Amina Lake Abdelrahman
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Who Will Speak at Montclair State's Commencement?

4/28/2017

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Farhana Mukith (left) and Victoria Batista (right) thinking about the end of the semester. Photo by Amina Abdelrahman
With less than a month left until graduation, Montclair State still does not have a guest lined up to speak at the commencement ceremony this year.

Students are not pleased because the university’s original choice, football player Victor Cruz, is no longer speaking due to miscommunication. According to The Montclarion, Cruz never agreed to speak because the dates did not work for him.

Farhana Mukith, a junior business hospitality management major, was reflecting on how Rutgers was able to get Barack Obama, the president at the time, to speak at their graduation last year. “I definitely wouldn’t want Donald Trump to speak at commencement,” Mukith said. “How about Drake? I love him.”

Mukith was annoyed that another university so close to us was able to get such a great speaker last year, yet Montclair State can’t find anyone for this year. She hopes that next year at her graduation, the university steps up their game.

Mukith wasn’t aware that the football player was even asked to speak at this year’s commencement ceremony. She doesn’t care much for Cruz, but thinks that having options is better than having no idea who will be the speaker.

​Last year, the university selected Don Garber, Commissioner of Major League Soccer and Montclair resident, to deliver the commencement address. After Obama spoke at Rutgers, students at Montclair State have very high expectations for who will speak at future commencements.
Undeclared freshman Victoria Batista thinks that students should vote on who Montclair State asks to speak at the graduation. “My high school asked Oprah to come to our graduation on Twitter,” Batista said.

She also suggests that students should message people they want to speak at graduation, asking them how many retweets they need to make it happen. Both Batista and Mukith think that this situation is making Montclair State seem very unorganized, so they want the university to make more of an effort to please the students.
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High school students visiting Montclair State with no idea who will speak at graduation. Photo by Amina Abdelrahman
With less than a month left until the commencement ceremony, students have no idea who will be giving the commencement address to the Montclair State graduates and their families. Commencement is scheduled for Thursday, May 25 at 9 a.m.
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Fear the Unknown: Will Montclair State Students Vote in the SGA Elections if They Don't Know What They Are?

3/31/2017

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Few students sitting outside the SGA office. Photo by Amina Abdelrahman
Next week, Montclair State students will have the opportunity to vote for who will hold positions in the student government office for the 2017-2018 school year.

The Student Government Association (SGA) is a council that oversees many campus organizations. They aim to enrich students’ experiences on campus by giving them opportunities to get involved and connect with others.

Although an election like this determines important things, like where money is spent, many students are unaware about the process and candidates.

Danielle Dibenedetto, a senior biology major, said she doesn’t know anything about the election and probably won’t vote. “I’m not involved. I come to class and go home,” she said.
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Posters for candidates campaigning for the SGA. Photo by Amina Abdelrahman
Dibenedetto did notice the people who made an effort to put their names out, like those that write their names in chalk on the steps from CarParc and hang up posters. 

Sara Stambolian, a freshman psychology major, also notices the people who campaign. She is still deciding if she will vote next week, but she is going to look into the candidates and what they stand for before making her choices. 

“I would want them to help with things on campus,” Stambolian said. She isn’t involved in any organizations with the SGA, but is open to the idea in the future. 

​SGA polls open on Monday, April 3 at 12 a.m. and close on Wednesday, April 5 at noon. Students can vote on HawkSync between those hours.
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Students Enjoy Unusual Spring Weather in February

2/24/2017

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Students sit outside and enjoy the weather before class starts. Photo by Amina Abdelrahman
Many students at Montclair State University took advantage of the unusual weather today by sitting outside around campus and enjoying the warmth and the sun.

According to Weather.com, the high temperature of today was 74 degrees, which made students feel like it was spring, even though it is only February. Some people were staying active by playing frisbee in the quad, while others did homework outside rather than in their dorm or the library.

Freshman biology majors Briana Marte and Merilin Manashirov, pictured above, spent the morning sitting outside of the student center. They were casually going over notes on their computers, hanging out and peeling oranges.

“I’m going to go running outside when I get home,” said Marte, who was worried that the warm weather would be gone in a few days. She had an indoor party to attend tonight, so she wanted to make sure that she got to be outside as much as possible.

​Manashirov was already done with class for the day, but she was waiting around on campus until Marte was done with class. “I’m going to Edgewater tonight to walk around since it’s so nice,” she said.
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Jeff Ramella sits on a bench outside before class. Photo by Amina Abdelrahman
Sophomore television and digital media major Jeff Ramella was waiting at home this morning before class when he decided that the weather was too good to miss out on. He didn’t have class until 11:30 am, but decided to head to campus early.

​​“I thought, ‘Wait, it’s so nice out. I’m just going to hang out outside,’” said Ramella as he sat on a bench in the quad. He commutes from Hillsdale, about a 25 minute drive, so he said it was still cold out when he left his house this morning.
​According to Weather.com, temperatures for tomorrow are expected to hit 63 degrees with a 60 percent chance of rain.
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    Assignments submitted as part of journalism, public relations and integrated communications classes. 

    All deadline news reporting assignments were completed during a one hour long class period. 

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