ELYSE FETHERMAN
Entertainment Editor

Rife with comedy, charisma and choreography evocative of the “Austin Powers” movie series, Fairleigh Dickinson University’s rendition of “Sweet Charity” provided a light-hearted, satisfactory theater experience for audiences. And while many of the musical numbers were easily forgettable, the flawless comedic timing excused flubbed accents and acutely blasé acting.
The musical follows title character, Charity Hope Valentine, a ballroom hostess at the Fandango Club, in her search for love, happiness and, most importantly, a better life for herself. Encountering obstacles along the way, Charity finds herself waist deep in the waters of trouble (she literally falls into the lake three times) as she struggles to break away from the Fandango Club and discover herself. It is Charity’s internal conflict that drives the action within the play, towing along a long a trail of ho-hum musical numbers.
The show’s most memorable musical number, “Big Spender,” added the spice needed to pepper up a sluggish first act.
Cindy Fernandez shined as Nikki, Charity’s co-worker and best friend, in that number, seducing the Fandango Club customers with a come hither hiss and foxy feminine flair that perfectly underlined Nikki’s motives and skills as a seductress. Fernandez moved with conviction and determination, signaling Nikki’s strong, confident personality. She also portrayed Nikki’s vulnerability with slower movements and softer facial experssions in “Baby, Dream Your Dream.”
Michelle Cabot shined as Charity. Her flippant attitude and squirish mannerisms played perfectly to her character’s indecisions and uncertainties about her future. Cabot’s powerful voice, accompanied by fluid dance movements, empowered “If My Friends Could See Me Now,” making it one of Charity’s less dispensable comedic musical numbers. Cabot drove that number home and showed her knack for physical comedy when she danced on Vittorio Vidal’s (played by Louis Vetter) bed. Dreaming stares, excited moments and an overall bounciness were all devices that Cabot employed to portray Charity’s good-hearted nature and her naïveté.
Undoubtedly, the piece de resistance was Matt Sullivan’s role as claustrophobic, overanxious Oscar Lindquist. Sullivan played Oscar with careful, contemplative intention behind every movement. From the second that Sullivan stepped onto the stage, Oscar’s neuroticism was easily identifiable by fidgeting, pacing and strained breathing. Sullivan’s most memorable moment was undisputably the scene in which Charity and Oscar were stuck in the elevator. Clinging and climbing on the side of the elevator, Sullivan delivered his lines in a refreshingly hilarious yet uneasy manner, emphasizing his character’s discomfort and inner fears. In his duet with Cabot at the end of the first act, Sullivan’s musical chops were beautifully displayed with nearly perfect pitch and wonderful clarity.
However, the same can’t be said of the entire cast. Vetter’s performance as Vidal lacked the passion and strife that came with his character’s romance conflicts. It must be said, however, that his body language was exact and believable despite his waning attempt at a foreign accent. In his song, “Too Many Tomorrows” a few notes ran away from Vetter, however, that number was perhaps the one place where Vetter genuinely created Vidal into a sympathetic character through believable emotion and movement.
Rosemary Glennon’s performance of Ursula also felt forced. Her attraction and then disappointment with Vidal felt too fabricated. Her lines were delivered too matter-of-factly, especially when she left Vidal at the restaurant. But when she reunited with Vidal in his bedroom, her character began to feel more fleshed out. While her lines may have felt rushed, her voice was sincere as were her projected emotions.
The set, though simple, was an appropriate foil to the complex characters within the play, with some pieces doubling as buildings, structures and closets.
The cast and crew did a good job in spicing up a dull musical score. Even though it lacked pizazz, with careful attention to movement and comedic timing, the production was overall light and enjoyable.

