THE D AILY T ARGUM Volume 141, Number 84 S E R V I N G T H E R U T G E R S C O M M U N I T Y S I N C E 1 8 6 9 TUESDAY FEBRUARY 9, 2010 INDEX BIG EAST BREAK Today: Partly cloudy High: 36 • Low: 28 The Rutgers men’s basketball team hosts Division II foe Caldwell tonight at the Louis Brown Athletic Center. Admission is free for Fan Appreciation Night. ONLINE @ DAILYTARGUM.COM OPINIONS ....... 12 DIVERSIONS ...... 14 CLASSIFIEDS ...... 16 SPORTS ...... BACK A coed University a cappella group takes the top spot in its first year of competing in a regional contest. The Daily Targum gives its thoughts on the best and the worst of Super Bowl commercials. OPINIONS UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY ....... 3 University a cappella group OrphanSporks performs its encore in Hickman Hall on Douglass campus Saturday after the group won first place in the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella Mid-Atlantic Quaterfinals. See PAGE 3 for full story. RAMON DOMPOR/ ASSOCIATE PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR ‘SPORK’ CAPPELLA U. endowment climbs despite economic woes BY GREG FLYNN CORRESPONDENT A new study reports the University’s endowment is doing well in comparison to the endowments of other colleges and universities. Clocking in at $508.8 million, the University’s endowment and other similar funds shot up 13 spots in the National Association of College and University Business Officers Commonfund Study of Endowments for fiscal year 2009 to become 105th in size, said Vice President for Finance and Associate Treasurer Delanie S. Moler. Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration Bruce Fehn said the University’s endowment — money the University receives in the form of grants — fared better than others dur- ing troubling times. “Keep in mind that [2008] was a very turbulent year and, in effect, we Six members of the University chapter of the Sigma Gamma Rho sorority plead not guilty to charges of aggravated hazing yesterday at a primary hearing in New Brunswick Municipal Court. Newark Attorney Nathaniel Davis, who represents five of the members: Joana Bernard, a Douglass College senior; Shawna Ebanks, of East Orange; Marie Charles, a Douglass College senior; Kesha Cheron of Newark, and Ilana Warner, a Livingston College senior, said all women deny allegations of paddling pledges, according to an article in The Star-Ledger. “I think ever yone’s jumped to conclusions in this case,” Davis said, according to the article. Gerald Gordon, a New Brunswick attorney representing the sixth member, Vanessa Adegbite of Jersey City, told The Star-Ledger his client is innocent, and she will be exonerated. Rutgers University Police Department charged each member with aggravated assault for allegedly hitting several victims on the buttocks with wooden paddles over a period of seven days between Jan. 18 and 25. One pledge went to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital for non-threatening injuries on Jan. 26, according to authorities. The victim reported the incident to University officials, telling them she was struck more than 200 times within the eight-day period. In an interview with The Star-Ledger, the pledge who was treat- ed at the hospital said she was told the beatings would “humble” her and each strike would build love and trust between sorority sisters. She said she was told the beatings were not hazing because the sorority did not condone hazing. The University and sorority’s national chapter suspended the chapter on campus. Judge Marie Koch said the case is being reviewed by the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office, according to the article. Aggravated hazing is an indictable offense that carries a maxi- mum penalty of 18 months in prison. — Ariel Nagi SORORITY MEMBERS PLEAD NOT GUILTY TO HAZING ALLEGATIONS HILLARY GOLDSMITH CONTRIBUTING WRITER Denur Novick, a School of Arts and Sciences first-year student, has never been sick a day in his life. So when he spent an entire night vomiting, he knew something was wrong. Novick, along with what residents tally as more than 55 other residents of Tinsley Hall on the College Avenue campus, became infected with the stom- ach flu or gastrointestinal virus. “I didn’t know what was going on. I came back from lifeguarding and just felt so sick,” Novick said. Novartis Pharmacuticals Dr. Nadia Dalati-Khani said this is a common problem, especially among universities, and students should be cautious. “It’s an infection in the intestine. It’s not known how it starts, but it can be passed through shaking hands, not taking the necessary hygienic procedures, and The Rutgers University Programming Association sets up a life-size chess board yesterday in the Livingston Student Center. Members also set up other larger-than-life games such as Jenga and Connect Four. SKYLA POJEDNIC CHECKMATE Stomach flu afflicts 55 Tinsley Hall residents Alumna walks minority women through education BY REENA DIAMANTE CONTRIBUTING WRITER Drawing from her experience of attaining a higher education, University alumna Shireen Lewis founded an organization that offers advice to other women going through the same process. Lewis established Sister Mentors in 1997 as part of the nonprofit organiza- tion EduSeed, which promotes educa- tion within disadvantaged communities. Its mission is to help women of color from different ethnic back- grounds complete their dissertations to acquire doctoral degrees, she said. To date, the program has benefited 34 women. Participants mentor young girls in elementary, middle and high schools in the Washington, D.C., area, Lewis said. From her education, career and the Sister Mentors program, Lewis SEE WOES ON PAGE 6 SEE FLU ON PAGE 7 SEE WOMEN ON PAGE 4 WORLD ......... 11 did less poorly than some other endowments,” he said. The NACUBO-Commonwealth Study of Endowments 2009 rankings cover 842 endowments and affiliated foundations of U.S. colleges, accord- ing to the NACUBO Web site. University departments receive endowment expenditures in accor- dance with the University’s spending policy, Fehn said. The policy allows the University to pay an amount not to exceed 4.5 percent of a trailing 13- quarter average of the endowment’s market value, he said. “On a $500 million balance, approx- imately $25 million is distributed as income,” Fehn said. “Now $25 million is a nice piece of change, and it’s a resource we’re glad we have, but in terms of the overall University budget, it’s not that significant. The University budget is about $1.9 billion.” realized that mentorship is a valuable experience for women. “Young girls must understand that education is the key to everything. Without an education you cannot be independent,” Lewis said. “To be dependent and rely on someone else, whether it is your parents or your boyfriend, is the worst situation. Young girls should be able to hold their own and take care of themselves.” Those in the Sister Mentors pro- gram gain experience that allows them to overcome obstacles and achieve their goals, she said. Through mentorship, women can learn these ideals, Lewis said. She encourages people to devote time to guiding young people down the right path. Lewis, who was born and raised in Trinidad and Tobago, graduated
Transcript
THE DAILY TARGUMV o l u m e 1 4 1 , N u m b e r 8 4
S E R V I N G T H E R U T G E R S C O M M U N I T Y S I N C E 1 8 6 9
TUESDAYFEBRUARY 9, 2010
INDEX
BIG EAST BREAKToday: Partly cloudy
High: 36 • Low: 28The Rutgers men’s basketball team hosts Division II foe Caldwell tonight at the Louis Brown Athletic Center. Admission is free for Fan Appreciation Night.
ONLINE @DAILYTARGUM.COM
OPINIONS . . . . . . . 12
DIVERSIONS . . . . . . 14
CLASSIFIEDS . . . . . . 16
SPORTS . . . . . . BACK
A coed Universitya cappella grouptakes the top spotin its first yearof competing in aregional contest.
The Daily Targumgives its thoughts onthe best and theworst of Super Bowlcommercials.
OPINIONS
UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY . . . . . . . 3
University a cappella group OrphanSporks performs its encore in Hickman Hall on Douglasscampus Saturday after the group won first place in the International Championship ofCollegiate A Cappella Mid-Atlantic Quaterfinals. See PAGE 3 for full story.
RAMON DOMPOR/ ASSOCIATE PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
‘SPORK’ CAPPELLA U. endowment climbsdespite economic woes
BY GREG FLYNNCORRESPONDENT
A new study reports theUniversity’s endowment is doing wellin comparison to the endowments ofother colleges and universities.
Clocking in at $508.8 million, theUniversity’s endowment and othersimilar funds shot up 13 spots in theNational Association of College andUniversity Business OfficersCommonfund Study of Endowmentsfor fiscal year 2009 to become 105thin size, said Vice President forFinance and Associate TreasurerDelanie S. Moler.
Senior Vice President for Financeand Administration Bruce Fehn saidthe University’s endowment — moneythe University receives in the form ofgrants — fared better than others dur-ing troubling times.
“Keep in mind that [2008] was avery turbulent year and, in effect, we
Six members of the University chapter of the Sigma GammaRho sorority plead not guilty to charges of aggravated hazingyesterday at a primary hearing in New Brunswick Municipal Court.
Newark Attorney Nathaniel Davis, who represents five ofthe members: Joana Bernard, a Douglass College senior;Shawna Ebanks, of East Orange; Marie Charles, a DouglassCollege senior; Kesha Cheron of Newark, and Ilana Warner,a Livingston College senior, said all women deny allegationsof paddling pledges, according to an ar ticle in The Star-Ledger.
“I think everyone’s jumped to conclusions in this case,” Davissaid, according to the article.
Gerald Gordon, a New Brunswick attorney representingthe sixth member, Vanessa Adegbite of Jersey City, told The Star-Ledger his client is innocent, and she will be exonerated.
Rutgers University Police Department charged eachmember with aggravated assault for allegedly hitting severalvictims on the buttocks with wooden paddles over a period ofseven days between Jan. 18 and 25.
One pledge went to Robert Wood Johnson UniversityHospital for non-threatening injuries on Jan. 26, according toauthorities. The victim reported the incident to Universityofficials, telling them she was struck more than 200 timeswithin the eight-day period.
In an interview with The Star-Ledger, the pledge who was treat-ed at the hospital said she was told the beatings would “humble”her and each strike would build love and trust between sororitysisters. She said she was told the beatings were not hazingbecause the sorority did not condone hazing.
The University and sorority’s national chapter suspended thechapter on campus.
Judge Marie Koch said the case is being reviewed by theMiddlesex County Prosecutor’s Office, according to the article.Aggravated hazing is an indictable offense that carries a maxi-mum penalty of 18 months in prison.
— Ariel Nagi
SORORITY MEMBERS PLEAD NOT GUILTY TO HAZING ALLEGATIONS
HILLARY GOLDSMITHCONTRIBUTING WRITER
Denur Novick, a School of Artsand Sciences first-year student, hasnever been sick a day in his life. So when he spent an entire
night vomiting, he knew something was wrong.
Novick, along with what residentstally as more than 55 other residents ofTinsley Hall on the College Avenuecampus, became infected with the stom-ach flu or gastrointestinal virus.
“I didn’t know what was going on. Icame back from lifeguarding and justfelt so sick,” Novick said.
Novartis Pharmacuticals Dr. NadiaDalati-Khani said this is a commonproblem, especially among universities,and students should be cautious.
