Fall 2022 Issue 7

Maple Hall Murder Mystery: Whodunit?

FSSA and NRHH Host 1920s-Themed Mystery Event

By Yukthi Sangoi | Editor-in-Chief

It was just another Friday night for most, but there was a special group of people invited to what would be a very eventful 1920s wedding — one involving love and, of course, murder. Lauren Or der is scheduled to marry the son of Don Dunn Sr., but they find that someone from the wedding party has been killed off. Now, the question of whodunit re mained for NJIT students to figure out.

The Forensic Science Student Associ ation and National Residence Hall Hon orary Highlander Chapter organized a mystery event in the Campus Center Atrium on Sept. 23. The night featured professional actors from The Murder Mystery Company in New Jersey work ing with student actors who were cho sen randomly by the professional actors based on costuming, conversing, and spontaneous whimsy, according to Mira Sapozhnikov, third-year forensic science major and president of the association.

“As the professional actors set up the props they had prepared, they walked around from table to table and intro duced themselves while trying to break the ice. They did this while in charac ter to decide on one person who stood out from each table to play a role in the event for the evening,” Fayrouz Raouad, fourth-year forensic science major and head of public relations and social chair for the association, said.

“The company had prepared char acter role binders for all student actors that were used for clues, hints, and juicy drama that helped progress the devel opment of the storyline,” Sapozhnikov explained. “The information could be asked or ‘bribed’ out of characters during questioning periods and held im portant facts and pieces of information about the characters, their dynamics, etc. to push events further along or com plicate the mystery.”

Third-year biomedical engineering

graduate student Sebastian Fine, presi dent of the Honorary Highlander Chap ter, played the rival don Ivan Stone. “The role was engaging and fun to participate in! I cherished listening to the specula tions of who the killer was and the jus tifications behind the accusations,” he said. “You never knew who could have done it!”

“Even though I personally was not a part of the show, it sure felt like I was cheering [my student actor friends] on!” Sapozhnikov said. “I thought the actors' encouragement of active audience par ticipation really made the story come alive and also made it more fun for ev eryone involved.”

Attendees were highly encouraged to dress in 1920s mobster fashion to spice up the experience. “I figured it would be a fun event to go to with friends, who were kind enough to invite me; plus, it was an excuse to get dressed up, which is always fun,” Edward Hyland, third-year civil engineering major and student ac tor, said. He also received the Best Acting Award of the night.

“The most memorable parts of the night were the introduction to each character. Even before the night started, the actors were in character and intro duced themselves as such,” Colton Her nandez, first-year forensic science major and student actor, said. “The fact that the other characters that fellow students and I played immediately went into charac ter, even though we just got who we will be playing minutes prior, was also note worthy.”

At one point in the story, when there was a group of suitors, each one was required to show their best way of say ing, “How ya doing?” so that Order can choose the best greeter to be her hus band. Faith Adams, first-year biomedi cal engineering major and student actor, found this to be one of her favorite parts.

KEEPING SAFE ON CAMPUS

Sapozhnikov added, “My friend group definitely had a blast recording my friend embarrassing himself with a little runway strut and a classic 'How ya doin'?' or recording Eddy [Hyland]'s classic New York gangster accent talking about the IRS.”

“I already love the sound of my own voice and will take any opportunity to fill a silent room with whatever thoughts pop into my head, so being not only al lowed, but encouraged to talk to people in a silly ‘20s gangster voice for an entire night was a very gratifying experience,” Hyland said.

“I especially loved the unveiling of the supposed child, Polly Pocket, who turned out to be a spy,” Stephany Aristiz abal, fourth-year forensic science major and the association’s secretary, said.

Hernandez, the Polly Pocket actor, said, “What surprised me was when my character wasn't a little girl like the story originally presented; she was an assassin sent to kill another character.” Pocket’s real name was revealed to be Luna Sea. “Many other characters had secrets, which made the story interest ing when we got further into the night. It also made it more confusing and fun to decode all the clues,” they added.