ELYSE FETHERMAN
Entertainment Editor

Bookworms now have an excuse to put aside those academic textbooks in favor of a little recreational reading. Created with the intention of promoting “for-fun reading and robust discussion,” Fairleigh Dickinson University’s new Book Club provides students from all majors with the opportunity to do some light reading outside of the classroom.
The Book Club’s co-founders, Amara Schertz and Amanda Alford, started the club with help from Professor Bethany Rabinowitz of the Literature, Language, Writing and Philosophy Department and Assistant Director and Learning Specialist Mary Ford of Freshman Intensive Studies.
Schertz and Alford, on separate occasions, went to Ford and Rabinowitz, respectively, and inquired about the existence of a book club on campus.
After learning that no such club existed, Schertz and Alford expressed interest in starting a book club. Alford, who works for the Dean of Students Office, already contacted Director of Student Life Sarah Azavedo, who referred her to Rabinowitz. Ford recommended Schertz to Rabinowitz and Rabinowitz suggested that Schertz speak to Alford.
With the common goal of providing fun, leisurely reading in a non-academic atmosphere, the founders took the first steps in starting the club and hosted their first interest meeting at the Jimmy Santiago Baca reading on March 11.
Roughly 30 to 40 people signed up online for the interest meeting weeks prior, but only a handful showed up to the actual meeting.
The founders remain hopeful, however. “We started it because we know a lot people like to read,” said Schertz.
“It is a great way for these people to find new books and expand their reading repertoire,” added Alford.
The school requires that the club have a roster of at least 10 members, a constitution and an executive board before they are officially recognized as a club on campus, the founders said.
“We’re still working out the quirks,” said Schertz. “We want our members to be involved so we are waiting on our members before we make any decisions.”
One of those decisions involves the material to be read and discussed at the meetings. The founders want to decide collectively as a group what will be read and discussed. They do not want to limit the selections to one genre or author. Fiction, non-fiction, plays and graphic novels are just some of the many genres that the club hopes to read and discuss.
“The club might also have different reading groups within the club,” said Alford. “We can have separate genre groups who will read different pieces and come together to discuss. This will fuel interest in different types of books and keep all the members active.”
Another decision the club will have to make is in regards to the financial matters. The founders are considering several options, one of which may be paying a flat membership fee to cover books for the semester or year, said Schertz. Alford also added that they are considering utilizing FDU’s library as well.
While the club has its required advisers, Rabinowitz and Ford, Schertz and Alford do not want to deviate from the club’s mission to keep the reading leisurely and less structured than a classroom setting.
“We want to let members lead the discussions and keep it fun,” said Alford.
Looking ahead toward the fall semester, Schertz and Alford anticipate hosting events. They plan on working closely with Rabinowitz, Ford and David Daniel, director of FDU’s creative writing program.
With faculty help, they hope to bring in authors for readings and panel discussions.
To keep the reading schedule leisurely and fun, members of the book club will only meet twice monthly.
The first meeting of the month would be dedicated to selecting pieces to read for that month and planning ahead for the following month, said Schertz and Alford.
Members would then have the month to read the selections and the group would reconvene at the end of the month for a discussion.
The club would also host interim meetings as needed to plan events, fundraisers or charity events.
Member involvement is the core component of this club and both Schertz and Alford anticipate a strong showing at their next interest meeting on April 22 at 5 p.m. in the cafeteria.

ELYSE FETHERMAN
Entertainment Editor

Despite its unknown and disputed history, April Fool’s Day has provided laughs for countless numbers of college prankers. But for those that find themselves on the receiving end of a prank, April Fool’s Day may come as a feared, ominous holiday.
And while keeping both eyes peeled for potential jokesters may be one strategy, for prankees, revenge may be an alternate, more satisfactory route.
The trick for potential prankers, however, is to go under the radar. And perhaps the best way to remain undetected is to have the element of surprise. Surprise, not necessarily in the sense of covert disguises and MacGyver-esque antics, but in the originality of the pranks is key to any good comeback.
So take a cue from fellow FDU collegians and check out some of their best and worst prankster/prankee moments. But beware, every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.

“It was the beginning of the fall semester and I wanted to start a prank war with my suite mates. My friend is always on her cell phone so it was a little tricky to pull this one off. While she was in the bathroom, I snuck into the room and took her cell phone. I went through her contacts and looked for my name. I replaced my name with ‘Satan’ and saved the contact. She was still in the bathroom, so I put her cell phone back where I found it. A couple of minutes later I sent her a text that said, ‘I know what you did last night.’ She freaked out and kept saying, ‘Who the f— is texting?’ It took her a few seconds and she realized it was me. She thought I was immature but we eventually laughed and she forgave me.”
Senior Charity Freund, QUEST and English literature major.

“I was coming back from a Rangers’ hockey game late one night. They were losing and I was already in a bad mood. Back at school, I opened my suite door and then walked into my dorm room door. When I opened my door all I saw was vast Styrofoam-filled room. My entire bedroom floor was covered with Styrofoam cups at 2 in the morning. Each cup was filled a quarter of the way with water and the cups ran from my bedroom to my wall. And the only way I could get to bed that night was if I took each individual cup of water and poured it out into the sink until I had a clear path. I didn’t get to bed until 4 a.m.“
Senior Scott Savage, communication studies major.

