Vol. CI Issue 6 by The Vector

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Vol. CI | Issue 6 Week of October 10, 2021

Campus Climate Survey By Yukthi Sangoi | Managing Editor On Oct. 5, the first ever NJIT Campus Climate Study survey went live and every enrolled undergraduate and graduate student, staff and faculty are strongly encouraged to participate. The purpose is to measure inclusiveness and feelings of belonging within the NJIT community. With the assistance of Rankin & Associates Consulting, the Climate Survey Working Group, which included faculty, staff and students, spent more than three months developing the survey, aiming to “get a sense of how the community — the students, faculty and staff — feels about our campus,” Dean of Students Marybeth Boger said. In the absence of data directly related to Diversity and Inclusion, the student Diversity and Inclusion office, under the leadership of Jason Rodriquez, continues to lead initiatives that provide education in this area. The data collected from this survey will provide a better understanding of how we can “address current concerns or further enhance the good that is happening on our campus”, according to Boger. Two summers ago, the tragedy of George Floyd’s death was highlighted, sparking the subsequent wave of the Black Lives Matter movement. Boger mentioned that although “there are always matters in life that make us think about issues of diversity,” this moment seemed especially crucial to get a response from NJIT’s community regarding how people feel being on the university’s campus.

Photo from NJIT The university was fortunate to have an opportunity to work closely with Rankin & Associates Consulting, who will analyze the data and present the findings to the community. The survey is truly anonymous and the hope is that the community will feel comfortable being honest about their feelings. The responses will not be tailored to the thoughts of Boger or any other senior authority figure at NJIT.

survey, there will be more emphasis on holding focus groups once the pandemic passes, as they require more interaction among people. These groups would help discuss specific matters with students, staff and faculty. The current survey is not “end all be all; the survey is the beginning of the next conversation about where we really need to focus,” Boger explained.

“The entire [Diversity, Equity and Inclusion] initiative is really important because it provides us an opportunity to better understand one another, which makes for a much richer campus when we consider each other as different individuals,” Boger said. “It’s also going for a deeper dive into how we feel about certain things, not just what we see on the outside.”

Regarding present diversity matters that have been brought up, she said that “there’s always a desire for more knowledge.” Currently, there is a search underway for a Chief Diversity Officer. The university is very committed to this initiative, there have been actions taken to incorporate more culturally diverse classes based on feedback from the NJIT community, and there are also additional suggestions in the process of consideration.

She underlined that while this is meant to be about the environment of campus, it may also affect academic matters, which is just as significant to bring up in the survey. For instance, if a student has felt discriminated against based on their gender, impacting their academic performance, where did the disrespect occur? The organization would then assess the different sectors of campus to determine what parts need to change and have a more welcoming environment that allows all students to achieve their academic best.

An article published on NJIT’s website last winter stated that “NJIT has become more diverse in recent years, with, for example, its percentage of female professors and Hispanic undergraduates each rising to 21% between 2014 and 2019.” This highlights that Climate Survey Working Group’s work with the climate survey is becoming increasingly essential to bringing a more welcoming and safer environment for all members of the NJIT community.

While the pandemic was not a deciding factor on when to release the climate

“The tagline of this initiative is, ‘Your campus, your voice.’ We won’t know how you feel unless you take the survey. It’s

not just about student taking the survey; we want to collectively work with the students — collectively work with the community,” Boger emphasized. “What do we need to improve? What types of programs do students want? It can potentially come down to what we see on the walls of buildings; it can come down to the food at GDS, what’s sold at the bookstore. There are lots of things we can do, but we won’t know the direction to go in [without community input in the survey.] “The student voice is important and we want to encourage students to take the survey – ‘be the change you want for your campus.’” As a small incentive, there are also various prizes that can be won as a result of completing the survey, including Uber Eats gift cards, tickets to Hershey Park, electric scooters, a Nintendo Switch and an Oculus Quest. While these are here to encourage participation in the survey, it is important to realize the impact each form of feedback can have on the rest of the NJIT community. “It’s our campus, our voice,” Boger said, and filling out the campus climate survey will allow Diversity, Equity and Inclusion to improve the campus for all members, students, faculty and staff alike. If anyone has any questions or concerns, feel free to reach out to Boger or Rodriquez to get more information! Here is the link to the survey: https:// yourcampus.njit.edu.

NEWS

OPINION

TWITCH LEAK

FACEBOOK DOWN

STUDY TIPS

See page 3

See page 4

See page 9

THE VECTOR

Week of October 10, 2021

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POLICE BLOTTER

10/7/21

10/09/2021

6:43PM A student reported an unidentified female hit and broke the headlight of his car with a cell phone. The car was parked on New and Newark Street. The female was located, arrested and processed for Criminal Mischief then released.

5:50PM Officer conducted a motor vehicle stop of a stolen vehicle which resulted in an arrest. Non-affiliated female was taken into custody and charged with receiving stolen property. Female was processed and released with a court date.

