KAYLA HASTRUP
Editor-in-Chief

For Shawn Simons and Alvaro Llanos, Jan. 19, 2000 was not just another bitterly cold winter night. In the early-morning hours, arsonists set fire to a couch in the student lounge of the Boland Hall dormitory at Seton Hall University. The threatening blaze killed three people and injured 58 others. Simons and Llanos, who were freshman roommates at the time, were two of the most critically burned survivors.
On March 3, College at Florham students and staff had the unique opportunity to listen to Simons’ story. FDU’s Diversity Council, Office of Campus Life and Educational Opportunity Fund sponsored the event, which attracted over 50 audience members.
Everyone in attendance received Robin Gaby Fisher’s book, “After the Fire: A True Story of Friendship and Survival.”
Fisher, an award-winning news and feature writer for The Star-Ledger, along with staff photographer Matt Rainey, followed and witnessed every important step during Simons’ and Llanos’ treatment and recovery after the tragic event. Fisher and Rainey’s coverage of the men’s excruciating recovery ran in the Ledger as a seven-part series.
In 2001, Rainey won the Pulitzer Prize for feature photography because of his photos covering their story.
In August of 2008, Fisher published “After the Fire,” which details the lives of Simons and Llanos. According to Fisher’s Web site, her writing is “[h]onest and intimate in her account of the stress of distraught parents, the intense strain upon marriages and relationships, the prolonged suffering and multiple surgeries of the survivors and the evolving friendship of the accidental roommates.”
During the March 3 discussion, Simons gave FDU students an inside look into his inspirational story and the lessons that can be learned.
Normally, Simons said he would have run out if the fire alarm had gone off, but students in the Boland dormitory had been pulling the alarm as a prank almost every week, so he assumed it was just another false alarm.
“We just went to sleep about an hour ago so we took our time,” Simons said. “When we reached the door, a big cloud of smoke came into the room.
“I can’t really remember anything during the fire. It was just complete silence,” Simons said. “I was yelling for help. It was like a dream, but no one was there.”
Simons immediately crawled out of his room toward the elevator he always took, but the lounge was where the fire was.
“Basically, I crawled right into the fire,” he said. “I didn’t actually get burned, but the heat was so intense my hands were burnt from touching the ground.”
Eventually he made it to another room and was able to scream out the window for help.
“A voice came and said ‘Get back down and crawl to your left, there will be a door on your right,’” Simons said. “No one ever came forward, but my mother always says it was my angel that said that.”
After exiting the fire, Simons and numerous other victims, were rushed to Saint Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston.
“It was one of the worst pains in my life,” Simons said. “I remember the ride to Saint Barnabas, but then I blacked out and ended up in a coma for 13 days.”
Simons’ roommate, Llanos, was considered the most critical patient upon arriving at the Saint Barnabas burn unit.
“If 50 percent of your body or more is burned, they say you aren’t going to make it,” said Simons. “Al was 60 percent completely from his neck down.”
Llanos was given an almost zero percent chance of survival and ended up being in a coma for three months, Simons said. He added that because of all the bandaging, the only thing you could see on Llanos were his eyes and toes.
“It was a lot to go through,” Simons said. “But at the burn unit, I would see other people and thought it could be worse.
“Me and Al had been so cool that I thought when or if he wakes up, I could be there for him,” said Simons.
According to a 2006 New York Times article, more than three years after the fire had burned more than half his body, Llanos went back to school and had more than 30 operations. “Al stopped getting surgeries about two years ago and he was in the hospital for almost a year,” said Simons, who left the hospital after a month.
Although they were out of the hospital and moving on, their lives would be forever changed.
“It even got to the point when people were staring at me and I would ask, ‘Would you like to know what happened?’” Simons said. “I think that got to Al.”
One of the most powerful pictures in Rainey’s photo slideshow is an image of Llanos walking through a hall with a young girl staring at his scars.
“I figured we were going to be like this the rest of our lives, so I said ‘Al, you just have to be comfortable in your own skin,’” said Simons.
According to a May 2009 Star-Ledger article, the two arsonists, Sean Ryan and Joseph LePore, who lived across the hall from Simons and Llanos, were indicted in 2003 on charges of felony murder, manslaughter, aggravated assault and arson. The men entered a plea-deal that dismissed all of the homicidal and assault charges, leading them to receive a reduced arson sentence. In March of 2009, Ryan was granted parole and walked out after serving two years and four months of a five-year sentence, according to the Ledger.
“A lot of the victims were upset because we wanted justice,” Simons said. “I wanted justice for those parents that lost their children.”
Llanos went on to get married and have two kids. Simons graduated from Seton Hall, on time, in 2003.
“I’m glad it happened to us because we were strong enough to go through it,” Simons said. “I wouldn’t want this to happen to anyone.”
Simons said that, after the fire, a law was enacted requiring that all dorm rooms have fire sprinklers in them. “We needed this tragedy to happen to make you guys safe,” he told the FDU crowd.
After the discussion, Simons took time to sign copies of the “After the Fire” and shook hands with everyone.