“We had so much fun when we got the winner of the ‘Had No Clue’ Award. But in the end, almost everyone had no clue as only two tables had the correct culprit,” Adams mentioned. “I met so many new people at this event! It was cool seeing everyone that I already knew thinking outside the box and really going into their roles as suspects in the murder. Each table was also super competitive, so it was fun to interact with everyone — almost like a game of Clue.”

Maple Hall, NJIT’s newest residence hall, is the home of the Forensic Science Living Learning Community, motivating the organizers to keep its name as part of

VOLUNTEERING AT BRANCH BROOK PARK

Photo by Ethan O'Malley

the event title. Ayushi Shah, fourth-year architecture major and the Honorary Highlander Chapter’s secretary, said, “When we initially started planning the solo-NRHH event, we were going to do it in Maple Hall to have it cater towards the learning community. However, later we decided to do it somewhere more acces sible for all students,” not just residents.

During the planning stage, “the hard est part was having all organizations that collaborated be on the same page at the same time,” according to Albert Joseph, third-year mechanical engineering ma jor and vice president of the Honorary Highlander Chapter, along with many other Eboard members of both organi zations.

For the Forensic Science Student As sociation in particular, there were issues with making payments and submitting contracts and invoices. Sapozhnikov mentioned, “We ultimately covered the murder mystery portion of the event and paid back Residence Life with con tributions generously provided by the Department of Chemistry and Environ mental Science and the College of Sci ence and Liberal Arts, to whom we as an organization have been endlessly grate ful for the support and development of the forensic science program.”

“[The Honorary Highlander Chap ter’s] programming model took an ap proach towards two questions: 1) How can we provide back to our community? and 2) How can we have the residents en gage with our organization?” Fine said. “While lesser in frequency, I believe the amplitude of the program, which was set by each cooperative member's vision, showcases an aspect of what NJIT's resi dential experience provides.”

Another program like this one is likely to be in the works for the future - be sure to keep an eye out and put your detective hats on!

"FIVE SECONDS FLAT" REVIEW

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As the official student newspaper of the New Jersey Institute of Technology, our mission is to inform and entertain our readers, cultivate awareness of issues con cerning the NJIT community and provide a forum for purposeful, constructive discussion among its members.

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10/10/2022

3:42 a.m. Officers responded to the area of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and New Street. When conducting a random plate check, they discovered that the vehicle was stolen. Officers recovered the vehicle without incident.

10/11/2022

3:13 p.m. Officers generated a report for an NJIT student who wanted to file a theft report for one of their possessions. The investigation is ongoing.

4:09 p.m. Officers were flagged down by an unknown male reporting a panhandler near the Campus Center plaza. Officers canvassed the area but had negative results.

10/12/2022

12:09 p.m. An officer generated a fraud report for an NJIT student. The investigation is on going.

12:14 p.m. An officer generated a theft report for an NJIT employee. The investigation is on going.

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Keeping Safe on Campus

By Mrunmayi Joshi | Managing Editor

Content warning: This article contains mentions of sexual violence.

On Sept. 14, NJIT’s Department of Public Safety released the 2022 Security Report, which detailed the crime statis tics from the years 2019, 2020, and 2021 and included information about the ap propriate resources and people to con tact in order to report crimes.

There are several ways to relay infor mation about a crime. Every office con tains a campus telephone that connects directly to Public Safety and can be used to dial the extension 3111 to report a crime or 911 for an emergency. Emer gency telephones are also present at ev ery blue light throughout campus, which automatically connect to the NJIT police dispatcher.

Students can also dial 973-596-3111 from a non-campus phone to reach Pub lic Safety or speak to any NJIT Police or Public Safety officers in person.

Most of the 2022 report focused on the prevention of rape, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking. One case of rape

and two cases of fondling were report ed on campus in 2021. The nationwide statistics are sobering: the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network estimates that 26.4% of female undergraduate stu dents and 6.8% of males experience rape or sexual assault through physical force, coercion, or incapacitation.

