Vol. XCVIII Issue 9

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H T D R A Y A E

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ANN

NEWS

NJIT'S GAME CHANGERS See page 3

Week of April 20, 2020

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The Voice of NJIT with Magnitude and Direction Since 1924

Vol. XCVIII | Issue 9

S R IVE FEATURES

FLORA APP REVIEW See page 6

R A

Photo by Katherine Ji

OPINIONS

PLASTIC BAGS VS. TOTE BAGS See page 10

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Researching for a Better Future: How NJIT Researchers are Promoting Sustainability

By Katherine Ji | Managing Editor This week, we commemorate the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, marking an annual cultural mobilization of efforts starting from 1970, leading to the creation of the EPA and the great success of landmark environmental statutes. Yet, another environmental emergency lies in wait - the devastating effects of climate change and the risk it imposes on societies in the coming decades. Unlike in 1970, however, when 20 million Americans protested against further ecological damage of their communities, the effects of climate change are not as visible.

Fortunately, this week we also celebrate the first Earth Day that NJIT has demonstrated a commitment to sustainability like never before, joining AASHE last fall, listing sustainability as one of among seven core value in the NJIT 2025 Strategic Plan and electing “Sustainable Societies” as one of NJIT’s three main steering committees to fulfill goals of the Strategic Plan.

The chair and major advocate for this sustainability steering committee is Dr. Gareth Russell, Associate Professor in Biological Sciences, who states that one major goal of the Steering Committee would be to “identify common themes and interests… and to try to promote new collaborations and new projects” between faculty and student-driven research. Russell emphasizes that the Grand challenge “is called ‘Sustainable Societies’ as an acknowledgement that science and engineering alone cannot give us a sustainable future: we need the input of social sciences, economics, history and the humanities.”

Along with the administrative efforts to promote sustainability at NJIT, several professors from different disciplines are already contributing to this fight for sustainability that requires creativity like we haven’t seen before. These are Dr. Wen Zhang, Dr. Zeyuan Qiu and Dr. Gareth Russell.

Dr. Wen Zhang: Dr. Zhang, associate professor in civil and environmental engineering, looks small when thinking big, taking part in a range of different nanoscale projects relating to the grand picture of sustainability. These sustainable technologies, as Zhang said, “are those involving the use of novel materials and novel approaches or processes that will not introduce excessive pollution while solving or reaching one goal.”

Zhang said he drew inspiration from many brilliant professors during his Ph.D., where his passion for learning about nanomaterial synthesis and characterization opened up a range of ideas for solving environmental issues. For example, Zhang’s team is working on methods to degrade common microplastics littering and releasing dangerous chemical

additives into our waterways. In another example, Zhang’s team is utilizing microwave-enhanced filtration methods to study the degradation of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), a chemical substance in the toxic PFAS family, a toxic chemical frequently plaguing New Jersey’s waterways. As part of Zhang’s favorite project, his team is investigating a greener water treatment practice using reactive ozone nanobubbles, which could be used in agricultural or community water treatment plans.

Zhang believes the effects of climate change should be taken seriously and addressed by everyone. “Government needs to seriously consider the incentives to build new business ecosystems and chain of economies.” Zhang believes the fight for a cleaner environment will not succeed without engagement by the entire public and that “research can not only come from engineering groups like us but should also incorporate social studies, community or citizen sciences and political sciences.”

Dr. Zeyuan Qiu: Dr. Zeyuan Qiu, professor of Chemistry and Environmental Sciences, grew up in a rural community and began his work in land resource management in China. Qiu’s further experiences in pursuing his Ph.D. in agricultural economics and working with a group studying the impacts of agriculture on water quality in communities set the stage for his passion for “research in water resources and ecosystem management, natural resource conservation and environmental planning.”

Along with NJIT professors Dr. Li and Dr. Axe, Qiu is investigating biochar-enabled biologically active filtration systems for irrigation wastewater treatments in order to transform traditional rice production into a more sustainable agricultural practice.

Throughout Qiu’s career, his favorite project has been the Neshanic River Watershed Restoration Plan project, in which Qiu and many others developed stringent management processes that helped protect the Neshanic River watershed from pollutant loading. Qiu says his favorite part of the project has been getting local stakeholders and various agencies involved. “I personally got to know some wonderful individuals… and now appreciate the power of working together for a common call.”

“Science is critical to the future of handling the effects of climate change as it can help develop new solutions,” says Qiu. “However, the scientific research so far has clearly identified the pattern of future climate change and its potential impacts on environment and provided numerous solutions in terms of adaptation and mitigation strategies, but their adoption is still low and slow. There are still climate change deniers among prominent politicians

and the general public, which further discourages the adoption of those strategies. I am encouraged by the Green New Deal type of legislative proposals being developed by governments around the world.”

Dr. Gareth Russell: Dr. Russell, associate professor in Biological Sciences, found a fascination with the natural environment early on, memorizing his grandmother’s gifted wildlife cards and devouring journals and books laid out in his high school professor’s lab. Later studying under famous biologist Richard Dawkins at Oxford University, and after joining Dr. Stuart Pimm’s laboratory at the University of Tennessee, Russell began to describe himself as an ecologist and conservation biologist. “I actually think every ecologist is a conservation biologist, whether they say so explicitly or not, because the state of the world today doesn’t give you much choice,” says Russell.

Russell currently works with “ecological ‘big data,’ typically collected by field-based research groups and are always team efforts. My role is to put these kinds of data together and draw new insights from them,” such as elucidating how habitat composition and fragmentation will affect the diversity and abundance of different species, or in evaluating what factors go into extinction risk, one of his proudest projects to date. Last summer, Russell collaborated with his wife, an ecologist at Rutgers, observing bee communities in powerline easements and how different management strategies affected them.

Russell emphasizes that the threats to biodiversity of species and individuals are becoming increasingly interrelated. “Climate can act as a sort of propagator of habitat destruction: cutting down forest in the Amazon contributes, eventually to coral die-off on the other side of the world. The more we understand how these things are connected, the more difficult it is to ‘rank’ different threats as if it makes sense to tackle one before the other.”

Prompted regarding his new role as the chair of the Sustainable Societies Steering Committee, Russell says that he is looking forward to pushing for finding “practical solutions to local problems, managing NJIT’s own activities in a sustainable way and generally getting the message out that we recognize the urgency of this environmental crisis and want to be part of the solution... Like many academic scientists studying the environment, my sense of crisis has become especially acute recently. Many of us used to think that we could do science, and others would take care of implementation of policy. Clearly, that has not happened, and doing ‘pure’ science feels increasingly like a luxury we can’t afford.”

