 95 percent of their students take the exams may start to lose state funding, according to nj.com.

Under the federal No Child left Behind law, public schools are required to have at least 95 percent participation in annual state tests. However, New Jersey schools have not lost federal funding for lack of participation in the past.

According to the U.S. Education Secretary, Arne Duncan, the federal government is required to intervene if states do not respond to the opt-outs.

Nearly 15 percent of high school juniors in the Garden State refused to take PARCC, according to nj.com.

Instead of cutting funding and worrying about the number of students taking the tests, these political figures should be questioning, “why?”

Why are students and parents so against taking the tests? Why is there so much backlash? Why are the teachers unhappy?

Our education system has become so intertwined with politics and people who have no idea what it takes for students to actually succeed and what struggles

teachers face on a regular basis that the entire point of having federal regulations has missed the mark.

Whatever happened to students learning basic math and grammar skills in simple fashion? Why must teachers have to follow such strict guidelines through the Common Core instead of diverting from the plan to benefit individual student needs?

Politicians don’t appear to see that what they are doing is negatively affecting us, the students, the ones they swore to help.

According to a survey by the Condition of Future Educators, just 5 percent of the 1.85 million students who took the ACTs in 2014 now want to pursue a degree in education.

This is an all-time low, down from the previous record of 7 percent set in 2010.

While this may not be an accurate number of those who wish to teach, it still shows a decreasing interest in the profession. From the outside, teachers are often viewed as either lazy, only working from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. while relaxing for several months off over the summer, or as having a job with low pay and highstress. In reality, teachers devote countless hours outside of the classroom to their students all year round, while spending their personal money to provide students with necessary instruments to succeed, all because they want the best for them.

Either way, with their pay possibly now being judged on how well their students perform on tests which have not much to do with the material they are learning in school, students do not wish to do as our teachers once did and aspire to become an educator.

This is only hurting the future of our world, and teachers should not be the ones at fault. That blame is left to the politicians.

Rise of social media may lead to loss of ‘people skills’

By Kelly Corbett

As a society, we adore social media. Whether we’re double tapping pictures on Instagram, retweeting tweets on Twitter or commenting on statuses on Facebook, checking social media has become a daily ritual for us millennials. We face dilemmas such as, “What filter should I put on my selfie?” or struggle with composing a brilliant tweet in only 140 characters or less.

While social media also allows us to interact with our friends and sometimes even complete strangers, have we become too reliant on it? Have we compensated the value of actually having face-to-face conversations with others, for sending messages to individuals and reading posts from behind our iPhone and laptop screens?

The answer is yes, and while our virtual self may seem to have their communication skills in check, does our actual self?

While social media has made communication simpler, it has also allowed us to avoid actual human interaction. In 2015, if we need to talk to someone, why go see them in person when you can just send them a quick message online? We are relying more on our fingers gliding across our phone screen to type a message rather than using our actual people skills to go out and approach a set person. While we are

learning valuable social media skills, we are forgetting social skills. We will not always have the comfort of being able to hide behind a keyboard and screen in life. Although you may be a Twitter fiend now, do you have the communication skills to make connections with others and master an interview after college?

Besides making the ability to get in contact with someone a breeze, social media also allows us to find information in a much easier fashion. While this may seem helpful, it can be distracting.

Why engage in conversation with someone when you can probably learn a chunk about their life just by their tweets on Twitter? Why read all the flyers posted on the bulletin board when you can just look at events on Facebook? Why write down a time, place and location of an event when you can just check it online?

We have compromised our actual human skills for convenience. You can just check the Facebook page later, and chances are while you’re scrolling through that page, you’ll get a notification or maybe someone will chat you. You’ll get sucked into wasting time on social media, typing messages to your friends, instead of typing paragraphs for your term paper.

We put so much confidence into these social media platforms that if the internet were ever down, or our phones malfunctioned, we would miss out on life

Many are distracted by virtual worlds.

AP Photo

because we refuse to take in information other than through the Internet.

Without social media, we’d be forced to approach people in person and learn information about others and events through actual, real-world interaction. We may have a strong presence online with a funny Twitter account or an artsy Instagram collection, but at the end of the day, it’s who you are behind the screen that has to succeed in life.

Social media has convenienced us in numerous ways, but do not let it put a handicap on your people skills. Don’t rely on social media for everything, rely on yourself first and social media as a backup.

Policies The Signal is published weekly during the academic year and is financed by the Student Activities Fee (SAF) and advertising revenue. Any student may submit articles to The Signal. Publication of submitted articles is at the discretion of the editors.

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page 12 The Signal April 29, 2015

Features

Advocating for body positivity and self-love ‘#Proud2BMe’ campaign launches at the College

Samantha Selikoff / Photo Editor

Left: Beloved Eickhoff Hall worker Eve Cruz poses for the weeklong campaign. Right: Students display what they’re passionate about.

By Elise Schoening Features Assistant The College community came together last week to advocate for bodypositivity and self-love. Students and staff members alike took time out of their days to share empowering photos of themselves and of others who inspire them, for the College’s “Proud2BMe” campaign that ran from Monday, April 20, to Friday, April 24.

“We’re trying to help people realize that everyone has something to be proud of and to build up the confidence within,” said Samantha Selikoff, a sophomore elementary education and STEM major and photo editor of The Signal.

The five-day challenge consisted of various photo challenges meant to inspire students and create a more positive environment on campus. On the first day, students were encouraged to

post a filter-free selfie to social media and appreciate their natural beauty. The second day involved posting a photo captioned “today is beautiful because of you” and tagging a friend in the challenge. Other daily challenges included posting photos of one’s passions, inspirations and sources of confidence.

The entire College community rallied behind “Proud2BMe,” which quickly spread from students to faculty. The Campus Town staff, as well as College spokesman David Muha and beloved Eickhoff worker Eve Cruz participated in the campaign.

This is the first year the College has participated in the campaign, but it will certainly not be the last. According to Selikoff, “Proud2BMe” was started just last year by California State University, Northridge. It is now being led by NEDA, the National Eating Disorder Association.

The weeklong social media campaign focused on self-confidence or the lack

thereof among college students today. A large number of men and women today struggle with negative body image and poor self-esteem, which can lead to the development of eating disorders.

After hearing the powerful stories her peers had to share, Selikoff wrote to NEDA and began corresponding with Emma Shakarsky, an outreach coordinator. Shakarsky suggested Selikoff bring the “Proud2BMe” campaign at the College.

“That’s why we’ve launched ‘Proud2BMe’ on campus, a national initiative to bring students, faculty, and campus services together in the fight against eating disorders,” said Shakarsky on her blog for NEDA. “We know with early detection, intervention and awareness, we can make a difference.”

“People don’t really realize that eating disorders affect all different people, not just girls,” Selikoff said. “So we’re trying to raise awareness of that.”

Selikoff worked closely with the Counseling and Psychological Services on campus to organize and promote the campaign at the College. Although the campaign was created by NEDA, “Proud2BMe” aims to promote greater self-esteem in all members of the college community, not just those struggling with eating disorders. Everyone is encouraged to participate, celebrate their strengths and pass the positivity onto others.

At the end of the week, Selikoff said she had taken over 500 photographs, which has been compiled into a video.

The video will be sent to NEDA and may be used to promote the campaign next year.

“The biggest reason I did this was just to spread confidence,” Selikoff said. “Never forget that even if you’re having a bad day, there’s always something to be proud of, and don’t let something small take that away from you.”

Earth Week encourages sustainable lifestyles

Photo courtesy of Danielle Leng

Water Watch advertises throughout campus with chalk.

By Chris Drabik Staff Writer

The College held its annual Earth Week, a five-day long series offering various events related to Water Watch, the College’s environmental club, and its continuous efforts to enhance the campus community from Monday, April 20 to Friday, April 24.

Students had the opportunity to attend professor panels on climate change as well as view a screening of a documentary

featuring climate change deniers in American politics called “Greedy Lying Bastards.” The week also included a massive, campus-wide clean-up where students could volunteer to do their part to make campus a more beautiful place.

As Water Watch’s major event of the semester, Earth Week is extremely important for delivering their message while helping the community.

“The goal of Earth Week 2015 was two part ­ — to encourage

more sustainable lifestyles and initiatives on campus while also advertising Water Watch to increase our membership,” said Jason Hammer, a senior health and environmental sociology major and Water Watch president.

The organization strived to create a balance between fun and energetic activities to go along with enlightening discussions that could attract both passionate environmentalists and ordinary students.

