February 25, 2009 edition

MLB Season Preview
RJA's New
Release
P. 7
John & Jay's picks!
P. 10
The Tower
Kean University’s student newspaper
www.kean.edu/~thetower
STUDENT ATHLETE PLAYS AND WORKS HARD
Volume 9 • Issue 9 Feb. 25-Mar. 10, 2009
Student Bullying in Cyberspace
By Lisa Martinez
EBONY JACKSON (MIDDLE ROW, FOURTH FROM LEFT). SEE PAGE 3.
Resident Assistants Get New Contract
By Jillian Johnson
The new employment contract for Resident Assistants for the Spring 2009 semester calls for more responsibilities that
some say leaves them with less time for
school or a personal life.
RA’s are given free room and board, and
a free meal plan in exchange for monitoring and assisting residents on their floors.
The new contracts require weekly room
visits with residents on their floors and
giving Saturday room tours to potentially new students interested in attending
Kean. The biweekly room visits requires
RA’s to go to each room on their floor and
talk to or participate in an activity with
the room residents.
The old contracts weren’t as detailed as
the new contracts. They required RA’s to
monitor floors, set forth and ensure rules
and to have regulatory floor meetings with
the residents.
“It was still work that we had to do, but
it wasn’t as time-consuming,” explained
one RA who asked to remain anonymous.
In January, the RA’s met with Resident
Hall Directors to discuss the new contract.
An RHD is a professional employee, who
typically has an eight-hour, five-day-aweek shift in the office on the Community
Center of each dorm.
According to the anonymous RA, not
many RA’s signed the new contract and
those who were unhappy with the new
contracts were told by the RHD’s to write
letters about it. According to the RA,
(Continued on page 4)
roughly 40 letters
Everyone's Guilty
Pleasure
P. 9 See page 2
When hearing the term bullying the
first thing that comes to mind is a kid being picked on at a playground. However,
bullying is no longer limited to kids or
playgrounds. The new ‘era’ of bullying is
online and it is targeting everyone from
middle school to college.
Cyber-bullying is no longer limited to
harassment on Facebook and MySpace
or embarrassing videos on YouTube; the
‘new face’ of cyber bullying is the anonymous blog.
Blogs, what once were used as a kind of
public diary where people recorded their
private thoughts or daily happenings, are
now being used as a tool to slander peers.
This new wave of anonymous blogging has
spread like wildfire. But when does the
blogging turn into defamation of character? Or harassment?
These blogs are designed so that random people can post absolutely anything
about anyone no matter the content on a
public site that anyone can read and comment on.
Consider the case of Jessica Pribush, a
junior at Kean University, who was a victim
of cyber-bullying. Pribush was viciously
slandered last semester by an anonymous
blogger on a site called JuicyCampus (now
called College acb). This particular site is
designed for college students. They are
able to post bulletins about anyone and
anything while remaining completely
anonymous. In the beginning, her entire
sorority was being slandered and at first
she chose to ignore it. Then a few days later she learned she was being singled out.
She was called names and accused of
backstabbing her friends. Her breaking
point was when she was sitting in class
one day and overheard people whispering
the rumors they had read about her on the
site. She ran out of class in tears and did
not return to campus for the rest of the
week.
The following week, Pribush returned
to campus only to attend classes. She refused to socialize, fearing judgment from
others based on the ugly things being said
about her online.
the ‘new face’ of cyber bullying is the anonymous blog.
“I didn’t want to make eye contact with
anyone while walking on campus because
I was afraid they would talk about those
things,” Pribush said.
Pribush was not only upset about the
things that were said about her but also
disappointed because she thought the
days of lies and gossip were left behind
at high school graduation. After getting
the comfort of good friends, Pribush decided to defend herself and her sorority
by addressing the rumors. She responded
on the site by stating that what was said
about her was not true and that she still
had the support of her friends and sisters.
She said she immediately felt better. After
a few days there were no more additions
to the blog, and like other rumors, it all
faded and there were new topics.
Even though the experience was hurtful
for Pribush, she has decided to look at the
incident as a learning opportunity.
“This experience (Continued on page 4)
Movies, Music, Stage, and Travel! (See centerfold.)
INQUIRING PHOTOGRAPHER: What Class or Classes Do You Wish Kean Offered?
By kelley pennisi
Kyla Womack
Junior, Communications
Rohan Runa
Freshman, Computer Science
Jennifer Grilli
Junior, Psychology
Olivia Mendez
Junior, Speech Language &
Hearing Science
“I wish that Kean had fashion marketing classes.”
“I think Kean needs regular nursing
classes.”
“I wish that Kean would have [more]
astronomy classes.”
“I wish Kean would offer a sexuality of
politics class.”
Salt or No Salt
2
Crossword
6
About Face(book)
Student Profile
3
Rachel's Rave
7
MLB Season Preview: John & Jay's Picks 10
Original Work at Kean Dance Theatre
4
Editorial & Anger Management
8
Women’s & Men’s Sports
9
11/12
2
February 25, 2009 | The Tower
Lecture on China Designed to Inspire
By Joseph Tingle
It’s 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 11th,
and students from different disciplines
and backgrounds are gathered at Kean
Hall. Today is the first installment of a
six-part educational lecture series put on
by the Chinese program, and Dr. Xurong
Kong, the mastermind behind the program, is happy to see a full turn out of curious students.
Though many people around the world
are only recently beginning to recognize
China’s global impact, China is one of
the world’s oldest and most cultured civilizations. Its history stretches back six
millennia. It’s fitting, then, that the first
lecture in the series, entitled “Use (and
Abuse) of History in China Today”, focuses on just that.
For the first lecture, Dr. Sue Gronewald
of the History Department takes the helm.
She’s an American with a background in
Modern Chinese History, and an example
of the kind of diversity that’s all part of
Dr. Kong’s plan.Dr. Kong points out that
the lectures are equally divided between
American, Taiwanese, and Mainland Chinese professors.
“[The speakers] present ideas from dif-
ferent disciplines and backgrounds, and
all have different perspectives on China,”
says Dr. Kong, whose goal is to inspire students to learn more about China.
She hopes that students will become
more curious about China after attending
one or two lectures.
According to Dr. Gronewold’s lecture,
the Chinese civilization was, by almost
every standard, “the most sophisticated
country in the world up until the early
19th century.”
Regardless of discipline, then, the Chinese civilization has made some kind of
significant contribution, whether it be
in mathematics, history, media, music,
political science, or language. It’s this kind
of wide reaching significance that inspired
Dr. Kong to open the lecture series up
to all students, even though it was initially designed for students taking a travel
learn course.
“The lecture series won’t give students
a detailed knowledge about China,” Dr.
Kong says, “but I want it to spark their interests and make them curious. Students
who attend a lecture or two may suddenly
find that they have an interest in China.”
As Dr. Gronewold pointed out in the first
lecture, the Chinese people are grounded
in their own history and China is a place
where “history matters”. Chinese culture
is riddled with references to its own history and its own set of cannon, and ironically Dr. Kong herself provides a bit of
self-referencing culture.
Dr. Kong, who was hired in 2006 to revise
Kean’s Chinese program, shares a connection with China’s deep history that’s more
than mere symbolism or circumstance.
She shares a surname with one of China’s-
and the world’s, for that matter- great cultural heroes: Confucius (Confused? That’s
because Confucius is a Latinized version
of the name Kong Fuzi).
While there’s no proof that her family
is actually related to Confucius, Dr. Kong’s
family has been following the Kong family
tree for as long as anyone can remember
and she’s proud to share the same name.
She admits that that could be one of the
reasons she feels so compelled to educate
others about China’s rich culture and civilization, even during a time when other
issues, like China’s rapidly growing economy, seem to overshadow mostly everything else.
“I don’t like to mention the role China’s
economic growth plays in the importance
of learning about China,” she says. It’s important, “but there is so much more than
that. Regardless of economics, China has
dominated a very large part of the Earth
for a very long time. It’s not right to overlook China’s vast history and culture.”
For more information on the Chinese
Program and lecture series, visit the
Foreign Language department on the
3rd floor of Hutchinson Hall or visit the
program’s website at (http://www.kean.
edu/~xkong/Welcome.html).
Kean Takes Media Students to the City for Class
By Lillie Morales-Torres
If you love going into the city, Kean’s “Inside Television” class may be for you. Of
course, it helps to be a media or film major.
