Research Blog #8: Interview: What is your "RU Screw" story?

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1UKPyaQhjqLJN00cq87v_My7JCwnhwaxAilSijfxL-ac/viewform

In order to get the view points from currents Rutgers students and alumni, I created a survey to document and ask questions about what people think the "RU Screw" is.  I also asked for people to describe their own personal experiences with the "RU Screw." What I found is that the majority of those who filled out the survey agreed with the idea that Rutgers is run by a bureaucracy that intentionally "screws" its students out of money, but there was one person who did not agree with this idea.  This person requested to remain anonymous, but said in their response that the "RU Screw" is "an excuse students use when something doesn't go their way." This idea can be considered a counter-argument to the ideas that I have presented in regards to this topic. Here is the link to the survey above, and the link to the responses below.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AnLEu9_jDKr_dHl4QnlFOGltYk40Qkd0dFJhcmlwemc&usp=drive_web#gid=0

Research Blog #3: How might privatization connect to your topic?

The "RU Screw" is connected to privatization in many ways.  To start off, the phrase most likely originated because students needed a way to describe their feelings in regards to how they were being treated by the university. Many students feel that there is a large disconnect between the administration and themselves.  Many feel that they get "screwed" only because the school is looking for ways to make more money.  A perfect example for this is the parking system here at Rutgers.  This is a post on Facebook:

sorry about the language... :)

RU Screw in Social Media

RU Screw’d On Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/ruscrwd

RU Screw’d On Twitter
https://twitter.com/RUScrewd

Research Blog #2: Scouting the Territory

With some advice and guidance, I have decided to change my initial topic idea from the "freshman 15" to the relatively known idea of the "RU Screw."

When searching the term "RU Screw" the first hit is for the website commonly known as Urban Dictionary. Urban Dictionary provides a definition of the "RU Screw" as "The tendency for Rutgers University to fuck you over in some way or another due to their incompetence. Be it financially, academically, or otherwise. It eventually happens to everybody that attends the university." I also came across twitter accounts, as well as Facebook pages that are dedicated to the University's myth.

By just searching "RU Screw" on the Daily Targum website I was overwhelmed by the number of hits this topic received. 168 results to be exact. An example of one is: http://www.dailytargum.com/opinion/letters_to_editor/change-parking-for-commuter-benefit/article_cd6d4185-0bd6-5fab-8026-e7861a533f7f.html, which discusses parking situations for commuter students on campus. 

Famous authors like Junot Diaz and Michael Moffatt both discuss the "RU Screw" in their work. To be even more specific Michael Moffatt even begins to clarify where the terminology originated in his book Coming of Age in New Jersey.