10/08/2021 1:04PM A Physical Plant employee reported her air pods & charger were stolen from her work cart located at Kupfrian Hall. NJIT Vector Summary 10/11/2021 For 10/2/21 through 10/11/21 Times Shown are Times Reported

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News

Week of October 10, 2021

Massive Twitch Leak Reveals Payouts Data, Red Team Tools

Largest Twitch Attack Since 2015 During Cybersecurity Awareness Month By Sreya Das | Senior Staff & Alfred Simpson | Staff Writer On Wednesday, Oct. 6, live streaming service Twitch confirmed a data breach including source code, confidential payout information, security tools and competitor insight. While there was no official confirmation of leaked passwords, all users were recommended to change their passwords and turn on two-factor authorization. This leak is the largest confirmed attack against Amazon’s live video streaming service since March 2015. Senior cybersecurity risk analyst at Johnson & Johnson and NJIT alumnus (B.S. Information Technology, 2017) Orion Wilchinsky believes this breach will have significant and lasting effects on the platform. “It’s hard to see this as anything other than Twitch being caught with their pants down,” Wilchinksy remarked. While the leaked data includes source code, payout information and even competitor insights, a potentially damning piece is more worrisome: Twitch’s red team tools. Companies often hire red teams, or ethical hackers, to test their defenses and expose vulnerabilities that could be used to infiltrate their system. “Red team tools are usually created on the fly during penetration tests,” Wilchinsky added. “That means that they are custom made to defeat Twitch’s systems. This is very dangerous in the wrong hands ... It’s essentially a script kiddie’s skeleton key.” In a best-case scenario, the tools are outdated, but they still might pose a significant threat for Twitch. These tools could include ways of social engineering and phishing that have proven to be successful in the past. However, if the

tools are recent, potential hackers have the blueprints and training manuals to overcome Twitch’s defenses. Regardless of the age of the tools, Twitch will have to redesign its defenses or risk future leaks from users upset at the platform.

covered that allowed for users to log the IP addresses of their viewers. The combination of unaddressed hate raiding and dangerous vulnerabilities led to a global boycott of the company in early September, with the hashtag #ADayOffTwitch.

The anonymous hacker that leaked the data describes Twitch as a “toxic cesspool” and claims their motive was to “foster more disruption and competition in the online video streaming space,” according to their post on the controversial anonymous imageboard 4chan. The data was initially leaked online as a 128GB file shared through this platform.

“I don't feel like [Twitch is] a company that is worth for beginn[er] streamers,” said Andrew Suarez, a senior majoring in information technology with a specialization in criminal justice. He has been streaming games such as osu! on and off for the past nine years on Twitch @aquiii, where he currently has 666 followers. “Its platform basically relies on luck over actual content and visibility. Most people who are successful either have transferred over from YouTube, have been there since the start and consistently continued, or are really lucky/ skilled at the game they streamed. Their platform does not help those who want to grow in my opinion, and their affiliate program really is a joke.”

Twitch has faced its share of criticism over the years. A rise in hate speech and bullying has led the platform to take a stronger approach to such content, threatening suspension for any user found in violation as of 2018. Updating their rules without strict enforcement led to malicious users “hate raiding” streamers in mid-2021. Hate raiding abused Twitch’s popular “raid” feature, which directs all viewers on a channel’s page to flood that of another user. In the case of hate raiding, the raiders use the feature to bully their victims and largely targeted Black and LGBTQ+ streamers. NJIT sophomore and Twitch streamer choosing to stay anonymous says that while they are lucky to not be raided, they have had firsthand experience with the fallout. “I moderate a stream for a friend that had a hate raid,” they said. “I had to delete messages and ban accounts from that stream.” At the same time, users began calling for increased security when a vulnerability was dis-

Despite the critique, one of the allures of Twitch is the promise of monetization for successful streamers. However, the leak revealed that about 67% of all Twitch Affiliates, streamers qualified to monetize their channels, have yet to pass the $100 payout threshold since 2019. The data also indicates glaring racial and gender pay inequity among the streamers who do earn on the platform. The top 20 earners (based on direct Twitch payouts, as opposed to also including sponsors and donations) are mainly white men who do not identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community. “I have hopes, much like the hacker

who did the leak, that all of this data will be used to fix Twitch as well as create competitors,” said Dale Schofield, Vice President of NJIT Esports and a senior majoring in information technology with a specialization in game development. Schofield can be found on Twitch @ilikepiez5642, where he streams modded Minecraft. “The source code leak is the most surprising yet promising because it'll hopefully be used to create competitors or improve existing services. Hopefully this will increase competition and drive innovation, but time will tell.” Like Schofield, many users are hopeful that the breach is only a small setback and can be used by the company to grow and embrace the changes that the community has asked for. Some of the leaked data points to Twitch actively beginning to implement technologies such as viewbots, which are designed to detect when streamers are fraudulently inflating their view count. Though Twitch denies that passwords were leaked, it released a statement announcing that they have reset stream keys. Private users have reported receiving emails from Twitch stating to reset their passwords. “Personally, I wasn't impacted by this breach,” said Schofield. “I have two-factor authentication set up and recommend it for everyone on any and every service that offers it.” In the wake of this data breach, the need for Cybersecurity Awareness Month is emphasized. Don’t forget to configure two-factor authentication and update your passwords!