Dr. Wen Zhang

Dr. Zeyuan Qiu

Dr. Gareth Russell

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THE VECTOR

News

Week of April 20, 2020

NJIT'S GAME CHANGERS VEGAN ATHLETES

By Daniil Ivanov | Editor-in-Chief Last October, the NJIT Men’s Soccer team was in Nashville, Tennessee preparing for a game against Lipscomb University. This was the team’s fourth conference game of the season and game 15 overall for the NJIT Highlanders.

“I was rooming with Thomas Radon, and we were in the room together and we had like an hour or so to kill before we run out to dinner,” said Nicholas Kozdron, a junior and a defender on the team.

“Nick and I were talking with our assistant coach who told us to watch a documentary which we really got into,” said Radon, a junior and central midfielder for the team.

“So, we decided that we were just going to watch something on Netflix and we watched ‘The Game Changers,’” Kozdron said. “Funny enough, after watching only half of it and then going to dinner, we decided that from that very first dinner we were going to go plantbased.”

“The Game Changers” is a 2019 documentary that follows former mixed martial artist James Wilks on a journey of meeting vegans who are among the best elite athletes in the world, asserting the claim that a plantbased, meat free diet will result in benefits in both athletic performance and overall health.

Radon said “It was time to kick off and maybe it was placebo or the excitement but I felt lighter and more energized than ever. During the game there was no feeling of early fatigue or tired legs at all. I felt great and we went on to win a very important game.”

“We decided to keep it going up until we weren't going to do so well both individually, like with our own health, and as a team,” Kozdron continued. “But things were going really well [with the diet] so we just kept doing it, and now it's become a big part of, I think, both of our lifestyles. And then, you know, people on our team started following, whether they also watched “The Game Changers” or just wanting to try it out because they wanted to see what it was like.”

“They were asking me how I felt like, did I feel like I was lacking anything,” Kozdron added. “I said no, I honestly felt better than what I was feeling before. I felt more energized, I felt like I was eating cleaner—which I was— and I just felt overall a betterment in my diet.”

“Looking back I noticed that all these little pains went away that used to just be uncomfortable before, like ankle swelling or increased stiffness,” Radon said. “It seemed like I didn't have the slightest issue for the rest of the season. The big thing I noticed was waking up all of a sudden became much easier! I would wake up and pop out of bed ready for class, lift and training full of energy.

That was probably my favorite effect of the diet because waking up sometimes can be difficult and falling back asleep feels like such a waste of time when it does happen.”

Although Kozdron and Radon became a part of a minority of NJIT athletes, they were not alone. Roque Nido, a sophomore and a setter on the Men’s Volleyball team, has been a plant-based athlete since last July.

“The reason why I did this was because I was looking for an edge when it came to recovery from training and also lowering inflammation in the body,” Nido said.

“I have always struggled with patellar tendonitis because volleyball is a high impact sport where we are always jumping.”

Nido said that he had watched another documentary on Netflix called “What the Health,” and decided to try a plant-based diet. “When I first transitioned to plant-based I did feel a positive impact on performance, but the biggest difference was during recovery and that inflammation I talked about…. After going plant-based I felt the inflammation decreased significantly and the pain was reduced as well.”

When asked if the health effects could have come from an overall healthier diet as opposed to being attributed specifically to a lack of animal products, Nido said, “I think it comes from eating no meat. I’ve always eaten pretty healthy and I noticed a change.”

Alahna Diaz, a senior on the Women’s Volleyball team, has been a vegan for six months since watching “The Game Changers.” Diaz said “Performance-wise I feel more active and less sore. I do feel less tired around the day, it's easier for me to wake up in the morning, and an increased sense of sharpness. I feel more aware.”

“It was so easy,” Diaz said. “I think the easiest diet change I’ve ever done… It also completely eliminated my cravings. Like after my research, animal products didn’t just seem as appealing to eat anymore. You kind of get grossed out knowing all the chemicals they put into them!” Diaz also said that about one-third of her team

has transitioned to a plant-based diet.

Marissa McDonald, a freshman on the Women’s Basketball team, has been a vegan for two years. “I originally did it for ethical reasons and the mistreatment of animals. But once I started it, health became another factor that kept me going.”

“I believe I perform better under this diet,” McDonald said, “because ever since I went vegan I started to feel a lot healthier, I started to get sick less (I got sick a lot more before, even though I still get sick now), and I felt like I had more energy.”

Guido Liwski, a freshman on the fencing team, said that he has been a vegan for over a year. “I thought about it for a long time and my main reasons were animal rights and environmental causes/climate change. I finally made the switch when I researched the health impact of animal consumption and the benefits on athletic performance that I could get from a plantbased diet.”

“As an athlete,” Liwski said, “my daily protein intake should be 180g. In order to achieve this, my diet consists mostly of beans and legumes, tofu, tempeh, nuts/nut butters, seeds and vegan protein powder. I try to replace simple carbs with complex ones (quinoa instead of rice, oatmeal instead of cereal, sweet potatoes instead of regular ones, etc.). Finally lots of veggies (different colors) to provide all the fiber, vitamin/minerals and phytonutrients. Also 5000 mcg of B12 vitamin supplement a day.”

Liwski continued, saying that “I’ve not only performed better since I made the switch to a plant-based diet but I also feel better overall. I feel less bloating and inflammation and more stabilized energy during the day. Keeping a vegan diet forces me to keep track and be mindful of everything that goes into my body.”

Liwski is joined by another vegan on the fencing team, freshman Dominika Pawlowska. “It was more like a process for me,” she said. “First I went vegetarian for a few months and then I started cutting out dairy and eggs. Now I’ve been fully vegan for over four years.”

“I did it mostly because of the ethical reasons,” Pawlowska said. “I decided that I don’t want to support the meat and dairy industry. I also discovered that this type of diet is very beneficial for athletes and that it could improve my performance if done properly…. Now I’m just used to performing on this diet. For sure I don’t feel heavy and my recovery is quicker.”

Matthew DaSilva, a junior on both the Cross Country and Track team, said, “I became plant-based right before I entered college... It was caused by talking to a few teachers from high school, some documentaries, and a lot of independent research to make my decision. I ended up making the switch to being plant-based because I wanted to take an active approach in leading a healthier lifestyle and trying to make better choices for the planet.”

“Based on my times,” DaSilva said, “my athletic performance has improved for some events. Personally, the longer events I run have shown a big improvement while the shorter events have remained about the same. Physically though, I feel much better and more energetic than I did when eating a traditional diet…. For me it was also really hard because I come from a traditional Portuguese household; culturally the diet consists almost entirely of fish, pork, and chicken.”