“After being in the organization since signing up at the student activities fair my freshman year, I came into senior year as president wanting to completely revamp Earth Week,” Hammer said. “This did not only mean changing our small activities to large events, but also focusing on making the week more meaningful.”

To complete this mission, Water Watch joined forces with other organizations on campus, which not only helped more students to get involved but also helped the club gain a

name for themselves.

“For any club, it is extremely difficult to gain new members, but I felt that Water Watch needed to prove this year that we are a legitimate organization, and we needed to get our name out there,” Hammer said. “To do this, the best strategy I saw was to connect with other clubs and people on campus, in order to get the help we needed to have a consistent week of events and to increase the school’s awareness of our organization.”

After a very informative Earth

Week 2015, Water Watch is eagerly looking to the future.

Eric Mauro, a junior electrical engineering major and the club’s current vice president, has his own vision for the future of Water Watch when he takes over the position of president next semester. He intends to keep the same work ethic of those who made Earth Week 2015 such a resounding success.

“Just seeing it all come together, all of these people getting involved, that’s what it’s all about,” Mauro said.

Photo courtesy of Jason Hammer

Students view a film on climate change deniers in politics.

April 29, 2015 The Signal page 13

:May 1995

‘Take Back the Night’

Kimberly Ilkowski / Features Editor

The Women’s Center president rallies the crowd in the featured photo.

By Kimberly Ilkowski Features Editor

Following this week’s 22nd annual “Take Back the Night” peaceful protest, it was eye-opening to read coverage on the second year the event was held in 1995. Assistant Features Editor Brian Hershberg wrote a poignant piece on the event in the May 2, 1995 issue of The Signal showing that with the passing of time, these issues still remain prevalent in our society.

“A night of empowerment,” A.J. Tschupp, president of the Women’s Center, called the second annual “Take Back the Night” last Thursday, April 27.

Tschupp also pointed out that by mixing around the letters of “empowerment” you can spell “women” and “temper.”

Women and temper were two things the rally was really about.

Twenty-one years ago a college woman was assaulted, and when she reported the incident to the police, the officer simply replied, “Why were you walking alone at night?”

So, in an effort to “end the victimblaming mentality,” the Women’s Center sponsored “Take Back the Night” to make it safe for people to walk freely at night

The

without fear of violence.

Scheduled for the evening were speakers, a march, an “open mic” session and a women’s art show.

Beginning at 8 p.m. on the Green Hall steps, the highly supportive audience of approximately 250 women and men listened and cheered as six speakers fired up the crowd with their definitions of what “Take Back the Night” truly meant to them.

Dr. Juneau Gary, director of Psychological Counseling Services, and Dr. Susan Boughn, professor of nursing, prepared the crowd for the stories of violence that would be narrated during the event.

Gary spoke about the prevention of violence and after-effects. “In April 1996 there will be no need to ‘take back the night’ because we will already have it.”

Boughn backed up Gary by defining “violence against women.” Boughn then told the crowd how to avoid violence and to spread the message that it truly does occur.

The third speaker, Linda Bowker, director of the New Jersey Division of Women, began by speaking about the recent Oklahoma City bombing and how that is an obvious instance of violence.

“People understand obvious violence,

Campus Style

By Heather Hawkes Columnist LBD: noun; a commonly used acronym in the fashion world to refer to a “little black dress.”

The LBD may just be three letters, but it possesses the versatility of a chameleon and the fashion cred of Coco Chanel. Perfect for the chic college student on a budget, the little black dress can give you a different look from Monday through Sunday without breaking the bank.

Here’s how: Monday: Keep Monday cool and casual with your LBD and a cute fitted denim jacket, accompanied by a patterned scarf to give the look a bit more dimension. Pair this with short ankle boots, and you’re ready to take on the week!

Tuesday: Channel your inner business woman on Tuesday and give your LBD a little bit of a professional flare by throwing on a sleek blazer and simple statement necklace. Slip on a pair of pointed flats to keep the look sleek and posh.

Wednesday: Get through hump day by going for a more laid-back look and throwing a neutral pullover sweater over your LBD. Balance out the comfort by adding a simple gold watch and animal print espadrille flats.

Thursday: Don’t be afraid to mix things up and throw a fitted quarter sleeve shirt underneath your LBD to craft a layering effect that adds a little bit of playfulness to your ensemble.

Top off the look with combat boots or simple heeled ankle booties for a more refined look. but not always violence against women,” she said. Bowker also said that if you don’t stop violence against women because it is wrong, do it for other reasons such as the fact that “it costs money.”

Bowker closer her enthusiastically received speech by quoting Margaret Meade: “Never doubt that a small group of dedicated people can bring about change —

AP Photo

Emma Watson rocks an LBD.

Friday: It’s time to celebrate the weekend and add a little edginess to your ensemble. Accompany your LBD with a leather jacket and wedge boots for a night out on the town.

Saturday: Make your statement on Saturday by wearing nothing but your LBD. Keep it simple and elegant with hair pulled back and minimal jewelry.

Sunday: Make your LBD a part of your “Sunday’s Best” by using a neutral colored flat scarf as a shawl or slipping on a sheer kimono with a cute pair of neutral, color-blocked strappy sandals. they can.”

With the crowd ready to go out and spread its message, the fourth speaker, Dr. Adam Knobler, assistant professor of history, opened by saying, “The empowerment of women is empowering for everybody.”

Evoking a huge crowd response, Knobler closed by saying, “Mark my words, violence will touch your friends.”

Hollyword: Paris Hilton’s heartbreak

By Johnanthony Alaimo Columnist

In news I thought happened eight years ago, Paris Hilton’s beloved chihuahua has passed away along with my ability to spell “chihuahua.” When I first heard the news that Tinkerbell was no longer with us, I immediately thought a drag queen

had died. I had to be corrected and was informed it was in fact Paris’s former four-legged best friend (not to be confused with Kim Kardashian). How exactly did Tinkerbell meet her maker, you ask? Well, it wasn’t from crossing the street to buy Paris’s album from the discount bin at Wal-Mart as plenty of others have. Rather, Tinkerbell simply

Hilton’s beloved chihuahua is no longer with us.

AP Photo

died of old age. As Paris wrote on her Instagram, “After 14 amazing years together my baby Tinkerbell has passed away…”

R.I.P. Tinky. You’ll live forever in our hearts as well as in my “Simple Life” DVD collection.

Beloved ’90s sitcom “Full House” is being revived for another stint on Netflix. Because we cannot stand to let things fade away and everything must be brought back, (I’m looking forward to “Tinkerbell on Ice”) the entire cast seems to be in negotiations to return to star in “Fuller House.” But I don’t want a halfassed comeback. I want the house to be seriously full. Like BURSTING AT THE SEAMS. The entire first season’s story arc needs to revolve around the house being way too crowded and the family deciding who needs to get axed (the Olsen twin clones will be the first to go). Whether or not the Olsen twins will actually be involved is a mystery. I think they’re both content with their day jobs of being mistaken for mannequins.

AP Photo

Candace Cameron Bure is set to reprise her role as D.J.

Did you download Tidal? Of course you didn’t! Do you even remember what it is? Of course not! Because unless you like BURNING MONEY you would never download such an app, and that’s what most Americans are doing. Tidal, the music app where you pay twice the amount

of money for music streaming just so Jay-Z can have that filet mignon tonight, is the 50th most downloaded music app on iTunes. For comparison, Spotify is No. 34 and Pandora is No. 7. Oops! It’s OK, Jay-Z. Sometimes people fail at things.

Stars, they’re just like us!

page 14 The Signal April 29, 2015

Arts & Entertainment

Paramore / Grammy-winners start a ‘Riot!’ on campus

Kimberly Ilkowski / Features Editor

Left: The Wonder Years warm up the crowd with contagious energy. Right: Williams provides soaring vocals during Paramore’s two-hour set. continued from page 1 Paramore into the hearts and minds of teens everywhere.

July will mark the 10th anniversary of the release of Paramore’s debut album “All We Know Is Falling,” yet it’s clear Williams has only gotten better with age. Her stage presence is unprecedented, and her connection with the fans was clear during her many moments of personal storytelling between songs.

The show at the College marked the band’s third concert of the year and one that begins the final tour in support of their self-titled album, released in the spring of 2013.

The album, which was certified gold and produced the hit singles “Ain’t It Fun” and “Still Into You,” was the first full-length release for the band following the controversial departure of long-time members Josh and Zac Farro in 2010.