“The class this semester is full and was open to Media & Film majors,” says Professor
John Wooten. “Should the class not fill up in the future and a non major was interested,
he or she would have to speak with a faculty advisor in the Media & Film department is
see if it was possible to register.”
The program gives students an opportunity to network
with industry professionals.
For four years, students have had the opportunity to attend classes every spring at
the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in New York City in a course offered by the
Media and Film Department in a partnership with Premier Stages.
The academy was founded in 1955 and TV Talk Show Host Ed Sullivan was its first
president. Established in 2002, the foundation advances education, creativity and leadership within the television industry, and promotes academy locations that offer programs to students around the world. The academy also holds many activities and events
that encourage an appreciation for the arts and sciences of television. It promotes excellence in the television industry, for instance, as the group that awards TV’s celebrated
Emmy Awards.
Through the academy program, students are introduced to leading professionals in
the television industry. Ellen Muir who is the Coordinator at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, brings in speakers who work in areas such as programming,
news, music, sports, technology and reporting. The students even get to tour television
studios in the New York area. Students also get a better look at the evolving trends in
the industry and get a perspective on various careers they may be interested in upon
graduation.
The program gives students an opportunity to network with industry professionals
including television company vice presidents, publicists, technicians, TV talent and
more. The special guests give students words of wisdom, career advice, tours in the studios, and good contact information. Students may even be recommended for an internship or job through these contacts in the future.
The majority of the classes for the semester are held in New York. And students should
“have very few absences so that they do not miss out on any important information or
tours. “Students who excel may be recommended for internships and page positions
with television networks,” says Wooten. “Over half the sessions are in NYC so students
must be willing to travel to the TV Academy once a week on Tuesday evenings.” The remainder of the semester is taught in the classroom at Kean.
HEALTH & FITNESS
Salt or No Salt
Dr. Josh Palgi and
Dr. Jessica Adams
Sodium is a mineral needed by the human body for regulation of fluid balance,
inside and outside of cells, contraction
of muscles, and conduction of nerve impulses. To maintain the sodium/water
balance, excess sodium is removed via the
kidneys. The major sources of sodium in
our diet are processed, prepared foods and
the salt we add to food during cooking or
at meals. “Salt” and “sodium” are often
used interchangeably. Since sodium has
been linked to health problems and sodium is most commonly eaten as salt, measuring salt intake has been an easy way to
determine how much sodium people actually consume.
The issue of salt restriction for lowering
blood pressure or decreasing heart disease
risk is one of the more controversial diet
and health topics. Eat less salt and you
will lower your blood pressure and live a
longer, healthier life. This has been the
message promoted by the National Heart,
Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and the
National High Blood Pressure Education
Program (NHBPEP) for three decades.
Individual needs vary enormously based
on genetic make-up and the way they live
their life. While individual requirements
range widely, most Americans consume
“excess” sodium above and beyond that
required for proper bodily function.
The current dietary guideline recommendation that individuals consume less
than 2300 mg. of sodium per day is too
high. The amount should be changed to
the amount recommended in the 2005
guidelines for salt. Sensitive populations, individuals with hypertension,
African Americans and middle age and
older adults, which account for 68% of the
American population, should consume no
more than 1500 mg. of sodium per day.
To accommodate the approach for reducing the sodium intake to 1500 mg. per
day in the 2010 dietary guidelines, it has
been suggested to consider making the
recommendation in two phases. In recent
comments to the Food and Drug Administration and the Institute of Medicine,
AHA recommended that the daily value
for sodium be lowered to 1500 mg. by
2020 with an intermediate goal of 2000
mg. by 2013. This two-step phase down
should provide manufacturers with time
to reformulate products and identify acceptable salt substitutes as well as allow
consumers to adapt their taste sensitivities to the lower sodium content in foods.
It will be difficult for consumers to lower
their sodium intake to 1500 mg. on their
own. With processed foods accounting
for 77% of all sodium consumed, it will require the cooperation of food manufacturers and restaurants to reduce the sodium
content of the foods they make available
to the public. AHA would like to see food
manufacturers and restaurants reduce the
salt added to food by 50% over the next
10 years.
FDA is not advising people on how high
or low their salt intake should be. By appropriate labeling they are attempting to
inform the public and those who want to
keep their sodium down as to the amount
of sodium they are consuming. Food labels list sodium rather than salt content.
When reading a nutrition facts panel on
a food product, look for the sodium content. Foods that are low in sodium (less
than 140 mg. or 5 percent of Daily Value
(DV) are low in salt. If your health is important to you, you must become an informed consumer.
Dr. Josh Palgi, Professor, Physical Education, Recreation and Health Dept.
Dr. Jessica Adams, Professor, Physical Education,
Recreation and Health Dept.
The Tower | February 25, 2009
3
STUDENT PROFILE
Ebony Jackson Shines as a Student-Athlete
By John Cherry
Everybody wants to go out on top in
the sport that they play, but few get that
chance. Senior Ebony Jackson went out
with a bang on Senior Day against RutgersCamden scoring a team-high 25 points in
the win.
Jackson is set to graduate this spring.
Although one part of her life is ending,
she looks forward to her future.
With the end of the season approaching, as well as the end of Jackson’s college
career, she cannot help but to look ahead.
“Once I graduate I plan on going overseas to play basketball. My back-up plan
is to go to graduate or law school,” said
Jackson.
It would not be Jackson’s first time playing basketball overseas. When she was
16 she played in France, Switzerland and
Germany as a sports ambassador. She also
traveled with the Kean basketball team
two years ago when the team went to Italy
to play.
“It’s been my dream to play basketball
as a full-time job,” said Jackson.
Jackson puts as much hard work on the
every one that plays a sport in college,
whether traveling to a game the day before a big test, or not being able to have
any extra cash in your pocket because you
don’t have time to work.
“It’s all about balancing your time and
“Jackson puts IN as much
hard work on the court as
she does off the court. She
is the true definition of a
student-athlete.”
Ebony Jackson
court as she does off the court. She is the
true definition of a student-athlete; always making sure school comes first. She
took summer classes to keep on track and
also took 18 credits last semester so she
would graduate this spring.
“That was more stressing than anything,
I don’t even know how I pulled that off
getting all A’s and one B,” said Jackson.
Being a student-athlete is tough on
prioritizing,” said Jackson.
With graduation looming, Jackson
is determined to work as hard as she
can to get her team to the top this time.
“The past two years we got to the Elite
Eight of the Division III NCAA Tournament,” she said. “This year we want to get
over that hump.”
Jackson doesn’t feel that she would
be here without the support of her head
coach Michele Sharp.
“Plenty of times I wanted to give up but
she just kept on pushing me,” said Jackson. “It wasn’t always about basketball
she taught me things about life that are
even more important.”
Jackson plays hard; whether on the
court or off the court, Jackson always
gives 100 percent.
Jackson wasn’t even supposed to be the
starting point guard for Kean her freshman year, but her hard work and determination made that happen.
Since that year, she appeared in 115
games, starting all but three of them. She
holds the career record for assists at Kean
with 608, and joined the 1,000-point club
on January 2nd this year.
With Jackson at the point, Kean has
been a dominant team over the past three
seasons. Jackson outhustles her opponent on every play, and it seems to invigorate her teammates to work harder.
And for Jackson, it’s the hard work that
counts.
“It’s all about playing hard and working
hard,” said Jackson.
Conference Says Slavery is a Growing 21st Century Horror
By Dawn M. Phillips
A standing ovation was given to Ishmael Beah at the second annual Human
Rights Conference here on February 13,
after he spoke of his life in Africa as a
child soldier.
A native of Sierra Leone, he was just
12-years-old when he was forced to fight
in a war that took the lives of his entire
family. He was then enslaved him as a
child soldier.
It takes a remarkable strength to recover from war and the experiences in the
war,” said Beah.
Beah’s book, A Long Way Gone, is a
memoir of his life experiences. Beah told
the audience that when you share a story,
you become the facilitator of that story
and it is no longer yours, but it is everyone’s. He encouraged the audience to do
research and find out about an organization where you can help if you desire.
“Ishmael Beah alone made the conference worthwhile,” said Dr. Kevin Bales,
president of Free the Slaves, a non-profit
organization.
