February 23rd, 2010

Volume LXXXV, Issue 20 Reading is FUNdamental Tuesday, February 23, 2010

NEWS 2 NEWARK 3 OPINIONS 4 CAMPUS 7 L & E 12 SPORTS 16

New Advising Website

Redwood Hall Loses Water During Repairs

Happening THis Week On Campus

Middle States Ac-creditation Process

Blotter

Newark Newb: Andros Restaurant

Booker Briefs

Weather

Ask a Robot

Ask Rufus

The Lost Freshman

Professor Profile

Right on the Money

Mardi Gras Party

B-Movie Break-down: Popcorn

Horoscopes

Sudoku & Crossword

Olympics Update

Men's and Wom-en's Basketball

Scoreboard

For more pictures of the NJPAC perfor-

mance and Senate's Mardi Gras Party,

visitwww.njitvector.com.

Learn about our Middle StatesAccreditation

process and statuson page 2.

Our weekly photo contest winner is

featured on page 8!

Tom Flusk

Copy Editor

According to Kenneth Walsh, Manager of Building Ser-vices, Redwood Hall had its water shut off on several days so repairs could be made on the showers.

Walsh said the water was shut off due to a leak in the 6th floor men's room, and the 4th floor women's room. The only way that the water could be shut off in the exact locations where the leak took place, and therefore where work had to be done, was to shut off water to the entire building.

Redwood Hall went with-out water on Tuesday, Febru-ary 16 from 9:20am to 2:30pm

and on Wednesday, February 17 from 9:45am to 4:00pm, ac-cording to Walsh.

This Monday, students reported to The Vector that the water in Redwood Hall was shut off again between the hours of 9:00am and 1:00pm. Multiple calls to Physical Plant were unanswered, however, so the exact times could not be verified, and the exact cause could not be verified.

All of the work done was by an independent contractor, and cost the university $3000. Walsh said, "Bathroom and shower walls had to be cut; sev-eral valves and sections of cop-per piping had to be replaced."

Walsh said that the leaks

were a sign of "normal wear and tear", and not indicitive of a wider problem with the plumbing in Redwood Hall. When asked whether there was a possibility that a similar incident could happen again, he said, "Although we do not think so, as stated above, due to wear and tear, it may be pos-sible for it to happen again."

Walsh said that Redwood Hall, along with all of the resi-dence halls, is insected reguar-ly. He said, "Along with regular visual inspections, Redwood Hall systems, including el-evators, boilers, water pumps, HVAC and sprinklers, are regularly inspected and tested. REDWOOD continued page 9

WWW.njiTveCTOr.COm

mike lowry

Editor in ChiEf

Last Friday night at NJPAC, many rock and roll dreams came true when the

music of Led Zeppelin was brought to life live by a per-forming group from Toronto Canada known as Classic Al-bums Live.

Formed with the purpose

of reproducing note for note every last detail of the most timeless rock and roll albums, the group tours the US and Canada playing the most fa-mous albums from bands like The Who (Who’s Next?), Su-pertramp (Crime of the Centu-ry), The Beatles (Rubber Soul, Revolver, Sgt. Pepper, the White Album, Abbey Road, Revolver), Bob Marley (Leg-end), AC/DC (AC/DC), Pink Floyd (Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here), Led Zeppelin (Led Zeppelin I and II) and many others.

“We take a forensic ap-proach,” Said lead guitarist and musical director for the Led Zeppelin show Dom Polito. “There’s a lot of songs that Led Zeppelin themselves didn’t play because of the ex-tra tracks. You’ll see the extra guitar player there playing the extra tracks trying to make it

sound as authentic as the re-cord. I think they’d be happy with that.”

The show is designed more like a rock and roll re-cital than a more traditional rock show, in the sense that the music is reproduced precisely including every last detail, in-cluding the inflection of the vo-cals, musical nuances in solos, and studio sound effects. Extra musicians take the stage during some tracks to fill in the parts that can’t be played concur-rently by the other musicians.

On the music of Led Zep-pelin: II, “There’s a lot of joy in this album,” said keyboard player and performer Lind-say Clark. “[Zeppelin] played better than we ever could,” she added when asked what she thought the original band members would think if they were in the audience.

NJPAC continued page 3

Classic Albums Live: NJPAC-ed The House

Tuesday, February 23 All Day SAC Movie Night Campus Center Highlander Pub 7:00 PM Black History Multicultural Showcase Campus Center Ballroom A 9:15 PM Living Responsibly: Sexual Health Kupfrian Lecture Hall 210

Wednesday, February 24 12:00PM GDS Music Perfomance Campus Center Cafeteria 2:30 PM Weekly Senate Meeting Campus Center Room 240 3:00 PM Understanding MMORPGs and Why We Play GITC Lecture Style Room 3710 8:30 PM Dominican Independence Day Celebration Campus Center Ballroom B

Thursday, February 25 8:00 AM Student Appreciation Celebration See 0 11:00 AM Celebrating Your Mother Language Campus Center 1st Floor Lobby 5:00 PM Women's Basketball vs. South Dakota Prudential Center Arena 7:00 PM Men's Basketball vs South Dakota Prudential Center Arena

Friday, February 26 10:00 AM Dean of Students Integrity Survey Campus Center 1st Floor Lobby

wonho rhee

Staff WritEr

Many students often express difficulties about their advisors. Whether it is finding out who their advisor is, or simply find-ing where his or her office is, troubles abound. Scheduling an appointment with an advisor is often very difficult as well.

As a response to the results of the survey from last semester, the Student Senate, supported by CS advisors Megan Summer and Sarah Vandermark, decided to create a website that would collect and organize advisory in-formation. This site will not only contain directories and contacts of advisors of different depart-ments, but will also have a fea-ture that allows students to make appointments with their advisors online.

The concept is nothing new. The College of Computing Sci-ences has been using online scheduling appointments since last year. What is new is that the advisory website will incorporate this system for every department at NJIT and compile all the in-formation regarding advising in one place.

In addition, the site will also include a FAQ section where ad-visors can post most frequently asked questions by students, such as changing major or GUR requirement. “The senate came up with the idea of creating the website in an effort to simplify some of the issues with advising on campus”, said Jeffrey Alva-rez, the chairman of Student Af-fairs Committee.

ADVISING continued page 7

phot

o by

Mik

e Low

ry

Pre-performance sound check, out of costume.

The VectorVolume LXXXV, Issue 20

The Vector is published weekly during the Fall and Spring semesters by the students

of New Jersey Institute of Technology, 150 Bleeker Street, Newark, NJ 07102.

The Vector Office is located in Room 466 of the Campus Center.

The Vector is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Herman A. Estrin and Roger Hernandez.

Executive Board

Editor-in-ChiefMike Lowry

[email protected]

Executive EditorMelissa Silberstang

[email protected]

Managing EditorJohn Fostek

[email protected]

Business ManagerRomer Jed Medina

[email protected]

Senior Staff

Office ManagerSheba Khan

Sports EditorBryan Ehnes

Entertainment EditorMatan Shavit

Associate EditorNgoc Phan

Copy EditorsTom Flusk

Alexis Polanco, Jr.

WebmasterMatthew Bischoff

Web EditorMike Nusspickel

Distribution ManagerLori-Ann Sciachitano

Staff

Melissa BauerCharles BellMichael BullJeff Bunca

Anthony FrostDaniel JosephSean Kilroy

Frank MinichiniDaniel OvalleMonica PajdakWonho RheeJamil Wilkins

ContributorsGil Bento

Kelli CuriottoEdward Martinez

Shaza RizviHuxlhey Villa

Amanda Wood

Operational AdvisorRobert J. D. Moran

Faculty AdvisorMiriam Ascarelli

DeadlinesArticles or Letters

Friday prior to publication, 8 [email protected]

Ad ReservationsTwo weeks prior to publication

[email protected]

Ad SubmissionsThursday prior to publication

OpinionsOpinions expressed in the Opinions sec-tion of this paper are not necessarily the opinions of the Vector staff, or the New

Jersey Institute of Technology.

Contact

[email protected]

Staff Office973-596-3611

Business Office973-596-5416

THE VECTOR | February 23, 20102 njitvector.comNEWS

NJIT Public Safety Blotter SummaryFor 2/13/2010 through 02/19/2010Times Shown are Times of Occurence

02/16/2010(11:55 AM) Officers arrested a non-affiliate for breaking into a vehicle in lot #10.

02/17/2010(12:56 AM) A non-affiliate reported the theft of his gym bag from the sidewalk outside of 281 MLK Blvd.

02/18/2010(8:26 PM) Officers arrested a non-affiliate at Central Ave. and Hoyt Street for an outstanding warrant.(9:15 PM) A Rutgers student reported a theft from his auto which was parked at New and Newark Streets.

02/19/2010(3:30 PM) A student reported the theft of some items from her unattended bag in the Library. This incident occurred 2/8/2010 but was not reported until today.

Perry Deess

Contributor

Every ten years NJIT un-dertakes a comprehensive in-ternal review process, called a ‘self study.’ This is part of the university reaccreditation process required by our pri-mary accreditation agency, the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE).

Accreditation is a process undertaken to assure that uni-versities meet certain standards showing that they provide a quality education. Although the self-study is required for accreditation, treating it as a document generating exercise defeats the point of it being a useful community building activity. It is vital that this self-study involves students, faculty, and administrators in the pro-cess of community renewal and recommitment to the NJIT mission.