“It’s an infection in the intestine.It’s not known how it star ts, but it can be passed through shaking hands, not taking the necessary hygienic procedures, and
The Rutgers University Programming Association sets up a life-sizechess board yesterday in the Livingston Student Center. Members alsoset up other larger-than-life games such as Jenga and Connect Four.
SKYLA POJEDNIC
CHECKMATE
Stomach flu afflicts 55 Tinsley Hall residents
Alumna walks minoritywomen through education
BY REENA DIAMANTECONTRIBUTING WRITER
Drawing from her experience ofattaining a higher education,University alumna Shireen Lewisfounded an organization that offersadvice to other women going throughthe same process.
Lewis established Sister Mentors in1997 as part of the nonprofit organiza-tion EduSeed, which promotes educa-tion within disadvantaged communities.
Its mission is to help women ofcolor from dif ferent ethnic back-grounds complete their dissertationsto acquire doctoral degrees, she said.To date, the program has benefited34 women.
Participants mentor young girls inelementary, middle and high schools inthe Washington, D.C., area, Lewis said.
From her education, career andthe Sister Mentors program, Lewis
SEE WOES ON PAGE 6
SEE FLU ON PAGE 7
SEE WOMEN ON PAGE 4
WORLD . . . . . . . . . 11
did less poorly than some otherendowments,” he said.
The NACUBO-CommonwealthStudy of Endowments 2009 rankingscover 842 endowments and affiliatedfoundations of U.S. colleges, accord-ing to the NACUBO Web site.
University departments receiveendowment expenditures in accor-dance with the University’s spendingpolicy, Fehn said. The policy allowsthe University to pay an amount not toexceed 4.5 percent of a trailing 13-quarter average of the endowment’smarket value, he said.
“On a $500 million balance, approx-imately $25 million is distributed asincome,” Fehn said. “Now $25 millionis a nice piece of change, and it’s aresource we’re glad we have, but interms of the overall University budget,it’s not that significant. The Universitybudget is about $1.9 billion.”
realized that mentorship is a valuableexperience for women.
“Young girls must understand thateducation is the key to everything.Without an education you cannot beindependent,” Lewis said. “To bedependent and rely on someone else,whether it is your parents or yourboyfriend, is the worst situation. Younggirls should be able to hold their ownand take care of themselves.”
Those in the Sister Mentors pro-gram gain experience that allowsthem to overcome obstacles andachieve their goals, she said.
Through mentorship, women canlearn these ideals, Lewis said. Sheencourages people to devote time toguiding young people down the right path.
Lewis, who was born and raised inTrinidad and Tobago, graduated
T H E D A I L Y T A R G U MF E B R U A R Y 9 , 2 0 1 0 DIRECTORY2
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Midway through theOrphanSporks’s set during a com-petition Saturday, the tempo camedown, the background voicesfaded out and two lead vocalistssang a soul-driven ’50s-style doo-wop medley amid whoops andhollers, winning the group a spotas one of the best a cappella groupsin the region.
In its first yearcompeting, theUniversity’s owncoed a cappellagroup, theOrphanSporks,won first place inthe InternationalChampionship ofCollegiate ACappella Mid-A t l a n t i cQ u a r t e r f i n a l sheld in HickmanHall on Douglass campus.
“We’re just a group that startednot too long ago, so to even com-pete was a great thing,” saidKristen Poemer, an OrphanSporksmember and School of Arts andSciences junior.
OrphanSporks membersNoah Herckey and Daniel Braffwon awards for outstandingsoloist and outstanding arrange-ments, respectively.
Regional ICCA finalists willperform against the other finalistsand two other groups from Africaand Europe on April 24 at LincolnCenter for the Performing Arts inNew York City, said DavidRabizadeh, the show’s producer.
OrphanSporks dominates Mid-Atlantic a cappella scene
University a cappella group Deep Treble, who hosted the evening’s competition, sings a renditionof Rufus Wainwright’s “Beautiful Child” as judges tally up the scores of the other groups.
RAMON DOMPOR/ ASSOCIATE PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
The OrphanSporks beat thesecond-place contestants fromLehigh University — theMelismatics — with a score of 362to 346. The College of New Jersey’sTrentones took third place.
Shockwave, an all-girls teamfrom the University, also compet-ed on Friday in its third appear-ance after winning first place twoyears ago, Feibush said.
The OrphanSporks andMelismatics arethe only groupsthat will go on tocompete in thesemifinals, butthey were not theonly ones to leavewith an award.
“A lot is notabout competingbut just being herewith everyone. Wejust love music,”said Asami Kondo,a Shockwavemember and
Rugters College senior.Shockwave member
Danielle Belsky wonOutstanding Vocal Percussionfor her per formance ofParamore’s “Misery Business.”
Though it did not compete,Deep Treble, another University acappella group, hosted and per-formed during the event. Membershelped organize and operate soundequipment, said Kenny Feibush,who oversaw the daily operations.
Kelsey Flanigan, a DeepTreble member who sang duringthe judges’ deliberation period,agreed with Kondo.
“All of the groups tonight arecompeting against each other,
“All the groupstonight are
competing againsteach other, but we still share
the same music.” KELSEY FLANIGAN
School of Arts and Sciences first-year student
but we still share the samemusic,” said Flanigan, a School of Arts and Sciences first-year student.
Musical Director MeredithSilver, supports the group unconditionally.
“When you get to the pointwhere we’re at, whether we winor lose, we still feel like we did agreat job,” she said.
Danielle Pagano, theOrphanSporks’ business manag-er, is in charge of schedulingtheir performances with any
University groups or depart-ments that make a request.
“Part of our duty is also to be rolemodels,” said Pagano, a School ofArts and Sciences senior. “I’ll admitthere was some backstage weeping,but with the progress we’ve madesince becoming seniors, we’re justreally, really happy with the group.”
Performances are short, butthe group tries to make the most ofits time on stage, Shockwave mem-ber Courtney Shaw said.
“We only have 12 minutes toperform as much as we can. A lot of
it becomes a group effort becausewe expect each other to know theparts,” said Shaw, School of Artsand Sciences sophomore.
Though the members worktogether, they also spend time practicing individually,Shockwave member VictoriaGrenci said.
“A lot of the work is inde-pendent,” said Grenci, a Schoolof Arts and Sciences sophomore.“We’ll all go home and learn theparts then come back to singwith the other girls.”
from Douglass College andearned a law degree at theUniversity of Virginia. Later, sheworked as a litigator in a NewYork City law firm.
Lewis said her work as alawyer allowed her to become a better advocate for women and encouraged her to further her education.
She went on to receive her doctorate in 1998 from Duke University.
While Lewis was working onher dissertation on FrancophoneWest African and Caribbean liter-ature, she said the alienation andisolation she experienced wasunbearable. Her optimism wasslowly deteriorating, and shebegan losing faith in herself.
As she struggled to reach aca-demic goals, Lewis realized theremust be other female students inWashington, D.C., with the same feelings.
While in the nation’s caitpal,she met women working on dissertations with similar topics , and later formed the Sister Mentors program.
In order to encourage eachother and make progress ontheir dissertations, the womenmet every threeweeks to focus ontheir assign-ments, she said.Together, theyresearched, readeach other’s work and offered critiques.
The womenfelt like they weresisters — theywere a part of afamily, Lewissaid. It is one of the main rea-sons why Sister Mentors hasbeen successful.
University alumna and SisterMentors participant JessicaFloyd said her experience withthe program was beneficial.
Floyd, a psychology associ-ate at the Reginald S. LourieCenter for Infants and YoungChildren, graduated from theUniversity in 2003 and thenpursued her Psy.D. at theGraduate School of AppliedProfessional Psychology.
Later, Floyd started on her175-page dissertation on howrace and culture is integrated inthe development of former fostercare children.
During that time, Floyd hadthe support of her friends whowere going through the sameprocedures and the guidance of others who had written their dissertations.
When she moved to Virginia towork at an internship for a Falls Church, Va., clinic, she began to struggle.
“When I moved back down tothe Washington, D.C., area, I wasclose to my family, but I didn’thave as many connections downhere as I did in New Jersey,”Floyd said.
“I felt so isolated and didn’twant to work on my disserta-tion,” said Floyd who wasworking 50 hours a week on apsychology degree. “I knew Ineeded that extra push from
WOMEN: Alumna helpsscholars complete doctorates
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F E B R U A R Y 9 , 2 0 1 0 T H E D A I L Y T A R G U MU NIVERSIT Y4
people that knew where I wascoming from and knew what Iwas going through.”
Floyd needed to reignite herenthusiasm to earn her psy-chology doctorate. Aftersearching for contacts in theWashington, D.C., area, she gotin touch with Lewis.
“I wish Sister Mentors wasnot just in Washington, D.C. Itwould definitely be needed inNew Jersey and other parts ofthe country,” Floyd said. “Moreand more women are in collegeand in graduate school. It wassuch a fulfilling experience.”
Through her past experi-ences, Lewis learned howimportant mentoring is. Duringher youth in Trinidad andTobago, Lewis attended thefirst elementary school in hervillage, and a teacher therebecame her mentor.
“She really spent time with meand pushed me to excel academi-cally and in sports,” Lewis said.“She helped me to gain so muchconfidence. I was ready for highschool and college.”
Lewis later found other femalerole models at Douglass College,including Mary Hartman, a pro-fessor in the Women’s andGender Studies Department andMicaela Misiego, a professor inthe Spanish Department.
“Having mentors was soimportant because they saw me
to be much morethan I saw myself.It really meanssomething as ayoung person,”Lewis said.
Despite Lewis’physical distancefrom theUniversity, sheremains activewith the AssociateAlumnae ofDouglass College,
said Rachel Ingber, executivedirector of the associate alumnae.
In 2005, the AssociateAlumnae of Douglass Collegeand Douglass College inductedLewis into The DouglassSociety, the highest award torecognize alumnae who distinguished themselves intheir career or through community service.
“Without a doubt, Shireen’snumerous contributions in pro-moting, mentoring, coachingand inspiring women and girlsof color make her a deservinginductee,” Ingber said.
Lewis also launched theProfessor Micaela MisiegoPrize for Spanish scholarship,Ingber said. It’s a prize award-ed to a Douglass student majoring in Spanish with out-standing achievement in thesubject to honor her DouglassCollege Spanish professor and mentor.
Lewis invited a group ofwomen from Washington, D.C.,to Douglass College in 2006 toinspire them to finish theirdegrees, Ingber said.
“Shireen continues to createevents and programs in theD.C. area with sister alumnaeand to connect Douglass alum-nae in this area to each otherand their college,” Ingber said.
Lewis continues to comeback to Douglass for lectures, Founders Day and her reunions.
“I knew I neededthat extra push
from people thatknew where I was
coming from.”JESSICA FLOYD
Sister Mentors participant
Students gather in the Livingston Student Center on Sundayto watch this year’s Super Bowl while enjoying refreshmentscourtesy of the Rutgers University Programming Association.
