THE DAILY TARGUMV o l u m e 1 4 1 , N u m b e r 7 9

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 2, 2010

INDEX

VERY THIN ICEToday: Snow

High: 37 • Low: 27The Rutgers women’s basketball team suffered its third straight loss last night 75-63to Notre Dame. Khadijah Rushdan led the team in scoring with 16 points.

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OPINIONS . . . . . . . . 12

DIVERSIONS . . . . . . 12

CLASSIFIEDS . . . . . . 14

SPORTS . . . . . . BACK

PENDULUM . . . . . . . 10

Phi Sigma Sigma is back on campusafter they wereforced to disbanddue to lack of members.

Students voice their opinions on “The Situation” ofhit MTV show “Jersey Shore.”

PENDULUM

UNIVERSTIY

UNIVERSITY . . . . . . . 3

Former Gov. Jon S. Corzine, pictured above at a Labor Day Picnic in September sponsoredby The Union of Rutgers Administrators-American Federation of Teachers, is discussingplans to possibly teach at several universities and work with The Eagleton Institute of Politics.

ANDREW HOWARD/ PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

Corzine chalks up plansto teach new classes at U.

BY ARIEL NAGIASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR

While former Gov. Jon S. Corzine reluc-tantly left office last month, he is steppingback into the public sphere with a newvision in mind: teaching.

Corzine is considering teaching atthe University and several other col-leges on a par t-time basis, said hisSpokesman Josh Zeitz, to The Star-Ledger, but the University said thisdecision is not set in stone.

Director of the Eagleton Institute ofPolitics Ruth Mandel said members ofthe Institute invited Corzine during aUniversity visit last December to partici-pate in the Rutgers Program on theGovernor, which promotes discussionon former state governors to educatestudents about the role and history ofthe position.

While Corzine said he would be inter-ested in participating, it does not ensurethat he will be teaching at the University orparticipating in the program, Mandel said.

“Gov. Corzine just got out of the office,”she said. “I don’t think he has firm plans.We’re not hiring anyone. We’re not appoint-ing any professors.”

Mandel said the program reaches out toall former governors, not just Corzine.

“Gov. Corzine — certainly we’re pleasedto have him involved, just like the othergovernors,” Mandel said.

Corzine also said he was interested inwriting for the program, Mandel said.

Corzine is still weighing out his options,but will undoubtedly lecture at a number ofuniversities, Zeitz said in the article.

Zeitz could not be reached for a livecomment at press time.

Student-run Web site aidsHaiti relief with every click

In response to the hazing incident at Rockoff Hall last week, several campus organizations areworking together to ensure other greek organizations follow the University’s anti-hazing policy.

RAMON DOMPOR/ ASSOCIATE PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

Campus groupscollaborate tocease hazing

BY MARY DIDUCHASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR

With thousands of organizations around the worldsupporting Haiti, two college students are using theirself-created Web site to join the relief effort.

School of Arts and Sciences sophomore UsmanAhmed and New York University junior BilalMemon have started donating 50 cents per pub-lished post and 10 cents per submitted post on theirWeb site, mylifeisdesi.com.

The site allows the more than 5,000 and grow-ing registered users to post anonymous anec-dotes reflecting South Asian stereotypes in thesame vein of the popular Web site fmylife.comand mylifeisaverage.com.

“Besides entertainment, if it could help other peo-ple out too, might as well,” Ahmed said. “Every otherorganization is helping them out, so we wanted to doour own effort.”

BY NEIL KYPERSCONTRIBUTING WRITER

In response to the recent Sigma GammaRho hazing incident at Rockoff Hall, theOffice of Fraternity and Sorority Af fairs isworking alongside student groups like theInterfraternity Council to ensure the rest ofRush Week goes smoothly.

“[Fraternity and Sorority Affairs DeanJoann Arnholt] has seen it all. She knowsexactly what goes on and nothing gets by her,”said Michael Locke, president of IFC. “Without[OFSA] there would be far … more of these

City residents fight to lighten up marijuana lawBY JOSHUA M. ROSENAU

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

For some New Jerseyans, simplylegalizing marijuana for medical usewas not enough.

Volunteers of the New Jerseychapter of the National Organizationfor the Reform of Marijuana Laws

are circulating a petition that mayput the decriminalization of marijua-na up for a vote this November inNew Brunswick.

NORML-NJ volunteers MattBrockbank, a Rutgers College alum-nus; Nick Delmar, a School ofEnvironmental and BiologicalSciences first-year student; Avi

Scher, a School of Arts and Sciencessophomore; and Evan Nison, BallotInitiatives Coordinator for NORML-NJ, began circulating the petition in December.

If they collect at least 600 valid sig-natures, an initiative will appear on theballot asking New Brunswick voters toratify an ordinance that would make

offenses involving personal marijuanause the lowest priority of NewBrunswick police.

“Every arrest for simple marijuanapossession in New Brunswick squan-ders valuable police resources thatcould otherwise be used to combat

SEE CORZINE ON PAGE 7

SEE HAITI ON PAGE 7

SEE LAW ON PAGE 6

SEE HAZING ON PAGE 6

A New Jersey Transit train killed an unidentified man yesterday at4:15 p.m. at the New Brunswick station, according to transit officials.

New Jersey Transit was using two locomotive engines to movethe train in order to meet rush hour demands, a transit spokes-woman said. It is unclear at this moment how the man came of f the platform.

The incident happened during rush hour and suspended service onthe Northeast Corridor line for up to two hours, the official said. Fullservice was restored as of 6:50 p.m. yesterday, and the trains were backon schedule.

The New Jersey Transit police are investigating the cause of theincident and expect to have more information on the incident today.

The Daily Targum will post updates as they become available. — Neil Kypers

NEW JERSEY TRANSIT TRAIN STRIKES UNIDENTIFIED VICTIM

T H E D A I L Y T A R G U MF E B R U A R Y 2 , 2 0 1 0 DIRECTORY2

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UNIVERSITYT H E D A I L Y T A R G U M

P A G E 3F E B R U A R Y 2 , 2 0 1 0

BY KRISTINE ROSETTEENERIO

CORRESPONDENT

Although Rush Week came toa close for sororities this week-end, a new organization is justgetting its foot in the door.

After an eight-year hiatus,Phi Sigma Sigma will re-estab-lish its chapter at the Universityon Feb. 20, said SandyGrossman, the former interna-tional president of the organiza-tion, via e-mail correspondence.

The greek organization,which values lifelong learning,inclusiveness and leadershipthrough service, suffered adecline in membership back in2002, forcing it to temporarilyclose its chapter, Grossman said.

“We’ve been in communica-tion with [Office of Fraternityand Sorority Affairs] on a regu-lar basis, and last spring we allagreed the time was right,” shesaid. “There’s been a renewedinterested in greek life on thecampus, and many other greekorganizations have found a placeat Rutgers in recent years.”

Grossman, a University alum-na, said formal recruitment forgreek organizations hit recordnumbers this semester, whichreaffirms the decision to revivethe chapter.

While other fraternities andsororities throughout theUniversity have finished theirformal recruitment, Phi SigmaSigma has just begun reachingout to the community for mem-bers, Grossman said.

“We will be out on campus, inthe dining halls and student cen-

After closing for lack of membership, Phi Sigma Sigma will be moving this summer into ahouse on Union Street. Fraternity Sigma Phi Epsilon currently resides in the house.

RAMON DOMPOR/ ASSOCIATE PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

Old sisterhood to revive membership after Rush Week

ters, so that we can answer ques-tions and provide more informa-tion,” she said.

Their first recruitmentevents are set for Feb. 17 and18 at the Heldrich Hotel in New Brunswick.

“Following the parties at theHeldrich, interested women willsign up to attend ‘infoviews’ ses-sions, which are small groupmeeting[s] that allow us toexchange information and getto know potential members bet-ter,” Grossman said.

Only a handful of girls arealready part of Phi Sigma Sigma.

The sisters are working towardrecruiting more members inthese next two weeks, she said.

“Creating a new sorority fromthe ground up is a unique oppor-tunity,” Grossman said. “Ourfounders will truly have animpact on the future of the chap-ter. The women in our group willbuild a sorority that is exactlywhat they want it to be.”

Immediate leadership posi-tions would be available alongwith resources and supportfrom the international organiza-tion and area chapters,Grossman said.

“We have a full calendarplanned with things like a sister-hood retreat, participation inDance Marathon, service proj-ects in New Brunswick, a formaland chapter installation sched-uled for April,” she said.

Julia Crimi, one of the found-ing sisters, was attracted to PhiSigma Sigma because it offeredsomething new and different.

“I wasn’t one to join a sorori-ty, but the opportunity stood outto me because it had a lot ofleadership opportunities,” saidCrimi, a School of Arts andSciences sophomore.

Crimi said there are poten-tially 30 to 40 leadership posi-tions available.

Fellow founding sisterJenna Przybylski also found Phi Sigma Sigma’s novelty appealing.

“I found out that they werefounding a new sorority, and Iwas interested in the opportu-nity of joining something newwhile still being able to join asorority … to help the Rutgerscommunity as a whole,” saidPrzybylski, a School of Artsand Sciences sophomore.

With the recent incident ofhazing discovered at theUniversity’s Sigma GammaRho, the media has given the greek community a lot of attention.

“Any allegations of hazingneed to investigated and takenseriously,” Grossman said. “PhiSigma Sigma is very interestedin promoting the personaldevelopment of our sisters,and we take a hard stanceregarding hazing.”

The sorority does not hazeand was initially worried that theincident would affect theirrecruitment, Przybylski said.

“At Rush, everyone realizedwe hold ourselves to a higherstandard,” she said. “We’reserious about living up toever yone’s expectations andbeing the best we can be at Rutgers.”

Phi Sigma Sigma is set tomove into its house at 21 UnionSt. by July, Grossman said.

“It will be an exciting semes-ter for the new women of PhiSigma Sigma,” she said.

F E B R U A R Y 2 , 2 0 1 0U NIVERSIT Y 5T H E D A I L Y T A R G U M

3 Join the second event of the “Taste and Educate” series at7:30 p.m. in The Cove at the Busch Campus Center. Samplemini pies and cheesecakes of all varieties courtesy of NewBrunswick’s own Mr. Tod’s Pie Factory and learn all abouthis pie-making process during this event, sponsored byUniversity Student Life. Supplies are limited — first come,first served.

Majoring in pre-med? Want to meet other pre-med studentson campus? Need advice for the road to med school? Thenstop by Phi Delta Epsilon’s mixer on Feb. 3 from 9:30 p.m.to 11 p.m. in Room 120 of the Busch Campus Center. Comeget to know the members of PhiDE and learn more aboutour international medical fraternity with a mini-presenta-tion. Dress is casual and food will be served!

