[The Stute] October 20, 2023 (Issue 7, Volume CXXI)

Did everyone make it through midterms? but more importantly...

Have you seen the Eras Tour Movie yet???

VOLUME CXXI No. 7

We write Stevens history HOBOKEN, NJ | OCTOBER 20, 2023

The student newspaper of Stevens Institute of Technology, and creator of Attila the Duck. www.thestute.com TikTok @thestute Instagram @thestute facebook.com/stevensthestute NEW STUTE EVERY FRIDAY • EST. 1904

Lastminute shift to remote operations blindsides campus

Prospects in Behind the scenes of the leadership: Entertainment Committee Their titles reflect the diBEN KNOBLOCH, the search visions of the Entertainment NEWS EDITOR Committee; Sara, Merefor new The Entertainment Com- dith, and Victoria head the mittee (EC) occupies a unique on-campus, off-campus, and role at Stevens, receiving a operations sectors, respecDean of large amount of the student tively, while Paul directs the activity fee to plan subsidized allocation of funding to each School of events and experiences for of those arms. the entire undergraduate Paul spoke about the Business body. funding process, a critical

BY EVAN PAPAGEORGE, OPINION EDITOR In preparation for Dr. Gregory Prastacos stepping down as Dean of the Stevens School of Business, the Office of the Provost has announced a search for Dr. Prastacos’s successor. Led by a committee of Stevens faculty, staff, and administration, the search identifies and evaluates candidates to lead the School of Business into its next chapter.

Dr. Prastacos assumed the title of Dean of the School of Business for a 10year term plus an additional two-year extension, ending on August 31, 2024. At that point, Dr. Prastacos will step down as Dean after an impressive 12-year stint.

Dr. Prastacos received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in computer science from Columbia University before attaining his doctorate in operations research.

Dr. Prastacos was a faculty member at the University of

SEE DEAN PAGE 2

Many students wonder how the committee works.

Any undergraduate can receive tickets to Broadway shows for just $20 a pop, for instance, but who decides how many tickets are available and for which shows? To find out more about the EC’s operations, The Stute spoke with Festivities Director Sara Wolf, Off-Campus Director Meredith Carson, Finance Director Paul Serrilli, and Operations Director Victoria Giumenta.

operation given the EC’s relatively large budget. While 16% of the student activity fee goes to the Entertainment Committee, said Paul, it also receives funding from Undergraduate Student Life and the Student Government Association, as well as Graduate Student Life for certain events that are open to graduate students, like Winter Wonderland and Tech Fest.

“I make sure all our expens-

SEE EC PAGE 2

BY KAYDEN CANNILLA, OUTREACH CHAIR

OLOF PERSSON FOR THE STUTE

Cherena Walker on making the Career Center work for you

BY KAYDEN CANNILLA, OUTREACH CHAIR One of the most compelling aspects of Stevens is the return on investment, with an average degree worth $2 million over 40 years. Stevens graduates are regularly placed at high-ranking companies, setting Stevens students up with extensive networking opportunities.

The Career Center is a mediator between companies and undergraduate students as they learn how to navi-

gate a professional relationship. The Stute spoke with Cherena Walker, Executive Director of Stevens Career Center, about how students can leverage this resource to their advantage.

Walker believes the biggest misconception about the Career Center is that it only helps students write resumes.

She defines the Career Center’s goal as providing guidance and advice to students, as well as helping them to define their academic and career goals. The Career Center is also a resource through-

out the job search process, from providing interview preparation to salary negotiation advice after an offer has been extended. She also wants students to remember that they will gain more by attending more events, and that one networking event may not be enough to secure a job. Career Center events are frequently well attended, leading to instances of capacity issues like last spring’s Career Fair, which led to last month’s Career Fair taking place over video calls on Handshake. The Career Cen-

LOCAL NEW JERSEY NEWS Remarkable lottery jackpot finally won

New Jersey flaunts solitary confinement laws

BY SEAN ANDERSON, year that a lottery ticket has been sold for a jackpot STAFF WRITER

BY ARTHUR SERRA, STAFF WRITER

Since July 19, the Powerball jackpot had remained untouched and had amassed to an astounding total of $1.725 billion. Last Wednesday, one lone lucky winner hit big and will be able to take home what is now the second largest lottery jackpot in history. The ticket was sold at Midway Market and Liquor in Frazier Park, California.

The Powerball is a multi-state lottery game with multiple winners and various prizes. A Powerball ticket costs only $2, and there are nine ways that a ticket can win. For an extra dollar, “Power Play” can be added, which can double the awarded prize money.

The prize earned is based on the amount of numbers that match the drawing, with the lowest prize being $4 for only matching one number and the “powerball.” To win the grand prize, a ticket must match all five numbers and the powerball. For this recent grand prize win, only one ticket across the country matched every number.

The October 11 drawing is the fourth time this

With the level of wealth and possibilities that exist in the modern world, one is saddened by the fact that nearly 2 million Americans are incarcerated. Because crime is sadly not going away any time soon, we must ensure that our prison systems are as humane as possible. That is why over the past decade, there has been a shift to move away from inhumane treatments such as solitary confinement in U.S. prisons. President Barack Obama restricted it in federal prisons during his administration, the UN calls solitary confinement “state-sanctioned torture,” and even the State of New Jersey has passed laws curtailing it. Despite this, New Jersey state prisons still excessively use solitary confinement, and, in doing so, break state laws.