JENNIFER MIGUEL-HELLMAN/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
SUNDAY SHOWDOWN
The Center for Behavioral Health Services and CriminalJustice Research released a study that sheds light on holes foundin New Jersey’s inmate release programs, according to aUniversity press release.
Although most prisoners have a positive opinion of the sys-tem of reintegration, many have concerns about their financialsituations and health conditions upon leaving prison, accordingto the release.
“Approximately 10,000 men and women leave New Jersey pris-ons each year,” said Nancy Wolff, director of the center. “Many ofthem return to jail and prison for parole violations or new convic-tions within days, months or years post-release.”
Wolff recommends the New Jersey Department of Correctionsrevise the allocation of its funds for re-entry services in a moreefficient way.
She also suggests changes to the current system, such as thecreation of a re-entry preparedness checklist to measure whetheran inmate has the skills and resources necessary for release.
The checklist would also be used to track an inmate’s progressduring the reintegration period, according to the release.
— Kristine Rosette Enerio
REPORT SUGGESTS IMPROVEMENTS TO PRISONER RE-INTEGRATION SYSTEM
F E B R U A R Y 9 , 2 0 1 0T H E D A I L Y T A R G U M U NIVERSIT Y 5
F E B R U A R Y 9 , 2 0 1 0 T H E D A I L Y T A R G U MU NIVERSIT Y6
Student aid, student instruc-tion and departmental researchaccount for about 85 percent of endowment expenditures,Moler said.
These expenditures bolsterthe University’s scholarships,encourage research opportuni-ties, help maintain infrastruc-ture and aid in hiring and retain-ing faculty, according to theUniversity’s Web site.
Departments use the fundsbased on the purpose donorsdesignate, Fehn said.
“The endowments comewith restrictions. An endow-ment that’s for an endowedscholarship will always providesupport for a scholarship,” he said.
The average spending ratefor educational endowmentspar ticipating in the NCSEstudy was 4.4 percent, accord-ing to its Web site. The NCSEcalculated spending rates by dividing endowment dollarsspent by the beginning endowment value.
The University has around$800 million in outstandingbonds and other debt, Fehn said.
The debt ratio falls withinUniversity policy. TheUniversity sustains a strongcredit rating with the two mainratings agencies, Moody’sInvestors Service and Standard& Poor’s, he said.
The State Commission ofInvestigation said in a 2007repor t that vir tually unre-strained borrowing has bur-dened New Jersey’s public col-leges with some of the heaviestlong-term debt loads in thenation. Gov. Chris Christie’ssubcommittee on education’sJanuary 2010 transition reportattributed the debt load to thestate’s near elimination of capital support over the last 20 years.
The amount of debt doesnot impact the University’sNCSE ranking as the studyconcentrates on the size andreturns of the endowment,Moler said.
School of Arts and Sciencesjunior Jonathan Eng said it wasgood to hear the endowment’ssize ranking had risen.
But Eng said he wasn’t com-pletely sure exactly what theendowment is.
“It doesn’t really affect me,”he said.
School of Arts and Sciencesjunior Sam Joshi said the over-all size of the endowment ismore impor tant than the ranking, as it helps determinehow much student aid can be dispersed.
“I get student aid directlyfrom Rutgers, so [the endow-ment] matters,” Joshi said.
School of Environmental andBiological Sciences seniorMichael Buccarelli said heplans on contributing to theendowment after he graduatesthrough donations.
“[The University] providedme with a great education,”Buccarelli said. “My dad wenthere, my brother went here, mylittle sister goes here now. It’s agood place, and it provides a rea-sonable price for in-state kids.”
He said the poorer perform-ance of other endowments offeredproof that the University is man-aging its endowment soundly.
“I think people need to take astep back and look at what theyinvested in,” Buccarelli said.
WOES: U. debt reachesapproximately $800 million
continued from front
F E B R U A R Y 9 , 2 0 1 0T H E D A I L Y T A R G U M U NIVERSIT Y 7
sometimes it’s airborne,”Dalati-Khani said.
Alexa Stepien, a School ofArts and Sciences first-year stu-dent and Tinsley Hall resident,managed to stay well throughthe past week and a half.
“I’m so surprised my room-mate and I didn’t get sick. Wewere two of the only [residents]on our floor to not get it,” she said.
Stepien lives on the fourthfloor of Tinsley Hall, whereresidents count at least 35infected students.
“It’s not that hard for peopleto get sick around here,” shesaid. “We live so close to eachother in not a lot of room — it’senough to get anyone sick.”
Dalati-Khani said close spacesled to the increased possibility ofcontracting the disease.
“Because students are insuch a confined space, the virustends to spread faster fromsharing food, not washing yourhands or other hygienic proce-
FLU: Doctor says closed
spaces increase risk of virus
continued from front
Gov. Chris Christie established a temporary commission lastWednesday to mend the financial and structural problems in thestate’s gaming, professional sports and entertainment industry,according to a press release from the governor’s office.
“We can no longer let Atlantic City wither in the face of compe-tition, have our arenas and stadiums go underutilized, or have asports authority that is unable to maximize our entertainmentinvestment and resources,” Christie said.
Some of its main concerns are to ensure the New Jersey Sportsand Exposition Authority’s stability in the long run, to increase theappeal of Atlantic City’s gaming industry and to promote it as adestination resort, according to the release.
They also aim to schedule more entertainment events at theIZOD and Prudential Centers as a way of securing their success,according to the release.
Christie appointed Jon F. Hanson, former chairman of theNJSEA, to head the seven-member advisory commission.
The commission members will not be paid for their efforts, andthe group will disband by June 30 when it must submit its finalreport and policy recommendations to the governor, according tothe release.
The virus can last anywherefrom 24 hours to five days, and arecovery period is necessary, shesaid. Symptoms include dehydra-tion, vomiting and diarrhea, andin some cases, a fever with stom-ach pains.
“It feels like the worst foodpoisoning ever. It just felt likesomeone was stabbing merepeatedly,” Novick said of hisstomach pain. “I stayed homefor four days with this sharpshooting pain in my stomach. Itwas honestly the worst feeling Ihave ever felt.”
Dalati-Khani said this feelingdoes not last a very long time.
“Just take the necessary stepsto [get] better and it should goaway rather quickly,” Dalati-Khani said.
After a week and a half, thenumber of students sick inTinsley Hall declined.
“If you feel like you’re gettingit, stay away from spicy food andcaffeine and stay hydrated.Students with a high fever andcontinuous vomiting should seekmedical attention as soon as pos-sible,” Dalati-Khani said.
F E B R U A R Y 9 , 2 0 1 0T H E D A I L Y T A R G U M U NIVERSIT Y 9
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FEBRUARY
10 Donate a meal swipe at any Rutgers Dining Hall from nowuntil March 1 and help sick and injured children receivemedical care. The RUSA-sponsored meal swipe donationprogram will help raise money for the Palestine Children’sRelief Fund, a nonprofit non-political organization dedicat-ed to providing free medical care for children from all overthe Middle East who cannot receive care locally.
The first Leadership Breakfast meeting will take place at7:30 a.m. in the Multipurpose Room of the Cook CampusCenter. The Leadership Breakfast provides an opportuni-ty for Cook student leaders and staff to discuss issuessuch as student welfare, safety matters, transportation,housing and construction projects pertinent to Cook cam-pus. Come with your suggestions ready and help maintainCook campus.
Love Stinks! Get a taste of True Blood, the drink of choiceon HBO’s hit series, “True Blood,” at 7:30 p.m. at The Covein the Busch Campus Center. Enjoy a relaxing evening ofValentine’s crafts, chocolates and “True Blood,” while sup-plies last. Single or taken, spend some time with yourfavorite vampires.
Auditions for the world famous Vagina Monologues will beheld in Scott Hall Room 104 on the College Avenue campusfrom 9 to 11 p.m. Whether you are a seasoned actor orlooking to get involved in an international movement, wewould love to have you! No memorization or rehearsal nec-essary for auditions. Join the Facebook group “VDAYRutgers University-New Brunswick The VaginaMonologues 2010” for more information.
22 The Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum on the CollegeAvenue campus is presenting its fourth annual“Celebration of Storytelling” for preschool audiences.Starting at 10 a.m., the Maia String Quartet will tell storiesand perform classical music. The celebration will continuethe next morning at 10 a.m. with a storytelling perform-ance by nationally-acclaimed storyteller Beth Horner, whowill then hold a teacher workshop from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.Early registration for this free event is recommended.Anyone interested should call (732) 932-7237 ext. 615 toreserve a space in any of the programs.
25 “Crossroads: Migration, Language and Literature inAfrica” is a conference designed to foster transdiscipli-nary understanding of the complex interplay between lan-guage, literature and migration, and of the varied patternsof language and literary movement, formation and prac-tice arising from contemporary and historical migrationwithin and to Africa. The conference begins at 6:30 p.m.and will end Saturday, Feb. 27 at 12 p.m. in the RutgersStudent Center on the College Avenue campus. ContactRenee DeLancey at [email protected] or(732)445-6638 for more information.
Need a tune up? Want to de-stress, relax and explore cul-ture? “Sacred Sounds” is back! Come join the RutgersBhakti Club for an electrifying evening of musical medita-tions, exotic drumming and dance all with world-famouskirtan bands As Kindred Spirits and Mayapuris. “SacredSounds” will begin at 8:30 p.m. in the Rutgers StudentCenter on the College Avenue campus. If there is oneBhakti gathering to attend all semester, this is the one!RSVP at www.bhakticlub.org.
16 Student teams of three to five people are invited to competein the Residence Hall Association’s 3 vs. 3 soccer tourna-ment from 7 to 10 p.m. at the Sonny Werblin RecreationCenter on Busch campus. For more information about reg-istration, contact [email protected].
17 Lona Valmoro, a Rutgers College alumna and special assis-tant to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, will be discussingher experiences as a top aide in the Senate andDepartment of State, as well as her professional journeyfrom the University to the capital. The lecture will takeplace at 5 p.m. in the Eagleton Institute of Politics onDouglass campus. To hear her speak, RSVP to (732)-932-9384 x331 or online at http://www.eagleton.rutgers.edu/rsvp-valmoro.php
WORLDT H E D A I L Y T A R G U M
P A G E 1 1F E B R U A R Y 9 , 2 0 1 0
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
TIJUANA, Mexico — Mexicanauthorities on Monday arrestedtwo suspected leaders of a brutaldrug trafficking gang that terror-ized the border city of Tijuana forseveral years, a U.S. official said.