News editors from The Daily Targum will hold a writer’smeeting for current and prospective writers at 9 p.m. in theS-Lounge on the fourth floor of the Rutgers Student Centeron the College Avenue campus. They will assign storiesand answer questions about writing articles. No previouswriting experience is required, and anyone interested iswelcome to attend.

The Zimmerli Student Advisory Board would like to inviteall to attend the return of “Art After Hours” with a poetryreading from 6-9 p.m. at the Jane Voorhees Zimmerli ArtMuseum on the College Avenue campus. If you are inter-ested in signing up to read poetry, please contact MaryGreene at marygreene88@gmail.com. Admission is freefor University students and faculty, and refreshments willbe served. $3 general admission.

CALENDAR

To have your event featured on www.dailytargum.com, send University calendar items to university@dailytargum.com.

FEBRUARY

10 The first Leadership Breakfast meeting will take place at7:30 a.m. in the Multipurpose Room of the Cook CampusCenter. The Leadership Breakfast meeting provides anopportunity for Cook student leaders and staff to discussissues such as student welfare, safety matters, transporta-tion, housing and construction projects pertinent to Cookcampus. Come with your suggestions ready and help main-tain Cook campus.

Love Stinks! Get a taste of True Blood, the drink of choiceon HBO’s hit series, “True Blood,” at 7:30 p.m. in The Coveat 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.

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 transdisciplinaryunderstanding of the complex interplay between language,literature and migration, and of the varied patterns of lan-guage and literary movement, formation and practice aris-ing from contemporary and historical migration withinand to Africa. The conference begins at 6:30 p.m. and willend Saturday, Feb. 27 at 12 p.m. in the Rutgers StudentCenter on the College Avenue campus. Contact ReneeDeLancey at rdelance@rci.rutgers.edu or 732-445-6638 formore information.

The Delta Chi fraternity became the first winner last semester of the Rutgers University StudentAssembly’s new Winter Light Competition.

To win the $1,000 prize, student and greek organizations — particularly on the College Avenue cam-pus — had to adorn their houses in festive lights and winter or holiday decorations, said RUSA mem-ber Josh Slavin.

The University gave the prize money to RUSA to hold the competition, Slavin said. It did not comefrom student fees.

About nine houses participated, and Slavin hopes the competition grows next year to make CollegeAvenue more festive and optimistic during the winter months.

“I’d like to see it expanded to all student houses in New Brunswick,” he said.— Mary Diduch

FRATERNITY WINS HOLIDAY DECORATION COMPETITION

2 Donate a meal swipe at any University dining hall todaythrough March 1 and help sick and injured childrenreceive medical care. The Rutgers University StudentAssembly-sponsored meal swipe donation program willhelp raise money for the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund,a non profit, non-political organization dedicated to provid-ing free medical care for children from all over the MiddleEast who cannot receive care locally.

4 Asian-American newspaper Native Tongue is having a gen-eral interest meeting from 8:30-11 p.m. in Room 201 A andB of the Livingston Student Center. Activities will includefood, drinks, Taboo and Lost and Found.

a positive thing,” he said.“That’s really tough becausemost groups do have forcedstudy hours, and we do notwant to discourage that, buttechnically that is hazing.”

Greek councils like the IFC,Panhellenic Council and theNational Panhellenic Councilhit a roadblock with the recenthazing incident.

“[The councils] were upsetbecause [they] had been work-ing the past couple of years towork past those types ofstereotypes,” Locke said.

The idea of hazing began asa result of the GI Bill and influxof veterans into college afterWorld War II, Locke said.

“Before World War II, therewas vir tually no hazing and noconcept of it,” he said.

In recent years, greekorganizations have made aneffort to stomp out hazing atthe University, Locke said.

“Most chapters have beengood at getting rid of hazing inthe past five to 10 years. Theyhave realized the repercussionsare not worth it,” Locke said.

Rush Week is two weeks ofalcohol-free events to recruitmore greek members.

“The completely dry aspecthas been enforced for the pastthree years so we have tried to

the best [of our] ability to makesure that actually happens,”Locke said. “There are a coupleof exceptions that slip throughthe cracks, but the vast majorityof the chapters, well over 80 or 90percent, have been amenable to those rules.”

Sigma Phi Delta PresidentRabieh Saad was worried aboutthe cancellation of Rush when Arnholt told the IFC what happened.

“You don’t know what to donext. It’s something you havenever been through,” Saadsaid. “It’s the first big hazingthing that has happened while Iwas here.”

Saad, a School ofEngineering junior, saidthrough it all, the OFSA hasbeen fair — they are not goingto start cutting events and hurt-ing greek life.

“[Arnholt] is like a parent.She punishes, yet she has to

make sure [the organizationsare] mature,” he said.

Rush Week is an importantpart of greek life because thelifespan of a pledge group is fouryears, Saad said.

“A good Rush Week canmake you a big chapter … so aslong as you get people coming,you survive,” he said.

School of Environmental andBiological Sciences juniorJeffrey Esquillo said his frater-nity, Alpha Kappa Psi, abides bythe OFSA and national fraternity rules to ensure the pledge process goes smoothly.

“We have our rushes … signup on the OFSA Web site tomake sure that their [gradepoint average] is high enoughand meets the [2.25 cumula-tive] standard,” Esquillo said.“We are very strong againsthazing so we try not to do any-thing [bad].”

F E B R U A R Y 2 , 2 0 1 0 T H E D A I L Y T A R G U MU NIVERSIT Y6

incidents. It’s very unfortunatethat we had just this one.”

University Spokesman E.J.Miranda said the SigmaGamma Rho incident is anongoing investigation, and theschool does not condone hazing.

OFSA generally defineshazing as anything that isforced, said Locke, a RutgersCollege senior.

This definition could lead toissues over what is hazing andwhat is not, he said. For exam-ple, anything a group consid-ers mandator y is hazing,whether the group has positiveor negative intentions.

“[Mandatory study groupsare] hazing even though that’s

HAZING: Rush Week now

two weeks instead of one week

continued from front

and prevent violent and seriouscrime,” according to the petition.

Beyond the discretion of thepolice officer, the potential ordi-nance attempts to discouragearrests involving the personaluse of marijuana by having offi-cers carefully record the detailsof the arrest, including writing astatement explaining why thearrest occurred.

“It would make possessionlike jaywalking. Now jaywalking

LAW: Ordinance will not

give low priority to minors

continued from front

“A good Rush Weekcan make you a big

chapter … so aslong as you get people coming,

you survive.” RABIEH SAAD

Sigma Phi Delta President

is still a crime, but police do notspend their time making arrestsfor jaywalking,” Brockbank said.

In addition to incidentreports, police would be taskedwith writing a semi-annualreport assessing the implemen-tation of the policy.

“I feel like people are going to[smoke marijuana] anyway,” saidAngelyne Schofield, a School ofEnvironmental and BiologicalSciences first-year student, whenasked about the petition.

One University student provesSchofield is right.

“I’ve been smoking weed sinceI was 14. I try to be respectfulabout the rules, but I do what I

want to. Legal or not legal, I’mstill going to smoke,” saidMatthew Oliveri, a School of Artsand Sciences sophomore.

Brockbank said the currentcombination of illegal marijuanacoupled with the strict regulationof tobacco and alcohol makesmarijuana possession more acces-sible to minors.

“It is easier for a middle schoolstudent to buy pot than is to buy asix-pack,” he said.

Andrew Maeng, a School ofEnvironmental and BiologicalSciences junior, said legal drugsare more harmful than marijuana.

“I am really neutral, because Ithink it is definitely not as bad as

cigarettes. It’s not addictive.With cigarettes you’re gettingtar, nicotine and secondhandsmoke,” he said.

The ordinance promoted bythe petition would not grantlow-priority status to minors ordrug dealers.

“This initiative isn’t legaliz-ing [marijuana] completely —but that is the end goal,”Brockbank said.

NORML, which supportsremoving penalties for privatemarijuana possession and respon-sible use by adults, has chaptersoperating in 40 states and 10countries, according to the orga-nization’s national Web site.

NORML’s California chapteris focused on campaigning forcomprehensive legalization ofmarijuana in that state whereAssemblyman Tom Ammiano,D-San Francisco, a New Jerseynative and Seton Hall graduate,sponsored Assembly Bill 390last February.

If ratified, the law would legal-ize the regulated sale of marijua-na and would allow California tobecome the first state to collecttaxes from revenues generatedby the sale of the drug.

New Jersey was one of 13states to pass legislation thisJanuary allowing the legal use ofmarijuana for medical purposes.

prise for us, to get this big. Wethought it would just reach NewJersey, New York, Pennsylvania— the tri-state.”

Site user and University stu-dent Javeria Hussaini said a lotof people from around thenation and world use the siteand talk about it often.

“It draws a big crowd. A lot of

people that don’t even live aroundhere … they always mention it,”she said.

Since its creation last June,the founders have seen unex-pected success from their site,as posters and viewers comefrom 160 different countries.

“[The site] is specifiedtoward a specific demographic— South Asian people mostly,”

Ahmed said. “The reason thatwe started it was … to shareexperiences. It was a fun proj-ect to start with, but we didn’tknow it was going to be that big.”

The site has more than47,000 posts and receivesabout 8,000 hits on averagedaily, he said. Visitors spendabout five minutes on averageon the site.

Memom said they were think-ing about their own backgroundsas Pakistani-Americans.

“We were thinking about …how our parents have ver yfunny mentalities to us becausewe were born and raised here,so why not have a Web site thatportrays these dif ferent cultur-al aspects?” he said.

Both Ahmed and Memom saidthey started the site because theyalso had an interest in startingtheir own business.

“Right now, the real busi-ness is the online business,”Memom said. “We were con-stantly thinking about theseWeb sites — FMyLife,MyLifeIsAverage — and wewere wondering why they wereso famous, and it’s becausepeople can relate to them.”

T H E D A I L Y T A R G U M F E B R U A R Y 2 , 2 0 1 0U NIVERSIT Y 7

School of Engineering sopho-more Juan Antialon said that ifCorzine decides to make moreappearances at the Universitythrough lectures and symposiums,

it would be interesting to learnabout public policy and governmentfrom someone who actually lived it.

“I think it will be a nice oppor-tunity, because it will give stu-dents a better perspective. It willbe a plus for the University,”Antialon said.

School of Arts and Sciencesjunior Sandeep Chhabra saidwhile it could provide students

the opportunity to talk to some-one with hands-on governmentexperiences, it could also spurpartisan controversy.

“It would be cool to have himbecause he’s so experienced andhas a public policy background …but at the same time I can seepeople getting riled up against itbecause of his political position[as a Democrat],” Chhabra said.

CORZINE: Students

look forward to Corzine at U.

continued from front

The founders started thecause Jan. 18 after the earth-quake hit and have averaged $35in donations a day — more than$230 total.

