Perspectives 2012-04-30

PHOTO BY NOAH WHITTENBURG / PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

PERSPECTIVES

The Daily Targum takes a look at the top stories of the2011-2012 academic year — from merger talks to city protests to new football head coach Kyle Flood.

U. to welcome new president, eraBY JOVELLE TAMAYO

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

University President RichardL. McCormick announced lastyear that he would step down ashead of the University, and 11years after he took office, he ismaking way for president-desig-nate Robert Barchi.

Shortly after his announce-ment, the University Board ofGovernors assembled a 24-mem-ber presidential search commit-tee, chaired by Board ofTrustees member Greg Brown.

During the search process,which lasted throughout the aca-demic year, the committee iden-tified and screened potential can-didates, hosted public forums forthe University community’sinput and invited the communityto nominate candidates.

The BOG and the BOT unan-imously approved the appoint-ment of Barchi as the 20th pres-ident of the University on April11, 10 months afterMcCormick’s announcement.

“He’s a powerhouse, and Ithink this is one of those mostexciting times in the history ofRutgers,” said Brown, CEO ofMotorola Solutions Inc. “Yesthere’s a lot of things going on,but … I think we couldn’t havepicked a better president.”

Barchi, the outgoing presi-dent of Thomas JeffersonUniversity in Philadelphia, willbegin serving as president onSept. 1, 2012.

President-designate Barchi,65, spent most of his career atUniversity of Pennsylvania as aclinical neurologist and on theday of his appointment,

The University Board of Govenors, with consent from the Board of Trustees, unanimouslyappointed Robert Barchi as the 20th University president. He will take office in September.

KEITH FREEMAN / SENIOR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Dear Rutgers Students,

With thanks to The DailyTargum editors for this forum,I write to of fer my good wishesto the graduate and undergrad-uate students of Rutgers. It hasbeen a great honor and privi-lege to be your University pres-ident, and I have always triedto respect that privilege byworking hard to make Rutgersa better institution at which to live, learn, work, play and grow.

We have worked especiallyhard, despite declining statesupport, to improve the stu-dent experience. For example,we have opened state-of-the-artfacilities such as Rockoff Hallin New Brunswick and B.E.S.T.Hall in Piscataway (and soon,the Barnes & Noble bookstoreon the College Avenue cam-pus) to meet rising studentdemand; redesigned NewStudent Orientation with yourhelp to make it more engaging,relevant, and fun; establishedan array of services for thehundreds of vet-erans enrolled atRutgers, sparkedby a student’squestion at myannual address;created com-pelling first-yearseminars to con-nect you to sen-ior faculty fromyour earliestdays on campus;increased study-abroad, studentresearch andservice learning opportunities;enriched student advising andcareer counseling; and madeimprovements in our librariesand dining halls in response tostudent requests.

In these ef for ts, I havealways had the good fortune tomeet and work with dedicatedstudent leaders who have beeninstrumental in some of ourmost important achievements,most notably the reorganiza-tion and enrichment of under-graduate education and stu-dent life on the NewBrunswick campus. I takepride in what we have accom-plished together, and it hasbeen gratifying to see how youhave taken advantage of theoppor tunities that now exist at Rutgers.

During the past decade,tens of thousands of Rutgerswomen and men have movedfrom applicant to student tograduate, and I have only got-ten to know a small percentageof you — perhaps in a graduateor undergraduate student gov-ernment forum, or at a meetingwith representatives of a par-ticular student group, or in thehonors class I taught for sever-al years or the Byrne seminarsI taught more recently, or out-side my of fice as students gath-ered to protest a universitydecision, or under a Rutgers

Day tent or at a Scarlet Knightsgame. I wish there had beentime to talk with more of you.

Over the years, as theRutgers student body hasgrown larger, more diverse andmore accomplished, you haveawed and inspired me. I havewitnessed the thoughtfulef forts of student leaders toform a campus-wide gover-nance structure that wouldbest serve the interests of theirfellow students. I have seenyou come together in time oftragedy, applauded your men-torship of our Rutgers FutureScholars and watched yourepeatedly reach new levels ofsupport for ill children throughthe Dance Marathon. I havemar veled at your researchprojects, celebrated yourincreasing success at winningprestigious fellowships, lis-tened with pride as you elo-quently lobbied your electedrepresentatives in Trenton andWashington, and cheered yourachievements in the arts and in athletics.

You have alsochallenged thisinstitution andme. You havecontinued a longtradition of stu-dent activism atRutgers — a tra-dition that hasbrought aboutpositive change.It was studentactivism atLivingston cam-pus, for instance,that led directly

to our expansion and renova-tion of the Livingston StudentCenter and contributed to theongoing dramatic transforma-tion of Livingston into a modelof a 21st century campus. Ihave admired your passion andyour genuine concern for oth-ers, and I deeply believe in thevalue of dissent and protest.

I also believe strongly thatRutgers has a unique role toplay as the State University ofNew Jersey. As such, Rutgerswill continue to have the privi-lege and responsibility of edu-cating thousands of NewJersey’s future leaders andconducting research and serv-ice that speaks to the state’smost pressing problems andgreatest opportunities. I hopeyou will always take pride inRutgers’ heritage and helpmaintain its strength as youbecome alumni.

As I prepare to return to thefaculty, I look forward to seeingsome of you in my classes. Ithank all of you for the contribu-tions you are making to thiscommunity as Rutgers students.And to the members of theClass of 2012, congratulations!

Sincerely yours,

From the President’s Desk

RICHARD L. MCCORMICK

“I hope you willalways take pride

in Rutgers’ heritageand help maintainits strength as youbecome alumni.”

RICHARD L. MCCORMICKUniversity President

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

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expressed his concerns with theUniversity’s status as a researchinstitute, faculty and staff satis-faction, its diversity and itsfinancial situation.

“It is a remarkable time ofchallenge and opportunity andthat opportunity is going to begrasped by the schools who are positioned to do so,” Barchisaid during the April 11 news conference.

Barchi’s base salary is set at$650,000, according toUniversity Media Relations.

Outgoing presidentMcCormick said he plans toreturn to the faculty as a profes-sor after a year of paid sabbatical.

At the BOG meeting where heannounced his plan to resign,McCormick outlined three goalsfor his last year as Universitypresident: improve the medicaleducation program at theUniversity, build on theUniversity’s fundraising initia-tives and push to put a highereducation bond issue on thestatewide ballot.

McCormick, who took officeDec. 1, 2002, boasts other accom-plishments during his tenure,including the restructuring of theUniversity colleges into theSchool of Arts and Sciences toimprove educational program-ming and quality.

The University implementedhis vision to transform under-graduate education in 2006, com-bining the four undergraduatecolleges of the University’s NewBrunswick and Piscataway cam-puses to create the School of Artsand Sciences: Rutgers College,University College, LivingstonCollege and Douglass College.

McCormick’s term alsoincluded improvements in inter-collegiate management, theestablishment of a Universityidentity, the Rutgers FutureScholars program to help disad-vantaged students, and recordapplications and enrollment.

With a goal of $1 billion,McCormick’s fundraising initia-tive, “Our Rutgers, Our Future”has surpassed any of theUniversity’s past campaigns. Theprogram raised more than $626million since 2007 for the University.

But his time in office did notcome without difficulty and aspresident, he was not immune tocriticism for his decisions.

McCormick dealt with posi-tive and negative nationalmedia spotlight, decreasing fed-eral funding for higher educa-tion and the ongoing debateover the proposed higher edu-cation mergers.

He told nj.com that though hislate father, University professorand historian Richard P.McCormick, once told him everypresident in the University’s his-tory had either died in office orwas pushed out behind thescenes by governors or boardmembers, he did not want to goout like that.

“Much of my life has beeninvested in this institution — as achild of Rutgers employees, as afaculty member and as president,”Richard L. McCormick said at hisSeptember address. “I firmlybelieve we can move Rutgers tothe top tier of universities, and inso doing, align ourselves evenmore closely to the needs andaspirations of our state.”

