Reporting on Legal Issues and the Rutgers University Administration

Assembly votes to disseminate student mental health survey, modify debate rules

On Thursday, the Rutgers University Student Assembly convened to vote on three pieces of legislation spanning topics from mental health research to administrative processes.

Two of the three bills passed, but concerns about representation continued into the public and external representatives sectors of the meeting.

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U. keeps digital resources for gender minorities amid anti-transgender executive orders

Since his inauguration, President Donald J. Trump has signed off on 66 executive orders. Many of these will have significant consequences for the LGBTQ+ community, including barring transgender and non-binary citizens from federal recognition of their self-determined gender identity, serving in the military and receiving gender-affirming care while below the age of 19.

In a statement to The Daily Targum, a University spokesperson confirmed that while the University is tracking the enactment and implementation of executive orders, no campus resources, programs or options for healthcare have been modified at the time of publication.

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RUSA passes act, removes student fee allocation split

The Transparency and Fairness for All Act came on the heels of a contentious and unsuccessful referendum vote last semester which aimed to raise the student fee by $15 to increase the pool of money used by the Assembly to fund student organizations.

TAFA saw more than 30 minutes of debate before being closed off by a floor vote to end the process. Members of professional and cultural organizations filled both the pro and con speaker lines.

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RUSA to vote on allocation process reform, pivots from Fall 2024 referendum

Alongside the passage of two successful resolutions on immigration advocacy and parking system reforms, the most recent Rutgers University Student Assembly meeting also saw the introduction of an upcoming bill reimagining the Assembly's allocations procedures.

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RUSA moves to protect undocumented students, bring transparency to U. parking system

The most recent Rutgers University Student Assembly session saw various resolutions and updates pertaining to national social justice issues and University transportation practices.

Click the image to read more about the Assembly's support for undocumented students and its upcoming investigation into the Department of Transportation.

Special Report: IHRA resolution fails in RUSA after hours-long debate during 1st spring meeting

The Rutgers University Student Assembly's first meeting of the Spring 2025 semester saw a stacked docket, beginning with a presentation on the Dec. 5, 2024, ad-hoc committee's investigative report, as previously reported by The Daily Targum. The agenda then moved into an internal election and two resolutions — one of which had led to the historic cancellation of the Assembly's meeting on Dec. 5, 2024.

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Assembly publishes insights into cancellation of meeting of last semester

On Dec. 5, 2024, the University made an unprecedented decision to bar the Assembly from gaveling into their session, chalking up the decision to "logistical" and "safety" considerations, as previously reported by The Daily Targum. The decision drew the ire of groups both in favor of and against the bill, with both the Students Supporting Israel at Rutgers—New Brunswick and the Anti-Zionist Minyan weighing in.

At that time, Assembly President Jack Ramirez, a School of Arts and Sciences senior, had called for students to "raise their eyebrow" at administrators who had made the call. He subsequently commissioned the creation of an ad-hoc committee to further investigate the events that had transpired, the results of which kicked off the Assembly's first session back.

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U. cancels RUSA meeting set to discuss anti-Israeli discrimination proposal, prompting investigation

On Thursday, the University's administration quashed the Rutgers University Student Assembly's final session for the Fall 2024 semester.

The University's decision was purportedly linked to public outcry against a bill related to a contentious definition of antisemitism. The definition proposed by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), has garnered widespread debate for its vagueness and for conflating anti-Israel sentiments with anti-Jewish sentiments.

Through previous reporting, as well as interviews with and comments from members of the Assembly, local advocacy groups and University leadership, The Daily Targum pieced together a timeline of events leading up to the cancellation of the meeting.

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Insufficient voter turnout quells Assembly referendum to raise student fee for club funding

With the end of November also came the end of the voting period for the Rutgers University Student Assembly's referendum regarding a potential student fee hike. On Monday, the Assembly confirmed that it failed to pass because it did not reach its minimum requirement of having 10 percent of the undergraduate student body turnout.

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Referendum discussion erupts on Instagram as RUSA, cultural, governing groups split

Entering the third week of its voting period, the Rutgers University Student Assembly's "Saving Organizational Funding" referendum has garnered increasingly heated debates in social media posts and comments from members of the Assembly and school governing councils.

Largely, professional school governing councils have advocated against the referendum, while identity-based councils and organizations have pushed for its passage.

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RUSA sets precedent for U. speaker invitations amid backlash to 'son of Hamas'

On Thursday, the Rutgers University Student Assembly approved a resolution denouncing any speaker invited to campus with a history of anti-Palestinian, Islamophobic or otherwise bigoted rhetoric — especially when the organization inviting the speaker is funded by the Assembly.

