“We’re not trying to put people through pain,” said Director of the Center for Addiction Studies and Awareness Pamela Negro. “There’s a lot of value in doing something like this.”

The university is requiring this year’s freshmen class to complete the course by Oct. 15.  They are requesting the sophomore class complete it, and are suggesting the course to the junior and senior classes.

Negro said, despite the mistake in the Rowan Announcer sent on Tuesday, there will not be any holds on transcripts or registration for sophomore, juniors and seniors. The course is simply suggested for them.

“If I didn’t send it out with some sort of firmness, maybe nobody would pay attention,” Negro said.

Students have mixed emotions about the survey, but many think it is too long and a little redundant.

“I think it is stupid and too long,” said freshman chemistry major Donald Sheppard. “It’s one thing for people who drink. For people who don’t drink, there’s only so many times you can answer that you don’t drink. It’s a good idea if they cut it in half.”

The course, designed to educate students on issues such as how much alcohol can be safely consumed based on body weight, is provided through the 3^rd Millennium Classrooms.

Last year, after testing multiple online courses by completing the courses herself, Negro decided on 3^rd Millenium Classrooms because of what she believes are benefits to students.

“This was the most student friendly. This is the one that we found that we felt students could learn something new from, and it is the least time consuming,” Negro said.

According to Negro, the course can be completed in less than one hour and does not have to be completed in one sitting.

The university purchased the program for the incoming freshmen class for $12,800 according to the Center for Addiction Studies and Awareness.

For this school year, Negro thought it would be beneficial to purchase the program for the entire student body for $13,000.

“We thought the results warranted the cost,” Negro said.

Negro said the university spent $1 more per student this year to add a section about sexual assault to the course, hoping to educate the campus that it is okay to report incidents even if students have been drinking.

“There needs to be no shame, you need to come forward if something happens,” Negro said.

The results are anonymous, and the only one with access to the data is Negro. The Center for Addiction Studies and Awareness uses the course results to create programming to educate students further. “I use the results to create proactive programming,” Negro said. “If I know there is an area with greater weakness, I know what kind of programs to create.”

If she sees there is not a clear understanding of what binge drinking can do to a person’s body, she may bring in a program with beer goggles to show students how disoriented they can become.

Junior radio/television/film major Nick Aucello said, “The university is being too strict on their alcohol policies. No matter what they do, drinking will still continue. Having us complete a survey will in no way completely stamp it out.”

Richard Jones, Associate Vice President for Residential Learning and Dean of Students, said the center looks at these results in order to understand how they can better help students.

“It helps the Division of Student Affairs plan appropriate educational programming for students and help students that may have a problem,” Jones said.

Jones said they may develop programs that help students understand the legal ramifications of underage drinking, how drinking can affect relationships or how it can disrupt their academic progress.

He also said that the program is not designed to pinpoint students that are engaging in underage drinking, and students should be aware that their results are kept private.

“We would never secretly punish them,” Jones said. “I don’t operate that way.”

Negro said she hopes upperclassmen do complete the course. She said she has had several students compliment the program to her, as well as parents that completed it with their child.

“I just don’t want students to get hurt,” Negro said. “Education is still the key after all these years.”

This is after spending more than $12,000 last year to educate incoming freshmen about the dangers of alcohol and how to drink responsibly.

All freshmen are required to take the course. This year, the extra money spent covers a license for every student to take the course, although upperclassmen are not required.

Hey, upperclassmen: you are not required to sit through this hour-long course about underage drinking. But Rowan spent your money on it anyway.

It seems that there could have been a cheaper way to do this.

Admittedly, I have not taken the course. Many seniors, such as myself, have not received the e-mail with their login information and instructions for the site. I cannot say whether or not this program is educational. My guess is that anyone taking it will absolutely learn something about alcohol and addiction.

And $13,000 seems like chump change to any university. But let’s be serious: there is no such thing as chump change in this kind of economy, especially at a state school.

Resident assistants could have learned this information easily and held meetings in freshmen dorms to talk about it.

Student University Programmers, Rowan After Hours or the Center for Addiction Studies and Awareness could have held an event.

The Center for Addiction Studies and Awareness could have used Rowan’s own computer science students to develop a visual computer program much like the one purchased by the university.

