INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Winter recipe, page 10; Anna Wright’s senior art exhibit,page 11; Cheap Christmas gifts poll, page 7
Light the town
By Rachel Zouvelekis Staff Writer
By Nicole Reagan News Editor
The Glassboro Police Department has arrested three men in connection with the two robbery cases that occurred on Nov. 11, according to Joe Cardona, director of media and public relations for Rowan. Cardona said that all three were arrested Wednesday, Dec. 10, between 12 and 2 p.m. “It was a joint investigation with Glassboro police department and the Salem County prosecutor's office,” he said. “Between the three of us we were able to follow leads.” The three, who had been described in the police report as black males wearing dark clothing and hoodies, with one carrying a handgun, are allegedly involved with the two incidents that occurred early in the morning on Nov. 11. The first incident occurred at 12:48 a.m. behind the facilities building on the access road leading to the North Hall dorms, and one student sustained injuries after being punched and kicked by the attackers, according to the police report. The second incident occurred not long after at Campus Crossings; the victim was treated and released for injuries he sustained from his attack. More information will be released tomorrow at a press conference.
Index
A&E . . . . . . . . . .11 Bulletin Board . . .8 Crime Log . . . . . . 4 Features . . . . . . . 8 News . . . . . . . . . 2 Opinion . . . . . . . 6 Photo Poll . . . . . . 7 Sports . . . . . . . . 14
Maintain credit wisely in college With the holidays approaching and the pressure to go shopping on the rise, Rowan students had a chance on Monday morning to learn how to establish and use credit sensibly. Student organizations in the Rohrer College of Business and Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Delaware Valley (CCCS) co-sponsored the informational event held in Bunce Hall. On average, 45 percent of college students in America are in credit card debt by the time they graduate, according to Stephanie Bittner, a credit expert from CCCS. Bittner made it clear that credit scores are not a joke. An individual’s social security number is attached to a credit score. Car companies, banks, employers, cell phone companies, gas and electric utility companies all look at credit scores, ac-
cording to Bittner. Ideally, a good credit score is in the range of 720-900. Ryan Tormey, a criminal justice studies graduate student who attended the presentation, was in awe. “I never realized my credit score was looked at by so many people,” Tormey said. “It’s actually pretty scary how everything you do, from over withdrawing from your checking account to paying a car loan is watched Big Brother style.” Tormey currently has four credit card accounts. “I’m going to really watch what I use during the holidays for shopping and try to use cash more often,” Tormey admitted. “With the economy failing, I don’t want to be another victim of credit card debt.” Bittner advises students to limit the number of open credit accounts to four. She also condemns running out and opening many accounts at once. SEE
CREDIT, PAGE 3
Prof. remembered as mentor, inspiration By Ismaa Viqar Staff Writer
Glassboro opens holiday season
Photo by Alexandra Harcharek
Glassboro lit up its holiday tree on Dec. 5 at 6:30 p.m. outside Town Hall. A small crowd gathered as the mayor flipped the switch and the small tree shown brightly in the night. Currently, the tree stands shortly between two 10-foot flag poles, reaching only 5 feet. The township planted the tree last year so it will grow with the town, and in 20 years time, be even taller than the flagpoles next to which it stands.
photo courtesy of Rowan PR
Suspects arrested for Nov. 11 robberies
Frank Epifanio, assistant professor in the department of Special Educational Services/Instruction, passed away on Nov. 30 at the age of 56. He joined the Rowan University family in 2005, where he taught courses in the masters school psychology graduate program. Epifanio worked with fellow associate professor Barbara Bole Williams in the Special Ed Services department. “He was a compassionate person who was able to teach, support, and inspire
Frank Epifanio his students,” said Williams. “He will be remembered as a teacher and mentor, and someone who students wanted to emulate for his kindness and understanding of people.” SEE
REMEMBERED, PAGE 4
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News & Notes
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Weekend Weather
Friday Snow and rain High: 42 Low: 26
Saturday Mostly Sunny High: 42 Low: 26
Sunday Partly Sunny High: 48 Low: 36 Source: National Weather Service
A Guide to Your Newspaper
Greece paralyzed by strike; fifth day of violence
REUTERS/Oleg Popov
An employee of a McDonald's fast food restaurant walks in front of a broken window in Athens, December 9, 2008. Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis began emergency talks on Tuesday on ways to halt three days of rioting that threaten the conservative government.