Kozdron said that, “a lot of people showed interest and wanted to try it and then some people just said it was too difficult to maintain with a cafeteria like GDS.” “Other people,” Kozdron continued, “said that they tried it for a week and just went back and said it was too difficult because they cooked everything on their own living at home. Some people wanted to try it, but were scared of the outcome, whether it would help or not. So, I mean, there was interest and I feel like there always will be interest only because it is a dietary change that a lot of people don't consider making, only because it is a big commitment.”

“If someone sparked interest, but didn't know where to start,” Kozdron suggested, “I'd say just try one meal a day. But don't make it an easy meal, like breakfast. You know, breakfast is fairly easy to avoid animal products—you're not going to have a steak for breakfast—but, challenge yourself, maybe make it a dinner or a lunch.”

According to Kozdron and Radon, a total of five soccer players on the Men’s team had turned to a plantbased diet that season. “[It’s] really cool to see,” Radon said, “because they are doing it for health and fitness which shows how much the players actually care about the success of our team to make such a drastic change in their lives for the betterment of the NJIT Men’s Soccer program.”

THE VECTOR

News

Week of April 20, 2020

4

Climate Change Through the Lens of a Global Pandemic

By Robert Argasinski | Contributing Writer Over the past weeks, the NJIT community has joined several challenges and changes other campuses across the world are facing: classes and exams have been conducted online, most residents have moved back home and campus events that used to engage the student body have been cancelled or postponed.

Yet hidden behind these changes brought about by the current pandemic is a crisis that lurks just behind the corner: climate change. While the phenomenon has been discussed in scientific communities for decades, the widespread response to the coronavirus has sparked a new debate about the role of national and global cooperation in dealing with a crisis. This especially holds true for climate change which is slated to impact everything from rising sea levels to the frequency of natural disasters and wildfires.

The NJIT community is very aware of the impact posed by climate change. According to a poll of NJIT students conducted by the NJIT’s ENG 350 class “The Newsroom,” over 92 percent of those surveyed agreed that climate change is either a crisis or a major problem, with a majority (52 percent) stating it’s a crisis. However, as the coronavirus pandemic has evolved, so has the definition of a crisis.

“I don’t think [climate change] has the impact it needs to have on the general population,” says Allen Blount, a first-year graduate student studying Computer Science. Blount believes that one of the reasons why climate change isn’t spurring as much action as the pandemic is that the impacts are less immediate or observable.

“In terms of a crisis, I would say [climate change] is bigger than what is happening with coronavirus right now, but it’s definitely more spread out.”

Dominik Kreslo, a transfer student studying Information Technology, also believes climate change is a crisis. “I still think it’s an important crisis to think about, but right now, coronavirus is more important to deal with because it risks people’s lives a lot more quickly.”

According to environmental reports, it seems that shutdowns associated with the coronavirus have led to positive climate indicators, such as less air pollution around the world, offering hope that similar changes can be implemented to address the issues of climate change. “We shut down everything and look what happened to pollution levels. So, it’s definitely possible that we can reverse climate change,” says Kreslo.

Others, like Beatrice Rejouis, a junior studying Biology, are more skeptical about such reports.

“One of the problems is that it’s the appearance of it getting better instead of it actually getting better,” Rejouis says.

“They like to point to the canals

in Italy being cleaner because people aren’t driving the gondolas, but it’s only because the pollution is settling down at the bottom. And when you drive the boat, it just stirs it up and makes it look dirtier.”

Rejouis, however, remains hopeful about the message these indicators send to the population at large. “It could grow to a movement where people are like, ‘We really do need to push on companies’ because they see that the factories are contributing to most of the pollution.”

The poll also found that nearly 80% of respondents believe that there is still time to prevent the worst effects of climate change. “I think it’s an issue that we should work on now,” says Kreslo. “We are all mobilizing to work on the coronavirus, so why can’t we mobilize and fix our home?”

Not everyone shares this same optimism. “I feel like this crisis [just confirmed] that it is too late, because the changes we can make now to fix [climate change] … You see that governments are completely unwilling to change during this pandemic,” says Rejouis.

When it comes to change, many agree that the focus should be on individual contributions, which stems from awareness.

“Personally, I think educating yourself is one of the best things that you can do,” says Blount.

Education, however, can only go so far. The same poll found that only 54% of those surveyed have taken actions to reduce their carbon footprint in the past two years, despite 93% of them acknowledging that human activity has been causing changes to the world’s climate. “Once people’s lives are in danger, and they realize it, then they are going to

start taking things seriously,” says Kreslo.

Much like coronavirus did for public health, a similar event could provide increased mobilization for climate change, however devastating that might be. “If something happens in this country, like if Florida or Miami starts to flood, maybe then people would start to take action or start to understand what the problem is,” says Blount, a native of Florida.

There are numerous campus organizations, such as NJIT Green, which are leading environmentally friendly initiatives, like composting, providing eco-friendly tableware for clubs, and holding environmental conferences and events. “I don’t really participate on campus that often – it’s kinda different for a graduate student – but it seems like there is some awareness,” says Blount.

About the ENG 350 poll: Using questions from a national poll created by the Kaiser Foundation/Washington Post, NJIT’s Spring 2020 ENG 350 journalism class taught by Miriam Ascarelli created a climate-change poll which was distributed to students in about 40 NJIT undergraduate courses across the disciplines. The poll was conducted from March 5-March 26, 2020. The survey link was also posted in group chats for various clubs. A total of 176 NJIT undergraduates, ranging from age 18 to 45+, responded to this survey.

Lyea Brantley, Matthew Moncourtois, Isaiah Oyowe and Josh Primus contributed to the reporting of this story.

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THE VECTOR

Features

Week of April 20, 2020

NJIT Students are Motivated to Fight Climate Change

Does the issue of climate change make you feel each of the following, or not?

By Damaris Chanza | Contributing Writer

Without a doubt, NJIT is widely known for being at the forefront of technology, but according to NJIT Green president Katherine Ji, there is still more that can be done to improve our environmental footprint. Ji, a sophomore majoring in biology, believes climate change is “definitely more relevant now than ever before.”

Ji’s belief is not unfounded, according to a poll distributed by this semester’s ENG 350 journalism class. The poll was meant to study attitudes about climate change on

campus. Almost 60 percent of NJIT students who took the poll report feeling angry and afraid about the issue of climate change. Meanwhile, 9.6 percent of students say they are uninterested in the topic of climate change.

Ji describes climate change as “strongly anxiety-inducing.” She says: “20% of the world, including the U.S., consume 80% of the Earth’s natural resources, and that is simply not okay.”

Sophia Chan, a senior Digital Design major, adds: “There are those who deny that this is even an issue which is a pretty big concern.”

She describes climate change as an “impending doom looming over all of our lives.”

Students also had mixed reviews about how well that message is being conveyed. A total of 44.9 percent of NJIT students said they believed the seriousness of climate change is generally underestimated in the news, 29 percent said it was generally correct and 20.5 percent said it is generally exaggerated.