The capture of Raydel LopezUriarte and Manuel GarciaSimental apparently wipes outthe existing leadership of the car-tel headed by Teodoro GarciaSimental, who was captured lastmonth. Teodoro and ManuelGarcia are brothers.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
VIENNA — Iran pressedahead Monday with plans thatwill increase its ability to makenuclear weapons as it formallyinformed the U.N. nuclearagency of its intention to enrichuranium to higher levels.
Alarmed world powers ques-tioned the rationale behind themove and warned the country itcould face more U.N. sanctions ifit made good on its intentions.
Iran maintains its nuclearactivities are peaceful, and anenvoy insisted the move wasmeant only to provide fuel forTehran’s research reactor. Butworld powers fearing that Iran’senrichment program might be acover for a weapons programwere critical.
Britain said the IslamicRepublic’s reason for furtherenrichment made no sensebecause it is not technicallyadvanced enough to turn theresulting material into the fuelrods needed for the reactor.
France and the U.S. said thelatest Iranian move left no choicebut to push harder for a fourth setof U.N. Security Council sanctionsto punish Iran’s nuclear defiance.
Even a senior parliamentarianfrom Russia, which traditionallyopposes Western ambitions fornew U.N. sanctions, suggestedthe time had now come for suchadditional punishment
Konstantin Kosachev, head ofthe international affairs commit-tee of the State Duma — thelower house of parliament — toldthe Interfax news agency that theinternational community should“react to this step with seriousmeasures, including making theregime of economic sanctionsmore severe.”
Iranian President MahmoudAhmadinejad had alreadyannounced Sunday that his coun-try would significantly enrich atleast some of the country’s stock-pile of uranium to 20 percent.Still, Monday’s formal notifica-tion was significant, particularlybecause of Iran’s waffling inrecent months on the issue.
Western powers blame Iranfor rejecting an internationallyendorsed plan to take Iranian lowenriched uranium, furtherenriching it and return it in theform of fuel rods for the reactor— and in broader terms for turn-ing down other overtures meant
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
DETROIT — Responding totwo recalls and facing theprospect of another one, Toyotadealers across the country wererepairing thousands of carsSaturday, the first weekend daythat many drivers had a chanceto take action.
Although many dealersexpected a long line of cus-tomers, most drivers seemed farfrom panicked.
Delwyn Wright, a 51-year-oldtruck driver, had heard aboutToyota’s troubles on the news butgot the accelerator on his wife’sCamry fixed Saturday after it wassuggested by a dealer inColumbia, S.C., where Wright hadtaken the car for an oil change.
“We ain’t never had no prob-lem with it,” Wright said.
Toyota recalled 2.3 millioncars in eight models, includingthe top-selling Camry, on Jan. 21and stopped selling the vehiclesfive days later because the gaspedals can get stuck in adepressed position. But it tookuntil the past week for Toyota tomail parts to dealers and traintechnicians, making this the firstweekend many Toyota ownerscould seek repairs.
At the same time, dealers arerepairing 5 million Toyotas from anearlier recall because their floormats could jam the pedals, causingunintended acceleration. And thepossibility of another recall looms— this time, for the company’s cel-ebrated Prius hybrid.
Even so, at ManhattanToyota, a dealership on the bor-ough’s West Side, there were
Customers remain interested in Toyota vehicles despite the massive recall of 2.3 million cars.Toyota says the software glitch in its 2010 Prius models have been fixed since the recall.
GETTY IMAGES
Toyota interest remains despite recall
Mexican authorities arrest suspected drug lords
Iran promises toenrich uranium
to diminish concerns about itsnuclear agenda.
Telling The Associated Pressthat his country now had formal-ly told the International AtomicEnergy Agency of its intentions,Iranian envoy Ali AsgharSoltanieh said that IAEA inspec-tors now overseeing enrichmentto low levels would be able to stayon site to monitor the process.
He suggested world powershad pushed Iran into the deci-sion, asserting that it was theirfault that the plan that foresawRussian and French involvementin supplying fuel from enricheduranium for the Tehran researchreactor had failed.
“Until now, we have notreceived any response to our posi-tive logical and technical proposal,”he said. “We cannot leave hospitalsand patients desperately waitingfor radio isotopes” being producedat the Tehran reactor and used incancer treatment, he added.
The IAEA confirmed receiv-ing formal notification in arestricted note to the agency’s 35-nation board made available toThe Associated Press.
Iran’s atomic energy organiza-tion informed the agency that“production of less than 20 per-cent enriched uranium is beingforeseen,” said the note.
“Less than 20 percent” meansenrichment to a tiny fraction belowthat level — in effect 20 percentbut formally just below thresholdfor high enriched uranium.
At the same time, the noteindicated that Iran was keepingthe agency in the dark aboutspecifics, saying the IAEA “is inthe process of seeking clarifica-tions from Iran regarding thestarting date of the process forthe production of such materialand other technical details.”
On Sunday, Iranian officialssaid higher enrichment wouldstart on Tuesday.
At a news conference withFrench Defense Minister HerveMorin, U.S. Defense SecretaryRobert Gates praised PresidentBarack Obama’s attempts toengage the Islamic Republicdiplomatically and chided Tehranfor not reciprocating.
“No U.S. president hasreached out more sincerely, andfrankly taken more political risk,in an effort to try to create anopening for engagement forIran,” he said. “All these initia-tives have been rejected.”
more potential Toyota buyers inthe showroom on Saturday thancar owners waiting for their gaspedal to be modified. A giant signin the window read: “We have instock 200 vehicles not affected bythe recall.”
Sales manager Chris Mignanosaid the dealership started doingthe pedal modifications on Friday,completing work on about 30 carsby Saturday morning. Six extratechnicians were hired to handlethe repairs.
Mignano said every customerwho called has been given anappointment and a quick primer onhow to stop their vehicle — applythe brakes and put the car in neu-tral — if a problem should occur.
One customer, MargotHammond, called the repair“very easy — no problems.”
Rob Gregory of RochesterToyota in Rochester, Minn., had asteady stream of customers need-ing gas pedal repairs Saturday,but lines were never more thanthree or four cars long. He said ittook technicians about 15 min-utes to install a steel shim in thegas pedal assembly to stop thepedal from staying down.
Even though the fix is quickand simple, dealers say they’reconfident that the repair will stopthe gas pedal problems.
“I’ve been with Toyota 20 years,I feel confident with Toyota,” saidBruce Winokur, general sales man-ager at Toyota Center in Columbia,S.C. “As long as I’ve been withthem, everything they’ve done inthe past with issues, they havedone the right way.”
Regulators aren’t so sure. TheU.S. Department of Transportation
is reviewing whether Toyotas andother vehicles may have a widerproblem of electronic interferencecausing acceleration and otherunintended actions.
The government is also inves-tigating more than 100 reportsthat the brakes on the 2010 Priushybrid appeared to fail momen-tarily when the car is driving onbumpy roads. Toyota blames asoftware glitch and says it hasalready fixed vehicles in produc-tion. But it’s still deciding how tohandle repairs on 270,000 Priusesthat were sold in the U.S. andJapan starting last year. The com-pany could announce a full-fledged safety recall or simply askowners to bring their vehicles infor repairs, since the brakesaren’t failing completely.
In a letter to U.S. dealersFriday, Toyota said it willannounce its plan for the Prius inthe coming days. It also told deal-ers that a new, 60-second televisionad will begin airing Sunday thatadmits Toyota hasn’t been livingup to its reputation for quality andsafety. The ad says the company isworking hard to repair the recalledvehicles and restore trust.
Toyota needs to win over peo-ple such as Laura Benin, 34, fromthe New York borough of Queens.
She owns a 2009 silver ToyotaCorolla. It was her first car, andshe chose it because she wantedsomething reliable. After hearingof the recall she was frustratedthat her dealer didn’t seem toknow how to handle it. Andalmost two weeks went by “beforeI got any kind of communicationfrom Toyota,” she said.
Lopez, known as “El Muletas,”and Garcia, known as “ElChiquilin,” were arrestedMonday in La Paz, a city in thesouthern end of the BajaCalifornia peninsula, said AmyRoderick, a spokeswoman for theU.S. Drug EnforcementAdministration. She had no fur-ther details on the operation thatled to their capture.
Mexican federal prosecutorsand police declined to comment.
The two men were allegedlythe top lieutenants of TeodoroGarcia before his capture, also in
La Paz. The gang was known for itsbrutality, having executed, behead-ed and mutilated hundreds ofrivals in Tijuana. Gang memberspinned notes to corpses and dis-solved bodies in caustic soda.
Tedoro Garcia’s arrest Jan.12 was considered a victory forenhanced sur veillance tech-niques that are being cultivatedwith the assistance of theUnited States. That raid alsonetted 19 mobile phones andtwo laptop computers.
Twelve more cartel suspectswere arrested in two raids in late
January, including two men and awomen who were allegedly aboutto dissolve a body in a bathtubwith chemicals.
Teodoro Garcia was once con-sidered a top hit man for Tijuana’sdominant drug gang, the family-runArellano-Felix cartel. He launched anew group affiliated with theSinaloa cartel after law enforcementarrested or killed most of theTijuana cartel leaders in 2008.
The splintered organizationshave been involved in a violentturf battle in Tijuana, a valuabletrafficking corridor to the U.S.
More than 15,000 people havebeen killed since President FelipeCalderon launched a crackdownon cartels three years ago, includ-ing more than 2,500 people inCiudad Juarez last year.
The militar y announcedMonday that soldiers hadseized more than 12 tons ofmarijuana found beneath afalse floor of a tractor trailer.The drugs were found during aroutine search at a checkpointnear San Felipe, a town in thecentral par t of the BajaCalifornia peninsula.
probably taken big govern-ment to a whole new level.Obama raised taxes,employed the largest adminis-tration in our country’s histo-ry, spent more in his first year
than any past president and insists on passing a healthcare overhaul bill when less than half of the country’spopulation supports it. I could go on and on about theshortcomings of our severely inexperienced presi-dent — such as failing to meet conservatives halfwayand being completely indecisive about troop increas-es in Afghanistan — but that goes beyond the scopeof this column. What I want to focus on is a logical,fact-based case against big government.
Anyone who has ever taken an economics courseknows about the benefits and downfalls of governmentin the marketplace — which is where an oversized gov-ernment will inevitably end up. In its most limited form,government can play a helpful role in the economy bypooling investment and risk to provide public goodsthat everyone can use. There are certain goods andservices that the government can supply most effi-ciently for the country as a whole — namely national
defense, infrastructure, education andenforcement of property ownership.Ideally, that is all government shouldinvolve itself in; anything elseWashington chooses to control is inher-ently doomed to be inefficient andwasteful. Some of these programs areMedicaid, Social Security and Welfare(and, strangely enough, they are allattempts at redistributing income).