Two fists linked by handcuffs and the
phrase, “Slavery still exists today”, was
what caught everyone’s eye at conference
in the Wilkins Theatre. The conference
was entitled, “Slavery in the 21st Century” and featured 10 guest speakers, from
9am- 3:30pm. Among the speakers were
Dr. Bales and Beah ; Nan Kennelly, Director of the Office to Monitor and Combat
Trafficking in Persons for the U.S. Department of State, and professional photographer, Kay Chernush.
Dr. Farahi, Kean University’s President, opened up the conference encour-
aging the audience to act on the issue of
slavery and to write letters to state legislators and newspapers to help eliminate
its existence.
Slavery exists everywhere around the
world, but especially in places like Asia
and Uganda. Slavery even exists today in
every state in the United States. Humans
are trafficked or kidnapped from other
countries and brought into the U.S. with
the promise of money, food, education,
and shelter. Instead, the women are often
raped, and used for prostitution, while
children are forced to do arduous work.
Dr. Bales stated that impoverished
mothers are tricked into giving up their
children in exchange for food and shelter
for them. Slaves, he said, are treated like
“disposable people,” who are harshly treated and easily replaceable.
Once the victims realize they are slaves,
they try to escape, but are threatened,
beaten, and sometimes even killed. This
behavior forces them to stay trapped
in slavery.
Dr. Bales, the first speaker, instantly grabbed everyone’s attention with a
10-minute film on contemporary slavery.
The film showed a variety of photos of
slaves, including children, and their hardships. The film stated that currently, there
are 27 million slaves in the world, with
some 14,500 humans trafficked into the
U.S. and forced into slavery. The average
cost of a slave today is $90. “ W e
buy into slavery every day,” stated Dr.
Bales, the author of Ending Slavery published in 2008.
He said consumers unknowingly drive
the trend. He said we wear slavery, eat
slavery, and drive slavery. For example,
Guest pass to enter conference.
“Two fists linked by handcuffs and the phrase,
‘Slavery still exists today’
caught everyone’s eye at a
conference in the Wilkins
Theatre.”
coltan is a dull black mineral that is used
in DVDs and cell phones. Young slaves dig
up coltan and it is sold on the black market
for $40 a pound. A better understanding,
a level of motivation, and a decision of action,” says Dr Bales of what he expects
students to gain from the conference.
Freetheslaves.net is a website where
students can go to offer assistance to
the growing problem of slavery. All
royalties and profits go to anti-slavery
organizations.
After each speech the floor was opened
for questions. Students, faculty, and the
community expressed their thoughts and
questions on the topic of human trafficking, slavery, and child soldiering.
Some audience members argued that
they found it impossible that the government does not know about the slavery
taking place around the world, and in
the U.S. Dr. Bales countered by saying
that government officials and police may
not be trained to know what to look for
in terms of tracking down traffickers. He
said awareness is essential.
Afternoon panelists included, Susan
MacLaury, Phd., an associate professor at
Kean, and the executive producer of the
film War Dance (which guest received in
complimentary tote bags), Dr. Sue-Ellen
Gronewold, chair of the History Department at Kean, Dr James Conyers, Director of Africana Studies at Kean, Beatriz
Alaniz, New Jersey Case Manager for Polaris Project, an anti-trafficking organization, Winston Nagan, J.S.D., director of
the Institute for Human Rights and Peace
Development, and Elizabeth Defeis, J.D.,
law professor at Seton Hall.
The Human Rights Institute held their
first conference on Darfur last year. The
Human Rights Institute at Kean will
be opened this year next to the Nancy
Thompson Library. It will include a stateof-the-art gallery, artwork, and publications related to human right violations
and victories around the world.
Professors: Tell Us About Your New Classes
Attention Kean professors! The Tower wants to tell the campus community about new course offerings for Fall 2009. Please send the course name,
department, and a brief description to [email protected]. The course will be published in a listing of new courses in the March edition.
4
February 25, 2009 | The Tower
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Students Create Original Work at Kean Dance Theatre
By Jessie Rivera
Family members and friends filled up
the University Center’s Little Theatre earlier this month to see the 30 cast members
of the Kean Dance Theatre perform a student showcase.
The show, held on Friday, Feb. 13 and
funded by the Student Organization, featured nine performances with dances such
as jazz, lyrical, tap, flamenco, tango, contemporary and hip-hop. All pieces were
choreographed by the students.
“I am performing in five different pieces,
one of which I choreographed myself,” explained Ashley Miller, who did a solo performance to Ne-Yo’s hit song, Closer. “I decided to choreograph a tap dance because
tap is one of my favorite styles of dance.”
Jahir Calderon and Krystina Cardenas
choreographed the opening act to the
song, Black and Gold by Sam Sparrow. The
performance acted out a story of a young
boy and girl who fall in love with one an-
Resident Assistants
other— but like Romeo & Juliet—are kept
apart because of their social differences.
A solo performance choreographed and
danced by Sandra Devito then followed.
performances that the company does on
and off-campus during the year.
The Kean Dance Theatre accepts dancers of all levels from age 18 to 25, and as a
result, the showcase varies from students
with as much as 20 years of dance experience to those who just started this year. .
The cast of KDT have been practicing all
year, both during the week and weekends.
Although their main rehearsals occur during college hour, the dancers have spent as
much as eight hours or more a day in the
studios on Saturdays and Sundays.
Since there are no tryouts or required
dance experience to join the Kean Dance
Theatre, anyone is welcome to join. Rehearsals are held Mondays and Thursdays
during college hour in the D’Angola Gym
or the Executive Board can be contacted
through the Student Organization office.
The Kean Dance Theatre cast will return
for a performance on April 18 and 19;
tickets will be sold at the box office.
(Continued from page 1)
were written and given to the hall directors. Following the letters, a change was
made regarding giving tours. RAs are now
not required to schedule one Saturday out
of the month to do room tours. Instead,
the RA’s are only obligated to do room
tours if on duty.
The biweekly room tours, however, remain in the contract. According to the RA,
that requirement is designed to address
complaints from students that that they
could not find their RA. Many students
were bypassing both RAs and RHDs and
going directly to the Office of Residence
Life with minor complaints. Residents
went to both the Director of Residence
Life, as well as the Vice President of Student Affairs, and it seemed as if the RA’s
were not doing their jobs, the RA said.
In defense of RAs, the RA said that there
is always an RA on duty in each building.
Also, the RA said that RA’s have different
schedules than the residents, which is why
sometimes it may be difficult for residents
to locate RAs.
According to the RA, the biweekly room
visits are for RA’s to become more involved
with the residents living on campus.
The RA said that the contracts require
RA’s to perform a “resident interaction
log,” in which RAs are to visit each dorm
on their assigned floor and spend time
with the residents.
CYBERSPACE
Krystina Cardenas dancing to the piece, Sevillanas.
She performed her piece to the song
Avenue Heartache by Grammy-award
winner Duffy.
One of the inspirational dances of the
night was a female quintet, choreographed
by Courtney Hoffman to the song Keep
Breathing by Ingrid Michaelson. Hoffman, along with four other dancers, Carly
Camuso, Jen Da Silva, Ashley Miller and
Meghan Moran—came out in t-shirts covered with words like peace, love, kindness,
laughter and passion. The song lyrics said,
“But all that I know is I’m breathing. All I
can do is keep breathing. All we can do is
keep breathing.”
Kean Dance Theatre is the university’s
oldest dance company. They just celebrated their 30th anniversary this past April.
Assistant Professor Luis Martinez of the
Department of Physical Education, Recreation and Health is the artistic director
and the student showcase is one of two annual shows that KDT presents every year.
The annual show does not include smaller
The contract states, “This may include
a movie night, game night, roundtable
discussion, cultural dinner, etc.” The log
is then submitted later to the Supervising Residence Hall Director at a set time
and date.
The unnamed RA complained that the
duties are time-consuming, and difficult
to schedule since dorm students also have
jobs and classes. All this gives RAs less
time to study, and perform other jobs and
activities, the person said.
The RA also believes that most residents
would not feel comfortable having their
RA’s in their dorm rooms with them.
“I don’t feel like I need to be a babysitter
of my residents,” said the RA.
The RA said that meetings, called AllTea meetings, are held twice a month with
RA’s and RHD’s. The next meeting will take
place at the end of February to discuss RA
duties and responsibilities.
Kean University spokesman Stephen
Hudik said in response: “All resident
assistants are required to sign contracts
outlining their responsibilities. Residence
hall directors as a matter of course meet
with all resident assistants to ensure that
all understand the expectations and are
in compliance with their contractual
obligations. Some resident assistants
provided input. These were taken into
consideration.”