The band’s official lineup now includes Williams on lead vocals, Taylor York on lead guitar and background vocals and Jeremy Davis on bass.

Whether it was Williams’s 100watt smile or the intricate lighting that graced the stage, featuring old-fashion spotlights and dangling light bulbs, the band dazzled the crowd throughout the evening.

A large part of Paramore’s allure undoubtedly stems from their frontwoman, whose voice seemingly transcends genre. This range was evident as Williams went from belting “Twilight”-inspired rock ballad “Decode” to sweetly harmonizing to an acoustic lovejam “The Only Exception.”

This switch in tone ignited diverse responses from the audience, but whether they were moshing or swaying, the packed crowd was loving every second of the band’s performance.

Die-hard Paramore fans were treated to lesser-played jams such as “I Caught Myself” and “(One Of Those) Crazy Girls.” Both songs were met with enthusiastic responses from the crowd.

Earlier this year Paramore won a Grammy for Best Rock Song with “Ain’t It Fun,” yet the band remains humble and appreciative of

their hardcore fanbase. Throughout the night, Williams interacted with the crowd and thanked them for their relentless support.

Before Paramore hit the stage, Philly-based, pop-punk band The Wonder Years came out swinging for an epic opening set that energized those who weren’t previously familiar with the band. The band is comprised of Dan “Soupy” Campbell on vocals, Matt Brasch and Casey Cavaliere on guitar, Mike Kennedy on drums, Josh Martin on bass and Nick Steinborn on keyboard. The guys played songs from their entire discography, including “There, There” and “Passing Through a Screen Door” from their latest studio album “The Greatest Generation.”

Campbell led the performance by romping around the stage, swinging the microphone and yelling lyrics such as, “cigarette smoke dances in the window / and I can see the haze on the dome light / I’m conjuring ghosts on a fortyhour ride home,” which highlighted the band’s palpable emotions and clearly demonstrated their

commitment to storytelling.

Paramore also focused on intimate storytelling during the acoustic set of their performance, where Williams was able to pour her heart out during songs like “Misguided Ghosts.”

And although Paramore hits such as “Crushcrushcrush” and “Brick By Boring Brick” were omitted from their setlist, the band was able to infuse much of their material into their impressive two-hour performance.

Per usual, Williams invited a member of the crowd onstage to sing the end of “Misery Business” with her. The lucky audience member, Michelle, was decked out in head-to-toe Paramore merchandise and took the stage with a confident swagger.

Williams handed Michelle her own microphone as the two sang the chorus, but not before snagging a quick selfie together.

The band capped their set with “Ain’t It Fun,” which had everyone in the audience jumping and belting their hearts out.

With a quick “goodnight!”

Williams and the band left the stage, causing the audience to begin shouting, “one more song.”

After a brief respite, the cylinder lights scattered around the stage began to light up one-by-one in the darkness. As the stage started to illuminate, the crowd broke out into wild cheers for “Future.” For those unfamiliar with the song, it came as a surprise that the band would wrap up the night with a quiet, acoustic track. Yet Williams’s haunting wails transitioned into an epic, six-minute outro with pulsating bass-lines, gritty guitars and thundering drums accompanied by a spectacular light show, washing the audience in rainbow colors.

With one final bow, the band quickly exited the stage as the lights slowly dimmed and the audience broke out into wild cheers.

Paramore, a band started by a couple of teenagers from Franklin, Tenn., has been through a lot over their expansive 10-year career. Yet the trio seems to have finally found a solid ground to stand upon, building a legacy brick by not-so-boring brick.

Brown Bag discusses public and private art

By Priyanka Navani Correspondent

“So that’s not a picture?”

This was the question that candidly articulated what many audience members were thinking: The profound detail and life found in Phillip Adams’s art made his paintings almost indistinguishable from photographs.

Adams, an international artist whose work is widely displayed in his home base of Philadelphia, presented his most favorited pieces to a wide-eyed audience of art enthusiasts and critics alike in Mayo Concert Hall on Friday, April 24.

His pieces, which, Adams admitted “some will not understand,” have been featured at Arcadia University, Moore College of Art, Institute of Contemporary Art and Bridgette Meyer Gallery, among others.

However, though certainly prominent in the world of gallery art with a noteworthy and enviable reputation, it is his public art that has everybody buzzing.

His public pieces are meant to bring about community awareness to a variety

Photo courtesy of Hubert Hsu

Adams hopes to capture a sense of community in his artwork. of topics including war, autism and climate and social change.

“I liked that he’s actually trying to make a difference with his art,” said attendee Rosemary Nivar, a freshman engineering major with a concentration in social justice.

From murals in Montreal to panoramic street art in Trenton, it is Adams’s hope

that his work will also help to capture the “atmosphere (and) physicality of the whole community.”

In 2009, he painted President Barack Obama riding a wave in a photo entitled Spring Break, which was made as a “release from our turbulent times,” according to a press release.

“Often we think of art as decorative,

but that is far from (its) capacity,” Adams said.

With an obvious passion for the topics he so skillfully illustrates, Adams was eager to share his journey and advice with potential future artists.

Having never taken an art class in high school, Adams entered the University of Georgia without the slightest idea that his future would be filled with such color.

He always had a knack for drawing and was the editor of his high school yearbook, but did not put the skills together until his friend suggested he take a class in art.

He now encourages students to explore their own abilities, find what makes them come alive and develop a well-rounded perspective in that area.

According to Adams, regardless of which path one chooses to take, “you still have to find a bit of joy, playfulness.”

His last recommendation was one fit for all in this graduation season.

“Ask yourself if your journey will take you somewhere that you want to stay,” he said.

April 29, 2015 The Signal page 15

Roxey aims to bring the jungle to Kendall Hall Company rehearses ‘Jungle Book’ ballet ‘Mowgli’

‘Mowgli’ features both amateur and professional dancers.

Roxey said.

The ballet features 65 dancers of all ages, ranging from amateurs to professionals. The performers were cast after an intensive audition, Roxey explained, and most of the cast trains at the Mill Ballet Studio or in the surrounding area.

Some highlights from the group include Young Mowgli, played by Julien Erickson, a boy full of wild energy and wide-eyed curiosity. During the rehearsal he bounced around the studio, interacting with dancers of all ages.

The cast also includes Tara Seymour as Bageera and Kristen Smith as Baloo. Both of the women are phenomenal dancers who are showcased throughout the ballet in featured numbers.

In addition to impressive choreography, Roxey focuses on making sure his dancers truly tell the story behind the ballet. The dancers send intensive time

“Fix your hands!”

“Watch your toes!”

“You’re a monkey — act like one!”

These exclamations and many more can be heard ringing throughout the dance studio at the Mill Ballet School in Lambertville, N.J. every weekend. It’s where Mark Roxey, founder and artistic director of The Roxey Ballet Company, can be found giving notes to a slew of cast members, ranging from little girls in tutus to professional dancers soaring across the rehearsal space.

The company is currently in rehearsal for their spring production of “Mowgli: The Jungle Book Ballet.” The ballet, which features original music by Czech composer Milan Svoboda, has original choreography from Roxey.

Erickson plays a young Mowgli with wild energy.

Jonathan Edmondson / Arts & Entertainment Editor

By Jonathan Edmondson Arts & Entertainment Editor

The choreographer received the music from a friend years ago. He kept it aside until recently, when he decided to dust it off and see what he could make of it.

The original production of “Mowgli” was over three hours long. For Roxey’s purposes, he condensed the show into an hour-long, family-friendly production.

“The story begins with Mowgli as a young boy and we follow him as he grows older,” Roxey explained during a rehearsal of the production in the Lambertville studio.

Born in the jungle, Mowgli has to navigate life on his own. Along the way he encounters both friends and enemies, including snakes, wolf cubs and bees.

As the ballet progresses, Mowgli gets the courage to fight his enemies and protect those he loves.

“The show is all about facing your fears and discovering who you are,”

practicing facial expressions and theatrical gestures in addition to complicated dance moves.

Still, Roxey always likes to leave the audience in a little suspense, which he notes is where the fun lies in a whimsical ballet such as this one.

“There’s a lot of wit in having the audience not really sure what’s going to happen,” Roxey said, teasing the suspenseful ending to the ballet.

By the end of the rehearsal, the dancers were exhausted but happy, eager for an audience in the weeks to come.

During a round of notes, Roxey provided the company with constructive criticism to make the moves sharper and the facial expressions bigger.

