When you’re in college and throw what’s expected to be a great party, it can mean only one thing.

Trouble.

That’s exactly what happened at Brian Luciano’s back-to-school party. Now he’s working hard to ensure other Monmouth University students don’t make the same mistake.

“Kids don’t know how to have fun right,” said Luciano, who's on a crusade to teach students the proper way to party.

On Sept. 14, the 21-year-old junior's off-campus party was raided by police and resulted in a 26 alcohol summonses, the Asbury Park Press reported.

Luciano said he was personally cited for providing alcohol to minors and a noise violation.

But that was just the beginning of his troubles. How harshly would university officials punish him?

Monmouth has strict policies against underage drinking and, like many private schools, its policies apply to students even when they are off campus. "Students violating local and state alcoholic regulations off campus will be disciplined under the Student Code of Comment," according to page 90 of the university's 2007-08 Student Handbook.

Luciano said that school officials decided to put his popularity to good use.

Shortly after his party got busted, Luciano created a Facebook group in which he detailed a long list of rules to keep future parties from getting out of hand.

Rule #6: “When you leave my house, you will do so with no sort of garbage or containers in your hand. I am not an environmentalist by any means and I am all for creating jobs in the form of litter [pickup], but don’t throw your [expletive] garbage in front of the library.”

Overnight, State of New Jersey v. Brian Luciano became a wildly popular group on the social networking Web site and now has 187 members.

Luciano said that university officials heard about his group and thought that he could use his popularity to speak out against the dangers of drinking. (Asked to confirm this, a university official declined to comment, saying she couldn’t speak about private student matters.) Luciano said he will be working with the school’s Alcohol Awareness program and speak to incoming freshman about the dangers of underage drinking and “how to party safely.”

--Dana Sypniewski

Don't stress out over final exams

"Oh my God, I can’t take the stress anymore!”

It’s a common sentiment among Monmouth University students nowadays, with final exams starting next week.

Many students are already under much stress to begin with. Some have have to work to pay for tuition and personal items. Others spend several hours a day on activities, like playing a varsity sport or editing the school newspaper. And school obligations are just half the story. Many students also have busy personal lives that may include a significant other or even children.

Stress can eventually lead to serious health problems, warns Professor Dianne Van Arsdale, who’s a registered nurse. But there are a number of things students can do to beat stress.

“Meditation, getting enough sleep and not taking any stimulants," she recommends, adding that “having a positive attitude can really make a difference and help you at the end.”

“Yoga is my answer,” says psychology major Jillian Ferri. “I do yoga two-to-three times a week and it helps with my stress and headaches I get from daily stress. And it’s a great way for me to relax and open my mind to new ideas.”

If meditation or yoga isn’t your cup of tea, Monmouth University Fitness Center offers a number of other activities.

But whatever you do, don’t freak out, Arsdale says. Even if you find yourself with a tough final exam and a 15-page paper both due the next day.

“You can always ask for help or even pray for strength and guidance,” Arsdale advises.

Decision '08: Students support unknown for president

With the New Jersey state primary elections just around the corner, Monmouth University students have indicated via survey where they stand in regard to their political interests and what presidential candidates they will vote for.

And the winner is… “I don’t know.”

Out of 110 surveys randomly distributed to students, the bulk of participants, 31 percent, did not know for whom they would cast their ballot, or much of anything for that matter.

Only 51 percent of Monmouth students stated that they were planning on voting in the 2008 presidential election. A whopping 60 percent of students claimed they were not registered to vote.

For those who did have an opinion, Hillary Clinton (D) was the most favored candidate with 20 percent of the votes. Clinton was followed by Barack Obama (D) and Rudy Giuliani (R) with 14.5 percent and 13.5 percent, respectively.

When asked in the survey to specify which issue was most important to them in the upcoming election, Iraq was the overwhelmingly popular response at 60 percent.

The second most popular answer was, of course, “I don’t know” totaling 20 percent.

Steps have been taken at Monmouth to get students involved in politics. The “Stand Up and Be Counted” campaign has been established with the goal of having 100 percent of Monmouth students registered to vote by 2008.

But, is getting students registered really going to help inform students about political issues and get them to the polls? Registering to vote and actually making an informed decision as to who would be the best candidate to run our country are two completely different things.

However, if a campaign was established that motivated students to vote, registration would likely follow.

Instead of registering students to vote who have no interest in voting, perhaps if students were encouraged via some promotion to become interested in politics, they would register themselves and become active in the political arena.

It seems that while the proponents of the “Stand Up and Be Counted” campaign have their hearts in the right place, they are pushing to clear up a problem that is not the actual problem at all.

Students at Monmouth University need a way to become informed and get excited about politics. Simply filling out a registration form is not going to make a difference.

-Jarred Curcio and Megan Brennan

Deck the halls with Monmouth University

It's the most wonderful time of the year at Monmouth University.

This evening, the Music and Theatre Arts Department will present its annual holiday concert on the steps of Wilson Hall.

The event, called the “Holiday Gathering,” will feature performances by over 200 participants from Monmouth University, the Atlantic Highlands Elementary School Choir and the Colts Neck Reformed Church Exaltation Ringers Bell Choir. Classical selections, international music and holiday favorites -- including “Deck the Halls” and "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" -- will be offered.

“The event is sure to put you in the holiday spirit,” promises David Tripold, a Monmouth music professor and conductor of this year’s concert.

The show begins at 8 p.m. All tickets go on sale at 7:30 p.m. in Wilson Hall. Admission is $10.

With only 350 seats available, they’re bound to fill up. So, get there early for a great holiday concert experience.

-Nick DeRosa, Shannon Halton and Jena Vargas

You can stop government corruption, reporters say

Sex, bribery, conspiracy, extortion – these are common scandals that plague our nation’s government. But ordinary citizens can help fight corruption and restore ethical behavior, a panel of Pulitzer Prize-winning reporters recently told Monmouth University students.

They should know. The reporters, Dean Calbreath of the San Diego Union Tribune and Marcus Stern and Jerry Kammer of the Copley News Service, credit readers and bloggers with helping them uncover one of the largest congressional corruption cases in history.

At the center of the scandal was Duke Cunningham, a Vietnam War veteran and well-respected Congressman. Cunningham resigned from the House in late 2005 and was sentenced to eight years in prison after pleading guilty to federal charges of conspiracy to commit bribery, mail fraud, wire fraud and tax evasion.

“This was an organized system of legalized bribery between the congressman and his lobbying buddies,” Kammer said at the Nov. 15 discussion.

The scandal came to light when Stern grew suspicious of Cunningham after he purchased a $5.5 million home. The reporters eventually uncovered that Cunningham was receiving bribes in exchange for helping businesses secure millions of dollars worth of government and military contracts.

Many readers jumped in to help by e-mailing the reporters information that they had found concerning Cunningham, the reporters said. The reporters stressed the importance of the bloggers, who helped put the pieces of the puzzle together. This is one of the ways ordinary people can fight unethical behavior in government, they said.

For their work, the reporters were honored with the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for national reporting.