Student Bullying in Cyberspace by Lisa Martinez Backstabbing Her Friends
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RJA's New mLb Season Preview Everyone's guilty Release John & Jay's picks! Pleasure P. 7 P. 10 P. 9 See page 2 The Tower www.kean.edu/~thetower Kean University’s stUDENT NEWSPAPER Volume 9 • Issue 9 Feb. 25-Mar. 10, 2009 STUDENT ATHLETE PLAYS AND WORKS HARD Student Bullying in Cyberspace BY LISA MARTINEZ backstabbing her friends. Her breaking point was when she was sitting in class When hearing the term bullying the one day and overheard people whispering first thing that comes to mind is a kid be- the rumors they had read about her on the ing picked on at a playground. However, site. She ran out of class in tears and did bullying is no longer limited to kids or not return to campus for the rest of the playgrounds. The new ‘era’ of bullying is week. online and it is targeting everyone from The following week, Pribush returned middle school to college. to campus only to attend classes. She re- Cyber-bullying is no longer limited to fused to socialize, fearing judgment from harassment on Facebook and MySpace others based on the ugly things being said or embarrassing videos on YouTube; the about her online. ‘new face’ of cyber bullying is the anony- mous blog. Blogs, what once were used as a kind of THE ‘new fAcE’ Of cYbER bUL- public diary where people recorded their lyiNg iS THE ANONYmOUS blog. EBONY JACKSON (MIDDLE ROW, FOURTH FROM LEFT). SEE PAGE 3. private thoughts or daily happenings, are now being used as a tool to slander peers. This new wave of anonymous blogging has “I didn’t want to make eye contact with spread like wildfire. But when does the anyone while walking on campus because Resident Assistants Get New Contract blogging turn into defamation of charac- I was afraid they would talk about those ter? Or harassment? things,” Pribush said. BY JIllIAN JOHNSON the new contracts. They required RA’s to These blogs are designed so that ran- Pribush was not only upset about the monitor floors, set forth and ensure rules dom people can post absolutely anything things that were said about her but also The new employment contract for Resi- and to have regulatory floor meetings with about anyone no matter the content on a disappointed because she thought the dent Assistants for the Spring 2009 se- the residents. public site that anyone can read and com- days of lies and gossip were left behind mester calls for more responsibilities that “It was still work that we had to do, but ment on. at high school graduation. After getting some say leaves them with less time for it wasn’t as time-consuming,” explained Consider the case of Jessica Pribush, a the comfort of good friends, Pribush de- school or a personal life. one RA who asked to remain anonymous. junior at Kean University, who was a victim cided to defend herself and her sorority RA’s are given free room and board, and In January, the RA’s met with Resident of cyber-bullying. Pribush was viciously by addressing the rumors. She responded a free meal plan in exchange for monitor- Hall Directors to discuss the new contract. slandered last semester by an anonymous on the site by stating that what was said ing and assisting residents on their floors. An RHD is a professional employee, who blogger on a site called JuicyCampus (now about her was not true and that she still The new contracts require weekly room typically has an eight-hour, five-day-a- called College acb). This particular site is had the support of her friends and sisters. visits with residents on their floors and week shift in the office on the Community designed for college students. They are She said she immediately felt better. After giving Saturday room tours to potential- Center of each dorm. able to post bulletins about anyone and a few days there were no more additions ly new students interested in attending According to the anonymous RA, not anything while remaining completely to the blog, and like other rumors, it all Kean. The biweekly room visits requires many RA’s signed the new contract and anonymous. In the beginning, her entire faded and there were new topics. RA’s to go to each room on their floor and those who were unhappy with the new sorority was being slandered and at first Even though the experience was hurtful talk to or participate in an activity with contracts were told by the RHD’s to write she chose to ignore it. Then a few days lat- for Pribush, she has decided to look at the the room residents. letters about it. According to the RA, er she learned she was being singled out. incident as a learning opportunity. The