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WHAT ELSE: What inspires Rutgers students
The people and events that motivate and entertain people at New Jersey's largest state university - what makes the campus tick
Young actor excels, chases dreams at RU
Cebrian wants to make it on the screen
By AYESHA GOUGEOUEHI
STAFF WRITER

Virgil Cebrian is an aspiring actor at Rutgers University who plans on following his childhood dream of making it on the big screen.

Cebrian's enrollment at The N.J. Dramatic School of Arts in Bloomfield is a prime example of how he is taking his dream seriously.

Though he took the current semester off, he may go back there and live his dream. Cebrian understands the importance of education. He plans on getting his degree in journalism but plans on acting afterwards.

“Part of me wants to drop out, move to L.A and do the damn thing… but I also understand how important education is and how having a degree is key to a lot of jobs,” he said.

Cebrian wanted to be an actor for as long as he can remember. Since he was younger he can remember saying that he wanted to turn his hobby into his career.

"My dream is to be an actor," he said. "I don't care if it's just on the CW in Gossip Girl. I want to be a working actor in Hollywood."

Cebrian is aware of the difference between a childhood dream and a dream of an adult. "I've had the dream since I was a kid, but have been taking it more seriously as I've gotten older,” he said.

How he plans to reach his dream is what’s most important, he said. He has done some acting and is already familiar with the stage, the lights, the audience and the feeling of being watched.

"From a young age, I've always had this knack for performing in front of people,” he said. “Whether it was singing or acting, I wanted to perform in front of audience."

Cebrian found something not only that he was good at, but something he enjoyed. When asked why he likes acting, Cebrian said, "My ultimate goal is to be an entertainer. I want to make people laugh, cry, think, believe... I think that's a great gift."

Aside from his passion of entertaining people, Cebrian is also touched by his acing and his

Virgil Cebrian

performances. He said acting makes him feel free.

"I feel like a different person when I step into different characters," he said. "It feels liberating."

Inspiration often fuels the craft. Cebrian named Robert DeNiro, Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson as actors who inspire him. Other than the actors he named, Cebrian says he can draw inspiration from many people.

“Anyone who goes after their dream is an inspiration for me,” he said.

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Students take steps to stay safe
Swine-flu awareness spreads to dorms
By AMANDA ALCANTARA
STAFF WRITER

The swine-flu scare has reached Rutgers University campus, and students are taking measures to protect themselves.

Douglass Campus resident Wendy Blanco heard rumors that the swine flu will reach approximately 50 percent of Rutgers students by the end of the semester, so she has began using a lot hand of sanitizer.

“I sanitize before going to my room, before eating, after eating…” she said. “I don’t want to be paranoid but I just wanna prevent myself from getting sick.”

Blanco is not the only student taking precautions. Sophomore Tania Guaman also claimed that she carries around a hand sanitizer.

“I think we are all scared about getting sick” she said.

Other students are taking their preventive measures a step further. For example, College Avenue Campus resident Jazmin Minaya confessed that she has begun taking medications to strengthen her immune. interesting

Her younger sister Gissell Minaya claims that it has been exceptionally difficult to deal with the swine flu since this is her first year in college.

“I’m already stressed out with school, work, and family and now I have to be cautious about my health too,” she said. “The swine flu gives freshmen more fear because we are not used to being around so many kids.”

Different fliers were passed around campus dorms by Rutgers Health Services at the beginning of the semester. They read “Cleaning Your Room, Apartment or Suite-H1N1 Influenza Virus.”

 
Students worry that too much socialization could lead to sickness (photo by Alcantara).

The fear about swine flu became even more explicit when these fliers were reviewed during dorm meetings. For example, Rutgers Sophomore Debbie Ukah had a difficult experience at the beginning of the fall semester when she began having minor cold symptoms. She claims that other students, including her roommate were acting weirdly around her and that made her feel really upset.

“Just because someone gets sick it doesn’t mean they have the swine flu,” she said.

Ukah felt that she was being singled out – especially after a student wore a scarf over her mouth whenever Ukah was around her. Thankfully, Ukah said, she was soon able to convince everyone that she did not have the H1N1 Influenza Virus because she did not have a fever.

Although the Center for Diseases Control and Prevention has declared that the outbreak will significantly increase from spring 2009 to fall 2009, some students believe that the swine flu scare has gone too far.

Sophomore Roberto Martinez said he believes in taking precautions when it comes to weaker members of the society such as babies and the elderly, “but overall it’s been blown way out of proportion,” he believes.

Junior Keoni Harrison is perhaps an example of this exaggeration. He claimed that he has stopped eating pork to prevent him from getting sick.

Some other students are taking simpler precautions such as washing their hands more often and not drinking from public fountains.

Also, many commuters have not witnessed the spread of fliers around campus dorms nor nighttime dorm meetings about how to protect themselves from the flu.

Therefore, they take more subtle measures. Christian Bonilla, who commutes from Newark, says that he is not really worried about the swine flu, but he is still very much aware of it.

“I stay away from  those who are coughing,” he said, “But I do feel safer at home than I do here.”

Cristian Puerta said that he doesn’t really worry much about the swine flu either. “I just try not to put my hands on stair rails or the tubes in the buses,” he said. “Other than that I could care less.”

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Swine flu: Be aware; not scared
Students say media are hyping the illness
By KATE CALLAHAN
STAFF WRITER

Many Rutgers students believe that the swine flu is not something to be feared, but they should be aware of it.