The success of a self study depends on a detailed assess-ment of how the university works, what it has achieved, and what it must change to bet-ter meet the needs of its com-munity. This is not something any individual or small group can develop in isolation; it re-quires the collective work and dedication of the entire univer-sity.

The process culminates in a comprehensive review docu-ment completed by late 2011, as well as a three day visit in Spring 2012 by external evalu-ators. This includes senior fac-ulty and administrators from other universities across the eastern region of the United States.

The self-study conducted ten years ago involved nearly 200 people in the development of the accreditation report “An

Emerging Presence: Self Study and Strategic Plan.” This was modified and more fully real-ized in the NJIT Strategic Plan, 2004-2010.

As the interim five year up-date, The Future’s Edge: New Jersey Institute of Technology Periodic Review Report, dem-onstrated, NJIT made good progress in moving the univer-sity toward its stated goals.

Now we are engaged in a new process, guided by an emphasis on assessment and testing how NJIT will adjust to being a technological research university in the 21st century.

The most salient differ-ence between this self study process and the one conducted ten years ago is the determined and emphatic commitment to internal assessment of the in-stitution and student learning outcomes.

As detailed in the Middle States Commission’s revised guide to self study, Character-istics of Excellence, assessment is no longer about what we hope or intend to do. Now, ac-tive and comprehensive assess-ment is a fundamental require-ment driving the success of an accreditation review.

We are set to complete the first major stage of the self study process, the design document, where we lay out the guiding questions which will occupy us during the next 18 months of the self-study.

On March 9th of this year Dr. Mary Ellen Petrisko, a se-nior official from the Middle States Commission on Higher Education will visit NJIT to meet with students, faculty, administrators, and the Board of Trustees. Based on the visit, she will evaluate our design document and make recom-mendations for improving the

self-study.In truth, administrators

cannot dedicate or consecrate the self study. This is an activ-ity of the university community and about the university com-munity. The self-study must thoroughly and honestly assess the viability of the NJIT mis-sion and its articulated commit-ment to education, research, economic development, and service.

Furthermore, it must ex-amine the resonance between the university strategic plan-ning process (concretized in the NJIT Strategic Plan, 2004- 2010 and the NJIT Strate-gic Plan, 2010-2015) and the Middle States accreditation standards, as outlined in Char-acteristics of Excellence, to bet-ter understand the relationship between institutional planning and achieved standards.

Finally, this self study must go where earlier self-study re-ports have hesitated and take a hard look at the process the university has in place for as-sessing student learning out-comes and the effectiveness of the NJIT curriculum. It is no longer sufficient for a university to assume students are learning because the curriculum is being followed as it always has been.

NJIT, like all universities, must evaluate the success of its teaching and strive for con-tinuous improvement by as-sessing performance, making changes, evaluating the success of changes, and then assessing performance again. Doing this well will require exploring new methods for gathering evidence and making appropriate chang-es as part of a data driven de-cision process. Again, this can-not be achieved by any single group; improving teaching and learning at NJIT must involve

all members of the community.During the next two years

we will all hear about commit-tees and activities directed to-ward advancing the self-study. Some of you will be contacted directly to participate in meet-ings, others will participate in assessment activities intended to provide information for the report.

If you are interested in the ‘self study’ activities there are numerous documents and podcasts available on the NJIT website, www.njit.edu/mid-dlestates, and through other social media.

You are all urged to con-tribute to this process; the intention is not merely to re-new our accreditation, but to create a final self-study report in 2011 that will stand as the centerpiece of a recorded past, a common present, and a planned future. It should not be something of which we are all passive recipients, but rather something which we should and can all take an active hand in creating.

Only by making this a community achievement can the Middle States Self Study process achieve its real objec-tive: to become more than an archived document. It should be the basis of an on-going sys-tem of information-based de-cision making that fosters stu-dent learning and community centered institutional renewal.

Perry Deess Ph.D. is the Director of Institutional Research and Planning and has managed assessment and program evaluation at NJIT for the past ten years. He is also a member of the Middle States Steering Com-mittee for the 2012 accreditation review.

CORRECTIONS

We totally meant to tell you last week that our Cupid Highlander and our Snowl-ander images were drawn by illustrator Amanda Wood. The Highlander parodies this week were also drawn by her.

There is a very small Greek section this week due to lack of content. Please change that for the future: [email protected].

If you are looking for a Highlanders for Haiti update, check back next week. We will have our usual graph and our detailed update then.

Middle States Accreditation Process

THE VECTOR | February 23, 2010 3njitvector.com

TuesdayFebruary 23

32°/27°

WednesdayFebruary 24

31°/35°

ThursdayFebruary 25

40°/34°

FridayFebruary 26

48°/40°

SaturdayFebruary 27

49°/45°

SundayFebruary 28

50°/46°

MondayMarch 152°/47°

Around Newarklori-Ann sciAchiTAno

diStribution ManagEr

This week was a mixed bag of exciting news and events in Newark. On the 17th Booker announced that The Sundance Channel will begin filming the second season of their acclaimed documentary Brick City. While the first season focused on crime and public safety, the second season will focus on economic development. The second season will also try to showcase the diverse com-munities in Newark, looking at Portuguese, Puerto-Rican and Non-African American residents.

Booker was also very excited about the announcement this week that the New Jersey Nets were able to buy out their contract with the Izod center, and plan to play their two remaining seasons in Newark before moving to the delayed arena in Brooklyn.

The Nets made another concession in their deal to move to Newark; they will have to deal with the possibility of another NBA team coming to New Jersey. This opens the possibility for the sports thirsty state and the city of Newark to have a team. When the Nets played a few pre-season games at the Prudential Center the tickets sold well. The Nets are hoping to see the same thing when they make the move to Brooklyn and hope that some of those fans will follow them to Brooklyn.

There was a grand opening in Newark this week with the opening of The Newark Financial Helpline. The Helpline is set up to offer Newark residents services and support to get the most out of their money. Over 50 finical professionals will be available to give residents advice about topics ranging from credit cards to home loans. Residents are en-couraged to call Newark’s Non-Emergency line at 973-733-4311.

Another celebration in Newark this week was the graduation of 75 men from The Fa-therhood Center. The Fatherhood Center is a program that helps men who have lost their job, home, or are in transition from in-carceration. The program helps these men build stronger, more fruitful relationships with their children, and offers the ability to get back on their feet. 70% of the graduates have been gainfully employed after complet-ing the program.

The last event Booker attended this week was the 2nd Anniversary celebration of Newark’s Youth Education and Employ-ment Success Center (YEES). The YEES Center focuses on fostering lifelong learning and career aspirations for the youth of New-ark. Bringing together a coalition of services ranging from Americorps, Newark Now, The Boys and Girls Club, The Salvation Army, and Communities In Schools.

Booker Briefslori-Ann sciAchiTAno

diStribution ManagEr

Food: >>>Atmosphere: tttService: ✓✓✓✓

Price: $$Location: 6 Wilson AveDistance from Campus: 2 miles

We here at the Newb would like to issue a formal apology to you, our loyal readers. Back in October when we reviewed a local restaurant, we claimed that there were no 24 hour diners in Newark. After discovering Andros Restaurant in the Ironbound, we have what we are proud to say is a Jersey style 24-hour diner!

Located next to a strip club at the curve of Ferry St., it is a great spot to stop after a night out on the town. It is walking distance from the popular night clubs of the Ironbound and not far from the Prudential Center.

It is set up like a traditional diner with booths, tables and a long coun-ter with stool seating facing the desert case. The color scheme is one we’ve seen many times in restaurants in Newark: pink and mint green. We chose to sit in a booth, and the seats

were very comfortable. Unlike some diners, the cushions on the benches were still firm enough making the distance between the table and your mouth very far.

Andros offers a variety of bever-ages from traditional sodas, coffees and teas, to a complete open bar with house sangria, shakes and homemade lemonade. We tried a banana choco-late shake and homemade lemonade.

The coffee was a great cup, strong and never ending. The banana choco-late shake had a fantastic even flavor of banana and chocolate; it was served in a traditional silver mixing cup filled with that extra bit of shake. The homemade lemonade was a great mix of sweet and sour with pieces of fresh lemon served with the same extra cup.

For meals we had a traditional Reuben, a Cuban sandwich, a burger, and filet of sole franchise. The Ruben, Cuban and burger were all served with French fries, pickle and coleslaw while the sole was served with rice and steamed veggies. The filet of sole was a very generous portion with two large filets and a generous portion of rice. It had a nice tangy flavor of lemon and was tender and flaky.

The burger was a typical burger;

nothing spectacular, nothing disap-pointing. The Ruben was made with corned beef, but you could choose to have it with pastrami or turkey. It was very moist and the Swiss cheese melt-ed to perfection. The Cuban sand-wich was a sandwich and a half packed with roasted pork, ham, pickles, mayo and Swiss cheese all pressed together through a Panini machine. The fries that were served with the sandwiches were great, perfectly crispy and spicy.

We ended the meal with des-serts of carrot cake, rice pudding, and strawberry cheesecake. The carrot cake was moist with thick layers of cream cheese filling. The rice pud-ding was, while not the best rice pud-ding, a nice creamy blend of flavors. The cheesecake was served with two giant strawberries that complemented the sweet cake to perfection.