old contracts weren’t as detailed as roughly 40 letters (Continued on page 4) She was called names and accused of “This experience (Continued on page 4) Movies, Music, Stage, and Travel! (See centerfold.) INQUIRING PHOTOGRAPHER: What Class or Classes Do You Wish Kean Offered? BY KEllEY PENNISI Kyla Womack Rohan Runa Jennifer Grilli Olivia Mendez Junior, Communications Freshman, Computer Science Junior, Psychology Junior, Speech Language & Hearing Science “I wish that Kean had fashion market- “I think Kean needs regular nursing “I wish that Kean would have [more] “I wish Kean would offer a sexuality of ing classes.” classes.” astronomy classes.” politics class.” Salt or No Salt 2 Crossword 6 About Face(book) 9 Student Profile 3 Rachel's Rave 7 MLB Season Preview: John & Jay's Picks 10 Original Work at Kean Dance Theatre 4 Editorial & Anger Management 8 Women’s & Men’s Sports 11/12 2 February 25, 2009 | The Tower Lecture on China Designed to Inspire BY JOSEPH TINGLE ferent disciplines and backgrounds, and and the world’s, for that matter- great cul- all have different perspectives on China,” tural heroes: Confucius (Confused? That’s It’s 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 11th, says Dr. Kong, whose goal is to inspire stu- because Confucius is a Latinized version and students from different disciplines dents to learn more about China. of the name Kong Fuzi). and backgrounds are gathered at Kean She hopes that students will become While there’s no proof that her family Hall. Today is the first installment of a more curious about China after attending is actually related to Confucius, Dr. Kong’s six-part educational lecture series put on one or two lectures. family has been following the Kong family by the Chinese program, and Dr. Xurong According to Dr. Gronewold’s lecture, tree for as long as anyone can remember Kong, the mastermind behind the pro- the Chinese civilization was, by almost and she’s proud to share the same name. gram, is happy to see a full turn out of cu- every standard, “the most sophisticated She admits that that could be one of the rious students. country in the world up until the early reasons she feels so compelled to educate Though many people around the world 19th century.” others about China’s rich culture and civi- are only recently beginning to recognize Regardless of discipline, then, the Chi- lization, even during a time when other China’s global impact, China is one of nese civilization has made some kind of issues, like China’s rapidly growing econ- the world’s oldest and most cultured civi- significant contribution, whether it be omy, seem to overshadow mostly every- lizations. Its history stretches back six in mathematics, history, media, music, thing else. millennia. It’s fitting, then, that the first political science, or language. It’s this kind “I don’t like to mention the role China’s lecture in the series, entitled “Use (and of wide reaching significance that inspired economic growth plays in the importance Abuse) of History in China Today”, focus- Dr. Kong to open the lecture series up of learning about China,” she says. It’s im- es on just that. to all students, even though it was ini- in their own history and China is a place portant, “but there is so much more than For the first lecture, Dr. Sue Gronewald tially designed for students taking a travel where “history matters”. Chinese culture that. Regardless of economics, China has of the History Department takes the helm. learn course. is riddled with references to its own his- dominated a very large part of the Earth She’s an American with a background in “The lecture series won’t give students tory and its own set of cannon, and ironi- for a very long time. It’s not right to over- Modern Chinese History, and an example a detailed knowledge about China,” Dr. cally Dr. Kong herself provides a bit of look China’s vast history and culture.” of the kind of diversity that’s all part of Kong says, “but I want it to spark their in- self-referencing culture. For more information on the Chinese Dr. Kong’s plan.Dr. Kong points out that terests and make them curious. Students Dr. Kong, who was hired in 2006 to revise Program and lecture series, visit the the lectures are equally divided between who attend a lecture or two may suddenly Kean’s Chinese program, shares a connec- Foreign Language department on the American, Taiwanese, and Mainland Chi- find that they have an interest in China.” tion with China’s deep history that’s more 3rd floor of Hutchinson Hall or visit the nese professors. As Dr. Gronewold pointed out in the first than mere symbolism or circumstance.