The United States Department of Jus tice estimates that up to 90% of campus sexual assaults are committed by a per petrator that the victim knows; there fore, every student should know about the resources available to keep oneself safe on campus.

There are several options that NJIT Public Safety has provided in order to address the prevention of sexual assault and feel more comfortable. Through out the year, certified Rape Aggression Defense Trainers offer free self-defense training for students that includes strat egies for avoidance and risk reduction and hands-on defense training. Such sessions are generally held in the Well ness and Events Center. The Center for Counseling and Psychological Services

and Dr. Kristie Damell, NJIT’s Title IX coordinator, are also available to answer questions and discuss any incidents of sexual harassment and violence.

For victims of sexual violence, safe ty is the primary concern; the Depart ment of Public Safety or local police can be reached through their cell phone or a campus phone. Afterwards, medical help can be obtained from Universi ty Hospital, St. Michael’s Primary Care Center, and Newark Beth Israel Hospi tal — all hospitals that Public Safety can transport students to.

Until the medical examination, Pub lic Safety advises that any evidence be preserved by not showering or chang ing clothes. Emergency room fees are waived for sexual assault victims who file a police report, and can also be covered by the NJIT student health insurance plan. All evidence will be preserved for 90 days, during which survivors can de cide whether to report the crime.

Although numerous fire drills were held, no fires were reported in any res idence buildings in 2021. However, a

Co-Directors of Urban Ecology Lab Talk BioBlitz 2022

University Lecturer in the Department of Biology Dr. Caroline DeVan, Senior University Lecturer in Biolog ical Sciences Dr. Maria Stanko, Associate Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences Dr. Gareth Rus sell, and Associate Professor in the Department of Bio logical Sciences Dr. Daniel Bunker are co-directors of NJIT’s Urban Ecology Lab. This year, they held the sec ond annual BioBlitz on NJIT’s campus. Each year since 2011 — bar 2020 — Rutgers-Newark and NJIT held a BioBlitz to get to know wildlife in an urban area.

“BioBlitzes are a mixture of science and public out reach. The science part is a rapid survey of species, of ten carried out with the help of ‘citizen scientists’, and the outreach is to raise awareness of the often-surpris ing diversity of species in our neighborhoods,” Russell said.

DeVan added, “They are a type of community sci ence — a way to engage people in the local community with the biodiversity that is all around them while col lecting important data on what biodiversity is present.”

“We are so used to cities as places for humans only that this will surprise us,” Associate Professor for Rut gers-Newark Dr. Claus Holzapfel said. “Getting to know critters and plants is fun and healthy for us and will

“This is evidence that our campus can represent an island of hospitable habitat in an urban area for migrating species and highlights the importance of advocating for increasing biodiversity on campus.”

Dr. Maria Stanko Senior Universiry Lecturer in Biological Sciences

Photo by Areej Qamar

2019 fire in the Honors building caused by a kitchen stove resulted in property damage worth $58,379.05; following the directions of Residence Life Staff and Public Safety can decrease risk to both residents and property.

Although NJIT’s home city, Newark has a reputation for being unsafe, NJIT is one of the safest campuses in the country, ranked sixth nationally by Safe Campus and first in New Jersey. In 2021, the latest year of data released, there were no murders or non-negligent or negligent manslaughters reported, con tinuing the trend of zero reported cases from 2019 and 2020. There also weren't any cases of aggravated assault, arson, or motor vehicle theft reported in 2021, and only one burglary was documented. The most common incident was violation of the university’s liquor laws; 16 referrals were made in 2021, but no students were arrested. This year’s Safety Report con tinues a pattern of minimal crime, which can continue by increasing awareness of available resources in the NJIT commu nity.

By Yukthi Sangoi | Editor-in-Chief

make us care for them a bit more. We all win!”