Those answers may also be de-

pendent on which media outlets students rely on. For example, Ji often watches YouTuber Philip DeFranco, whom she says is an example news outlet that covers daily news, but hardly covers the impending effects climate change.

As a result, she reads books and engages in sustainability groups in order to learns more about climate change.

Chan turns to social media as opposed to the conventional format of newspapers and/or tv news programs.

“I don't religiously check the news, but occasionally, I'll get a notification on my phone or see something on social media like Twitter which will lead me to do some further research into things,” she says.

Despite whatever skepticism may exist among NJIT students about media coverage, 48% of students report feeling motivated when thinking about climate change. That motivation has prompted students to distribute information in order to create awareness and to make their voices heard.

“People can first acknowledge and learn about it,” says Yasuhiro Ozawa, a 20-year-old junior Information Technology major.

“Then just be mindful about it; after[wards] people can naturally think of creative ways to help.”

On a campus level, Ji and NJIT Green are continuously working on spreading the message of sustainability through events and campus wide initiatives. They are attempting to add recycling bins throughout campus, hang educational posters in buildings, introduce industrial composting for dining hall waste and revamp the Campus Center Terrace Rooftop Garden and outdoor spaces.

With the help of faculty on NJIT’s steering committee for the “Sustainable Societies” Grand Challenge, Ji hopes to “be a student voice to help administration understand the importance of building NJIT’s sustainability infrastructure and incorporate sustainability into our curriculums and research more often.”

On a more technological level, Chan is working on a mobile app for her final thesis for a design-studio class that will “help individuals track their environmental impact and find eco-friendly products that are carried by local stores.”

Chan’s inclination to create such an app is consistent with the vast majority of NJIT students’ view

that climate change will require some sort of sacrifice on the part of ordinary Americans, be it minor (47.7 percent shared this view) or major (43.2 percent voted for this view).

This also ties in with students' responses in general: 54% of NJIT students report yes, they have taken actions to reduce their carbon footprint in the past two years.

“Small but consistent lifestyle changes, with widespread implementation, may prove to be effective,” says Chan.

“I’m not sure that is enough to protect us from the future, but little steps taken by consciously sustainable college students are inspiring,” Ji says.

Still, it is important not to succumb to the fear. Ozawa says “as long as we keep addressing the problem, hopefully, we can start working on solutions.”

About the ENG 350 poll: Using questions from a national poll created by the Kaiser Foundation/Washington Post, NJIT’s Spring 2020 ENG 350 journalism class taught by Miriam Ascarelli created a climate-change poll which was distributed to students in about 40 NJIT undergraduate courses across the disciplines. The poll was conducted from March 5-March 26, 2020. The survey link was also posted in group chats for various clubs. A total of 176 NJIT undergraduates, ranging from age 18 to 45+, responded to this survey.

Ahmad Javed and Keisetsu Nakamura contributed to the reporting of this story.

THE VECTOR

Features

Week of April 20, 2020

6

Flora

By Sandra Raju | Executive Editor Whether it’s waiting till 11pm to do your homework due at 11:59pm, or furiously citing the minimum five resources into your English paper just a class before, as your fellow college student, I think I speak for most of us when I say that we have a tendency to procrastinate. Especially now in quarantine, many of us are lacking the motivation to do most of our work and have succumbed to the addictive properties of TikTok. “Flora” is an app that can improve your productivity as well as your connection to nature.

Made by passionate college students, “Flora” is a free-to-use app accessible on the App Store that helps you put your phone down, so that you can be more present and active in your daily life. Similar to apps that shut off your phone to force you to not use it, “Flora” is unique in that it

prompts users to plant a seed in their virtual garden, which will grow while they are not using their phone. This has motivated me to continue working despite my natural tendency to look for distractions or thoughtless scrolling through social media.

If you decide to use other apps on your phone as your seed is growing, your plant will automatically die.

However, users have the option to set the amount of time it takes their seed to grow, so it is flexible for people who have different studying habits. If you tend to use large blocks of time to grind out work, then you can set the amount of time needed for your seed to grow to an hour.

On the other hand, if you tend to use the Pomodoro technique and study in smaller chunks of time with breaks in between, you can set it to 25 minutes. Any seeds you allow to grow without using their phone will flourish in your virtual garden for the week, and then the garden re-

sets.

“Flora” includes some additional features that give users more incentive to continue using it. My personal favorite is the World Traveler feature, where users can unlock different plants from around the world and diversify their gardens, learning more about nature while continuing to be productive. For those who prefer working with other people, another available feature is that users can grow plants together with their friends and be just another motivating force or inspire friendly competition. Both people decide on a time they want to set in order to grow their plant and if either person can’t resist using their phone, the plant will die. It is a good way to keep each other in check while studying for an exam.

While I’ve grown a greater appreciation for nature and calm in my virtual garden, “Flora” also contains a separate feature that not only provides

even more incentive to be productive, but also a way to have an impact on the environment.

With the Flora Price service, the user bets money on their productivity, naming a price he or she is willing to pay to turn one’s virtual tree into reality. If the tree is killed, the user must pay the price to pay for it to be reborn as a real-life sapling.

Essentially, you wager whether you will be productive, and the “consequence” if you lose is

PaperKarma

By Isaac Scafe | Senior Staff Writer Time and time again, your mailbox is brimming with junk mail that you haven’t even heard of. According to the USPS in 2018, 77 billion pieces of marketing mail was shipped across the country. No one really cares about getting a new credit card or the latest deals at department stores, yet more and more appear to show up each year.

And while you want to stop junk mail from piling up, companies keep sending it even when you ask them to stop. “PaperKarma” is one way people have found to end this issue.

“PaperKarma,” available on the App Store and the Google Play Store, is a mobile app that aims to stop paper junk mail from finding its way to your house. “PaperKarma” allows a user to unsubscribe to most junk mail like catalogs, credit offers and magazines from being shipped in the first place.

By simply taking a picture of the mailer’s logo, you can use the app to remove your name and address from their mailing list.

Sounds easy right?

Although “PaperKarma” seems to be a reliable app, it is not without its flaws. “PaperKarma” isn’t able to remove every single junk mail that appears in your mailbox. The app is unable to stop Every Door Direct Mail, advertisements from small local businesses, from arriving at your front door. And although “PaperKarma” advertises to eliminate all junk mail from your address, some users have had technical issues with it. In order to determine which company’s mail list to remove your name from, a picture of the mailer’s logo is needed.

Sometimes the app is unable to recognize the logo, rendering its service unusable. “PaperKarma” does try its hardest to recognize which company is which, but not everything is going to be perfect.