MARISSA HYMAN AND KAYLA HASTRUP
Staff Writers

For FDU’s Class of 2010, and many soon-to-be graduates around the country, graduation may not lead to the “real world” right away. Instead, many students are making plans to move back home.
According to an article in New York Life, that trend seems to be cyclical, especially during economically unstable times.
About 40 percent of 2008 grads still live with their parents and 42 percent of the 2006 grads surveyed said they’re still living at home, according to Monster’s 2009 Annual Entry-Level Job Outlook.
Senior Fred Wied said, “I am planning on taking a year off. That is final for me. I just need some time off before I move on with the next phase of my life.”
Wied added that he plans on working during his year off while living at home. He hopes to gain valuable experience and apply what he learned over the past four years to the real world.
“I do intend to attend grad school at some point, but not right after graduation,” he said. “I will not be worrying about that yet.”
The New York Life article cited a recent survey by the Pew Research Center, which found that 13 percent of parents with grown children say one of their adult sons or daughters has moved back home in the past year.
With the economy in the shape it is and the job market more competitive than ever, especially for young adults just graduating, it seems almost inevitable that moving back home is the next step.
Many factors contribute to the high number of graduates moving back home, but the recession has been particularly hard on young adults. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in October 2009, 15.6 percent of 20 to 24-year-olds were unemployed.
For many recent grads, it made smart economic sense to move back in with their parents, where rent tends to be either low or nonexistent. It allows them to stay comfortable while getting their finances in order.
Senior Stephanie Nunez feels that it’s the right choice, but not the smart choice, to live at home.
“At about the age of 22, graduates should try to branch out and stand on their own two feet by moving out of their parents’ home,” Nunez said. “But many graduates have paid for college with loans.”
Nunez, who has student loans to pay off, knows that she must start payments right after college, whether she has a job or not.
“These loans with their accrued interest are synonymous to the costs of paying a mortgage,” said Nunez. She also believes that because students are consuming too much, compared to what they can afford, they are, as a result, financially unstable.
Senior Vanessa Clark will be entering her fifth year at FDU as part of the QUEST program. Clark said, “I’m still undecided as to whether or not I will be staying at home or living on campus. But more than likely, I will be commuting.”
She also added that until she has a job and makes enough money to get her own place, she will be living at home.
Although it seems that the prospect of jobs and graduate school are on the horizon for the Class of 2010, housing is still uncertain. For many students, it’s not that they want to go home again, but that they have to.