“So I’m saving this prank for April Fool’s Day but my boyfriend and I are both in on it. So my boyfriend and I are going to change our Facebook relationship status to ‘Engaged’ a couple days before April Fool’s Day. My boyfriend’s family is really cool so we are getting them in on the joke. They are going to post on our wall saying ‘Congratulations!’ and ‘Enjoy the honeymoon!’ We are going to wait it out a couple of days and see what our friends say. Eventually we’ll change our statuses back and let everyone know it was a joke.”
Senior Shamia Cassiano, theater major.

“My friend’s boyfriend never got around to decorating his dorm walls. So a bunch of us got stuff (mostly small ‘posters’ printed out from the Internet) to put up. His roommate let us into their room when we knew the boyfriend would be away for a little while. And we taped the stuff all over his wall. A lot of it was stuff from TV shows that he likes. We both like ‘Doctor Who,’ so I found some cool images from that show. One of them was a Photoshopped picture that makes two of the guys look like they’re in bed together. But I decided to be nice and also put up a Photoshopped picture of two of the women topless and making out. The best part was a photo we took ourselves. I always hit on him as a joke (I’m gay, he’s not, and it’s all in good fun) so we took some ‘sexy’ pictures of me. Nothing too risqué, just stuff like me unbuttoning my shirt with a ‘come hither’ look on my face. That was his girlfriend’s idea, believe it or not! Anyway, when he arrived he thought it was all really funny and left it all up for the rest of the year. Not the most bad-ass prank ever, but it was a good time!”
Anonymous, biology major.

ELYSE FETHERMAN
Entertainment Editor

From playing the lead on stage, to working as a costume crew member, to directing at a summer camp, junior theater major Michelle Cabot has run the gamut of all-things theater. The Metro had the chance to sit back, relax and kick its heels up for an interview with Cabot, the lead role in FDU’s production of “Sweet Charity.”

The Metro: How did you first become involved in theater?
Cabot: I started dancing when I was 2. I thought I would be good in theater so I auditioned for shows. I didn’t do a lot of straight plays. I preferred musicals. I’ve always been a musical theater person.

The Metro: What were some of your favorite roles aside from those at FDU?
Cabot: I’m from National Park [N.J.] so I did theater at the Broadway Theatre at Pitman, Plays and Players, West Deptford Community Theater and my school. Some of my favorites were Belle in “Beauty and the Beast,” Eponine in “Les Miserables” and Gertrude in “Seussical.”

The Metro: Tell us about your Wroxton theater experience?
Cabot: It opened my eyes to so many opportunities. You think New York is it. But I learned a lot about new plays and playwrights. Also, when you travel you learn a lot about yourself as well.

The Metro: Tell us about your role in “Sweet Charity.”
Cabot: Charity gives her heart out to anyone and everyone. She gives and gives but she is also used. She wants a better life for herself. And this show is interesting because it doesn’t give you the typical musical theater happy ending.

The Metro: How can you relate to Charity?
Cabot: She’s quirky and crazy but naive too. She always tries to look at things in the best light. And she stands up for people and turns bad situations into good ones.

The Metro: How do you prepare for a character?
Cabot: The rehearsal process really helps you find similarities with your character. You can throw yourself into the character. It’s an opportunity to take chances and understand their journey.

The Metro: Where do you find inspiration?
Cabot: My parents are my inspiration. They come up for all the shows and they are really supportive. They say 10% is talent and the rest is hard-work and dedication. They are all about doing what you love.

The Metro: Tell us about balancing your school work with your theater involvement.
Cabot: It’s all about organizing your time. You have to prioritize. The show is my top priority, then theater classes. You got to realize what’s important to you.

The Metro: What are your plans post-FDU?
Cabot: I eventually want to open up a summer theater camp. I would love to move to the city and be involved in theater. I would love to be an actress or stage manager. But my ultimate goal is to act.