(Continued from page 1)
made me mature,” Pribush said. “I was
the type to always try and make people
like me.”
Unfortunately, these sites are immune
to most lawsuits. “They are protected by
the communications decency act.” says
Parry Aftab Esq. who specializes in privacy law, cyber crimes and other forms of
cyber abuse.
She said this act makes it very difficult
to sue these sites. However, Aftab also says
that the sites, “can be sued for encourag-
ing defamation but it isn’t easy to prove.”
Suing the individual was not specified.
Kean University police said a case of
cyber crime has never been reported
to them.
Still, what some may consider “harmless” gossip blogging, can drive the victim
to such extremes as suicide. Aftab said if
the gossip attracts you, just imagine that
the blog is about you, and consider how
you would feel.


Celebrating 50 years
of flexible, affordable
Graduate Studies.


GRADUATE STUDIES
OPEN HOUSE
Tuesday, March 3
4:00 – 7:00 p.m.
Free parking
with validation.
EDUCATION • ART • BUSINESS
COUNSELING • CRIMINAL JUSTICE
HEALTH SCIENCES • MUSIC
PSYCHOLOGY • SECURITY STUDIES
New Jersey City University
Hepburn Hall, Rm. 202
2039 Kennedy Boulevard
Jersey City, NJ 07305-1597
TO RSVP CALL TOLL-FREE: (877) 722-1320
OR E-MAIL: [email protected]
The Tower | February 25, 2009
AROUND CAMPUS
Student Org Events: Past & Upcoming
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Darfur lunch-in- March 3rd
Food services meeting- Feb 12th
RA applications (2.5 GPA required) have been extended untilFeb 23rd
Refund checks will be sent out the week of Febuary 16th
Towns Hall meeting- Feb 23rd
Ski Trip to Shawnee, PA(5$ per ticket, 1 per Kean I.D.)
Unity week Feb 23rd- Feb 28th
POETRY CONTEST
The Department of English would like to announce The Annual Kean University
Poetry Contest, sponsored this year by the Academy of American Poets, the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, and the Department of English.
First Place - $100
Second Place - $50
Third Place - $25
ALL currently enrolled Kean University students are eligible to submit up to five
poems. For submission guidelines visit: www.kean.edu/~english/poetry.html.
Paper copies of guidelines are also available at CAS 225.
DEADLINE for Submission:
Thursday, March 12th, 2008.
For more information contact:
Dr. Maria Montaperto,Poetry Contest Chair
[email protected]
908.737.0368
PROFILE BRIEF: Student Org’s Olamiju Spices up Kean
By Kevin Adams
Fast-Facts:
Name: Tony Olamiju
Age: 21
Current Year: Senior
GPA: 3.1
Hometown: Teaneck
Favorite Sport: Football
Favorite Star: Michael Jordan
Student Org title: Treasurer
Where do you see yourself in 10 years? In law enforcement and married.
Would you rather be the chip or the dip? The chip, because I am the voice
of the students. There is no need for dip without the chip. The dip adds
a better taste to the chip; just as I have the same opportunity to voice out
student and faculty opinions to add a better taste to this campus.
Why did you choose to be a part of student organization? I chose Student
Org because I wanted to be able to voice (my own) and other’s words. I
want the Kean community to be happy; with me being in student org. I
can help them be happy. If anyone wants their voice to be heard, they
can tell me or come to the student organization meetings, which are every
two weeks in the CAS building.
This is the first in a series of brief profiles on student government leaders at Kean.
5
A&E
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
games ➥
music ➦
‘The Class’ masters real look at life of a teacher
By Cary Darling
THE CLASS
4 stars out of 5
PG-13 (strong language); 128 min.
In French, with English subtitles
It’s at first tempting to call “The Class,” the celebrated French film about a young teacher grappling with the difficulties of classroom life, “Monsieur, With Love.” After all, there have been so many English-language films on this
topic—“Blackboard Jungle,” “Up the Down Staircase,” “Dangerous Minds,” “Stand and Deliver,” “Lean on Me,” “The
Substitute,” and, of course, “To Sir With Love”—that merely setting the story in Paris wouldn’t be enough to shake the
feeling that someone has been copying others’ homework.
But it soon becomes clear that “The Class,” up for an Oscar in the Best Foreign Language Film category, has little in
common with its Anglophone counterparts beyond teachers, desks and kids with attitude. Based on teacher/novelist
Francois Begaudeau’s autobiographical book about his time spent in a tough racially and religiously mixed high school,
“The Class” jettisons what has become standard-issue for these movies—the cheap and easy sentimentality, the predictable characters, the hit-driven soundtrack—in favor of something more real.
Director Laurent Cantet shot the film documentary-style, worked up much of the script through improvisation, and
cast Begaudeau sort of as himself, playing a teacher named Francois Marin. In addition, the kids are reportedly actual
students, not pro actors, although they are portraying characters.
Reinforcing the reality is the fact that “The Class” rarely leaves the classroom and never leaves the school grounds.
The result is akin to being plunked down in the middle of a teacher’s hectic year, including all the bureaucratic tedium
that implies. (American viewers, however, might wonder how real—or how bad—can a school without firearms and
metal detectors be.)
What’s most striking is that neither Cantet nor Begaudeau turn Marin into a noble hero who will walk through hell to rescue his students from the clutches of ignorance. In fact, in at least one of the classroom conflicts with students, he’s clearly at fault. He’s just a guy trying to make it through the day and maybe get one kid to exult
in the joys of the French subjunctive.
American directors could learn a thing or two from “The Class.”
(c) 2009, Fort Worth Star-Telegram;. McClatchy Newspapers; (MCT)
Rachel’s Rave: Student Universe.com Sends Students Packing for Less
offers at a discount. Student Universe also offers rail service for European trips as
well as discounted car rentals.
In a world where financially, everything seems to be against those trying to earn
an education, discounted plane fares can mean the difference between staying
home watching bad talk shows, and exploring new, faraway places.
Take advantage of the chance for adventure, and use student universe to help
make it a reality.
➦
Just beyond the Kean Campus, there are thousands of worlds waiting to be explored. Unfortunately, thanks to student budgets, most of us can’t afford to travel
to these unknown worlds to experience them. Often, the worst part of spring break
is the frustration that comes when the only option is to stay home and work because you can’t afford a plane ticket anywhere.
But there is good news- now you can afford to enjoy spring break.
Thanks to studentuniverse.com, students with a valid Kean ID will be able to
reach many destinations this semester for less cash. Student Universe pairs with
major airlines to provide cheaper fares. The website does require proof of enrollment from your educational institution, but it confirms quickly and then it delivers
you information about cost-efficient trips to many popular spots for students.
Miami, for example is spring break central. An American Airlines flight that
leaves mid-afternoon on Saturday, March 14, and returns in the evening of March
20, the days of spring break at Kean, costs about $375. That same flight can be
found at studentuniverse.com for $244. In addition, hotel rooms can be booked
directly through Student Universe for easy overnight stays.
Maybe you already have summer on the mind. A two week American Airlines
flight from July 1-14 to San Francisco International Airport costs $490 through
the airline. However, with student universe, the same one-stop flight costs $401.
Student Universe says this on their website: “We’re the largest online travel
agency for students in the US, and we’re proud to be the number one destination
for cheap student travel and especially cheap airline tickets for students.”
Students seem happy with the site. Epinions.com has an A+ review up on their
site, and Viewpoints.com has a good review where one consumer calls the site a
“good choice for students and faculty members.”
In my own experience, I remember one Christmas where I spent $220 on studentuniverse.com for a $700 one-way ticket to Minnesota. I got the ticket that I
needed at an affordable rate. And airline tickets aren’t the only service the website
By Rachel Rothspan
➦
TRAVEL
stage
She Loves Me
RJA’s “Lonely Road” Album Released
By Robert M. Pereira
The highly awaited sophomore album by the Red Jumpsuit Apparatus,
Lonely Road is now in stores.
“Sometimes, to do what’s right, you must walk alone,” says Ronnie Winter,
lead singer for RJA in one of the tracks on the new album.
Certainly, RJA won’t be left alone with the release of their new album,
nearly three years after their breakthrough platinum-selling album, Don’t
You Fake It.
