Threats to Student Safety

One of the most common things about being a student at Rutgers New Brunswick Piscataway is that we cross many roads every day. When cars speed, they pose a direct threat to students going to class and leaving class. Not only does it affect students' lives, but also the lives of everyone who works and studies at Rutgers University.
I have launched a Campus Safety Campaign.
The First Step is to gather evidence. I will be posting videos of speeding cars from all five New Brunswick Campuses.
Here are the videos from Livingston Campus.

Speeding continues to occur on Livingston campus

The First Step in my Campaign for Campus Safety is recognition and preparing evidence that such threat exists to the student body

Setting a Good Example

One of the things that I have done is set a good example by eating three square meals a day and waking up early every day to eat breakfast. I wake up everyday at seven in the morning to walk to the dining hall for breakfast and eat cut fruit and oatmeal. 

Doing small things to make a big difference

One of the things that I have always done is building a level of trust and forming a relationship with professors and teachers that make the classroom environment more comfortable. I have always been bold and brave about asking questions and making professors/teachers know I exist in the class. The relationships that I build with them help create this team environment in the classroom that makes the class more memorable and exciting. I have always tried to take the knowledge and apply it elsewhere and make myself a better lifelong learner. Forming these relationships are small tasks, but they make a big difference because it makes you and your classmates more excited to go to class. 

Name Preference

One of the achievements that came out of the Academic Affairs committee is the preferred name bill that was passed with almost no opposition. It essentially gave students the right to put their preferred name on the roster. This helps both international and transgender students because they require preferred names. International students need preferred names so other students can call them. Transgender students need preferred names because their official name no longer reflects their actual gender. Homophobic professors would mark them late if trans* students did not respond to their official names being called.
OIRT is currently working on the technology for putting preferred names on SAKAI, class rosters, MyRutgers, and other University documents. 

My Time

Before I started working at RUSA, I created a laundry list and a binder filled with things to do during the year. Now I scrapped all of that because it isn't possible to do all of them. Everything done in RUSA is done bit by bit and piecemeal because relationships with administrators are built with trust. I am only getting started in building that trust with professors and administrators. There is no need to rush

Heating situation at Rutgers Residence Halls

Here's my report of my research so far on Residence Hall heating. 
I interviewed several people including Dean of Students Jeff Broggi, Director of Residence Life and Housing Steve Dubiago, and Livingston Campus Residence Life Director, Jason Hunt. 

Here's what they said: 
Jason Hunt said, "All of the residence halls (With the exception of the Livingston Apartments) operate off of a radiant heat system. This means that the occupants have no way of controlling the heat in their individual spaces (If my memory serves me correctly, the heat is sporadic throughout the day). That being said, there really is no average high temperature for an individual space as it varies". 
Furthermore, he also said, "unfortunately, due to the way the heating system is structured, there's no way to set it at a specific temperature. Basically, we flip a switch and the heat is on until it is turned off in early spring". 

Dean Broggi said that the Energy Generation plant on Busch campus supports heating to Busch and Livingston Campus students and residents. The temperatures are regulated by chillers. One of these chillers is located near Matila and Allen. It takes up to three days to change the temperatures because they have to go through the chillers. 

Steve Dubiago said that the Quads are generally very old. The temperature is usually adjusted because there are sensors outside the buildings that detect the outside temperature. Since the quads were built in the 1960s, there are no sensors that adjust the temperature based on the need from the outside climate. 

I'm going to end this project here because there's not much I can do as a active, elected member of RUSA to change the situation. 

Cheaper Textbooks

Academic Affairs Committee of RUSA is currently working to make recommendations to help make textbooks cost cheaper for students. Instead of promoting Barnes and Noble overly priced books, professors will be encouraged to let students use older editions of textbooks that can be purchased second hand. 

Campaign Season

I have been working on several safety initiatives over winter break so far. Ian Wolf approached me earlier and told me that we can consolidate all of these into a Campus Safety Campaign. I will be pushing for goals and deliverables that will further make Rutgers New Brunswick safer for all students. That means undergraduates and graduates. 

Another important project

One of the biggest issues on campus so far that I want to fix is the constant speeding on Livingston Campus. Speeding cars jeopardize the lives of students, faculty members, employees and parents who constantly visit the campus and the university every day and week. One of the trouble spots is Road 3 between Livingston Campus Recreation Center and The Quads. Students who live in the quads need to cross a road where plenty of cars speed through faster than the 25 mph speed limit. Furthermore, they have to go through a busy parking lot with inexperience drivers like young adults. The reasons for this issue stems from the lack of visible speed signs, speed bumps, and the direct cross walk to the recreation center. I propose that we add several speed bumps on Road three and add a crosswalk that directly faces the entrance of the recreation center.
Another speeding issue is on Joyce Kilmer road where students commuting park their cars have a difficult time crossing the road due to speeding vehicles. It also jeopardizes the lives of students and people who frequently cross the road to get to the Asian American Student Center and the Thomas Edison Papers Project.
Business School students frequently cross another road, Rockafeller road to get to the Business School for classes. Often, they have to wait or risk getting hit by cars. These vehicles neither yield nor slow down their speeds. They keep on zooming through Livingston Campus.
I seek to make sure more speed limit signs are visibly placed and more crosswalks are created. Along with the creation of several speed bumps, livingston campus can be much safer. 

Another amazing project and change will be coming next semester

As of currently, I am working on researching the heating issue at the residence halls and academic buildings of Rutgers New Brunswick. Many students especially those who live in Quad 2 have been complaining that the dorms are too hot. Of course, they are too hot. The room temperature is 78 degrees and 80 degrees everyday. The problem needs to be further researched. From what I know, the temperature of other residence halls automatically adjusts because there are sensors outside that detect the outside temperature. However, the quads are too old and therefore do not have those sensors. I am investigating how we can continue to fix this issue by installing sensors. This makes living in the dorms more comfortable, more environmentally friendly, and cost efficient. 

Amazon Student

One of the great things that I did before I started college was make an Amazon student account. It gives you a 6 month free trial, which offers free 2 day shipping. It is excellent for buying new textbooks, renting textbooks, and buying used textbooks.
 Amazon Student
Here's the Link:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/student/signup/info?ie=UTF8&refcust=3O6S7E2XYRWOU325JJA3WSVLEY&ref_type=generic

Happy New Year