THE VECTOR

News

Week of October 10, 2021

Facebook Has Left the Chat

By Sebastian Lopez Cruz | Contributing Writer At first, it seemed like an occasional bug in a cluttered mobile app, but after hours of refreshing, people noticed the problem was significant. Could the godfather of technology be terminated so suddenly? As Facebook faced massive scrutiny over Federal Trade Commission antitrust lawsuits and leaked research documents, its backbone system reached a pinpoint of balance and tipped. On Monday, Oct. 4, while New York City worked and China slept, an ordinary network maintenance session turned into a nightmare after a backbone router shut off Facebook from the world. From shutting down small businesses that rely on social media to disrupting nationwide communities and governments, this outage has revealed that the world dangerously depends on running from three apps that can paralyze in minutes.

Border Gateway Protocol is the clever system that figures out the most efficient and safe pathway for users to reach an IP address. Think of BGP as a map and IP as your work address; to get to work without encountering any closed roads or accidents, you need the map to tell you the fastest and safest way to get there. BGP is essential for your computer to reach the IP and DNS addresses of websites safely and efficiently; after all, the internet is changing by the minute. BGP is not controlled by one entity but rather by the ones that create it. Facebook built its BGP system to ensure their data centers are communicating with each other. The facebook.com network is the backbone of its operations, from Instagram, WhatsApp, Facebook Workplace — the remote working platform for Facebook employees — and other Facebook services, including its headquarters.

On Monday, Oct. 4, while New York City worked and China slept, an ordinary network maintenance session turned into a nightmare after a backbone router shut off Facebook from the world. From shutting down small businesses that rely on social media to disrupting nationwide communities and governments, this outage has revealed that the world dangerously depends on running from three apps that can paralyze in minutes.

According to a blog post by Facebook engineers, when they worked on a morning maintenance session in one of the backbone servers, they pushed a configuration change that put the network down; this is where BGP comes in. Because BGP is autonomous, once the backbone servers went down, it detected an unhealthy network and started deleting its BGP advertisements — road directions — for safety reasons. Without the BGP advertisements, the outage became a global problem; since Facebook data centers could not communicate with each other, Facebook.com withdrew itself from the internet, shaking the world for many hours. After minutes of the network failure, many users reported the outage through frustrated tweets. According to Ars Technica, there were 14 million reports of outages on Facebook services within hours. According to Cloudflare, a network infrastructure company, search queries for Twitter, Snapchat, Signal and TikTok rose by 40% within 20 minutes of the outage. Because many government officials rely on WhatsApp for communication, their workflow went to drain. According to the New York Times, congressmen in Mexico were not able to communicate with each other. The outage also affected Facebook dramatically; $100 million in revenues were lost. According to New York Times tech reporter Sheera Frenkel, Facebook workers could not enter buildings with their badges due to the central network being down. Small businesses that rely on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp for consumer reach and essential communication were exceptionally affected by the worldwide outage. According to the New York Times, Selen Bayrak, a marmalade business owner, only sold one-quarter of

what she usually sells due to the outage. In Kenya, Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp are used to sell anything from cars to plants. In Zimbabwe, WhatsApp dominates nearly 50% of all internet traffic. In Brazil, WhatsApp is installed on every device and is used for doctor appointments, hairdresser appointments, supermarket deliveries and spreading misinformation. Latin America has Facebook and WhatsApp as lifelines in rural places that have no cellular service but have free internet connection. As seen worldwide, anything from business to emergency lifelines handles operations within Facebook's family of apps worldwide, and during the outage, these necessities lacked functionality. After many hours of waiting, Facebook engineers had to fix the issue through physical means of access to the data centers, which took around five hours. The tech world came back to normal, but many realized how it felt to like without the Facebook family of apps. Lorran Barbosa, a pharmacy cashier, admits that after refreshing WhatsApp numerous times throughout the day, the day seemed more "peaceful and productive." Companies like Cloudflare realized that "the internet is a very complex and interdependent system of millions of systems and protocols working together," which is a beautiful example of collaboration. What do the worldwide effects from this outage say about us? The fact that we rely on three apps for essential tasks is frightening. If these apps were to be under heavy attack, families would lose communication, some businesses would go bankrupt and people would even lose lives. This outage shows the enormous impact it has on humanity.

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THE VECTOR

Features

Week of October 10, 2021

Club Spotlight By Alfred Simpson | Staff Writer It has been 55 years since NJIT’s radio station, WJTB, was initially founded and began broadcasting over the 550 AM frequency. At that time, WJTB was known as WNCE, reflecting the Newark College of Engineering and the students it served. The Newark College of Engineering and the New Jersey School of Architecture consolidated into the New Jersey Institute of Technology in 1973. With that came a new callsign, initially appearing in 1978, reflecting Jersey Tech Broadcasting: WJTB. The initial goal of WNCE was to give students interested in commercial broadcasting an opportunity to learn, experiment, and have fun with like-minded students. 55 years later, that goal remains the same but with many differences in how the station and its students accomplish those goals. For starters, a deep dive through The Nucleus over the years reveals stacks of records that the station used to transmit manually. The remaining vinyl collection today is only a shadow of its former glory, reflecting the switch to digitally available music, which has significantly increased the WJTB’s discography. The studio no longer sits on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, or in the basement of the Campus Center, but on the fourth floor alongside the other University Serving Organizations at NJIT. Students walking into the office will find articles and awards earned by past members adorning the shelves and walls of the station alongside semi-permanent Halloween decorations. Nearby, members stream over the internet from the studio rather than broadcasting over AM or FM frequencies. It’s currently unclear exactly when