They expect to raise moreuntil their February deadline.

“If we go for another twoweeks, we’ll easily reach $1,000,”Ahmed said.

He said the two would waituntil the end of the donations tosend one check to a largeorganization like the AmericanRed Cross.

While they receive about 300to 400 posts a day, they onlyaccept about 30 to publish, asmany of the posts are repetitiveor uncreative, Memom said.

Ahmed said they receive alot of positive feedback on theirWeb site and the relief effort.They have also seen a rise inhits from visitors all over theworld — not just from SouthAsian countries.

“This was totally unexpect-ed,” Ahmed said. “This is a sur-

“This was totallyunexpected. This isa surprise for us, to

get this big.”USMAN AHMED

School of Arts and Sciencessophomore

HAITI: Web site gets posts

from more than 150 countries

continued from front

WORLDT H E D A I L Y T A R G U M

F E B R U A R Y 2 , 2 0 1 0P A G E 8

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti —Haiti’s prime minister said yes-terday that 10 Americans whotried to take a busload of undoc-umented Haitian children out ofthe country knew that “what theywere doing was wrong,” andcould be prosecuted in theUnited States.

Prime Minister Max Bellerivesaid that his country is open tohaving the Americans face U.S.justice, since most governmentbuildings — including Haiti’scourts — were crippled by themonster earthquake.

“It is clear now that they weretrying to cross the border with-out papers. It is clear now thatsome of the children have liveparents,” Bellerive said. “And it isclear now that they knew whatthey were doing was wrong.”

If they were acting in goodfaith — as the Americans claim— “perhaps the courts will tryto be more lenient with them,”he said.

U.S. Embassy officials wouldnot say whether Washingtonwould accept hosting judicialproceedings for the Americans,who are mostly from Idaho. Fornow, the case remains firmly inHaitian hands, StateDepartment spokesman P.J.Crowley said in Washington.

“Once we know all the facts,we will determine what theappropriate course is, but thejudgment is really up to theHaitian government,” he said.

Haitian officials insist someprosecution is needed to helpdeter child trafficking, whichmany fear will flourish in the

The Foyer de la Patience des Infantes in Port-au-Prince, Haiti as of Sunday holds 150 orphans. Since the earthquake,

concerns of child trafficking have especially grown because orphanages already have limited supplies and space.

GETTY IMAGES

Haitian kidnapping stirs child trafficking concerns

chaos caused by the devastatingJan. 12 quake. The governmentand aid groups are still strugglingto get food, water, shelter andbasic health care to hundreds ofthousands of survivors, and manyparents are desperate to get helpfor their children.

U.S. diplomats have had“unlimited” access to the 10detainees, and will monitor anycourt proceedings, said Crowley.They have not yet been charged.

Members of the church groupinsisted they were only trying tosave abandoned and traumatizedchildren — but appeared to lackany significant experience withHaiti, international charity work orinternational adoption regulations.

After their arrest Friday nearthe border, the church groupmembers were placed in twosmall concrete rooms in the same

judicial police headquartersbuilding where ministers havemakeshift offices and give disas-ter response briefings.

“There is no air conditioning,no electricity. It is very disturb-ing,” Attorney Jorge Puello toldthe Associated Press by phonefrom the Dominican Republic,where the Baptists hoped toshelter the children in a rentedbeach hotel.

One of the Americans, CharisaCoulter of Boise, Idaho, was treat-ed yesterday at a field hospital foreither dehydration or the flu.Looking pale as she lay on agreen Army cot, the 24-year-oldCoulter, was being guarded bytwo Haitian police officers.

“They’re treating me prettygood,” she said. “I’m not con-cerned. I’m pretty confident thatit will all work out.”

Investigators have been tryingto determine how the Americansgot the children, and whether anyof the traffickers that haveplagued the impoverished coun-try were involved.

Puello said they came from acollapsed orphanage. Theirdetained spokeswoman, LauraSilsby, said they were “just try-ing to do the right thing,” butshe conceded she had notobtained the required pass-ports, bir th certificates andadoption certificates for them —a near impossible challenge inthe post-quake mayhem.

Bellerive said that without thedocuments, the children wereunlikely to reach the UnitedStates, as some of their familiesmight have hoped.

The 33 kids, ranging in agefrom 2 months to 12 years,

arrived with their names writ-ten in tape on their shirts at achildren’s home where sometold aid workers they have sur-viving parents. Haitian of ficialssaid they were tr ying toreunite them.

“One (9-year-old) girl wascrying, and saying, ‘I am notan orphan. I still have my par-ents.’ And she thought she wasgoing on a summer camp or aboarding school or somethinglike that,” said George Willeit,a spokesman for SOSChildren’s Village, which runsthe orphanage where theywere taken.

The prime minister saidsome of those parents may haveknowingly given their kids to theAmericans in hopes they wouldreach the United States — a notuncommon wish for poor fami-lies in a country that already hadan estimated 380,000 orphansbefore the quake.

Haiti’s over whelmed gov-ernment has halted all adop-tions unless they were inmotion before the earthquakeamid fears that parentless orlost children are more vulnera-ble than ever to being seizedand sold. Sex trafficking hasbeen rampant in Haiti.Bellerive’s personal authoriza-tion is now required for thedeparture of any child.

The arrested Americans’churches are part of theSouthern Baptist Convention,America’s largest Protestantdenomination, which has exten-sive humanitarian programsworldwide, but they decided tomount their own “rescue mis-sion” following the earthquake.

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THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BAGHDAD — A female sui-cide bomber detonated herexplosives inside a way stationfor Shiite pilgrims Monday,killing 54 people and rattlingsecurity officials who are strug-gling against a possible rise inviolence before key electionsnext month.

The attack was the third majorstrike by suspected Sunni insur-gents in a week and left Baghdad’stop security official acknowledg-ing that extremists are adoptingnew methods to outwit bomb-detection squads such as stashingexplosives deep inside theengines and frames of vehicles.

A similar warning about newtactics came last week from thechief U.S. military commander inIraq, Gen. Raymond Odierno, aftera two-day wave of suicide carbombers struck three hotels inBaghdad and the city’s main crimelab, killing at least 63 people.

U.S. and Iraqi officials aredeeply concerned that insur-gents such as al-Qaida in Iraqcould step up violence beforeMarch 7 parliamentary elections,which are seen as a critical stepin reconciliation between themajority Shiites and the Sunniswho lost control with the top-pling of Saddam Hussein.

The latest attack was anotherblow — but not entirely unexpected.

Shiite pilgrims are easy tar-gets for bombers who can minglewith the crowds streaming onroads to shrines and other sites.The current pilgrimage is one ofthe largest.

Hundreds of thousands ofpeople are walking this weektoward Karbala in southern Iraqbefore the culmination of reli-gious events Friday — markingthe end of 40 days of mourningfollowing the anniversary of thedeath Imam Hussein, a reveredShiite figure.

Iraqi security forces havepromised to protect the pilgrimswith expanded patrols andcheckpoints. But Monday’sbombing shows the huge chal-lenges of trying to find a singleattacker among the throng.

The bomber hid the explo-sives beneath an abaya — awoman’s black cloak worn fromhead to toe — as she joined agroup of pilgrims on the out-skirts of Baghdad’s Shiite-dom-inated neighborhood of Shaab,said Maj. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi, Baghdad’s top military spokesman.

The bomber set off the blast— described as a huge fireball —as she lined up with otherwomen to be searched by femalesecurity guards at a checkpointjust inside a rest tent servingsherbet and tea.

People were “on the ground,covered in blood and crying forhelp. Banners were all over theground and covered in blood,”said witness Raheem Kadhom, 35.

The blast was so powerful itblew some people out of theirslippers and shoes, which werescattered across the ground, hesaid. Many of the wounded wereloaded into cars instead of wait-ing for ambulances.

Iraq suicideattacks killmore than100 people

WH

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it is a disgrace to New Jersey

— 17%

it accurately depictsthe Jersey Shore

— 22%

it doesn’t represent New Jersey,

but the show was entertaining to watch

— 43%

never saw the show— 18%

NEEL MAINTHIA — SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING FIRST-YEARC

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What do you think of MTV’s“Jersey Shore?”Q:

RACHEL MIKIDADOUGLASS COLLEGE SENIOR

“I think it’s funny, but I kindof feel like it might be a badrepresentation of the state,but I’m not from New Jersey.I don't think it is [accurate].I’ve met a lot of diverse people who aren’t ‘JerseyShore’ Guido/Guidettes.”

ANANO ZANGALADZESAS JUNIOR

“I love the ‘Jersey Shore,’ Iwatch it every Thursdaywhen it comes on. The storyline isn’t really original.It’s like ‘The Real World,’ butthe characters are funny andthat’s why you watch the show.”

NADIA AKHUNZADADOUGLASS COLLEGE JUNIOR

“I thought it was kind ofstupid. I don’t understandwhat’s so great about filming people who aregoing out to party. I don’tsee the big deal about it.It’s kind of normal.”

URI KAPILOVICHLIVINGSTON SENIOR

“It’s pretty cool [because]it’s entertaining. I do feellike it gives Jersey a little bitof a bad name but [I still]watch it.”

JOSHUA TASKERRUTGERS COLLEGE SENIOR

“It’s just like a train wreckon TV. It’s great, it’s entertainment. I wouldassume people don’t thinkthat’s really what New Jerseyis like from the show.”

ONLINE RESPONSE

QUOTABLE

BY THE NUMBERS

“I don’t think people judge other people based on what they see on areality show or really New Jersey in

general. I think the Turnpike gives ourstate more of a bad reputation than the

‘Jersey Shore.’”

22%

4.8 million

$10,000The price of a

“Team Snooki” women’s T-shirt from cafepress.com

$22The amount it now costs to

book popular “Jersey Shore”cast members like

“The Situation” and “Pauly D”

Average viewers that tuned into the season finale of “Jersey Shore”

T H E D A I L Y T A R G U MF E B R U A R Y 2 , 2 0 1 010 PENDULUM

43%

18%

17%

I don’t think it represents New Jersey, but it was

an entertaining show to watch.

I think it accurately depicts the Jersey Shore.

I never saw the show.

I think it is a disgrace to New Jersey.

Do you think hazing exists in greek life at the University?

THIS WEEK’S QUESTION

Cast your votes online at:www.dailytargum.com

Sources: tvbythenumbers.com and cnn.com

ple like Palin who claim thatObama and his malevolent lib-eral cohorts want to kill yourgrandma. The GOP is so tight-ly controlled and disciplinedthat it feels like FOX News’

Roger Ailes is sending out a daily fax to all theRepublicans headed, “This is your opinion.”