Most people are caring and want tohelp others in need, and I encourage pri-
vate philanthropy. However, I must object to any gov-ernment measure that takes taxpayers’ hard-earnedincome and awards it to low-income citizens purelybecause they don’t make the same amount of money. AsI mentioned, government is inefficient, so most of thosetax dollars will be lost in the red tape and politicians’ wal-lets. Oh, and did I mention the fact that donations aresupposed to come through voluntary, heartfelt privategifts and not a Robin Hood system? The government hasno place using tax money for nonessential programs.
To be fair, our current government is not nearly asdomineering and omniscient as George Orwell predict-ed, but a self-serving, big government tends to feed
THE DAILY TARGUM WILL BE HOLDING ITS ANNUAL EDITORIAL BOARD CAUCUS AT NOON ON FRIDAY, FEB. 12 IN ROOM 402 OF THE RUTGERS STUDENT CENTER ON THE COLLEGE AVENUE CAMPUS.THE CAUCUS WILL DECIDE TARGUM STAFF FOR THE UPCOMING YEAR, AND IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
THE DAILY TARGUM WELCOMES LETTERS TO THE EDITOR AND COMMENTARIES FROM ALL READERSDue to space limitations, submissions cannot exceed 750 words. If a commentary exceeds 750 words, it will not be considered for publication.All authors must include name, phone number, class year and college affiliation or department to be considered for publication. Anonymous let-ters will not be considered. All submissions are subject to editing for length and clarity. A submission does not guarantee publication. Pleasesubmit via e-mail to [email protected] by 4 p.m. to be considered for the following day’s publication.
The editorials written above represent the majority opinion of The Daily Targum Editorial Board. All other opinions expressed on the Opinionspage, and those held by advertisers, columnists and cartoonists, are not necessarily those of The Daily Targum.
OPINIONST H E D A I L Y T A R G U M
P A G E 1 2 F E B R U A R Y 9 , 2 0 1 0
O n Monday, TheDaily Targum pub-lished a column
about the arguments for biggovernment. I’d like thereaders to hear both sides ofthe issue.
The author of Monday’s “Big GovernmentServes its Purpose” seemed to be under the impres-sion that big government is synonymous with anygovernment. He asked many rhetorical questionsaddressing who will secure the people’s rights if notbig government. He contended that the market-places are essentially unsafe without Big Brotherlooking over them. He also played the race card,perhaps in hopes of pulling at your heartstrings, inarguing that individuals cannot fight for their ownpersonal rights.
Unfortunately for the author, he wasn’t reallyreasoning for a big, coddling government — hewas merely arguing against anarchy. Yes, of coursewe need the government to protect our liberties,property and safety, and to regulate the market-place. But what we don’t need is a government thatworks for itself under the guise ofcaring about its poor, sick and help-less citizens.
One of the most arrogant actionsPresident Barack Obama has made israising the federal income tax for citi-zens who gross over $250,000 annual-ly. That tiny fraction of Americanswas already responsible for themajority of government tax revenue,but Congress decided that the richshould shoulder more of the tax bur-den. Even under former PresidentGeorge W. Bush’s administration, the top 10 percentof earners paid for 68 percent of the total taxes,while the bottom half of earners only contributed ameasly 3 percent of taxes. It can be argued that therich population can afford to pay a greater propor-tion of their income to the government — but is itfair? Let me remind readers that our foundingfathers explicitly chose to deny government theoption of taxing citizens’ income. It all changed,though, in 1913, when Congress passed theSixteenth Amendment to the Constitution, making itlegal for the federal government to levy a graduatedincome tax on its constituents.
Under the ultra-liberal Obama in 2010, our gov-ernment is still redistributing income; in fact, it has
MCT CAMPUS
A case against big government
EDITORIALS
Best and worst of SuperSunday TV spots
T he Super Bowl is over, with the New Orleans Saints clutch-ing the win and living rooms left in shambles, and nowthere is only one thing to review. The Daily Targum nomi-
nates several notable commercials as the best and the worst of thisyear’s Super Bowl. And despite the mediocrity of this year’s 30-sec-ond or one-minute pieces, this year’s Super Sunday managed toproduce a good number of excellent commercials.
The nominees for best Super Bowl commercials are: Google’stake on lifelong decisions, Audi’s “Green Police,” Doritos’“Samurai” and “House Rules” and Snickers’ tackle on Betty White.
Google’s heartfelt take on life embodied a deep, yet fun com-mercial that stretched from a boy’s quest for “Parisian love” to hisseeking the definition of “truffles” and finally getting married to aParisian girl and having a family. The simple music and plainimages of the well-known search engine gave viewers a break frommuch hyped-up film trailers and equally-entertaining but showyDoritos commercials. The plain white background was a much-needed change from those colorful images of Dove’s men products.
Another nominee for the first annual Targum Super BowlCommercial Awards is Audi’s “Green Police.” Their one-minutespot was an interesting take on worldly issues that we face everyday. The “Green Police” of course is still a creation of the manywho care about the environment. Incandescent light bulbs andplastic bags are taken away as the “Green Police” arrests the“criminals.” The surprise comes at the end as a Clean Diesel Audicomes around the corner. This TV spot was one of very few thatentertained and made sense in a larger world angle, in addition ofcourse, to buying an Audi.
Doritos’ “Samurai” commercial was something else. A well-known weight room setting is the background for a nonsensicalturn of events. We liked it because of the chaotic nature and thetruly hilarious Doritos-clad samurai. The villain, or the guy in thecommercial who steals the samurai’s Doritos gets kicked to theground as, for a moment, chips prove to be the most importantsnack in the world. Hilarity ensues.
The other entry from Doritos is the “House Rules” TV spot. Aman arrives at a house to take a woman on a date. The woman’syoung son becomes the man of the house. In all seriousness — orsome at least — the kid slaps the gentleman caller and warns himagainst touching his mother or his Doritos. What more is there tosay? “Keep yo’ hands of f my momma, keep yo’ hands of f my Doritos!”
And the final candidate for our most prestigious awards isSnickers commercial. Betty White takes an important role in thisyear’s Super Bowl as she appears in an amateur football game inwhich the famed chocolate bar transforms an old “Golden Girls”star to a muddy guy playing football. The sole image of BettyWhite getting tackled into the mud warrants a spot in our famed awards ceremony.
Of course there is the question of worst Super Bowl commercialof the year. There are always those.
Tim Tebow’s anti-abortion speech comes to a forefront as it issimply the University of Florida’s quarterback speaking outagainst the controversial issue. But there was nothing more to it.The commercial itself turned out to be less than controversial. Atthe end, Tebow even tackled his mother. It seems as if this TVspot would much rather like to promote domestic violence. Bearwith us, however, as there are much worse examples of marketing methods.
Dove for Men is the second candidate as it follows the life of aman from his conception to his marriage and kids. We believe thatany commercial that begins with someone’s conception is justanother candidate off our “best” list.
GoDaddy’s sexual, nudity-charged videos must be the worstrecurring TV spot of all time. Their cries to visit a Web site haveoverstayed their welcome. Danica Patrick and the various modelsthat star in the commercials have simply no place in the elite line-up of marketing pieces that line the breaks of Super Bowls.
The winners of The Daily Targum Super Bowl CommercialAwards have been chosen. The winner of Best Super Bowl XLIVcommercial is Doritos’ “House Rules.” There might be no logicalexplanation other than the sheer hilarity of a little kid slapping agrown man and saying “keep yo’ hands of my momma…” The run-ners-up are of no importance, therefore we must move on to theabsolute worst.
And we simply cannot dif ferentiate between the lack of qualityof our “worst” nominees, so the Targum gives the award to allthree of them.
Super Bowl weekend has been good to those who, be they theNew Orleans Saints or Doritos’ House Rules. We, for one, have noway of tell our readers which award is more important — it is up to them.
“A lot is not about competing but just being here with everyone. We just love music.”
Asami Kondo, a Shockwave member and Rutgers College senior, on the ICAA a cappella competition that took place on Saturday
STORY IN UNIVERSITY
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“... government is inefficient, so mostof those tax dollarswill be lost in the
red tape and politicians’ wallets.”
SEE WINTERS ON PAGE 13
CommentaryJAMES WINTERS
T H E D A I L Y T A R G U M F E B R U A R Y 9 , 2 0 1 0 1 3OP I N I O N S
T he opinions letter inThe Daily TargumFriday — “Fox News
remains balanced” — is mis-leading, not only in the actualpremises of its arguments, butalso in its specific examples.
The author’s claims would beviable points — if Fox NewsChannel actually treated these“commentators” as simply com-mentators. Newspapers clearlylabel editorials as such (either bysimply calling them editorials orputting them on an opinions page).
There is certainly an argumentto be made that MSNBC is just asbiased as FNC, and I personallyagree that MSNBC shares a small-er, but still significant, amount ofthe blame for the decline in qualitythat American news has suffered.The need for objective, fact-basedjournalism has never been higher,and both stations are hurting theAmerican public by flooding theairwaves with constant, meaning-less chatter that is mostly idle spec-ulation from “experts.” However,the argument that MSNBC does italso is not sufficient to excuse FNCfrom their obvious bias.
The case of James O’Keefe andthe Association of CommunityOrganizations for Reform Now,which the author mentions as acase of FNC’s “fair and balanced”perspective, is certainly an instanceworth mentioning, though I would
itself. Key characteristics of an over-grown government are a budgetdeficit and debt accumulation. Withthis in mind, it might be alarming tonote that this country has run adeficit every year — with the excep-tion of four — since 1970. Congress,which is responsible for approvingannual budgets, has seen our coun-try amass a $12 trillion debt, a num-ber so staggering we have no hopeof paying it off even within the nexthalf century (especially consideringObama has clearly made no attemptto choke the debt). It is infuriatingthat our representatives have soselflessly decided that it is in ourbest interest to dig an enormousgrave of debt. It has never beenappropriate or reasonable to spendmoney that one doesn’t have. Whenindividuals accumulate debt, theyare held accountable. The govern-ment should be held to the samestandard. The fiscal irresponsibilitythat has become commonplace inpolitics is unacceptable and franklyembarrassing. A balance sheet isone of the simplest financial tools toread and use, yet Congress cannotfigure it out.
We do, however, have a chanceto fix Congress’s mistakes, andthat is by voting every single con-gressman out of office. We neednew blood. The old regime is stub-born in its ways and has no designsto slow its spending. Similarly,though he might have the bestintentions, Obama has done almostnothing to help his country. Underhis administration, the govern-ment has grown along with thenational debt. Fortunately for thepeople of this country, everyCarter is succeeded by a Reagan.
James Winters is a School ofEngineering sophomore majoringin biomedical engineering.