This year, there were tables set up in front of Central King Building with the lab’s co-directors as hosts on Sept. 21 and 22. There were over 230 participants, and they discovered a total of around 275 different species, meaning that on average, everyone found at least one kind of plant or animal that no one else found, accord ing to Russell.

DeVan said her favorite part was meeting all the NJIT students who came by the table and asked ques tions or shared their observations. “I had people tak ing a ‘quiz’ to see if they could distinguish bees from other insects, and it was fun to see what people knew and hear about their own experiences with nature on campus,” she said.

A black and white warbler perched on the trunk of a tree right behind the tables at one point. “This was a super exciting species to see because these migratory warblers breed in northeastern forests and are not commonly seen on our campus except during migra tion. This is evidence that our campus can represent an island of hospitable habitat in an urban area for mi grating species and highlights the importance of advo cating for increasing biodiversity on campus,” Stanko commented.

The Albert Dorman Honors College instituted an environmental focus for their first-year students, not just in understanding and appreciation, but in practi cal service. The outcome of this is a series of campus landscaping projects to create wildlife-friendly plant ings using native species, which can be found behind the Honors Hall, in front of Eberhardt Hall, and on the Campus Center Roof Terrace.

“The Honors students hold a design competition for

each planting, and starting this year, the Urban Ecology Lab has been helping by outlining the goal and help ing to judge the entries,” Russell said. “The idea is that these plantings will be more than just pleasing to look at and attractive to wildlife; they will also be the focus of long-term research, helping our campus become a ‘living lab’ for urban ecology.”

DeVan mentioned that the resident hawk nest and the webcam was another highlight of the past year re garding working with the Honors College.

“It was great to see how many students from de grees outside of biology and environmental science were interested in nature. I had many conversations with budding engineers and computer scientists, and I made sure to point out the many ways in which those disciplines can contribute to solving environmental and ecological challenges,” Russell commented. “What you might call ’technology for nature’ is a growing en terprise.”

Overall, Bunker called the event a huge success, and DeVan encourages people to also explore the nature they find wherever they are — “the more you look, the more you see!”

Scan the QR code to look at all the observations from this year's BioBlitz.

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Open Mic Night

This week, SOMA hosted one of its many Open Mic Night's in the Highlander Pub inviting fellow university students to show off their talents on stage. This week the theme was the 1990s.

Photos by Aditya Bajaj

Bob Ross Paint Night

Layout by Areej Qamar

Photos by Ethan O'Malley

Residents in NJIT's Laurel Hall were invited this past Tuesday to paint along to the directions of a Bob Ross instructional video.

Garba

AIS and Hindu YUVA hosted their annual Garba dance at NJIT's Naimoli Tennis Center this past Monday. Students in attendance were treated to free food, a photo booth, as well as live music to dance along to.

Photos by Ethan O'Malley & Mrunmayi Joshi

Pumpkin Carving Competiton

NJIT students competed against each other to carve the best pumpkin in the kitchen of Cypress Hall last Tuesday as part of the joint event among Resident Life, HCAD, NRHH, and AIAS.

Layout by Areej Qamar

Photos by Samira Santana

Branch Brook Park: Volunteering, Caring, and Wellbeing

By Yukthi Sangoi | Editor-in-Chief

In under two miles and about five minutes, you can travel by car from NJIT to Newark’s very own Branch Brook Park. Visitors can find a lake, several walking paths, a skating rink, and many more attractions in the area.

“Essex County Branch Brook Park is renowned for having the largest and most varied collection of Japa nese Flowering Cherry Blossom Trees in the United States at over 5,200,” Kevin Mejia, program director of Care of the Park, which is powered by Jersey Cares, said. “We are also the first county park system in the U.S. conceived by Frederick Law Olmsted, designed by the Olmsted Firm, and built in 1895.”

As a nonprofit park conservancy, Mejia’s team equips, empowers, and mobilizes volunteers in stew ardship to the park. Many NJIT students have been known to volunteer at the park, as it is local and sup ports their college city of Newark. As of now, most of the work is focused on the southern division of the park — between Park Avenue and Interstate 280.

