Looking back at 2016: Rutgers Edition

TBT to when they gave us the Alley and then took it away

Rutgers Scarlet Knights are no strangers to utter chaos, with over 40,000 of us there is no shortage of weird shit, which is pretty much always going down. But in the year 2016, it seemed as though some particularly strange things have happened. With the new year upon us, let’s reflect upon 2016 and put it far behind us, shall we?

When Milo came to campus

Alt-right movement member and Breitbart journalist Milo Yiannapoulos kicked off his “Dangerous Faggot” college tour at none other than Rutgers University on February 10, drawing in a huge crowd to Scott Hall. He only got to speak for a short while before Black Lives Matter members who were quietly seated in the audience stood up, smeared red paint all over themselves, and began to chant. This eventually ended with the BLM protesters getting escorted out. The protesters made waves outside of the auditorium, continuing to chant, smearing paint all over the sidewalks and windows outside Scott Hall, and lingering there for long after they left the auditorium. All in all, it resulted with Rutgers appearing in all of the news headlines, and allowed for Milo’s tour to kick off with a real bang – as I’m sure he intended it to.

When Obama became our Commencement speaker

Last year’s seniors were nothing short of ecstatic when the POTUS was confirmed to speak at Rutgers’ 250th commencement for the Rutgers Class of 2016. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when it was announced that no, Bill Moyers would not be speaking and that instead, the President of the United States would take his place. Obama left us inspired and made us chuckle with his know-how of Jersey culture and his incredibly encouraging words.

The completion of the Yard on College Ave

The former site of the OG grease trucks and the plot of dirt across from Scott Hall really glowed up in 2016 – literally. The Yard at College Ave opened its doors for the first time this semester as both a residential and commercial complex. In addition to some of the finest student accommodations on campus, the 13-floor building boasts a Starbucks, Surf Taco, Krispy Pizza, Honeygrow, and a bakery – among others. It is the talk of the town, and a stunning new addition to Rutgers facilities.

The Great Cook/Douglass power outage of 2016

For about a week in mid-September, Cook/Douglass suffered from an on-and-off power outage in residence halls and academic buildings alike. This resulted in hundreds of Rutgers students being forced to relocate their dorm rooms as well as the cancellation of several classes there, too. The students who were unlucky enough to seek shelter with friends or at home were forced to spend a night in either the RAC, Livingston Recreation Center, or Werblin and had to vacate the premises by 7:30 a.m.

When we got our very own student tailgate section

Rutgers students rejoiced when we got our very own student tailgate section for the first time ever. For the first two home games of the football season, we were lit af. As long as you survived the mile-long tipsy trek out to the middle of nowhere on Busch campus, and didn’t get stung by the literal swarms of bees once there – you were golden.

And then got our very own student tailgate section taken away

Our dream turn-up spot was robbed of us only three short weeks into the school year. On September 21st, Patt Hobbs, Director of Intercollegiate Athletics, sent out an email saying that “The Alley could not continue to be used as an area for student tailgating,” citing concerns over “the capacity of the space, the availability of services, and alcohol consumption.” Mind you, the same person who sent out the email was the same person who chugged a beer while giving a speech at the Alley. Hypocrite much?

After the Alley died, many students began to boycott the games as a form of protest. Some frats took advantage of this opportunity and began to make “Bring Back the Alley” shirts. No word yet on whether or not we will ever get back our little oasis on Busch for the coming football season.

When there were shots fired on Livi, and also a machete?

Livingston campus really seemed to be the site of some unfortunate incidents this year. Shortly into the fall semester, shots were fired in Livi’s Parking Lot 103. An email issued by Paul Fisher, RUPD Captain, read “In this incident, the perpetrators engaged in an altercation inside of Lot 103. Witnesses have stated that one of the individuals was armed with a machete and the second was armed with a handgun. The individual with the handgun reportedly fired at a parked vehicle inside the lot before fleeing in a black SUV towards Road 1 and away from campus.” No one was hurt in the altercation.

When two people were actually stabbed in the Rutgers Business School

A 25-year-old former Rutgers Business School student by the name of Joshua S. Thompson was charged with two counts of attempted murder after stabbing a student and faculty member as well as himself “without provocation” according to an official campus email.

When Rutgers did a walk-out in hopes of a ‘Sanctuary Campus’ after Trump was elected

It’s no surprise that after Trump’s election, a lot of people – especially millennials – were less than excited for the future of our nation. So, in mid-November over 1,000 Rutgers students gathered at Voorhees Mall to stage a walk-out against President-elect Trump’s presidency as well as to call for a sanctuary campus at Rutgers. Beginning on College Ave, this demonstration proceeded down George Street, where it was covered by CNN, MSN, and Fox News – just to name a few – and eventually ended two miles away on Douglass Campus.

When a weekend bus crashed into a bench at Livi Student Center

You know that the semester has been rough when even the bus drivers just can’t take it anymore. In the midst of the downward spiral that is finals week, a Weekend 2 bus driver popped the curb and smashed into a bench right in front of Livingston Student Center. Talk about a bad day.

When our football went scoreless for four games and ended the season 2-10

Now, when looking back at the monstrous year that Rutgers had in 2016, who could possibly forget the pitiful athleticism that was displayed throughout this year’s Rutgers football season. Coming to Rutgers I would like to think that my tuition money is being put to good use, but after this year’s performance, I think we were all left a bit shook, to say the least. And then after scoring literally 0 points in four of our Big Ten Conference games and losing ten out of twelve games this season, it’s easy to say that we Rutgers fans had seemingly lost all hope in our once prized football team. But, as dedicated as we are, we just can’t give up on you completely Rutgers football. So here’s to a much better 2017 Rutgers, let’s all hope that it’s a whole lot better than whatever the hell 2016 was.

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