WJTB NJIT’s Official Radio Station

or why WJTB stopped broadcasting over 550 AM and switched to a digital stream online. Like the legend of the clock tower, nobody is quite sure of the reason behind the switch. However, it is known that WJTB has been streaming online since at least 2003 and running consistently since then with the help of generations of students continuing the decades-old tradition of college radio. Getting back on the airwaves has always been discussed, but club president Balthazar Torres doesn’t think it’s necessary. “I’m fine with us not being on the air. Being on the radio waves isn’t what makes us a great station,” Torres said. “It’s the content our members put out and the students who have made this station great for the last 55 years.” Like many clubs on campus, WJTB is finding their groove post-COVID-19. Coming back into the studio after months away meant the station and its crew needed to shake the dust off and fill their ranks. There are currently 16 shows scheduled throughout the week with a daily variety show from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Throughout the month of October, this show will focus on everything scary, paranormal and strange with rotating hosts, topics and genres. The variety show is open to any member with slots opening a week in advance, allowing students an opportunity to host a show without committing to a regular schedule. Students are also able to request a show of their own, learn more about broadcasting or just meet other students who love music. Students can offer weekly shows on just about anything. “We do everything,” Torres said. “We’ve had students do shows from all genres, talk shows and even an on-air

Photo by Alfred Simpson Dungeons & Dragons. The weirder, the better! Variety gives everybody something to listen to and everyone here is super accepting.” All potential DJs get trained on how to use the studio, broadcast effectively and more. The club plans to offer future training on mixing, live events and industry tours of local stations. Members continue the trend started in the 1960s of introducing students to new music and new trends as well as giving everyone a place to express themselves. You’ll find WJTB on-campus hosting live events and parties. Their annual Halloween event will take place at the end of the

month with more details coming online, on-air and at live events. WJTB has been rocking the airwaves around Newark since 1966 and is now available to stream online at https:// wjtb.njit.edu/stream. Students interested in helping with live events, hosting their own radio show or just learning more can attend meetings on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. or Wednesdays at 2:30 p.m. on the fourth floor of the Campus Center. Interested students can find WJTB on Instagram as @wjtb_radio, Twitter as @ wjtb, and Discord at https://discord.gg/ A4mnU6UDxS.

COLLECTIONS voices from around campus

How are you coping with school-related stress? "I'm not :,)"

"School stress? I've got 'fear of unemployment' stress"

"I don't cope. I just keep trucking " The only thing along hoping the getting me through momentum keeps up this semester is music, and I don't collapse games, streaming, " I built breaks into my under my own weight" and the fact that I highly structured day. finally started to try to It makes doing the " Coping is for cool make friends." things I have to do feel people - I don't do like I'm earning my that" " Legal substances" way to a reward." " By graduating"

THE VECTOR

Features

Week of October 10, 2021

Campus Catalog By Alicia Tedesco | Staff Writer

A Feature on the NJIT Community

Filip Roth Trønnes-Christensen First Year Student, Computer Engineering

How would you describe your style?

I wear any kind of fashion that I find looks good on me. My favorite type of fashion is dark wear and tech wear — so street wear that looks like it has a function but doesn’t have a function or street wear that has some function.

Was it always like that?

I had no fashion sense; I cared nothing about fashion until about two years ago. I went to Japan for a language trip for a few weeks. According to my friends, the person that came back wasn’t the same one that left.

Was that in terms of style or in general?

Well, in general. I was very introverted, then I came back, and I was very extroverted. I also think my style changed because Japan, Korea and Los Angeles are top places for fashion. You get to see a bunch of different people wearing different styles. I wanted to take that with me, and here I am now.

Has coming to the United States changed your style again, too?

Not yet, but people are more fashionable in a way. In Norway, you see 17 different people wearing a variation of the same outfit. In America, there’s a broader spectrum of people that wear experimental fashion. Tech wear wasn’t a big thing back in Norway — here you see people wearing that or dark wear.

Tell me more about your shoes – they’re painted, right?

Yes. I am not creative at all unless it comes to fashion. A friend of mine was like, “Ey, yo, I wanna paint my own shoes, you wanna join?” So, we both went out and bought a pair of white Air Force 1s and these markers that are specifically made to draw on leather. We spent seven, eight, nine hours just drawing our own shoes. I was even more into Japanese pop culture back then, so mine are inspired by Dragonball. The red one says Goku; the blue one says Vegeta.

I see you also paint your nails.