This rising tide of conservative outrage is veryfrightening, and I hope that there is a better expla-nation for it than bigotry. Angry suburban and ruralvoters have swept Republicans into statewide officein Virginia, here in New Jersey and most surpris-ingly in Massachusetts. Former Gov. Jon S. Corzinemet many of his vote goals last November and hadtotals from conservative counties — Morris, Oceanand Monmouth — held to precedent. He wouldhave stood a chance, instead Corzine was swept outof office by record showings from these counties.

There was a lot of talk that the health care bill lookedlikely two weeks ago was fit for Ted Kennedy, but I amwilling to bet he’s rolling in his grave after Sen.-elect

Scott Brown, R-Mass., claimed hisSenate seat. This all happened inMassachusetts, supposedly thebluest state and the first state to allowgay marriage. If this is not a problem,I don’t know what is.

If you care about Obama’s legisla-tive agenda, consider our options atthis point. It hurts to say this, butLiberals must automatically disquali-

fy Republicans at the polls. Republicans often have anattractive aura of confidence brought on by their moraland faith-based security. If you find overtures aboutwaste and middle-aged fiscal Conservatives with fullheads of hair charming just remember that once it istime to vote, they do not defer to their own judgment —they vote with their caucus every time. Liberals willalways be less decisive, but they will always be morethoughtful, and most of the time they will end up on thecorrect side of the aisle. We are failing becausealthough it’s nice to have a multitude of ideas, it is use-less if we do not unite. Our big tent nature is exactlywhy former President George W. Bush’s governmentlasted for six years and ours is falling apart after a year.

We must change this trajectory and you must doeverything you can! Local elections matter — grass-roots teabaggers are controlling the outcomes of elec-tions and we have to end it immediately. Vote, make yourfriends and family vote, volunteer during campaigns andwe can all make sure that we do not suffer throughanother period of ineptitude on the world stage, an inar-ticulate president and ruinous foreign policy.

Omar Mansour is a School of Ar ts andSciences sophomore.

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 2 , 2 0 1 0

S omething very unlikelyis happening. Monthsago, I put it in a league

with the chances of CarlosMencia or Dane Cook makinga comedy comeback. Let usput it this way, I am your 21st century version of PaulRevere and the Republicans are coming! It is time totake up arms.

Day after day, I have logged onto the Internet toget my fix of news and The New York Times’ new paymodel. After greedily consuming all the free news Ican before I have to go to class, I think “Oh no!Already?” I know that politics are cyclical. Americanshave always been politically volatile. Even our firstpartisan president, John Adams, only served oneterm, and the last time a political party held power formore than three consecutive terms was when formerPresidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry Trumanwere in office more than 50 years ago.

In the lead up to President Barack Obama’s inau-guration, I was sure that Americans would have atrustworthy and intelligent presi-dent in office for two terms. I feltthis way because of the efficiencyand focus of Obama’s presidentialcampaign and the fact that our lasttwo presidents earned secondterms despite hitting deep valleys,not to mention that the lastRepublican administration was amassive failure leading to deepDemocratic majorities in Congress. Nevertheless, Iam starting to think I was wrong.

My “Barack-tomism” is near gone because of whatI have recently learned about the American public.America’s ugliest of the ugly came out during the 2008presidential election — the aptly named teabaggers —that do not seem to be going anywhere. America’sfuture seems to be contingent on the fact that fear is farmore powerful and potent than inspiration. Thosesame frantic, frightened individuals who showed up atSen. John McCain and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palinevents telling McCain that Obama was an Arab anddemanding more than one birth certificate are thesame folks who are driving the Republican resurgence.

The Republicans have taken advantage of the igno-rance in America and concocted a dangerous cocktailwith fear mongering and misinformation. People seemto be overrun with fears; Obama’s name, religion, eth-nicity and ideology all came into question for no rea-son. Most of us accept people’s origins and try to fig-ure out who they are in other ways, but someAmericans do not get that far, and those folks seem tobe the Republican’s key demographic. I am not dis-missing all Conservatives, but the party’s rank and filehas had their deep, irrational fears reaffirmed by peo-

MCT CAMPUS

Conservative agenda fails

EDITORIALS

Due 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 oped@dailytargum.com 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.

“If you care aboutObama’s legislative

agenda, consider ouroptions at this point.”

New budget aimsfor long-term reformP resident Barack Obama announced a proposed $3.8 trillion

budget for the 2011 fiscal year, one that would supposedlyresult in a decade-long, $1.6 trillion reduction in the deficit.

According to The New York Times, this shortfall would be accompa-nied by $100 billion in additional tax cuts and spending in the publicworks circuit. “We won’t be able to bring down this deficit overnight,”Obama said in an interview as he continued to express his dedicationto a long-term job-creation process. All in all, he called for bipartisandecision-making on this matter, as this problem would remain in ques-tion for administrations to come.

While senior Republicans on the House and Senate budget com-mittees Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H. and Rep. Paul D. Ryan, R-Wis., criti-cized the continuous spending, there may be more to the matter.Obama’s long-term plans of cutting the deficit call for rolling back taxcuts for those who make more than $200,000. Despite these contro-versial measures, especially on partisan levels, this increase in taxescould benefit the long-term deficit reduction in the upcoming decade.A planned additional $25 billion for recession-stricken states wouldallow for increased services that aid everyday lives, and that is some-thing we cannot leave unanswered. Police departments, fire depart-ments and other public services would be funded, therefore makinglocal neighborhoods safer and also benefiting the president in chargewith votes in upcoming elections. These funds would also be beneficialto state education departments. Pell Grant aid would see a $17 billionincrease to just under $35 billion, a number that would help an addi-tional one million students.

In addition to these predicted benefits, Obama’s administrationwould revise the “No Child Left Behind” law in order to increase schoolaccountability, rather than following the former President George W.Bush’s doctrine of letting anyone pass without a proper education.

While these reforms may seem needed and entirely beneficial,Obama’s new budget faces much opposition as short-term spendinghas once again risen. Recently, NASA spent $9.1 billion on a programmeant to return astronauts back to the moon — the budget, however,killed this projected $100 billion mission. And despite talks of a partialspending freeze, there are some areas in which this does not takeplace. A 3.4 percent increase in the Pentagon’s budget, for example,would be exempt from the spending freeze that was announced.Overall, the budget must take care of long-term issues as well as short-term ones, and while Obama has many critics, he has taken a possiblestep in the right direction.

“I’ve been smoking weed since I was 14. I try to be respectful about the rules, but I do what I want to.

Legal or not legal, I’m still going to smoke.”Matthew Oliveri, a School of Arts and Sciences sophomore, on marijuana laws

STORY ON FRONT

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Better safe than sorry T imes are difficult for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics commis-

sion and the city itself, with rising security fears and the organ-ization of more than 15,000 highly-trained security personnel.

These measures have so far cost $936 million and have drawn heavycriticism, according to Agence France-Presse. The opponents to thismassive amount of money are protesters concerned with Vancouver’snotorious homeless problem. They proposed the city spend a part ofthe money on them rather than somewhat pointless security issues.The question of money has become the central argument, touchingupon legal matters, as some are speaking against the fears of civil rightviolations. Police have allegedly been questioning and harassing pro-testers at their work or while shopping.

If these cases are true, then authorities must remain professional andsimply stick to their security assignments; however, security stillremains a major question during the Winter Olympic Games. Thearrival of nations from all over the world is a major security risk, and fortwo weeks, authorities must retain their composure when making surethat both Canadian and international leaders, spectators and athletesremain safe. “We are continually monitoring and examining all potentialthreats and risks. We don’t elaborate on what information we receive,”said Mandy Edwards, a spokeswoman for the Vancouver 2010Integrated Security Unit, according to the AFP. The residents and pro-testers of the city must recognize the need for their security and the safe-ty of others during an event that millions or perhaps billions will watch.The risks are high, therefore some measures are within reason.

On the other hand, the initial budget for the games was $175 millionCanadian dollars, but it quickly increased to $1 billion Canadian dollars.This puts the number into perspective, as the sum seems ridiculous.Nevertheless, measures must be taken against any possible threats dueto the high profile case of the Olympics. Authorities also said that allareas will be exposed, therefore security is necessary in every part of thecity. Venues would not be the only subjects for security, meaning that thecity must police itself everywhere. Olympic venues have taken over about15,000 square kilometers, and they stretch from the city to WhistlerMountain to the north of it. Despite this invasion of privacy fear andthreat to civil rights, the authorities must protect first and fear law suitslater. Vancouver will be the city to watch in the upcoming weeks, and wehope it is for the downhill ski events rather than an attack on the city.

CommentaryOMAR MANSOUR

T H E D A I L Y T A R G U M F E B R U A R Y 2 , 2 0 1 0 1 3OP I N I O N S

T here has been some con-troversy and uproar thepast couple days about

recent accounts of hazing thatinvolved sisters of the SigmaGamma Rho sorority. Although noone knows the circumstances thatthese girls were under or why theywould choose to dehumanize otherwomen who they were planning oncalling their sisters in a couplemonths time, it is important to notethat there are organizations in thegreek system that do not condonenor engage in any hazing activities.

The image portrayed in mostpeoples’ minds is usually of drunken“frat” boys hazing their pledges bypaddling, making them drink exces-sive amounts of alcohol or sendingthem on a scavenger hunt acrossstate lines. Movies like “AnimalHouse,” “Old School” and“American Pie” stereotype thegreek system and only add to thenegative stigma associated with fra-ternities and sororities. Thursday’seditorial in The Daily Targum —“Hazing pushes the decency line”— also did not do all greek organi-zations justice as it generalized fra-ternity and sorority practices.

It is unfortunate that the sistersof Sigma Gamma Rho are probablynot the only members of the greeksystem here at the University whoengage in some sort of hazing ritu-al. No one can know what trulygoes on in the chapters that do hazeunless pledges come forth andreport the activities.

ZAID A. ABUHOURAN

Letter

Stand up against hazingDespite the fraternities and

sororities that do haze, there aregreek organizations that do pledgeand initiate their members with dig-nity. The false image of greek life isonly reinforced when foolish andinhumane members of one organi-zation engage in dangerous — andsometimes fatal — hazing practices.Many fraternities and sororitiesmake it a priority to remove any haz-ing practices from their pledgingprogram, and some even have anti-hazing laws included in their consti-tution and founding principles.

I pledged a fraternity here in thefall, reminding myself that if I wereever subjected to anything remotelyclose to hazing throughout thepledging process, I would be out thedoor in an instant. I am now a broth-er and am proud to know that thereare fraternities here that do not treattheir future “brothers” or “sisters” ina degrading manner.

The only way that greek organi-zations will ever see pledging peri-ods without hazing is when rushesand pledges speak out against anyasinine hazing practices they aresubjected to.

I call upon any student —whether you are pledging or arewatching a friend pledge — to comeforth and report any abuse experi-enced, be it physical or mental haz-ing. Any organization that claims tobe founded on the basis of lifelongfriendship commitment yet treatsits members with such disrespectand filth should not be welcomed inour community.