For two dollars per month or $20/year, you can stop junk mail from coming to your house. While it may seem trivial to spend money to get rid of junk mail, there are bigger implications at hand. Being able to reduce the amount of junk mail circulating could in turn reduce climate change. The 77 billion pieces of mail traveled across 1.4 billion miles to reach your house. And despite all of the fuel burned to deliver junk mail to your house and all the paper used to create mail, most of it ends up unopened and immediately tossed in the garbage. In reducing the amount of junk mail in the postage system, more trees are saved and less energy is used for transporting mail. While it may be a small step, any effort is important to help reduce the effects of climate change. If you want to start reducing your carbon footprint, you can start by decluttering your mailbox with “PaperKarma.”

that a tree is planted in its place.

According to the creators of the app, “Flora” partners with rural communities around the world and real-tree planting organizations. So, even if you don’t have a green thumb, you can still grow some cool plants both virtual and real this Earth Day with “Flora.”

“Flora” can be downloaded on iOS. An alternative app named “Forest” is available on the Android play store.

Forte

PIZZERIA

Campus Center Lobby 10AM - 12:30PM Brunch Services 4PM - 5:30PM Dinner Services

THE VECTOR

Opinion

8

Week of April 20, 2020

Overrated

By Prem Naik | Senior Staff Writer In the last five years, there has been a great movement against plastic straws. Disposable single-use straws are objectively harmful to the environment because of the inability to produce recyclable versions. With that being said, the new, sweeping trend of metal straws is unnecessary, and I believe it is incredibly overrated.

Perhaps my biggest argument is the fact that straws are not

necessary in general. In most households, straws are not used since most people can drink from the edge of the cup. It is safe, clean and does not harm the environment. When using cups outside, the same principle can be followed. It is probably unnecessary to use a straw with your own water bottle, and when eating out, one can simply refuse a straw offered to them by restaurants.

Most fast food chain cups are about as clean as the plastic straw they offer, so if it’s a question of hygiene, drinking from the edge of the cup should still be fine. Depending on the person as well, it may be impractical to carry around a metal straw on the off chance that they should use it when outside.

There are a number of people who require straws for medical reasons who shouldn’t be ignored in the

OVERRATED UNDERRATED

discussion of banning straws. For those with such issues, their need for straws, and less importantly what material is used, shouldn’t be debated.

Therefore, the conclusion can be made that if you are able to drink without a plastic straw, there should be no need for a metal alternative.

Reusable Straws

Underrated

By Zane Nogueras | Senior Staff Writer Across the world, using straws to take a drink has become commonplace.

In fast food culture, the straw has become ubiquitous with the drink along with the plastic lid. America’s love for convenience and growing disgust for pollution has left companies in a precarious position. The alternative many have accepted is the reusable straw.

Usually made of metal, the reusable straw brings with it the chance at making the plastic straw obsolete.

With the ability for being washed, metal straws can last indefinitely, making

up for the rather pricey up-front costs.

Silicone straws provide the ability of being reusable while also providing the flexibility some people prefer in a straw. Silicone can also be lightly chewed on without losing shape, appeasing the appetite of people who like to nibble their straws. Glass has an aesthetic quality while not affecting the taste of the drink; their fragility, however, leaves them as more of a niche than the other two alternatives.

Of course, it’s worth noting that although reusable straws assist in

cutting the amount of plastic straws in landfills and the ocean, they are not the solution to the growing pollution problem. Straws make up only a fraction of a percent of the pollution in the ocean. Fishing nets and gear, for example, make up nearly half of the waste floating around in oceans. While the impact may sound very minute, the purpose of reusable straws was not to completely clean the ocean in one fell swoop.

While reusable straws may not be the panacea that they are laud-

ed to be, they still serve an important purpose. The introduction of reusable straws hints to a world that can choose not to be overly reliant on plastics, as many variations of reusable straws provide a viable alternative. A change in our go-to straw choice may not make an impact in our oceans, but it will make an impact in our lifestyle, which may one day aid in our path to eliminating all single use plastics from our consumer lifestyles.

Left, Right & Middle

What should the government’s role in climate change be?

By Anthony McInnis | Senior Staff Writer

T

L

he impending doom of climate change related disasters is a growing concern amongst people, especially to younger generations who will feel more of the effects. More frequent and severe hurricanes, droughts, and wildfires are just some of the projected challenges people will face just by 2100. At this point the science is settled on the debate of whether climate change is happening, and whether it’s man made. Right now is the time we must decide what we’re going to do about climate change and part of that is determining how the government, both domestically and internationally, must act.

Climate change is already happening and we’re starting to see the destruction the major effects of it. Realistically, if we have a chance at preventing the worst impending effects, then most industrialized countries will have to invest heavily in accessible public transportation, clean and renewable energy sources, and novel methods of farming.

And this would have to be done within a decade or two before it really becomes too late to make meaningful change.

If you care about preventing the worst effects of climate change, then a purely free market laissez faire approach won’t work. What would need to be done is to build and replace entire industries. Every time there was a major industrial development in the United States, the government was involved to some degree or another. Without the government’s involvement, railroads or the internet would have not been accessible nearly as quickly as it had in this country. I’m not arguing the government is a magic solution to anything, but rather that it is the only mechanism that can meaningfully address the issue before it’s too late.

Nuclear power is, at this point at least, the only power source that can replace our current consumption. Franky, I wish climate change activists discussed it. If we were to build nuclear power plants to replace our dependence on fossil fuel, it would require an absurd amount of plants to be built over a relatively short period of time. Since nuclear power can be catastrophic if mishandled, there are obviously numerous checks and approvals that go into building them which takes roughly 5 years to develop. It will not possible to create enough nuclear power plants in time without support by the government through subsidies or incentives.

But even so, it still may not be feasible to stop climate change with the current system we have. That’s also why it is up to individuals as well. Most Americans don’t have the income to be able to eat organically or drive efficient cars. So, that makes it all the more important for the people who can live that lifestyle to do so. Because no matter what, the more we care about helping the planet, the better.

E

By Daniil Ivanov | Editor-in-Chief

By Mark Pothen | Business Manager

M

R

nvironmental issues, simply put, cannot be left in the hands of local government. Although I usually believe in state and local rights to self-governance, there have been far too many cases of states and municipalities abandoning the health and rights of their citizens for the short term benefits in commerce.

If you want an example of corporate greed and resource mismanagement, you have to look no further than Newark, New Jersey. The lower eight miles of the Passaic River are deemed to be a superfund site by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which means it’s at the highest level of priority of environmental catastrophe that the government can apply to a site. Decades of toxic dumping from roughly 100 companies in the area has made the Passaic River unfishable—though hungry residents still fish and crab here—and unusable by the public.