Solitary confinement is a punishment which has been used since the 1700s.

It involves putting prisoners into small cells and having them spend most of their days without any human contact. Humans are social creatures, and

NEWS (2-3)

Behind the scenes of the Entertainment Committee and how to make the Career Center work for you.

FEATURE (4)

LGBTQ+ History Month Read an interview with tranSIT, learn about LGBTQ+ history in NJ, and check out our playlist recommendations for this month!

of over $1 billion. While two of these were with the Powerball, the other two jackpots occurred with the Mega Millions game. The occurrences of larger jackpots have recently become more common, and the New York Times reports that this is due to “changes to the games over the years and higher ticket prices.”

Additionally, the Powerball jackpot starts at $20 million and accrues from there.

This is not the first time that California has had a major jackpot winner. The California Lottery, in a recent Instagram post, stated that this was their “third Powerball billionaire and second largest jackpot winner in history.” The largest grand prize ticket, sold at Joe’s Service Center in Altadena, California for a drawing on November 7, 2022, was for a jackpot that totaled $2.04 billion.

The winner came forward to claim the prize the following February. The New York Times reported that he claimed the money as a lump sum of $997.6 million

SEE LOTTO PAGE 3 SCIENCE (6)

Newborn galaxies?

Geothermal energy?

Life on other planets?

Learn more about what’s going on in the world of science.

PULSE (10)

Read answers from the Stevens community to our weekly Roving Reporter, plus solve our weekly crossword puzzle and sudoku.

this practice preys on that in order to inflict pain and coerce prisoners into being better behaved. Of all the draconian measures that are used in prisons, solitary confinement has been described as arbitrary and useless, and as torture.

On a global scale, much has been done to restrict solitary confinement. The UN has strongly advocated against its use, and throughout the developed world its usage trends down. However, the United States lags behind with these trends. The separation of state and federal prisons, the mass usage of private prisons, and the sheer stubbornness against prison reform make it very difficult for things to improve quickly. Even when legislation is passed limiting the usage of solitary confinement, it is often ignored, or includes sufficient loopholes to be effectively meaningless.

This is the case here in New Jersey. In 2019, Governor Phil Murphy passed a law that limited the time that a prisoner could spend in solitary confinement.

Prisoners in theory can

SEE LAWS PAGE 3

ter has coordinated virtual events to allow for an unlimited capacity for students and recruiters, which has the benefit of attracting companies based across the country and internationally that may not have been available to come to in-person career fairs. Multi-company interview days work well in person, where companies select students to meet on campus for potential employment opportunities.

Walker stresses the im-

On September 29, 2023, 10:59 a.m., the University Alerts website announced that Stevens would be transitioning to remote operations beginning at 11 a.m.

This left students and faculty scrambling to adjust their plans and prepare for the inclement weather. To find out more about how Stevens handles emergency situations and shifting to remote operations, The Stute spoke with Robert Maffia, Vice President for Facilities and Campus Operations.

Maffia stressed that university decisions derive from pre-established protocols and guidance from federal and Hoboken authorities, though students and faculty were unhappy with the little notice they received.

“The university follows the guidelines of the Incident Command System (ICS) which is a nationally accepted protocol for deal-

SEE CAREER PAGE 2 SEE REMOTE PAGE 2

New Gender Studies minor aims to refocus curriculum

BY CLAIRE HANNAN, SECRETARY The School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) is home to many exciting majors and minors that help enrich the culture and educational environment at Stevens.

Recently, a committee chaired by Professor Amber Benezra redesigned the Gender and Cultural Studies minor to become a new minor called Gender Studies. Formerly, Gender and Cultural Studies included a mix of courses focused on gender, different cultures, and general social science, but the redesign will see the minor become entirely focused on courses surrounding gender.

The change was made because professors felt that the name and focus of the minor was unclear to students who might be interested. A poll was taken to decide the new name, and Gender Studies won as the most popular among students. Dr. Lindsey Swindall, Teaching Associate Professor of Writing and Humanities and member of the committee, said that “there is interest among students on gender and sexuality issues and [the committee] hopes this will be a meaningful way to

support their exploration of these important topics.”

Although Gender Studies is relatively new to Stevens, the academic subject has been around for a while. The goal of gender studies as a whole is to examine and give language to the social structures around gender that typically go unacknowledged.

Sexism is a large topic of discussion in the STEM community and issues of gender inclusion will likely only become more relevant to the industry as more women enter the STEM workforce. Having an academic background to discuss issues around gender could help students navigate their chosen industries post-graduation and equip them with the knowledge to create meaningful change. Beyond that, providing a more streamlined way for students to pursue this area of interest will help diversify Stevens’ STEM-focused academics.

Some classes that Stevens students might be able to count towards a Gender Studies minor include Women and Gender in American History, Psychology of Gender, and Philosophy and Feminism.