The online course was expensive, and it seems that Rowan could have avoided the cost. Not many upperclassmen will sit through this course if they do not have to, which makes that extra monetary leap to extend the program to the entire campus a waste.

The Rowan police force breaks up enough “speak-easies” every weekend to know that underage drinking occurs. The university knows the problem, and there is no question that educating students is important. But in all honesty, underage drinking will always be a problem, and spending $13,000 is not going to fix it.

The Good Samaritan rule and the elimination of any drinking games on campus have been implemented for this school year. The installment of these policies was brought about in order to reduce the amount of binge drinking occurring on campus, as well as upholding a safe atmosphere for Rowan University’s residents.

The Good Samaritan rule allows students who are heavily under the influence and may need medical attention to approach a Resident Assistant or Director without penalty.

A representitive from Residential Learning could not be contacted in time for this article.

“The new rule provides safety to students so that in case of an emergency, they have someone they can go to without the worry of getting reprimanded,” said junior music composition major Vincent Gattinella.

The second rule involves drinking games and states, “Games or activities that encourage excessive drinking or the serving of alcohol that lead to the endangerment of an individual’s well being or property damage will not be tolerated.”  The new rule can be found on page 100 of the student handbook.

“I understand their reasoning,” said junior biology major Kurt Clausen, “but we’re supposed to be adults, and it should be our responsibility to monitor our own drinking levels.”

Pronounced “me-so ripped,” the delivery service is now marketing itself to students who are exactly that; too drunk to drive a car or walk to Glassboro’s late-night food stands.

The owners and operators of the business were once Rowan students. They now use their skills learned here to start the company.

“We found ourselves saying how cool it would be if places like McDonalds and Checkers delivered,” said Tiffon Turner, a 2007 graduate. “The students love the idea. I mean, what student wouldn’t love to have these places deliver to them late at night?”

With competitive rates – $3 delivery charges for any order under $15 – Miso Ript expects to take advantage of businesses that do not offer delivery services. Soda and sandwiches from Wawa, burgers and fries from McDonald’s and coffee and donuts from Dunkin’ Donuts can be at your door in a short period of time.

“It’s pretty cool. I ordered from Taco Bell before,” said Sean Peterson, a senior law major. ”It got there pretty quick, but I didn’t like paying the three bucks for the 15 dollar order. I’d rather just tip them regularly.”

Students across campus are almost guaranteed to have encountered “Miso Man” stickers. As a part of an alternative marketing campaign, Miso Man stickers have been placed around campus of a man in red sunglasses and an afro being held back by a Japanese style bandanna. They are meant to intrigue students with an eclectic glare.

While they strive to set themselves apart visually, they also have a high standard for what gets delivered to students.

“The one thing that sets us apart from other campus delivery places is that we don’t deliver alcohol or tobacco,” Turner said. “If you’re looking for someone to drive you booze or cigarettes, you’ll have to find someone else. We won’t do it.”

Business hours are also meant to cater to a crowd that is young and hip, but have lost their fine motor skills. From 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. Monday through Wednesday, with an extension to 2:30 a.m. on Thursday, open until 1 a.m. on Friday, and closed on Saturdays and Sundays; students can order from a long list of restaurants and eateries.

Prizes are also a staple of the business, with free t-shirts being given out to its first customers when it began last November. Students who order are entered into a raffle to win a free net book.

To place an order call 732-620-6540, or go online at misoript.com. Tips for delivery service are expected.

Honestly, I feel there is no way to convey my feelings on this subject other than to share my own story. Yes, I was raped. I’m not going into what exactly happened because that is information that to this day I still cope with.

I will say this: if you ask my attacker, he will say he did nothing wrong. Why? He said, “I can’t really think that logically when I’m in that situation.” I put that in quotes because I will remember that for the rest of my life. He believed he was entitled to sex because we were dating, despite the fact that I said to stop.

When I told my mother of the assault, she responded with, “Well, you should’ve known what you were getting yourself into going over there.”

And that’s where I get angry.

We live in a victim-blaming culture. The second that a woman or man says that they’ve been raped, we have to know everything: where; how many times; with what; where on your body; did you know your attacker; was it really rape?

Nobody asks or deserves to be raped. It does not matter if the victim was drinking or dressed in a provocative manner. The fact that we automatically seem to not believe the victim just perpetuates the cycle of violence.