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Grease trucks, a campus staple, must now apply for an RFP tooperate on Lot 8, where they sat since 1996.

NOAH WHITTENBURG / PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

Commitee reconsidersgrease trucks tradition

BY MARY DIDUCHSENIOR STAFF WRITER

Since when was the “FatDarrell” a big fat problem?

When the University lastNovember created an ad-hoccommittee to evaluate the statusof the grease trucks’ operation inLot 8 on the College Avenue cam-pus, it left many in the Universitycommunity — including alumni— scratching their heads.

Websites, Facebook groupsand T-shirts proclaiming “Savethe Grease Trucks” started crop-ping up when The Daily Targumwrote about a meeting where acommittee of students and admin-istrators discussed putting the lotout to bid for a slew of health,safety and financial reasons.

The grease truck owners werenot invited to the meeting.

Filing a request for proposal(RFP) process would ensurecompliance with best businessprinciples and health codes,said Jack Molenaar, director ofthe Department ofTransportation Services.

His records show that theUniversity subsidizes the greasetrucks substantially — around$93,000 last year.

Though the trucks, whichhave been parked permanently inLot 8 on the College Avenue cam-pus for several years, pay amonth-to-month lease that totals$62,400 annually, the Universitydoes not cut the other costsinvolved with maintaining theirpresence, such as cleaning, secu-rity and electricity.

The University also contendsthat the trucks do not follow cer-tain environmental and food codestandards — such as properwaste disposal and cleanup — butthe truck owners deny theseclaims vehemently. MiddlesexCounty inspects the trucks annu-ally to ensure the trucks are up tocode, the truck owners said.

About two years ago, theUniversity first began to considerputting the location up to bid to out-side mobile food vendors who wereapproaching the University, interest-ed in the prime spot that sees heavyfaculty, staff and student traffic.

Owner of RU Hungry? AymanElnaggar, who owns two of the fivegrease trucks, one of which is the$250,000 trailer The Scarlet Shack,told the Targum that he and theother owners are aware of the envi-ronmental, maintenance and finan-cial concerns the University holds.

They work on them constantly,he said, and want to stay in the

location. Six families are involvedwith operating the trucks, whichhave been in the lot since 1996when the University put themthere off the street.

Since he and the other ownershave been there for so long — andhave a worldwide reputation andstrong connection with theUniversity community — hebelieves they should have a say inthe process.

The owners maintained back inNovember that they were willingto do whatever the Universityasked — even competing withother companies — to stay in thelot. Elnaggar said they know whatstudents want, and therefore havean edge over other companies.

But Molenaar, who main-tained that he and the Universityare not doing this to “kick out”the trucks, continued the searchfor what should best happen withthe lot across from Scott Hall.

The committee sought stu-dent input during the beginningof the spring semester throughan online survey and was other-wise largely silent the rest of theyear, until March.

After reviewing the results of1,812 community members, 71 per-cent of which were students, thecommittee announced that they willdraft a policy that will apply to futuremobile food vendors to solve health,safety and financial issues, and alsothat both Lot 8 and a mobile foodvendor license would be put up forpublic bid. The application can befound on the DOTS website.

The results showed that 67 per-cent of the participants ate at thetrucks less than once a month, and37 percent would still eat there ifthey offered different foods.

The committee also plans tocreate a smaller evaluation com-mittee, which will include studentrepresentatives, to evaluate thevendors based on a point system.

Elnaggar said he and the own-ers again were left out of theprocess, and believes that theyshould be more involved. The own-ers told the Targum that they lovepleasing the University communityand continually work to offer a vari-ety of foods — from fat sandwichesto breakfast wraps to salads.

But for now, as the academicyear winds down, the greasetrucks issue has left many stu-dents’ and alumni minds as theRFP process takes its course.

It looks like the University com-munity will have to wait until nextfall term to see whether one of NewBrunswick’s favorite late-night foodjoints will have some fresh faces.

Merger plan splits campusesBY AMY ROWE

NEWS EDITOR

University President RichardL. McCormick made it one of hislast goals to facilitate a mergerwith the University of Medicineand Dentistry of New Jersey togain a medical school, but Gov.Chris Christie said it would comeat a price.

This merger cannot takeef fect unless the Universityrelinquishes the Rutgers-Camden campus to RowanUniversity, a merger that willcreate a competing researchuniversity in South Jersey.

Many Rutgers-Camden facul-ty, students and staff are outragedwith Christie’s proposal, voicingtheir concerns at Board ofTrustees and Senate HigherEducation Committee meetings.

“Rutgers would be divestingitself of its foothold in SouthJersey, including millions ofdollars in revenue,” said JohnWall, a professor in Rutgers-Camden’s Depar tment ofPhilosophy and Religion.“Rutgers would suffer an injur-ing loss of staf fers. It would nolonger be, ‘the State Universityof New Jersey,’ but a state uni-versity in New Jersey.”

Julie Ruth, an associate profes-sor at the Rutgers-CamdenSchool of Business, said herresearch in brand marketingwould bring negative attention tothe University.

“Cutting Rutgers-Camdenof f from and out of Rutgerscould have very long-term con-sequences,” she said. “Rutgersis many things, but it is abrand. … Rutgers will be per-ceived as breaking relation-

ships with everyone at Rutgers-Camden. … This is breaking arelationship with one’s own family.”

Wendell Pritchett, chancellorof Rutgers-Camden, said somany students are coming tohim with complaints over theproposed merger.

“I continue to be amazed bythe arguments of Rutgers-Camden faculty and studentsthat Camden not be disinvestedfrom Rutgers,” Pritchett said.“Our students chose to come toRutgers-Camden. Our campuscontinues to be unanimously

opposed to the disinvesting andthe merger.”

McCormick reminded stu-dents and faculty at a FebruarySenate Higher Education meet-ing that the decision is ulti-mately up to the University’sBoard of Governors.

“If we could pick and choosethe recommendations of theadvisory committee, we wouldnot want to turn over theRutgers-Camden campus toRowan University,” he said. “Ican’t imagine the Rutgers

Board of Governors orTrustees would willingly relin-quish the campus.”

But Christie could use hisveto power to pass the merger,said Matt Cordeiro, formerRutgers University StudentAssembly president.

“When the report came out ofthe governor’s office, he said hefully endorsed the merger,” saidCordeiro, a School of Arts andSciences senior. “He said he plansto use his power — which he hasa lot of — to pass it.”

While Christie has made a July1 deadline for a plan to integratethe schools, no merger costshave been disclosed.

But McCormick projectsthat it will cost $40 to $50 mil-lion for the University to absorbthe Rober t Wood JohnsonMedical School, the CancerInstitute of New Jersey and theUMDNJ School of Public Health.

Many are concerned about thefinancial aspect of the mergerbecause the schools would inher-it the debt from the institutionsthey consolidate with.

“It must be unacceptable tohave this process end up withone institution [going] fromgood to great and the other[going] from good tomediocre,” said DeniseRodgers, interim president ofUMDNJ. “UMDNJ risks[becoming] mediocre. It can’tbe burdened with a dispropor-tionate share of debt.”

Rowan University has drawnup a plan to merge the schools,but questions about the fate ofcertain University facilities inSouth Jersey have not been answered.

The College Avenue campus will lose somehousing options at the end of this semester closingsome residence halls on College Avenue.

William O’Brien, associate director of Housingand Residence Life, said the halls in the quadswould close down for two years for renovations andinstallations of amenities.

“It is on College Avenue, and they do add aes-thetic appeal to the campus,” he said. “But codesdo change.”

The University Housing and Residence Life hasmade multiple changes to the lottery process toaccommodate the fall 2012 Livingston Apartments.

Changes included the School of Environmentaland Biological Sciences priority housing on Cookcampus, no apartment sign-backs and newrequirements for apartment sign-ups.

O’Brien said in January that the changes weremade based on student and student advisoryleader feedback from town hall meetings fromthis past fall semester.