RJA is based out of Florida and is known for mixing alternative rock with
touches of screamo, pop-punk and metal. Their song lyrics focus on real life
issues that most people can relate to. Hit tracks on their debut album such
as Face Down, which is related to domestic violence, left fans screaming for
more. Fans have patiently waited for some new music, which has finally arrived. Ronnie Winter believes the band will enjoy the new tracks.
“We’re really psyched about these tracks and the new record and hope you
are, too,” he said on the bands MySpace page. “Just like Don’t You Fake It, you
can be sure Lonely Road will tie together these and a bunch of other sounds in
a classic, but new-and-improved RJA-sounding way.”
New tracks like You Better Pray, Represent, Pen and Paper, Step Right Up and
Believe can be found on the band’s MySpace page. The entire album can be
purchased at Target.com for only $9.99.
RJA will embark on a headlining, international tour in a number of Asian
countries in late February and March including shows in Osaka and Tokyo in
Japan, as well as Australian dates in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide
and Perth.
MOVIES
By Raquel Fernandes
Sitting with a daisy in his hand, he plucked the petals of his romantic destiny:
“She loves me, she loves me not; she loves me, she loves me not.” At the last petal,
he got his answer: “She Loves Me.”
She Loves Me is an upbeat musical that is as romantic as it is funny. For those who
want the heartwarming feelings of Valentine’s Day to last just a little bit longer,
Director Holly Logue, Dean of the School of Visual and Performing Arts, says you
won’t want to miss this production by Kean’s Theatre Department.
“It’s a perfect story for anyone who has dreamt about finding the right person,”
said Logue. “It’s a subject most people are familiar with.”
She Loves Me takes place in the 1930s in an
eastern European city where two coworkers,
who are at odds with each other are unaware
that they are each other’s romantic pen pal.
There have been several film adaptations of
this musical, including the 1940 James Stewart-Margaret Sullivan film, The Shop Around the
Corner; the 1949 Judy Garland-Van Johnson
musical version, In the Good Old Summertime;
and more recently, the 1998 Tom Hanks-Meg
Ryan film, You’ve Got Mail.
Logue knows the show well, having played
the role of Amalia at Plays-in-the-Park in
1998, and chose to direct this play because the
Department of Theatre wants to vary the experiences that their actors are provided, as well
as offer a wide assortment of productions for their audience.
“She Loves Me is an intimate peek into the lives of some very special characters,
looking for love,” said Logue.
Putting on a production of this nature is no easy task. The process includes challenging choreography, difficult singing, complex staging and lighting, costume design and much more. Rehearsals began in December 2008; they rehearsed three to
six hours a day five days a week.
“Rehearsing is like painting on a painting,” says Logue. “It is all about refining
and adding, making sure the story is clear to the audience.”
The cast includes Elio Lleo as Georg Nowack, the shy store manager who is constantly at odds with Amalia Balash, played by Megan Bussiere. Other prominent
actors include, Shawn Simmons, Greg Scalera, Samantha Giustiniani, Jeff Ronan,
Kevin Gilbert, Shabazz Green, Dustin Ballard, Jason Gillis, and T.J. McNeill.
She Loves Me will be premiering at Kean on February 27 at 8:00pm, and will run
shows until March 7. For tickets, visit the Kean Stage Website at www.keanstage.
com or walk over to the Wilkins Theatre Box Office.
➦
8
February 25, 2009 | The Tower
EDITORIAL
The Tower
Department of Communication
A-ROD AND AMERICA’S HYPOCRISY
The big topic among sports recently has not been discussing the upcoming baseball season or
the current basketball tournaments, it has been about Alex Rodriquez, also known as A-Rod.
A headline on Cbsews.com reads, “A-Rod Steroids Report A Baseball Shocker.” But was this a
baseball shocker?
Performance enhancers have been an issue in sports on any level. But, when referring to the
professional level, are they really something that is uncommon and rare? Rodriguez’s use was not
a confession to the American people. It was an act of admission due to the fact that his results
were leaked out from what was supposed to be an anonymous test. There were 103 other athletes who also tested positive for the use of these enhancers, but their names were not leaked.
His response to the usage was that he was, “young and stupid,” when in fact he was 28-yearsold. But there are many more athletes on that list who were also as “young” and as “stupid” as ARod and surely those names will begin to leak. But are people really disappointed in the powerhouse hitter? Those who are upset must have been living under a rock because it surely has to be
going on in all sports, especially baseball and football. Baseball seems to be the main event lately
in the steroids debacle. Clemens, Pettitte, Giambi, and Bons are among the baseball players who
have been accused of taking performance enhancers. What makes A-Rod’s story any different?
Many argue that the ballplayers are role models for children and that is why they need to be
convicted and suspended from playing the game. But these are men doing their job. They never
asked to be role models and, frankly, many of them probably wouldn’t consider themselves one
either. They are not the only “role model” types out there who are doing things that they are not
supposed to be doing. Truth be told, some of these athletes have lied in the past to the media
when asked about enhancers, but since when is Kate Couric a bible on the witness stand?
What about celebrities? Are we expected to believe that movie stars can go from skinny to Atlas and back for a new film without some help from the drug trade? And what about musicians
who don’t hesitate to say out loud that they enjoy taking drugs or drinking too much. Aren’t
they role models? Where are their scarlet letters of shame?
Steroid usage should be kept out of sports, yes, but they should also be kept out of Hollywood,
the music business and lots of other places too.
Kelly Nemeth
Editor-in-Chief
Kean University
Center for Academic Success
1000 Morris Avenue
Union, NJ 07083
Telephone: (908) 737-0468
Fax: (908) 737-0465
Email: [email protected]
The Tower is an independent, laboratory newspaper of
Kean University’s print journalism option in the communication major program. It is published biweekly through
the regular academic year and supported by advertising
and the Department of Communication. The Tower is not
responsible for claims made by its advertisers. The Tower
is a public forum and is free from censorship and advance
approval of content by the university administration. The
Tower staff is responsible for its content.
Editor-in-Chief
Kelly Nemeth
Deputy Editor
Jill Johnson
Sports Editor
Nicole Von Gonten
Arts and Entertainment
Editor
Raquel Fernandes
Staff
Kevin Adams
John Cherry
Charley Falkenburg
Lisa Martinez
Lillie Morales-Torres
Kelly Pennisi
Robert Pereira
Dawn Phillips
Aydin Reyhan
Carlos Reynosa
Jessie Rivera
Rachel Rothspan
Ana Maria Silverman
Copy Editor
Jay Hicks
Business Manager
Egdanis Torres-Dominicci
Faculty Adviser
Pat Winters Lauro
Designer
Stephanie Skirvin
Opinion pieces and letters to the editor
The Tower welcomes guest columns and letters to the editor from
any source. Such material should be submitted to [email protected]
or left at The Tower’s offices. To verify sources of written material,
submissions must include the writer’s name and contact information.
Students should include their class (sophomore, graduate, etc.) and
major. Faculty and staff should include campus title or position. On
request, names may be withheld from publication if The Tower staff
determines there is a legitimate reason to do so, but no anonymous
letters will be accepted for publication. The Tower reserves the right
to edit, and refuse publication of any submission.
Display and classified advertising
Deadline for space reservations for display advertising is two weeks
before the publication date. Ads submitted after that may be used on
a space-available basis. All ads are run-of-the-paper unless an extra
fee is collected for a paid position. Deadline for art work and copy
is one week before the publication date. Classified advertising can
be submitted up to the Thursday before publication as long as the
payment is made at the same time. Call (908) 737-0468 or email
[email protected] for a rate card.
Tower publication schedule
Spring: Jan. 28, Feb. 11, Feb. 25, Mar. 11, Apr. 1, Apr. 22.
ANGER MANAGEMENT
PUMP UP THE PARTY, NOT THE IPOD
By Kelly Nemeth
Students like to use their music to drown out noise that annoys them. They pop in
their iPod headphones or they pull up their iTunes on their laptop, and begin to play
their favorite song. But what they don’t realize is that their music is becoming a distraction among others.
When you take out your laptop in the middle of the cafeteria and play today’s new
popular song for your friends to hear, the majority of the cafeteria can hear it as well.
Perhaps you do realize that others can hear it, but you don’t care; you enjoy playing your
music so loud to a point of annoyance. Either way, there are some people who don’t like
the music you are listening to, want to enjoy their lunch in quiet, or are actually trying
to study or read. This is rude for everyone near you and yet you still feel the need to fill
the air with noise.