Thursdays to Sundays mark volunteer days, with times from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The alliance usually gets up to 50 volunteers on these days; the registry is cut off 48 hours prior to the start of the volunteer session. Mejia will greet volunteers upon arrival, typically at the Pru dential Concert Grove. After the registration and wel come, he will turn the team over to the horticulturist — an expert in garden cultivation and management — and gardeners who will lead the service.

Some of the possible tasks include weeding, removal of invasive plants, trash, debris, and graffiti if applica ble, laying mulch, planting, pruning, shoveling, raking, and watering areas. The tasks available for volunteers vary based on the week and season during which they decide to come.

A break is provided from 11:15-11:30 a.m. Volun teers should supply their own water or bring a reus able water bottle to fill up from the water cooler — the alliance does not offer disposable cups. At 12:30 p.m., volunteers will begin to clean up and organize the tools and equipment back in the tool room. At 12:55 p.m., the alliance and volunteers will regroup and take a final group photo to share on social media.

“I have been part of Branch Brook Park Alliance since February of this year. During quarantine, I was able to take a road trip from New Jersey to Mexico vis iting most major national parks. I quickly gained a love for the outdoors and decided to learn about environ mental conservancy and urban sustainability,” Mejia said. “I came across this opportunity that happened to focus on the revitalization of Branch Brook Park, a park which I frequently visited as a kid growing up. The love for outdoors and Newark both aligned in this position of program director.”

In October, the park holds health and wellness fes tivals. “We invite NJIT to come out to enjoy live music, food trucks, free art activation, and so much more. We will also be needing volunteers to assist with the festi vals,” Mejia added.

Some positions for volunteers include greeters, di rection assistants, registration assistants, and general upkeepers. Greeters welcome over 200 guests by saying “hello” or “welcome.” Direction assistants will provide directions, guiding event attendees through various tables. Registration assistants will contribute to the check-in process of vendors, artists, artisans, and other health or social service organizations. General upkeep ers will keep an eye out for trash on the grounds and pick it up as needed.

According to the Jersey Cares website, “The commu nity ambassadors of the Branch Brook Park Alliance successfully piloted the event last year for maximum public outreach to ensure that a diverse mix of wellness activities, art and artists were featured. The program consists of wellness activations such as Zumba, yoga, and bootcamp as well as live performances, live art demonstrations and displays of current art, and well ness throughout the event. The series of events include participatory workshops that make the connection between social determinants of health and the arts, an arts market featuring local artists such as painters, sculptors and photographers, and music and artistic performances.”

To Mejia, “the park gives us the ability to put aside the Newark hustle and bustle and allows us to come together with different communities to help us focus on our own wellbeing. As the famous American land scape architect Frederick Law Olmsted said, ‘we must reimage our public places so they can foster health and wellbeing for all communities.’”

Mejia cherishes all the occasions on which people have approached him while in the park and thanked him for the service the alliance does for the commu nity.

“This summer we offered free yoga, and after one of the sessions, one of the ladies approached me and told me how I would never understand what free yoga at Branch Brook meant to her. She works six days a week, and the only time she felt grounded and at ease was through the 45 minutes she spent at Branch Brook do ing yoga,” he said. “It warms my heart to know we make Branch Brook Park a better place every day for us all to enjoy.”

To register to volunteer, scan the QR code on the right.

Photos by Sreya Das

Layout by Areej Qamar

Forte

COLLECTIONS

voices from around campus

Halloween is just around the corner! What are you planning on dressing up as?

"doing a couple’s cosplay with my boyfriend :uwu:"

"3 hole Jim"

"come to the vector halloween party and find out "

"As a non-cs major, i will be in a cs major costume (basically my regular boring clothing, i need costume ideas)"

"A depressed college student"

"my girlfriend and i are doing a classic couples costume: sexy enderman and isabelle (animal crossing)"

"Columbo"

"Mavis from hotel transylvania! (or maybe lydia from beetlejuice)"

"The guy on the right in the Forte's pizza ad"

"a crab? or maybe Vector from despicable me?"