The show, which is open to the public, will be presented with full costume, set and light design in Kendall Hall on Saturday, May 2, at 2 p.m.

Jonathan Edmondson / Arts & Entertainment Editor

Modest Mouse’s latest album is a shallow effort

By Brandon Agalaba Correspondent Modest Mouse released their sixth album “Strangers to Ourselves” in March 2015 after an eight-year gap from 2007’s “We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank.” Modest Mouse have changed their sound from their fourth album “Good News For People Who Love Bad News.”

They’ve allowed the songs to became more accessible and less challenging than those in the early days while sacrificing the aspects that made Modest Mouse who they are. “Strangers to Ourselves” is thus a disappointing showing from the band because it follows this downward trend.

Isaac Brock’s vocals, which were part of what made Modest Mouse so unique, seemed too generic on this latest album. On previous records such as “The Lonesome Crowded West” and “The Moon & Antarctica,” Brock sang in a rough, nasal but compelling style that complemented the music that backed him.

However, ever since 2004’s “Good News,” he went for more a more conventional, smoother style akin to a generic, indie-rock singer.

Brock continues this trend on “Strangers to Ourselves,” and it winds up decreasing the overall quality of the album greatly.

Even though his vocals are less

AP Photo

‘Strangers to Ourselves’ features a slew of banal tunes and unenergetic production.

challenging and more overtly melodic, they wind up sounding nondescript and mediocre. The emotional nuances and outright intensity that his vocals had on Modest Mouse’s earlier albums have virtually disappeared on this album, and they make the songs less energetic, less impactful and ultimately forgettable.

Brock’s vocals aren’t bad on a technical level, but they add little to the songs, and they make the listener wonder what happened to the old Brock.

The songs themselves are decent — they have good instrumentation, diversity and go through various moods and feelings. But the songwriting comes up flat. “The Ground Walks, with Time in a Box” is

a funky number with a groovy bassline and solid guitar work, and the title track of “Strangers to Ourselves” opens the album in a nice, operatic way. However, the real problems come with how the songs are actually constructed.

The song structures are OK, but they’re uninteresting and not as creative as on Modest Mouse’s earlier albums. The melodies are boring, the emotion is lacking and the songs are quite forgettable. In general, the songs are passable, but they lack substance and wind up sounding boring most of the time.

Modest Mouse has always had a tendency (or flaw, depending on who you ask) to make lengthy albums that take the listener on a journey through Brock’s thoughts

on the nature of life. For example, “The Lonesome Crowded West” and “The Moon & Antarctica” are musical adventures that run for more than an hour. “Good News” is Modest Mouse’s shortest album so far, and it still has a length of nearly 50 minutes.

However, the length of “Strangers to Ourselves” makes things worse instead of better. The album itself isn’t very impressive in the first place, and the length makes it even clearer that the album lacks memorable songs.

“Strangers to Ourselves” runs for nearly an hour, which makes the flaws even more apparent. Instead of being a concise product that runs for 30 to 40 minutes, “Strangers to Ourselves” drags,

and it has too much filler. The length will make the listener wonder when the album will end, and the listener will also wonder why Modest Mouse can’t make their albums easier to listen to.

In contrast, though, the production is solid. The album has a nice, clean sound that is polished and radio-friendly. Everything is crystal clear, and the songs ring with life and energy. The instruments are produced well, and nothing overpowers anything else in “Strangers to Ourselves.” The songs are also littered with instruments and sounds beyond the usual guitar, bass and drums, which gives the songs more layers.

The production initially makes the album more bearable, because the cleanliness of the album manages to hide the flaws of the songs at the beginning.

However, the lack of energy in the songs causes the production to worsen in some ways.

In general, the album may be mediocre, but it is a disappointment in comparison. It basically confirms Modest Mouse has comfortably settled into being a generic, indie-rock band. The intelligent, diverse, thoughtful and surprising Modest Mouse that fans knew from 1996 to 2000 has virtually disappeared at this point, and it won’t come back for a long time.

page 16 The Signal April 29, 2015

TCNJ Business Institute for Non-Business Majors Summer 2015

KNOWLEDGE • SKILLS • PERSPECTIVES Earn eight credits while you learn from TCNJ School of Business Faculty and Visiting Business Executives

BLOOMBERG BUSINESS WEEK’S #1 UNDERGRADUATE BUSINESS SCHOOL IN NEW JERSEY Questions? Contact George Hefelle at BI@tcnj.edu or 609.771.2540 businessinstitute.tcnj.edu

We’re looking for: - Writers - Be the one who brings the story to the campus.

- Photographers - Capture events on campus and bring the story to life.

- Assistants - Join our editorial staff and help make this paper happen.

Contact Us: Signal@tcnj.edu Located in the Brower Student Center basement (Use the staircase to the left of the info desk).

Want to be on the other side of this paper?

We have a number of positions available!

April 29, 2015 The Signal page 17

The Wonder Years frontman performs acoustically Campbell and Watermedown jam out in the Rat

Kimberly Ilkowski / Features Editor

Campbell takes the stage as alter-ego Aaron West, his solo project.

By Kimberly Ilkowski Features Editor

Dan “Soupy” Campbell began his twoday residency at the College playing an intimate, acoustic set in the Rathskeller with his solo project Aaron West and the Roaring Twenties on Friday, April 24. The following night, however, Campbell took a complete 180, bursting with energy as

he performed with his band The Wonder Years during CUB’s Spring Concert.

The dramatic difference in each act clearly showcased the lead singer’s versatility and mastery of the genre. When Campbell performs in Aaron West and the Roaring Twenties, he quite literally becomes Aaron West — embodying the new persona with all his trials and tribulations.

As he strummed his acoustic guitar

for the large gathering of students at the Rat, Campbell spoke openly and genuinely in character as West about how his wife left him and the dreaded aftermath that followed.

This storyline is the heart of Aaron West and the Roaring Twenties’ 2014 concept album, “We Don’t Have Each Other.” Campbell’s lyrics and melodies often offered a chilling effect due to their sincerity, further blurring the line between the two men.

“There’s a ton of media out there that can make us emotional without being real,” Campbell said after the show. “Just knowing loss and translating loss, it’s not that hard when you think about it. Most fiction can make us feel.”

Between songs, Campbell told anecdotes that prefaced the next track, whether it was about his mom’s reaction to his suffering (“Aaron, take the car and run”) or a stranger’s wisdom (“I felt like I was hitting rock bottom every six months when a homeless man told me it would get better.”)

With lyrics that echoed the aching of Aaron West like the opening lines, “And it hurts like a sunburn/ wakes me up from a deep sleep” found on the track “Get Me Out of Here Alive,” emotions ran high in the audience.

Other songs performed included, “Runnin’ Scared,” “The Thunderbird Inn” and “You Ain’t No Saint,” in which

he earnestly chants, “you ain’t no saint and I ain’t one either.”

Although the other members of the band were absent from the night’s performance, they’re all in the early stages of developing their second concept album, one in which Campbell has already scripted the next part of the drama.

“The story has only just begun,” he said.

It was a humbling experience for opening act Watermedown to take the Rat stage before one of his idols.

As the solo project of singer and guitarist Jonny Mays, he shared a similar sentiment with the crowd of die-hard fans.

“Dan Campbell has touched my life, and I’m sure he’s touched many of the lives in here as well,” Mays said during his set.

Mays played a variety of songs from his EPs “Except/ Accept Yourself” and “Perfect Is Pointless,” as well as new material he has been working on with Buffalo, N.Y. band Head North.

These songs and many more will be featured on his upcoming, month-long tour which will take him up and down the east coast.

Mays successfully set the tone of the evening with his own brand of intensely impassioned music, often times stepping away from the microphone to yell as hard as he could before diving right back into the surge of his turbulent sea.

‘Things We Know By Heart’ leaves no impact

By Kayla Whittle Staff Writer It appears a recent trend in the young-adult publishing industry is to push forward countless novels that center their plots around tragedy. Jessi Kirby’s “Things We Know by Heart” is an interesting take on this current theme, as it seems to take place after the traumatic incidents that would typically take center stage in other novels.

Quinn loses her boyfriend in a terrible, unexpected accident, and suddenly everything about her life is a little darker.

She never imagined breaking

up with Trent, let alone losing him — and now she is forced to go through prom, senior year and several life-changing experiences without him. After the accident, some of Trent’s organs were donated, and Quinn begins to think that she can’t possibly move on until she’s personally met all of the organ recipients from her boyfriend’s tragic passing.