While some quads are closing down on the

College Avenue campus, new housing opportuni-ties is available to students this fall with theLivingston Apartments.

The final cost for the Livingston Apartments willnot be set until July during a Board of Governor’smeeting, O’Brien said.

In addition to the Livingston Apartments,Livingston campus will also become home to amovie theater, a diner and up to 10 retail stores as apart of the Livingston Plaza, which is expected toopen sometime during the next school year, saidMichael Pelardis, senior project administrator forUniversity Housing.

“Beyond making a mix-use environment, wewanted to create a retail plaza that provides a specialexperience,” he said.

Henry Velez, executive director of Business andAdministration Services for Housing and ResidenceLife, said confirmed vendors for the plaza would beavailable in June and July.

The University also has plans to replace the cur-rent manual mail system with an electronic one.

LIVINGSTON APARTMENTS PROVIDEMORE SPACES FOR RESIDENTS

Rutgers-Camden students and faculty protest the proposed merger with Rowan Universityoutside a Senate Higher Education meeting at the State House in Trenton.

LISA BERKMAN / CORRESPONDENT

“Rutgers will beperceived as

breaking relationships with

everyone atRutgers-Camden.”

JULIE RUTHAssociate Professor at

Rutgers-Camden

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Occupy movementtakes New Brunswick

BY GIANCARLO CHAUXMETRO EDITOR

Occupy Wall Street began Sept.17, 2011, spawning a series of glob-al protests that made their wayfrom Zuccotti park to the streets ofNew Brunswick.

Protesters formed the organiza-tion Occupy New Brunswick andfrequently held protests in the cityto raise awareness of both local andnon-local issues.

Among the issues at the fore-front of the movement is thenation’s economic situation.

“The idea is to challenge thefinancial institutions of society forbankrupting the rest of us,” saidJeannette Gabriel, one of OccupyNew Brunswick’s organizers. “Weare here to protest and raise theproblems to the public’s attention.”

Activists from the Occupy NewBrunswick movement came face-to-face with a group of protestersfrom Occupy Wall Street inNovember as they marchedthrough the Hub City.

The group, which containedabout 50 people, made its way intoNew Brunswick as part of a marchfrom Liberty Square in New YorkCity to Washington, D.C., designedto bring attention to the movement.

“Whose streets? Our streets,”the crowd shouted as it blocked traf-fic on Albany and George streets.

Local organizations such as theN.J. Youth United Against Warand Imperialism joined in theprotests. Organizers hosted amusical event in downtown NewBrunswick in March.

“When people sing together,they may agree with the words ofthe song [or] they may not agreewith every little angle, but they’reunifying,” said Robert Colby-Witanek, a Montgomery HighSchool senior. “Ideas will beexchanged and … out of this we’llgrow a more unified movement.”

New Brunswick activists rally-

ing for Barry Deloatch often joinedOccupy New Brunswick protests.

Deloatch was fatally shot inSeptember by New Brunswickpolice officers after being chasedinto an alley off of Throop Avenue.Although the police departmentmade statements claiming Deloatchhad attacked the officers, the inci-dent continued to create unrestwithin the community.

“We’re here to make a stand that[the prosecutor’s office] treat theseofficers like you would any other cit-izen,” said Tormel Pittman, leader ofone of the Deloatch protests.

The New Brunswick Occupymovement also protested againstcorporate greed, targeting the local-ly based pharmaceutical companyJohnson & Johnson.

About 30 protesters gathered infront of J&J’s headquarters in down-town New Brunswick in Februaryas part of the “National Day ofAction to Shut Down theCorporations” rally.

“The reasoning behind this par-ticular rally and the protest againstJ&J is that J&J … works throughthe American Legislative ExchangeCouncil to systematically workagainst any health care reform atthe state and federal level,” saidJacob Nettleton, a student at RobertWood Johnson Medical School whoattended the rally.

Despite comments from J&Jrepresentatives stating that theclaims against the company werebaseless, protesters continued tohold rallies.

J&J was not the only companytargeted by the Occupy Movement,with New Brunswick DevelopmentCorporation (DEVCO) also on thereceiving end of activists’ criticism.

“[New Brunswick] used to havea vibrant and rich culture,” said TimCobb, a School of Arts and Sciencesenior. “In my opinion, there is acorrelation between a rise ofDEVCO properties and a decline inculture here in New Brunswick.”

City activists fight for justice in NBPD affairsBY AMY ROWE

NEWS EDITOR

The fight against allegedpolice brutality and other corrup-tion in the New Brunswick PoliceDepartment began on Sept. 22,2011, when two officers fatallyshot a city man.

Officers Brad Berdel and DanMazan stopped a few men forquestioning while on routinepatrol, which caused 46-year-oldBarry Deloatch to run from them.

A foot chase that ended in astruggle in a Throop Avenue alleynear Handy Street resulted inDeloatch’s death.

While many Deloatch support-ers argue that the former NewBrunswick resident was unarmedwhen police shot him, Mazan andBerdel maintain that Deloatch useda 2-foot-long wooden stick againstthe officers when they were tryingto subdue him on the ground.

While the facts are stillunknown as a MiddlesexCounty Grand Jury is reviewingthe case, family, friends, cityresidents and University stu-dents have staged protests eversince that September day toraise awareness about policebrutality in the city.

The turnout was strong whilethe weather was warm inSeptember, with people vowing

to continue protesting until theysee justice.

“I’m going to protest forever,”said Barry’s brother, NateDeloatch. “We’re going to do thisuntil we get justice for my familyand everyone else’s.”

Tormel Pittman, a city activistwho started leading the protestsfor Deloatch, said the whole sys-tem makes it difficult for low-income people to live in the city.

“We have a corrupt system. Ifyou want to prosper in NewBrunswick, you must pay to play,”he said. “We live in a city wherewe get bullied by police officers.”

The case attracted the atten-tion of the NAACP and theAmerican Civil Liberties Union ofNew Jersey, members of whichconvened in Ebenezer BaptistChurch on Lee Avenue in NewBrunswick on Sept. 28 to speakabout possible solutions to thisongoing problem.

“Let’s face it, New Brunswickhas had a troubled police depart-ment for a long time,” saidDeborah Jacobs, executivedirector of the ACLU-NJ. “Wewrote a manual on how to inves-tigate your police department —we can do this with the power ofthe people.”

Deloatch supporters urged thecongregation to continue fightingdespite the long road ahead.

“It’s going to be a long, drawn-out process, but we can’t gettired, people,” said WalterHudson, Deloatch familyspokesperson. “It’s time for us totake our community back. I apol-

ogize to the Deloatch family thattheir brother had to be the strawthat broke the camel’s back.”

Matt Cordeiro, former presi-dent of the Rutgers UniversityStudent Assembly, said this case

should matter to University stu-dents as the NBPD is supposed toprotect them.

“It’s pretty deplorable the cityhasn’t given a response to theDeloatch family,” said Cordeiro, aSchool of Arts and Sciences sen-ior. “They’re supposed to repre-sent the people, and they’refalling short of their job.”

It took another mishap withinthe department before MayorJames Cahill addressed the pressabout what the city plans to do toimprove community relations.

Former Sgt. Richard Rowewas found to have mishandled 81internal affairs complaints in thecity by not attending to themproperly. This miscommunicationbetween the city and its residentsis an issue Cahill attempted toresolve with a series of hearings.

Aside from the MiddlesexCounty Prosecutor’s Office nowreviewing all complaints submit-ted to the internal affairs depart-ment of the NBPD, Cahill saidhearings would explain how tofile complaints and provide anoutlet for residents to workthrough issues.

“The community … shouldhave confidence that allegationsof inappropriate conduct on thepart of an officer will be fullyinvestigated and appropriateaction [will be] taken,” Cahill said.

Protestors also took to citycouncil meetings, demanding aletter of apology to theDeloatch family for the mishapand greater transparency with-in the department.