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Assembly leaders weigh in on specifics, implications, how to vote as student fee referendum opens

Friday marked the start of the voting period for the Rutgers University Student Assembly's Fall 2024 ballot on getINVOLVED, which features two referendums with the potential to impact the cost of the student fee students pay per semester, not only for the Spring 2025 semester but also for those that will follow.

The effort, dubbed the "Saving Organizational Funding" referenda, seeks to increase the cost of the student fee by $15. For full-time undergraduate students across all New Brunswick schools, the hike would be approximately 1 percent of the existing fee, which falls between $1,473.50 and $1,476 per semester, depending on the school.

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RUSA to initiate referendum to raise student fee

Last week, the Rutgers University Student Assembly voted to pass the Allocations Referenda Act of 2024, which formalized two referenda related to changing the student fee moving into the Spring 2025 semester. The vote passed with 43 members in support and two opposed.

Their portion currently sits at $35.50, with the remainder of the fee, which currently tops $1,000, supporting other University resources.

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Exclusive interview: Holloway speaks to Targum about state of affairs at U.

Members of The Daily Targum's news desk recently sat down with University President Jonathan Holloway to discuss various topics related to his role and the welfare of Rutgers as a whole.

Holloway explained that during any given week, his job entails a multitude of tasks both within and outside the school.

The day-to-day administrative labor that goes into overseeing the University is delegated to the chancellors of the respective regional Newark, New Brunswick and Camden campuses.

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Two Board of Governors members removed following court ruling on residency requirements

Two members of the Rutgers Board of Governors were immediately removed from their positions on Thursday following a court ruling determining they failed to meet the residency requirements of their roles on Thursday.

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RUSA votes to add divestment referendums to Spring 2024 election ballots

Earlier this month, the Rutgers University Student Assembly unanimously passed a resolution to add two referendums related to economic divestment to ballots for the Spring 2024 Assembly elections.

The first of the two Spring 2024 referendums asks voters whether they believe the University should terminate any of its investments in firms that have a connection to Israel's actions in the Israel-Hamas War. The Assembly further specifies the types of organizations to which divestment would apply to.

The second referendum asks voters whether the University should sever ties with Tel Aviv University, which would impact initiatives such as the New Jersey Innovation and Technology Hub.

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U. professor discusses new SCOTUS ethics guidelines, implications

The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) unveiled an unprecedented fourteen-page code of ethics in response to criticism regarding accountability and unethical behavior at the high court.

Louis Raveson, a professor of law and Alfred C. Clapp Public Service Scholar at Rutgers Law School—Newark, weighed in on the effectiveness of SCOTUS' new code and its risk of perpetuating deceit in the American legal field.

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Holloway addresses mass shooting prevention, U. sexual assault policies at RUSA town hall

On Thursday, the Rutgers University Student Assembly (RUSA) held a town hall where students, faculty and staff raised questions to University President Jonathan Holloway.

The meeting began with a moment of silence for victims of the recent shooting at Michigan State University led by Assembly President Allison Smith, a School of Arts and Sciences senior. She said that while the act does not supplement actual remedies, it demonstrates solidarity with a fellow Big Ten Conference school.

Holloway initiated his presentation shortly after, thanking Smith for hosting the event and explaining the University-wide email regarding the mass shooting on February 14.

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U. community reflects on recent SCOTUS decisions about college admissions, LGBTQ+ protections

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court made nine decisions regarding issues like election law, trademark infringement, freedom of speech and religion, loan forgiveness and affirmative action, among others.

Students spoke to The Daily Targum about the Court's respective decisions for three high-profile cases: Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, Biden v. Nebraska and 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis.

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Holloway delivers stakeholder address, U. community reacts

On Tuesday, University President Jonathan Holloway delivered his second annual stakeholder address, discussing Rutgers' recent initiatives and milestones to students, alumni, staff and community members.

Holloway spoke about four main factors that have shaped the University's educational mission: grants and scholarships, research, large-scale infrastructure projects and the consolidated Rutgers School of Medicine.

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U. Correctional Health Care releases video about opioid use disorder treatment in prisons

Rutgers University Correctional Health Care (UCHC) and the New Jersey Department of Corrections (NJDOC) recently created a video to increase awareness of opioid use disorder treatment in prisons, according to a press release.

Anthony Tamburello, UCHC statewide associate director of psychiatry and a clinical associate professor at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (RWJMS), said the initiative was prompted by research demonstrating a racial disparity in access to buprenorphine, the most commonly used treatment for opioid use disorder.

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Conway discusses Scarlet Guarantee, Academic Master Plan at RUSA town hall

Last Thursday, the Rutgers University Student Assembly conducted a town hall meeting with Chancellor-Provost Francine Conway to discuss changes in financial and academic resources at the University.

At the start of the meeting, she announced the Scarlet Guarantee, a new University initiative that covers tuition costs for eligible in-state students, as previously reported by The Daily Targum.

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