All in all, Andros is a great spot for typical diner food but straying from the typical diner fair may leave you disappointed. Andros gets bonus points for its fast, friendly service and its 24 hour status. So after a night of drinking or screaming your head off at a Devil’s game, Andros fits the bill.

The Newb is a Liar; There is a 24 Hour Diner in Newark

“The emotions that come out of the songs that they wrote are probably the same emotions [Jimmy Page] felt when he played them,” said Polito.

The show was held in the gran-deur of NJPAC’s crown jewel, Pru-dential Hall, in front of a large and diverse audience spanning multiple generations. “It’s Timeless,” said Polito about the music of Zeppelin. “I play shows like this and I see three generations: Dad, son, and Grandpa all wearing Led Zeppelin shirts. It’s timeless music.”

The first half of the lineup fea-tured all the songs on the album in order: “Whole Lotta Love”, “What is and What Should Never Be”, “The Lemon Song”, “Thank You”, “Heartbreaker”, “Living Loving Maid (She’s Just a Woman)”, “Ramble On” (Which was never actually performed by Zeppelin live until their 2007 re-union show in London), “Moby Dick”—including the simply classic drum solo pioneered by John Boh-nam, reproduced flawlessly —, and “Bring it on Home.”

The second half of the show fea-tured nine other great hit songs cho-sen by fans and ticketholders who voted online ahead of time. This list featured “Good Times, Bad Times”,

“Dazed and Confused” (where yes, they actually played the guitar with a violin bow for that very special sound), “Immigrant Song”, “Rock and Roll”, “Black Dog”, “Babe, I’m Gonna Leave You”, “Stairway to Heaven”, “The Song Remains the Same”, and “Kashmir”.

“This is a great concert series. It’s not only about Led Zeppelin, it’s about every classic album that’s out there being recreated by some of the best musicians in this series” said Polito. “I’d be hoping that [Zeppelin would] think we do them justice; and I think we do.”

“Classic albums live is great,” said Brian from Shrewsbury NJ after the show. “I’ve been to two shows now. I’ll definitely come again.” About NJPAC, he also commented that it was “Very clean… [and] they make it very comfortable for you to get [there]. You feel as if you’re lost, they will help you find your way. It’s very comfortable here.”

NJPAC will be featuring Classic Albums Live again in April featur-ing The Beatles’ The White Album. Tickets are affordable, ranging from $28 to $40 for orchestra seats. Every seat in the hall, however, offers a great view, and most importantly, acoustic

clarity and wonderful sound. In addition to the main event,

before the show in the lobby of Pru-dential Hall and during intermission, there was more live music from a talented and lively jazz group. The musicians were amongst the crowd interacting with their audience, and the pre-show and intermission break completed the experience. Even the balconies outside the doors to Pru-dential Hall served as box seating for the lobby performance. The utility and beauty of the design begs to be filled with great performances, and the shows do not disappoint.

NJPAC offers a variety of pro-gramming every day of the week at prices that are still relatively afford-able, including a special Student Rush program which allows students attend-ing school (from elementary school through college) to purchase tickets for certain events for only $13. (More info at www.njpac.org, search “Stu-dent Rush”).

For further information and up-coming events, look for NJPAC on Facebook, Twitter (@njpac), and on-line at www.njpac.org. For more infor-mation on Classic Albums Live, visit www.classicalbumslive.com.

Zeppelin continued from front page

THE VECTOR | February 23, 20104 njitvector.com

EditorialVast numbers of people tune in every

two years for the next installment of the world’s biggest collection of international games. The Olympics have long been a tra-dition that brings the world just a little bit closer together, while still allowing healthy competition between nations and their best athletes in a diverse array of sporting events.

There are so many stories that spring from these games, and so many people who work their whole lives to be a part of them. In the end, there are gold, silver, and bronze medalists and a large majority of ev-eryone else who didn’t make it to the po-dium. However, the greatest thing about the games is their way of giving everyone their own shot at glory.

To be talented enough for an Olympic appearance, many years of intense training, competing, and winning is a prerequisite. Often there are a lot of young rising stars at the games who have seemingly been com-peting in their sport since birth.

However, even the best have to start somewhere. Several weeks before the 2010 Torino Winter Games, I was ice skating at Mennen Arena in Morristown NJ with my girlfriend when they cleared the ice for re-surfacing. After leaving the ice to switch her skates for a smaller size that fit better, we returned to the rink to wait for our chance to get back on. Soon after, we saw two skat-ers enter the ice who weren’t skate guards.

Someone was speaking on the inter-com and it sounded garbled, but I caught a few words, including “Olympics 2010” and “representing Japan”. Then the Japanese Olympic Ice Dancing pair took the ice and did a short routine for the small-ish crowd gathered there.

This is the same rink that I played hockey on in high school, and had been to countless times with friends—and now there were Olympic skaters here. I looked around at the young kids and wondered if any one of them would see this and some-day be lacing up on the world stage to go for gold.

It struck me as surprising that Olympic athletes would show up here in such a way. They were real people and talked with us as we got their autographs on pictures they brought to sign. I kept thinking back to the experience.

I thought about how they would be on international television in under a month skating the very same dance they previewed for us and the small crowd at this small lo-cal ice arena in a small town. It renewed the magic of the games for me knowing that these people, no matter how famous, were really people from towns like my own who rose above the crowd and mastered their sport.

As the games speed on towards the fi-nal round, take in the stories and moments, knowing that what you see on the TV is just the tip of the iceberg. Even if you’ve never met an Olympic athlete, there may be some-one around the corner who is equally great at something else that goes unnoticed. And if you work hard enough and gain all the right skills, you have a chance to be world class yourself.

Dear Robot,Do robots have human friends?From,A Human Friend

Dear Human,One definition of friend is “a person you know well

and regard with affection and trust.” I could never trust such flawed creatures as humans. I feel some affection for humans though, and know them very well, as I know many things.

That makes humans more like houseplants to robots. I like them, but I’m not going to shed any tears when they die. Anyway, I can just get some more if I wanted.

-No Robot is an Island

Dear Robot,Could you tell me where I left my keys?Signed,Keyless

Dear Human,Yes, I could tell you.-Robomniscient

Dear Robot,Are you a green robot?Signed,An Environmentalist

Dear Enviro-Human,My chassis is made of a titanium alloy, which is a shiny

silver to human eyes. I once met a copper robot who cor-roded over time and became green. However, he has since been polished back to his original luster.

-Unpainted Robot

Dear Robot,What is robo-tripping?Love,MDMan

Dear Trippy Human,Robots often like to take trips to visit other computing

machines. I just was robo-tripping to visit the Roadrunner at Los Alamos, Nevada. It is the world’s fastest supercom-puter. We talked about RAM.

-Traveling Robot

OMG R0B0T!r u sp3ak1n t3h l33t?!?!?!?!?!?1-t3h h4x0r

Dear Human,Yes, you should check into a mental hospital. Immedi-

ately, if at all possible.-English-speaking Robot

The robot is a technological marvel programmed for the sole purpose of meeting your question asking needs. To have your question answered in the most efficient way

possible, email it to [email protected] and you may be featured in next week's column.

The robot is programmed to answer any questions about relation-ships, academics, money problems, philosophical concerns, and ad-vanced robot technology. Do not be afraid to Ask the Robot.

Opinions

Dear Rufus:My club wants to have an event on

campus. How can we make it green?Signed: Club Green

Dear Club Green:That's a great question for anyone

who has events on campus! There are lots of things you can do to be green and save some green (money, that it!). I'll focus on the food, or no food, since that seems to be the biggest expense for your wallet and the environment. First, do you really need food? While food is a nice addition to an event, it is often not the main purpose. If guests will only attend your event for the food, you may want to examine the relevance and/or timing of the event. If food is a must, then consider having less food at your event by serving coffee & desserts or refreshments after the event. Not everyone will stay for the food. You’ll use and waste less food and save mon-ey. Think vegetarian and/or organic. Did you know that meat production

uses a lot of natural resources and con-tributes to CO2 emissions. Vegetarian and/or organic options are healthier for the planet and your guests, and you’ll help reduce dietary restrictions. Local & seasonal fruits & vegetables are often fresher, less expen-s i v e

and re-q u i r e less trans-po r t a t i on thus saving CO2. Re- d u c e the throw-aways when possible, and use re-usable plates, cups, utensils and table clothes. There may be an added cost, but the event will look profession-al and help reduce waste. Say Yes to biodegradable! GDS can provide you with biodegradable cups, plates, and

utensils for your event. Avoid contain-ers - all those little containers of cream, sugar packets and ketchup add up to a lot of waste. Request carafes of milk, sugar bowls, metal spoons and large reusable containers. Ditch the bottles and cans. Why pay for bottled water

when it’s free from the tap? Ask for pitchers of water (add a twist of lemon for a nice effect) and paper or reusable cups. Ask for

pitchers or large containers of soda or other beverages, which is often less expensive than individual bottles/cans and will reduce waste. Recycle please! If you must have bottles and cans at your event, please request that recy-cling containers be placed in the event space and encourage guests to use them. NJIT’s Gourmet Dining Servic-es is committed to working with you to green your event.

To ask Rufus a question, email [email protected].

Ask Rufus

Letters to the Editor Policy• Letters should be sent to [email protected].

• Not all letters will be published, it us up to the discretion of the staff. • Letters may be edited for clarity, grammar, spelling, and length.

• Please send your name and NJIT email with your Letter to the Editor.