My dad painted his nails when he was younger because he’s a rockstar, and when I started liking fashion, I thought that was cool. For the Halloween right before the pandemic, the girls in my class put make-up on me, with eyeshadow, eyeliner, all that, and they painted my nails. I thought, “This looks pretty good!” So, I just kept on painting my nails black. Then, about a year ago, I bought purple and blue, and now I bought a top and base coat — it’s fun!

If you had to wear one outfit for the rest of your life, what would it be?

For the rest of my life? Probably these shoes with — I don’t own these pants — offwhite parachute pants and an aesthetic white t-shirt, this red Supreme hoodie and my necklaces, rings and black-painted nails.

Do you take a long time to get ready?

I used to just slap on a pair of jeans and a hooded jacket back in the day when I didn’t have a fashion sense. I would still say I get ready in like five minutes. It’s just that I think more about what’s going to look good together. I put it on, and if I think it looks good, I go out. If it ends up not looking good, I try to swap it out with other pieces and roll with it.

What is fashion to you?

More people should care about fashion, even if you don’t like it. If you shower every day, if you have a small skin care routine, if you dress in clothes you think you look good in, you’ll be happy. You’ll feel good about yourself. It’s not a necessity in life like food and water are, but it’s a good thing.

Photos by Alicia Tedesco

THE VECTOR

Snapshots

Week of October 10, 2021

Homecoming Concert Photos by Akash Patel

In perhaps the most talked about event of the semester, Jason Derulo performed at the WEC on Thursday, October 7 as part of the fall Homecoming celebration. Along with Derulo, performances from several NJIT student DJs were featured.

Homecoming Carnival Photos by Ethan O'Malley

Petting zoos, carnival games, rock climbing and tarot reading were just some of the events students and their families were able to enjoy at last Saturday's Homecoming Carnival.

Senior Night NJIT's senior class was treated to a night of food, games, and singing in the Highlander Pub to cap off the events of Homecoming week. Photos by Sreya Das

THE VECTOR

Opinion

Week of October 10, 2021

Study Tips By Mrunmayi Joshi | Staff Writer Surfacing from the warm, dark comfort of my room this August, there was one thing I was really looking forward to, more than seeing real people again or trying out cool spots to eat, even more than making new friends. Any guesses? It was in-person Commons at NJIT, obviously. A 1.5 week block with frantic studying, especially with absolutely no notes or online calculators allowed? A dream come true. For anyone else whose study skills shriveled up like their muscles last year, here are my top five tips to score A-pluses on your exams this month. (Or at least above the 45% average in the physics department.) 1. Stay away from your room like it’s infested with lanternflies. Yes, ignore the inviting gleam of your desk and fridge go to the library between classes or hang out in the infinitely-generating lounges on one of CKB’s four floors. You can pick your level of noise - do you feel more comfortable with people arguing about integrals nearby, or do you like graveyard silence? A big bonus is that with other students in the vicinity, there’s probably someone around who can help you. CKB’s lowest floor has tutoring cen-

ters, too; you don’t have to rely on The Organic Chemistry Tutor to teach you calculus anymore. There are fewer distractions like a couch or TV, so it’s much easier to stay focused. Plus, I always find that the slight discomfort of the chairs keeps me from dozing off. 2. Short and sweet - go to class. Of course this doesn’t guarantee success - if it did, I wouldn’t have gotten a 63 on last week’s electric potential homework. But at least it wasn’t a 13! Practicing problems with your class and professor nearby gives you a chance to ask questions as everyone is familiarizing themselves too. Professors often emphasize topics that will come up on the test during class, so you’ll get a look at similar material early on. No one loves spending eighty minutes in a classroom, but think of it as an investment. Paying attention now means that you won’t have to learn and review simultaneously in three weeks. 3. Study with your friends, but also without. In the college influencer community, this one is a heated issue. Some people say that revising alone is conducive to ordering your thoughts and helps you better understand your progress. Af-

ter all, you’ll have to take the test alone. Others insist that you’re more motivated with your peers, like when people who decide to work out together end up committing for longer than someone who goes alone. So I decided to take the courageous position of… both, kind of. I’ve found that solitary reading lets me spend more time on what I need to review rather than what the group wants. But your friends from class are your strongest resource, and studying together can definitely be fun and effective as you fill in the gaps in each other’s knowledge. The ideal ratio seems to be 50:50, so that you have some time to personalize your review after studying together. 4. Write it out. I am, begrudgingly, a member of Gen Z, so yes, you can use your newfangled tablets and Apple Pens. Don’t just watch someone else draw diagrams and solve equations online without following along, though, and this applies to class as well. Writing has been proven to help you remember better than typing, but that’s not even accounting for the fact that the majority of our classes are STEM-related and may not translate easily to the computer. Drawing things out is good practice for

a paper-and-pencil exam. In the case that your classes are computer-based, try to write notes anyway. It forces your brain to process the information (at least a little bit) instead of just regurgitating it through the keyboard. 5. Here’s my most important tip: eat before you start studying, but not right before. With a gap of 1.5 hours between ingestion and putting your pen to paper, you’ll be set. Studying is pretty much exactly like a Division I sport; you need to be fueled, but not lethargic. Ninety minutes allows for any GDS-related gastrointestinal emergencies, but it isn’t long enough to feel hungry again or so short that you fall asleep. Bottom line, try to block off a certain amount of time and completely clear any other tasks from it. No answering emails, no walking your dog, no excuses for not working. Fifteen minutes reviewing notes followed by “Maybe I’ll go get lunch now” won’t cut it. Of course, you know yourself much better than I do, so customize these tips according to your opinion and experiences. Good luck and get to work!