There were some parts of “Things We Know by Heart” that I truly loved. I wanted to learn more about Quinn’s relationship with her family, particularly her father and her sister, because they seemed like characters

who could’ve been used much more than they were. They’re only a part of the support system that helps Quinn throughout the novel. But there’s also the budding problem of Colton, who received Trent’s heart and doesn’t know the transplant is the reason Quinn ultimately came to meet him.

I feel like much of the story was rushed to explore Quinn’s new relationship (not necessarily romantic, but hinted in that direction) with Colton, and I wish the plot hadn’t sped forward. In that way, I would have felt much more emotionally connected with these characters.

Instead, I didn’t care for them as much as I should have.

The novel seemed to want to have a focus on finding the implications of how humans connect to one another. The dry and rushed plot left more questions than answers. The audience is forced to invest their emotions into a romantic connection rather than the true, human connection, since that is now the status quo for young-adult novels. If Kirby had focused less on the vague romance, the true message of the novel would have been better rendered.

With a plot that didn’t pack much punch, I was hoping for

a more heart-wrenching ending.

There was so much left to be explored, and the novel dropped off at an awkward, uninteresting point that left me baffled and disappointed. I feel like Kirby never really got to the heart of her own novel. The premise was good, but not executed as well as other authors with similar interests — such as Sarah Dessen —who always makes the novels message clear.

“Things We Know By Heart” is a so-so novel with no big emotional impact and no lasting memory for me. I would recommend skipping this one rather than ordering it.

Bell’s Roar performs an intimate and inspiring concert

By Angela De Santis Correspondent With passion, soulful melodies and inspirational lyrics, Bell’s Roar captured the audience at her intimate concert in honor of PRISM’s Transgender Awareness Week in the Brower Student Center on Thursday, April 23.

“I like to write music that comes from my perspective,” said multi-instrumentalist Sean Desiree, who created the solo project that is Bell’s Roar.

Her first song of the night spoke about abuse, which she says is prevalent in our culture, especially in family cycles.

She says these issues are important to talk about for selfexpression, and that is why “music is so therapeutic.”

Desiree’s original song, “One Shot,” discussed gender nonconformity and being “whatever you want to be.” As she continued through the night, the audience swayed and sang along, and new groups of people began to gather closer to the performance.

“I loved the music,” junior English and women and gender studies double major David Sanchez said. “It was relaxing and had powerful expressions of gender and assault.”

The music transformed into a more energetic tone as Desiree interacted with the audience and brought some humor and laughs into the show.

She performed a remix to Nina Simone’s “Sinnerman” and slowly faded out into a powerful song about ancestors that had audience members air-drumming.

She then remixed a previous song from the night and danced away in front of the crowd.

“I feel like when you make music, you can go in so many different directions, so why not make (your own)?” said Desiree regarding the remixed songs.

She also covered blues singer Ma Rainey, who was discussed earlier that day at a queer music workshop she held on campus.

“It showed the portrayal and influence of queer artists in music and how it has evolved,” said junior biology major Hailey Marr, who also helped organize the concert and workshop.

The name of the project, Bell’s Roar, comes from the “energy of roaring,” but is also a tribute to feminist writer and social activist Bell Hooks, who focuses on the intersections of race, capitalism, gender and systems of oppression.

After the show, many members of the audience stayed to take pictures and talk more with Desiree. She also spent time selling her CDs, which are each handmade by the singer-songwriter from recycled plastic bags.

“It’s really great to reach out to queer artists and give them a platform,” Sanchez said.

Photo courtesy of Angela De Santis

Desiree performs under the name Bell’s Roar.

page 18 The Signal April 29, 2015

fun stuff

Tongue Twisters!

A big bug bit a bold bald bear and the bold bald bear bled blood badly Say “Baboon bamboo” 5x fast The sixth sick sheik’s sixth sheep’s sick Say “toy boat” 5x fast

April 29, 2015 The Signal page 19

More fun stuff

Fun Facts with Morgan Freeman •Two-thirds of the people on earth have never seen snow.

•A hummingbird weighs less than a penny.

•You’re 1 percent shorter in the evening than in the morning.

• A group of pugs is called a grumble.

Answers to puzzle on page 18: 1.You can count on it 2. Foot in the door 3. No can do 4. Honest to goodness 5. Way overpriced 6. Living on a shoestring

You know you read these in my voice.

page 20 The Signal April 29, 2015

Sports

Baseball

Baseball sneaks into playoffs with late rally

By Jessica Ganga Nation & World Editor

The Lions had a successful week, winning three of four of their games and qualifying for the New Jersey Atlantic Conference playoffs in a thrilling, extra-innings win against Montclair State University.

The team also bid their graduating seniors farewell during Senior Day, showing respect and gratitude for all the hard work they’ve done throughout their careers.

In a crucial win against Rutgers University-Newark, the Lions snapped a three-game losing streak and earned vital points in the NJAC standings on Thursday, April 23. Freshman pitcher Joe Cirillo took the mound for the College and pitched six strong innings while only giving up two runs to his opponents. Cirillo, who was recently named NJAC Rookie Pitcher of the week the previous week, is now 5-1 overall in the regular season with a 3.48 ERA. The team got on the board early in the top of third. Junior John Rizzi had a busy inning — the outfielder walked, stole second and moved to

a passed ball, eventually scoring on a base hit by junior Mark Mari.

The Lions added to their score by picking up two unearned runs in the fourth to extend their lead to 3-0.

It wasn’t until the sixth inning that the team took a huge advantage over the Scarlet Knights Freshman Steve Bucci smacked his first collegiate hit to left field that scored a run. Mari hit a huge two-run double to left center, making the score a crushing 7-1 lead over RU. The Lions went on to win 9-4, with senior pitcher Ryan Carmon striking out the side in the ninth.

It was Carmon who pitched for the Lions the next day against RU on Friday, April 24. The game was also a special time for the seniors to be honored for their contributions to the team.

“I remember being recruited here, seeing the field and absolutely loving it. (I saw) seeing the shortstop position and saying ‘that’s where I want to be the next four years,’” senior Anthony Cocuzza said after the game. “It’s kind of crazy that that’s come to end.”

Cocuzza had another great game, registering three hits in five

at bats making it 177 hits for his career. In the bottom of the third, he laid down a bunt that resulted in a base hit. The ball was thrown away at first, allowing Rizzi to score.

Roberts hit a sacrifice fly, scoring Mari and extending the lead to 3-0.

The bottom of the sixth was the key inning of the game for the College, when the team scored five runs and batted around. Cocuzza reached second on an error by the RU catcher. Two players came around home, making the score, 7-1.

At the end of the Lions’ 11-4 win, the seven seniors were honored by their coaches, teammates, family and friends, stepping on to the field with a huge round of applause.

“I’ve absolutely loved my time here at TCNJ and playing for this program,” Cocuzza said about his four years as the starting shortstop.

“I’ve really, really enjoyed it, and I made some of the best friends that I could have ever asked for and it’s like a big old family here.”

Senior first baseman Josh Limon reminisced on some special moments that he experienced while wearing the uniform for the Lions.

Photo courtesy of the Sports Information Desk

Teesdale shuts down the Red Hawks to clinch NJAC berth.

“There are so many good memories that come to mind. As a personal achievement, hitting my first collegiate home run and getting the silent treatment from my teammates is something I will never forget,” Limon said. “Moments like that mean the world to me, and sharing that with my team was pretty special.”

After the huge win, the Lions were ready to take on Montclair State University for a doubleheader on Saturday, April 25. The team went on to lose the second game of the day, but the first game made all

the difference, allowing the team to clinch a spot in the NJAC playoffs.

The first game went to 13 innings, with Rizzi having the winning blow in the top of the 13th.

The Lions now look forward to the playoffs this week and hope to have nothing but success.

“We did what we had to do in exciting fashion to get into the playoffs. It was definitely one of the more emotional wins we have had this season,” Limon said. “Our team is so excited to get into the conference tournament and to make some noise.”

Tennis

Cheap Seats

UAB senior’s silent protest Tennis finishes season strong Football cut still debated

By Kevin Luo Staff Writer

Usually, I’m not a fan of someone trying to steal the show at a graduation. It’s a day to celebrate the graduating class and not individuals. However, this past week Derek Slaughter stole the show at the University of Alabama at Birmingham graduation, and I have immense admiration for what he did.

Slaughter, who was a linebacker on the UAB football team the past four seasons, brought his football helmet to the graduation. He held it up while he was on stage in protest of the school’s decision to remove the football program. He also refused to shake the hand of school president, Ray Watts, who has been heavily scrutinized by this decision.