ON CAMPUS OPINION (SPECIAL GUEST PANEL): What do you love about NJIT?OPINIONS

Daniel Sosa

Ever since the dawn of time, Su-perbowl commercials have been the highlight of the Gregorian calendar year. Inning after boring inning, meter after tedious meter, the pinnacle of the American football season drags on with no end in sight.

Solace from this inanity comes to the drooling fan in the form of 30-sec-ond sound-bites, each a set of encoded messages instructing the viewer to pur-chase goods. In recent years, closet-fuls of advertising professionals have invented “humor”, and have cunningly employed it to mask their devious and manipulative aims.

As an example, consider this year’s commercial for the cellphone-informa-tion service KGB. Two skinny human males of diminutive physical stature face off against a comically overweight and underdressed wrestler. But there is a twist: neither puny male speaks the

wrestler’s language! The boy with KGB at his disposal

is quickly informed how to surrender politely and lives to cower from future confrontations, while the bumbling smart-phone user searches the internet in vain for a polite excuse and is oblit-erated in kind. Moral of the commer-cial: there are people who are better at searching for things on Google than you are, and you should give them a dollar for their trouble.

Writers from more inventive co-vens have begun bombarding the viewer with multiple commercials for the same product, saturating their frag-ile intellects to the point of golem-like subservience to suit the insidiously deli-cious goals of junk food corporations.

This year’s prime example was Doritos, a Frito Lay brand. If you were among this year's Superbowl viewers you may have seen: a dog use a shock collar to pilfer a seated man's corn chips, a young child simultaneously de-fend his mother's honor and his corn

chips with confidence unbecoming of his age, a clever man fake his own death to acquire corn chips free of charge, and a highly motivated man use martial arts to rescue his corn chips from would-be moochers. The result? A country of football watchers consume Doritos with the single-minded determination of starving men.

Advertising practitioners for the American beer manufacturer Bud-weiser continued an established com-mercial tradition in which animals of various species befriend a team of Clydesdale horses. This year's entry featured some sort of anthropomor-phic cow, while past episodes have in-cluded dogs and foals. After shooting, the cow was taken directly from the set and ground into meat patties for the film crew, while the horse team enjoyed a full body massage and grooming ses-sion.

The German car manufacturer Audi used their own special blend of video-sorcery to provide viewers with

a glimpse into an enticing future where a fanatical environmentalist regime op-pressively polices the population. Men are dragged from their homes for im-properly sorting curbside pickup bins and motorists are ruthlessly harassed by officers with seemingly endless jurisdic-tion.

Only those with the foresight to purchase an Audi will be safe from the tyranny, as the new policy blankets the globe. The one exception being, of course, the massive eco-police force which patrols the streets in government-owned vehicles. The obvious best-course-of-action in the coming enviro-fascist regime is to get your application in early and secure your place in the fast-paced and rapidly expanding career track of "eco-goon."

All these and more commercials from this year's Superbowl are available on the internet. Unfortunately, you will not be compensated for watching them.

Superbowl Commercial: A Mind-Numbing Practice

Rufus Recyclia

Monster

A Recycling Bin

Sanrio Highlander

A Highlander

The Game Room

Highlander The Barbarian

A Highlander

The Pub

Robot

A Robot

Robot-towne

“I really like how much the students in the Campus Center recycle. I also can't wait for the rooftop garden it's so nice up there.”

“I love all the people that play video games on campus. It really makes me happy to walk around and watch all the game playinggoing on. FromWOW to FarmVille it just makes me want to giggle.”

“Me like daily pub specials. Especially when there is a movie on. Me enjoys comedies greatly.”

Captain Highlander

A Highlander

Fleisher Athletic Center

Highland-nerd

A Highlander

VanHouten Library

“Common exams are really fun! I also love to sit in the library with my notebook and practice some partial differential equations in my spare time.”

“Let's go Red Hot Highlanders! I love NJIT athletics and all of our superb athletes.

Good job Jessica Gerald, Chris Flores and Isaiah Wilkerson against Texas-Pan this week especially!”

“Outlets.”

Tom F lusk

You have all experienced it before: An important paper is due, or an exam is coming up. Sometimes things are even worse than that: An important pa-per is due on the same day as an exam that is coming up! You plan ahead, budgeting time into your schedule to prepare. Even those with the best inten-tions, however, fall victim to… Procras-tination.

No matter what, there will always be distractions, no matter what you want to get done. There will always be some-thing, whether it’s an awesome party, or a rerun of you 9th favorite show from 1987 that you haven’t seen since Thurs-day.

The key to academic success is being able to turn down these distrac-tions, then putting your nose to the grindstone and getting your work done. Unfortunately, most of us developed an extreme case of Senioritis by the end of our senior years in high school, and were not cured in time for college.

I am currently battling AAHSS (Advanced After High School Seniori-tis), and I have been having a difficult time with it. I have put off papers to the last minute, and have procrastinated to a special extreme with my work for the newspaper. I am currently suffering through the aftermath of a procrastina-tion attack, and am writing this column during production night… three days late as of an hour and half ago.

I have, however, made great strides

in my fight against procrastination. I do not procrastinate for exams, and have even began to study for some exams up to three weeks in advance. This has not only improved my grades, but has also improved my social life, because in-stead of watching television all day, then doing work instead of going out, I skip the boob tube, do my work, and then go to the party I’ve been waiting for.

For those of you who are deep in the most advanced stages of procrasti-nation related destruction, there is still hope. All you have to do is choose to get help, and it is available to you. You can go the CAPE, or many departments have tutors elsewhere as well. You can create a planner, and make plans to do your work for the whole week. The key to this is to not only schedule work, but

schedule that party you want to go to, and show yourself how not doing your work will mean not going to that party.

As I try to enter the recovery phase myself, I hope that you all can join me. I not only want the freshman to fight pro-crastination, but also the upperclassmen who were unable to cure themselves. Together, we will fight this evil that we call procrastination. And together, we will triumph, and get all of our work done… tomorrow.

The Lost Freshman: The Sins of Procrastination


Campus LifeAkAsh shuklA

Contributing WritEr

NJIT has a great variety of professors, all with differ-ent backgrounds and experiences. This section, Professor Profiles, is meant for students to get to know their profes-sors better. The professor that has been chosen for this week, though relatively new to NJIT, has already created a positive impression on her students.

Dr. Bhavani Balasubramanian was born in Coim-batore, India and raised in Chennai. Since she was in

high school, she im-mediately found her-self having a strong aptitude for science, particularly chemis-try and biology.

She got her Bachelors degree in Chemistry from Stella Maris College, and her Masters in Chemistry from IIT (Indian Institute of Technology) in Chennai. Dr. Bala-subramanian then applied for her PhD at Johns Hopkins, because she knew

they had a great Biochemistry program. During her un-dergraduate studies, Dr. Balasubramanian was a TA for chemistry and won awards for teaching and research.

After Dr. Balasubramanian got her PhD, she got a job at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx to complete her post-doctoral work. She conducted studies relating to enzymes involved in DNA repair during her time there.

She then moved to Skincare Unilever and focused on the effects of soap on the skin. After five years at Skin-care Unilever, she moved to Avon as a Clinical Program Manager, where she managed clinical trials that went into Avon’s claims, such as whether or not a particular cream could remove wrinkles.

After a number of years spent in the corporate world, Dr. Balasubramanian decided to delve into the field of teaching. She had always enjoyed it. As an undergradu-ate, she used to have her own lectures after the professor would leave the class.

She taught Chemistry 1 & 2 at Montclair State for 1 year. She then taught Advanced Placement Chemistry for gifted students through lecturing and live discussion in a virtual environment. This means she never got to meet her students, only see them through a camera. She then taught biochemistry at Kean University.

Dr. Balasubramanian joined NJIT last semester as a Professor of Chemistry. Right now she teaches Chemistry 125. “I love teaching at NJIT. After teaching in a virtual atmosphere, it was great getting back in human contact. I particularly enjoy the fact that here I can mix the live environment with technology and web access,” she said.

Ankit Bedi, who has Dr. Balasubramanian for Chem-istry 125 said, “Dr. Balasubramanian is easy to under-stand and will spend as much time as is necessary [for] explaining concepts to you. If anyone is unsure of what is going on, she will be sure to clear any doubts.”

When I asked Dr. Balasubramanian who her heroes were, she said, without hesitation, “My mother and father. They were a source of inspiration and guidance for me all throughout my life. I definitely wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for them.”

Dr. Balasubramanian says she loves teaching at NJIT and plans to stay here for years to come. “I definitely con-sider NJIT, and its students, lucky.”

Professor Profile:Dr. Balasubramanian

CCS advisors Sarah Vander-mark and Megan Summer also agreed that the website will facili-tate communication between ad-visors and students. The Student Affairs Committee conducted a survey regarding the website last semester, and with information gathered through survey, an ad hoc committee headed by Jose Espinoza and Dominick Cirillo is managing and executing the proj-ect.

With the recruitment of two Capstone students last week, the

project has passed the planning phase and entered into its second phase. Nevertheless the senate is still open for any suggestions from the student body regarding the project.

The exact details of the project are still vague. The senate hasn’t made a decision about whether to use commercial software, which requires a paid license or use of freeware. Moreover, there are nu-merous obstacles that the project has to go through, such as tech-nical issues and the collaboration

between different departments. The prototype of the website is scheduled to be completed some-time in May. However, for the purpose of beta testing, the web-site won’t be fully launched until Fall 2010.