ALEXIS CAMARENA
Staff Writer

It’s not every day you walk into class to find your professor dressed as a fuzzy bunny.
However, for the students in Professor Emile George’s class, it’s just another day in Methodology in Teaching Social Studies, a graduate-level course for students in the QUEST education program that meets every Wednesday.
Though the class revolves around history, George does not teach his students about the Civil War, the Industrial Revolution, or any other historical event. Instead, for the past four years that he has taught at FDU, George has been teaching his students creative and experimental methods of teaching history by dressing up, decorating the classroom, making projects and everything in between.
“You’re never going to be bored in my class,” George said.
Loren Kania, a fifth-year student in the QUEST program, has fun in George’s classes.
“Professor George teaches in very unconventional ways,” said Kania. “In my five years here, there’s been no professor on campus that comes close to the way he teaches.”
To demonstrate to his students one way of taking a history lesson to the next level, George had them write political platforms for both the Republican and Democratic parties and also one for Peter Rabbit.
“He came back into the classroom in the bunny suit and handed out carrots and bunny papers with ‘Vote for Peter Rabbit’ on them,” said Kania.
For any given class, George will set an atmosphere to complement his teachings.
“He’s very big on classroom environment,” Kania said. “Every night when we go to class, he has a different set-up.”
For a lesson on the 1960s, George plans on dressing up as hippie, playing The Beatles and examining the drug culture of the time period.
“I discuss often music’s influence in history,” George said. “I often play music to set an atmosphere when I teach. Teaching is about creating an atmosphere for a lesson, and that’s something I want my students to learn.”
After teaching public middle school and high school for 45 years, George retired and decided to try his hand at college education.
Having so many years of experience, George has plenty of insight to provide his students with a perspective on real-world education and the “do’s and don’ts” of teaching a class.
“Kids learn by doing, I believe in that. Research has shown that students learn more by seeing and by doing, than by hearing,” said George. “Teaching social studies should not be a lecture course; it should be a hands-on course.”
That being said, George’s class is not strictly a social studies class.
“A class like this doesn’t really teach you content but ideas and different ways to make your own students absorb material better,” said Kania.
“As the course is at a graduate level, the students should know the content,” George said. “My aim is to teach them how to apply that knowledge to teaching in a way that’s meaningful.”
The class has become pretty popular, with class size of over 20 students, slightly larger than most classes at FDU.
“I enjoy his class very much,” said Colby Thompson, a junior in the QUEST program. “He teaches in so many different ways and constantly changes up the class, that I am writing down or learning something nearly every second.”
However unique and unorthodox George’s class may be, the class is not so different from any other in terms of its workload. George’s students must complete a reaction paper every week and four projects throughout the semester.
“I still follow the departmental syllabus, though I’ve adapted it to my teaching style,” he said.
George expresses much enthusiasm and devotion to teaching the class. “I love what I do, and I love the students at FDU,” he said. “They’re bright, they’re enthusiastic, and they want to learn.”
George went on to say that the students give him feedback. “We discuss what’s good and what’s bad,” he said. “We critique every activity we do. We learn from each other.”
“As interesting as he is, he has emphasized to us to find our own way of teaching,” said Kania. “If we don’t feel comfortable dressing up in a bunny suit, then that’s not what we should do. He’s into us finding our own interesting path.”
George said he doesn’t remember a lot of “meaningful classes” from his college career, and he wants to give his students a memorable learning experience.
“I want my students to become outstanding teachers, and they will be,” he said.

Last year, Fairleigh Dickinson University became the first university to be granted special consultative status by the United Nations Economic and Social Council, according to the FDU Web site.
The university has since appointed 22 faculty members from both the College at Florham and the Metropolitan Campus to serve two-year terms on United Nations committees.
“I am confident these individuals will play influential roles on these committees and contribute to solutions that address global challenges,” University President J. Michael Adams said in a press release on the site.
The appointees are:
Cecilia Alvarez
Katherine Bullard
Ronald Calissi
Joan Desilets
Diane Dettmore
Maureen Doyle
Gerard Farias
Deborah Fredericks
Richard Gray
Leonard Grob
Minerva Guttman

Glennena Haynes-Smith
Jeffrey Hsu
Khyati Joshi
Delicia Koeneke
Rendell Mabey
Jo Anne Murphy
Elizabeth Parietti
David Rosen
John Schiemann
Ethne Swartz
Lona Whitmarsh