If you are not listening to music, you go onto YouTube and decide to watch Saturday
night’s beer fest where your pal decided it was cool to fall over or punch someone in the
face. You laugh out loud as if you haven’t seen it 100 times already. Then, you feel the
need to give your friends an in depth explanation of where you were exactly standing
during the charade and how you almost got hit. Again, this is an annoyance to others
around you who have better things to do than hear about your Saturday nights.
Then there are those people who feel that they are being respectful because they are
listening to their iPods. This is much better than blasting music through speakers; however, your iPod is turned up so loud that anyone could sing along with the song you are
listening to. Just because you are wearing headphones does not mean that everyone
around you can’t hear it.
Obviously students like to listen to their music to get away from the stress of school.
It is understandable. But is it necessary that your music be so loud that it’s a distraction
to others?
The Tower | February 25, 2009
9
OPINIONS
Reality TV: Everyone’s Guilty Pleasure
By Charley Falkenburg
Reality TV is becoming increasingly
popular. It is steadfastly becoming everyone’s guilty pleasure. Starting with MTV’s
Real World and Survivor, reality television
is expanding its horizons to shows that
can seduce all kinds of demographics.
Young adults tend to gravitate towards
MTV and VH1. Since reality TV has taken
over both of these channels, young adults
find themselves watching more reality
TV than ever before. The main attraction
of reality TV is its authenticity, but exactly how real is it? Real World, a favorite
among teenagers, often stages cat fights
and induces drama on purpose. Superficial shows like Rock of Love and Flavor of
Love claim the purpose of the show is to
find a soul mate. Every viewer can tell that
Bret Michaels just wants a good time and
that the girls from Flavor of Love just want
their 15 minutes of fame.
More often than not, these shows enlist people who are either complete train
wrecks or money grubbers who will do any-
thing from competing to be Paris Hilton’s
BFF to taking off their clothes in order to
be in a sequel. So what compels people to
stay tuned to this shamelessness? Perhaps it’s just fun to watch people whose
lives are more messed up than your own.
And to be sure they are more messed up
than the average person’s life; the shows
get more outrageous each season. MTV’s
newest edition, The Tool Academy, which
tries to force low life boyfriends into perfect gentlemen, is a prime example of a
network that is running out of ideas.
Reality television can also harm selfCast of Mtv’s The Real World.
Cast of VHI’s Tool Academy.
esteem. The contestants on America’s Next
Top Model are told daily that they aren’t
thin, sexy or pretty enough. If these girls
are the best of the bunch, what does that
say to the young female viewer? Shows
like that can easily induce body image issues, especially when Janice Dickinson is
ranting that a size 0 is too fat.
However, not all reality TV shows are
ridiculous. A popular choice among Kean
viewers is American Idol. Student see this
show as inspirational and they like the
feeling of “getting to know” the contestants week after week. Another favorite
among the students is MTV’s Made, which
gives kids the opportunity to achieve a
goal they normally could not do by themselves. Viewers feel as if they can relate to
these people and their insecurities. The
show gives the audience hope and confidence about bettering themselves.
Clearly, reality TV is taking America
by storm. But whether your preference
is A Double Shot at Love or America’s Best
Dance Crew, don’t feel ashamed. Many of
us are guilty of succumbing to the thrills
of it all, even those who claim they think
it’s crazy.
Some people think reality TV is lame
and others swear it’s demeaning, but I
don’t think a little reality TV hurts anyone. If it did, then many people wouldn’t
try so hard to get on these shows. So next
time your favorite guilty pleasure is on TV,
go and indulge in the entertainment. Just
remember, don’t take it too seriously.
Photos and Coffins: Honor the Fallen
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
The Obama administration should reverse a policy that forbids the media from photographing the flag-draped coffins of fallen soldiers at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.
The ban was put in place in 1991, during the first Gulf War, under President George
H.W. Bush. Prior to that, photographers were allowed to take pictures of the caskets as
they returned on transport planes to the nation’s largest military mortuary.
President George W. Bush renewed the ban during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq,
saying he wanted to be sensitive to military families.
Bush said photographing the caskets might put undue pressure on family members of
the fallen to attend the event at Dover, even though they might not be able to afford the
cost of traveling there. Critics accused Bush of trying to sanitize and censor the war.
Vice President Biden, while serving as a senator from Delaware in 2004, complained
that fallen soldiers were being “snuck back into the country under the cover of night.”
With the election of President Obama, some officials, including Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., have called for lifting the ban. Obama said he is waiting for a Pentagon
review of the ban, and Defense Secretary Robert Gates suggested that he is open to
changing the policy.
Gates should lift the ban, while trying to be as sensitive as possible to the wishes
of families. It’s not an easy call, and not all military families feel the same way about
the issue.
Some relatives believe it’s an invasion of privacy, or an exploitation of their loss to
foment antiwar sentiment. Other families feel that allowing photographs is a way to
honor the military dead, and that banning photographs amounts to the government
hiding their loss.
Still others believe that the soldiers’ sacrifices, and the war itself, tend to be forgotten
by the public unless photographs are permitted.
That’s why Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., who voted in favor of using military force in
Iraq, also favors allowing the media to photograph the returning caskets.
If a family objects, arrangements should be made to accommodate its wishes.
But photographs should be allowed in other cases, because the public should be able
to see the cost of war. Without the visible proof, casualty reports don’t reflect the
true sacrifice.
(c) 2009, The Philadelphia Inquirer
About Face(book)
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
Anyone who spends time online has at least a vague sense of the “service agreements”
to which he routinely consents—dense documents filled with legal fine print that make
up the “terms of service” for Web services or online groups.
Most people spend zero time reading the fine print. They typically click “accept” and
move ahead without a second thought.
But this week, denizens of Facebook—one of the world’s most popular online social
networking groups—said “not so fast.” Within a matter of hours, using Facebook’s own
site, they coalesced and pushed back. Remarkably, their outrage over what they perceived as a blatant privacy violation by Facebook operators caused Facebook to roll back
the new terms.
The incident offers useful lessons in self control and collective action in the digital
age.
Anyone over the age of 13 can become a Facebook member, build a “page” and avail
himself of its services free of charge—but only after accepting terms of the service
agreement.
Among the terms is one giving Facebook’s proprietors “an irrevocable, perpetual,
non-exclusive, transferable, fully paid, worldwide license (with right to sublicense)” on
everything a member posts on his page. You post a picture of yourself and your cat, for
instance, and Facebook can do whatever it wants with it.
The terms of service said that the “license granted above will automatically expire”
when members remove content from their page. But Facebook recently quietly removed
that clause, meaning Facebook unilaterally claimed the right to use the material in per-
petuity. So even if you took down the picture or quit the site, Facebook still could use
the picture (or other information) it had stored in its servers.
Things didn’t stay quiet for long. The Consumerist—a consumer protection blog—put
out word that Facebook was making a data grab. A virtual riot ensued as media outlets,
old and new, picked up the story. Privacy advocates readied a complaint to be filed with
the Federal Trade Commission.
Ironically, the real leverage came when consumer unhappiness showed signs of becoming a Facebook-driven movement. A new Facebook group—People Against the new
Terms of Service—grew to nearly 90,000 strong.
Facebook’s owners—a consortium of millionaire investors led by founder Mark Zuckerberg—caved. The site reinstated the original terms of service, offering face-saving
mumbo jumbo about how “it was never our intention to confuse people or make them
uneasy about sharing on Facebook.”
Parents should remind their kids—or maybe kids should remind their parents—that
in the computer age, the only real guarantee of privacy is never to put anything in a
computer you’d be afraid for someone else to see. There are too many ways for information to be copied and shared to be assured that someone, somewhere, doesn’t have it.
But that someone shouldn’t be the people you do business with.
Facebook was hoisted on its own e-petard. By leveraging new media to organize a
stampede, users struck fear into the heart of sharp operators at a multi-billion dollar
enterprise. Sharp operators, take heed.
(c) 2009, St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
10
February 25, 2009 | The Tower
SPORTS
MLB Season Preview: John & Jay’s Picks
POINT By John Cherry
COUNTERPOINT By Jay Hicks
The past 12 months have been tough on the New York area sport teams and
on their fans. The Giants lost in the playoffs to the hated Eagles; the Jets’ had
a huge collapse causing them to miss the playoffs; and both New York baseball
teams missed out on October Baseball.