Wonho Rhee can be reached at [email protected].

mAurie J. cohen

Contributor

On Thursday March 4, Mau-rie Cohen, Associate Professor from the Environmental Policy Studies at NJIT will participate in a Research Café in the Cam-pus Center Faculty Dining area at 4:30 PM (come earlier for re-freshments). The title of his talk is: Is it futile to pursue economic growth? Read what Professor Cohen has to say about this revo-lutionary idea.

Turn on any cable news channel and wait patiently for a few minutes. Chances are that be-fore you act on the urge to change the channel the talking heads on the screen will bombard you with a dose of infotainment about eco-nomic growth.

The discussion will invariably center on the latest fluctuations or projections concerning the gross domestic product (GDP). The GDP is the meter that economists and others use to assess condi-tions in the economy. Is GDP in-creasing? How fast is GDP grow-ing? Is GDP growing fast enough? When is GDP growth going to slow down? What country has the fastest rate of GDP growth? As a society, we have become obsessed with this statistical measure, and during the aftermath of the 2008 financial collapse a growing num-ber of people are starting to ask why this is the case.

How can it be that a statisti-cal value has come to be the alpha and omega of contemporary life? More importantly, why do we re-gard any downward movement in this number as a portent of pend-ing catastrophe?

In slightly simplified terms, GDP is the total monetary value of goods and services produced by an economy (generally as-sessed over an interval of one year). The notion of taking such measurements on a regular ba-sis achieved prominence during World War II, when the federal

government needed to quantify the output of consumer and mili-tary goods.

Over the intervening half century, GDP has taken on a life of its own and it has come to be viewed as tantamount to standard of living and quality of life. When the size of the overall economy is contracting we are prone to think that our lives are in shambles, but when it grows our despair fades away. Regardless of what kinds of goods are produced—from televisions to pogo sticks—we are all deemed to be doing better if there are more of them. When you stop to think about it, the fact that our wellbeing is predicated on how much material through-put moves through the economy seems downright bizarre.

In the first instance, there are numerous flaws in how GDP is measured. A tanker accident that requires the mobilization of hun-dreds of workers to scrub down oily beaches is deemed, in GDP terms, to be a positive and uplift-ing event because paychecks are disbursed and equipment is pur-chased. Indeed, the more oil that spills the better.

A car crash is similarly re-garded as providing a boost be-cause of the flow of repair work, replacement parts, and possible medical bills that it generates. It is possible to go on at much greater length about these de-fects, but if that were the limit of the problem, it would at least be more readily remediable. Unfor-tunately, we face a dilemma that is much larger than mere statistical reporting.

As the economist Herman Daly is fond of noting, the econ-omy is geared for growth. In fact, it is geared for limitless growth. In other words, when should we ter-minate our pursuit of economic growth and move on to more edi-fying pursuits? Can you think of any other system (a cancerous tu-mor perhaps) that is so resolutely committed to growth seemingly

without end? We have consumed our way

to the ends of the earth and the onset of problems like climate change, global water scarcity, nat-ural resource depletion, and en-docrine disruption are the telltale signs of the planet (and our own bodies) informing us that we are reaching the end of this pathologi-cal experiment.

Let me caution that this dis-cussion is not the rant of a mad-man on the lunatic fringe intent on crashing everything that we cherish in the world. Mainstream media publications like The New York Times have begun to report that we may be entering a new period of societal evolution—the post-growth era. No less than the Harvard Business Review has also considered this possibility. In Europe, new political parties have formed in recent years to plan for the prospect of a post-growth so-ciety.

Is it really the case, as some commentators angrily contend, that it is dangerous to talk about such ideas? Does merely pulling back the curtain jeopardize our future? An alternate view is that in these recessionary times there is considerable utility in exploring one whether the sky will really fall down if growth ceases to come in the three and four percent annual increments to which we have be-come accustomed. After all, noth-ing lasts forever.

This thought experiment will be the focus of discussion at the next Research Café scheduled for Thursday, March 4 at 4:30pm. For further questions about the café contact: Jay Kappraff , x 3490, [email protected].

Advising Website continued from front page

Is it Futile to Pursue Economic Growth?

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JAmil wilkins

Staff WritEr

Tracing your roots doesn’t necessary mean identifying your family’s origin. Every 21st of Feb-ruary, tracing roots has been the definition for the holistic concept of language known as Internation-al Mother Language Day. Every year since 2000 this celebration has been acknowledged to pro-mote linguistic and cultural diver-sity and multilingualism. During the week of February 21st-from Monday, February 22 to Friday, February 26-the Campus Cen-ter staff is hosting a showcase in the NJIT Student Center lobby to help promote YOUR mother language.

Drawing inspiration from the United Nations Educational, Sci-entific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Yamin Noor, a de-scendant of Bengali origin, is co-ordinating the event to honor the Bengali Language Movement that granted recognition to the Bengali language in 1946. “I want to re-mind people about their mother languages, “said Noor.

The purpose of the 8.5-foot tall monument is to display before the diverse university a sense of recognition, consideration, aware-ness, and mindfulness of this day. Noor is working with Joseph Rios, Associate Director of Leadership and Diversity Programs at NJIT and Alpha Phi Omega National Service Fraternity. Their mission is to help students recognize the need to improve understanding and communication among other cultures; consider the need to pre-vent the threat of linguistic diversi-ty; become aware of the progress that has been in developing and improving a growing mixture of diversity; and to be mindful that their mother languages may have originated from a culture entirely separate from theirs.

When the students approach the monument they will be in-troduced to a quiz. These quiz-zes are to challenge their under-standing of their so-called mother language. “Is English the mother language of the United States?” Students will be put to the test to determine the importance of learning their own languages as well as studying many others around the world.

The study will take place the week of February 21 on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday from 11:30-1:00, and Wednesday from 2:30-4:00. For further informa-tion on YOUR mother language, contact Yamin Noor at [email protected].

What's Your Language?

YourPhoto Here!

Enter our weekly NJIT Life photo

contest. The winning

photo will be printed in the next is-sue and the

photographer will receive a prize ranging

from computer equipment to

free meals!

To submit a photo, email it (at 300 DPI) to [email protected]

by Friday at 8:00 PM.

This Week's Winner: Nathan HarmesCAMPUS

An upcoming language study at NJIT

THE VECTOR | February 23, 2010 9njitvector.comCAMPUS

These inspections help identify and prevent po-tential problems." He said that inspections are car-ried out "by an outside firm that reports to the City of Newark and the State of New Jersey" and, "Any and all needed repairs are completed within the time period prescribed by the inspection reports."

Walsh concluded by saying, "Redwood Hall is a well maintained building with very efficient building systems. It has been serviced by NJIT maintenance, custodial and outside contracting staff. Excluding nor-mal wear and tear on a building with a large number of occupants, there are no major structural or system

concerns or problems with Redwood Hall."

Tom Flusk is a freshman in Biology and Science Technology and Society and can be reached at [email protected].

Redwood continued from front page

Student Senate Mardi

Gras Party in the PubThursday, February 16 @ 7:30

PM

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Gil BenTo

Contributing WritEr

Do you occasionally wonder what everyone is on about in the financial news segments you see on T.V.? Do you really understand how a mortgage works? Do the terms stocks, bonds, and derivatives all sound vaguely famil-iar but leave you none the wiser? If so, then welcome to the first of what I hope will be a long and fruitful column on the topic of money, finance, and investing.

If you are a science or technology student you may not know a great deal about these topics, and it is my hope that in time you will come to seek out and appreciate the knowledge we will impart to you in this humble space. We will feature regular topics that we find relevant to our readers - with a particu-lar focus on the stock market - but we urge you to send us any questions you may have and tell us what you would like to know about. And rest assured, no question is too simple, no topic too taboo, and no purchase is necessary.

Drawing on your fellow business students’ knowledge as well as that of the excellent faculty members in our own School of Management we hope to create a dialogue with the rest of the school that will increase your awareness

of financial issues and enrich your tool-box of knowledge as you continue your college career and beyond.

So let’s begin our inaugural entry with one of the topics that I mentioned above and that you are surely familiar with: mortgages.

What is a mortgage exactly? And how does it work?

According to several law diction-aries, the word ac-tually comes from medieval French and refers to a mort (‘dead’) gage (‘pledge’). A mort-gage is a legal document by which the buyer of a house borrows money from a lender to pay for said house, and pledg-es the property he is buying as security against the loan.

Mortgage contracts typically state the amount of money being borrowed, the length of the repayment terms (usu-ally 15, 20, or 30-year terms), and the rate of interest that the borrower must pay above the principal (the amount be-ing borrowed) each month. They also have restrictive covenants which are ob-ligations you must keep to make sure the home maintains its value.

Why does a lender care what you do with your house? Because if you stop paying your mortgage and they are forced to kick you out and take posses-sion of your property, they must sell it and make sure they can get a price that is at least equal to the amount of money they lent you (otherwise they’ll

lose money, and that would suck). By the way, the process of tak-ing legal action on a homeowner who no longer makes payments is called a fore-

closure, but something tells me you’ve heard the term before.

“Ok, but why do we have to pay interest?” you ask. “Isn’t it enough to just pay back the money eventually?” Well... If you had money in your pock-et and a friend asked you for some of it, wouldn’t you want to get more back when he paid you to make up for the inconvenience of not having that money for a while? Ok, maybe not if you re-ally like the guy, but bankers and lend-ers don’t know you that well and they would certainly like to be paid for the service of lending you their money so

you could have a piece of the American dream.