MATT GARBIN
Contributor

Students in the Chemistry Club, as well as FDU science scholars, recently visited Monmouth University to hear a lecture given by Kary Mullis, winner of the 1993 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for his development of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR).
Walking into the lecture, many students were expecting a dry presentation on topics above the heads of undergraduates. Mullis broke these expectations right from the start, joking about how his wife was going to yell at him for wearing pants that were too short to reach down to his socks.
The idea of PCR struck him while he was driving up to his cabin. “I was in the car with my ex-girlfriend at the time, and I pulled over.”
He said she begged him to go to the cabin and start their vacation, but he looked at her and said, “I think I can win the Nobel Prize for this.” The cabin could wait.
Mullis earned his doctorate in biochemistry from the University of California, Berkeley in 1972.
At first, he described himself as a peptide chemist, which is a chemist who studies and synthesizes proteins. However, this process was quickly becoming automated, and he didn’t want to find himself out of a job. Rather than be replaced by a machine, he decided to go into the expanding field of DNA research.
Mullis then began to work for a company named Cetus. There, Mullis was responsible for producing two short strands of DNA, called oligonucleotides. Mullis said his friend and old co-worker were offered the same job, but spent the time tinkering in his garage for two years working on a machine that could produce two of these short strands a day.
Again faced with losing his job, Mullis needed to come up with a plan.
“I had to figure out something to do with all the extra DNA strands that were being produced,” Mullis said.
Mullis had accidentally discovered PCR, a reaction that could replicate DNA millions or billions of times if needed. This would revolutionize the fields of both microbiology and biochemistry, he said.
Before PCR, testing for genetic diseases took agonizing weeks, and the results were never certain. PCR replicated DNA so that one tiny sample could be “amped up” into thousands of samples that gave a much clearer reading.
It also revolutionized the field of forensics. Mullis almost went on the stand at the O.J. Simpson trial as an expert witness, but the DNA evidence was mishandled by police, making the process impossible.
Mullis said the hardest part of the whole process was getting the technique published in a magazine. The journal he considered most prestigious refused it on the ground that it was “too incredible” and that “the readers would not be interested.”
Mullis joked that now 20 percent of the ad space in that journal is devoted to promoting companies that use his technique.
After the lecture, the students and faculty were invited to a reception to meet Mullis. Students had nothing but good things to say about him.
Julie Uddin, a science scholar, said, “He was different from lecturers here. He did not rely on PowerPoints. He was very personable, and I would love to hear him again.”
Another student, Devin Villiet, said, “Here’s a genius who invented PCR, but there was this ineptness in his mannerisms that reminded us he was human and gave us hope and inspiration that we could attain something as great as he did.”
Two senior students in the Chemistry Club said that Mullis was someone you could have a beer with.
His easygoing personality, which earned him the title of “The Surfing Scientist” in some articles, is only matched by his ingenuity.
The entire experience is best summed up by John Chillari, a science scholar and a member of the Chemistry Club, who said, “He was truly an inspiration, a magnificent man and a magnificent speaker.”

MARISSA HYMAN
Staff Writer

Marie Roberts, an art professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University’s Metropolitan Campus, had the unique opportunity to have some of her artwork featured in a recent episode of TLC’s hit show, “Cake Boss.”
“Cake Boss” centers around Buddy Valastro’s bakery, Carlo’s City Hall Bake Shop in Hoboken, N.J. In the episode “Freaks, Fast Food & Frightened Frankie,” which originally aired on Nov. 30, 2009, Valastro and his crew designed a cake for the Coney Island Circus Sideshow, using Roberts’ paintings as part of the design.
When Roberts received a call asking permission for her pictures to be used on the show, she allowed it even though she had never heard of the show.
“I don’t have cable; I didn’t know what ‘Cake Boss’ was,” said Roberts. “Only after the episode aired, and Amusing the Zillion (a former carnival performer) did a blog on me, did I get an inkling of just how popular the show is.”
The works that appeared on the “Cake Boss” episode were edible reproductions of cast portraits. This cast included performers Scott Baker, Donny Vomit, Serpentina, Heather Holliday, Black Scorpion and Kryssy Kocktail.
Since 1997, Roberts has been painting banners for the Coney Island Circus Sideshow. The images, called the bannerline, hang over the entrance to the sideshow theater.
“I generally try to make a new bannerline each sideshow season. That is about nine new six-by-five foot paintings,” Roberts said.
Roberts’ uncle was a talker with the Dreamland Circus Sideshow in Coney Island during the 1920’s, and her father also worked with the Dreamland show.
“I grew up with all this sideshow culture,” she said. “I ran away from sideshow culture to become an artist.” 
In the early 1990s, Roberts said she saw a New York Times article about a contemporary sideshow in Coney Island. “It was started by Dick Zigun, who had an MFA (Master of Fine Arts) in playwriting from Yale School of Drama. He understood both sides of my background, the sideshow and the professional artist.”
It was in 1997 that this contemporary circus sideshow moved to its present location, and banners were needed.
Roberts and her students painted 25 full-size banners for the 1997 sideshow season.
“I fell in love with the genre and continued to paint for the sideshow. I am an artist in residence there,” she said.
“I paint anything that needs to be painted, the banners outside and inside the sideshow theater, some installation work for programs like Creepshow at Halloween, and anything needed for the annual Mermaid Parade.”
After the “Cake Boss” episode aired, Roberts had the opportunity to meet Valastro.
Valastro allowed Roberts to tour the inside of his cake mobile, a white air-conditioned SUV.
Roberts learned that before Valastro designs a cake, he draws out his designs beforehand.
Roberts said, “I was really pleased with his work. I firmly believe in drawing as the basis of all design.”
As for the cake, “I told Buddy that he did an incredible job,” Roberts said.
“It was really beautiful; it had the feeling of the show and my paintings. The colors were keyed to my paintings.”