The full description and list

SEE GENDER PAGE 3

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Friday, October 20

News Masthead Volume CXXI No. 7 Executive Board EDITOR-IN-CHIEF......................................ISABELLA ZIV ‘25 BUSINESS MANAGER............................TANYA AVADIA ‘26 MANAGING EDITOR.......................................AVA WANG ‘25 LAYOUT EDITOR................................NICOLE GIARDINO ‘25 OUTREACH CHAIR..........................KAYDEN CANNILLA ‘24 DIGITAL MANAGER................................RAFAEL LEE LI ‘24 SECRETARY.............................................CLAIRE HANNAN ‘24 HEAD COPY EDITOR..............................KEENAN YATES ‘24

Editorial Board

NEWS EDITOR.........................................BEN KNOBLOCH ‘25 SCIENCE EDITOR.........................................ERIN MCGEE ‘25 OPINION EDITOR............................EVAN PAPAGEORGE ‘26 SPORTS EDITOR........................................CHRISTA RUIZ ‘25 FEATURES EDITOR................................TASHA KHOSLA ‘25 PULSE EDITOR........................................MIA PETROLINO ‘25

Operations Board HEAD PHOTOGRAPHER......................OLOF PERSSON ‘25 ARCHIVES LIAISON.......................KEVIN CASTNER JR. ‘24

Staff & Contributors Arthur Serra Liz Sepulveda Riyana Phadke Meghana Mamadapur Aditi Shilawat Ruthie Mullisky Abby Jacobs Sean Anderson Justin Lema

Victoria Yashcuk Zoe Hack Charles Beall Itai Geller Anna Dabrowksi Josie Strano Stephen Pachucki Jiya Jaisinghani Jack Scherban

Contact Us

GENERAL.........................................EBOARD@THESTUTE.COM EDITOR-IN-CHIEF.........................EDITOR@THESTUTE.COM ADVERTISING.............................BUSINESS@THESTUTE.COM OFFICE.................................UNIVERSITY CENTER ROOM 216B

Corrections NOTICE A MISTAKE? Email us at eboard@thestute.com.

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All members of the Stevens community are able to submit a Letter to the Editor to be published in The Stute. Letters must refer either to a piece published in The Stute or to The Stute in general and must be between 400 – 800 words in length. Submit letters to editor@thestute.com with your name and title (when applicable) or using our Google form. For writers who wish to write a Letter to the Editor anonymously, please see our policy on anonymity.

The Editorial Board reserves the right to choose whether or not to publish a submitted Letter to the Editor based on a majority rule vote, and additionally reserves the right to edit letters for clarity or request authors to revise. Provided that the author approves the final version, The Stute reserves the right to edit letters according to our copy editing procedures, defined in our policies.

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DEAN

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, after which he worked as the Professor of Management Science and Rector of the Athen University of Economics and Business, Athens, Greece, before coming to Stevens.

Arriving in 2012 to assume the position of Dean of the School of Business, Dr. Prastacos expanded the School of Business from a small, highly focused school of technology management to a nationally ranked school of business. Throughout his tenure, Dr. Prastacos has helped more than double the number of faculty members in the School of Business, with female faculty numbers rising more than 200%. He has guided the school to achieve great academic success with many recognitions of Stevens School of Business research in top business

EC

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 es are accurately reported and that our revenue from events are given to Student Life,” said Paul. “I keep track of a spreadsheet [to do this] and upload all receipts and invoices.”

6% of that funding goes to operating costs, like marketing and promotional materials, about 58.5% goes to running on-campus events, and the remaining 38.5% is allocated for off-campus events. “We also have a separate budget dedicated solely to Techfest, and any leftover budget gets put into this account,” noted Paul. This funding pays for a number of free on-campus events, and allows off-campus events to cost only $20 for students, a subsidy proportion which ranges from 60% to 94% depending on the original cost of the event.

Event selection is based on a survey that’s sent to all undergraduates at the end of each semester.

Relative popularity based on this survey, event availability, and prices are taken into consideration when

CAREER

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 portance of networking, estimating that 75-80% of jobs are secured through a networking contact. Career Center events aim to help students improve their presentation skills while speaking to potential employers, and through attending networking events, students can expose themselves to dozens of career opportunities throughout their time at Stevens. A majority of company representatives at Career Center events are Stevens alumni, so they have a specific interest in hiring Stevens students. It’s important to make an impact and use limited time wisely; during last month’s virtual career fair, employers were marking down priority candidates after just 10-minute interactions.

Applying to the company before a career chat, asking questions about the specific role and following up after, and reminding representa-

REMOTE

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 ing with emergency events,” said Maffia. Personnel from every division of the administration are part of the Emergency Management Team, which is ready to convene at any time to coordinate the university’s response to emergency events in line with the ICS. He also noted the difficulty of responding to weather events, like the intense rain that caused the September 29 flooding, as well as the need to coordinate with the City of Hoboken for campus-related issues.

The City of Hoboken issued a warning at 8:03 p.m. on September 28, asking Hoboken residents to prepare for heavy rain and potential flooding, canceling outdoor recreation programs, and offering discounted parking in garages.

Hoboken’s non-essential travel alert appeared at 8:17 a.m., and at

and financial publications.

Dr. Prastacos’s work as Dean of the School of Business has led Stevens to be recognized by the National Science Foundation to host the Center for Research toward Advancing Financial Technologies (CRAFT) in cooperation with the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

This center combines math, computer science, business, finances, and technology to shape the future finance world, led by the Hanlon Center here at Stevens, and serves as a beacon of financial technologies overlooking the Hudson River, downtown Manhattan, and Wall Street.