MELISSA HARTZ
News Editor

For FDU film students, the senior thesis is a culmination of skills, techniques and ideas accumulated over four years in the program. Whether it is directing his or her own movie or working in the crew for someone else’s, each senior must participate in a film.
For senior Anthony Maddaloni, directing a zombie thesis was the perfect fit for this final project.
“Even though my ideas changed slightly along the way, I knew for a while that I wanted to do a zombie film for my thesis,” said Maddaloni. “I started writing the scripts two years ago. I must have gone through at least a dozen drafts before settling on this one.”
Maddaloni’s film, “The Risen,” centers around the life of Lionel, a comic book author struggling to deal with the recent death of his brother and relationship issues with his ex-girlfriend, Ashlee. After the zombie apocalypse descends on mankind, Lionel and his group take refuge in a nearby church.
“Movies like ‘Shawn of the Dead’ really threw zombie films into popular culture,” said Maddaloni. “We took a lot of inspiration from other zombie films and almost every name or piece of dialogue is homage to the Bible.”
A dramatic film with elements of comedy, “The Risen” confronts real issues of faith, love and the struggles of daily life. The thesis film is the first of its genre at FDU, with a running time of approximately 45 minutes.
“The filming has gone really smoothly so far,” Maddaloni said. “We have about 15 to 20 constant crew members, and so far we have about 14 days of filming.”
On March 6, Maddaloni and his crew filmed an exterior scene at Parisippany Presbyterian Church in Parsippany, N.J. Nearly 40 people, FDU students and community members alike, showed up at 7 a.m. to go into makeup and act as extras in the zombie horde. Maddaloni said the most difficult part of the shoot was finding a church that would allow the scene to be shot on location.
“No Catholic church would even talk to me,” Maddaloni said, laughing. “A lot of other churches would allow us to film inside the church, but wouldn’t allow us on the actual sanctuary. We shopped around for months.”
Finally, the crew of “The Risen” found hope when they stumbled upon the Parsippany Presbyterian Church.
“The church was this big, beautiful place with an incredible chapel from the 1800s,” said Trevor Campbell, actor of the character Sam, and also the film’s soundman. Maddaloni added, “When the woman at the church mentioned [the film] ‘Pride, Prejudice, and Zombies,’ I knew this was the place.”
“The Risen,” along with other senior thesis films, will premiere at Senior Thesis night on May 4 at the Morristown Theater. For a mere $5, students can enjoy a night of films created by their peers.
“Last year we got about 150 people to come out for Senior Thesis Night,” said Campbell. “It’s a lot of fun, and people are able to see what we’ve spent so much time on.”

ELYSE FETHERMAN
Entertainment Editor

Now that the spring semester is half over, students and faculty are surely feeling burnt out. Fortunately, upcoming Broadway shows promise to help with the mid-semester slump. Upcoming shows include new musicals and new plays, but some of the most exciting shows coming into New York are revivals.
The most interesting new musical headed to the Great White Way is “The Addams Family,” which is based on the famous comic strip by Charles Addams. According to the show’s official Web site, the show had an out-of-town tryout at Chicago’s Oriental Theatre. Dedicated theater fans will not be surprised to learn that Tony Award winner Bebe Neuwirth, best known for her Emmy-winning role of Lilith on “Cheers,” will star as Morticia. The rest of the cast includes Tony winner Nathan Lane as Gomez, as well as Broadway veterans Carolee Carmello, Terrence Mann, Jackie Hoffman and Kevin Chamberlin. Though the word-of-mouth has not been positive on theater message boards, it is difficult to believe that a show with so many gifted performers could be worthless.
The other new musicals coming to Broadway are all jukebox musicals. As reported by playbill.com, “Come Fly Away” uses the music of Frank Sinatra and the choreography of Twyla Tharp to tell the story of four couples. “American Idiot” is a new musical that was inspired by and features the music of Green Day. John Gallagher Jr., who won a Tony Award for his performance in “Spring Awakening,” is set to star.
Roundabout Theatre Company’s “Sondheim on Sondheim” is perhaps the most promising new musical coming in this spring. According to the Roundabout’s Web site, the show will use both well-known and obscure Sondheim songs to tell Sondheim’s personal story. The cast includes Broadway legend Barbara Cook, Vanessa Williams of “Ugly Betty” and Broadway veteran Tom Wopat.
While the new musicals headed to Broadway are intriguing, the most exciting musical coming to New York is the revival of “Promises, Promises.” According to broadway.com, the musical is based on the 1960s film, “The Apartment.” It tells the story of the ambitious Chuck Baxter, who allows the executives at his office to use his apartment for their extramarital affairs. Complications arise when Chuck falls in love with waitress Fran Kubelik, who has romantic problems of her own. The score of “Promises, Promises” is by Burt Bacharach and contains hits such as “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again” and “Turkey Lurkey Time.” The show stars Tony and Emmy winner, Kristin Chenoweth, who never disappoints, and Sean Hayes of “Will and Grace” fame.
For those who do not enjoy musicals, there are plenty of non-musical plays coming to Broadway. “Collected Stories” by Pulitzer Prize winner Donald Margulies, is slated to begin previews on April 9, according Manhattan Theatre Club’s Web site. The play follows a story of a young writer and her mentor. It promises to be funny, moving and ultimately, shocking. Linda Lavin, best known for her work as Alice on the sitcom of the same name, and Sarah Paulson are set to star.
“Lend Me a Tenor,” the beloved comedy about a star who is missing on the day of his opera debut, is set to start previews March 12, according to playbill.com. Stanley Tucci, the wonderful film actor, is making his Broadway directing debut with the show. Jan Maxwell, who was seen earlier this season in a Tony Award deserving performance in MTC’s “The Royal Family,” will star.
For more information on any of the Broadway shows, be sure to check out broadway.com for ticket prices and the latest updates.