Protests calmed down over thecolder winter months, but springbrought them back with a vigil tohonor Deloatch in conjunctionwith the shooting of TrayvonMartin by a community watch-man in Sanford, Fla.

At the vigil, Pittman said hewould bring the idea of declar-ing gun violence a public healthcrisis in New Brunswick at anupcoming city council meeting,in light of Deloatch’s case andthe February police shooting of19-year-old Victor Rodriguez,whom police thought openedfire on a crowd of residents,while really he had a fake gun.

Pittman said regardless ofwhether the Middlesex CountyGrand Jury charges the officersinvolved with the Deloatchshooting, the community stillhas to make it clear they areaware of injustice in the city andwant it to stop.

“We’ve got to make our pres-ence known. We’ve got to unitewith Rutgers campus and grass-roots ef forts,” he said. “We’vegot a problem in New Brunswick.”

Dharun Ravi walks with his family and attorney, Steven Altman, to his trial in the MiddlesexCounty Court House in downtown New Brunswick.

JOVELLE TAMAYO / EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Jury finds Ravi guilty on all countsBY JOVELLE TAMAYO

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Two years after the suicide ofTyler Clementi, Dharun Raviwas found guilty of all 15 countsagainst him, including privacyinvasion, bias intimidation, tam-pering with physical evidenceand witness tampering. Ravi wasnot charged in connection withthe suicide of Clementi, his for-mer roommate.

Ravi, a former University stu-dent, set up a webcam in theirDavidson Hall residence onBusch campus in September 2010to view and broadcast a sexualencounter between Clementi andan older man.

Clementi, a first-year Universitystudent, committed suicide threedays later by jumping off theGeorge Washington Bridge.

Superior Court Judge GlennBerman ruled in September thatthere was enough evidence to sup-port the charges against Ravi,despite the defense’s motion to dis-miss all charges.

Ravi’s month-long trial beganFeb. 24 and included testimoniesfrom Ravi’s friends, residence hallassistant Raahi Grover, andClementi’s older guest, identifiedonly as M.B., and Molly Wei, who

agreed to testify against Ravi incourt in exchange for acceptanceinto a three-year pretrial interven-tion program.

The deal stipulates that her inva-sion of privacy charges are dropped,according to nj.com.

The trial, which ended March16, revealed that Clementi checkedRavi’s Twitter account about 60times before Sept. 13, 2010 andSept. 22, 2010, the day he jumpedoff the bridge.

Ravi sent Clementi a text thesame day apologizing for any mis-understandings and admitting heknew Clementi’s sexual orientation.

Ravi, 20, now faces up to 10 yearsin jail and possible deportation.

Though Ravi was offered pleadeals on two separate occasions —which would have kept him out ofjail and prevented deportation toIndia —Ravi’s attorney StevenAltman stated that his client wasinnocent and opted for a trial.

A notification will be sent to theU.S. Immigration and CustomsEnforcement concerning immigra-tion actions for Ravi, said MiddlesexCounty Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan.

In a Sept. 23, 2010 interroga-tion with Middlesex CountyProsecutor’s Office investigatorMichael Daniewicz, Ravi said hebelieved he violated Clementi’s

privacy but that the webcamwas set up so he could view hispossessions in his roombecause he got a “bad vibe”from Clementi’s guest.

Berman, who presided overthe trial, said if Ravi were actuallyconcerned about his possessions,he would have pointed the web-cam toward the door, notClementi’s bed.

“He was a boy,” said Altman inhis opening statement. “[What]you need to do is understand thedynamics of what occurred, closeyour eyes and look back as to howit existed.”

Altman plans to appeal thecourt’s verdict before Ravi’s expect-ed May 21 sentencing.

“But I wasn’t biased,” Ravi said ina March interview with The Star-Ledger. “I didn’t act out of hate, andI wasn’t uncomfortable with Tylerbeing gay.”

Clementi’s suicide had sparkeda campus and nationwide dialogueon bullying, suicide preventionand tolerance.

His death and the resultinglesbian, gay, bisexual, transgen-der and questioning groupprotests occurred at the start ofProject Civility, a University ini-tiative aimed to improve ethicalbehavior between students.

“We’ve got to makeour presence

known. We’ve got tounite with Rutgers

campus and grassroots efforts.”

TORMEL PITTMANUniversity President

BY YASHMIN PATELUNIVERSITY EDITOR

Seven candidates were compet-ing at the beginning of the aca-demic year to win the Republicannomination, while PresidentBarack Obama’s approval ratingwent down.

As the 2012 presidential electiongained attention in September 2011,an Eagleton Institute of Politics pollfound that voters have become lesssupportive of Obama’s re-election,while Republicans were not satis-fied with the candidate choices atthe time.

Poll results showed that 43 per-cent of the 615 registered N.J. vot-ers polled think that Obama shouldbe re-elected, which was a 5 percentdrop from a February 2011 poll.

“I think a lot of people areunhappy with politics and politicalleaders. They are trying to expresstheir frustrations about the econo-my and how they believe things arenot working in Washington,” saidDavid Redlawsk, poll director.

Thirty-one percent ofRepublican voters are not satisfiedwith the GOP candidates, whileonly 3 percent are very satisfied,according to the poll results.

“The significant thing aboutNew Jersey is that Obama ownedthe state easily in 2008. If he is hav-ing trouble here, he is having trou-ble everywhere,” Redlawsk said.

N.J. voters showed a differentattitude toward Obama a monthlater — an October Eagleton pollamong 821 registered votersfound that half of N.J. voterspolled think that Obama deservesa second term.

Results show the percent of vot-ers behind Obama for a secondterm increased from an August2011 poll, and 47 percent of stateresidents agree with Gov. ChrisChristie’s decision not to run forpresident, according to the poll.

“I think there are a couple rea-sons for this change,” Redlawsksaid. “With Christie out of thepicture, New Jerseyans don’thave to think about him as apotential candidate.”

Redlawsk said Obama begandefending his position more so inOctober 2011 than before.

One of the major issuesDemocrats and Independentsagreed on was Obama’s AmericanJobs Act, a plan aimed to putmore people back to work,Redlawsk said.

Student and resident reactionsin October of 2011 varied.

“My opinion of Obama hasn’treally changed,” said Vanja Vlajnic,a School of Arts and Sciences jun-ior. “I don’t think that he haschanged anything drastically. Ithink he’s been doing an OK job.”

Vlajnic said he expected the twopoliticians to act rather than talk. He

believes there is no basis for changein opinion of either one of them untilthey accomplish something.

Richard Hua, a School of Artsand Sciences sophomore, said inOctober that he approved of thepresident’s jobs plan.

“I haven’t agreed with most ofObama’s plans so far, but this newone is different,” he said. “My opin-ion of him has definitely gone up.”

Candidates running for theRepublican presidential nominationbegan to close the gap between oneanother through locking up dele-gate votes.

Mitt Romney gained the leadover Rick Santorum during SuperTuesday — in the Ohio primary,there was a 1 percent differencebetween Romney and Santorum, at38 and 37 percent, respectively.

Romney gained delegate votesfrom Ohio, Idaho, Massachusetts,Vermont, Virginia, Wyoming andAlaska — six of the 11 states in theprimary, according to The NewYork Times.

John Weingart, associate direc-tor of the Eagleton Institute ofPolitics, said in March that Ohioadded significance to the SuperTuesday primary.

“I think Ohio is going to be themost crucial, most important,because it seems to be a contestbetween Romney and Santorum,who seem to be the most likely can-didates,” he said.

With Romney continuouslygaining momentum, it became apparent a month laterthat Santorum would not be able to catch up withRomney in terms of gaining del-egate votes, said Ruth Mandel,director of Eagleton Institute of Politics.

“If he had stayed in and not wonhis home state of Pennsylvania, hewould have been in a much a weak-er position for the future,” she said.“There would have been feweroptions in the future.”

Santorum suspended hiscampaign on April 10, whileMitt Romney maintained thelead against Newt Gingrich andRon Paul.