To prepare for Dr. Prastacos’s departure, the Office of the Provost is launching a national search for Dr. Prastacos’s successor. A specially selected committee will lead the search. The committee comprises members of the Stevens community, which includes business professors, engineering faculty, and

university administrators. The Provost has announced that Kelland Thomas, the Dean of the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, will be chair of the committee. The committee will work with Hedrick & Struggles, an executive recruitment firm. The Provost asks for anyone with suggestions and nominations to reach out to aid in their progress this year.

Searching for Dr. Gregory Prastacos’s successor as the Dean of the Stevens School of Business is a significant undertaking. Dean Thomas and other Stevens faculty, staff, and administration led the search committee. Dr. Prastacos has had an impressive 12-year stint as Dean of the School of Business, where he has expanded the school to a nationally ranked business school.

His successor will have big shoes to fill, and the search committee will work diligently to find the best candidate to lead the School of Business into its next chapter.

events are scheduled.

Subsidized Broadway events and concerts allow students to have experiences that would normally cost hundreds of dollars for a small fraction of the price. The Entertainment Committee consists of about 30 students, and it’s they who collectively make the final decisions regarding what events are scheduled for each semester. Meredith outlined the selection process, saying that the Committee “[creates] a list of shows we want to see, [picks] dates, and [reaches] out to our Broadway contact to see prices. Then we either decide to purchase the tickets or not.

The budget goes to these tickets as well as [...] transportation.”

Meredith described the concert booking process too, noting the difficulty of obtaining unified seating areas for Stevens students. She stated, “For concerts, we buy our tickets off of SeatGeek. [...] Tickets, fees, and [transportation tickets] are also part of the budget. We are also only allowed to buy four to eight tickets on a single account as per SeatGeek guidelines, which is why we have fewer concert tickets than other types of events.”

For off-campus events that don’t

fit into these two categories, the process varies. The EC has agents for many events, like sporting games, while for others, the purchase is made directly on the organizer websites.

The event sign-up process, as many students already know, takes place on DuckLink on a first-comefirst-serve basis. A maximum of 20% of tickets can go to EC e-Board members, but usually only about 10% to 15% of tickets usually do, said Meredith. Conversely, a minimum of two e-Board members are required to attend each event in case of an emergency.

In the end, the Entertainment Committee exists to provide undergraduates with the experiences they want, said Sara, expressing that the EC tries to be as transparent and responsive to students as possible. “We are an open book! Come to our [general body meetings] on Wednesdays at 9 p.m. in Peirce 116 and we’ll answer any additional questions you may have.”

“And be sure to follow us on Instagram (@stevens_ec) to keep up to date on any future announcements and signups that may pop up in the future!”

tives that you applied and are still interested are essential steps in turning a brief interaction into an opportunity. Walker also notes that the Career Center is only responsible for connecting the students and employers, but employers and students are open to doing what they want with the time. Coming into a career chat with a clear goal and talking points will better utilize the time so that you get the best chance at presenting yourself.

As the university class size continues to grow, demand remains high from both students seeking jobs and employers looking to hire.

Stevens’ Class of 2022 had a career outcomes rate of 97.3%, with 64.7% of students employed six months after graduation and 32.6% continuing education. A number of graduating students enter into Stevens’ Accelerated Masters Program (AMP) because of how streamlined the application process is: No application fee, no required standardized test, and undergraduate credits are applied to the graduate

degree. The information site describes “Competitive applicants [as] those who have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher,” though a Stevens student will be placed on academic probation if they have less than a 3.0 average, making any Stevens graduate a competitive applicant. Despite the graduate school outnumbering undergraduate students, Career Center resources and career outcome rate is only collected and reported for undergraduate students. Walker describes an AMP student with prior internship experience as an ideal candidate for job placement, which is reasonable, though the data to support this claim is not publically available.

The Career Center has resources available to undergraduate students at any point in their career or academic journey, and Walker encourages students to take advantage of the resources available.

Students interested in learning more should visit the Career Center’s website or email the center at careercenter@stevens.edu.

10:01 a.m. a flash flood warning was issued, alerting residents of road closures and again discouraging non-essential travel. However, Hoboken Public School District dismissed students at its regular dismissal time to prevent unnecessary and unplanned travel.

Because of the little notice between the announcement and remote operations taking effect, classes beginning at 11 a.m. were impacted. Over half of the undergraduate student population lives off-campus, and commuter students were alerting their professors of the dangerous travel conditions hours before the Stevens alert was sent out. Some professors were prepared to lecture in person, not virtually, at 11 a.m., and did not move to remote operations despite the directive.

When asked about the short notice of the announcement, Maffia responded, “We always strive to give the campus community as much notice as possible, while issuing

notifications as soon as possible. […] Decisions surrounding weather emergencies tend to be tricky due to the ever-changing forecasts and the unpredictability of the strength and impact of a weather issue. While every emergency is unique, the response to this event, as with all emergency responses, will be reviewed by the emergency management team to identify areas for improvement.”

Stevens faced a similar issue last spring during the Hoboken water main break, as information disseminated amongst students before a directive was sent out.

Hoboken’s outdated infrastructure and the needs of the student population necessitate advance notice of school closures. In the face of such challenges, the commitment to continuous improvement remains a key aspect of enhancing the resilience of the university and its capacity to address unexpected events swiftly and effectively.

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Friday, October 20

News NATIONAL NEWS

LOTTO

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 before taxes.