Newark is also still in the midst of the Newark lead water crisis, a result of absolute mismanagement of the municipal water system that has now resulted in an expensive project that has to be hastily done and with detrimental health effects to Newark residents.

If local environmental issues are so grossly mismanaged in states and municipalities all over the country, I would not trust them in creating the tough legislation required to solve the global issue of climate change.

For most issues, I think that state and local government is perfectly adequate. But in the same sense that you wouldn’t trust New Jersey and Texas to collaborate in a military effort—hence why the military is reserved for the national government—the solutions of such a global issue must be treated in the same way that we treat national defense.

In the same way that we have nuclear pacts and rules of war, our governments must implement the same form of international agreements to combat the spread of climate change. Though we do have some climate and conservation pacts and agreements already, these carry very little weight and have no mechanisms of enforcement.

Climate change must be treated as the national security threat that it is, and the resulting impacts such as unemployment in industries such as oil and gas must also be addressed at a national level.

I

n the age of policy like the Green New Deal, the question of how involved the government should be in mitigating the effects of climate change comes up very often. The government’s basic role is to stop any actor from infringing on your right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, but there are limitations to how involved it should be.

For example, the EPA rightly has the power to regulate the disposal of waste into reservoirs because the pollution of drinking water poses a clear threat to human life. With carbon dioxide and climate change, however, the argument becomes more complicated. While most agree that climate change will have an adverse effect on our lives, instead of having a reasoned debate, many would rather sensationalize the issue. This can be most clearly seen by characters like Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and Greta Thunberg, who proclaim that the end is nigh and that the government should enact extensive control immediately because the threat is so near and present. Recently at the MLK Now event, Cortez went so far as to say “the world is going to end in 12 years if we don't address climate change," which she has since backtracked on.

The government should do what it is good at and move to the side to let the free market invest to create goods and services that move the country in a greener direction. One of the more recent examples of this would be the monstrous popularity of Tesla and other electric vehicles. Boosted by the growing popularity of the Model 3, Tesla sold 367,500 vehicles in 2019, which is more than the company sold in 2018 (around 245,000) and 2017 (101,312) combined. Furthermore, it seems like every major car manufacturer is heavily investing in electronic vehicles of their own because of the novel market the technology provides.

According to the International Energy Agency, investments in renewable energy have eclipsed those in fossil fuels and nuclear power. In 2016, global investment in renewable energy totaled $297 billion, more than twice the $143 billion invested in non-renewable energy. A recent report from Lazard, a financial advisory firm, showed that the cost of solar power has dropped dramatically in the last decade and that solar power is now cheaper to produce than its coal or natural gas equivalents. Communities around the world now have the option of an energy source that is not only cleaner than fossil fuels but also more economical.

Free markets care only about the profits, and because the demand for green products has increased, it’s clear that sustainability is profitable, and the free market is adjusting for that. The government has no role in radically restructuring the American economy to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change when the market can fill that role.

9

THE VECTOR

Opinion

Week of April 20, 2020

The Game Changers Review

By Daniil Ivanov | Editor-in-Chief “The Game Changers” is a 2019 documentary that follows the journey of former mixed martial artist James Wilks as he explores the benefits of a plant-based diet. This documentary has garnered a large amount of attention as it challenges the notion that people need to have animal products in their diet to be healthy nor that athletes need to eat meat to perform at a high level.

What this documentary did best was to debunk the myth that you can’t be a high performing athlete without animal protein. Animals that we eat like pigs, chickens and cows get all of their protein from plants, and humans can just as easily do the same.

The documentary gave more than enough examples to hammer in this point: ultramarathon runner Scott Jurek breaking the record for fastest run across the Appalachian Trail, Olympic cyclist Dotsie Bausch setting personal records as the oldest on her team, Morgan Mitchell sprinting at the Olympics, Kendrick Farris competing as an Olympic Weightlifter, Patrik Baboumian setting strongman records and flipping a car, Bryant Jennings being a heavyweight boxer and lasting in the ring with some of the best and the Tennessee Titans having one of their best seasons when 14 of their players switched to a plant-based diet.

Also important to the documentary

were the studies that showed a positive correlation between meat consumption and cardiac disease—an important point considering Wilks’ hero, his father, had a heart attack after a lifetime of a Western diet consisting of various meat products.

Wilks also ends the documentary with talking about the vast environmental impacts that an animal-based diet has. By farming animals for consumption, humans must also farm large amounts of food that is solely used to feed farm animals, thus requiring large amounts of habitat destruction in order to occupy enough land to feed the animals that feed us. This is on top of the vast antibiotic usage in factory farming and the large amounts of greenhouse gases released from farming animals.

Though all of those points were thought provoking and brought attention to the issues of an animal diet, there were several points made throughout that had no relevance.

Wilks pointed to a study from 2014, as have many advocates of a plant-based diet, that analyzed the bones of 22 gladiators dating back to the second and third century AD. The study is often cited as finding that gladiators ate beans and barley, except the study itself states that “the individuals from the gladiator cemetery were a very heterogeneous group who consumed

different kinds of foods.” This makes sense since gladiators were often slaves of war or the poorest Roman citizens, thus they were not being fed the best diets of the time.

Another fallacy that the documentary pushed was that humans are not designed to eat meat based off of archaeological evidence. However, humans are omnivorous and will eat whatever is plentiful. In the same way that the gladiators ate what was given to them, early humans ate what was most plentiful. This is why there are many indigenous tribes in northern latitudes who have eaten an almost exclusively meat based diet for many generations, or the Masai tribe in Tanzania who have lower blood pressures and better lipid profiles than the average person despite having a diet almost entirely based on meat and milk.

The third, and the most important error I found in the documentary is that all plant-based diets are treated the same. One scene showed the Titans after a game going to Derrick Morgan’s house to have a plant-based dinner made by his wife consisting of macaroni with vegan cheese, soy protein chicken wings and peanut butter cheesecake. Another scene found that the protein composition of a peanut butter sandwich was similar to that of three large eggs.

However, these scenes take out the

nuance of the debate. A 2018 study titled “Healthful and unhealthful plantbased diets and the risk of coronary heart disease in US adults” found that although a healthful plant-based diet reduces risk of heart disease, an unhealthful plant-based diet can also be a contributor to coronary heart disease. This makes sense, since dipping Oreos into peanut butter and washing it down with a gallon of oat milk can’t possibly be as healthy as an egg white omelet or a grilled salmon.

Finally, the documentary fails to provide any guidance for individuals receiving all the proper macronutrients and vitamins that they should be.

Professional athletes are given professional help in their diet, while someone who watches a Netflix documentary and simply takes the meat off of their dinner plate will not necessarily still become healthy from resorting to the salad that was left behind.