Zaid A. Abuhouran is a Schoolof Environmental and BiologicalSciences sophomore.

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 2 , 2 0 1 0

Doonesberry GARY TRUDEAU

Horoscopes / LINDA C. BLACK Pearls Before Swine STEPHAN PASTIS

© 2007, TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES INC.

Happy Hour JIM AND PHIL

www.happyhourcomic.com

Today's birthday (2/2/10). Work brings emotional challenges thisyear. Use each day to expand your powers of persuasion among yourassociates. Cultivate your internal senses to detect the true direction ofpower plays occurring in your environment, and choose carefullywhen to resist and when to go along with others. 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 a 7 — Shift from workto play. Team games show you adifferent style of cooperation. Beflexible starting a new venture.Taurus (April 20-May 20) —Today is an 8 — When the Moonconjuncts Saturn today, you getthe ball rolling on a practicalproject and stay on track. Don'tease up until day's end.Gemini (May 21-June 21) —Today is a 7 — Original ideasemerge from a dream or medi-tation early in the day. Take onnew responsibilities and listen toadvice from a woman on details.Cancer (June 22-July 22) —Today is a 5 — As the Moonenters Libra, you may feel you'refacing challenges you would justas soon ignore. Work fromhome can be very productive.Leo (July 23-Aug. 22) — Todayis a 7 — As you work throughissues left over from yesterday,you find that you're capable ofsorting out significant details.Add your stamp of approval.Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) —Today is a 7 — Self-esteemimproves as balance returns toyour emotional life. Responsi-bilities become more manage-able. You know how to pro-ceed, so get moving.Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) —Today is a 6 — Imagination car-

ries you forward faster thananticipated. Get practical mattersin hand early in the day. Thenyou can fantasize all you want.Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) —Today is a 6 — You spend a lotof the day hearing people'scomplaints. Redirect them andfocus on your own game.You'd prefer to spend time athome in the evening.Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) —Today is a 7 — Every action youtake today provides feedbackyou can take home to review.Taking stock now prevents losseslater. Results lead to optimism.Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) —Today is an 8 — Put shoulderto the grindstone and ear tothe ground. There's plenty todo, and you'll hear about howyou're doing it. Listen andlearn. Then choose actions.Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) —Today is a 7 — You know exact-ly where you want to go. You'remissing some details about howto get there. As the moonenters Libra today, you sudden-ly see an alternate route.Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) —Today is a 6 — Relationshipsfeel just right. You don't haveto say much, because youunderstand without words.Later in the day you tackle abig business question.

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 2 , 2 0 1 0 1 5D IVERSIONS

Last-Ditch Effort JOHN KROES

Get Fuzzy DARBY CONLEY

Pop Culture Shock Therapy DOUG BRATTON

Jumble H. ARNOLD & M. ARGIRION

Sudoku © PUZZLES BY PAPPOCOM

Non Sequitur WILEY

Peanuts CHARLES SCHULTZ

(Answers tomorrow)MUSTY QUOTA ELICIT LADINGYesterday’s Jumbles:

Answer: He didn’t laugh at the boss’ jokes because hewas — QUITTING

Now arrange the circled letters to form the surprise answer, assuggested by the above cartoon.

THAT SCRAMBLED WORD GAMEby Mike Argirion and Jeff Knurek

Unscramble these four Jumbles,one letter to each square,to form four ordinary words.

ORRAM

RALUR

SHOOTE

USEBUD

©2010 Tribune Media Services, Inc.All Rights Reserved.

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and Application.

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Fitness Coaches - PT, personable,

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necessary. Nights/weekends a must.

Contact Jeff M at (732) 634-5000 x. 144.

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necessary, nights / weekend a must.

Contact Jeff M at (732)634-5000 ext.144.

Front desk receptionist for busy physical

therapy office and fitness center. 2-3

evenings per week 4-9pm. Rt.27 in Edison.

Please email resume to billing@jcpt1.com

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732-839-1449

Landscape design student wanted to help

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Law firm seeks file clerk/office assistant

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mpaterson@haroldgerrlaw.com or fax

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Lifeguards Needed ASAP

Tuesdays and Wednesdays 6:00-9:30am

(extra pay), 9:30am-12:30pm.

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American Red Cross certifications required.

Call Stephanie 908-725-6994 x230.

SJohnson@ssbjcc.org

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Part/Full time position available for lab-

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weekdays and weekends. Fax or email

resumes to 732-545-1129 or

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Sitters Wanted. $12 or more per hour.

Register free for jobs near campus or

home. www.student-sitters.com

Summer day camp staff positions. JCC

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INTERNSHIP

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Welcome back RU students. From now until

Feb 15 2010 receive a 20 min

complimentary massage. Call 732-543-1558

for details.

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Apartments 2-3 bedrooms. Half a block

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Regardless of the number of attendees, the RAC has not suppliedthe same intimidation factor the building offered in years past.

Big East season againstCincinnati. “I asked him whatwas the hardest place to play inwhen he was in college, and byfar he said it was the RAC. Whenthat place is going, when it’spacked, you can’t hear anythingand the fans are right on you.That’s what we’re looking for. Weneed that.”

At that point, the question of‘Is sheer improvement enough?’was a valid inquiry as playerswondered what it would take forgate numbers to grow. The pro-gram needs wins. Fans clamorfor them and the athletic depart-ment requires them.

But since the start of confer-ence play, the program has takena nose-dive. Nine straight lossesmade for a 19.1 average point pergame deficit in conference playuntil RU defeatedNotre Dame.

Despite earn-ing a lengthyextension fromformer athleticdirector Robert E.Mulcahy, headcoach Fred Hill Jr.is the proudowner of just nineconference winsin three-plus sea-sons at the helm.

“When youdon’t win, people kind of turntheir backs on you a little bit,”Mitchell said. “When you win,it opens up so many doors, andso many people find supportand star t talking about Rutgers basketball.”

Hill talks of his vision andplan, but that has not resonatedwith the fans yet, who showeredhim with boos during pregameintroductions at every homegame since Syracuse came totown. An inordinate number oftransfers — sophomore centerGregory Echenique is just thelatest on a long list — all add upto one overbearing question —not related to Hill’s really inse-cure job security:

Can the proposed expansion ofthe RAC be justified without a win-ning men’s basketball program asthe flagship of the building?

“We live in an event-drivenmarket, and it’s important thatone of our goals in this projectremains to create more of an

T H E D A I L Y T A R G U M F E B R U A R Y 2 , 2 0 1 0 1 7S PORTS

MYSTIQUE: RAC aura

not what it used to be

continued from back

RAMON DOMPOR/ ASSOCIATE PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

event and an experience than justa game,” said Athletic DirectorTim Pernetti. “It’s critical that wehave a vision to share withprospective student-athletes,donors and our fans and alumniin order to achieve this project inreality and to generate the excite-ment that we will.”

Pernetti is doing what he canto increase revenue and bring infans to pack the RAC. Nearlyevery home game for the remain-der of the season has some sort ofticket promotion ranging from“Valentine’s Couple Special” to“Throwback Weekend” to “YouthHoopsters Day.”

But to generate support oncampus amongst the students,many feel the team is not doingenough. There were numerousempty seats at the CollegeAvenue Gym for a “Scarlet Tip-off” event intended as a get-to-know-your-team exhibition on aSunday evening.

“Maybe Facebook, maybe wecan hand out pizzaat the student cen-ters or something,”Mitchell said. “It’ssomething thathasn’t even beenbrought up, but it’sdefinitely a possi-bility that it couldhappen. We needthat section for thisplace to be going. The stu-dents are the bestfans, the studentsare the hecklers.”

In the end, it all comes back towinning games. Even though alarger number of fans came outto the RAC for marquee confer-ence games, most were therelargely in body, not in spirit. Thegame against Notre Dame —close until the very end — wasthe lone exception.

The common rebuttal to play-ers’ pleas for support is only twowords long: Win games. N’Diayemay not be around when thathappens, and neither may Hill,but for the mystique to returnand make the RAC a difficultplace to play again, the victorieshave to come.

Notre Dame was a start.“People never really believed

in us,” N’Diaye said. “They neverreally believed a year wouldcome where we start out 9-2. Alot of people gave up on us a longtime ago. I understand, but itdoesn’t matter. I think a true fanshould stay around and supportno matter what.”

“We need thatsection for this

place to be going.The students are thebest fans, [they] arethe best hecklers.”

JONATHAN MITCHELLJunior Forward

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 2 , 2 0 1 0

down,” Chollet-Norton said. “Werose to the occasion.”

In vault, freshman Jenna Zitoled the Knights, achieving acareer-best with a 9.750, tying for sixth overall in the event.Seniors LauraS e v a r i n o and AlyssaL e w a n d o w s k iwere not farbehind, each fin-ishing with a9.675, good for atie for 13th over-all. Those threep e r f o r m a n c e spaved the way forthe Knights tofinish with a48.300 in vault, a season-high.

“Everyone really stepped upon vault,” Chollet-Norton said. “It was a great all around performance.”

The Knights’ score of 47.825on the bars was also a seasonhigh. Once again, Zito led the wayfor the Knights. Her score of9.550 edged out sophomoreNicole Schwartz, who finishedwith a 9.525.

To continue the trend, Zitoonce again led the Knights in floorexercises with a 9.625. Fellowfreshman Nicole Romano also per-formed well, registering a 9.500.

After setting a new season-high on beam against Templewith a 9.500, junior LeighHeinbaugh once again raisedthe bar for herself. In the onlyevent not led by Zito,Heinbaugh achieved a careerhigh on the beam to lead theKnights. Her score of 9.725 wasgood for sixth overall at the meet.

“Leigh wasgreat because shehad to go after afall, and she gotour momentumback for us.”Chollet -Nor tonsaid. “She madethe correctionswe asked of her,and it paid off.”

Zito’s impres-sive perform-ance, in whichshe led the teamin three of four

events, allowed her to lead theteam in all-around with a 38.250,finishing fifth. Rounding out theall-around performances wereRomano and Sevarino with a37.950 and a 37.650 respectively.

“I knew she [Zito] was goingto be a breakout athlete,”Chollet-Norton said. “She hashealed from her past injuries,and now she’s come back andbeen strong.”

The Knights return to com-petition Friday when they trav-el to Pittsburgh for anotherquad meet to face Pittsburgh,Brockport State and Iowa State.

SCORE: Zito paces RU

in three of four events

continued from back

Knights commandeerPirates in New York

BY ANTHONY HERNANDEZCONTRIBUTING WRITER

One goal loomed large in theminds’ of every athlete on theRutgers women’s track and field

t e a mg o i n ginto thew e e k -end —win the

Metropolitan Championships. The Scarlet Knights did just

that, scoring 138 points to fin-ish ahead of Big East rivalSeton Hall, who posted 131. Itwas clear that RU and SHUwould be the two big schoolscoming into thisweekend, but unlikethe past two years, ahealthy Knight teamfinished just ahead ofthe Pirates.