The winner of the $1.725 billion grand prize has not come forward yet and will have up to a year to claim the money; after that, it will be considered forfeit. The New York Times reported that “taken as a cash payout instead of an annuity, it would be worth $774.1 million before taxes.” The store that sold the ticket will also receive a $1 million prize as well.

This life-changing amount of money is not without another price as well. Many times, winners of the grand prize for either the Powerball or Mega Millions will try to keep themselves anonymous, though some states require that some information about winners be released. Additionally, it is recommended that before a winner claims the prize money, they should speak with a financial advisor and also find a good lawyer so that the process goes smoothly. The New York Times supports this as they state that “a lawyer can help line up tax accounting and wealth management” which will be needed to make this significant financial transition.

Now that there has been a winner, the grand prize is much lower. The jackpot as of Wednesday sits at $49 million. Drawings for the Powerball are every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday at 11 p.m.

GENDER

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 of requirements should be available in the Academic Catalog Fall 2024, but students can start taking relevant courses and declare the minor next fall when it is officially available. If you have any questions or want to know more about the program, students can reach out to Professor Amber Benezra, Professor Lindsey Swindall, Professor Yu Tao, or Professor Smaran Dayal.

The 2023 Nobel Prize Laureates: Updates on Israel-Hamas War carrier groups within striking

BY ARTHUR SERRA, Quantum dots to women rights distance of Israel’s borders.

BY EVAN PAPAGEORGE, OPINION EDITOR It is again time for the announcement of the Nobel Prize winners, and this year, the awards span vast areas of science, economics, literature, and the infamous Nobel Peace Prize. After committees in Norway and Sweden released the winners’ names following a rigorous selection process, the six laureates will receive their certifications in Stockholm in December.

The Nobel Prizes are the never-ending legacy of Alfred Nobel.

Following an accidental printing of his obituary—before his death— Nobel saw his legacy as one of the inventing explosives: a remembrance of death and destruction.

To alter his legacy, Nobel earned the Nobel Prize — a recognition of the most outstanding achievements of the year in sciences and peace. There are six prizes: physiology or medicine, physics, chemistry, economic science, literature, and peace work.

This year’s award for physiology or medicine recipients are Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman — their work with RNA led to the quick development of effective vaccines against COVID-19. Their work has saved many lives and helped end the COVID-19 pandemic.

The prize for physics this year goes to Pierre Agostini, Ferenc Krausz, and Anne L’Huillier. Dr. L’Huillier is only the fifth woman to receive the prize in physics. She, with her colleagues, used pulses of light to capture images of electrons, which move at 43 miles per second. Their work will help physicists to further their exploration into many fundamental questions of the universe.

This year’s chemistry award recognizes the development of quan-

tum dots by Moungi G. Bawendi, Louis E. Brus, and Alexei I. Ekimov. Quantum dots are so small that their mere size is the primary determinant of their properties.

Their work will be fundamental in researching and developing electronics and computer systems of the future.

The literature award recipient is Norwegian author Jon Fosse for writing “innovative plays and prose which give voice to the unsayable.”

Fosse’s writing uses fiction, stories, and tales to teach lessons of life, death, and love — a combination of life that exudes a sense of peace.

The Peace Prize, often the most recognized due to its openness beyond the academic world, recognizes Narges Mohammadi, an Iranian activist jailed for her work fighting for women’s rights and freedom in Iran. Mohammadi remained in Iran to continue her humanitarian work, even at the risk of spending the rest of her life in prison. She is currently serving a 10-year prison sentence.

The final prize announcement was the economics prize to Claudia Goldin of Harvard University for her research on the reasons and causes behind the differences women experience in labor force participation and pay rates. Goldin is only the third woman to win the economics prize.

The Nobel Prizes celebrate the most outstanding scientific, literature, and peace achievements.

This year’s laureates have made groundbreaking contributions to their respective fields, from developing quantum dots to quickly developing effective vaccines against COVID-19. We celebrate the Nobel laureates and their contributions to society, and we hope that their work inspires future generations to push the boundaries of knowledge and make the world a better place.

Tablet predates Pythagoras’ discovery of spend a maximum of 20 hours per day in confinement, 20 con- the Pythagorean Theorem LAWS

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

secutive days and a maximum of 30 days over a 60 day period.

Obviously this doesn’t fully eliminate the method from being in use, however it is most definitely a step in the right direction.

At least, it would be if the bill hadn’t allowed a massive loophole through.

The Restorative Housing Unit (RHU), is an invention of the New Jersey Department of Corrections (NJDOC) to get around this bill. In theory, the RHU is a middle ground between solitary confinement and regular prison.

Prisoners in RHUs are separated from the general prison population, but still have limited social and outdoor opportunities. But when prisoners were sent to the RHUs they immediately realized that the differences between them and solitary confinement were next to none. Several prisoners who are put through the RHU system have reported to various news agencies that they do not receive their daily four hours outside of their cells, or opportunities to go outdoors.

Alexander Shalom, who works as an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey, said of that the bills outcome is “very disappointing” and that “we tried to write a bill that was tight enough not to give [NJDOC] room to implement it in a way that didn’t get to our vision of a more just prison system, but it seems that they’ve found ways to violate the law or honor it in the breach.” Armed with this new information, it is hoped that civil rights advocates will be able to pressure the New Jersey government to either follow their own laws, or create new tougher legislation for a more humane future.