"Joel Bloom"

"I'm going as a witch!"

"a character from haikyuu"

"I'm dressing up as levi from attack on titan"

"a hobbit"

"my girlfriend's boyfriend"

"Lorenzo Romano Amedeo Carlo Avogadro"

"I think I’m going to dress up as megara from Hercules"

Layout by Ivy Sosing & Areej Qamar

American Students Should Read Russian Literature Yes, Even Now.

By Matthew Fleishman | Contributing Writer

As I was finishing up my humanities sequence of 100- and 200-level General Education Requirements in my first year, I began planning my humanities classes for further years. Looking through the list of 300-level electives, I was intrigued by a class titled LIT 388: The Russian Novel and Short Story, yet a look through NJIT’s class schedule revealed that this course has never been scheduled.

Inquiries with the Department of Hu manities and Social Science revealed that the course has not run and is be ing removed from the course catalog, as there was never enough interest to warrant it. This is a great shame, because Russian literature is unspeakably rich and provides a unique window into a culture that few Americans have an ad equate understanding of. Nowhere else are subjects such as suffering and the darkness of the human soul explored so deeply. Fyodor Dostoyevsky, who was sentenced to execution and saved at the last minute, is especially skilled at this. His most famous novel, “Crime and Pun ishment,” portrays a character who ini tially thinks that crimes are committed

only by extraordinary people: criminals, but upon committing crimes himself, re alizes that even the most ordinary man can commit crimes. Two voices battle in his head: one of amoral and materialis tic reasoning, and the other one being his conscience, which also reflect the devil and God respectively. Or take Ni kolai Gogol’s “Dead Souls,” in which a man travels the countryside hoping to purchase serfs who have passed away. However, the documents do not yet re flect their deaths, and the book throws the entire concept of humanity into question.

But what about the war in Ukraine? Should those of us in the free world re ally reward this crime by exploring the perpetrator’s culture? This view over looks countless facts.

First, the people are not their govern ment. Millions of people have fled Rus sia this year alone, while even more left in prior waves. The legendary Russian poet Alexander Pushkin was an outspo ken critic of the brutal imperial suppres sion of the November Uprising in Poland

and worked to free Greece from Otto man rule. The countless Russian writers in exile between the first and second World Wars, including but not limited to Ivan Bunin, Joseph Brodsky, and Vladi mir Nabokov, likewise show that Russian literature cannot be equated with the government in Moscow.

Secondly, the war will eventually end. At that point, we as people will need to learn how to live on this planet togeth er. Why shouldn’t we start preparing for this now, lest there arise yet more divi sion between us?

Finally, and perhaps most paradox ically, countless Russian authors have full or partial Ukrainian ancestry. Gogol was born in Poltava Governorate in the Ukraine region of the Russian Empire, while Alexander Solzhenitsyn, perhaps the most widely known anti-Soviet writ er, had a Ukrainian mother. Ukrainian writer Taras Shevchenko, widely popu lar in Ukraine for his nationalist views, spent most of his adult life in Saint Pe tersburg, Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, the Urals, and other non-Ukrainian parts of Russia. His last residence in Saint Pe

tersburg is now a museum that can be visited with prior arrangement. This in tegration of the Russian and Ukrainian people applies not only to literature. To give just one colorful example, the St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Cathedral on New York’s Upper East Side was van dalized with red paint in a Russophobic hate crime, even though half of the pa rishioners are Ukrainian, according to its spokesperson.

I believe that Americans should read Russian literature, even now. That is why I want to spread awareness about the subject and prove to the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences that Lit 388: The Russian Novel and Short Sto ry is worth running. Please fill out the attached Google Form by scanning the QR code below if you have any interest in this subject. The course can satisfy a 300-level General Education Require ment in History or Humanities, count as a free elective, or be taken out of pure interest. Responses to the Google Form are what I intend to use to demonstrate interest in the course.