Even though Paul and Gingrichremain in the race, Mandel said lastweek that they are not expected toget enough votes to win theRepublican nomination.

“The numbers are not there forthem,” she said. “Even if theydecided to go all the way to theconvention without dropping out,they don’t have the delegatevotes,” she said.

She said the outcome is ulti-mately up to the independent votersand swing states, whose numbersare on the rise.

“It is not clear which directionthey’ll go,” Mandel said. “In theend, they will have a decisiveimpact on the election.


GOP primary year favors RomneyRepublican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, left, is likely to face incumbent Barack Obama in November’s election.

GETTY IMAGES

NJ governorfocuses onlocal issues

BY JOVELLE TAMAYOEDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Gov. Chris Christie chose notto seek the 2012 Republican pres-idential candidacy, but made itclear that his main priority as gov-ernor is to improve the state ofNew Jersey.

Christie, 49, said throughouthis term the state had made manyaccomplishments, but that if hewere to leave, the consequencesfor the state would be too great.

The governor proposed to cutincome taxes by 10 percent for allNew Jersey residents in eachincome tax bracket, reform thestate’s education system andimprove the status of inner cities aspart of his 2012 “New JerseyComeback” plan.

Christie said in his January“State of The State” address thathe hopes lower taxes will attractpeople to move to and stay inNew Jersey.

In a November 2011 FacebookLive chat, Christie said if he wereable to create an education systemdesign to bring about success forstudents, it would be his biggestaccomplishment.

At his February budgetaddress for the next fiscal year,Christie stressed the need for aneconomic “comeback” with taxcuts and increased funding for cer-tain government entities, like high-er education.

“Some [New Jerseyans] willsay the governor is against teach-ers or the school system, but thisshows he’s really dedicated andwants to reform it,” said ConnorMontferrat, the president of theRutgers College Republicans inFebruary in response to his budg-et address.

The budget proposal for the fis-cal year ending June 30, 2013called for a total of $32.15 billion,which is lower than the level ofstate spending when he took officebut represents a 3.7 percentincrease in government spendingfrom last year.

“Strong leadership will helpNew Jersey get out of its financialproblems, but I don’t think we’veactually seen it so far,” said DanielPereira, vice president of theRutgers University Democrats.“His budget’s not going to help[those] who desperately need it: themiddle class and the working poor.”

But for his reforms to be put inplace, the state’s residents mustcome together, he said.

“The New Jersey comeback isnot about what happens in Trentonalone,” he said in his Januaryaddress. “All of you are in this, too.”

At the address, the governorcredited the state’s achieve-ments to political parties inTrenton putting their differencesaside on some issues to worktogether on others.

“[A] divided government canwork,” he said. “Democrats andRepublicans working together ispossible. And in fact, it’s necessary.”

Christie’s favorability ratingsshow little change from August2010, according to a FebruaryRutgers-Eagleton poll.

Forty-six percent of respon-dents feel favorably toward thegovernor while 42 percent do not.But compared to about six monthsago, voters are more likely toascribe negative traits to Christie,expressing anger and worry,according to the poll.

A P R I L 3 0 , 2 0 1 2 T H E D A I L Y T A R G U MP ERSPECTIVESP6

2011-2012: A YEAR IN REVIEW

The Rutgers University Dance Marathon raised $442,075.06 for Embrace Kids Foundation at the end of March, with 466 dancers staying up for 32 hours straight.

JOVELLE TAMAYO / EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Members of the New Brunswick and local community protested against brutality, after 19-year-oldVictor Rodriguez was shot in January by New Brunswick Police Department officers.

RAMON DOMPOR / SENIOR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Adam Mamawala, past winner of the New Jersey Comedy Festival, performed in January at the Cook Campus Center.

LIANNE NG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Students set up tents on the Voorhees Mall on the College Avenue campus to launch the 10th Tent State, a week of discussion about higher education.

ENRICO CABREO / ASSOCIATE PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

Rutgers Recreation runs with their bed in October during University Student Life’s annual “Homecoming Bed Races.”

NELSON MORALES / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER


Former head football coach Greg Schiano leads the Knights at High Point Solutions Stadium intheir season opener Sept. 1 against North Carolina Central. He is now an NFL head coach.


Former Knights wide receiver Mohamed Sanu pulls down aone-handed touchdown pass Sept. 10 at North Carolina.


Senior point guard Khadijah Rushdan faces off against a hostof Connecticut defenders in a loss in the Big East Tournament.

CONOR ALWELL / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Freshman forward Juan Pablo Correa celebrates during the Knights’ opening-round win againstColgate in the NCAA Tournament. Rutgers advanced to the Sweet Sixteen.

ALEX VAN DRISEN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Freshman guard Eli Carter attempts a layup in a 70-49 loss toVillanova in the opening round of the Big East Tournament.


Senior 141-pounder Billy Ashnault records a takedown in theNCAA Tournament. He finished shy of All-American status.


Head football coach Kyle Flood responds to questions Jan. 31 during his introductory pressconference at the Hale Center. He previously served as the Knights’ offensive line coach.


Her performance on the moundhas also earned her The DailyTargum’s Rookie of the Year award.

Although head coach JayNelson knew the kind of playerhe recruited, Landrith’s successeven took him by surprise.

“As good as an incomingfreshman might be, you neverexpect it out of them,” he said.“She’s pitching great. When Iwas up at Seton Hall, we had apitcher that was an All-Americanher junior and senior years, andshe didn’t throw this well herfreshman and sophomore years.”

But judging by whatLandrith’s coaches say about her,

Edison to a top-25 wrestler nation-ally in his weight class.

But his mindset is to simplyshrug it off.

“I don’t think I did anything spe-cial,” Zannetti said. “I just think I

kept working on what I need towork on — the Post-it notes orwhatever. And that’s what I’m doingright now, so there are no changes,really. I’ve been doing that since Iwas in eighth grade at least.”

through them — that’s my mind-set now.”

Zannetti ran through most ofhis opponents this season, espe-cially in the dual-meet campaign.

He lost only one of his 21 dual-meet bouts, winning half of themwith bonus points from two pinfalls, two technical falls and sixmajor decisions. He added fourmore major decisions and anoth-er pin during tournament action.

Zannetti wrestles a relent-less style, constantly attackingthe opponent.

It hurt him at the NCAAChampionships, where he went1-2 and the competition coun-tered his out-of-position shots. Soone of his Post-its now remindshim he has to pick his spots bet-ter and be more patient.

“That’s tough for me to dobecause I want to go, go, go,”Zannetti said.

It is the same problemGoodale encounters when hewants to keep Zannetti out of thewrestling room for a day off.

“The best thing about Zannetti ishe uses every resource we have,”Goodale said. “Any chance he getsto work out with somebody differ-ent, he does. That’s probably whyhe’s improved so much.”

It allowed Zannetti to turnfrom an unrecruited kid out of

He went 11-8 as a freshmanand 22-12 as a sophomore.

He lost seven matches in the twoyears since — one as a redshirt andsix out of his 37 bouts this season.

“They all work hard, but heseparates himself because hedoesn’t stop,” said head coachScott Goodale. “Sometimes youhave to really beg him and say,‘Listen, do not go in the room. Weneed you to stay out of the room.’”

But Zannetti rarely does.He made his greatest strides

as a redshirt at 174 pounds in2010-2011, when he won fourbracket titles at open tourna-ments en route to a 20-1 record.

The most important post-itthat year read “Mindset.”

“Your first year is like, ‘Well, Ishould take my lumps,’ but thatwasn’t the right mindset,” saidZannetti, whose brother is asports psychologist. “It’s in theback of your head, but everyoneis a regular person, just run

And he played the ScarletKnights’ season finale atConnecticut with a deep cut inhis right calf.

“Justin Francis is a greatsuccess story of our program,”said head coach Kyle Flood.“He found a way that by thetime he was a senior, he was asproductive a defensive linemanas we’ve had.”