ASIA YOUNG
Staff Writer

In collaboration with the Office of Alumni Relations, SGA Senior Senators Brittany Laning and Erika Baldino hosted an event on Feb. 9 at the Bottle Hill Pub to mark the countdown of 99 days until the class of 2010 walks at graduation on May 18.
There was a $3 admission charge for every participant, which entitled the guest to a glass of champagne and appetizers from 9 p.m. until 1 a.m. There was also the option of purchasing a decorative class t-shirt of FDU’s “devil” insignia by donating a total of $20.10, in honor of the class year, according to Beth Reuse, director of constituent programs.
By the end of the night, 100 guests were in attendance, and a total of $300 was raised. The proceeds of the entrance fee were donated to the class gift fund, with a gross amount of $1,300 assembled thus far.
“We had this event in mind since last semester, and as soon as we got back to school we started to make the preparations. We were happy with the turnout due to the fact that we only had a short amount of time to advertise for it,” said Laning, referring to the mass FDU student e-mail and Facebook announcements sent out only the day before.
Students piled in to celebrate with peers and make the toast at 11 p.m.
Senior Anthony Del Conte said the event was sentimental because he was able to interact with people whom he has not seen since freshman year.
“I came because it’s my last year of being here with everyone,” said Del Conte, who is continuing his studies at FDU through the Quest five-year master’s program come Fall 2010. “It’s really the last hurrah, I don’t want to regret anything. I’ve had a great time here, and I want to remember it.”
Other students had similar feelings. Senior Homecoming King Evan Weinstein recalled his shyness upon entering college and his social progress since then over Magic Hat 9 beer.
“Let’s put it this way: to be completely honest with you, I cannot believe how fast my college career has gone. [The] champagne toast made me realize that college is coming to an end, and I got a chance to relish in the years that I’ve been here and the friends that I made.”
Senior John Schneider was pleased to steal away with friends for the night. “We’re going to have to start thinking about careers. Reality is setting in. I think it’s a good thing they’re doing this, to bring everyone together,” he said.
While swirling the drink in his cup, Senior Dan Rolwood shared his sentiments by quoting Semisonic’s “Closing Time,” saying, “Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.”
Rolwood added, “College was a next step, but now it’s time to end. We set our mark, our footprint, and it’s time for a new start.”
The commencement countdown continues, but seniors still have other events to look forward to, such as the Senior Dinner Dance on April 16, according to Laning. She also hopes to have a “50 Days ‘Til Graduation” affair.