T h e F e b . 7column, “Big govern-ment serves its purpose,”
is completely out of touch withreality. To set the record straight,Tea Party Patriots do not believethat every form of government isbad — in fact, if they had to pickthe primary role for government,it would be the protection of indi-vidual life, liberty and property.The role of government is justi-fied when it comes to nationalsecurity and enforcing propertyrights. What tea partiers argueagainst are excessive spending,entitlement programs and aninvasion of personal properties.When government gets too bigand autocratic, it usually conflictswith the interests of the public,since people like their money andthe governments needs theirmoney in order to operate. Theencroachment on life and proper-ty that the author mentioned inBosnia and Rwanda were not theresult of a government that “stoodidly by” — these were genocidesconducted by the government.The atrocities in Rwanda andBosnia are extreme examples ofbig government out of control —deciding whose life was worth liv-ing based on religion and ethnici-ty. The author fails to compre-hend that historically, govern-ments that redistribute wealthalso infringe on the liberties andfree speech of their people. Thevast majority of tea partiers do notbelieve that American govern-
Liberal ideals fail to explain
WINTERScontinued from page 12
JOHN RYAN
LetterAARON MARCUS
Letter
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ment will ever reach the despoticnature of Rwanda or Bosnia; theysimply do not want a suit inWashington dictating their lives.The author goes on to claim thatdiscriminatory policy is the resultof government, yet his solution tothe problem is more government.Is he implying that the UnitedStates needs more discriminationor less? When the framers formu-lated the Constitution, their num-ber one fear was a governmentthat had too much power. Ournation depends on each and everyindividual’s desire to achieve, asopposed to many European-stylenations, where progress isdependent on government. To putthis into simpler terms for thosewho agree with naive ideology,let’s pretend that everything youuse is really the property of oneperson you have never met before,that they have the power to decidewhen you get lunch, when you getclothed and when you can get ajob. One day they say that you areno longer going to be clothed orfed, and you can’t go out and get ajob because they need your helpfixing their problems — whatwould happen to you? How longwould you survive without thismysterious provider? Liberalsmust remember that a govern-ment big enough to give youeverything you want is also bigenough to take away everythingyou have. Tea partiers are notlooking to revolt; they simply wantgovernment to tighten their belts,much like most people during atime of economic downturn. Howdare President Barack Obama’sadministration tell Americans not
to live extravagant lifestyles withtheir hard-earned money whenthe federal government spendsand spends without any self-con-trol? Now I understand whyObama told a crowd of people inNew Hampshire last week not togamble away their money inVegas — he wants to do it forthem. Frederic Bastiat, a Frenchphilosopher from the 19th centu-ry, wrote enthusiastically aboutthe young republic of the UnitedStates, stating in his book “TheLaw” that, “There is no country inthe world where the law is keptmore within its proper domain:the protection of every person’sliberty and property. As a conse-quence of this, there appears to beno country in the world where thesocial order rests on a firmer foun-dation.” Bastiat did not claim thatevery policy in the United States iscommendable; he pronouncedthat slavery and tariffs bothendanger the public peace, sinceslavery infringes on the lives ofpeople and tariffs coerce peopleinto relinquishing their property.Ten years after he wrote “TheLaw,” the Civil War broke out, dev-astating the nation. Excessive tax-ation still infringes on the propertyof the American people 160 yearslater; let’s hope that the latter partof Bastiat’s observation does notlead to another Civil War, and thatthe federal government realizesthat they have a certain — limited— role in our lives.
Aaron Marcus is a School ofAr ts and Sciences sophomoremajoring in political scienceand history.
have to disagree completely withthe author’s analysis of the situation.
The author also makes the pointthat O’Keefe’s recent arrest on thecharge of “entering federal proper-ty under false pretenses with theintent of committing a felony” wasbroadcast as soon as it happened.The delay that came between thebreaking of the ACORN scandaland the picking-up of the story by“liberal” news sources, such as TheNew York Times, proves a liberalbias in the media. But the circum-stances of the two stories werevery different.
O’Keefe was arrested for illegal-ly entering into Sen. MaryLandrieu’s, D-La., office, which isfederal property, and that is a news-worthy story — regardless of theidentity of the trespasser. The factthat it was O’Keefe, a more widelyknown figure since the ACORNvideos, only made the story morelikely to be disseminated. Thus, itshows up immediately on theTimes homepage, while his videosshowing unethical behavior on thepart of a few people working forACORN do not.
In short, FNC is hardly “fair” or“balanced” and its dishonest use ofthe “news vs. opinion” dichotomyand publication of the O’Keefe affaironly serve to show that it is hardlythe ideal that the editorial’s authorpresented the network to be.
John Ryan is a School of Artsand Sciences sophomore majoringin political science and journalismand media studies.
DIVERSIONST H E D A I L Y T A R G U M
P A G E 1 4 F E B R U A R Y 9 , 2 0 1 0
Doonesberry GARY TRUDEAU
Horoscopes / LINDA C. BLACK Pearls Before Swine STEPHAN PASTIS
Today's birthday (2/9/10). This is the year for you to developinternal mechanisms for accomplishing your goals. You alreadyknow something about adapting to the world. Now, utilize your cre-ative mind so that the world bends more to your wishes. Use yourexcitement to motivate friends and family. To get the advantage,check the day's rating: 10 is the easiest day, 0 the most challenging.
Aries (March 21-April 19) —Today is an 8 — Today givesnew meaning to "nose to thegrindstone." Plan on produc-tivity, with a female making thefinal adjustments.Taurus (April 20-May 20) —Today is a 7 — Step off thecarousel today and plant yourfeet firmly on the ground. Practi-cal matters demand close atten-tion. Create new boundaries.Gemini (May 21-June 21) —Today is a 5 — Take your workseriously, even if your mind ison other things. Consult a newsource for materials you need.Cancer (June 22-July 22) —Today is a 7 — Words don'tcome easily now, especially atwork. Stay on task, even if youhave to close your door tomake it happen. A female sup-ports your cause.Leo (July 23-Aug. 22) —Today is a 7 — Quiet contem-plation in the morning leadsto social grace later. Take achance on an idea your part-ner thought up. It could bejust what you've needed.Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) —Today is a 6 — Personal effortreaches a balance point today,as you get over the hump witha major task. Push toward thegoal line. You score creativepoints now.
Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) —Today is a 7 — Work closelywith a female associate tobring fresh energy to a dullproject. A dismal beginningturns into steady progress.Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) —Today is a 6 — A long-distanceassociate or customer shakeseverything up. They don't wantto do it your way. Explain thelogic behind your methodology.Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)— Today is a 6 — Throw your-self into creative transforma-tion. Your life could change ina big way, or you may simplychange your mind about anissue that's been nagging you.Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) —Today is an 8 — You work hardall day, and you accomplishmore than you thought possible.Drop into a comfy chair and letsomeone else serve you supper.Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) —Today is an 8 — Build like youwant it to last. A solid foundationcarries you forward better than aquick fix. Think in decades.Imagine golden success.Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) —Today is an 8 — Meet withyour team and a visitor. Theirconsensus illuminates where totighten up logic, and is onlypossible because you've antici-pated the objections.
Dilbert SCOTT ADAMS
T H E D A I L Y T A R G U M F E B R U A R Y 9 , 2 0 1 0 1 5D IVERSIONS
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Both of those series winscame within the confines of Bainton Field on Livingston campus.
Three opponents —Louisville, St. John’s and SouthFlorida — swept the ScarletKnights during the regular sea-son — RU faces Louisville and St.John’s again in 2010.
T H E D A I L Y T A R G U M F E B R U A R Y 9 , 2 0 1 0 1 7S PORTS
R utgers women’s soccerAll-American ErinGuthrie was named
Woman of the Year by the NewJersey Association ofIntercollegiate Athletics forWomen yesterday at the organi-zation’s annual banquet.
The multi-talented goalkeep-er posted a 0.47 goals againstaverage last season and earneda 3.30 GPA.
The Sparta native led theScarlet Knights to a 16-5 recordher senior season and was athird round draft pick of FCGold Pride in the WPS Draft.
RUTGERS WOMEN’Slacrosse attack Brooke Cantwellearned a second-straight selec-tion to the preseason All-Big Eastteam. Cantwell scored 32 goalsand recorded a team-best 38points for the Knights last season.
The Big East also announcedlast Thursday that RU wastabbed to finish sixth in the 2010Preseason Poll, conducted bythe conference’s nine coaches.
THE CHICAGO WHITE SOXagreed to allow Omar Vizquelto wear No. 11. The numberwas previously worn by Hall ofFamer Luis Aparicio and retiredby the White Sox.
Vizquel said he is wearingthe No. 11 to pay homage to hiscountrymen Aparicio, who wasthe first Venezuelan playerelected to the Hall of Fame.
Vizquel has worn No. 13 in thepast, but that number belongs tomanager Ozzie Guillen.
THE NEW YORK YANKEESofficially announced yesterdaythe signing of outfielder RandyWinn. The Bronx Bombers alsoinked free agent outfielderMarcus Thames to a minorleague contract.
Thames, who spent the pre-vious six years with the DetroitTigers, hit .252 last seasonalong with 13 home runs. TheYankees originally draftedThames in the 30th round ofthe 1996 amateur draft.
SUPER BOWL XLIV WASthe most watched program in tel-evision history, the Nielson Co.estimated. More than 106 millionpeople tuned in to watch the NewOrleans Saints defeat theIndianapolis Colts, which eclipsedthe 1983 finale of “M*A*S*H.”
By comparison, last year’sSuper Bowl — which held theprevious record-high audience— netted 98.7 million viewers.
FORMER NFL STARWarren Sapp was released froma Florida jail Sunday on a $1,500bond after allegedly choking awoman in his hotel room. Thewoman had been dating Sappfor two years.
The NFL Network analyst —pulled off the air until futurenotice — was arrested Saturdayby Miami police on one chargeof domestic battery.
Sapp’s accomplished NFLcareer included seven Pro Bowlselections, 96.5 sacks, and aSuper Bowl ring in 2002 withthe Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
SUMMIT: Pitching must
improve for RU’s Big East slate
continued from back
“I think this year we can com-pete with the best of them,” saidjunior first baseman JarenMatthews. “We all had great sum-mers this year all around and wewill stay with them this year.”
For the Knights to maintainsuccess not only in the Big Eastbut the entire season in general,the pitching staff has to closeout games.
The entire staff last seasonhad a combined 6.24 ERA and a22-31 record.
“I think we need to improvein all aspects from last year,
pitching especially,” said sen-ior reliever Kevin Lillis. “Wehad some injuries but that isno excuse. The past few yearswe have gotten of f to a slowstart in the Big East but we arelooking to get a much betterstar t this year. I speak foreverybody when I say that wewant to get back to the Big East Tournament and finish first.”
In 25 appearances last sea-son, Lillis had a 2-2 record witha 5.35 ERA and 27 strikeoutscompared to 12 walks.