“The Rutgerscoaching staff is veryhappy and proud of theeffort that our student-athletes displayed inthis competition,” headcoach James Robinsonsaid. “We challenged them toraise up their level of aggressive-ness and performance.”

The challenge was heard assophomore Danai Lendor fin-ished second in the 400-meterevent with a time of 57.29 sec-onds and junior Latoshia Bostcame in second in the 500-meterevent with a time of 1:13.20.

Both athletes waited tobreak free this season, andalthough they came in secondin their respective events, eachgained key points for RU whilealso qualifying for the Big East Championships.

A large por tion of RU’sscore came from its “big three”

— seniors Natalie Clickett andMichelle Gomes, and juniorNwamaka Okobi. Gomes onceagain put herself in the recordbooks by running a 7.56 60-meter dash to win the event,the second-fastest time inRutgers history.

Okobi won the long jump forthe second week in a row withan ef fort of 5.68 meters, whileClickett continued her domi-nance in the shot put. She wonthe event with a throw of 14.02meters, maintaining her consis-tency by winning the event forthe third time in four meets.

Nearly the entire team hasqualified for either the Big East

or Eastern CollegeAthletic ConferenceChampionship —both of which takeplace in just a few weeks.

Aside from health,the main factor leadingto the Knights’ successat the Metropolitans iscohesiveness.

“As a team, we’restarting to become the

team we want to be and becomingreally cohesive and wanting towork together,” Clickett said.

If the team wants to advance,Robinson agrees that it isessential for them to practiceand compete like a well-oiled machine.

“With cohesiveness, itincreases [the team’s] ability tocome together and perform at ahigher level, to have great con-ference and national results,”said Robinson.

The team competes nextweek at the Yale Invitational onFriday for one final tune-upbefore the Feb. 21 Big East Championships.

DANAI LENDOR

WOMEN’S TRACK

RUTGERS 138 PTSFIRST PLACE

“I am so proudbecause we had threemeets in seven days,and we didn’t drop

down. We roseto the occasion.”

CHRYSTAL CHOLLET-NORTONHead Coach

T H E D A I L Y T A R G U M F E B R U A R Y 2 , 2 0 1 0 1 9S PORTS

F ollowing a 24-point,seven-rebound perform-ance against Notre

Dame, Mike Rosario wasnamed to the Big EastConference Honor Roll. TheRutgers men’s basketball teamdefeated Notre Dame 74-73Saturday night for their first BigEast win.

RENOWNED AUTHOR ANDRutgers football beat writer forRivals.com Bobby Deren holdsa book signing today from 5-7p.m. at Scarlet Fever.

Deren’s new book, “DraftSeason: Four Months on theClock,” hit the shelves twoweeks ago and reached as highas No. 9 on Amazon.com’s newreleases for sports books.

FORMER RUTGERS RUN-NING back Ray Rice represent-ed the AFC’s Baltimore Ravensin last night’s Pro Bowl inMiami, Fla.

The all-time leading rusherin Scarlet Knight history led allbacks with 42 yards on sevencarries. He also hauled in threereceptions for 15 yards.

NEW YORK JETS HEADcoach Rex Ryan issued a state-ment apologizing for making anobscene gesture to MiamiDolphins fans at an MMA eventin South Florida on Saturdaynight.

Ryan said that his “flippingof the bird” was “stupid and inappropriate.”

THE CHICAGO BEARShired former Rams head coachMike Martz as their offensivecoordinator.

The innovative coach isknown for implementing thehigh-flying “Greatest Show onTurf” while molding Kurt Warnerinto a MVP-caliber quarterback.

Schiano gets flurry of commits as Signing Day loomsBY STEVEN MILLER

CORRESPONDENT

With the New Jersey seniorclass widely considered to be ina down year, the Rutgers foot-

ball teamhas to

look outside of the state to fillout the recruiting class.

In the two days since thefinal weekend of official visitswrapped up, the Scarlet Knightsreceived four commitments —three from outside of theGarden State.

The 2010 recruiting class isat 19 players and boasts fiveplayers from Florida, and threeof them just committed, accord-ing to Rivals.com.

Three-star defensive endDjwany Mera and linebackerFred Overstreet offered their ver-bal commitments before theybecome official tomorrow onNational Signing Day.

The commitments seeminglycame out of nowhere, much likeMera’s recruitment took of fafter his 22-sack senior season.

Overstreet also receivedattention from Syracuse, where

the Knights plucked three-starMiami cornerback GareefGlashen — a previous Orangecommit.

The Knights also remain inplay for linebacker Malcolm Cater,a one-time Syracuse commit.

The No. 5 prospect in NewYork committed to Syracuse,decommitted and offered a ver-bal to RU, but again decommitted andhangs in limbo withan announcement tocome tomorrow.

The fourth com-mitment Rutgersrecently receivedcomes with a familiarname — Rob Forst.

The younger broth-er of rising junior line-man Art Forst, RobForst committed to Delawarebefore receiving a RU offer overthe weekend.

Forst is the fifth offensive line-man to commit.

While completing the class —comprised of all two and three-star prospects — the Knightsremain in the final two for a num-ber of bigger named prospects.

Most notable is BrandonColeman, a 6-foot-6, four-starwideout and the Knightsbiggest target.

The Under Armour All-American is set to decidebetween RU and his home-stateschool, Maryland.

Another four-star prospectcould commit, with Jacksonville

cornerback RashadKnight considering RUand Michigan.

Florida safetyJeremy Deering is alsoconsidering theKnights and willannounce his decisionbetween RU andFlorida State tonight ona Tampa news station.

Deering receivedupward of 20 of fers

and would provide depth to aposition that already received acommitment from anotherthree-star, Lorenzo Waters.

The Scarlet Knights finishedthis season with their fourth consecutive Bowl victo-r y after knocking of f Central Florida in the St. Petersburg Bowl.

FOOTBALL

RAMON DOMPOR/ ASSOCIATE PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano is looking to help replace thelast of a senior class that went to five Bowl games in five seasons.

BRANDONCOLEMAN

Senior guard Brittany Ray scored only eight points on 2-of-10 shootingfrom the field last night at the Louis Brown Athletic Center.

T H E D A I L Y T A R G U MS PORTS2 0 F E B R U A R Y 2 , 2 0 1 0

BY SAM HELLMANASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR

It just isn’t getting any easier forBrittany Ray. For the third game ina row, the senior guard for the

R u t g e r sw o m e n ’ sbasketballteam failedto sinkmore than

a pair of field goals.In the 75-63 loss to No. 3 Notre

Dame last night, Ray shot 2-of-10from the floor for eight points,continuing her recent offensivestruggles, but showing signs of improvement.

“Just take your time,” said sen-ior forward Myia McCurdy on heradvice for Ray. “Don’t try to rushanything. Her shots will fall. Stayconfident. We’re going to need herevery game regardless.”

Ray entered the Jan. 20 winover No. 22 Pittsburgh averaging17.3 points per game. Since then,her average dropped by morethan two points per game, makingjust 3-of-31 attempts during RU’sthree-game slide — the longestlosing streak in 13 months.

The poor numbers are evenmore troubling since they cameagainst Notre Dame, a team thatfell behind a then-career-high 26points from Ray last season.

“We thought about a box-and-one [to stop her],” said NotreDame head coach MuffetMcGraw. “[We said] we’re goingto find her all the time, and wejust lost her twice I think. Ithought we did a pretty good jobon her. I was really happy withthe job we did on her.”

FOR A WOMEN’S basketballprogram churning out an averageof 26 wins per season since 2004, a12-10 record is nothing to be proudof. In fact, a record teetering on theedge of .500 this far into the BigEast season is uncharted territoryfor C. Vivian Stringer’s squad.

But just looking at the recorddoes not display the pure brutali-ty of the schedule the ScarletKnights endured this season.

When it comes down to on thebubble teams for the NCAATournament — which it likelywill for the Knights — Rutgershas far and away the tougheststrength of schedule to factor in.With the loss to No. 3 NotreDame yesterday, four of theteam’s 10 losses this season areagainst top four teams, losing toNo. 1 Connecticut, No. 2Stanford, Notre Dame and No. 4 Tennessee.

It was the 10th game against aranked opponent for the Knightsthrough just 24 games.

It took RU 18 regular-seasonwins last year and one in the BigEast Tournament to qualify forthe big dance.

WITH STRINGER FACING offagainst McGraw last night, itmarked the third time for Rutgersthis season and the first time atthe Louis Brown Athletic Centerthat the two coaches totaled morethan 1,400 wins.

The two coaches total 1,440wins after last night’s game, butgames against Tennessee’s PatSummitt and UConn’s GenoAuriemma marked win totals ofmore than 1,500.

RUTGERS DID NOT SHOOT Afree throw in the first half for thesecond time this season, withthe first time coming againstGeorge Washington. TheKnights also committed 15turnovers in the first half,matching the highest first halftotal of the season with the Nov.22 game against Georgia.

“We can’t turn the ball overthat’s a big issue,” said sopho-more guard Khadijah Rushdan.“These turnovers — they’ve gotto stop and I take responsibilityfor myself because they’ve got to stop.”

KNIGHTNOTEBOOK

Ray’s shooting proovesdetrimental for RU

ANDREW HOWARD/ PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

overall record and conference playmay be a small setback, nobodywants to start the season on ashutout. Such is the problem thetennis team faces. Starting a season with players possibly doubt-ing themselves is about as desirable as Marty Feldman and acandlelit dinner.

Dunk tank — Yes, the men’sbasketball team was able to get itsfirst conference win on Saturdayagainst Notre Dame. And yes, theteam did not resemble the Nets likeit did earlier in the season. Butmissed dunks — two of them — areinexcusable for a struggling team.Not only do these momentary

embarrassments start crumblingany momentum a team is buildingup, but it deflates a New Jerseycrowd that is notorious for leaving20 (game time) minutes early. Ifyou’re looking to keep a Knightscrowd enthusiastic, don’t do that.

No Comment — Last Saturday’sloss against No. 17 Georgetown dis-mayed women’s basketball headcoach C. Vivian Stringer so muchthat — for the first time this season—players were not allowed to com-ment to the press after the game.Stringer simply did all the talking.

At this rate, it would not be sur-prising if the team found itself with-out a locker room again.

Blue Demons team. After DePaulgained its first Big East win againstMarquette and the Knights pro-ceeded to lose to Marquette by dou-ble digits, the question of who RUwould beat in the Big East becameincreasingly difficult to answer.

Look no more though,because as strange as it is to sayit, sophomore guard MikeRosario looked more like hisfreshman-self and senior centerHamady N’Diaye manhandledthe Big East’s leading scorerLuke Harangody like a killerwhale would to a baby sea lion.