KAYLA HASTRUP
Editor-in-Chief

When disaster strikes, many people turn to the media for the latest news and updates. As people at home watch the story unfold, media professionals are forced to give constant updates and information, resulting in what some critics would consider sensationalized news.
“In moments like these, it is the media that takes advantage,” said Kathleen Haspel, professor of communication studies and moderator for the latest Hot Topics event.
On Feb. 19, about 30 students and some FDU faculty and administrators gathered in Lenfell Hall to listen to a panel discussion titled, “When Disaster Strikes: The Media Coverage of Hurricane Katrina and the Earthquake in Haiti.”
In the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake, scholars, including those who spoke on the panel, have begun to research and analyze the media coverage.
Some media critics would agree that the news coverage of Hurricane Katrina prevented society from seeing the true victims as victims, according to Haspel, who has researched the coverage. “New Orleans was depicted as a third world county,” she said. “This created an unsympathetic portrayal of victims.”
She also noted that rumors and exaggerations from bystanders were picked up by the media and published as fact, such as stories of children being raped that were later found to be untrue.
“The news stories shape our world views,” she said. “We were depicting our own people as ‘others,’ that act as violent criminals that do not deserve help.”
Gregory Adamo, a professor of communication studies at Morgan State University and another panelist, noted the criticism that the media received for Katrina coverage “may have slightly tempered the coverage for Haiti. It seems there have not been such ridiculous and outlandish statements.”
While that may be true, there are still flaws in media coverage of disasters. Haspel pointed out a story on “Nightline,” when a reporter said, “As you can see I’m surrounded by refugees.” But a refugee, by definition, is a person who flees his or her own country for safety. Calling people who stayed in their home country “refugees” was inaccurate and, many believe, offensive.
Katherine Dunsmore, professor of communication studies here at FDU, also spoke to the audience about the problematic coverage.
“The coverage depicts the worst possible kind of case,” she said. “The process gets left out and people don’t see the whole picture.”
Dunsmore went on to talk about the ten Americans who were arrested for trying to bring 33 Haitian children to the United States for adoption. But they were not orphans, just separated from their families.
That was just one story that captured headlines in recent weeks. Consumers of the news were anxious to learn more about the Haiti earthquake, and the U.S.-based media was forced to parachute into the story, according to Sarah Latson, lecturer in journalism at FDU.
“Many members of mainstream media did not have people on the ground,” said Latson, who cited a Columbia Journalism Review report that only one foreign correspondent from a U.S. media outlet was based in Haiti at the time of the earthquake. It wasn’t until the day after the earthquake hit that other correspondents arrived from the U.S.
Latson went on to talk about the impact social media played in the initial hours. Even The New York Times, she said, was asking for people in Haiti or people who knew someone in Haiti to post comments about what was going on.
Once news outlets were in Haiti, she pointed out, the images produced were seen as being more graphic than ever before.
“Some criticisms are that the graphic photos are considered offensive,” she said. “Others say these images are telling the stories.”
While the Hot Topic issue was that the media often fails to adequately report stories, it was not the only subject addressed. Instead of being concerned with the facts and history of Haiti, Adamo said, people are more concerned about Tiger Woods’ apology and baseball’s spring training in Florida.
“Criticism of media coverage still goes on today,” Adamo said. “But we also need to support the media that does correctly cover important stories.”

MELISSA HARTZ
News Editor

Although FDU has hosted many blood drives in the past, a bone marrow drive was something new and different.
This week, the Office of Campus Life and Phi Sigma Sigma hosted a bone marrow drive in the Bottle Hill Room. For senior Janae Sones, coordinator of the event, the drive hit close to home.
“I found out that my stepfather was diagnosed with leukemia while I was on travel break during my semester at Wroxton,” said Sones. “When he was first diagnosed, he went through five rounds of chemotherapy. Though he’s been in remission since last October, there’s a high chance of relapse during the first year. If he relapses, he’ll have to get a bone marrow transplant.”
Sones noted that her stepfather is only in his early 40s, and has no history of leukemia or blood disorders. While the mention of bone marrow donation conjures up images of large needles and extreme discomfort, Sones made sure to address the rumor that donating bone marrow has to be painful.
“It’s a complete misconception about modern marrow donation,” Sones said. “When doctors first began the process, they did use needles to extract marrow from the pelvic bone. When they drew it from the bone, it was incredibly painful and complicated, but modern medicine has made marrow donation a lot easier.”
Now, instead of extracting from the pelvic bone, they draw blood and use stem cells. For the donor, there are no needles except the ones used to draw blood.
“The process is really similar to donating blood like the blood drives FDU does every semester,” said Sones.
The process of donating bone marrow is remarkably simple for such a crucial, life-saving substance. In an initial screening, potential donors are given four cotton swabs to swipe each side of their mouths. The samples are then checked for various diseases, such as AIDS and hepatitis.
Sones noted that those with blood disorders, auto-immune deficiencies, or a history of leukemia are not allowed to donate, but for the most part, anyone can decide to be a donor.
Once a donor and recipient are matched, the donor takes two weeks of medication that increases production of stem cells. The only needles involved on the donating end are those used to draw blood. For the recipient, it is a painful, but often life-saving procedure.
Sones said that the most successful bone marrow matches come from siblings because the DNA structure is most similar.
Sones’ stepfather, however, did not find a match in either of his sisters, and turned to non-related donors for marrow.
“Even though related matches are usually best, about 70 percent of patients get specimens from people who aren’t related to them,” said Sones.
Unlike blood donation, a bone marrow donor has the opportunity to contact the recipient of their sample, forging a bond between the two people.
“It’s an incredibly rewarding procedure,” said Sones. “When you donate blood, you aren’t really sure what it’s going to be used for or who it’s going to, but when you donate bone marrow, you’re really saving a life - that person will die if they don’t receive the transplant. You’re getting an opportunity to save a life and you know exactly who it is.”