Following this past regular season that saw the UAB Blazers go 6-6, the school administration made the decision to abolish the football program. The Blazers had a chance to go to a bowl game but were not invited to one after this decision came down. Groups of students and alumni heavily protested this decision.

Due to the public outcry, the UAB administration claimed the program was bleeding money and could no longer financially keep the football program.

However, in the following months, an independent financial firm originally hired by the university finished up an investigation into the finances of the program. Their research indicated that the program is actually profitable and has the potential to be more profitable in future seasons with more money flowing into college football.

Although I feel that UAB shouldn’t have abolished their football program,

AP Photo

Slaughter lines up at defensive end.

I don’t know all the details surrounding the program’s finances. Either way, I think it’s commendable that a senior player on the team took it upon himself to make a statement on behalf of something he believes.

Some people have criticized Slaughter saying he made the graduation all about him and took away from all of his classmates. However, I don’t see that as the case. He only lifted his helmet up when he was on stage and his name was called.

He was just a normal student for the rest of the ceremony. When he was on stage, the student body applauded his actions.

The NCAA and individual universities encourage student athletes to embrace the student aspect of that title. Being a student should mean thinking and fighting for what you believe is right, and that’s exactly what Slaughter did.

Hopefully Slaughter’s actions will bring more attention to this situation and maybe even cause the university to reinstate the program. All in all, this was a strong action by someone who was clearly a leader on and off the field, and it should be praised.

By Josh Kestenbaun Staff Writer

With the regular season drawing to a close, the men’s and women’s teams finished in impressive fashion, winning three of their combined four matches over the last week. The men went 1-1, and the women finished with two wins.

In the last week of their season, the men shut out Franklin and Marshall College on Sunday, April 19, but fell to Stevens Institute of Technology, 6-3, a week later.

The match against Franklin and Marshall was the Lions’ final regular season home match. Prior to the match, the team honored senior Ezra Klemow for his dedication to the team and his leadership throughout his career. The current members of the team all signed a poster and compiled a photo album for Klemow, and he played an exhibition singles match which didn’t count toward the match score.

“I had a lot of mixed feelings at the last home match,” Klemow said. “I was definitely sad that it was over, but all of the things my teammates did for me that day made it incredibly memorable.”

Across the two matches, juniors Pierce Cooper and Billy Buchbinder and sophomore Jack August were the

only players to post victories in both of their singles matches. None of the doubles teams pulled out two victories over the two matches.

The men’s team finished the year with an 11-3 record with seven wins being shutouts. The team must now wait until Monday, May 4, to find out if they will continue their season and play in the NCAA D-III tournament.

Like the men’s team, the women’s team disposed of Franklin and Marshall on the same day by a score of 8-1.

However, unlike the men, the women earned a victory in their final match of the season, defeating St. Lawrence University, 7-2.

Over the two matches, the women were a perfect 6-0 in the doubles rounds, with only one of the doubles matches

going to a tiebreaker. In addition, four of the six singles players posted 2-0 records this week: junior Emma Allen, sophomores Katie Buchbinder and Anna Prestera and freshman Maddy Stoner. “(These were) huge wins for us, two teams that beat us a year ago,” Coach Scott DiCheck said. “I think it’s the best we’ve played this season.”

The women finished their season with an impressive 14-1 record on the tail of a five-match winning streak. Back in the fall season, they won the New Jersey Athletic Conference title. This title clinched them a spot in the NCAA D-III tournament, and just like the men, the field for the women will be announced on Monday, May 4, at 12 p.m. on www.ncaa.com.

Photo courtesy of the Sports Information Desk

The women finish their season strong.

4 6

LIONS

April 29, 2015 The Signal page 21

AROUND THE

DORM 5 3

Josh Kestenbaum “The Ref”

Michael Battista Sports Assistant

Kevin Luo

Staff Writer

George Tatoris Staff Writer

In this week’s Around the Dorm, the “Ref,” Josh Kestenbaum, asks our panel of experts three questions: What NFL team that missed the playoffs in 2014 has a shot to make it this year, can the Mets keep up the impressive play and should Edmonton take Connor McDavid or go a different route?

1. With the recent release of the NFL schedule, which non-playoff team do you think has the best chance of making the playoffs?

Michael: This schedule is like Christmas come early for the New York Giants.

The Giants will be coming off a rough season last year, but with the return of Victor Cruz, year two of Odell Beckham and high draft picks, things are looking up. Looking at the schedule, they play the Redskins twice — already a plus — and two games against an Eagles team which lobotomized their roster this offseason. The bye week falls on Week 11, and the last few games are against teams which seem like easy pickings — Redskins, Jets, Vikings, and Eagles are all in there. Not to mention early in the season games against the Bills and Falcons.

All in all, I think the Giants have a good shot to pick up wins both late and early in the season.

Kevin: Since this question mentions the

AP Photo

schedule, I’ll go with the Atlanta Falcons since they have the easiest schedule in the league based on last year’s records.

The NFC South is a terrible division that is truly up for grabs, so it’s reasonable to believe that the Falcons can take it. The

Falcons didn’t make any big splashes this offseason, but they brought in Seattle defensive coordinator Dan Quinn to be their head coach. He brings in a defensive and winning mentality that this team needed.

An offense led by Matt Ryan and Julio Jones should be able to score some points, as well. I expect them to add at least one solid pass rusher in a draft heavy with pass rushers and their defense to be much improved this season under Quinn.

George: There is no doubting His return. The Resurrection of the Holy Son of Football shall be upon us. And with him he brings his flock of angels known to us Earthly fellows as the Philadelphia Eagles. The man I speak of is, of course, Tim Tebow, whose incessant Hail Marys will grace the fields of heathen America, blessing all in their wake. Since His resurrection, the gates of paradise will be left wide open for his disciples. The Eagles clearly have a shot at making the playoffs this year.

George gets three points for reminding us of the Second Coming. Michael gets two points for pointing out the Giants’ receivers, and Kevin gets one point for picking the Falcons.

AP Photo

2. Do you think the Mets can maintain their early success, or will they fade away?

Michael: It’s hard to say, but I have to think this will fade away after awhile. People seem to forget baseball has a very long season, and

it’s really hard to stay good for the entire duration. Now, I’m not saying I don’t think they have a chance. Players like Matt Harvey and Lucas Duda, among others, are playing great baseball and are showing improvements in

strides over last year. All I’m saying is that 162 games is a lot, and the Mets have to show they aren’t just experiencing a flash in the pan.

Kevin: The I think the Mets can definitely keep this up. The NL East isn’t that strong of a division. The preseason overwhelming favorite, the Nationals, have been a huge disappointment thus far, and I don’t see the rest of the division being a major threat. The Mets are a young team that’s finally seeing their prospects of a few years ago reach the bigs. Most of their roster still haven’t hit their peak yet. They have great pitching led

by Matt Harvey and a solid lineup. All in all, the Mets have been a great story so far, and I think they can definitely keep it up.

George: I think the Mets will continue their success this season, though it’ll be tough.

Some fans may be quick to denounce their success so far, especially after they closed the Subway Series with a 6-4 loss and four

errors — errors that likely gave Mets fans horrific flashbacks of last season and the season before that and the season before that. But just one game, and not even one series, cannot disprove a team’s success.

The Mets still have the best record in the I think the Mets will continue their success this season, though it’ll be tough. Some fans may be quick to denounce their success so far, especially after they closed the Subway Series with a 6-4 loss and four errors -- errors that likely gave Mets fans horrific flashbacks of last season and the season before that and the season before that. But just one game, and not even one series, cannnot disprove a team’s success.

The Mets still have the best record in the Majors right now. They’ve still got Matt Harvey pitching for them. The Mets will not fade out. Majors right now. They’ve still got Matt Harvey pitching for them.

The Mets will not fade out.

Kevin gets three points for pointing out the Mets’ prospects. Michael gets two points for reminding us of the season’s length, and George gets one point for reminiscing on the past.

3. Should the Edmonton Oilers take Connor McDavid with the No. 1 overall pick in the next NHL draft?

Michael: They should, and I feel so bad for him. The Oilers got the first pick again, and of course they will use it on the top prospect in an effort to fix a team that has been broken for nine seasons. The last time the team made the playoffs, they lost in the final against Carolina for the Stanley Cup, so of course they still have hopes. McDavid is coming off seasons with the Erie Otters in the Ontario Hockey League and international play with the Canadian Junior World Ice Hockey team, where his squad took home the gold. The kid scored 44 goals last season with the Otters and 76 assists, as well. Overall, the Oilers would be foolish to pass this kid up, but I have the feeling McDavid is secretly hoping something keeps him out of Edmonton.

