3
THE VECTOR
News
Week of February 19, 2019
Student Senate Update Vector Summary 02/6/2019
By Owen Busler | Senior Staff Writer Public Forum The Student Senate meeting on Feb. 6, 2019 began with a quiet open floor, during which Public Safety gave their semi-annual recap. Last semester Public Safety launched their EMT/Community Officer program. As of right now, there are six active community officers and over 20 EMTs volunteering. Public safety also pushed ALICE training for all students. ALICE training focuses on active shooter safety and stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, and Evacuate. Those interested in ALICE training should reach out to Public Safety to attend one of the three training sessions scheduled for: • Feb. 20 from 2:00– 4:00 p.m. in CKB 116 • Mar. 29 from 11:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. in
CKB 117
safety improvements, the
4:00 p.m. in CKB 116
realized this semester and was quite successful. The biggest issue, which was foreseen and discussed at great length, was students not getting their approved
• Apr. 17 from 2:00– add/drop resolution was E-Board Reports President Jeremy Bedient reported on his meeting with Dr. Bloom, which focused on their goals for the semester. One goal is a scholarship paid from Student Senate’s endowment. This scholarship would target students that would otherwise drop out of NJIT for financial reasons. Both Bloom and Bedient agreed that NJIT should endeavor to engage more with the local Newark community. Bloom also stated that there has been progress on the county level towards road safety improvements around campus, including crosswalks and expanded medians. In addition to these
financial aid until late in the semester due to verification of presence not being cleared right away. The Dean of Students office stepped in to help the 325 students facing this issue. Lastly, Bloom shared that NJIT has over 10,000 applicants this fall which, coupled with the expected
69% graduation rate, are both great improvements for the university. Senate Elections A few senators ran for other positions this week to better serve the NJIT community. Michael Moussa, the former Freshman Commuter Representative, was elected to Computer Engineering Representative. Moussa plans to use his previous experience to solve issues with professors and help students pick concentrations. Christopher Maharaj, another former Freshman Commuter Representative, was elected to the Commuter Representative position, where he plans to use his new position to resurrect the Off-Campus and Commuter Association. Lastly, Kion Namjou
joined senate as the Freshmen Resident Representative. He plans to focus on and improve campus safety and GDS hours of operation. Ending Notes The open segment of senate's meeting closed with a brainstorming session on how to improve NJIT’s engagement in Newark. Suggestions included expanding the student discount program, greater advertising for community tutoring programs, a larger version of COAD’s LEGO community day, engineering days, and encouraging classes to explore Newark. Those with ideas on how to improve NJIT’s relationship with the city should feel free to reach out to any senator.
NJ News
New Jersey Raises the Minimum Wage to $15 By Mark Pothen | Staff Writer
Photo by Fibonacci Blue | flickr.com
Wage Worries Wage Worries Wage Worries Wage Worries
New Jersey recently became the fourth state to approve a $15 minimum wage, following California, Massachusetts, and New York in a continuing democratic state trend. NJ.com reports that the wage is set to move to ten dollars in July, and then systematically raise one dollar every year until 2024. This bill was approved by a democratically-held state legislature and signed into law by the Governor of the state, Phil Murphy. Amongst progressives, the passing of this policy is widely held as a huge triumph, with the New Jersey Policy Perspective, a liberal Trenton-based think tank, estimating that over 1 million workers will benefit from the wage hike. Democratic advocates argue that this measure will put people with a lower socioeconomic status on a path to moving up in the economy. However, the passing of this policy is not
without criticism. Republican lawmakers who opposed the bill argued that a significant rise in the minimum wage would stifle productivity, decimate the small business sector, and make getting a minimum wage job significantly harder. NJ.com reports that Assembly Minority Leader Jon Bramnick, a Republican from Union, said the minimum wage would cut unskilled teenagers looking for their first job out of the labor force. A previous version of the bill carved out teenagers, who put up a fight to be included in the standard minimum wage. “It’s not that small business owners don’t have big hearts and want to pay their employees more,” Bramnick said. “They simply don’t have the wallets.” Many Republican senators are also worried about companies switching to automation instead of hiring new employees.
To assuage the fears of small businesses and fellow Republican lawmakers, Democrats included a training wage, which is to be no more than 90% of the minimum wage, and a provision allowing a pause on the raising of the wage in the event of a significant economic downturn. Proponents of the policy address the issue of $15 being enough in 2024 by utilizing the precedent set by a constitutional amendment that went into effect in 2013 and required the minimum wage to climb with inflation. When the minimum wage rises to $15 in 2024, it will continue to rise based on the consumer price index. The ramifications of the policy implementation hopefully will not hurt the economy or business sector, especially with a similar push to increase the federal minimum wage drastically.
"They simply don't have the wallets."