However, the new season offers new hope for the fans of the New York baseball teams. This year, both the Mets and the Yankees, have put themselves in
great position to make it back to the playoffs and, quite possibly, back to the
World Series.
Both the Mets and Yankees went out in the off-season with clear goals that
they both accomplished. The Yankees bolstered what was a shaky starting pitching staff with the additions of C.C. Sabathia and A.J. Burnett and got a big bat
in the middle of the lineup in Mark Teixeira. The Mets countered with the additions of the new season saves leader Francisco Rodriguez, J.J Putz to be the set
up man and the re-signing of Oliver Perez to secure the starting rotation.
Although the Yankees broke the bank by signing the big names, the Mets may
be in a better position as the team to get back into the playoffs.
If you put Putz and K-Rod on the Mets last year, they would have made the
playoffs easily. This Mets team should start to finally mature now that David
Wright and Jose Reyes are another year older and with the core of the team
still unchanged.
With young rising stars like Mike Pelfry, Daniel Murphy and Jonathan Niese,
the Mets seem ready to make a strong playoff push.
The Yankees, however, are a different story, even with all the big name players
they signed, with A-Rod and his steroid admission and Joe Torre and his tell-all
book about the Yankee years. The possibility of missing the playoffs two straight
years could be disastrous. Will this team be able to overcome all the distractions
it faces ahead?
Even with the additions, the core of this team is getting older. Derek Jeter,
Johnny Damon, Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada, Hideki Matsui and Andy Pettitte
are all 35 years old or over.
The Bombers can ill-afford to get off to a bad start as they have in years past; if
they do, the media will be all over them and the pressure will build everyday.
However, with a starting rotation of Sabathia, Burnett, Wang, Chamberlin
and Pettitte, this is arguably the best five-man rotation in the league. Barring
any injuries, the Yankees’ starting rotation will not be an issue heading into
the season.
Both of these teams did what they needed to do to make it back to the playoffs, but it is a long season, and will they be there in the end?
While I agree with John Cherry’s Major League Baseball preview to some extent, I’d like to offer a different opinion, especially about the Yankees and his
choices of division winners .
I do not think the Yankees can win their respective American League East division. Granted, their starting rotation is much improved with the newly acquired
C.C. Sabbathia and A.J. Burnett, but as he pointed out, many players on their
roster are 35 years and older. The age factor will creep in during the season and
injuries have ravaged the Yankees the past couple years. I think it will continue
to haunt the team. My problem with the Yankees is they’re signing big-name
players to ridiculous contracts. By doing this, the team is deviating from their
farm system where young talents could make a difference. Instead, they went
out and grabbed players off the free agency market, players who may make or
break the team. I don’t think the Yankees really utilize their young players well.
Boston will win the AL East once again.
The Mets, on the other hand, are doing better in the off-season. They got Francisco Rodriguez, a.k.a. K-Rod, last season’s single-season record holder for saves
with 62. The Mets had been desperate for a closer because of constant injuries to
Billy Wagner and the uncharacteristic collapse of the bullpen last season. Gone
is Aaron Heilmann. Praise the Lord!!! I kept harping that he has to go, and got
my wish! He is now a Seattle Mariner. Good riddance! We got J.J. Putz from that
trade and it should help the team with the set-up role. John is correct: had the
Mets had both pitchers, they’d easily win the National League East division. The
Phillies won the last two seasons largely because of the Mets’ bullpen.
David Wright is the Mets’ best hitter. He is a year older and a year stronger.
His experience will definitely be a boost. Jose Reyes was a little off last season.
He will need to regain his hitting prowess and stealing thunder for the Mets to
run away in the division. Carlos Beltran did an adequate job and will need to do
better this season. Carlos Delgado is older now, although his late-season surge
surprised a lot of people, including me. If he returns to his late-season performance at the start of this season, the Mets will probably lead the division by 12
or more games by All-Star break.
The Yankees have too many distractions from the Alex Rodriguez steroid issue
and Joe Torre’s tell-all book to overcome and capture the division, but the Mets
should be poised to roll into the postseason and possibly the World Series.
JOHN'S PICKS
JAY'S PICKS
AL East
AL Central
AL West
AL Wild Card
Yankees
Indians
A’s
Rays
AL East
AL Central
AL West
Wild card
Boston
Chicago
LA Angels
Tampa Bay
NL East
NL Central
NL West
NL Wild Card
Phillies
Cubs
Dodgers
Mets
NL East
NL Central
NL West
Wild card
NY Mets
Chicago
LA Dodgers
Philadelphia
World Series
Yankees over Cubs
World Series
NY Mets over Boston
AL Pennant
NL Pennant
Boston over LA Angels
NY Mets over Chicago
GO COUGARS!!
The Tower | February 25, 2009
11
SPORTS
Cougars’ Recent Winning Streak Snapped
By Nicole VonGonten
The Cougars hosted Richard Stockton
College on February 4.
The first half began with Kean going on
an 18-0 run. Cardiss Jackman led the way
with two three-pointers and had 8 points
during the run. In the half, the Lady Cougars continued their lead over the Ospreys.
Kean had its largest lead of the half when
Renee Henry sunk a free throw to push
the lead to 26 points, 43-17. The Cougars
took a 44-21 lead into halftime.
As the second half started, Kean made
sure the Ospreys could not make any type
of comeback. Henry provided Kean with a
layup to give them their largest lead of the
half and game at 31 points, 77-46, with
3:35 remaining. The Lady Cougars won
the game by a dominating score of 8154. Jackman rounded out the game with
26 points in the win. Senior guard Ebony
Jackson recorded her 600th assist of her
career in the first half against Stockton.
The win extended Kean’s winning streak
to nine straight.
Kean traveled to Rowan University on
February 7 for a tough conference game
that would challenge their recent winning
streak. The Profs and Lady Cougars stayed close
for the opening minutes of the half exchanging the lead. The teams tied, 12-12,
with over twelve minutes to go, and Row-
an began to make their push. The Profs
went on a 16-0 run, 28-12, on a layup from
Amanda Jennings. The Cougars could not
cut Rowan’s double-digit lead as the half
wound down. Kean closed out the half
trailing Rowan, 35-20.
Rowan kept their lead in the second half.
The Lady Cougars cut the double-digit
lead with less than 13 minutes in the half
to go. The Profs’ last double-digit lead, 11
points, came with 8:45 to go. Tiffany Patrick cut the lead to two, 52-50, and then
Danielle Brown tied the game with a layup
with a minute remaining. Jessica Nimbley
made two free throws to give the lead back
to Rowan. With 31 seconds to go, Cardiss
Jackman got fouled and made both of
her free throws for Kean to tie the game,
54-54. As the seconds continued to wind
down in the half, Ashley Cieplicki made a
layup and a free throw with one second to
go to give Rowan the 57-54 advantage. In
a last second attempt to tie the game, Angelica Bermudez missed a three-pointer.
The defeat was Kean’s first loss in ten
games and their first loss of the season to
an NJAC opponent.
Kean hosted a battle of nationally
ranked opponents when the University of
Scranton traveled to face the Cougars on
February 11.
In the early minutes of the first half,
the teams exchanged the lead and tied
on several occasions. Scranton built a
Renee Henry tries to help a teammate out of trouble
against Rutgers-Camden on February 14.
lead that the Lady Cougars were not able
to overcome in the half. Scranton never
increased their lead to double-digits, but
they never allowed Kean to take the lead.
Danielle Brown cut the lead to three,
32-29, for Kean as time expired in the
first half.
Brown provided Kean with a layup in
the second half that tied the game, 34-34.
After another tie minutes later, the CouRgars began to build a lead. Angelica Bermudez mounted Kean’s lead to five, 41-36,
with two free throws. The Royals took back
their lead with 10 minutes to go. The Lady
Cougars tried to post another comeback as
time wound down. Tiffany Patrick made a
layup with 23 seconds to get Kean within
two points, 61-59. Missed shots followed
in the ending seconds of the game and the
Cougars fell short by the same score.
The Lady Cougars returned to NJAC action on February 14 to host Rutgers-Camden University.
In the opening six minutes of the first
half, the teams swapped leads and tied on
several occasions. After being tied, 10-10,
with 15 minutes to go, Kean exploded to a
19-point lead, 40-21, on a layup by Ebony
Jackson with three minutes remaining.
The Lady Cougars led as time expired on
the half, 43-28.