Francis attributes the successto a renewed work ethic off thefield. He said he spent more timein the Knights’ film and weight

T H E D A I L Y T A R G U MS PORTSP 1 0 A P R I L 3 0 , 2 0 1 2

Realized purpose aids Francis’ final campaignBY TYLER BARTO

SPORTS EDITOR

When Justin Francis arrivedin Piscataway in 2007, he was anundersized defensive linemanwho played linebacker atMiramar High School (Fla.). Heleft the Rutgers football teamafter five seasons as an under-sized defensive tackle thatplayed big.

“I just really upped my game alot more,” Francis said. “I had toelevate it because it’s my senioryear — I’m not going to getanother shot at this.”

The Daily Targum’s SeniorAthlete of the Year ended the 2011season with 64 tackles, 13 for aloss and a team-high of 6.5 sacks— all career highs. He started all13 games despite entering theseason never starting full-time.

SENIOR OF THE YEAR1) Justin Francis2) Billy Ashnault3) Trisha Averill4) Desmond Wynn5) Morgan Ivey

Zannetti rides steady work ethic to productive yearBY STEVEN MILLER

CORRESPONDENT

The Post-it notes stick hardlyremains by the time GregZannetti is done with an item onhis to-improve list.

The yellow squares where hewrites his areas for improvementoften start plastered to his desk,but by the time he leaves hishouse, they are stuck to the note-book he carries to class. By thetime he is in the Rutgerswrestling room, they are firmlycommitted to memory.

“Like right now, that’s all I canthink of is my list,” said Zannetti,The Daily Targum’s MostImproved Athlete of the Year.“Neutral, top, bottom anddefense. Even my mindset, too.”

It is a practice the junior 174-pounder began around the eighthgrade and continued every sea-son and offseason since.

His first big leap came betweenhis junior and senior years at J.P.Stevens High School, where hewent from a recruit with no collegesinterested to a recruit with interestfrom two — Rutgers and Rider.

He did not even qualify for theNew Jersey high school tournamentas a junior, but after he took secondas a senior, the Scarlet Knightsnabbed Zannetti as a walk-on.

MOST IMPROVED PLAYER OF THE YEAR1) Greg Zannetti2) Danielle Mascera3) Jawan Jamison4) Alexis Gunzelman5) Logan Ryan

Junior 174-pounder Greg Zannetti translated a successful seniorseason in high school to walking on with the Knights.


Pitcher surpasses expectations in freshman season at RUBY JOEY GREGORY

ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR

Alyssa Landrith was still atVacaville High School (Calif.)this time last year as a memberof the Bulldogs’ pitching staf f.

Now, the freshman leads theRutgers softball team’s pitchingstaff and has already worked herway into the record book.

She stepped into the circle and immediately impressed onlookers.

“I surprised myself. I didn’treally expect to come in andbreak records my freshmanyear,” Landrith said. “I thinkI’m very blessed to be able tohave come in and done that sofar and I’m really happy.”

Landrith currently sits sec-ond on Rutgers’ all-time single-season wins list with 17 andowns the first per fect game for a Scarlet Knight since 2000.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

Alyssa Landrith holds a tie forsecond in single-season wins.

CONOR ALWELL / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

T1) Alyssa LandrithT1) Eli Carter3) Kortnie Maxoutopoulis4) Juan Pablo Correa5) Kaleb Johnson

rooms. He took a more activeapproach to stretching andembraced a position change totackle from end.

“I really had to be all in withfootball and cancel out all my dis-tractions,” he said.

Francis had plenty of thoseearly in his Rutgers career.

Francis was arrested at age 19for allegedly robbing a man in aNew Brunswick parking lot byusing an air pistol, according tonj.com. He subsequently red-shirted the 2008 season.

But the bir th of Francis’daughter, Jordyn, last summerand the prospect of his finalseason prompted Francis tobecome one of the Knights’emotional figureheads.

“I just had to really balancedealing with my daughter anddealing with football, and how I

had to separate it,” he said. “Atthe end of the day, I had togrow as a man.”

Francis excelled on Rutgers’field goal block unit, becamearguably the team’s best passrusher and combined withnow-senior tackle Scott Valloneto form one the Big East’s best tandems.

“I think it helped me a lot,”said Francis, who went undraft-ed this weekend. “Most of mycareer I stood up. I had prettygood production there. My finalyear, I was more on the groundon the base defenses.”

Francis’ NFL prospects only aseason ago looked bleak.

While other players fromMiramar — West Virginia’sStedman Bailey and Geno Smith,among others — earned earlyshots, Francis nearly languished

as little more than a rotation end.But Francis parlayed a pro-

ductive senior season into aninvitation to the East-West ShrineGame and the NFL Combine.

“It was a lot of fun to watchhis maturation process from ayoung man into a grown manby the time he was done withour program,” said Flood, whoworked across from Franciswith the of fensive line for allfive seasons.

He mentored the Knights’ fourfreshmen defensive tackles a yearago, something former playerslike Ramel Meekins did in 2007for Francis. He has put on moreweight since then, cut his hairand swapped positions.

But now even more distancesFrancis from his former self.

“I like to lead from the front,”he said, “instead of the back.”

age was the only reason her suc-cess came as a surprise.

Pitching coach Misty Beaversee qualities in Landrith thatprove she has the makings of aneffective college pitcher.

“[She is] a fighter,” Beaversaid. “She works really hard, andshe’s a perfectionist. She worksreally hard to hit the exact spotshe wants every time she throws,and that helps her a lot. She chal-lenges herself in practice so she’sprepared for a game situation.”

Her concentration alsocomes in handy during games.On the mound, especially onthe road, pitchers can face ahost of dif ferent chants.

Teams and crowds alike joinin on trying to pump up theirplayers while throwing of fopposing pitchers.

Landrith might face this whenshe pitches. But she could not sayfor sure because she does nothear any of it.

“After my sophomore year ofhigh school, I got to where I did-n’t hear their music, I didn’t heartheir cheering and it all kind ofbecame background noise,”Landrith said.

Her concentration is sointense, she was not aware shepitched a perfect game April 25 atIona until after. The team had totell her what she accomplished.

Noise was not the only prob-lem she had to deal with.Landrith has never been the typeto throw pitches by batters.

“I’ve never really been a pitch-er that threw hard,” Landrithsaid. “It was always more of therotation and movement of theball and keeping them off-bal-ance with off-speed stuff.”

Whatever the future holdsfor Landrith, it will most likelyinclude success. But if it does,somebody will probably haveto tell her about it. She mightnot notice.

The Knights entered thematchup lacking the leadership ofteam captain and junior defenderJoe Setchell because of injury andleading scorer Juan Pablo Correabecause of previous yellow cards.

The Knights took the No. 2team in the nation to their limit,eventually succumbing to theTerrapins, 2-1, in double overtime.

“It showed this team had theability to be a championshipteam,” said head coach DanDonigan. “That kind of turnedour attitude going into that post-season run. That meant all thedifference to us in the success weenjoyed at the end of the season.”

The Knights went on an unde-feated 5-0-2 tear to close the season,with two wins and a tie comingagainst three straight ranked oppo-nents. Rutgers earned its first BigEast Tournament bid since 2009,doing so with a first round bye.

Still, Connecticut ousted theKnights from the tournament intheir first game, leaving theirstanding for the NCAATournament up in the air.

In the weeks leading up to the tournament announce-

ment, the Knights were cautiously hopeful.

“We knew it was going to betight,” said senior midfielder NateBordeau. “Most of us gathered inthe locker room, and I have to sayit was probably the most sus-penseful day I have had.”

The Knights learned they wouldbe the first Rutgers team to play inthe NCAA Tournament since 2006,hosting Colgate in the first round.

“They showed the bracket,and one kid saw it, and we allstarted going crazy,” Knibbs said.“It was probably one of the bestfeelings of the season, knowingour hard work paid off and wewere getting another game.”

After Rutgers droppedColgate, that one more gameturned into a contest at BostonCollege, which the Knightsdefeated in a matchup that wentto penalty kicks.