Men, women, it doesn’t matter— It’s fair to say that if you’reenjoying championships from boththe male and female end of anOlympic sport, the school has tobe doing something right. Not onlydid the men’s track and field teamcapture its second MetropolitanChampionship, but the womentook the ’ship this year too.

When the men’s team won thechampionship last year, it had ath-letes win the Big East title inrespective events and even sentsomeone to the NCAA in Texas. Ifthe past is any indication, this couldbe a good year for track and field.

Tummy’s turning — TheKnights were feeling kind of home-sick at Marquette last Tuesday onits way to an 82-59 loss, but whatwas probably a contributor was thehome crowd’s aspect of surprise.

Imagine lining up for a foul shot,focusing on nothing but the basket.You’ve been trained by now toblock out the crowd noise. Randomarm swinging from a boisteroushome crowd is not a problem. Then

— just as you straighten out toshoot — it hits you like a BillyMays commercial on June 29, 2009.A giant Miley Cyrus cardboardcutout is staring you in the face.

But wait. It’s not only the teensensation, but a smorgasbord offamous heads staring you down asyou try to give your team onemore point.

Three points for creativity,Marquette.

Down the rabbit hole — Thewomen’s basketball team is on athree-game losing streak. Notunbearable, but there may because for concern. This team hadbetter do something quick to pickitself out of this slump or it mightfind itself watching the NCAATournament from afar.

Taking the “fun” out of funding—She called it. Gymnastics coachCrystal Chollet-Norton knew goinginto the quad-meet in Marylandthat competing against three otherteams that were fully-funded was notask to scoff at. And despite break-ing 190 points for the first time thisseason, RU still fell out of third placeby more than two points.

The Knights owe much oftheir success to freshman JennaZito, who led them in three out offour events in the vault and floorexercise and bars.

Bringing on the brooms —

Losing your first game/conferencegame of the season is one thing.And while going down 0-1 in the

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 2 , 2 0 1 0 2 1

A fter an upset againstranked Virginia and adrubbing of Navy, the

Rutgers wrestling team is in con-trol of its longest unbeaten streakin school history. More than1,500 fans were in attendance atthe Louis Brown Athletic CenterFriday night to watch theschool’s first upset of a rankedopponent this year — and theteam delivered by taking the leadand never giving it back.

This marks the golden age ofsorts for the wrestling program— which is starting to emerge asRutgers’ dominant sport in termsof attaining national success —but it is still to be seen if it canmaintain its productivity.

Get where this is going?Not since the football team’s

desecration of a nationally-rankedSouth Florida team has the schoolhad a sports team to get excitedabout. But the hype meansabsolutely nothing if the team thatattains it tosses the respect awayby losing to some team that hasno business winning.

If the wrestling team wants tosecure a legitimate position inthe Scarlet Knights sports hierar-chy, it should work on keepingthis success alive by going for itall by the time it faces No. 8Lehigh. A win there and it is astrong possibility that beingundefeated in 2010’s regular sea-son is not such an outlandishrequest after all.

Yay, it’s not 2008-09 DePaul — Amen’s basketball team has onlygone winless twice in Big East Play— Once in the ’50s and last year’s

BY TYLER DONOHUESTAFF WRITER

Coming off a strong 2009 sea-son, the Rutgers women’s tennis

t e a ms t u m -bled outof thegate inits 2010

opener. Syracuse shut out theScarlet Knights (0-1,0-1) on theroad Sunday as RU fell 7-0 to theOrange (3-0, 2-0).

A prepared Syracuse squaddismantled the Knights. TheOrange, which notched its sec-ond Big East win beforeFebruary, quickly took control ofthe morning match at DrumlinsTennis Center and never let up.

In the No. 1 singles matchup,SU’s Emily Harman took down RUjunior Amy Zhang convincingly instraight sets 6-2,6-2. Syracuse wonfour of the six singles contestswithout heading to a third set.

RU sophomore JenniferHolzberg played tough, rallyingto take the second set againstAlessondra Parra, before losing6-2 in the decisive third set.

The Knights did not fare bet-ter in doubles play, droppingeach of their three pairs matchesto the Orange.

Without question, it was afrustrating day for the Knights.

While the match was the firstof RU’s spring schedule, it was

the third for Syracuse. Seniorcaptain Caitlin Baker said therewas a noticeable dif ferencebetween the two teams.

“We definitely had a lack ofpreparation going into thematch,” Baker said. “We didn’thave any warm ups beforeSyracuse, whereas they came inready to play. You could see thedifference and it really hurt us.”

Sunday’s match was thethird contest in three days forthe Orange and they played likethe superior team. It will be key for the Knights to pick themselves up after the opening defeat.

“We really need to push our-selves in practice and get ittogether,” Baker said. “It’s soearly in the season so there is noreason we shouldn’t be able toturn things around.”

“It was a devastating loss andwe’re all pretty upset but we can’tlet that affect us going forward.”

RU has a lengthy seasonahead, so there is plenty of timefor the Knights to find theirstride. Should they face Syracuseagain in the Big East tournament,Baker is confident the Knightswill be a much greater challengeto the Orange.

“With the work we put inthroughout the season, we willbe a completely different teamby the tournament,” she said.“This group is a lot better thanthe way we played Sunday.”

TENNIS

RUTGERSSYRACUSE

07

Knights swept awayto open spring slate

Historic streak marks golden age for wrestlingBILL DOMKE’S

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY

ANDREW HOWARD/ PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

Senior Lamar Brows’ quadruple overtime victory over Virginia’sBrent Jones highlights his 19-5 campaign.

THE GOOD

THE BAD

THE UGLY

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 2 , 2 0 1 0

BY SAM HELLMANASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR

Guts is a four-letter wordand, for a team that graduatedeight seniors last season

and has atleast five

new starters, the Rutgers soft-ball team plans to use every letter to scrabble together a winning season.

“We’re really spunky andpeppy. We’re ready to go,” saidsenior ace hurler NicoleLindley. “Everyone’s here toplay and you really can feelthat. We’re about the team as awhole; there are no individuals.People aren’t worried aboutthemselves as much and that’sa great thing.”

Lindley represents theleader of both the team and apitching staff returning threekey pitchers — Lindley andsophomores Holly Johnson andNoelle Sisco.

With two new starting mid-dle infielders, an undecided out-field and a rotation at catcher,head coach Jay Nelson has highhopes for his pitching staff toshoulder the weight.

“We’re really going to rely onour pitchers to keep us ingames,” said the coach, headinginto his fourth year with theScarlet Knights. “I think thatour athleticism is very good.We’re going to look to press theissue a lot on of fense. Ondefense, we have a lot of range,and we’re solid at every posi-tion so we should do well. Thefirst tournament of the year outat Arizona State will be a prettygood test.”

Lindley led pitchers in nearlyevery statistical category, start-ing 21 games and winning 12 togo along with a 2.81 ERA and103 strikeouts. Johnson went 8-9 with a team-best 2.55 ERA in19 starts and Sisco, who camein mostly from the bullpen, fin-ished 1-4 with a 4.17 ERA.

Offensively, the challenge isto replace leading hittersAmanda Heller and Sarah Kalka,

THE DAILY TARGUM

Junior Mandy Craig will be asked to shoulder the offensive load this season on a Rutgers softballteam that graduated eight seniors. Craig hit .314 last year with a team-best four dingers and 26 RBI.

Youth-laden squad to rely on hurlers for victories

SOFTBALL

McCurdy said after the game. “IfI have to shoot the open shots Iwill shoot the open shots. All Iwant to do is win.”

While the Knights receivedeight points from senior centerRashidat Junaid and 11 from soph-omore forward Chelsey Lee, therest of offense fell flat.

Though senior guard BrittanyRay scored eight points, she shotonly 2-of-10 from the floor.Sophomore forward April Sykes,meanwhile, did not convert a sin-gle shot in 10 attempts.

“I think that we have got to doa better job of getting [Ray] somebetter shots…but not justBrittany, let’s try April as well,”Stringer said. “If we got April and[freshman] Erica [Wheeler]shooting, Brittany would be okay.”

For the second straight game,the Knights whipped out the 55-press, and for the second straightgame, it worked.

Digging in its heels, Rutgersclimbed steadily back from anine-point deficit. The Irish with-ered under the Knights’ pres-sure, turning the ball over.

Though the momentum movedin fits and starts, interrupted by apair of foul calls on Rushdan and

SKID: 55-press successful

for Scarlet Knights

continued from back

ANDREW HOWARD/ PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

Rutgers head coach C. Vivian Stringer was handed her third consecutive loss last night by thehands of the Irish. Notre Dame beat Rutgers last night for the first time since 2005.

Sykes, RU was eventually able tocut the lead down to 38-34 withunder 14 minutes to play.

“I said in the locker room thatLindsay Schrader was the MVPbecause she was able to get theball in,” said Notre Dame headcoach Muffet McGraw. “That wasthe toughest job we had was try-ing to get it in. [Rutgers has] anunbelievable press, you can’t repli-cate that in practice … I was justhappy when we got the ball in.”

For the next several minutes,it appeared as if everythingwould unravel for the Knights.

McCurdy missed the frontend of a one-and-one, leading toa bucket for Notre Dame. Onthe ensuing play, sophomoreguard Nikki Speed aired a passahead of Lee that bouncedharmlessly out of bounds. TheIrish capitalized, bolsteringtheir lead back to eight points in30 seconds time.

Rushdan was able to sink afree throw and steal the ball fromthe Irish, but Lee missed theopen put-back under the basket.The Knights missed three con-secutive layups, but McCurdykept them alive with two jumpers,keeping RU within five points.

The Knights later pulled withintwo points but did not come anycloser. The Irish drained a three topush their lead to seven with lessthan two minutes remaining, andRU’s firepower was spent.

who combined for five homeruns, 44 RBI and both hit above.320 on the season.

A lot of that weight falls on firstbaseman Mandy Craig. The juniorwas right behind Heller and Kalka

last season, hitting .314 with a team-leading 26 RBI and four home runs.

Despite significant offensivelosses and depth questions withinthe infield, the head man remains upbeat.

“I’ve always said we have toplay as a team with that win-ning mindset,” Nelson said.“It’s progression, and we’regoing in the right direction. Allof the freshmen have inherited

that and that’s why we recruitthem, for their attitudes as wellas their skill level.”

With opening day in theArizona State Tournament com-ing Feb. 19, Nelson has fivepositions figured out as of theteam’s media day in lateJanuary. Craig leads the chargeat first base with sophomoreBrittney Lindley — NicoleLindley’s younger sister —starting at third base for thesecond straight season.Incoming freshmen AshleyBragg and Jennifer Harabedianare the starters at shortstopand second base respectivelyand last year’s valuable utilityplayer Mickenzie Alden is thestarter in left field.