Rutgers-Camden got behind by 17
points to Kean in the second half. The
Lady Cougars continued to rack up points
as the half continued. Kean had a 40-point
lead with two minutes left in the half,
86-46. Time expired on the game with
the Cougars winning, 94-46. The win
snapped a two-game losing streak for the
Lady Cougars.
This day marked a historic moment for
junior Cardiss Jackman. Jackman scored
the 1,000th point of her career. This game
also marked Senior Day, and senior Ebony
Jackson scored a game-high 25 points.
Men’s Basketball Season Winds Down
By Nicole VonGonten
The Cougars faced a challenge on February 4 when they played host to Richard Stockton College. With a victory over
Kean, Richard Stockton could clinch the
NJAC South Division title.
Kean jumped out to the early lead in
the half. They led for close to 12 minutes
in the opening half. The Cougars led by
as many as five, 13-8, before the Ospreys
started their run. As Richard Stockton’s
lead began to climb, Kean tried to keep
it close. Down by one point with 7:43 to
play, Kean watched the Ospreys build a
double-digit lead. Richard Stockton built
a 14-point lead with two minutes remaining. The Cougars went into halftime trailing by 10, 36-26.
The second half started just as the first
half had ended. The Ospreys appeared
that they would continue their lead. The
Cougars started cutting the lead enough
to tie with 11 minutes remaining. Rodlin Pierre provided the dunk for Kean to
tie, 48-48. The Cougars broke the tie seconds later on a layup by Jonathan Jones.
Stockton took the lead back to continue
the back and forth battle. With 5 seconds
left in the game and down by three, Vinnie
Darpino tied the game 59-59. A last sec-
ond shot by Santini Lancioni for Stockton
missed, sending the game into overtime.
In overtime, the Ospreys took the early lead and never let Kean take over. The
Cougars fell, 70-66. Jones led Kean with
18 points and 14 rebounds in the loss.
Kean traveled to face Rowan University on February 7 for a battle against an
NJAC rival.
with a three-pointer, 32-27. Kean could
not build on the momentum. Rowan began to build up their double-digit lead.
Kean headed into halftime down by 10,
42-32.
The Profs continued to expand their lead
in the second half. Rowan led by 32 late
in the half. The 32 points they led on two
occasions would be how many points they
Kean stands united for the fight against breast cancer before a thriller against Rutgers-Camden.
Rowan came out shooting early, taking
the fast lead over Kean. The Profs held a
lead of 13, on four separate occasions before the Cougars began to cut the lead.
With less than five minutes in the half
to go, Vinnie Darpino cut the lead to five
www.keanathletics.com/landing/index
would win by. The Cougars fell to Rowan,
87-55. Forward Brian Lytle led Kean with
12 points in the loss.
The Cougars treated the home crowd to
another overtime thriller on February 14
against Rutgers-Camden University.
After a see-saw five minutes, RutgersCamden began to pull away from the
Cougars. The Scarlet Raptors had a lead
of 14 in the half. Rutgers-Camden held
onto the double-digit lead going into halftime. The Cougars trailed, 37-26, when
time expired.
The Cougars cut Rutgers-Camden’s lead
in the opening minutes of the second half.
With 13 minutes remaining, Kean cut the
lead to one, 45-44, on a layup by Yasien
Beatty. The Scarlet Raptors kept the lead
as the second half continued. Akinwande
Oshodi netted a layup to get the Cougars
within two points of the lead, 65-63, with
two minutes to go. Rutgers-Camden built
up a five-point lead as the final seconds
of the half loomed. Oshodi cut the Scarlet Raptors’ lead to three with 17 seconds
left, 68-65. With three seconds to go, Vinnie Darpino nailed a three-pointer to tie
the game, 68-68.
The opening minutes of overtime started just as the first half had with the teams
exchanging the lead twice. The Cougars
took charge with 2:30 to go when Eugene
Tolliver sunk a three-pointer to put his
team ahead,73-72. Kean never allowed
Rutgers-Camden to regain the lead. The
Cougars finished the game on top, 81-74.
12
February 25, 2009 | The Tower
SPORTS
Men’s Baseball Opens with Two Wins
By Kelly Nemeth
The Kean University baseball team
started their season off strong with double
wins against Stevens Institute of Technology and Manhattanville College. The Cougars lost a team of solid seniors since last
season, but overcame it with their solid
upper classmen and talented newcomers.
It was a beautiful day at Jim Hynes stadium for the season’s opener on Saturday
against Stevens. Cougar Senior Nick Cesar
got the win, pitching five and one-third
innings, striking out seven and allowing
only two runs, one which was unearned.
Freshman Dylan Laguna, Sophomore
Jared Orgel, and Senior Mike Manganiello
all went 2 for 4. Freshman Lee Cavico and
Sophomore Mike Moceri went 1 for 3.
Kean earned their first run of the season in the 3rd inning, thanks to a single by
freshman Dylan Laguna, a walk by sophomore Mike Mattonelli, and a sacrifice fly
by freshman Lee Cavico. Cougars added
one more in the 4th due to sharp base
running by junior Matt Myerkopf who
reached third on throwing errors by Stevens. Senior Mike Manganiello singled in
the run to make the Cougar lead 2-0. The
Cougars scored one more in the 5th while
Stevens battled back by scoring two in the
6th. But Kean maintained control in the
7th by adding one more to the board as
the first batter of the game homered to
right field. But Kean did not hesitate to
fight back, scoring a whopping four runs
in the first inning. Freshman Dylan Laguna doubled and soon after, sophomore
Mike Moceri tripled to center field. With
a couple of walks and wild pitches, the
Sunday’s clouds and rain did
not the stop the Cougars
from earning their second
win.
bases quickly began to fill when Sophomore Jared Orgel singled, bringing in two
more, making the score 4-1. In the 2nd,
junior Nick Nolan hoisted the score with
his homerun which drove in three. Kean
scored a total of four more runs in the
2nd all together. Manhattanville scored
two more in the 4th and 5th but Kean
kept going, adding yet another in the 5th.
The Cougars added two in the 6th due to
singles by freshman Lee Cavico and sophomore Kyle Walker. Kean put the game
away in the 7th and 8th innings adding a
massive seven runs. Kean plays Wednesday at home against Farleigh Dickinson
University at 2:30 p.m.
Above: Freshman Lee Cavico;
right: Team takes a time out.
a result of single by Laguna and Moceri.
Stevens tried to fight back in the 8th but
only scored one allowing Kean to receive
its first win of the season.
Sunday’s clouds and rain did not the
stop the Cougars from earning their second win. They beat Manhattanville College 19-5. Junior Joe Bartlinski received
the win, pitching seven innings with six
strike outs. Senior Kyle Murphy closed the
game pitching two innings with allowing
only one hit.
Manhattanville did not wait to score as
STUDENTS AT Kean University
TO PARTICIPATE IN
JUMP ROPE FOR HEART
Students at Kean University are jumping at the chance to fight heart
disease and stroke, our nation’s No. 1 and No. 3 killers. On March 4,
2009 at D’Angola Gym 11:00 A.M. the school will hold its first annual
Jump Rope For Heart event.
Students will jump rope to raise funds for the American Heart Association,
which funds cardiovascular disease research and public and professional
education programs.
Jump Rope For Heart is co-sponsored by the American Heart Association
and the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and
Dance and celebrates it’s 30 anniversary this year.
The average heart beats 100,000 times each day. One of the best ways to
take care of your heart is to make exercise a regular part of your everyday
life. Jump Rope For Heart teaches students how exercise benefits the
heart and shows students that volunteering can be fun and beneficial to
the whole community. They learn how they can make a difference by
providing important community service and having a great time at this
fun-filled family event.
Money raised by the event will go to fund potentially lifesaving research
and educational and community programs. Please help our students help
others. If you would like to make a donation or participate in the days
event you can go to the second floor of D’Angola gym and on the second
floor next to the Physical Education department will be a sign-up sheet
as well as donation packets. You can bring the donations with you to the
event while you are participating or you can just drop them off on that day.
The event will also include basketball activities.
RECENT SCORES
MEN’S BASKETBALL:
02/18 Kean 54, The College of New Jersey 71
02/21 Kean 53, William Patterson University 53
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL:
02/18 Kean 61, The College of New Jersey 73
01/24 Kean 68, Rutgers-Camden 33
GO COUGARS!!
visit:
http://www.keanathletics.com/
landing/index
for more on Kean athletics
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