MICHELE KOLE
Staff Writer

The 1960s musical, “Sweet Charity,” is the next mainstage production to grace the Dreyfuss Theater at Fairleigh Dickinson University’s College at Florham.
The production proudly boasts some of Broadway’s most legendary musical numbers, such as “Big Spender” and “If My Friends Could See Me Now.” The production also features a cast of FDU mainstage veterans that will surely be familiar faces.
The title character in “Sweet Charity,” Charity Hope Valentine, is a dance-hall hostess who dreams of a better life.
Charity soon finds herself in love with a nice, respectable man named Oscar, but her friends, Nikki and Helene, warn her to be cautious as they believe that the relationship could not evolve into anything permanent.
The FDU production stars Michelle Cabot and Matt Sullivan as Charity and Oscar, respectively. Audience members may remember the two actors as Janet and Brad, respectively, from FDU’s production of “The Rocky Horror Show.”
The show also features several other FDU stage veterans such as Cindy Fernandez (Nikki) and Tyler Morrill (Herman) Both have previous credits in FDU’s production of last year’s musical, “Guys and Dolls.”
The cast is currently busy in rehearsal, and it appears that it’s been an enjoyable experience for all involved.
Erika Baldino, who plays Carmen in the production, said, “My favorite part is that all three of the artistic directors are very easy to work with. Allen, Stephen and Cindy are very creative but also allow students to bring their own ideas into the show.”
Cabot also finds working with Stephen Hollis, the show’s director, to be very inspiring.
“Working with Stephen has been great; he really knows what he wants for the show,” said Cabot. “He motivates and encourages his actors work hard and go the extra step each rehearsal.”
Lucy Fisher, who plays Elaine, enjoys dancing in the production.
“My favorite part by far has been working on the dances,” said Fisher excitedly. “It’s always fun to dance around on stage but ‘Big Spender’ is a classic when it comes to Broadway dances and to do it is like a dream come true.”
Fisher said,“Fosse did great work and to be a part of a tradition he held makes me very proud.”
The Broadway tradition that Fisher spoke of is one of the main reasons many people will want to see “Sweet Charity.”
Perhaps another, equally attractive reason is the dynamically seasoned cast.
Cabot summed up the thoughts of her fellow castmates when she said, “The show has a lot of different elements that I think people will enjoy. It is funny, upbeat and includes great musical numbers such as ‘Big Spender’ and ‘The Rhythm of Life.’”
“Sweet Charity” will run March 31 through April 3 at 8 p.m. and April 4 at 2:30 p.m.
It will also play a second weekend with performances April 9 and 10 at 8 p.m. and April 11 at 2:30 p.m.