The starters get murkier atcatcher and in the rest of theoutfield, however. Add an “or”on the depth chart at catcher forsophomore Kylee Bishop andfreshman Kaci Madden asNelson expects to platoon thetwo and has yet to name anopening day starter.

“It’s a long season, and youneed to rest catchers,” Nelsonsaid. “If one of them should stepup, then they’ll get more gamesthan the other one.”

Centerfield is a battlebetween junior Jen Meinheit,who is battling injuries early on,and sophomore LindseyCurran. Right field comes downto junior Danielle Procopio orwhoever loses the center fieldbattle, Nelson said.

“It’s good to know that youalways have that person behindyou — someone to have yourback,” Curran said. “You don’thave to worry about the pres-sure, I guess, because you alwayshave that person behind you thatcan step up.”

Though the season opens inTempe, Ariz., in 17 days, RU doesnot open at home until April 7against Hofstra.

“Being in the Northeast, it’snot weird,” Nelson said.“Everybody up here is in thesame boat and they all have to travel.”

T H E D A I L Y T A R G U M F E B R U A R Y 2 , 2 0 1 0 2 3S PORTS

BY KYLE FRANKOASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR

It’s no secret that this sea-son has not gone the way theRutgers men’s basketball team planned.

But Saturday’s victory overN o t r eD a m emay bea bea-con ofhope —specif i -

cally for Mike Rosario.The sophomore guard broke

out of his conference-long funk,hitting his first four shots enroute to an 18-point first half.

“It’s a plus for us and a plusfor myself when I get off to agreat start,” said Rosario, whofinished the game with 24points. “It helps feed positiveenergy of f to my teammatesand that’s one thing I lovedoing. We want to star t of fgood — period — but I thoughtme getting off to a good startthe other night helped us winthe game, and helped us stayfocused and bring energy thewhole game.”

When Rosario goes, so do theScarlet Knights.

“He got off to a very goodstart and that’s part of bringingthe energy,” said senior centerHamady N’Diaye. “We have tofind a way to keep that energyup when things aren’t goinggood. That’s the thing rightnow — yeah, we won one gameagainst Notre Dame, but westill have 10 to go.”

Through the first six BigEast games Rosario connectedon 20-of-87 shots. In the threegames since, he’s made 20shots (20-of-44).

Coincidentally, his bestgame out of those three — 8-of-15 against Notre Dame — ledto RU’s first win.

As a result, Rosario wasnamed to the Big East WeeklyHonor Roll for the first timethis season, while his confi-dence continues to be resolute.

DAN BRACAGLIA/ MULTIMEDAI EDITOR

After pumping out 24 points on eight made field goal attempts against Notre Dame, Mike Rosario is tryingto bounce out of a dry spell that saw just 20 made field goals through the first six Big East games.

ST. JOHN’S ATRUTGERS, TONIGHT, 7:30 P.M., MSG

MEN’S BASKETBALL

“Our confidence has alwaysbeen up since the start of theseason,” Rosario said. “That’ssomething that has alwaysbeen with us. We’ve always feltlike we could go out and win-ning the other night just givesus positive energy.”

Head coach Fred Hill Jr. ishappy to have his most prolific scorer starting to findhis rhythm.

“I think the last three gameshe’s started to get back into hisrhythm,” Hill said. “When[Notre Dame] came out in thezone we were able to get himsome great looks and he wasable to knock them down. Thatgets everybody going.”

Getting off to a good startdoesn’t just apply to the offensiveend, Hill said.

“If you look at any team,unless you’re really special, asyou’re making plays on offense itpicks up your intensity level ondefense,” the fourth-year coachsaid. “When you’re struggling onoffense sometimes your defensestruggles, so it certainly helpedus on the defensive end. One isvery interrelated to the other.”

The 73 points scored by theIrish were the fewest allowedsince the opening game of con-ference play against Cincinnati.

The Knights also out-rebounded Notre Dame 46-37,an area that Hill acknowledgedis his team’s weakest.

Next up is St. John’s (12-8,2-6), another team that Hillsaid could give RU fits on theglass. The Red Storm is plus-54on the boards this season.

D.J. Kennedy leads theJohnnies with 15 points pergame. Junior transfer DwightHardy averages 11.9.

The Scarlet Knights (10-11,1-8) are led by Rosario’s 15.7points per game.

N’Diaye is coming off one ofhis best performances of the sea-son, scoring 10 points andrecording six blocks. All sixblocks came in the second half asN’Daye stifled Luke Harangody,the Big East’s leading scorer.

Rosario off schneid with winnable game on tap

BY STEVEN WILLIAMSONSENIOR WRITER

If the Rutgers women’s basket-ball team had one thing on its sidegoing into last night’s game againstNo. 3 Notre Dame — perhaps the

only thing— it washistory.

Sittingon a two-game los-

ing skid, Rutgers faced off against ateam it had not lost to since Jan. 23,2005.

While they came within a singlepossession at times in the secondhalf, the Scarlet Knights could notkeep pace with the Fighting Irish,falling 75-63 at the Louis BrownAthletic Center.

“I think that we had the posses-sion and there was no pressure, wejust turned it over,” said Rutgershead coach C. Vivian Stringer.“We’ve had games like that, andthis team played extremely hard …this is the first time I thoughteverybody played hard to con-tribute and that’s good. I wish wehad done the same thing beforeand we might have won some ofthose games that we lost [earlier inthe season]. Maybe this year that’sjust the way it’s going to be.”

Rutgers received anotherstrong performance from sopho-more guard Khadijah Rushdan,who finished with 16 points, eightrebounds and seven assists.

But the bulk of Rutgers’ offensecame from an unexpected source— forward Myia McCurdy.

The senior had the hot hand,scoring 14 points — all in the secondhalf. McCurdy, noted for her defen-sive play, could be seen calling forthe ball in the corner throughout thehalf, a rare scene for the RU offense.

“I just want to do anything tohelp the team win,” a deflated

SPORTSP A G E 2 4 F E B R U A R Y 2 , 2 0 1 0

T H E D A I L Y T A R G U M

Players hopeful intimidatingmystique willreturn to RAC

BY MATTHEW STEINSPORTS EDITOR

The Louis Brown Athletic Center’s mys-tique lives on through lore, not of actualintimidation factor.

Whether 4,000 fans showed up for an out-of-conference gameor the Rutgers men’s

basketball team played in front of a sell-outagainst Syracuse or Villanova in January, thecrowd was not disinterested but largely sub-dued — regardless of the score.

It was a little different against Notre Dame,with RU holding the lead most of the gameand the attendees making sure the 74-73 vic-tory stayed in the Scarlet Knights’ hands.

“As the game got tight, they were jumpingup and down on their feet,” said a jubilantJames Beatty. “It gives us that extra energyto get a big stop or make a big play onoffense. The crowd played a big factor in uswinning this game.”

But the atmosphere is still a shell of itsformer self. Loud, yes — when RU is win-ning. Electric? That’s up for debate.

“A lot of times there was more oppositeteam fans than our fans,” said senior centerHamady N’Diaye before the start of Big Eastplay. “A fan is a fan. If they believe in you, theywill come out and support you. We don’t havethat yet, maybe because of the history of thisplace, but we are working so hard for that.”

The lowest of the lows came over winterbreak last season during a shellacking at thehands of a Syracuse team that brought a hostof Orange fans into New Jersey.

A near-sellout crowd was composed ofnearly as many Syracuse fans as RU fans, andminutes into the game the scarlet and whitefaithful was drowned out for good.

“This place was half orange,” N’Diaye saidof a turnout then-redshirting junior JonathanMitchell called embarrassing. “It waspacked, but it was half orange. It happens,but hopefully it won’t happen again. This isthe Rutgers RAC. We’re not here for anyoneelse but Rutgers.”

The same thing happened again thisJanuary, but to a lesser extent. Even thoughthe ratio of fans was much more in theKnights’ favor, the Syracuse faithful made itspresence felt as an anything-but-boisterousRU crowd sat in near-silence. Villanovarepeated the process a week later.

Yet this was not always the case. Truth is,the RAC actually was one of the toughestplaces to play in the nation as little as fouryears ago. The athletic department’s officialWeb site, ScarletKnights.com, has a wholepage devoted to quotes from opposing play-ers and coaches about the nightmares ofplaying in Piscataway. Connecticut headcoach Jim Calhoun even referred to the graytrapezoid as a torture device.

Even though RU’s success has been minis-cule over the last few years, the RAC’s aurastill lives on. Orange head coach Jim Boeheimsaid he was “happy to get a win here” after histeam thrashed the Knights three weeks ago.Despite winning each game at RU since 2003,Georgetown head coach John Thompson IIInever found playing there easy.

“Rutgers has a huge home court advan-tage,” he said at the Big East Media Day inNovember. “The RAC is a very difficult placeto play. But that goes with success. A lot ofthese teams are improving and going to getbetter, and that environment will be better.”

That’s what RU is hoping for.“Over the summer, I spoke to [former

Connecticut star] Ben Gordon,” Mitchellsaid before the Scarlet Knights opened their

SEE MYSTIQUE ON PAGE 17

Losing skid hits three at hands of Irish

MEN’S BASKETBALL

ANDREW HOWARD/ PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

Khadijah Rushdan finished with 16 points, eight rebounds and seven assists lastnight. The sophomore guard’s 16 points led the Scarlet Knights in scoring.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

NOTRE DAMERUTGERS

7563

Best score of year still springs last place

ANDREW HOWARD/ PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

Freshman Jenna Zito led the Knights in the vault with a career-best score of9.750. She also led Rutgers in the floor exercises with a 9.625.

BY JOSH GLATTSTAFF WRITER

It is a rare occasion when a team finisheslast and can still be proud of its performance.

The Rutgers gymnastics team traveled toMaryland Saturdayto participate in itsfirst quad meet ofthe season. Whilethe Scarlet Knightsfinished fourth,

they managed to have one of their strongermeets of the season, finishing with a190.550, four points behind first place West Virginia.

With a schedule aimed at preparing forthe future, head coach Chrystal Chollet-Norton made it clear that winning is sec-ondary to achieving high scores.

Going into Maryland, Chollet-Norton had asense of perspective, recognizing that herteam was most likely outmatched by threefully funded squads. Despite the odds, Chollet-Norton’s team performed admirably, she said,achieving season highs in bars and vault.

“We were ecstatic about how the week-end went,” Chollet-Norton said. “We werelegitimately in there with all of them.”

Her team’s ability to compete threetimes in seven days without any ill ef fectsespecially impressed Chollet-Norton.

“I am so proud because we had threemeets in seven days, and we didn’t drop

SEE SCORE ON PAGE 18

GYMNASTICS

RUTGERS 190.550FOURTH PLACE

SEE SKID ON PAGE 22