Kevin: This is a no-brainer for Edmonton.

With the hockey gods giving them their fourth, No. 1 overall pick in six years, the only option they should be considering is

taking Connor McDavid. Wayne Gretzky said he’s the greatest prospect he’s seen in 30 years. The kid is a flat-out stud. He scored 120 points in 44 games this past season in the OHL, as well as helping lead the Canadian team to the World Junior title. The Oilers can deal with fixing their problems in goal and on the blue line through free agency and trades. They can’t afford to not take McDavid.

George: If they don’t, they’re fools. McDavid is one of the greatest prospects the NHL has seen, according to Wayne Gretzky. I’m pretty sure that’s like being knighted in the NHL. He’s also proven himself to be worthy of the NHL throughout his time playing for the OHL. Just this Sunday, the good Sir McDavid went up against the Greyhounds and pulled an amazing shorthand goal reminiscent of Forsberg’s shootouts. He pulled off the feint smoother and more fluidly than anyone in the NHL right now can do it. I think the Oilers should definitely go for McDavid if they get the chance to. It wouldn’t be the worst thing they could do.

Michael gets three points for hoping McDavid goes elsewhere. Kevin gets two points for looking at free agency, and George gets one point for overestimating the Oilers.

Michael wins Around the Dorm 7-6-4.

AP Photo

page 22 The Signal April 29, 2015

FALL 2015 REGISTRATION

APPOINTMENT PERIOD

Initial Registration Period for Undergraduate and Graduate Students

Tuesday, April 7th Through Friday, April 17th

•

Your enrollment appointment reflecting the first time you will be eligible to register for the Fall 2015 semester can be accessed via your PAWS account. To view your scheduled enrollment appointment, visit the Enrollment Appointment section in the PAWS Student Center. Once eligible, students remain eligible throughout the registration period. Undergraduate students who do not register by 11:59pm on Sunday, April 19th will be subject to a late registration fine. Graduate students have until July 15th. Late Registration Fine Undergraduate: $150 Graduate: $125

•

The Fall 2015 Schedule of Classes is available on PAWS and can be viewed by using the Search for Classes button. Winter 2016 registration opens along with Fall 2015 registration. Check PAWS frequently for upcoming winter course offerings and consult with your advisor for appropriate course selections.

Meet with your advisor: we encourage you to schedule an appointment with your advisor to review your academic plan, learn of any changes in requirements, opportunities within your department, as well as career opportunities.

•

•

•

•

•

•

Visit the PAWS HELP website for complete information on how to log-­‐in to PAWS, search for classes, browse the Course Catalog, view your Holds, add courses to your Shopping Cart, and register for classes: http://pawshelp.pages.tcnj.edu/ Use the Validate feature directly from your PAWS Shopping Cart to check for potential pre-­‐requisite issues before registration! For more information on the Validate feature, visit: http://pawshelp.pages.tcnj.edu/files/2011/07/validate.pdf Check PAWS early and frequently for Holds that will prevent you from registering. All Hold Flag information can be viewed under the Holds section in the PAWS Student Center.

Access your Academic Requirements Report on PAWS to view your degree requirements via the Advising Tools link.

Double-­‐check call numbers and course sections prior to your registration appointment for schedule changes and periodic updates.

•

Graduate Students: If you are a non-­‐matriculant who is applying for Fall matriculation, you should not register during this timeframe. If accepted for matriculation, you will be invited to register during one of the Graduate Studies orientation sessions.

April 29, 2015 The Signal page 23

Team splits last four, looks to NJACs Softball

By Michael Battista Sports Assistant

The College’s softball team finished their regular season last week, sweeping Montclair State but getting swept by Ramapo College.

The team traveled up to Montclair N.J. on Friday, April 24, to face the 13-18 Red Hawks after a rain delay postponed the game earlier in the week.

Despite previously coming up short against Muhlenberg, the Lions were hoping to keep up the strong play going into the NJAC tournament, and they needed to start this against Montclair.

After a scoreless first by both teams, Lions junior right fielder Christine Desiderio doubled to left field allowing junior pitcher Ashtin Helmer to score.

After that, Helmer continued to help keep the Red Hawks at bay by keeping it scoreless for them up until the bottom of the fifth when she gave up a home run to tie the game.

Almost as a redemption of sorts, Helmer was able to put the team back in the lead the very next inning with a double to center field, bringing in a run. Desiderio had a repeat performance as well, singling in a run soon after to give the Lions a two-run lead.

The Red Hawks had a brief comeback in the bottom of the sixth, scoring one run. But freshman Sam Platt was able to pick up the save as the Lions picked up the win, 3-2.

The next game between the two schools was much more one-sided in favor of the College.

In the first inning, Helmer was able to reach first on a fielder’s choice and got to second on a throwing error, which lead to two runs for the Lions right away.

Photo courtesy of the Sports Information Desk

Desiderio leads the Lions to a sweep over Montclair.

After a scoreless second by both squads, the Hawks were able to pick up two runs in the third. But the fourth inning brought up freshman Bria Bartsch, who singled to left field to give the team the lead once again.

The sixth inning sealed the game for the Lions when they scored a total of six runs off hits from Desiderio, junior pinch-hitter Kristen Fitzsimmons and freshman Jess Stevenson, who homered three runs. The seventh inning saw Desiderio come up big once again, homering in two more runs for the Lions as well.

The Red Hawks scored three more runs in the bottom of the seventh, but the Lions were able to close them out picking up the 11-5 victory.

Helmer said that the team, looking towards the playoff, needs to keep playing at a high level.

“As a team, we know that we need

to perform at a higher level as we enter postseason play,” she said. “Teams are more seasoned at this point, and in order to be competitive, we need to be just as seasoned. This is the point of the season that really counts. We need to leave everything on the field as we enter the NJAC tournament.”

The team only had a day to recover, as they traveled to Mahwah N.J. on Saturday, April 25 to face off against the Ramapo College Roadrunners.

The College was in for a challenge early on, as Ramapo scored four runs in the first inning off two singles. The Roadrunners’ pitching kept the Lions from scoring until the sixth inning, but before that, they picked up two more runs off a home run from their catcher.

Junior Deanna Utter added another homer for the season — her sixth — bringing in two runs for the team. Still, between the

home run and a fielder’s choice by sophomore Nerylix Cerda to bring in another run, the offense wasn’t enough as the Roadrunners took the win after scoring again, making the final, 7-3.

Helmer said the team just didn’t do enough in the end.

“We simply did not play to our full potential against Ramapo,” she said. “We have each taken accountability and analyzed our performances individually.”

The College had a second shot against Ramapo, however, and played a tighter game throughout.

The home team scored first in the second inning, scoring two runs off a double and single combined, but the Lions quickly tied it back up in the third with a solo home run from Bartsch to left field, and a single from Stevenson to bring in the tying run. The tie didn’t last long, though, as Ramapo took the lead in the fourth inning off a solo home run.

“Ramapo came out strong right from the get-go, giving it their all, and it really showed when they took the field,” Bartsch said.

It didn’t end, though, as Ramapo homered one more time in the sixth inning. That was the last run, as the Lions picked up the 5-2 loss.

The team now looks toward the NJAC tournament starting on Tuesday, April 28, against William Paterson University in Wayne N.J. at 4 p.m.

Looking at the tournament, Bartsch says she thinks the team doesn’t need a specific plan going into the game.

“I don’t feel that we’re going to use any specific strategy,” she said. “Rather, I believe the team, as well as myself, is simply planning to take the field fighting, giving everything we have every play.”

Cheap Seats

US soccer to expand

By Rohan Ahluwalia Correspondent

Arriving on campus for the first time as a freshman, I was taken aback when I found out that my Community Advisor (CA) was a supporter of the soccer team West Ham United. He told me about how soccer actually has a decent following on campus, and as someone just coming from a high school where soccer was seldom followed, I was astonished and equally excited. I would finally be able to talk about the sport I loved with other people my own age. Before I could only do so with people around my fathers age.

Over the course of my first semester, I met many different soccer supporters.

From those who supported Chelsea to Bayern Munich, I had the opportunity to talk to each and every one of them about the sport. The discussions made me jubilant — that was, until I mentioned Major League Soccer, the local soccer league here in the United States. Not many people on campus who follow European soccer follow the MLS. Why was that?