ELYSE FETHERMAN
Entertainment Editor

Beeping, buzzing and blipping like a robot, Natalie Standiford cranked her forearms perpendicularly to her body as she read from her latest book, “How to Say Goodbye in Robot.”
Making sure to only pivot at her elbow, the young adult and children’s author animated the book’s main character, Beatrice, at a reading for her audience at the College at Florham’s Hartman Lounge on Feb. 9.
Hosted by the Department of Creative Writing, the Storipan Committee and Sigma Tau Delta English Honor Society, the event featured a reading, question-and-answer session and a book signing in which “How to Say Goodbye in Robot” was available for purchase.
Standiford jumped right into the heart of the event and entertained her audiences with the first two chapters of her book, changing her voice for each new character along the way and moving her body in an equally comical fashion.
In fact, at one point she mimicked the robot benediction of Beatrice’s late gerbil. Interesting, it is this strange, robotic goodbye that becomes the title of the piece.
Described as the author who “makes the best books in the whole wide world” by Professor Rene Steinke’s five-year old son (he is also Standiford’s self-proclaimed biggest fan), Standiford is most well-known as the author of “Balto.”
Steinke, a close friend of Standiford’s, was inspired to ask her to read at FDU after many of Steinke’s Fiction Writing students said a reading assignment reminded them of “Balto.”
“I told them the author of ‘Balto’ is one of my best friends,” said Steinke, laughing.
Steinke provided Standiford with a beautiful introduction for the reading. “Her secret genius is a deep and rich memory of what it was like to be a teen and kid,” said Steinke. “Her newest book, ‘How to Say Goodbye in Robot,’ has complex characters and heartbreaking writing.”
It is surprising that “How to Say Goodbye in Robot” is Standiford’s first book set in her hometown of Baltimore.
Standiford, who described Baltimore as a “weird place with people who aren’t ashamed of how weird they are,” told the audience that Baltimore was the setting for all of her teenage memories.
And as for tuning into the teen culture in her adult years, Standiford relies mostly on her memory. Several of these memories shine through in “How to Say Goodbye in Robot,” according to Standiford.
And it is the utilization of these rich memories that adds color to her works and makes her “teenage voice” genuine and believable. “I just listen to the teenage voice in my own head,” said Standiford. She prefers to avoid asking teenagers for advice when she writes. “I’m not trying to please one specific reader,” said Standiford. “I’m just trying to write the best I can.”
And at times, that task is quite difficult especially as the line blurs between young adult novels and adult novels.
“I have felt a dismissive attitude from people because they felt it is easy to write a young adult’s or children’s book,” said Standiford.
And while many may think that writing a young adult’s novel or children’s picture book is easy, Standiford holds the opposite point of view.
“Writing a picture book is like writing poetry,” said Standiford.
Pacing, limited space and a condensed story arc all present unique challenges to picture book authors, according to Standiford.
Following the reading, many students asked questions about the publishing industry and the publishing process. Standiford cheerfully provided the students with her experience and expertise.
After working for a blind lawyer in New York, Standiford was encouraged to apply at Random House.
There, she started as an editorial assistant and was placed in the children’s books department. As an editorial assistant she did in-house writing. It was there that she found her children’s writing voice, she said.
Making her living as writer, Standiford has seen and withstood many changes in the publishing industry.
Standiford, an avid fan of the printed word, believes that digitalization is changing the publishing landscape and creating a foggy future.
“I think picture books will always be printed,” she said.
But Standiford admitted that the future of novels still remains unclear.
She believes that fiction is suffering, while celebrity biographies are prospering.
She attributes some of the changes to a shift in corporate attitudes. “Agents play a bigger role and you deal with them constantly,” said Standiford.
Despite the nay-sayers and the changing landscape of the publishing world, Standiford has pumped out several beautiful and breathtaking works, such as “Astronauts are Sleeping,” “Dollhouse Mouse,” “Balto” and her latest, “How to Say Goodbye in Robot.”
Proclaiming her preference for the printed word, Standiford removed the book jacket from “How to Say Goodbye in Robot” to display a lush, watermelon-colored cover and matching pages. Standiford gushed, “It all seems so beautiful.”