BY TANYA AVADIA, BUSINESS MANAGER Most students have encountered the famous “a2 + b2 = c2” equation at some point during their academic journeys. This is the equation which maps out the correlation between the largest side of a right triangle, called the hypotenuse, and the two smaller sides, in which the sum of the two smaller sides squared (a2 + b2) is equal to the length of the hypotenuse squared (c2). This relationship is commonly referred to as the Pythagorean Theorem and attributed to the Greek mathematician and philosopher Pythagoras.

Contrary to popular belief, Pythagoras was not the first to discover this relationship between the sides of a triangle.

Several tablets dating back to over 1,000 years before Pythogoras showcased the use of the theorem with which he is credited. The oldest tablet found is from 1800 BC and called the Plimpton 322. While this tablet does not directly present the use of the theorem, it lists 15 sets of Pythagorean triples, a set of numbers that satisfy the Pythagorean equation. This implies that the theorem had long been discovered and even put into practice. IM 67118 is another Babylonian tablet from the year 1770 BC which uses text and a diagram to determine how to find the area of a rectangle and the length of its diagonal. The final step to solving this problem, as carved on the tablet, utilizes the Pythagorean Theorem. The most advanced mathematical use of this formula is on the tablet labeled YBC 7289 which is estimated to be from between 1800 BC to 1600 BC. The carvings indicate that the use

of the Pythagoras’ Theorem was in order to prove that the ratio between the sides of an isosceles right triangle is 1:1:√2. The math shown for defining this relationship was done on the Mesopotamian base of 60. Even though ancient Mesopotamians used a different number system compared to our standard base of 10 system, the writing on this tablet is still recognizable as the Pythagorean Theorem.

The tablets certainly change the perception that Pythagoras is the one behind the famous and useful equation. It also begs the question: Why is Pythagoras credited with such an important mathematical concept if there were many others who made use of it first? There are many possible explanations as to why this is the base, but what all stories have in common is that oral story-telling and the passing down of knowledge through word of mouth played a significant role.

One theory is that Pythagoras, who was a very well-established philosopher, founded a school where every student truly believed in the brilliance of their educator. The pupils of Pythagoras were called the Pythagoreans and passage of knowledge via spoken word was extremely common within this group. This, combined with the respect the Pythagoreans had for their instructor, led them to credit him with the famous “a2 + b2 = c2” equation. Whether this is true or not is very difficult to confirm, as no original writing made by Pythagoras exists today, and his mentions in the accounts of others do not provide enough information on this. For this reason, if you ever find yourself struggling to solve the equation “a2 + b2 = c2,” do not solely blame Pythagoras.

STAFF WRITER

One of the most densely populated places on Earth, the Gaza Strip is home for 2 million people in 140 square miles. It is also the home of the Hamas terrorist group that attacked Israel last week. Hamas has been a source of death and torment for the Israeli people for as long it has existed. After last week’s attack on Israel that resulted in hundreds of civilian deaths, Israel has made it its objective to eradicate Hamas, once and for all.

When Israel Defense Forces (IDF) pushed the terrorists back to the Gaza Strip, they began a siege of the area. Most of the area’s food, water, power, and fuel comes from Israel, and none has been allowed into the Strip since it began. In concert with this, the Israeli Air Force has begun a tireless aerial bombardment of the Strip, hitting key Hamas targets.

Due to the density of Gaza, these strikes have caused considerable collateral damage, including a number of innocent Palestinian and Israeli lives. It has been the dream of military theorists to win wars from the air without ever having to put boots on the ground — up until today this has only occurred once, and that was through the usage of nuclear weapons.

Israel knows it has to send in ground troops into the strip to totally defeat Hamas, and analysts agree that this will be tough, bloody, door-to-door fighting that will cost far more lives than the current airstrikes. That is why Israel has been requesting Palestians to leave the Gaza Strip or remove themselves to parts of the strip that will be out of the direct line of attack. Simultaneously, Hamas leaders, who are often completely removed from the fighting, have been asking Palestinians to stay. What is left unsaid is that those Palestinians who stay will be used as human shields, and as propaganda, if and when they are killed.

The only reason that Israel hasn’t done this before is because both the Israeli people and Israel’s allies wouldn’t have stomached the deaths that it will require to root out Hamas. Now nearly every option is on the table to destroy Hamas. The West continues to show its support for Israel, and on Wednesday President Biden went to the Middle East to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. A variety of topics were discussed including aid packages, Netanyahu’s undemocratic judicial reforms, American captives being held by Hamas on the strip, and the presence of two U.S. Navy Aircraft

PHOTO COURTESY OF REUTERS

The reason that the U.S. has sent such an array of firepower to Israel, despite not being involved in the current conflict, is fear that this is just the beginning of a wider war. Hamas receives its weapons and training from several countries including Qatar, and Iran. It’s a concern that if these countries see their direct involvement in the conflict to have an impact they may attack Israel from its northern border.

When proof arrived that Iran was directly involved with attacks two weeks ago, the U.S. cut off 6 billion dollars from Iran that are kept in overseas bank accounts.

The reason that Qatar’s connection is being tolerated by the U.S. is because it’s seen as the best hope to get both American and Israeli captives out of the Gaza Strip and Hamas custody.

