Weekend
WEATHER
FRI: 1/28- 36° SAT: 1/29- 35° SUN: 1/30- 28°
THE MONTCLARION The Student Voice of Montclair State University Since 1928
Vol.
90
Issue 15 Jan. 27, 2011
On the web at: www.the Montclarion.org
No La Quinta, No Shuttle
Search for Minaj 'Scammer' Continues
Students who dorm can't go to Commons Jeremy Grossman Staff Writer
Courtesy of Flickr.com user ryan muir
Students formerly living in the La Quinta Inn & Suites have much to celebrate because as of this semester, there is enough space for all residential students to be able to live on campus. However, not all students are thrilled with the recent development. The shuttle buses that used to transport students from campus to the La Quinta were commonly used to obtain access to the nearby Clifton Commons.
Warrants are now issued for Nicki Minaj concert scandal mastermind. Tyler Johnston Staff Writer
Joseph Lisnow Staff Writer
Montclair State Police have issued warrants for the arrest of Romarick Hough of Boilingbrook, Illinois in connection with the Nikki Minaj concert scam that occurred in September 2010. Montclair’s Student Government Association reportedly paid Hough $35,000 to book Nikki Minaj for Homecoming Weekend. Fans who slept overnight in the quad to purchase the $40 concert tickets were outraged to find that the concert was a hoax. “The issuance of warrants,
in all likelihood, closes the investigation phase of this case,” said MSUPD Lt. Kieran Barrett. “The case will now be in the hands of the courts and prosecution, which will proceed with the normal course of due process.” The investigation presented difficulties to University Police because Hough was out of state, attempted to conceal information and was not readily available for an interview. “Overall, however, the Detective Bureau was methodical and comprehensive in this investigation,” Lt. Barrett said. If Hough fails to comply with the court-ordered warrants, MSU Police will press for extradition from Illinois through the assistance of State and Federal agencies. Hough is being charged with several crimes including theft by deception, criminal imper-
sonation and securing executed documents (i.e. contracts) by deception. If convicted, Hough faces thousands of dollars worth of fines and possibly several years of jail time. Rumors of the scam began circulating when Minaj started tweeting the morning the tickets went on sale that she had no knowledge of a planned concert at Montclair State University. Later that day an email was sent written by the Director of Programming, Julian Penn, sent by Dr. Karen Pennington confirming that it was indeed a scam. The SGA never had any physical contact with Hough. Communication methods only included phone calls, faxes and text messages according to SGA Secretary Kristen Chapman. Days after the scam, a bill
was enacted to secure $37,000 additional funds. The funds were taken from the SGA’s unappropriated surplus. This was done according to Chapman to make sure that a similar act could be secured for the homecoming concert. Minaj tweeted that Hough claimed he was a representative of Premiere Talent Agency. “The SGA has never researched the companies that we use because we use service contracts [which] generally require credentials that have you prove that you are a business,” said SGA President Christopher Goscinski. “When we had such a high class name we kind of just said ‘Yeah, we’ll take the concert.’ And really didn’t worry about the organization that was presenting us with information,” said Goscinski.
“The shuttles were provided for students who were living at the La Quinta Hotel to be able to get to campus and then back to the hotel.” Dr. Pennington. Vice President for Student Development and Campus Life
The Clifton Commons is a hot spot for many popular stores and businesses, like Target, AMC Movie Theaters, Red Robin, Applebee’s, Barnes & Noble, Stop & Shop, and more. Now students will have to look elsewhere. No more students at La Quinta means
Shuttle Continued on Page 3
Res. Ed. Welcomes New Executive Director
Mike Monostra l The Montclarion
news
New Washers and Dryers in all Dorms
pg. 3
feature
Paintball Team Ignites MSU
pg. 8
pg. 4
opinion Shutout from Shuttle Service
pg. 11
Two Jeeps, One Lot
Same Cars, Same Day, Same Thief? pg.4 Jillian Keats l The Montclarion
sports
a&e Spoilers for Fantastic Four Comic
pg. 14
Women's Basketball Defeats TCNJ
Back Page