National
State
Illinois governor Prosecution rests case charged with corruption in Fort Dix trial Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is accused of conspiracy to sell President–elect Barack Obama's seat in the U.S. Senate to the highest bidder, as well as other corruption charges. He is accused of threatening to withhold state assistance to the Tribune Company in connection with the sale of Wrigley Field in order “to induce the firing of Chicago Tribune editorial board members sharply critical” of him. On Tuesday the FBI unveiled a 76-page criminal complaint that included tape-recorded conversations in which the Governor used abusive language as he allegedly plotted to use public office for private gain.
Prosecution rested their case on Tuesday after 25 days of presenting evidence against the Fort Dix Five. Defense lawyers only called two witnesses on Wednesday, Dec. 10. This opens it up for closing arguments to begin next week. Lawyers will begin their closing arguments on Monday, with deliberations starting on Tuesday, though the defendants are not expected to testify. The suspects are five foreign-born Muslim men who lived in Cherry Hill; they face charges including attempted murder and conspiracy to kill military personnel.
College News
Studies show students misuse Adderall
By Jessica Fryman U. Nevada-Reno (UWIRE)
Studies show that up to 25 percent of college students misuse Adderall to help them cram for exams, a short-term benefit that comes with the risks of being charged with a felony and detrimental health consequences. The “study drug” is prescribed to people with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder to help them focus and stay calm, said Ole Thienhaus, dean of the University of Nevada School of Medicine. It’s a stimulant, classified as an amphetamine and Class II drug — the same category as cocaine. Studies vary, stating that 8 to 25 percent of college students use Adderall, but reports show increases in prescriptions for Adderall and students say the trend is widespread. For students that use the University of Nevada-Reno Counseling Services for Substance Abuse, alcohol and marijuana are the most common misused drugs, said
Garry Rubinstein, coordinator of the program. Of those students, about 8 percent said they have also abused Adderall. He is treating four students for Adderall abuse this semester. But not everyone who uses Adderall visits counseling services. “Students I see come in because something went wrong enough for them to call up for help,” he said. Rubinstein said abusing Adderall is “not a new phenomenon,” but he has no official numbers to compare this semester to the past. Jim, a UNR junior who uses Adderall to help him study, said he thinks students are more likely to take Adderall than they are to smoke marijuana. “People are more willing to do Adderall than anything else,” the 20-year-old business major said. “More people are doing Adderall than you think.” He said many students don’t consider Adderall a drug because it’s easily accessible through friends’ prescriptions at an average price of $3 per 15 mg pill.
Violence continues in Greece for a fifth day as riot police clashed with demonstrators. A general strike has paralyzed the country, increasing pressure on the conservative government to change its ways. Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis will provide financial support for businesses damaged in the riot. His opposition, George Papandreou, has called for end to the violence that now plagues more than 10 Greek cities. Demonstrators were furious at the shooting of a teenager by the police on Saturday. The killing has ignited unrest which is only further fueled by the public anger at political scandals, rising unemployment, and poverty. Karamanlis has pledged to guard the people from violence, but makes no solutions as to how he will bring about peace. Government sources also denied rumors about emergency measures being considered. No more protests are planned for the week, but the situation in Greece is tense.
Local
Deptford fire station burned Firefighters fought to stop blazes that swept through the volunteer Deptford firefighter station on Monday night. The entire area at the New Sharon Dire Station at 1830 Delsea Drive was burned before first-responding firefighters could salvage a truck, equipment, and the building's upper level space. Firefighters from Deptford, Woodbury, and Wenonah arrived at the scene at 10:12 p.m., reporting intense fire and smoke. The entire fire was brought under control in 45 minutes, said a Deptford fire official. No one was inside at the time of the fire, and there were no injuries. Gloucester County fire investigators are still investigating the cause of the fire. According to Deptford Fire Marshal Capt. Robert Burkhardt Jr., the attic, loft, roof, and common areas were damaged. A fire engine was damaged and another was completely destroyed. Township finance officers could not comment on whether there are funds available if the trucks need to be replaced.
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Credit
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Tips to establish and improve credit
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“It sends up a red flag to the credit companies that you’re looking for help and you need money,” said Bittner. “As soon as they see that, they’ll probably raise your interest rates.” Amy Rieder, a senior math/science and elementary education major who also attended the presentation, said that she was not anticipating opening any new line of credit anytime soon. “I only have one credit card and I’m going to leave it that way until I graduate, Reider said. “I don’t want to get caught up in the credit mess. I’d carry cash with me all the time if I could but, like many other students, that’s just not possible because it’s not there.” Bittner suggests that the approximate $3,000 of debt carried by recent graduates can be attributed to the fact that, on average, college students in their first week of classes are solicited by eight credit card companies. Incentives for signing up, such as free pizza, lure students to apply for credit cards. “That means these companies are out to recruit people to spend money with credit cards when the students probably don’t have a full time income, if any income at all,” said Bittner. “We have to remember these companies are businesses too. They have to make money and they will with
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þ Photo from Ilona Habben/zefa/Corbis
According to Bittner, approximately $3,000 of debt accrued by recent high school graduates can be credited to the number of credit card companies that students are solicted by in their first week of classes.