When Hamas conducted its initial strikes, it captured several hundred captives from the towns it attacked. These captives were taken back to the Gaza Strip in an attempt to gain a bargaining chip. Neither the U.S. nor Israel bargains with terrorists, and attacks on Hamas targets have been reported to have killed several captives. Even if the U.S. and Israel cannot directly deal with Hamas on this issue given the current airstrikes, they can use Qatar as a go-between. The hope is obviously that as many of the kidnapped men, women and children can be safely removed and returned home.

There is nothing that showcases the sheer violence, death, and misinformation that is present in this conflict, than Tuesday’s explosion at a Gazan hospital. On October 17, a hospital in Gaza was hit by an aerial attack, hundreds were killed. Hamas organized groups from inside the strip accused this as being an Israeli attack. The international press jumped on this information and quickly accused Israel of being responsible for the hundreds of deaths. Soon after, an IDF intelligence report was published saying that it was not an Israeli bomb that destroyed that hospital, but an errant Hamas rocket. As of October 18, the cause of the explosion still had not been determined, but U.S. intelligence and other experts supported Israel’s claim that the rocket in question was launched from within Gaza.

The situation in Israel and Gaza is changing quickly, with vast implications for world relations ranging from Russia to Southeast Asia. As the whole world watches, updates on the situation will continue to emerge in the coming days and weeks.

4

Friday, October 20

Queer bops to add to your playlist this LGBTQ+ History Month

BY LIZ SEPULVEDA, COMIC ARTIST October is LGBTQ+ History Month and a great time to start listening to some new, on-therise queer artists. If you’re like me and want a break from blasting the same Clairo songs on repeat, make sure to add these lesser-known LGBTQ+ artists to your mix: Jame Minogue If you’re looking for new Latin jams to add to your playlist, take a listen to Jame Minogue, an on-the-rise, queer Latin pop/ R&B artist native to North Jersey.

With tropical chords, brass stabs, and bongo rhythms inspired by NYC street performers, Minogue’s upbeat sound has all the classic hallmarks of your favorite Latin tunes while taking influence from pop, indie, and hip hop, particularly on his new album Principe Azul. Personal Favorite: “Hate Being in Love” is definitely the catchiest track on Minogue’s newest album, Principe Azul, with a particularly upbeat Caribbean vibe.

Arlo Parks English artist Arlo Parks has the mellow vibes covered with her R&B/indie fusion sound.

Her sound is uniquely melancholy yet danceable and features smooth R&B-style melodies accompanied by hip-hop-inspired drum beats. Park’s thoughtful yet relatable lyricism strikes an emotional chord within listeners while remaining catchy enough to sing along to. Personal Favorite: “Pegasus (ft. Phoebe Bridgers)” is one of Parks’ chiller tracks, but “Too Good” is a great bop if you’re looking for something more upbeat.

Saturn 17 For any indie lovers, look no further than the rising duo Saturn 17. The duo brags a succinctly indie sound, characterized by punchy guitar lines and dreamy synths. Their bedroom-pop jams feature a beachy, West Coast twist inspired by their residence in Los Angeles. Personal Favorite: I firmly believe that all indie lovers should listen to their debut single “could this be love?”

Mom Jeans Midwest emo fans are probably already aware of Mom Jeans’ presence in the indie rock sphere, but may not be aware that front-person Eric Butler identifies as nonbinary and has taken to advocating for more queer-led bands. Mom Jeans’ first full-length album Best

Buds is notorious for its catchy yet melancholic acoustic rock sound, all hidden behind quirky titles such as “*Sobs Quietly*”.

Recently, in more upbeat releases like “Tie Dye Acid Trip”, Butler’s voice continues to capture the pain behind relatable stories of love and life. Personal Favorite: I’ve cried to “Scott Pilgrim vs. My GPA” more times than I care to admit.

Lena Raine If ambient music is more your vibe, you’re probably already familiar with the work of Lena Raine, a composer who’s made soundtracks for various popular shows and video games. Her work has been featured in indie games such as Celeste, Deltarune, and Minecraft, as well as films such as Steven Universe: The Movie. Personal Favorite: the Celeste soundtrack goes pretty hard while studying, in my opinion.

Hopefully, you’ve added some of these artists to your listening list or discovered some of your very own favorite queer artists to listen to this October.

But remember, October isn’t just LGBTQ+ History Month — it’s also the last month that goes into this year’s Spotify Wrapped.

So get those jams in, folks.

New Jersey’s LGBTQ+ history

BY TASHA KHOSLA, FEATURES EDITOR

PHOTO COURTESY OF @FOLLOWSTEVENS ON INSTAGRAM

On campus, both Pride Month and LGBTQ+ History Month are celebrated, but what is the main difference? While organizations such as Torch and oSTEM embody the spirit of living with pride daily, the purpose of Pride Month is to “recognize the impact that LGBTQ individuals have had on society locally, nationally and internationally.”

The month was inspired by the 1969 Stonewall Uprising, the catalyst for the Gay Liberation Movement, and has since been about achieving equal rights for LGBTQ+ Americans. Nationally, Pride Month is observed in June, but on college campuses such as Stevens, it is observed in April as a way for the community to come together and celebrate while classes are in session.