“I think that our pitchingstaf f has more experience thisyear,” Hill said. “We just haveto find a closer. We want tohave Kevin Lillis be our setupman and we need someone whocan come in after him and closeout the game. There wereabout six or nine games lastseason that we should havewon but we didn’t close them out.”
The Knights open the seasonFeb. 19 in Coral Gables, Fla.,against No. 12 Miami at AlexRodriguez Park.
T H E D A I L Y T A R G U MSP O RT S1 8 F E B R U A R Y 9 , 2 0 1 0
RESEARCH VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
Free Treatment StudyDo your emotions feel overwhelming or out
of control?
Do your emotions cause problems for you?
When you are upset, is it difficult to think about anything else?
When you are upset, does it take a long time to feel better?
If you answered yes to the above questions, are over the age of 18, and are a Rutgers undergraduate student, you may be eligible toparticipate in a research study with free group therapy.
The study consists of weekly group skills training (therapy) sessions for 8 weeks. No medication is involved.
The study is being conducted at Rutgers University, New Brunswick and is approved by the Rutgers IRB committee.
If interested, please call: (732) 445-2000, extension 141 before February 19th.
•
•
•
•
ANDREW HOWARD/ PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
C. Vivian Stringer relies on sophomore forward Chelsey Lee (34)to help navigate the patented 55-defense.
to an even dozen in the secondhalf. The Knights scored ninepoints off turnovers in the sec-ond half alone against SouthFlorida, crucial in a game decid-ed by only eight points.
“We found a way to win andbefore we found ways to lose,”Stringer said after the victoryover the Bulls. “I thought theteam stayed composed, and weplayed hard in our 55-press. Weknew what we needed to do andnot foul. I appreciate the fight thatwas there.”
DEFENSE: 55-press
improves for Stringer’s Knights
continued from back
Though an effective pressdoes not always guarantee a vic-tory — Georgetown being aprime example — the evolutionof the defense over the course ofthe season is crucial to theKnights’ success. With sevenregular season games left on theslate, expect to see a lot more ofthe 55.
“Every year we get to a pointwhere we struggle, trying to getthe 55’s positions together becauseit’s a tough press,” McCurdy saidin January. “But right now I thinkwe’ve got it, I think we’re doingpretty good. We’ve spent a lot oftime working on it and [Stringer]spent a lot of time breaking everyposition down and we’re comfort-able with it.”
head coach Fred Hill Jr.“Instead of a nine-point game athalf, it turns into 11 — maybe ifwe execute and get Mike a shotand he buries a three, it’s a sixpoint game.”
Still, Hill said he is impressedwith Miller’s progression — par-ticularly since he’s averaging 25.6minutes per game.
“I’ve watched Dane from dayone continue to get better andbetter,” Hill said. “In somerespects he’s starting at a muchdif ferent level than [HamadyN’Diaye] when he was a fresh-man. Look at [N’Diaye] now,
he’s got thechance to be a[NBA] draft pick.[Miller] has thatsame enthusiasmand passion forthe game. I thinkthe sky is the limitfor the type ofplayer Dane canbe here and hecontinues to getbetter each day.”
Miller and theKnights (11-12, 2-9) step out of con-
ference tonight at the LouisBrown Athletic Center to faceDivision II Caldwell College.
The Cougars (3-18, 2-11) arecoming off a 71-44 loss toPhiladelphia University and arelosers of five straight.
Malcolm Austin leadsCaldwell in scoring with 13.8points per game. The sophomoreguard had a 30-point effort in aloss to Dominican College earlierthis month.
The game is also Rutgers’ fanappreciation night and admit-tance to the game is free.
the Week honors for the firsttime this season.
Miller averaged 11 points andseven rebounds per game duringa 1-1 week for the ScarletKnights. He scored five pointsand added seven rebounds in avictory over St. John’s.
Miller leads all Big East fresh-men in scoring during leagueplay with 12.5 points per game.
“Dane’s one ofthe most improved[players],” saidjunior forwardJonathan Mitchell.“He’s still a fresh-man and he’s stillgoing to have hisbumps in the road,but he’s growingand that’s whatyou want to seefrom a freshman.”
M i l l e r ’ sbiggest downfallin his rookie cam-paign is turnovers. His 62 give-aways are second only to MikeRosario’s 63.
A lazy pass at the end of thefirst half Saturday with RUattempting to hold for the finalshot resulted in a Louisville dunkand a double-digit halftime lead.
“These are the little things —experience — we’re setting up athree-point shot for MikeRosario. There’s no way youshould turn the ball over in thezone — it’s just a little ball rever-sal, we get a little casual, weturn the ball over,” said Rutgers
T H E D A I L Y T A R G U M SP O RT S F E B R U A R Y 9 , 2 0 1 0 1 9
ANDREW HOWARD/ PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
Forward Dane Miller leads all Big East freshmen in scoring duringleague play. Miller averages 12.5 points per game in the conference.
ROOKIE: Knights take
on Division II Caldwell at RAC
continued from back
“I think the sky isthe limit for the
type of player Danecan be here and he
continues to get better each day.”
FRED HILL JR.Head Coach
T H E D A I L Y T A R G U M2 0 F E B R U A R Y 9 , 2 0 1 0 S PORTS
The Rutgers men’s basketball team went 1-1 last week, while the gymnastics team finished third out of four at its most recent quad-meet. The women’s basketball team bested Big East foe South Florida and the swimming and divingteam took second in its most recent home meet.
ANDREW HOWARD/ PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
DAN BRACAGLIA/ MULTIMEDIA EDITOR
ANDREW HOWARD/ PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
DAN BRACAGLIA/ MULTIMEDIA EDITOR ANDREW HOWARD/ PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
T H E D A I L Y T A R G U M SP O RT S F E B R U A R Y 9 , 2 0 1 0 2 1
Senior defender guarantees Big East tournament berthBY STEVEN WILLIAMSON
SENIOR WRITER
After narrowly missing out ona postseason berth last year,Rutgers women’s lacrosse senior
defenderE m i l y
Penn turned serious when askedabout the Scarlet Knights’ aspira-tions for the upcoming season.
“We will make the Big Easttournament,” she said.
It wasn’t a question and it was-n’t a goal — it was a statement offact. Confidence is high this sea-son for the Knights, who sport aroster that returns four of its fivetop goal scorers from last season.
RU was tabbed to finish sixthin the Big East Preseason Poll,ahead of Connecticut, Cincinnatiand Villanova. But with theprospect of playing in the tourna-ment — which will be hosted atRutgers this season — on theline, the team is determined to letnothing stand in its way after lastyear’s disappointing 7-9 finish.
“Home field advantage is def-initely a big thing for us,” saidsenior attack and co-captainBrooke Cantwell.
Cantwell, the team’s leadingscorer last season with 32 goalsand six assists, was named to thepreseason All-Big East squad.The senior headlines a Knightssquad that faces perennial top-20teams in Cornell, Princeton,Syracuse, Georgetown andNotre Dame.
“[Our schedule] is some-thing that we look forward tobecause we know we can’t letour guard down or think we
have it in the bag,” Cantwellsaid. “It definitely gives us moreincentive in practice.”
The Knights played pieces ofstrong games last season butfell short of putting the finalproduct together.
Rutgers dropped a four-over-time thriller against No. 16Cornell in Ithaca and fell by a sin-gle goal two games later to No. 6Princeton. Couple those with apair of narrow losses againstDenver and Louisville and lastyear’s Knights could have fin-ished with an 11 win campaign.
But the team is determinednot to let history repeat itself.
“As a coaching staff we’vemade some changes over thesummer and decided there werethings we needed to be moreaccountable for as a staff,” saidhead coach Laura Brand-Sias.“We’ve tried to raise the bar andpush the team to a higher level.”
Named to the Under ArmorAll-American Lacrosse Team lastseason, Anderson garnered MVPhonors at the All-American fallclassic and led her team to threestraight championships. The mid-fielder — whose sister Kristen isa junior attack for the Knights —was recognized by InsideLacrosse Magazine as the eighthbest rising senior in the nationheading into last year.
While the Knights will missthe midfield presence and lead-ership of Michelle Poole andscoring of attack NinaFrankoski, the biggest void will
be the one left by departed goal-keeper Sandra Abel.
Abel started all 16 games forRU last season and posted 144saves and a .469 save percentage.
In her stead, RU brought infreshman goalkeepers LilyKalata and Aimee Chotikul.Sophomore transfer MichelleZaffuto, from Saint Joseph’s, isalso listed as a goalkeeper inthe preseason.
“I think in terms of the goaliesituation you can’t replace experi-ence,” Brand-Sias said. “Therewill be some bumps along theway and that will be expected.”
But experience abounds onthe rest of the field, with threesenior captains in Penn, Cantwelland midfielder Faith Richards.
Richards — entering her sec-ond straight year as captain —paces the midfielders alongwith classmate Mar y Cr yanwhile Penn and senior KarieMcGuire anchor the Knights’defensive unit.
And it is that type of experi-ence that Brand-Sias hopes willhelp the Knights as they preparefor their games in one of themost competitive conferences inthe nation.
“Obviously, the Big East isgoing to offer us competitionevery year,” she said. “We’re hereto win championships and we’rehere to get to a spot where we canrepresent Rutgers on a nationallevel in the NCAA tournament.That’s not going to happen with acake schedule. It’s a challengeevery year but that’s what you’rean athlete for, you’re here to stepup to the challenge.”
ANDREW HOWARD/ PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
Senior co-captain Brooke Cantwell earned All-Big East preseasonhonors. Cantwell led the team with 32 goals and 38 points last year.
WOMEN’S LACROSSE
T H E D A I L Y T A R G U MSP O RT S2 2 F E B R U A R Y 9 , 2 0 1 0
DAN BRACAGLIA/ MULTIMEDIA EDITOR
In her last singles match, Amy Zhang won 6-0, 6-0. The juniorarrived at Rutgers as a highly-touted recruit from Texas.
BY TYLER DONOHUESTAFF WRITER
Amy Zhang traveled a longand winding road on her way tobecoming Rutgers’ tennis ace.
T h o u g hshe was
born in China, Zhang calledNebraska, California andTexas home at dif ferent pointsin her life.
While attending PlanoSenior High School in Texas,Zhang became a star athlete onthe tennis court, and it wasn’tlong before colleges across thecountry began recruiting her.Pondering her choices, shedecided that itwas time for yetanother changeof scenery.
“I really wantedto go to a bigschool on the EastCoast,” Zhang said.“I knew I wouldhave to adjust tothe differentweather, but thatwasn’t a big deal.”