If anything, many students feel the excessive media coverage on the swine flu has forced people into thinking more about the virus.

Shane Press, a Rutgers senior, argues that no more people have died from the swine flu than from the regular flu that ails people during the winter months.

“I think the bigger problem is that people are being manipulated by the government and the media into thinking this particular flu is so dangerous,” says Press.

A lot of media coverage compares swine flu to previous deadly epidemics such as the Avian and Spanish flus. Press thinks people don’t acknowledge the fact that the medical advancements and technology prevent people from dying from the flu.

A lot of other students agree with Press that the media has caused the heightened fear of the flu.  Kelly Kemmerle, a Rutgers sophomore believes there is so much hype about the flu is causing a sense of paranoia in people.

Although there have been many reported swine flu deaths, Kemmerle does not think coverage of the flu should be taken to the extreme as it is shown in the media. Instead she believes that people need to make sure they take care of themselves and do what they can to not spread germs.

 

 
The Rutgers community is taking a number of steps to keep itself healthy..

“Many of the people dying are the elderly, babies, or people with chronic diseases whose immune systems are not equipped to handle the flu on their own,” says Kemmerle.

Kemmerle, along with many of the students, believes that the paranoia associated with the swine flu is what is really hurting people.

“Well, I basically am forced to be afraid of swine flu,” says Katie England, a Rutgers junior.  “I’m an RA, and we are forced to do a lot of things to warn people and prevent swine flu from breaking out.”

As a resident assistant, England had to attend informational meetings about swine flu and learn techniques to prevent the spread of it.  She also has to keep an eye on all her residents to make sure they are taking care of themselves when they get sick.

“If any of my residents are sick, I am supposed to encourage them to go to the health center and go home until they are feeling better,” says England.

England believes that if it weren’t for the big hullabaloo the media has created, people wouldn’t be as fearful of swine flu. Although there is lots of media speculation about the flu, England says you can’t deny science.

Chaz Wang, however, is a Rutgers sophomore who is worried about swine flu, especially when it comes to students at the university.  Wang believes that the habits of university students create a breeding ground for the disease.

Wang believes many students don’t think about the flu in relation to their regular activities, such as sharing cups at a party.

 “If a person had swine flu and played a game of beer pong, they would spread the flu to every person that decided to play after them since they reuse cups and balls,” says Wang.

Wang is taking his own precautions to prevent getting swine flu and believes that other students should follow suit.  He thinks people don’t need to be afraid of swine flu if they are taking care of themselves and being careful at parties and other places that germs are easily spread.

ARCHIVES: 2009: June 6, June 17, June 23, October 12, October 20
November 2, 2009
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Rutgers is wary of swine flu
Many don't fear it; but they're ready
By ADAM GARABEDIAN
STAFF WRITER

Rutgers students have mixed opinions regarding the swine flu virus and the possibility of it spreading on campus.

Lucine Kinoian, a sophomore who lives on the College Avenue campus, said she has not taken any additional precautions since hearing about the outbreak of swine flu because it doesn’t concern her.

“I think the media is making it out to be worse than it is,” Kinoian said. “I just would hope that if someone has it, they have the decency to keep a distance.”

Kinoian also called quarantining students who have the virus sounds “extreme” because she doesn’t believe the problem has become serious enough at Rutgers to require such attention. Good—clearly spelled out

Mary Jane Poblete, a senior who lives off campus in Edison, also said that the outbreak of swine flu doesn’t concern her, but she does think both Rutgers and its students should do things to prevent the possibility of swine flu spreading.

“Rutgers should [raise] awareness within the campus by informing students on proper ways to wash hands and allowing students to be excused if they experience any flu-like symptoms,” Poblete said.

Like Kinoian, Poblete also believes that the media has exaggerated the seriousness of the influenza.

“The media certainly has blown H1N1 out of proportion,” she said. “CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] has it under control and vaccinations are currently being developed to prevent those who have not been infected from contracting the disease.”

Poblete said that she has not taken any additional precautions to prevent swine flu and the easiest ways to stay healthy are by following simple steps acts of cleanliness.

“Students should know not to sneeze on their hands, to refrain from touching their face (especially nose and mouth), to stay at least 3 feet away from others, to wash their hands and carry hand sanitizer at all times,” she said. “These are things that people should do on a daily basis rather than only in times of outbreaks of diseases.”

Other students say they’re taking precautions. Dale Goberdhan, who graduated from Rutgers in 2007 and now works as a personal trainer for Jersey Central Physical Therapy and Fitness in Edison, believes that it’s important to practice cleanliness as much as possible throughout the course of each day.

Goberdhan said that he uses hand sanitizer regularly and is constantly washing his hands while at work.

“I think it’s really important to prevent it from spreading, especially in my line of work where I work closely with a number of different people on a daily basis,” Goberdhan said.

Hardik Pandya, a 2008 graduate from Rutgers, also said it’s important to take precautions and to do as much as possible to eliminate the possibility of getting swine flu.

“You can never be too careful,” Pandya said. “I always try and remember to use hand sanitizer after I’m done playing basketball and when I get out of class.”

“A lot of it is just trying to remember stuff subconsciously, like not putting your hands in your mouth and washing your hands after you touch a doorknob or something that a million other people before you touched.”

Pandya also said while he tries to avoid spreading germs as much as he can, it’s not something he “obsesses over.”

“I definitely think it’s important to take precautions, but you can’t really let it run your life,” he said. “There’s always going to be germs and different kinds of flues out there, so you just have to be mindful of it.”