Sure, the quality of soccer is not as good in the U.S. as it is in Europe, but following the local league should be done if we want to really see

soccer grow in this country.

According to John Tobias, a freshman and an ardent Bayern Munich fan, what turns him off to the MLS is “that the league is just not as good as the ones in Europe.”

“The quality is just better over there,” he said.

That is true — the quality of soccer available in Major League Soccer is not as good as the soccer you can find in Europe, but what separates the European leagues from MLS is that the MLS features some of the best American talent. You get to also see some new American players get their start in MLS, like Juan Agudelo or Geoff Cameron, while witnessing the fastest growing sports league in the world.

Fine, the MLS does not have the best players in the world like Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo or Eden Hazard, but the league has its own players that can still entertain any crowd. Players like Diego Valeri and United States captain, Michael Bradley, add their own flair to the league while world-class players, such as Sebastien Giovinco, are slowly making their way to the league.

At the same time, with the new collective bargaining agreement going into effect this season, the quality of the league will only

improve as the teams will be able to spend more money on better players.

The MLS will also soon expand to 22 teams, with new teams in Los Angeles and Atlanta entering by 2017. These new teams will only help further improve MLS, as they will have rich owners who will not mind spending big money on players and youth development, and there’s more where that came from with cities like Minnesota, Sacramento and Miami heavily interested in acquiring an MLS team.

In the long-term, these things will help improve the MLS to eventually be on the level of the top European leagues. But before that can happen, it needs fans. The league is doing very well in terms of attendance and drawing average on TV. But compared to the top European leagues and Big 4 American sports, it’s not even close.

I feel that European soccer fans in the country, especially soccer fans at the College, should help contribute to the growth of MLS. The quality is not there, but the potential for growth is massive. One day, when the league gets to the level of Europe, you can say that you were a follower when the league was still growing.

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Signal

Sports

Lions dominate Kean in NJAC preview

By Anthony Caruso Staff Writer

The College’s women’s lacrosse team finished its regular season this week with two home games before winning their season finale at Kean University on Saturday, April 25.

The girls ended the season with a 14-3 record, including wins in their final four games of the season.

On Tuesday, April 21, the College hosted the Richard Stockton Ospreys. In conference action, the game ended with a 13-1 win for the College.

The Lions struck first as senior Kendal Borup scored. However, junior Skyler Mahoney-Kendra tied the game for the Ospreys at 1-1.

Freshman Amanda Muller increased the College’s lead to make it 3-1, and sophomore Mia Blackman added another goal before halftime to make it 4-1.

In the second half, senior Ava Fitzgerald scored four goals. Muller added two more, and Borup and Blackman each added their second goals. Junior Cortney Natalicchio scored her 34th goal to begin the second half.

Sophomore Kelly Schlupp made two saves and allowed a goal for the win in 60 minutes. Ospreys junior

Photo courtesy of the Sports Information Desk

Natalicchio records four goals and four assists in the team’s blowout win.

Goalie Mary Stornes made 12 saves and allowed 13 goals in the loss.

On Thursday night, April 23, the women’s lacrosse team hosted Senior Day in front of 52 fans. For those in attendance, they saw the Lions roll to a 15-1 win.

Before the game started, the team recognized the six seniors.

Those included Fitzgerald, Borup, Lauren Karpovich, Erin Healy, Sam Iacouzzi and Soraya Selamie.

“I thought it was a perfect way to go out,” Fitzgerald said.

“The way that they did the Senior Night was special. We were super excited to play our last in-season

final home game.”

The Lions jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first half, including four goals by Fitzgerald. Borup and Natalicchio had the other goals.

“I thought we really came together as a team,” Fitzgerald said.

“With our team, anyone can step up. There’s not one player that a team can stop.”

After halftime, Borup came out with four straight goals of her own, increasing the lead to 10-0. Muller and Natalicchio scored back-to-back goals as the game went to 12-0.

With 11:10 left, Blackman made it 13-0 with her first goal of

the game and 19th overall. Then, Fitzgerald scored back-to-back as the game went to 15-0.

“I thought we played very well,” coach Sharon Pfluger said. “We had the lead early, so we just had to maintain it. I thought we didn’t make any mistakes, and the team effort was good. I’m proud of the girls.”

Schlupp played the first 49:15 of the game. She did not register a save or allow a goal for the win.

Christina Fabiano came in to play the final 10:45 and made one save.

On Saturday, April 25, the college ended its regular season against the Kean Cougars. At the Kean

Alumni Stadium, the Lions rolled to a 17-3 win in front of 79 people in attendance.

Muller scored the first goal before the Cougars took a 2-1 lead.

Following the short-lived lead, the College scored the next eight. Borup had three, while Natalicchio added two more. Muller, Fitzgerald and Healy also scored.

“We played our game, and we did our best,” Pfluger said. “We knew we were going to face them again (on Wednesday, April 29, in an NJAC tournament game), as it appeared we were going to play back-to-back games. We played smart on Saturday.”

Borup and Natalicchio made it 11-3 in the first half. After halftime, it was all Lions, as they scored the final six goals of the game.

Borup scored two of the six and Muller, Blackman, Natalicchio and Karpovich scored the remaining goals.

Schlupp allowed three goals with no saves in 60 minutes for the win. “(Schlupp) has played great for us this season,” Fitzgerald said.

“When she’s been called upon, she has made key saves when we needed her, too. We wouldn’t have the record we would if it wasn’t for her, especially in the close games.”

Lions place well at important home meet

By George Tatoris Staff Writer After just seven days of holding the College’s hammer throw record, senior Joan Hales lost it — to herself.

“It wasn’t anything spectacular, again,” Hales said.

On Saturday, April 25, at the Lions’ Invitational, perhaps the largest track event hosted by the College, Hales posted a distance of 47.26 meters, a little less than a half of a meter farther than her distance of 46.82 meters posted last week. The distance netted Hales a third place overall finish and a first-place finish among DivisionIII athletes.

Last week, the athlete had stated she did not know the throw had broken a record because she said the form was not what it could’ve been.

Evidently, she’s improved that.

One of the factors Hales said led to the improved distance was being able to get across the circle that she throws the hammer from “smoother.”

Hales says that even this week’s recordbreaker was not perfect and that she still can improve a great deal.

“But I’m kind of happy about that, because that means I could do so much better

Lions’ Lineup April 29, 2015

I n s i d e

Photo courtesy of the Sports Information Desk

Day places fifth overall in the 400-meter hurdles.

once I straighten it all out,” Hales said.

Two other seniors, Michelle Cascio and Katelyn Ary, also gave spectacular performances. Cascio finished first in the 200meter dash with a time of 25.27, while Ary blazed through the 400-meter hurdles into first with a time of 1:02.32.

Cascio also finished second in the 400meter, posting a season-best time of 56.69.

Fellow senior Joy Spriggs was mere fractions of a second behind, posting a time of 57.45 for a fourth place finish.

In long distance, fellow senior Megan Stack took fourth, posting a time of 4:43.07, the second fastest Division-III finish out on the track.

On the field, senior Bridgit Roemer placed third in the high jump with a height of 1.62 meters and third in the long jump with a distance of 5.29 meters. Meanwhile, freshman Chloe Yelle took seventh in discus with a distance of 37.47 meters.

On the men’s team, the star of the meet was freshman Dale Johnson, whose

stringent efforts in the 1,500-meter roped him a third place finish with a time of 4:00.26, a personal record. Just behind in sixth, senior Jeremy Garrell posted a time of 4:03.72, and in 11th, junior Roberto Guiducci posted a time of 4:06.91.

“Going out as fast as he did really tired him out, and most people would not have been able to finish the race, let alone PR, which he did,” sophomore Brandon Mazzarella said of Johnson.

Mazzarella also ran a solid race in the 800-meter, finishing in seventh with a time of 1:56.34.

On the field, senior Juan Giglio was the top Division-III athlete in the pole vault, clearing a height of 4.50 meters. Giglio was third overall.

In the discus throw, senior Abayomi Arowolo set a personal record in his final Lions’ Invitational, throwing the discus 44.57 meters for a seventh-place finish.

The Lions’ Invitational is the largest meet hosted by the College — more than 1,000 athletes from over 50 institutions attended this weekend’s meet. The audience was even larger.

“The bleachers are filled, and there are people on top of the parking garage looking down cheering everyone on,” Mazzarella said.

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