“We were all happy — any teamthat kept advancing would be,”Knibbs said. “Once we were in, weknew we could make a little run.”

The Knights’ miracle runcame to an end against UCLA inLos Angeles, 3-0.

“I think the main contributorto us being successful this yearwas the fact that we have had towork so hard in the past and weachieved so little,” Bordeau said.“We were kind of desperate, andwe wanted to make somethingout of it, and that is what we did.”

“Coach Donigan was probablyone of the biggest pieces in oursuccess,” said senior midfielderBryant Knibbs. “He did not losefaith, and he kept pushing us dayin and day out to get better as ateam. We did and we took hisword because we knew he hadbeen there before.”

But the relationship Doniganshares with his players was notalways as strong as it is now.Some players who built a rela-tionship with former head coachBob Reasso — who was success-ful on the Banks in the 1980sthrough mid-1990s — were waryof a change in leadership.

“When the change happened, Iwas a little iffy about it,” said sen-ior midfielder Nate Bourdeau. “Ipersonally had a good relationshipwith Coach Reasso, so I didn’t care

for it either way.”But as time went on,

members of the teambegan to buy intoDonigan’s system. Byseason’s end, the playersthought he truly madethem better people — onand off the field.

“The guys who werecomfortable with CoachReasso are better play-ers. We kind of just wentthrough the motions, but

when Donigan came he challengedour better players,” Bourdeau said.“He forced us to rethink whether wewould even play because he mightbring in other guys.”

A successful player atConnecticut and then later as aprofessional on the MilwaukeeWave, Donigan shares a bondwith his players based on respectfor the game.

“I like to think I’m somewhatof a players’ coach in the sensethat I have a great mutual respectfor the players,” Donigan said.“You are only as good as yourplayers, and you have to get themto play for you. I just want themto enjoy the game and enjoytraining, and just go out thereand try and do the best they can.”

The relationship with his play-ers gives Donigan the flexibilitythat bodes well for the programin the future.

“It is a pretty simple philoso-phy, but you kind of formulateyour team as the season goes onand as things evolve,” Donigansaid. “I’m never set in my ways,and I’m always changing.”

T H E D A I L Y T A R G U M SP O RT S A P R I L 3 0 , 2 0 1 2 P 1 1

Donigan spearheadsNCAA Tourney run

BY VINNIE MANCUSOCORRESPONDENT

It is not often a coach can suc-cessfully change the culture of aprogram that struggled for years.

In only his second year at thehelm of the Rutgers men’s soccerteam, head coach Dan Doniganorchestrated the greatest single-season turnaround in recent histo-ry and brought the Scarlet Knightsto a level of national prominence ithas not enjoyed in years.

After nine successfulseasons at Saint Louisthat saw seven trips tothe NCAA Tournament,Donigan took over afloundering Rutgersteam in 2010. TheKnights had not madethe Big EastTournament in twoyears, and had notearned an NCAA berthsince 2006.

Donigan, the DailyTargum’s Coach of the Year,wanted to make an impact in thestate he calls home.

“My mindset was I did notwant to disappoint anyone. I amfrom New Jersey — I have a rep-utation and an image here,”Donigan said. “I told my guysthat I do not want to disappoint,and I do not want to embarrassmyself. I did not want to tarnishthat image. That is the truth of it,and if people take that approach,they have more of a chance to bemore successful.”

Donigan found success.After a rough transition in his

first season, his second year atthe head of the team featured tri-umphs. The Knights ended theirregular season on an 11-gameundefeated streak and stormedinto the Big East Tournamentwith a first-round bye.

Following the tournament,Rutgers received an at-large bidinto the NCAA Tournament,where the underdog Knightsadvanced all the way to the SweetSixteen, a spot no Rutgers teamhad clinched in a decade.

COACH OF THE YEAR1) Dan Donigan2) Fred Hill3) Jay Nelson4) Louis Levine5) Laura Brand-Sias

Freshman forward Juan Pablo Correa possesses the ball in the Knights’ Nov. 17 NCAA Tournamentvictory against Colgate at Yurcak Field. Rutgers upset Boston College in the next round.

ALEX VAN DRIESEN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Rutgers moves past strugglesBY VINNIE MANCUSO

CORRESPONDENT

The last time the Rutgersmen’s soccer team last made it tothe Big East Tournament wastwo years ago.

The amount of time that wentby between the Scarlet Knightsqualifying for the NCAA tourna-ment was five years.

The last time the Knightsmade it all the way to the Sweet16 of the NCAA Tournament wasa decade ago.

But in the greatest single-sea-son turnaround in Big East history,the Knights achieved all of thosegoals and more in earning TheDaily Targum’s Team of the Year.

Still, the Rutgers’ future only ayear ago looked bleak.

“It was difficult for us know-ing every year we just came off abad year, so we put in the hardwork during the spring hoping itwould pay off in the fall,” saidsenior midfielder Bryant Knibbs.“When it didn’t, you kind of getdown on yourself and you kind oflose a little faith.”

Before their final campaign,Knibbs and his fellow seniors had ameeting and decided the socceratmosphere at Rutgers needed tochange. The Knights were 4-4-1entering the middle of their season.

Then they collided with No. 2 Mar yland, and everything changed.

TEAM OF THE YEAR1) Men’s Soccer2) Football3) Baseball4) Gymnastics5) Women’s Lacrosse

DANDONIGAN

Knights rookie makes impression after early setbacksBY BEN CAIN

STAFF WRITER

Corey Crawford can still feelthe pain sometimes. But as muchas he tries to forget the memoryof the incident, there are alwayssubtle reminders.

The reminders can come in themiddle of the night, forcing him outof bed. They can come after a prac-tice or a workout. Other times, theyappear after a long car or plane ride.

The pain is dull, yet sharpenough to show how far the DailyTargum Comeback Player of theYear has come since that day.

“I don’t really think about it toomuch,” said Crawford. “I try not tobecause it’s just not really good luck,I’m kind of superstitious like that.”

Crawford’s unwillingness torelive the day his left kneecap

split in half is logical. But theamount of success he has hadsince the injury is not.

In the summer before his fresh-man season with the Rutgersmen’s track and field team,Crawford broke his kneecap dur-ing a workout. The injury tracedback to his senior year of highschool, when he unknowinglycompeted with a hairline fracturefor a large chunk of the season.

The Oakland, N.J., native under-went surgery on the knee and had towear a straight leg cast for 10 weeks.

“I was known as peg leg andstick leg and all this stuff,” Crawfordsaid. “They called me ‘Peggy.’ I waswobbling around [and I] lived onthe fourth floor with no elevator.”

After spending the majority ofhis freshman season rehabbinghis knee, Crawford returned thisseason to prove he was worth theKnights’ investment.

His first taste of success was inthe season-opening Princeton NewYear’s Invitational. He jumped 7.25meters in the long jump — near thesame distance he consistentlyreached in high school.

He became a Metropolitanchampion weeks later, leaping acareer-high 7.59 meters. He rodethat momentum to a second-placefinish at the Big EastChampionships, where he record-ed a mark of 7.39 meters.

But Crawford’s finest hour cameat the IC4A Championships.Crawford captured the long jumpwith a mark of 7.63 meters, givinghim a first-place finish and setting afacility record at Boston University.But that was only the start of his day.

During the 500-meter dash tri-als, he watched as senior All-American teammate AaronYounger collapsed onto the trackmid-race after feeling pain in hisleft leg. Younger was the anchoron the Knights’ 4x400-meter relaysquad that set a school record atthe Big East Championships onlytwo weeks earlier.

The Knights needed a replace-ment, and Crawford was the onechosen despite not training withthe sprinters all season.

“I saw [Younger] go down,[and] that kind of took the wind

out of everyone on our team,”Crawford said. “I didn’t even real-ly register, ‘Wow, I’m the alternatefor the 4x400.’ … I went out thereand it was just pure adrenaline.”

As the third leg, he helped theKnights set a school record in the4x400 at 3:10.14, en route to a sec-ond-place finish.