Otherwise they would invest it in the stock market or find some other way to earn a return on it. Besides, they’ve never met you before. How do they even know you’ll pay them back? Now, we both know you’re a good person, but the banks don’t know that, and to them you represent a risk. So they charge you interest. And the less likely you are to pay them back - as judged by your credit score and financial history - the more in-terest they’ll charge you to make up for the greater risk they’re taking.

It’s actually pretty logical, no? And believe it or not, banks do not like to foreclose on homes because they are very illiquid assets (meaning they can’t easily be exchanged for cash or traded for something else of value) and so they would rather you pay your mortgage, if you can, so everyone’s happier. And, yes, the problem is that many people have not been able to make those pay-ments in the last few years. What hap-pened? Well, that will have to wait for our next column.

To email a question to the Right on the Money Column, email [email protected]

Right on the Money: What is a Mortgage?

And believe it or not, banks do not like to foreclose on homes

because they are very illiquid assets...

In Case You Missed it... Student Senate Mardi Gras Party


Greek LifeJames "JR" Schumacher is a sec-

ond year Computer Science Major. He has been a part of Greek Life Since Spring 2009.

When James originally came to NJIT he had no intentions of join-ing a Greek organization, but after seeing Greek Life and the bond the Greek community has, he really wanted to be a part of it. JR joined his specific organization because his best friend's older brother invited him to the house. After the first couple days of meeting the broth-erhood he knew he wanted to be a part of that fraternity.

James contributes to Campus Life by participating in his frater-nity, the Student Activities Council (SAC), and Senior Class committee. He also does several philanthropy events with his fraternity throughout the year. As a member of SAC, JR helps plan and run events for other students on campus, and in the Se-nior Class Committee he helps plan and run events for the Senior class and the rest of the student body.

JR's favorite moment in Greek Life so far has been crossing and becoming a brother of his frater-nity. It was a very long journey, but being told he was a brother was one of his happiest moments. He knew all his hard work that semester had paid off, and he now had brothers to look to for friendship, fun, and support for the rest of his life.

JR's favorite Greek Event to date has been Greek Week. He had a lot of fun competing against the other organizations, but at the same time joking and getting along

with everyone. Although the organi-zations were competitive everyone behaved like good sports and made it a really good time.

James feels the four pillars of Greek Life are really important be-cause, as their name suggests, they help hold and support. The pillars are guidelines on how each and ev-ery person in the Greek community should live. To JR, the pillars mean he should be a strong leader, a good student, a quality brother, and help the community out in as many ways as he can.

If JR was to give advice to someone who is considering going Greek, he would tell them to "do it!" Joining a Greek organization is like joining another new family. Being Greek is a support system for life. He has made so many, and some of his best, friends since he has gone Greek. Although it is hard work in the end it is definitely worth it.

James Schumacher is a Brother of Tau Epsilon Phi.

Greek Member Spotlight:James Schumacher


mike nussPickel

WEb Editor

Friday night, I walked into the NJPAC not knowing what to expect. I was told of a Led Zeppelin concert, and looked around the web to find it was a group known as Classic Albums Live. So, I walked into the NJPAC with the mindset of seeing a cover band. The building itself was absolutely beautiful, and the staff friendly and upbeat.

I was not expecting to literally almost listen to the songs as they come out of a radio.

Classic Albums Live puts together musicians who can achieve, as they put it, ‘note for note, cut for cut’, and in the event of Led Zeppelin’s II, they deliv-ered. The vocalist they found somehow managed to belt out Robert Plant’s iconic voice in near perfect pitch, the guitarist pulling the long solos out beautifully, and the drummer.

Oh my goodness the drummer they found. As Mike Lowry put it, they must’ve injected this man with John Bon-ham’s DNA. I was simply blown away by the entire spectacle. The drum solo taken before the intermission was simply brilliant, and it was everything you could ask from a group with this goal. An accu-rate rendition of the album, front to back, with no sour notes at all.

The second act of the show, towards the end, it was apparent that belting the notes gave our singer a slight case of a sore throat, as the Immigrant Song was the only song that seemed to be notice-ably…off. Notes were sour, his voice strained, but otherwise, every single song was nearly flawlessly done. I look forward to seeing this group perform the Beatles' White Album at NJPAC in April.

Mike Nusspickel is a sophomore in Computer Science and can be reached at [email protected].

DAniel ovAlle Staff WritEr

Popcorn (1991) directed by Mark Herrier, might be a perfect B-Movie. It is surprisingly good, mainly because of its surprises. I sat to watch the mov-ie on an ugly night in the middle of the week. I was in the perfect mental state and shared the room with a pile of snacks and a bigger pile of friends. We were all ready to watch a bunch of bad movies with no necessary di-rection planned. Popcorn was chosen because of its title and its two line de-scription on Netflix. We were all in for a trip, and anyone who follows in our footsteps will experience a B-Movie that disserves the 5/5 Vengeful Pop-corn rating.

Popcorn follows the story of a group of college students in a film club who are looking for some extra mon-ey to fund films they want to produce. Their advisor is in possession of some great gimmicky 1950’s B-Movies and suggests that the group screen them as originally intended.

These formats include a 3-D gi-ant fly movie, an electric man film presented in shockovision, and a sm-ellovision film. (Watching a B-Movie about watching B-Movies… is that like Meta or something?) The students be-gin renovating the old theater which will host this event when an odd old man shows up out of nowhere with a chest of authentic special effects equip-ment from the 1950’s. He asks them to use his things, but what the students don’t know is that within the chest is the last remaining print of a haunted experimental film… the film of one of the student’s nightmares!

So far everything mentioned is common horror movie territory. But this is just the platform, the spring board, and though it is not a high dive that doesn’t stop the movie from do-ing some sort of triple sou cou back-flipy mc twist into a pool of awesome sauce.

This movie never falls flat. It hits you head on and makes no apologies.

Once it got rolling I tried hard not blink for fear of missing some ridicu-lousness and ending up totally lost. Yes that is how fast it moves and yes that is how much fun you can have. (If you think hydrating your eyes exter-nally to prevent blinking fun.)

Now let’s get to some serious (not really) B-Movie breakdowning. Question: Does the movie have a ri-diculously scored 80’s movie mon-tage? Answer: Yes. Question: Does the movie have a reggae dance party? Answer: Yes! Question: Is this movie supposed to be silly or gory or what? Answer: Well, Popcorn has an identi-ty crisis… it is really silly with great over acting, but once the villain comes for-ward he is so convincingly crazy that it pushes the edge.

Question: Is there a twist? An-swer: There are twists of First-Saw-Movie-ian proportions. There are so many unexpected twists that you might just about brick before you discover the villain’s identity. And once you discover his identity it both makes per-fect sense and is a ridiculous surprise. A flaw some viewers would find is that there is no hint of the villain’s identity, but that is perfect in my opinion be-cause upon the reveal you experience the same surprise and horror as the female protagonist.

Popcorn gets extra B-Movie points because it is an especially egre-gious box office failure, and its lack of any note worthy actors or production staff. Really there is no reason anyone should know about or watch this mov-ie. No reason, that is, other than the fact that it is awesome. To watch Pop-corn you can purchase the DvD from various DvD venders or rent it from Netflix or Blockbuster. It is also avail-able for streaming on Netflix.

Daniel Ovalle is a senior in Science Tech-nology and Society and can be reached at [email protected].

Classic Albums Live: Led Zeppelin

Popcorn5/5

Entertainment

eDwArD mArTinez

Contributing WritEr

When you add a young, misun-derstood, above-average-intelligent, high school boy by the name of Nick Twisp (Michael Cera) who falls in love with a beautiful, smart, girl Sheeni Saunders (Portia Double-day) who is looking for a bad guy to sweep her off her feet, you get “Youth in Revolt.”

Michael Cera reprises his role as a young “uncool” high schooler who loathes his life and plans on winning the love of his life Sheeni, by creat-ing a bad alter ego to help him break the law.

While, Michael Cera is portray-ing the same type of character he sports in his other movies, I am con-fident to say the “Youth in Revolt” is a genuinely funny movie and overall good time.

Unlike some of Michael Cera’s other movies “Youth in Revolt” has you laugh-ing more at life and the characters that fill the world of “Youth in Revolt”.

The movie is mostly based on the book by the same name and those who have read the book will not be disap-pointed although there are some differ-ences between the two works.

The movie is filled with somewhat bizarre characters that help make fun of certain real scenarios of everyday life.

While the movie is based around young love, the dry humor is what re-ally makes this movie good. Many of the jokes are spoken not shown, the dia-logue is where all the action really is in this movie. The movie is targeting a wider audience and some people may not get the jokes or even understand some of the dialogue. Youth in Revolt will vary vastly on opinions.

Some people will love it some peo-ple will hate it for one major reason. The jokes are very subtle and are almost hid-

den as some points. It is appealing to a theater audience

as a comedy but it can almost pass for a drama considering the amount of plot that is in the story.

Yet, there is enough action and some superficial jokes that will keep everyone entertained. I will say this movie is a must see and would be a great spend of money in these economic times.

Whoever believes that this movie is just another love story between a nerdy high school boy and a cheerleading beau-ty will be surprised to find out that this is actually a fresh and funny movie.