ASIA YOUNG
Staff Writer

This semester’s Politics on the PublicMind events, sponsored by the College at Florham Library and the PublicMind Poll, is covering “Law and Society.” The topic directly correlates with a Spring 2010 course taught by Bruce Peabody, chair of the Department of Social Sciences.
Peabody elaborated on the importance of this season’s theme: “Law is everywhere - it shapes everything from how they serve food at FDU’s cafeteria to whether your parents can know your grades to what constitutes sexual harassment in the classroom or the dorms. And yet, despite the ubiquity and importance of law, many students and citizens don’t know a lot about it. So the class is intended to shine a spotlight on law’s importance and meaning throughout our lives.”
Every Monday from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. until Apr. 19, a guest speaker will discuss “law in theory and practice in the context of important contemporary issues and controversies,” according to Peabody.
Each week after, the featured expert will offer professional and original insight on pressing topics for the audience to participate in and debate. These influential speakers are scholars, judges, prosecutors and attorneys. The showcase includes many FDU professors.
The series kicked off Feb. 8 in the Orangérie, featuring FDU’s David Rosen, professor of anthropology and sociology, who discussed “Child Soldiers and International Laws.”
According to Eleanor Friedl, curator and reference librarian, Rosen reviewed children as young as eight joining war throughout world history. Friedl said Rosen spoke about how Americans tend to be shocked by this truth because their society has a distinctive view of childhood.
Friedl recalled that Rosen said Americans today view children and youth as victims of war who are exploited by adults.
The following week, Roger Koppl, director of the Institute for Forensic Science Administration, examined “Forensic Science and Criminal Law.” Koppl’s presentation featured a slideshow titled, “That’s Not How It Works on T.V.,” which observed the errors in forensic science and the repercussions wrongly accused victims face. According to Koppl, these inaccuracies roughly contribute to over 33,000 false felony convictions per year. He pointed out unfortunate circumstances such as that of Josiah Sutton, who spent nearly four and a half years in prison after he was charged and convicted of rape, as a result of botched DNA testing from a crime laboratory. Koppl produced a picture of the laboratory, which showed a leaking gap over what should have been a sterile lab environment.
Another famous case mentioned was that of Brandon Mayfield and the 2004 Madrid train bombing. Rosen said the FBI initially made a “100 percent match” to Mayfield from fingerprints found at the scene. The FBI later had to retract its statement and apologize.
Koppl believes there are three main reasons for forensic flaw: forensic science is subjective, crime labs are part of “law enforcement” agencies, and crime labs have a twofold monopoly. He proposed some solutions, particularly random, independent, and multiple examinations, to avoid damaging miscalculations, such as “sequential masking,” which is allowing forensic examiners to know information in advance about the case or person in question, potentially leading them to form biases about the results.
Koppl also shared a saying he likes to use: “A chain is only as strong as its weakest link; a net may be stronger than any of its knots.” Overall, he believes television shows, such as “CSI,” hinder his efforts. “These shows [display] forensic scientists as the infallible wizard, so it’s frustrating,” said Koppl.
Peabody said Koppl’s solution is “a marvelously creative, ‘common sense’ set of checks and balances that keep forensic examiners accountable and practicing good science.” Towards the end of his lecture, Koppl said, “Humans need truth like they need water,” which could be the fuel for his cause.
The first two weeks of the series were well-received by students, faculty and members of nearby communities. According to Colleen DiGregorio, public relations and marketing coordinator for the University’s library, more than 100 people attended Rosen’s lecture and about 90 attended Koppl’s. Peabody said these events are good opportunities for the FDU community to interact and learn from one another. “I think our students like hearing from outside speakers, especially those who bring different academic and professional perspectives and expertise to our discussions,” he said.
Peabody’s students are required to attend, and he believes it is essential for students of any major to participate because it can be relevant to any academic discipline. He also said that the sessions could help students make professional connections and develop ideas about their career path.
“One of the most irritating depictions of the academy is its portrayal as an ‘ivory tower’ isolated from the concerns of the real world,” Peabody said. “The Politics on the PublicMind series is a great reminder that this is utter hogwash. Our speakers have taught us about current public policy, human rights abuses, how to protect the wrongly accused from unfair incarceration and death, and the state of crime in New Jersey.”