More and more, people do not report their rape due to embarrassment or fear of persecution. On a college campus 90 percent of victims will never report their attack according to the Journal of American College Health. But in this culture, do you blame them? People seem more interested to call in a false rape accusation or try to convince the victim that what they experienced wasn’t really rape. After all of that, it is almost as though they are violated again.

Why is this? We assume. We assume that the girl in the short skirt is a slut. We assume that consenting to drink is consenting to have sex. According to crisisconnectioninc.org, men are more likely than women to assume that a woman who drinks alcohol on a date is a willing sex partner. What’s worse, 40 percent of men who think this way also believe it is acceptable to force sex on an intoxicated woman. Maybe instead of assuming that the drunk woman was lying about being raped, we should possibly think that the man was lying about her consent.

Consent is such a delicate yet important matter that we can’t afford to assume any more. Even if your partner consents to stripping down and fooling around, that doesn’t consent to actual intercourse. We aren’t at an advanced stage in human development where we can read each others’ minds. If your partner asks or tells you to stop, you need to respect their wishes. You have no idea what is going on inside of their head.

Many who I discuss this extremely sensitive matter with respond with how a man can be wrongfully imprisoned even though “he just did what normal college guys do.” We need to stop thinking that a man who will take any opportunity for sex, whether or not it is wrong, is exhibiting acceptable behavior. To pity these rare cases as though they were the norm only enables the problem.

According to the National Crime Victimization Survey in 2000, only 16 percent of rapes reported to the police nationally (which is 1/3 or less to begin with), resulted in prison sentences. Therefore, a man who rapes only ends up in prison approximately 5 percent of the time. Let me repeat this: there is a 95 percent chance he will get away with it.

If you have read any of my other columns, you would know that I am not naïve about what happens on campus. I know that there are parties, drinking and a lot of gray areas. I respond with what I said earlier: consent goes so much farther than “no means no.” If the person you’re about to have sex with is acting in a way he or she would never normally act, take a moment to think about what you are going to do.

If your partner is only saying yes because you are coercing them into having sex, I’m sorry, but that is rape according to the definition provided by the Department of Justice. Read into the situation that you’re in. More often than not, your gut will tell you what to do.

I don’t like to complain about a problem without offering a solution, so my solution is this: communication. Start talking about these attacks without judgment. Start talking about what constitutes consent before asking for it.

Even more, we need to start teaching this to our kids. Teach our girls to stand up for themselves, not be ashamed and take pride in their bodies and actions. Teach boys about not being so impulsive and thinking out their actions. Teach everyone about respect.
We need to stop thinking that these things are “okay.” Rape jokes on “Family Guy” and those t-shirts saying “No means no, unless I’m drunk” are not “okay.” Honestly, grow up.

Enough of this “boys will be boys” excuse. Boys shouldn’t be allowed to have sex. That is a privilege reserved only for men.

This column was written in response to an Op-ed written in “The Daily Princetonian” on rape and accountability. Laura Donnelly is a senior writing arts major.

A patrolman responded to a report of public urination on Nov. 8. The officer arrived on the scene to find the suspect urinating on a hallway wall. The suspect, who claimed to be “staying with a friend,” was issued a summons for public urination, underage consumption of alcohol and a warning for trespassing. He was also informed that if he ever returns to the Rowan campus again, he’ll be arrested.

Now to be fair, he was probably only urinating on the wall to wash off his vomit. This punishment seems rather severe. I mean, we all have our bad nights. If Rowan banished every student who urinated on a wall or street sign or a professor, there wouldn’t be any students.

Unknown location, 9:19 a.m. –

An officer responded to a report that said a student’s car had been broken into. When the officer arrived at the scene, the officer found the passenger side window broken open and the contents of the glove compartment on the passenger seat. An iPod had been removed from the car.

The police report stated that the window had been broken with an unknown object. This is most likely untrue, as the person who broke into the car probably knew what the object was. The obvious exception, of course, being if the thief was blind. The fact that it was raining at the time of the crime only bolsters this theory because, as anyone who has seen “Daredevil” will tell you, rain gives blind people sonar.

I would tell the blind bandit to watch out, but that would be rude. Instead, I’ll tell them this: keep an ear to the ground, we’re onto you.