The movie will surprise everyone with its cast of odd and goofy characters that although none can exist without large amounts of therapy they do help show some of the more extreme sides of life.

Edward Martinez is a freshman in Electrical Engineering and can be reached at [email protected].

Movie Review: Youth in Revolt

Have you been towww.njitvector.com?

You can read all of our articles there on the day of publication, as well as comment on

them to let the writers know what you think.

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THE VECTOR | February 23, 2010 13njitvector.comENTERTAINMENT

Weekly Horoscopes Poetry Corner

Coralby Tom Flusk

Beautiful corals line the sea floor,

Providing a lifeline to a thriving ecosystem.Schools of fish swim together for protection,

Their neon colors match nothing but each other.

A manta ray glides across the bottom,Sliding through the dazzling sunlight.A starfish is sprawled out on a rock,

Nothing better than soaking in the warmth.

Struggling to move against the current,Every molecule seems to be dragging down.

A desperate gasp releases bubbles,Representing the last bit of life-giving oxygen.

The struggling slows, and finally stops.A jellyfish floats past, completely oblivious.

The Fieldby Tom Flusk

The dark and desolate field stretches forever,Over rolling hills, through miniature valleys.

A tree lurks in the distance,A lonely owl hoots into the emptiness.

Countless stones dot the landscape,Stretching endlessly into oblivion.

Each stone tells a story,That has come to a final conclusion. There is a single hole, freshly made,

Prepared to consume the next victim.Another stone awaits nearby,

Ready to tell another somber story,As it stands still in silence.

Winter Wishesby Lori-Ann Sciachitano

First steps taken, on the warn a weather path.Trees create a tunnel welcoming me away from the

city, the cold snow filled winter.The smell of lavender flowers, and rotting leaves

fill my nostrils.Mud cakes my shoes, the trail inclines, my breath

quickens, I see it's bald top.Up here I see the spring starting, buds forming,

reaching for the sun's distant light.Up here is where winter ends and spring begins,

up here is where I am at peace.

AmAnDA wooD

ArTwork By huxlhey villA

Pisces (February 20 – March 20):It is time to put on your Social Activities hat, Pisces. You will be invited to shin-digs and will be motivated to create hap-py events of your own as well this week, and probably in the weeks to come, too.

But don't let the stars get ahead of themselves here. Chances are good that you'll even make new friend(s) this week, so - heckadoodles! How fun is that? And even more, you are going to be met with surprises upon surprises! Get ready for an exciting week.

Aries (March 21 – April 20):Aries, the stars are warning you that your carefully laid plans might go hor-ribly awry suddenly and with very little warning. If it does happen to you, be prepared to go with the flow and shrug

things off instead of absolutely hitting the roof as you will want to do. Having a freakout scene is like the last thing you need this week. Plus, the stars have hinted that on the off chance you let yourself totally freak out, it will be in front of all the people you ad-mire and try not to act silly around.

Taurus April 21 – May 20):The stars know that it seems that all of your friends are off having fun and adventures and escapades while you sit at home stagnating like an old person. They also know that you think this is

massively unfair. But sometimes you need to feel this sort of sullen jealousy. It's good for building character, probably. Just stew in your aloneness and one day you will be the object of everyone else's jeal-ousy and it'll feel sooo good.

Gemini (May 21 – June 21):You may be in for a week of possible in-jury, Gemini! The stars are being vague about it in such a way that it might not mean the traditional, physical form of injury. Maybe you'll like suffer social

injury, or stumble conversationally, or fall off of a spiritual cliff into the painful Abyss below. Or maybe you will slip comically on a banana peel, landing on your behind, resulting in a sad, painful bruise. Please tread carefully.

Cancer (June 22 – July 22):Your existence seems so hollow, Can-cer. So meaningless - almost pathetic. What do you do with your time? What use is it, really? All those things you cre-ate, all the scenes you are involved in,

they are all kind of worthless when you think about it, in the Grand Scheme of Things. The stars aren't meaning to depress you exactly, they were just won-dering. Maybe spend some time thinking about that this week, with a bowl of ice cream and a marathon of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Leo (July 23 – August 23):Poor Leo. It isn't often that you are in the Wrong, but somehow this week you will manage to find yourself in a situa-tion where you will have to apologize to friends or acquaintances you have

offended. Maybe you will perform an inexcusably rude social blunder, or well yeah that's probably what you will do, and you'll have to make so many amends. It isn't a pleasant experience in any circum-stance. Just get on with it and it will be over soon. Like pulling off a bandaid, it just has to be done, so rip it off quick.

Virgo (August 24 – September 22):Once again you may find yourself with a belly full of ulcer-feelings, Virgo, be-cause your natural talent lies in worry-ing about every little thing. You'll worry about stupid life decisions and all of

the what-ifs you can think of. Just remember that the things you worry about seldom happen, and the things that DO happen are things you never thought of - wait that won't relieve you at all.

Libra (September 23 – October 23):You're not always the healthiest person in the world, Libra, but your ailments are usually pretty mild. Well, they're annoying, but just not life-threatening

usually. This week, the stars have aligned in a very stressful way and you are therefore way more likely to suffer from a malady that other signs would prob-ably never wind up getting. Have fun with pleuri-sy/chilblains/consumption/rubella/etc. But don't stress out about it or anything.

Scorpio (October 24 – November 21):Scorpio, you will probably be hit with a happy mood sometime mid-week. For reasons unknown (actually it has to do with how Jupiter and Mars are interact-

ing in your chart) you'll get all giddy and goofy and act quite unlike yourself - at least on the inside. Thank Jupiter and Mars for their friendly interactions, espe-cially after you've been feeling for the last few weeks.You may choose to not let your gladness show on your exterior. That's your business.

Sagittarius (November 22 – December 21):With the weather still being basically gross and uninviting, Sag, it is time you break out the old board games. This week you should find that you win with

a silly amount of ease - it doesn't matter which game you try, you'll have a natural ability. Try to play as many people as you can if only because people will rapidly tire of your luck.

Capricorn (December 22 – Janu-ary 19):The stars strongly advise that you do not dine out at any point this week, Capri-corn. Planets have arranged themselves

in conflicting arrangements right in the belly of your constellation and that generally spells "horrible, terri-ble food poisoning unless you carefully prepare your own food." You're a good cook anyway, probably - and if not, this is a good time to start practicing!

Aquarius (January 20 – February 19): Aquarius you are going to be so tre-mendously uppity and prickly that it is actually going to be funny - for everyone

else. You, however, will have the sorest demeanor and will not laugh at any joke, least of all the joke that is yourself. The stars recommend that you get over yourself, but they know you eventually will, and anyway, what do they care?


Vector Comics


Do You Sudoku?

Easy Medium Hard Evil

ENTERTAINMENT

“Don't bother just to be better than your contemporaries or pre-

decessors. Try to be better than yourself.”

- William Faulkner

SPACE* denotes themed clue

by Matan Shavit(solution on page 13)

A C R O S S

1. Scottish uncles5. Small plateau9. "Miracle on 34th Street" store14. Misplace15. Misplace16. Looks embarrassed17. Richie's mom, to Fonzie18. French illustrator Gustave19. Nixon aide*20. Classic video game23. Odor chemical in lab gas24. Shrub genus25. "2001" computer*28. Seattle feature33. Political cartoonist Thomas37. Shoebox letters38. Oscar winner Kedrova39. Pain relievers41. Some are Spanish44. Uris's "____ Pass"45. New Deal org.46. Stub ____*47. Radiator alternate51. Some appliances52. P-T connection53. Heathen*58. Area surrounding self63. Hard up65. Capitol feature66. Kind of round in a tourna-ment, abbr.67. Hägar's comics wife68. Swelled heads69. Nerve network70. Senator Specter71. Lampblack72. "____ Prayer" (1990 hit)

D O W N

1. Horror film locale (abbr.)2. Transform3. Writing by Montaigne4. Short and staccato5. Care beginning6. Former Nebraska senator James7. Draftee's destination8. ______ of absence9. ____-en-scène10. Copernicus' sci.11. Major reduction plan12. Yearning13. Radical '60s org.21. Golfer Ernie22. Newsman Rather26. _____ the good27. Rental agreement29. Urine30. Loser to DDE32. Singer Fitzgerald33. Chinese restaurant sign34. Foucault's "This Is Not _____"35. Hospitable host's invitation36. Soft mineral40. ___ kwon do41. Make a choice42. Fannie ___45. Didn't function properly48. Command ctrs.49. Wears away50. Turning meas.54. Copycats55. Corolla part56. "___ on a hill cannot be hid-den": Matt. 5:1457. Where Hercules slew a lion59. Advantage60. "Saving Private ___"61. "Here ____, there..."62. For fear that63. Shelter grp.64. Poetic adverb

kevin rivAs

1997: Scotland – Roslin Institute scientists first announce the successful cloning of a mature sheep. Cloned from part of a mammary gland, Dolly the sheep was humorously named after busty country singer, Dolly Parton.

1995: United States – The Dow Jones industrial Average closes for the first time above 4,000 points. This is one of many closing milestones for the stock market index since it’s opening in 1896.

1987: Earth – Supernova “1987A” is first seen. Supernova 1987A is the firstly visible su-pernova with the naked since 1604 and is the brightest seen within the 20th century.