high interest rates,” she continued. Credit scores are like grade point averages for students; Bittner relates the two to make it easier for students to comprehend. “If you can figure out how to get a high GPA with tactics like study guides, extra tutoring, etc., then you can figure out how to gain a high credit score. Don’t use credit cards as a crutch, but rather as a helping hand,” she explained. The use of cash versus credit was also addressed. “There’s a connection with your
money when you hand a cashier $20 in cash. You see yourself giving away your money. When you use a plastic card, it’s much harder to keep track of your money,” said Bittner, who recommends the use of cash to avoid the common misconception that if it’s on a credit card, you still have a long time to find the money to pay for it. For more information on credit education, visit www.cccsdv.org or call 1-800-989-CCCS.
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Pay on time and establish a routine for paying each month. Try your hardest to pay in full. Repay old debts. Negative info is only retained for seven years on your report, so even if you forget payments, that piece of your record will be deleted in seven years. Good credit does not leave your record. Get a secured credit card, which entails giving a bank a lump sum and in return, the bank gives a credit card that allows a spending up to the maximum you gave the bank. If possible, have a co-signer, such as a parent with good credit, with you when you apply for a loan or a credit card. It will keep your interest rates lower. Keep your credit report accurate. Bittner suggests checking credit reports approximately one time per years since indentity fraud affects 8.2 million people. Reports can be checked at www.annualcreditreport.com or by calling 877-322-8228. While reports are not free (though they are often less than $10), they are fair and accurate.
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Good luck on your finals, enjoy your break, and have a happy holiday season! DATE: DEC. 1, 2008 LOCATION: CICONTE’S PIZZA, LITTLE BEEF’S Nobody out there likes to lose money, even when it’s fake money. One student began to notice that someone had been dipping their hands into her ‘Boro Bucks and she immediately sprang into action, filing a report with Public Safety. Included in the report are three fraudulent purchases made at Cicontes Pizza and Little Beef’s. The victim also stated the purchases had been made by her ex-boyfriend, yet she refused to name him or get refunded for the charges. It’s fine when couples who break up attempt to remain friends afterwards, but I’m pretty sure stealing money from the other person doesn’t qualify as a gesture of friendship. DATE: DEC. 3, 2008 LOCATION: CHESTNUT HALL A student filed a report with Public Safety after his property had been
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stolen from his residence. According the provided list, the items stolen were a PlayStation 2 console, two controllers, five games, around ten DVDs, a 19-inch television set, a VCR, and his bike. Ignoring the TV, VCR, and bike, I’m going to go ahead and assume that if the thief had traded the items in at GameStop, they probably would’ve gotten around $40 in store credit. If they went the cash route, it would probably be around $28. Thieves these days have no sense of worth; they’ll take just about anything, no matter how worthless it really is. DATE: DEC. 3, 2008 LOCATION: CAMPBELL LIBRARY When studying in the library, people often shift from spot to spot until they find one they’re comfortable with. After moving from one table to another, a female student realized that she left her cell phone at the table she just moved from. Upon arriving back at the original table, she noticed that another female student was now sitting in the spot she left behind and now possessed the same phone she had just left behind. Naturally, this new girl denied taking
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that phone when questioned about it and attempted to leave the scene. In an attempt to get to the bottom of this, the victim’s friend called the number of the missing phone, and as if on cue, the phone in the thief’s pocket began to vibrate. The victim gave the thief one more chance to come clean, but instead, she simply walked off with the vibrating phone in her pocket. What’s the lesson we’ve learned here today? Jedi mind tricks aren’t real. DATE: DEC. 6, 2008 LOCATION: WGLS RADIO STATION Officers were dispatched to the WGLS radio station after an employee filed a complaint regarding harassing phone calls she had been receiving during her shift. According to the report, the listener had been calling in up to 30 times an hour during her shift. He had also been contacting her through three separate instant messenger screen names. Luckily, while the employee was speaking with the officers, the lovely caller called in once again; only this time, he got to speak directly to the
officers. The officers were able to confirm that both the phone number and the screen names both belonged to the same caller. When asked why he was doing this, the caller claimed that he was only calling every time he thought of a new song to request. He was eventually advised that he would be permitted to continue to request songs, but he had to severely limit the amount of times he called. What this particular listener failed to realize is that there are programs out there such as iTunes and Winamp that can satisfy all of your musical requests and needs. Also, not everyone wants to listen to your same set-list night in and night out.