COME FOR THE CLIMBING STAY FOR THE COMMUNITY

METHOD CLIMBING, NEWARK NJ

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Scan the QR code for an online link to this petition.

Whimsical Eras of Love in 'Five Seconds Flat'

By Yukthi Sangoi | Editor-in-Chief

Singer-songwriter Lizzy McAlpine re leased her second studio but third over all album “five seconds flat” on April 8 of this year. She assembled 11 of the 14 tracks into a 29-minute film, which is divided into five parts and shares the same title. The 23-year-old captures the intense feelings of love, especially at a younger age.

The film begins with high school scenes and McAlpine sitting on bleach ers during what seems like marching band rehearsal. The first track of the al bum, “doomsday,” starts playing, which references the end of her relationship that’s in shambles already. She contin ues to go back to her lover in hopes that she gets control over ending the rela tionship. Her relentless optimism and idealization of her partner inhibits her from realizing that they’re not any good for her.

She sings, “Doomsday is close at hand / I booked the marching band / To play as you speak,” meaning that she will

do absolutely anything — have the band play loudly — to literally not hear her lov er choosing to end the relationship. The end of the song portrays McAlpine with the painted face of a skeleton, a common theme throughout the film that, to me, signifies the death of a relationship.

The next scene, the start of the film’s second part, shows McAlpine getting ready for a party with friends. The al bum’s ninth track, “what a shame,” plays for half a minute before the volume low ers and focuses on the conversations; the camera pans to different parts of the bedroom they’re all in. The lyrics “Please, take me home and kiss me slow / And do anything you want to” play while the camera shows a sign saying, “our rights are not up for grabs / neither are we,” which I found slightly ironic.

As they enter the party, part of the al bum’s tenth track, “firearm,” plays. I real ly wish there was more of this song in the film because of the emotional intensity it radiates, with a calm and reflective tone in the first half turning into angry, edgy alternative rock-like music in the bridge. However, I see its relevance in this scene since one of the lines is, “I get drunk with my friends / Your name never comes up,” referencing the end of a relationship with someone who ‘slept with a firearm’ and caused McAlpine immense pain with the amount of power they had over her.

A little bit of the album’s second track, “an ego thing,” plays next while showing scenes from the party like dancing and mingling. She sings, “you got angry / And said some angry words / It's not that I hatе you / I hate that it hurt,” deflecting the blame from her partner.

While attempting to get over her ex-lover, she gets drunk and sleeps with another person, as portrayed in the al bum’s third track, “erase me,” featuring Jacob Collier. “Now you're fadin' and I wonder who will erase me?” refers to her wondering who her ex-lover might move on with now that she’s trying to move on with the one she just slept with. It’s clear that she’s still caught up on her ex, so she exhibits insecurity regarding who might replace McAlpine.

As the full track plays, scenes that seem to represent distractions are shown. There are some physically inti mate and suggestive visuals along with visuals of partying, drinking, and sleep ing. The viewer can really experience

how stuck in her head McAlpine gets with these actions and thoughts. The end of the film’s second part also shows a glimpse of the skull face once again.

The third part of the film is the album’s fifth track, “all my ghosts,” a more light hearted song which presents a change of pace from the first half of the film. It now focuses on falling in love with someone new while also having the ‘ghosts’ of her exes with her. The song ends with a more positive outcome, with McAlpine being able to picture a wedding; she sings, “I can see it now / When all my ghosts dis appear / I can see it crystal clear.” Scenes of her enjoying time with her new lover in a 7-Eleven play as we hear the song.

The film’s fourth part starts with “reckless driving,” the album’s sixth track, which features Ben Kessler. I ab solutely love the build-up that this song has from the beginning to its end. At this point of the film, however, only the first two verses and choruses play before it cuts off with a black screen. Then, a few seconds of “ceilings,” the eighth track on the album, plays as if it was on the radio while McAlpine and her lover are driving to her parents’ house.