1980: Lake Placid, NY – Eric Arthur Heiden wins all 5 speed skating golds at the Winter Games. His tremendous feats later induct him into the US Olympic Hall of Fame.

1968: Philidelphia, PA – Wilt Chamberlain of the Philideplhia 76er’s becomes first NBAer to score more than 25,000 points.

1927: Washington D.C. – President Calvin Coolidge signs the Radio Act of 1927 into law, which regulates radio responsibilities to the Federal Radio Commission. The FRC eventually becomes the precursor for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

1896: New York City – The Tootsie Roll is introduced. After opening a tiny candy shop in the city, Austrian-native Leo Hirshfield introduced the chewy chocolate treat on this day. Hirshfield named the treat after “Tootsie” a nickname for his daughter.

1861: Baltimore, MA – President-elect Abraham Lincoln evades an assassination attempt. Lincoln avoids the attempt on the way to his inauguration to be sworn into office.

This Day in History: February 23

Volume LXXXV, Issue 20 Red Hot Highlanders! Tuesday, February 23, 2010

SCRANTON L, 3-7C. W. POST L, 0-3RUTGERS L, 2-4

ICE HOCKEY

PRINCETON L, 2-25STEVENS L, 8-19HUNTER W, 21-6

MEN'S FENCING

PRINCETON L, 1-26STEVENS L, 6-21FAIRLEIGH D L, 9-18

WOMEN'S FENCING

CANISIUS L, 46-168MONTCLAIR L, 54-85SUNY Maritime W, 80-49

WOMEN'S SWIMMING

BRYANT L, 66-126MONTCLAIR L, 70-90SUNY L, 90-110

MEN'S SWIMMING

SPRINGFIELD L, 0-3PRINCETON L, 0-3SACRED HEART L, 1-3

MEN'S VOLLEYBALL

HOWARD L, 3-4HOFSTRA W, 4-2

WOMEN'S TENNIS

HOWARD W, 7-0HOFSTRA W, 7-0

MEN'S TENNIS

LONGWOOD L, 55-64UTAH VALLEY W, 71-46CHICAGO ST W, 66-37

MEN'S BASKETBALL

SAVANNAH L, 51-54 (OT)UTAH VALLEY W, 79-69CHICAGO ST W, 60-56

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

BryAn ehnes

SportS Editor

The United States of America has had a great performance thus far in the Olym-pics in Vancouver as they lead all countries in the medal count. The U.S. has twenty-four medals so far in these games hosted by Canada. Seven of the twenty-four medals are gold, which also leads all participating countries. Second in line for total medals is the country of Germany with eighteen and rounding out the top three is Norway with twelve. The host country of Canada has won eight medals, which puts them in fifth place. Of these eight medals for Canada, four are gold.

Some of the top athletes for the United States include Bode Miller, Apolo Anton Ohno, Shani Davis, Lindsey Vonn, and Julia Mancuso. Bode Miller leads all Americans with three medals already in three events. Miller has a medal of each color as he still has two events left to compete in. Miller is the top skier, including downhill events, for the United States as a veteran of the team. Apolo Anton Ohno has two medals in his two events thus far in short track competi-tion. His medals so far are silver and bronze as he still has one individual event remain-ing to go along with the relay event.

Ohno and fellow American J.R. Celski medaled in the 1500 meter short track event when three Koreans led on the final turn of the race. The Korean member in third place tried to pass his fellow countrymen

on the final turn, but wound up taking him-self and his teammate out of the race when he could not make a clean pass. The crash ended the race with the two Americans fin-ishing in second and third place, as the Ko-reans at least held onto first place, but failed to get the sweep.

Shani Davis is a speed skater that has dominated the world circuit for some time and has continued his dominance in the Olympics. Davis got off to a rough start when his first event had delays on top of a poor first run. He decided to drop out of the event and save his strength for his other events. This strategy paid off as he won gold and then silver in his next two events.

Lindsey Vonn and Julia Mancuso have led a strong surge of American skiers for the Vancouver Olympic Games. Vonn’s Olym-pic experience started off bad as an injury threatened her participation in the Games. She then did not finish in a combined event where she was in first place after the first run of the two run event. Vonn followed that up with her second medal in Canada, a bronze, to complete the first up and down week in Vancouver. Mancuso has been one of the American surprises as she has won two medals in her three events so far. Her two medals have been silvers as she looks to continue her impressive performance in the 2010 Olympic Games.

The gold medals are rounded out by Hannah Kearney in Women’s Moguls, Seth Wescott in Men’s Snowboard Cross, Shaun White in Men’s Snowboard Halfpipe, and

Evan Lysacek in Men’s Figure Skating. Ke-arney and Lysacek were surprises as they won in events that had very talented com-petitors. Wescott and White went into the Vancouver Games as favorites in the events that they defended the gold medals that they had won in Torino four years earlier.

The United States Men’s Ice Hockey Team had great group play as they went un-defeated in their group, including a victory over Canada by a score of 5-3 in an amazing game this past Sunday night. The arena had Stanley Cup and above type atmosphere as this matchup between bordering countries was one of the most anticipated of these Winter Olympic Games. The United States held off a late surge by Canada in order to keep the victory and capped it with an in-credible empty net goal.

The United States Women’s Ice Hock-ey Team has done exactly what the men did as they have also gone undefeated in regu-lation in their three group matchups. The women dominated in their three games as they allowed one goal in three games while scoring thirty-one goals. The women and men’s teams will now take their high seed-ings and compete in the games for the med-als.

The Olympics head down the final stretch with less than a week to go as the United States continues its pursuit of med-als and leading all participating countries in the process.

Olympics Going Extremely Well for United States

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BRYANT W, 6-1

BRYANT W, 6-1

JAmil wilkins

Staff WritEr

During the past week, the NJIT basket ball teams were exploding the nets at both the Prudential Center and the Zoom and Fleisher Athletic Center. The Men’s and Women’s teams were engaged in demand-ing double-headers against the Houston Baptist Huskies and the Texas-Pan Ameri-can Broncs. This is one of two Fleisher-Pru-dential blowouts that will be held by NJIT as the season comes to its end.

With the women up at 5pm, NJIT quickly took charge of the game on Feb-ruary 18 at the “The Rock.” The first half seemed promised to the Highlanders as they were able to score 17 points to HBU’s 2 points seven minutes into the game. The highlanders continued to hustle against the Huskies while junior guard Jessica Gerald scored three points for the Highlanders.

After the ball successfully passed through the basketball net Gerald had reached her 1000th career point at the big-gest game of the Women’s season. “They were both equally exciting, not one more than the other. We came into the game wanting to blow them out because the last game we should have blown them out,” Gerald commented when speaking about the experience.

NJIT had 43-18 in the first half. During the second half the women maintained con-trol by gathering four more points in the first minute. In the end, they came out 72-46.

When the men stepped, freshman guard Chris Flores scored the first point for the Highlanders. Junior guard Jheryl Wil-son didn’t hold back either as he managed to score despite unexpected stumbles from HBU. The Huskies were able to catch up, but still trailing behind with a 17-16.

The Highlanders played like there was a match lit under feet. “Flare. Flare com-ing,” shouted Coach Cottrell of HBU. They were hot enough to end the first half with 31-23. The lead was given away with another foul shot. As Wilkerson stole the ball from Houston the Highlanders were hustling with 57.7s left in the game. Houston took the win with 58-62.

Two days later the basketball header ex-ploded with excitement at the Fleisher Cen-ter. “They’re looking pretty good. I expect them to win,” NJIT student Lauren Dupuis said as the women scored 11-2 in the first four minutes of the game against the Texas Broncs. “Get the rebound,” screamed sup-porting fans.

With NJIT in the lead 15-13, Texas’ desperation failed against Gerald’s 3-pt. abilities and senior forward Taiwo Oyelola’s dominant captures. “Get the rebound,” cheered the crowd as Oyelola exercised her reach and grabbed the ball to assist to her team. The Broncs shuffled their feet as they tried to catch NJIT. The first half was in fa-vor of the Highlanders with 32-26.

During the second half the women moved with more ferocity. “Give it to Jess,” shouted Head Coach Margaret McKeon.

Gerald was the primary target for the Broncs as she absorbed most of the fouls dished out by Texas. Gerald had to step to the throw line more than four times as a result of tech-nical fouls.

With one minute left in the game the Highlanders were fighting for their lead. With 32.9 seconds left in the game Texas-Pan American began triple teaming the Highlanders, but fell short 70-66.

The field was once again set for the men to take control. “I emerged from stu-dio to watch the game,” architecture student Christina Tailor said. Wilkerson started off with a left hand dunk. Jheryl then followed up with a 2-pt. shot, and Flores topped things off with another shot to match Texas’ 3-pointer.

Freshman guard Nick Lopez and Wil-son ended up tumbling, fighting, and driv-ing the ball as the Highlanders refused to let their lead escape their grasps. With 4:02 left in the game NJIT was ahead 24-15. SAAC’s track and field representative, Joseph Ju, also had much faith in the team. “They’re going to win, “he said.

“Let’s go tech.” The Men’s basketball team seemed to play with better focus that at the game against HBU. The crowd was assailing Texas as they struggled to stand up against the Highlanders. NJIT finished the game with a potent assist directed to fresh-man guard PJ Miller to finish with 66-59.

The Highlanders face their next Fleish-er-Prudential double-header this week against North and South Dakota.

Highlanders Shoot Through Double-Header Series

February 23rd, 2010

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