Although these briefs are a sample of actual incidents reported by Public Safety, please note, creative license has been taken. The full report can be obtained at the office of the Department of Public Safety in Bole Annex.
Illustration by Matt Goold and Stan Stolowski
Winter break courses to be offered Remembered
College of Business opens up major classes By Jean Jones Contributor
For the first time, Rowan University will be offering courses during the winter break. According to the university’s website, the College of Professional and Continuing Education (CPCE) will be offering a selected number of courses during the break between the fall and spring terms. The term will be considered a stand-alone term called an intersession. While the term intersession may not seem familiar on the Rowan University’s campus, it is a common term at the surrounding community colleges, including Gloucester, Camden, and Salem counties. At these colleges, students can attend classes during the winter break to obtain extra credits or fulfill needed course requirements. According to management professor Faye Zhu, one of the main benefits to the program will be to help further along students in their academic careers. “The courses that are being offered are prerequisites for courses offered in the spring, if a student takes the course during the intersession term, they will be eligible to take the next course in the spring, opposed to having to wait until the fall term,” said Zhu. The first intersession term will go into effect Jan. 2 and end Jan. 16,
which will be called Intersession 2009 or (J term). However, the session will only offer two courses: Principles of Accounting I and Operations Management. Professor Richard Marmon will be instructing Principles of Accounting I and Professor Faye Zhu will be instructing Operations Management. The courses will meet 11 times from 5:30 p.m. – 9 p.m. Students will be billed the same rates and charges as normal CPCE courses during the traditional academic year. No financial aid will be rewarded; however, any refund from aid for fall/spring terms will be utilized for intersession courses. The same course waivers that are used for the fall, spring and summer terms do apply to intersession term. Students will also be granted a drop/add period, which will occur during the first two days of the course/session. If students drop or withdraw from the course by the conclusion of the second day of classes, they will receive 100% refund; no other options are negotiable. The point of a pilot program will be to measure the success of the program and will dictate the future of an intersession term. Many students outside of the business departments aren’t aware of the intersession term; this may be due to the minimal courses offered and the newness of the program. “I had no idea that there was an
intersession term here at Rowan, until I went to look up courses, and I was hoping there would be some courses offered in Health and Exercise Science to help me out, that would have been nice,” said Kaitlin Guy, a senior health and exercise science major. Professor Faye Zhu believes the new intersession term will be a challenge for both her and the students. The courses will be very demanding, due to the length of the term. “It will be a challenge for me to minimize a full semester of teaching into 11 sessions, and students will need to be self-motivated to be successful in the class,” said Zhu. Some students have already begun to pick apart downfalls to the courses, especially the times offered. “If the classes weren’t at night I think I may have signed into taking one of them; however, I have to work at night. Maybe they should have offered one in the day and one in the evening,” said Janine Bryant, a sophomore accounting major. Other departments are encouraged to suggest possible courses for the future of the intersession term. More information can be obtained by contacting Margaret Van Brunt, Assistant Dean, College of Business, or by e-mail at vanbrunt@rowan.edu.
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Prior to his work at the University, he was a school psychologist and Director of Special Services in Monroe Township, Gloucester County for at least 20 years. He was also a past President of the New Jersey Association of School Psychologists (NJASP) during 1997-98. NJASP is a nonprofit professional association organized in 1958 for school psychologists working or living in New Jersey. “Dr. Epifanio was one of the good guys dedicated to helping others,” Krista Oxley Hillman, Rowan’s continuing education liaison and graduate of the EdS program, said. “He had a kind, understanding, and giving nature.” Donna Hathaway Cook, professor and chairperson of the Department of Special Education Services/Instruction, also held fond memories of Epifanio.
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“Frank Epifanio was one of those professors who were very student centered, very professional,” said Cook. “He really cared about his students. In his department, he is going to be missed for his contributions.” Epifanio’s work with the students did not go unnoticed by the students themselves. “Dr. Epifanio will be missed, but his legacy will love on in the hearts of all he has helped,” said Loretta Jarmon, an EdS student in school for psychology. “Teachers come and go, but every so often, one comes along that you’ll always remember, and you will always be sad when the one you really like leaves in the middle of his lesson,” said Lee Phillips, a psychology masters student. Epifanio is the father of two daughters and one son, Frank Jr., who attends Rowan University. He also has two young grandchildren.
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