Entertainment

Squid Game

Do you dare to play? Imagine being in debt, chased by loan sharks and having nobody to turn to. Then, one day, a stranger in a suit offers you money if you play a game with him and win. That is basically the starting point of the South Korean Netflix show, “Squid Game.” It aired on Sept. 7 on Netflix and has since become a huge hit. Memes and other references of the nine-episode-long show are taking over the internet; everyone seems to be talking about it. “Squid Game” follows the protagonist Gi-hun, who finds himself at a desperate time in his life. Meeting that stranger in a suit changes his life forever. He plays the game and gets the money and a business card inviting him to another game that promises even more money if he wins. Along with Gi-hun, 455 other players enter the game to win the prize money, risking their lives in the process. They need to win all six games; if they lose, they are “eliminated,” as their contract states. Every game is based on Korean children’s games, including the one that gave the show its name: squid game, a “type of tag where offense and defense use a squid-shaped board drawn in the dirt.” The show is well-written with many

By Alicia Tedesco | Staff Writer

moments of surprise as the plot takes quite a few more turns than one would expect. It has a unique style to it: apparent mazes with colorful stairs and doors, making one think of a children’s room, paired with the childishly pink color of the soldiers’ uniforms in a huge contrast to the life-threatening nature of the games. At the same time, all the players seem to be stripped of their identities; they only go by their player numbers and all wear the same green jumpsuit and white slip-ons. For the sake of their lives, they are forced to trust each other – despite the prospect of betrayal at any given moment constantly looming over them. In addition to that, “Squid Game” portrays multiple social issues in South Korea, such as the debt crisis, the struggles of the migrant population as well as North Korean defectors and the stigma they face. The presentation of these issues in the show serve not only as plot devices but also as a reflection of living in South Korean society, the uphill battle to survive in a capitalist world and the downfalls of its consumerist culture. Altogether, I give “Squid Game” 4.5 out of five crabs; it’s definitely worth (binge)-watching. So, what are you waiting for?

Photo from Netflix

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Entertainment

Week of October 10, 2021

A Review of "Dear Evan Hansen" By Rushi Desai | Contributing Writer I am a big fan of musicals ¬— and theater in general. I’m an even bigger fan of movies, so for me, there is a bit of a mutual relationship going on between Hollywood and Broadway. Lots of movies get adapted to musicals and lots of musicals get adapted to movies.

when it’s not coming from a teen and is instead coming from a grown ass man with a barely hidden 5 o'clock shadow. No amount of slouching and Naruto running can fix that. That last part wasn’t a joke, by the way. He Naruto runs in this movie.

2021 has been a particularly strong year for musical adaptations in particular. We got “In the Heights” that came out earlier this year, adapting the popular Lin Manuel Miranda debut, and Steven Spielberg directed a remake of “West Side Story”, a popular play that already had a groundbreaking film adaptation, which will be coming out Christmas. Wedged right in between that is “Dear Evan Hansen.” I feel I should preface ahead of time that I am not a fan of the “Dear Evan Hansen” play. However, despite that, my theater friends who do like it agreed with me that this adaptation missed the mark, so I don’t think my personal biases affect my overall assessment.

The choreography is so dull. It mostly consists in walking through hallways or rooms. No real movement or dancing or anything of any visual interest. Its cold harsh color grading is an assault on the eyes. Bizarre choice to shoot this movie like it's a David Fincher film. I know “Dear Evan Hansen” is about death, but this feels like I’m watching a true crime movie.

The movie’s premise is one of the most baffling stories I’ve ever seen played straight. This is a dark comedy story. It would play perfectly as a satire. In fact, that’s what I initially thought it was going to be because I couldn’t think of any other way this story could work. If anything, this actively mocks what it's trying to depict sincerely. It's like the inverse of a satire. The movie is about a kid named Evan Hansen who has severe social issues. Through a series of accidents, a letter he wrote to himself as an exercise from his therapist ends up in the possession of the brother of his crush. The brother, Connor Murphy, later commits suicide. Due to having the letter on him when he died, his family mistakes Evan for his best friend and because of his social awkwardness and naivety he goes along with this lie. I feel the movie thought I’d sympathize with Evan considering the kid’s corpse he was trotting out like a puppet for social points was kind of an asshole; but hey, turns out people who are suicidal may have mental issues and are not the most emotionally stable. With that reasoning, I’m not going to sympathize. Might as well address the elephant in the room with the casting controversy, Ben Platt reprises the role of Evan despite looking significantly older than the role requires — a senior in high school. Adults playing teenagers and looking way too old is a common occurrence in movies, but in this case it’s off putting due to the lengths they go to disguise his age. It's especially weird because everyone else looks young; in comparison, he looks significantly older. It also makes all the creepy weird shit Evan does significantly creepier and more off-putting. The nervous twitches of a teenager do not play well on a 27-year-old caked in makeup so thick you’d think they’d applied it by using a shotgun on a banana cream pie. This is a role that requires naivety. That naivety falls completely flat