It turned out RUwas the perfect fit,so upon her highschool graduation in 2007, shepacked her bags and, once again,moved far away. The decisionworked out quite well for Zhang,who is now a junior and the ScarletKnights’ top performer.
Zhang was the team’s numbertwo singles player throughouther freshman season, before step-ping up to the top spot last year.She flourished as a sophomore in2009 posting a record of 16-5 andearned All-Big East honors.
Now more than halfwaythrough her career at RU, it’s fairto say Zhang lived up to the highexpectations that accompaniedher when she arrived as a herald-ed recruit three years ago.
“Amy has the potential to bebetter,” said assistant coachAlex Arlak. “Her record is goodnow but she can definitelyimprove on it. She hits all thosepounding shots and I’d like tosee her develop more of a volleygame at the net.”
Though she dropped her firstmatch of this spring season atSyracuse, she rebounded quicklyby shutting out her opponent inlast Thursday’s match againstFairleigh Dickinson.
Zhang’s style of play is just asunique as her background.
She possesses a free flow stylethat requires instinct and rare tal-ent. Her game relies on the abili-
ty to hammerd o w n - t h e - l i n eshots that mostcollegiate playerswouldn’t dareattempt. Somemay call it livingdangerously, butZhang is consis-tently able to pullit off.
Occasionallyshe attempts aseemingly ill-advised shot and,to her team-
mates’ surprise, she nails it —just another reminder of whyZhang is one of the conference’smost feared players.
“I definitely make someunorthodox choices when I play,”Zhang said. “Hitting down theline is considered a risky thing.But ever since I was young it has-n’t felt that way, and I’ve beenable to make the shot. That’s justthe way I play.”
Though her approach some-times drives coaches crazy, it’shard to argue with the results.
“They don’t really like theway I play sometimes,” Zhangsaid with a grin. “But, I mean,it works.”
Risks pay off forwell-traveled Zhang
TENNIS
“I definitely makesome unorthodox
choices when I play.Hitting down theline is considered
a risky thing.”AMY ZHANG
Junior tennis player
The East Brunswick nativebroke the school record in the 60-meter hurdles with a consolationchampionship winning time of7.86 seconds, good enough toqualify him for the NCAAs laterthis season.
The 7.86-second time laidwaste to the previous record of7.91 seconds set by former BigEast Most Outstanding Trackperformer David Klics in 2004.
Blessing in disguise? — No, thewrestling team did not travel toBethlehem, PA., to take on No. 7Lehigh. As a result, the school’slongest unbeaten streak is stillintact and has room to grow withopponents Liberty, American,Drexel and Bloomsburg to closeout the season.
It looks like head coachScott Goodale may just get asecond consecutive 20-win sea-son after all.
Redemption — After a sweep-ing at the hands of Syracuse, thetennis team came home to returnthe favor to Fairleigh Dickinson.Junior Amy Zhang started theteam off in the right direction bypicking apart FDU’s ElmineBotes. Botes failed to score a sin-gle point against Zhang.
Dangerously Cheesy — Tell meyou saw the Doritos ninja in theSuper Bowl commercials yester-day. Doritos shuriken? A Samuraisuit made from cheese?
While most commercialswere duds this year, at leastthere was one commercial for agood laugh.
Out of luck — The FelixFelices ran out. In a game wherethe Scarlet Knights had legiti-mate upset potential over aLouisville team that was hurting,sophomore guard Mike Rosarioscored 20 points less than his pre-vious game, and Hamady N’Diayewent down clutching his head
with four minutes left to play.There may be a Big East
break in Caldwell tonight, butconference games are all thatawait the Knights for the rest ofthe stretch. The pressure’s on tosee if those two games were thereal deal or just a pair of flukes.
David and Goliath — It’s badseeing No. 13 Iowa State on theschedule. But when coupled withBig East powerhouse Pittsburgh,the gymnastics team knew thisweekend was going to be aboutas desirable as Lindsay Lohan inany film other than “Mean Girls.”
Pittsburgh even got to pickthe rotation — a rotation thatwas not in RU’s best interests,according to head coachChrystal Chollet-Norton.
All the time in the world —Mike Rosario tied his career-high in playing time on thecourt once more, playing thefull 40 minutes of Saturday’sgame against Louisville. Yet,this was still not enough time toput together anything compara-ble to the last two games thatearned the sophomore Big Eastweekly honors.
The 13 points scored weresignificantly less than lastgame’s total, and the tworebounds and an assist doesn’thelp matters that much.
Snow — Along with theKnights wrestling team’s highly-touted matchup this weekend,the snow that was supposed todesecrate the Northeasternseaboard caused the cancellationof the tennis team’s Sunday after-noon matchup and had thewomen’s track team sending onlyseven athletes to last weekend’smeet at Yale.
The speed limit on the turn-pike was reduced to 35 mph andoverall it was pretty chilly. Bringon the spring.
No. 7 Lehigh, as well as thediving team’s Drexel Diving Invitational.
But the snow wasn’t enoughto hold back long overdue pay-back from the Rutgerswomen’s basketball team. C.Vivian Stringer’s group took itto South Florida, avenging ahome loss last year to a Bullsand snapping a three-game los-ing skid in the process. TheKnights find themselves on the
NCAA Tournament bubble.Now let’s see what they do withthe rest of the season.
More records — This seasonis a good time to break records ifyou’re on the track team. Thisweekend, senior Kyle Gradystole the spotlight for the men’strack and field team at the NewBalance Invitational.
P redicted to drop a win-tery onslaught of mis-ery, 2010’s “snowpoca-
lypse” dropped about fiveinches of snow on Piscataway,and a lot of that is alreadymelting. Still, it was enough toscare some sports into closingtheir scheduled meets overthe weekend — among thosemeets was the highly-antici-pated wrestling matchbetween No. 23 Rutgers and
T H E D A I L Y T A R G U M F E B R U A R Y 9 , 2 0 1 0 2 3S PORTS
BILL DOMKE’S THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY
‘Snowpocalypse’ ruins exciting RU weekend
ANDREW HOWARD/ PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
Snow prevented the No. 23 Rutgers wrestling team from traveling to Bethlehem, Pa., for a Saturdaymatchup with No. 7 Lehigh. The Knights hope to reschedule the match, but no date was announced.
C. Vivian Stringer says it often this year— the Rutgers women’s basketball team isnot a fast team.
Stringer likes fast.Her 55-defense — ascheme that involves
a stifling full court press in which playersmust repeatedly race from one end of thecourt to the other — is predicated on fast.
So when the Scarlet Knights tried toimplement the scheme early in the year, itwas met with mixed results. While the pressworked at times, more often than not, oppo-nents broke it, leading to easy buckets.
But the press came alive during theKnights’ most recent stretch, and it’s keep-ing the team’s postseason hopes alive — ifonly barely.
“The 55 can go when you have the rightpeople in there, and we had the right peo-ple,” Stringer said after RU’s 59-50 loss toGeorgetown. “I never worried about that. Ialways worried about what kind of mindsetwe’re playing with. We’re not a greatshooting team, and that’s a fact. That’swhy the best chance we have is to steal theball and get points on layups.”
The search for those “right people” usual-ly begins with senior forward MyiaMcCurdy. The speedy McCurdy is tradition-ally at the head of the press, using her speedand defensive prowess to fluster opposingplayers and force mistakes.
“The job description of being at the top,you’ve got to be relentless and you’ve got tobe aggressive and you have to be excited,”McCurdy said. “So every time I get up thereI get an adrenaline rush and I’m just trying toforce as many steals as possible — I’m happyto play it.”
McCurdy and sophomore forwardChelsey Lee have both been featured as thefocal point of the press this year, whileStringer continues to rotate the guards —typically senior Brittany Ray and sopho-mores Nikki Speed and Khadijah Rushdan— to try and find the perfect combination.
With RU down for more than 20 minutesagainst South Florida Saturday, the Knightstried their hand at the press in the second half.
Though the Bulls had only six turnoversin the opening period, that number doubled
SPORTSP A G E 2 4 F E B R U A R Y 9 , 2 0 1 0
T H E D A I L Y T A R G U M
Rutgers picks up speed with patented 55-defense
ANDREW HOWARD/ PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
Senior forward Myia McCurdy (24) is traditionally the focal point of the 55-press and a defensive specialist for the ScarletKnights. Rutgers struggled implementing the press early in the season but saw more success in its past three games.
Rookie playsstarring rolein Big East
SEE DEFENSE ON PAGE 18
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
BY KYLE FRANKOASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR
Dane Miller raced down the court atFreedom Hall, put one hand behind his heada delivered a tomahawk jam. Then he flashed
a smile.That’s just the
way Miller plays.“I definitely feel
like my confidenceis growing witheach game,” Miller
said after the Rutgers men’s basketball teamhad its two-game winning streak snapped ina 76-60 defeat to Louisville. “I’m just comingout trying to play and have fun.”
Miller threw down four highlight-reelslam dunks as part of his game-high 17points against the Cardinals.
The 6-foot-7 freshman earned hisreward yesterday with Big East Rookie of
Three years later, Hill eyes return to summit
ANDREW HOWARD/ PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
Senior outfielder Jarred Jimenez is one of nine seniors whowere part of the Knights’ Big East title three years ago.
BY ALEX JANKOWSKI CORRESPONDENT
It was just three years ago whenthe Rutgers baseball team wascrowned king of the Big East in
both regularseason play
and the conference tournament.Since then, things have not
exactly gone according to plan forthe Scarlet Knights, culminating inan 8-19 finish in conference playlast year.
“Obviously there aren’t a lot ofpositives to take away from lastseason,” said senior outfielderJarred Jimenez. “My first yearwas the year that we won the BigEast. I was able to see the talentthat it took to get there. I thinkthis year we have the experienceand the talent to be on top of the[Big East.]”
In his third season, Jimenezsaw action in all but three gamesand started all but four. The out-fielder batted .311 with 39 RBIand also scored 29 runs of his own.
“I swung the bat alright butnot as well as I thought I would,”
the Monroe native said. “Anytimeyou are over .300 that’s a goodthing, but I’ll be looking toimprove on that.”
In the preseason poll conduct-ed by the league’s coaches, RUwas tabbed eighth out of 12 teams,with Louisville leading the pack.The Cardinals are the only BigEast team ranked in the nationalpreseason polls — No. 19 — aftera 47-18 season.
“Just like every other year, ourconference schedule will be atough one,” said head coach FredHill Sr. “Louisville is the onlyranked team but I think SouthFlorida is another good team, asare a handful of other clubs. Thereis going to be some competition, nodoubt about that.”
During last year’s campaign, theKnights did not sweep any confer-ence opponent and only twice didthey take two out of three gamesaway from their opponents. One ofthose teams, Georgetown, is slatedlast in the conference, and theother, Cincinnati, is ranked oneabove RU, at seventh.