His success continued in theoutdoor season, as he qualifiedfor the NCAA Regionals in thelong jump after leaping 7.61meters at the Bulls Invitational.That distance is the ninth best inthe East region.

Crawford has finally shownthis season what he is capable of.And even though he can still feelthe pain sometimes, the memo-ries of the incident — along withthose of his old nicknames — aregetting more and more distant.

COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR

1) Corey Crawford2) Tim Wright3) Greg Zannetti

“She brings a different type ofleadership,” said former teammateNikki Speed. “She’s talking toeverybody, whether it’s the postplayers or the guards, because shedoes get in the post.”

The WNBA took notice of the All-Big East first team member, as well.

The Los Angeles Sparks draftedRushdan with the 15th pick in thisyear’s WNBA Draft. But the Sparkswere not done with the Knights.

He caught at least 10 passes in agame six times, including a BigEast-record 16 for 176 yards andtwo touchdowns Sept. 24 againstOhio. He made nearly impossiblecatches — a leaping one-handedgrab Sept. 10 at North Carolina,among others — look routine.

And he nearly willed theKnights to their first Big Eastcrown in school history.

“He came out to be one of thegreatest,” said senior wide receiverMark Harrison. “I feel like he hasthe ability to be anywhere on thefield at any time.”

In Sanu’s final season, he didnot have to be.

Stripped of duties in the now-defunct Wildcat formation, Sanu

BY TYLER BARTOSPORTS EDITOR

When former Rutgers head foot-ball coach Greg Schiano brought inMohamed Sanu in 2009, his intentwas for Sanu to play safety. But dur-ing Sanu’s final season with theScarlet Knights, he became the pro-gram’s most prolific safety valve.

“I knew Mo was an all-aroundplayer,” said South BrunswickHigh School athlete Jevon Tyree,one of Sanu’s close friends and2012 football commit. “I wasn’t sur-prised — I expected that from him— but I was just proud of him.”

The Daily Targum’s Male Athleteof the Year enjoyed arguably themost productive season in school his-tory in 2011. Sanu broke both theKnights and Big East’s single-seasonreceptions record with 109, recordedseven games with 100-plus receivingyards and was a unanimous confer-ence first-team selection.

SPORTSP 1 2 A P R I L 3 0 , 2 0 1 2

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

Wide receiver Mohamed Sanu eclipsed Rutgers and Big East records in 2011 with 109 regular-season receptions, 16 of which came in a Sept. 24 victory against Ohio — anotherprogram and league record. He benefited from the production Friday, when the Cincinnati Bengals took him in the third round of the NFL Draft.


Sanu caps record-setting season with NFL selection

Versatile Rushdan parlays play into WNBA draft pickBY JOEY GREGORY

ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR

As a member of the Rutgerswomen’s basketball team, pointguard Khadijah Rushdan did it all.

Most of the time she ran theoffense, but the Wilmington, Del.,native also posted up on bigger for-wards and pulled down her fairshare of rebounds.

But perhaps more importantly,she brought leadership to a team thatlargely consisted of underclassmen.

At the end of the 2011-2012 sea-son, Rushdan led the ScarletKnights with 13.1 points per gameand 102 assists.

It was Rushdan’s versatility, lead-ership and impressive numbers thatearned her The Daily Targum’sFemale Athlete of the Year honors.

MALE ATHLETEOF THE YEAR

Mohamed Sanu

FEMALE ATHLETEOF THE YEAR

1) Khadijah Rushdan2) Brittney Lindley3) Jonelle Filigno4) Stephanie Anderson5) Alexis Gunzelman

returned exclusively at wide receiv-er, where he sits in sole possessionof Rutgers’ all-time receptions list.

Some of his school-record 210grabs came as check-downs fromthree different starting quarterbacks.Others, like Sanu’s sprawling tippedcatch on his back Nov. 5 againstSouth Florida, were last resorts.

And countless more led to abody of work that resulted inSanu’s third-round selection in theNFL Draft on Friday by theCincinnati Bengals.

“I was really excited,” saidhead coach Kyle Flood. “I spoketo Mohamed before it happened,and I had chance to speak to[Cincinnati head] coach [Marvin]Lewis afterward. I know they’rereally excited out in Cincinnati.There’ll be many more positivesto Mohamed Sanu that what theythink they’ve drafted.”

Sanu’s 4.62 40-yard dash at theNFL Combine likely cautioned teams

Thirteen picks later, they choseformer Rutgers forward April Sykes.

The moves can benefit theSparks, as they picked up two play-ers that established plenty of chem-istry during the four seasons theyplayed together on the Banks.

“When I’m knocking down theoutside shot, she’s driving,” Sykessaid. “She’s posting, I’m posting.We always look for each other. Wehave a connection that a lot of peo-ple don’t even realize.”

But there is more to Rushdanthan good numbers in a fifth col-lege season. She is no stranger tohigh-pressure games.

Even before college, she facedthe toughest of opponents.

All four years at St. ElizabethHigh School (Del.) she battledDelaware star and former No. 1

national recruit Elena Delle Donne inthe state title game against UrsulineAcademy. In her final high schoolyear, she defeated Delle Donne.

For the next five seasons, sheworked to make a name for herselfin Piscataway.

But there was a possibility hercareer could have stopped at fourseasons. Following the 2010-2011campaign, Rushdan had the optionof leaving Rutgers.

“I felt like I hadn’t accomplishedeverything that I wanted to — indi-vidually and as a team,” she said. “Ididn’t feel satisfied.”

And all she did was earn All-BigEast honors and All-Met honors,as well as help her team a first-round bye in the Big EastTournament and an NCAATournament appearance.

Even though she is sad her timeat Rutgers is over, she feels betterhaving returned for that fifth year.

“I was like, ‘Dang, I wish I hadanother 40 minutes.’ I couldn’tbelieve that was the last time I wascoming off the court,” Rushdan saidof her final game at Rutgers. “It wasa little tough. It was a little emotion-al too, but I’m happy with the waythat I’ve played here my success.”

While she spent much of theyear mentoring younger guards,she also had to start somewhere.And she remembers exactly whoher Khadijah Rushdans were.

“Playing with players like[Epiphanny Prince], [MateeAjavon] and [Essence Carson], thatmotivated me to want to reach thatlevel,” she said, “and be as great asthey were.”

that questioned his downfield speed.But his 4.41-second performance atRutgers’ Pro Day in front of scoutsfrom 24 teams figured to improveSanu’s stock.

“For all the great thingsMohamed’s done here — breakingthe Big East record for receptions— I think there are still some peo-ple that doubt him a little bit in thatleague,” Flood said.

Sanu arrived in Piscataway near-ly four years ago a three-star com-mit and the 22nd-best player in thestate, according to Rivals.com. Heplayed quarterback, safety and evenpunted in high school.

But Sanu had to sit out his sen-ior season at South Brunswickbecause at 19 years old, he was tooold to play. So he worked out withTyree’s older brother, Sean, a closefriend, and others during the layoff.

“He’s just a hardworking kid,”Tyree said. “Mo works as hard asthe hardest worker in the world.

I’ve never seen someone work ashard as Mo does.”

Those who tried in 2011 includ-ed cornerbacks, safeties, zonedefenses and a combination of each.Sanu still out-caught the nextKnight — junior wideout QuronPratt — by 82 balls. SophomoreBrandon Coleman’s 552 receivingyards still sat 654 less than Sanu’stotal. And Sanu did so with less thantwo full seasons at the position.

“I was like, ‘That’s a big safe-ty. He’s going to cover a lot ofthe field,’ Harrison said of Sanu’ssummer 2009 arrival. “You couldtell that he had potential to bereceiver the way he closed in onthe ball. I even watched a coupleof his sessions in practice, say-ing, ‘Wow, I’m going to have atough time going through themiddle with him.’ But it’s good tohave him at receiver. He’s doneso great, and he’s done a lot forthis program.”

Perspectives 2012-04-30

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