Though the documentary lacks nuance in certain ways, it shines in debunking the myth that an individual on a plant-based diet cannot be healthy or strong. The documentary has stirred a lot of conversation, has made many people reexamine their dietary choices and has confirmed what we all already knew: western diets should probably have more veggies in them.

Tiger King

By Anthony McInnis | Senior Staff Writer

This Earth Day, while we are all stuck in quarantine, it would be fitting to reflect on all the beauty the world has given us. Now that we’re witnessing how easily everything can come crashing down with the pandemic and future ecological crises on the horizon, we should appreciate now more than ever what nature has to offer. Nothing will bolster an appreciation for wildlife the way Netflix’s new documentary series, “Tiger King,” does. The eight-episode series takes a dark look into the world of private ownership of exotic animals and big cat trading. But more than that, “Tiger King” is the story of Joe Exotic.

Joe Exotic is an eccentric, captivating personality who

operated his own private zoo in Oklahoma, called the G.W. Zoo. Throughout the docuseries you observe Exotic’s development, in which he had a genuine love for animals that eventually became corrupted by monetary influence, leading him down a destructive path. Joe is a type of person who enjoys being the center of attention, and he ultimately got what he wanted with this docuseries. Simply watching how crazy Exotic is provides enough entertainment value itself to watch all the episodes. His personality is so charismatic that despite what his actions, you almost want to see him get a happy ending.

There’s also an underlying sadness to this man’s life. Joe at his core thinks he’s awesome, wants to be acknowledged for that and

views anyone critical of him as vindictive and out to get him.

As a flamboyant gay man living in the South, he explains that he faced many hardships growing up such as his father disowning him, which may explain his need for attention. One of the most fascinating scenes is watching Exotic manipulate his husband into loving him.

Whether you love him or hate him, Joe Exotic is the most interesting character of the docuseries.

But what is a documentary about animal abuse without the animals? The filmmaker knew exactly how much to focus on the tigers, lions and other big cats. The viewer is given ample shots of the G.W. Zoo and how the animals live, and the docuseries creates genuine empathy for the cats when their conditions worsen. While “Tiger King” is not nearly as depressing as other documentaries about animal abuse, such as “Blackfish,” there are still disturbing scenes, such as a newborn tiger being dragged away from its mother by a stick. The series raises important awareness regarding what these wild creatures endure under private ownership and captivity.

“Tiger King” on a technical level is

a very well made and well produced docuseries. The filmmakers know to provide new information and raise questions for the viewer at a consistent pace. One problem a lot of crime documentaries have is a lack of real footage of events taking place. So, oftentimes they rely more heavily on narration, which can sometimes be visually boring, or they will recreate the account of events, which is usually cheesy.

Fortunately, “Tiger King” does not have this problem as there was an abundance of footage of Joe at his park with his staff.

This is because he had deals for reality TV shows that never came to fruition, but still had a lot of footage intact. Of course, the series still has its cheesy and over the top moments. It also lends too much credence to the theory that Carole Baskin murdered her husband, which has sparked a lot of harassment in Baskin’s real life following the release.

Overall, “Tiger King” is an enjoyable documentary and one of the better things to come out of Netflix. While not groundbreaking in any respect, it’s a perfect series to watch while stuck at home. Hopefully, it will inspire us to give back to nature, and the resources we are abusing this Earth day.

THE VECTOR

Opinion

Week of April 20, 2020

10

Plastic Bags Vs Tote bags

By Mark Pothen | Business Manager In the last few years, there has been a mostly successful push to ban the use of single-use plastic bags in storefronts with the justification that, in comparison to other materials, plastic bags are harmful to the environment.

Plastic bags tear easily. They cannot be used multiple times since they aren’t built to hold a lot of weight. They are cheap, which is why a plethora of plastic bags are available at grocery stores, which only adds to the amount of disposable plastics consumed.

These bags have a huge environmental footprint. They are primarily made of polyethylene, a non-biodegradable material.

People advocating for the use of plastic bags tend to emphasize that these bags are recyclable; however, this is a misleading statement.

Machines that recycle plastic are very delicate. Larger containers and hard objects pass through easily; plastic bags, due to their soft texture, get caught in between the conveyor belts of the machines and prevent

them from functioning. Plastic bags, therefore, cannot be recycled along with other materials and require special machinery which many communities cannot afford. In addition to this, many of these plastic bags have adverse effects on the environment because they can easily wash into oceans. As plastic bag adversary Ian Frazier reported in The New Yorker, “in 2014, plastic grocery bags were the seventh most common item collected during the Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup, behind smaller debris such as cigarette butts, plastic straws, and bottle caps.” The New York City Sanitation Department alone collects more than 1,700 tons of single-use carry-out bags every week and spends $12.5 million a year to dispose of them.

Plastic bags need to be dropped off at designated recycling stations, often available at grocery stores, which is why only one percent of plastic bags make it to recycling; the rest end up right where they will stay for the next couple of centuries: in

By Pradnya Desai | Staff Writer landfills or oceans. Have you ever seen someone try to make a fashion statement with a super cute, plush, designer plastic bag? Unlikely. Tote bags are all the rage these days with casual clothing since they can be used in a one-size-fits-all manner; they can be taken to the mall, school, and even to a grocery shop (if you aren’t shopping wholesale!).

Tote bags aren’t without their flaws though. These bags are generally made of cotton, which is a crop that requires a lot of water. They are more sustainable than plastic bags if used in a particular manner: keeping one or two bags and using them for all purposes to extend and maximize their use.

If people purchase a different tote bag to match each outfit, it defeats the purpose of using them since the amount of water that goes into making these bags does away with any hope of being more friendly to the planet, on top of the carbon gases that would be released into the atmosphere when finally disposed of.

People who claim that tote bags don’t harm the environment are sorely mistaken; however, if you use them in the right way, you might just be able to reduce the rate at which this planet is getting choked up in a landfill, literally.

COVID-19 : A Lesson on Preventative Action

By Samantha Swider | Contributing Writer

As this crisis continues and we adjust to a drastically new way of life for the foreseeable future, it is a great time to reflect and use this opportunity to grow personally and acknowledge that the impossible is possible.

Among so many crises in the world, oftentimes people feel powerless against them. But as a society we are actively proving that change does in fact happen when everyone comes together, and while we have a bipartisan leadership guiding us. Using this principle, now is a great time to brainstorm ways that we can continue to use the mindfulness, patience, and creativity that we have gained

during this period of quarantine to develop the skills necessary to fight another looming and ever worsening crisis: climate change. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us a wide variety of methods to try to implement preventative action to save lives.

It has been an eye-opening lesson that the earlier action is taken against a threat, the better we can prepare to cope with the fallout and the more effectively we can see the results.

We cannot directly see the effects of climate change in the same ways we see the effects of COVID-19, nor are the consequences as quickly realized.