“reckless driving” is about a relation ship that is one-sided and feels like an overwhelming amount of love for the receiver. In this case, her lover is the one who “can’t focus on the road when [McAlpine is] in [their] car.” She sings about the relationship spiraling be cause her partner is so mesmerized by her that they don’t pay attention to what happens around the two of them. “And now we're at one eighty / … it’s over in a second, crashed the car into the tree / … You’d rather die than take your eyes off me,” are some of the most defining lines of the song. McAlpine makes it clear it’s one-sided when she says, “I don't love you like that / I’m a careful driver.”

“ceilings” is another song I wish had a longer time in the film. The orchestral in strumentals, especially towards the end, are beautiful, and they really make the listener reminisce and sit in heartache with her. It might also be referencing “reckless driving” with the lines, “But it's not real / And you don't exist / … It hits me in the car”; she’s thinking about a previous relationship instead of the per son she’s currently with.

McAlpine and her partner are talking with her family when she realizes the downfall of the relationship. The lover’s

face shows up with a skull painting, and she immediately says, “I can’t do this anymore,” cutting to the bridge and end of “reckless driving.” She ends the song with, “one day it will kill us if I—”; the remaining words are supposed to be, “I don’t let go.”

The next scene shows McAlpine walking on the same road as the “reck less driving” scenes with a bruise on her face. “weird,” the album’s seventh track featuring Laura Elliott, plays for a min ute. Memories of her past relationships play in her head, and she looks dis tressed and rattled.

The fifth and final part of the film starts with a shot of McAlpine and her first lover shown in the film. She starts singing “hate to be lame,” featuring FINNEAS and the eleventh track of the album. The soft tune at the beginning reflects the sweet scenes of the lovers like sitting in the grass and dancing in an empty building. The song grows in intensity, and clips of them together play back-to-back. The final scene of the film slows down and has a warm glow, and McAlpine and her lover share an in timate kiss. She sings, “Hate to be lame but I might love you.”

The scene after the credits captures a comforting, calming, and heartwarming moment of McAlpine and the second lover slow dancing in an empty land with car headlights shining on them at dawn. It feels like they see each other as the only people in the world.

The three tracks that didn’t make it into the film are “called you again,” “no body likes a secret,” and “chemtrails.” It would have been nice to have all the songs incorporated, but I still think McAlpine did an outstanding job cap turing the burning sensations of falling in and out of love through her music and visuals in the film. Five out of five crabs for “five seconds flat.”

Layout by Ivy Sosing

Photo from Lizzy Alpine | YouTube

Photo from Lizzy Alpine | YouTube

“... McAlpine did an outstanding job capturing the burning sensations of falling in and out of love through her music and visuals in the film."

Horoscopes

ARIES

I think you’re ready to fall in love. So do it already.

CANCER

You have so much you want to achieve this week, if only you could get out of bed.

TAURUS

Get your life in order this week. You got this!

LEO

Use that charm of yours to woo anyone you please, darling.

GEMINI

Plan your Halloween cos tume and decorate your pumpkins, love.

VIRGO

Showing your love doesn’t always have to be material istic. Be creative for once.

Do You Even Sudoku?

MEDIUMEASY

Take this time to present yourself to the world and make good impressions.

LIBRA CAPRICORN

Time for some network ing. Make that milestone achievement for your ca reer.

I wouldn’t recommend trusting people with sensi tive information.

SCORPIO AQUARIUS

Listen to all sides of the issue before coming to a stubborn conclusion. You know what I’m talking about.

Word Search

Comic

Comic by Areej Qamar

Get your friends to do some fall activities. And if you don’t have any, maybe ask strangers?

SAGITTARIUS PISCES

Listen to your gut feeling, not others even if they seem “kind”.

HARD

EVIL

Tag @njit_vector in your Instagram story with a photo of your completed word search and suduko puzzles (only if you can solve them, though)!

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