ELYSE FETHERMAN
Entertainment Editor

On Feb. 15, the “Healthy Relationships” seminar acted as a jarring bookend to the Valentine’s festivities at Fairleigh Dickinson University’s College at Florham.
Hosted in the Bottle Hill Room by Resident Assistant Janae Sones, the seminar set a refreshingly new tone for all relationship and dating seminars.
Focusing on dating violence and abuse, the seminar was presented in a lecture format but still welcomed questions and answers from the small, intimate audience.
A senior psychology major, Sones hosted the seminar as her final project for her summer internship at TESSA. TESSA, located in Colorado Springs, is a victimized women’s organization that provides aid and resources to those in need, according to Sones.
The organization’s name, TESSA, is unique in that the individual letters do not create an acronym. The purpose, explained Sones, is to protect the victimized women with discreet resources and communication that would not catch the attention of an offender.
Sones utilized many of TESSA’s resources during the seminar. Sones also provided heartbreaking facts about dating violence and abuse that she found from organizations such as Lundy Bancroft and Web sites that included safespace.org and endabuse.org.
“All of these resources are very accessible and relevant to the college age group,” said Sones.
Despite all the statistics and fact sheets available, Sones honed in on dating violence and abuse as it relates to college age students. “It is one of the only crimes that doesn’t discriminate across gender, race and sexuality,” said Sones.
Sones shared several statistics with the small group at the seminar. “One-third of females ages 16 to 24 are victims,” said Sones, citing endabuse.org in her presentation.
Sones also cited NJCASA saying that 87 percent of victims know their perpetrators.
Returning to the safespace.org Web site, Sones shared a moving video clip in which victimized women shared their abuse stories. Many of the stories in the clip shared common threads: romance, jealousy, hope and technology.
“Our generation is especially affected through technology,” said Sones. Sones believes that the use of cell phones, text messaging, social networking sites and the Internet are all vital media in which dating violence and abuse can flourish.
Citing loveisnotabuse.org, Sones supported this claim with a striking fact: “One in five young adults have been abused via the Internet.” Sones added, “Technology is only intensifying the effects of dating violence.”
And with growth and progress of technology also comes barriers to identifying dating violence. Sones blamed cultural issues, such as the “she asked for it” mindset, as one barrier. She also cited several marital rape laws and blamed “convoluted ideas of intimacy and abuse” as key barriers. “Shame, embarrassment and a desire to return to a normal routine are other barriers,” said Sones.
But the Internet also provides a variety of helpful resources. Sones used a youth-geared graphic novel on safespace.org as an example. The graphic novels and creative cartoon strips show a variety of situations and solutions. These resources are not only accessible, according to Sones, but they are also relevant to both males and females.
As a result of her work with TESSA and the seminar, Sones hopes to help victims break through the barriers and know their resources. Sones had the unique opportunity to work as a victim’s advocate. Part of the job required Sones to accompany the victims to court.
“I was there to make sure the offender wasn’t threatening,” said Sones. She also worked to gather employment information, references and legal documents while working at TESSA.
Sones, who enjoyed her internship experience and the 40 hours of classroom training that accompanied the work, is very interested in furthering her education about dating violence and abuse. “As a psychology major, what we learn in the classroom definitely crosses into the dating violence spectrum,” said Sones. “I would like to continue working with dating violence in the future but I also want to see what else is out there.”
Sones hopes to make FDU students more aware of the available resources. She also believes the Wellness Center is a great place to start when searching for information and aid.
“Everything is confidential and safe,” said Sones. “Everyone should take advantage of these resources.”

ALEXIS CAMARENA
Staff Writer

To commemorate Black History Month and celebrate African-American influence in poetry, music and literature, students gathered in the Bottle Hill Room on Feb. 18 for an Open Mic event.
Students were invited to share either a piece of poetry, a reading selection or even a song.
Professor Katie Singer, who runs the African-American studies minor at FDU, organized the event for the third consecutive year.
Singer started the event with her African-American literature class, believing that a diverse group of students reading poetry and expressing themselves was an excellent way to not only honor Black History, but foster artistic expression.
“I’m a writer, and words are very important to me, as well as the students’ voice,” said Singer. “It can be heard through these readings.”
At the event, a packed room of students enjoyed refreshments and food, while listening to several readings from their peers, as well as from a few professors, such as Monifa Mulraine.
In addition to traditional readings, graduate student and aspiring comic Gordon Baker-Bone discussed his love for black comedy, telling jokes from his favorite black comedians.
Sophomore Kristin Ippolito read two pieces, a verse from Tupac Shakur’s song “Changes,” and a verse from India Arie’s “I Am Not My Hair.” She felt both pieces illustrated black culture and were important to share.
“For me, I feel that racism is a very prevalent issue still; being able to come and support Black History Month was something I really wanted to do,” Ippolito said.
The event drew in many students, and seemed to be a success among those who attended.
“I really felt like I got something out of it,” said freshman Patricia Jones. “Ms. Singer spoke to us about the importance of an event like this, and encouraged anyone and everyone in the room to just come up and speak their mind.”