Fight for the funny
Horrors remembered Two survivors of the Holocaust spoke in Forcina Hall on Nov. 12 about their experiences.
12 student comedians competed for three spots in the N.J. Comedy Festival in the Rathskeller on Nov. 12.
See Features, page 16
Arts & Entertainment, page 19
tcnjsignal.net
The College of New Jersey Student Newspaper since 1885
November 18, 2009
No. 12.
Vol. CXXXI.
Bid for Tucker Max now up to College students
New poll to be released at end of week will decide By Katie Brenzel Arts & Entertainment Editor Due to an overwhelming response from groups across campus, the College Union Board (CUB) has decided to postpone presenting a bid to author Tucker Max to lecture in Kendall Hall on Jan. 20, according to CUB director Raquel Fleig. Later this week students will have the opportunity to participate in a revised poll to either reinforce the $25,000 bid for Maxʼs appearance or select a different performer. The new poll was prompted by criticism that the first poll wasnʼt clear, Fleig said. Last month, students were asked to select from various genres and examples of entertainment in an online poll. According to Fleig, claims of confusion were made over whether students voted for the genre or
Photo courtesy of Tucker Max
Tim Lee / Photo Editor
Students will vote to bring Tucker Max (left) to the College. According to Jackie Deitch-Stackhouse (right), Max is a ʻred dot,ʼ and is therefore a threat to OAVIʼs message on campus. the specific example supplied with each option, in this case, Tucker Max. The writer of four-time New York Times best-seller “I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell,” which
was released as a feature film in 2009, is known for his controversial presence on the web and as a lecturer on campuses across the country. His comedic material draws from alcohol-induced
sexual exploits and in his own words on his Web siteʼs homepage, his tendency “to act like a raging dickhead.” Jackie Deitch-Stackhouse, coordinator of the Office of Ant-
Violence Initiatives (OAVI), is one of the leading figures of dissent over Maxʼs proposed visit. According to Stackhouse, OAVI see MAX page 2
Problems with PAWS worst for transfer students By Juliana Fidler Staff Writer
Tim Lee / Photo Editor
The newly-installed public art was vandalized on Nov. 11. Currently, the police have no suspects.
‘Pixels’ vandalized
By Caitlyn Camacho Correspondent
Last week the controversial “Pixels” public art project was vandalized just a week after its installation caused campus-wide debate. “The public art display adjacent to the new Art and Interactive Multimedia Building has been the subject of a great deal of debate and discussion. Matthew Golden, executive director of public relations and communications, said. “The discourse related to that art has been both questioning and informative. At times, it has been undeniably humorous. There is, however, neither humor nor intellectual value in the act of vandalism that has
taken place.” According to Campus Police, the vandalism was discovered by Sgt. Raymond Scully at 2 a.m. on Nov. 11. Scully was performing routine foot patrol on campus when he discovered black spray paint around the circumference of the blue pixel, reports said. A check of the other three balls revealed spray paint on the purple pixel as well. The purple pixel had a solid circle as well as the Greek letters “∑” and “∏” spray painted on it. Scully observed no one in the area at the time. see VANDALISM page 3
The Records and Registration office has been “inundated with e-mails” about problems students are having with PAWS, the new scheduling system, said Frank Cooper, director of records and registration. One such student is sophomore civil engineering major Christian Zografos. “I canʼt register for classes on PAWS because Iʼm a transfer student,” he said. Since he did not receive credit, according to PAWS, for the “stepping stone” courses he took at his previous college, the system would not let him sign up for classes necessary to his major. “It could delay my graduation if a class closes or something like that,” he said. “Itʼs kind of a big deal.” “The biggest issue is for transfer students,” Cooper said when he addressed SGA at its meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 11. This is a recurring problem, said Marisa Hutton, secretary in the department of Engineering. “Itʼs a difficult situation for these students.” The PAWS team began with about 170
thousand courses “that were not equated to a course at (the College),” Cooper said, and “built a crosswalk” to show the credits students earned at other schools. “That crosswalk was not as detailed as we thought,” he said. “We equated (transfer credits) to electives. That could have been done in more detail.” However, “all this is fixable,” said Cooper. He said that the PAWS team will be “running scripts” to address these issues. This process was set to begin Monday, Nov. 16. Another scheduling issue involves the exceptions and waivers for certain requirements that are not yet recorded on PAWS. Hundreds of such requests are being submitted this week by advisors, Cooper said. This is especially relevant to “specializations within majors,” such as the Math Science Technology (MST) program, Cooper said. Other majors like psychology, international studies and music have such specializations. Updates to course substitutions specifically in the MST program will begin Nov.20, he said.
The Singing Revolution ‘Gangs 101’ A College film festival was A panel including two state police about the fall of communism. officers discussed gangs.
Opera comes to College Lyric Theatre performed ‘Cosi Fan Tutte’ over the weekend.
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See page 3
see PAWS page 4
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