To focus on the music aspect of this musical, the songs aren't good. It's generic crap trying to be heartwarming but completely falling flat especially because of how cold and lifeless it all sounds, not even talking about production but how it feels manufactured, like it was designed via checklist. The production just sandblasted off any personality that could've seeped through during the actual live performances. This was also an aspect that my theater friends felt was ruined in the musical. Platt is particularly awful. He cracks his voice more times in each song than the cracks in drying makeup and aged skin. Bizarre choice as he sings perfectly fine in the play. Not a crack in site. The most baffling choice in the film however was what ended up being cut and added. The opening was cut, which basically depicted Evan’s life. The issue is that the first song directly follows this opening and is a reaction to what we saw. The movie simply opens with the first song, but this time it’s reacting to something we haven’t seen and thus makes no sense. They also add a song in there that does nothing and is entirely useless to the plot and just wastes time they could’ve given to developing Evan’s mother, the heart of the play. Speaking of which, they cut her last song, the final song of the movie, the song that finally addresses how awful of a person Evan is — the literal make or break moment of the story. I mentioned how important the ending was earlier; well, the movie cuts the ending of the play. If it kept this song, it would be significantly better, still not good, and many of my criticisms still apply to the play, but a lot better. One good cut was the removal the creepiest part of the play, but once again the screenwriters didn’t change the lyrics of the song that directly references it, which is incredibly confusing. What also baffled me is that this was directed by Stephen Chbosky, the director of “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”. I don’t love the movie, but it is a noticeable step up in its depiction of mental health and direction, so I’m baffled by the ineptitude displayed here. If you’re interested in “Dear Evan Hansen,” I’d recommend you check out “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” instead. Don’t give your money to this awful, awful movie.

Photo from Universal Pictures

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Week of October 10, 2021

Entertainment

Review of James Wan's "Malignant" By Rushi Desai | Contributing Writer The Halloween season is rearing its head, and with it, this year's rollout in horror movies has begun. A staple of the horror movie genre for the last 20 years has been the works of James Wan. The Australian-born director is probably best known for creating the “Saw,” “Conjuring” and “Insidious” franchises as well as the many spin-offs from the respective universes. Wan's presence is especially felt this year as the latest entries in the “Saw” and “Conjuring” series debuted earlier this year. This set the stage for him to bring out a brand-new horror series with “Malignant,” combining his years of experience in the horror genre with his more recent detour into action with entries in the Fast and Furious series, “Furious 7,” and the DC Extende d

Universe, “Aquaman.” All the goodwill he generated over the years convinced the studio to give him complete freedom on this film, and it led to one of the most insane action horror comedies I’ve seen since Sam Raimi retired from directing. In fact, Wan’s career is very comparable to the works of Sam Raimi. He’s another director who started off creating a cult horror series like “Evil Dead” and moved on to action films, specifically superhero ones like “Spider-Man” before returning to horror one last time. It combined all that he has learned from his years of experience into creating one of the most insane movies ever, “Drag Me to Hell.” Unfortunately, however, I can’t say this movie is quite as good as any of Raimi’s films. While I said the movie was a comedy, it’s unclear whether it’s meant to be intentionally funny or not, when with Raimi it was obvious. Also, with Raimi’s movies, I enjoyed them the entire way through, but almost all my praise towards “Malignant” lands squarely on the last 30 minutes when Wan showcases some remarkably creative hor-

ror, action and camera work. Up until then, though, it’s very much a slow burn. Now, I don’t mind slow burns — Brian De Palma’s “Carrie” is an excellent horror movie that similarly spends the entire runtime building up to the ending climax — but instead of having something compelling take up the first hour and a half, I was treated to a convoluted, poorly acted and quite frankly boring mystery. Wan’s movies have always seemed to have an issue with acting. He’s remarkable from all technical aspects, and if there’s one thing I can say is consistently good throughout, it’s the visuals, but the acting is just amateurish, and it’s not excusable. Many actors in the film have worked with Wan before on his other horror movies, but that experience is not shown at all. Wan also casts a pretty significant role for his current partner, and while the sentiment is sweet, as a viewer it’s not particularly compelling. The soundtrack also has a baffling choice that loops back around to becoming hilarious. “Where is My Mind” by the Pixies plays constantly throughout the film as a motif. If it wasn’t distracting enough, the actual events of the story make it even funnier. The song was first popularized in the movie “Fight Club” during its use in the climax of that film. “Fight Club” has a famous twist that also became a popular narrative device