However,

climate change is a pandemic.

No country is immune, and every person has a duty to do what they can to help slow the spread or flatten the curve of these effects. For decades, leading climatologists have been begging and pleading with politicians to take preventative actions in lowering greenhouse gas emissions. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic there has been a decrease in emissions in many countries. So many of the practices that were the driving force of such pollutants have come to a halt and we have been able to visualize what a shift towards a more environmentally

conscious economy might look like. Many jobs that used to be strictly “in office” have shifted their business to allow for remote work. Travel has been limited and many manufacturers have slowed production for the time being, and it is worth thinking about what we should be changing to minimize our interaction with others if viruses like COVID-19 hit the world’s rapidly growing population again.

The rise of the COVID-19 pandemic has forced most countries to drop their political agendas and conflict to band together and protect the world’s population, an attitude we must take into the future.

Global threats can cause the whole world to come together and set realistic goals to combat our common enemies and climate change should be no exception. There is a Native American proverb that goes “We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.” During this crisis we have all stayed inside to protect at-risk individuals and to ensure the safety of as many people as possible. In the same way I think it is time for us as a society to start practicing

this type of selflessness more frequently and think about our Earth’s resources through that lens.

Following an environmental agenda is not going to be easy, but the past few weeks have shown us that people can act swiftly and adapt to ensure the safety of others. During this crisis people are forced to constantly think about how their day-to-day actions impact others—what germs they are leaving behind, when to travel and when to shop to minimize the possibility that they will contribute to the spread of COVID-19. Imagine a world where people invest the same energy into thinking about their carbon footprint. Just like we can’t see germs, we can’t see that disposable fork from the takeout we ordered at lunch decomposing for hundreds of years, nor the amount of water or CO2 that goes into producing a hamburger. But maybe, we can learn to think in a way that acknowledges the very real and looming threat climate change has on our society by demanding changes from businesses, from the government and from each other to rally behind this crisis we may be facing for decades.

11

THE VECTOR

Entertainment

Week of April 20, 2020

Do You Even Sudoku?

Horoscopes By @poetastrologers

CAPRICORN

PISCES

AQUARIUS

It’s a bright and brilliant light that breathes. Coated effortlessly with everything. You will tell someone you love them and mean it.

Whatever forever is, you will also love.

It takes a little bit to keep going.

But once you do, it only takes a little bit more to keep it going. You will slow down the time if you can. Instead collect purple flowers or make them.

You made sure that some words were part of the morning. Never the same were the things that last in this way. The night came and went and so did the words. No really they were forever, just floating seamlessly into silence.

SAGITTARIUS

SCORPIO

LIBRA

You wear the long cloak in purple to the window. It’s poetry who has been there all along. Still it thrives among the glares of light.

You can say whatever you feel—that’s the dream.

Desire can surround and cement a moment in time. But you aren’t really thinking about desire now. If anything the lifted everything is a monument. If anything, you want them to go there first.

You will find a deep quiet in something you wrote out but never sent. Don’t send it now. Instead live within the majestic you were then.

Be the strong forever you are now.

VIRGO

LEO

CANCER

You will be drawn again to the things you once loved. Tell them so if you can. Irreversible is almost everything and there’s peace in that. But almost everything can also be reversed.

Almost, yes, but also always, a light. You wonder always, and in these thoughts you find real things.

Forever the best of the flying things.

Which find their way through energy to an opening.

Today was a day that you saw a difference. A difference in feeling, in feeling out. What might be better than a day spent near love. A day that is loved is even better.

GEMINI

TAURUS

ARIES

It could be said that a dream is the part of the night where the future interjects. But really what else is there but the future. You will find yourself dreaming. And in the midnight air you will find yourself.

The effervescence of objects and the silly operator. And the knowledge that, yes it’s you. And the long trick of everything orange.

It’s all there, the night, the moon, everything.

You will spend some time waiting for information in the cool of the cool blue. Instead listen to the songs you want to. There isn’t anything you can’t wait for. In fact the very best things are eternal.

EASY

MEDIUM

HARD

EVIL

Crossword Crossword credited to onlinecrosswords.net

Tweet @TheNJITVector a photo of your completed crossword puzzle (only if you can solve it, though)!

Down 1. 7-10, e.g.

2. Fight card site 3. Play salesman?

4. Neuron part 5. Exhibiting charisma 6. Forgoes the USPS 7. Peerage member 8. What some dye to become 9. Utah's state flower 10. Overwhelm with sound 11. Mom and apple pie, e.g.

12. Lose steam 13. Succulent plant 21. Two-bit 22. Certain drumbeat

26. Word before ''I don't know'' 28. Burgundy, for one 29. Word with when or where 30. It may follow the pitch 31. Way to go downhill 32. Pig's place?

33. Walking surface for the nervous 34. Addams cousin 38. Worker's carrot 39. Yiddish plaints 41. Take the bait 43. Retaliate 45. Really bad film 46. Salon offerings 49. Numbers game

50. Scowl 51. Kicking partner 52. Guernsey and Jersey 53. Noted hammer thrower 54. Science fiction award 55. Developer's map 56. Netman Lendl

Across 1. Caesar, e.g.

6. Goes out to sea 10. Stuff to be crunched 14. Surrogate 15. Lunar plain 16. Actor Jannings 17. Drop flavor 18. Cut ___ (dance) 19. Flying start?

20. Talkative one's question, part 1 23. Pongee color 24. Robin's creator 25. Waikiki neckwear 26. Cotton deseeders 27. Medium states

31. Talkative one's question, part 2 34. One thing among several 35. Marilu, on ''Evening Shade'' 36. Balcony section 37. Didn't take part, (with ''out'') 39. Turow work 40. Ticker tape?

41. Sitter's handful 42. Talkative one's question, part 3 44. Your overall circumstances 46. ''How the Other Half

Lives'' author 47. Grass structure 48. Grammy winner Black 50. Moo goo ___ pan 53. Talkative one's question, part 4 57. ''Incredible'' one 58. ''Why don't we?''

59. Serve the purpose 60. Look at too intently 61. French play part 62. Sculpt 63. Optimistic 64. Ref’s decisions, sometimes 65. Baby bouncers

THE VECTOR

Entertainment

Week of April 20, 2020

12

Comics

By Poorly Drawn Lines

By Sustainability Illustrated

Comic taken from http://www.poorlydrawnlines.com/comic/never-assume/

Comic taken from https://sustainabilityillustrated.com/en/2018/05/29/climate-change-polarized-political-issue/

Earth Day Bingo Complete the the Murray Center's Earth Day Bingo Card and tag us in your Instagram story! Compare your answers with friends to see what sustainable practices you can include in your life!

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