since the movie’s release. As a result, the song and twist have been inexplicably linked together in Hollywood as multiple films and shows with the same twist as “Fight Club” have used the song or a cover of the song throughout the score as a sort of auditory foreshadowing; “Malignant” follows this tradition. However, to give credit, they did opt to take the twist into a more physical horror direction than metaphorical. This may seem like a small change, but it was brilliantly paid off in the last 30 minutes. The way the body moves around and contorts is incredibly disturbing and is something I’ve never seen before on film. Wan additionally builds upon this physicality to deliver amazing action sequences. The action in particular reminds me of the works of Leigh Wannel, particularly his movie “Upgrade.” Wannel is a close friend and collaborator of Wan in movies such as “Saw.” When comparing it to Wan’s previous work, it’s very reminiscent of “Aquaman,” particularly the first action scene in that movie, as many of the camera techniques are replicated here, just in a more bloody, rated-R style. Holistically, this movie is a mess, but in the same way cheesy 80s horror movies were a mess. This feels like a mix of Raimi, Cronenberg and Gialo in the best ways. I feel it should’ve been 90 minutes or shorter, but it's a fun time. I wouldn’t say it’s a good movie, but it has what you would enjoy out of a bad movie under the hands of someone with actual talent. Maybe invite some friends over or watch it under the influence of substances not endorsed by the school or this publication so that the first hour or so breezes by quicker.

Photo from IMDB

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Entertainment

Week of October 10, 2021

Horoscopes

Do You Even Sudoku?

By An Anonymous Aquarius with an Affinity for Astrology

ARIES

TAURUS

GEMINI

When Aries is sick, a bowl of spicy ramen or warm ginger tea will be sure to cheer them up.

Taking a nap can refresh an under-the-weather Taurus, although be sure not to overnap. Too much of a good thing can lead you back to square one.

A sick Gemini tends to insist that they are not sick until it is extremely obvious. However, even if you yourself do not feel sick, you may be passing it onto those around you if you continue to go out and about.

CANCER

LEO

VIRGO

A sick Cancer knows how to take care of themselves, whether through calling the doctor, staying at home and resting, or making their favorite at-home remedy. Take all the time you need, and follow your instincts!

A sick Leo may be recognizable by complaining more than usual. The squeaky wheel gets the oil, after all.

A sick Virgo is likely to continue working no matter how sick they feel. But remember, the sooner you feel better, the sooner you can get back to normal, so it’s better to be safe than sorry and take the break you need!

LIBRA

SCORPIO

SAGITTARIUS

A sick Libra detests being confined to bed and will want to recover as soon as possible. Don’t forget to drink lots of water!

Like Leo, a sick Scorpio will be sure to let everyone know how much they are suffering. A scorpion may wag its tail with no intention of striking.

Chicken soup is just as good for the pet lover’s soul as it is for a Sagittarius feeling under-the-weather. Or even a perfectly healthy Sagittarius!

CAPRICORN

AQUARIUS

PISCES

Regardless of whether or not you believe in astrology, surely you can appreciate the health tips this week, as flu season approaches? Also, did you notice how Gemini was particularly artistic this week?

An Aquarius may become sick when they were not expecting to, but they will also recover sooner than they realize.

A sick PisCes would do well to know that Vitamin C has many health benefits and can relieve upper respiratory tract infections

EASY

MEDIUM

HARD

Comic

EVIL

By Giancarl Calle

Crossword Crossword credited to onlinecrosswords.net

Tweet @TheNJITVector a photo of your completed crossword puzzle (only if you can solve it, though)! Across 1. Deck out 6. Vocal fanfare 10. Kid 14. Squirrel's cartoon friend 15. Census data 16. Dangerous whale 17. Trattoria serving 18. Win going away 19. Hathaway competitor 20. Start of a quip 23. Motor lodge 24. Top pitcher

25. Artisan 30. International treaties 35. "For __ a jolly . . ." 36. Work in Vegas 37. Achieve 38. Mean business 40. Middle of quip 42. Wagnerian goddess 43. Cash in, as coupons 45. "Summer of '42" pianist 47. Symbol of sturdiness 48. Sad poem 49. Attractive

51. Female in the fold 53. "Jaws" sighting 54. End of quip 61. Be next to 62. Davenport site 63. Below, to Byron 65. Actress Russo 66. Pipe section 67. Interior decorator's asset 68. Makeup, e.g. 69. Lacerated 70. Hypnotist's order

Down 1. Bit of current 2. Buffalo do it 3. Sub __ (secretly) 4. Pippi Longstocking creator Lindgren 5. Had longings 6. Scarlett's home 7. All excited 8. Humble 9. Molded jelly 10. Take part 11. Type of 17 Across 12. Renfrew resident 13. Gave birth to

21. Clothing line 22. When the NFL season starts 25. Limerick starter, often 26. Carouse 27. Covert comment 28. Cow's stomach 29. Single-handedly 31. Downed a sub 32. Chocolate substitute 33. Of ebb and flow 34. Plumber's tool 37. Without purpose 39. Trouser half 41. Scale notes

44. Seeing things 46. Gets one's bearings 49. Mississippi River explorer 50. Toughen 52. Jackknife dive hinge 54. Wild goat 55. Salad ingredient 56. List entry 57. Water vessel 58. Mention explicitly 59. 24 bottles of beer 60. Novel conclusion 61. Verb for you 64. With it, once