In comparison, LGBTQ+ History Month is about highlighting the history and achievements of LGBTQ+ people. According to GLAAD, a non-profit organization focused on LGBTQ+ advocacy, “during the early years, the celebration was largely marked by a call to action and commemoration. But since then, LGBT History Month has blossomed into a national coordinated effort to highlight exemplary role models from the LGBT community. Since 2006, this push has so far been led by LGBT rights and education organization Equality Forum.”

New Jersey has a rich LGBTQ+ history, with many noteworthy celebrities and activists having done so much to further LGBTQ+ advocacy. One example is Hilda Hidalgo. While Hidalgo was not born in Newark, Hidalgo had an impact on the

city due to her work as a professor at Rutgers-Newark. Hidalgo was an LGBTQ advocate who “worked tirelessly to combat the perception of homosexuality as a psychiatric disorder” and was the lead editor and co-author of the book Lesbian and gay issues: A resource manual for social workers. She identified as a lesbian and her political efforts were “motivated by the needs of LGBT+ people of color.” After being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, Hidalgo moved to Florida and joined the LGBT advocacy group Equality Florida Council, continuing her political efforts until she passed away in 2009.

Another high-profile activist from New Jersey was Marsha P. Johnson, born in Elizabeth, NJ. Johnson was a founding member of the Gay Liberation Front and was an advocate for “homeless LGBTQ+ youth, those affected

by H.I.V. and AIDS, and gay and transfender rights.” During the 1969 Stonewall raid, Johnson was on the frontlines. In a later interview, Johnson noted, “the place was already on fire, and there was a raid already. The riots had already started.” Following the events at Stonewall Inn, Johnson helped lead a series of protests to further the gay rights movement, trying to make sure that transgender and LGBTQ+ people of color were not excluded from the movement. In a 1972 interview, Johnson said her ambition was “to see gay people liberated and free and to have equal rights that other people have in America.” In 1990, Johnson was diagnosed with HIV and spoke about it in 1992 interviews, telling people not to be afraid of those with HIV. About a month after those interviews, Joohnson’s body was found in the Hud-

son River, and the police ruled it as suicide, despite her friends suspecting it to be foul play.

Johnson’s legacy still lives on, and in 2020, it was announced that a public monument would be dedicated to her in her hometown of Elizabeth, NJ, near the city hall. It was “anticipated to be the first public monument in the State of New Jersey to honor a LGBTQ+ person and transgender woman of color,” according to Union County.

In recent years, singer Halsey, who is from Edison, NJ, has also advocated for the LGBTQ+ community. Halsey identifies as bisexual and has used her platform to speak up for the LGBTQ+ community. This past summer, Halsey also partnered with Hard Rock Live to perform three shows in Florida, Indiana, and California, with all proceeds going towards the two LGBTQ+ organizations, Outright International, and Human Rights Campaign (HRC).

In the Hoboken area, there are several organizations that provide resources for the LGBTQ+ community, such as Hudson Pride Center in Jersey City. It provides services such as “career development, HIV treatment education, transgender support groups, special events, and more.” There are also on-campus resources students are encouraged to utilize such as the Office of Student Culture and Belonging.

Overall, New Jersey has a rich LGBTQ+ history that is worth looking into. The work and activism of people in the past and present have helped foster a community that can provide support to the LGBTQ+ community.

LGBTQ+ HISTORY MONTH Read an interview with tranSIT, learn about LGBTQ+ history in NJ, and check out our playlist recommendations for this month!

PLAYLIST RECOMMENDATIONS

Feature

“Hate Being In Love”

by Jame Minogue

“Could This Be Love?”

by Saturn 17

“Scott Pilgrim vs. My GPA”

by Mom Jeans

“Celeste soundtrack”

by Lena Raine

“Pegasus (ft. Phoebe Bridgers)”

by Arlo Parks

Gender, donuts, and TranSIT

BY TASHA KHOSLA, FEATURES EDITOR Torch and oSTEM are wellknown, queer-based clubs on campus that host a variety of events throughout the semester, however, much of the student population is unfamiliar with TranSIT, a sub-group of Torch.

In an interview with The Stute, Avanish Arif, president of TranSIT, explained more about what TranSIT is and its overall purpose and goals.

TranSIT is a group focused on transgender, nonbinary, and questioning students and aims to foster discussions. Its general body meetings (GBMs) are referred to as “Gender & Donuts” because these biweekly meetings consist of enjoying coffee and donuts in a group and sharing thoughts and experiences. TranSIT’s origins date back to 2019, when it was started to foster a safe space for transgender and nonbinary students to connect.

During the 2020-2021 academic year, meetings were held virtually, but since then, meetings have been in-person. These biweekly meetings receive funding from the Office of Student Culture and Belonging.

While Torch and TranSIT offer some similarities and are often promoted together, there are some key differences in terms of GBM content. Arif elaborated, “While Torch is an organization that focuses on the entire LGBTQ+ community, TranSIT is meant to provide a space where members can discuss their experience specifically as part of the trans and nonbinary community with others who are familiar with the experience.” Although Torch also has discussions at its meetings, TranSIT is more dis-

cussion-based of the two, with topics geared towards a specific demographic of the LGBTQ+ community.

As for the organization’s goals, TranSIT is dedicated to providing a safe space for members of the transgender and nonbinary community on campus.

Arif emphasized that TranSIT’s activities are geared towards interaction while still being enjoyable, such as last semester’s terrarium-making event. Additionally, some events of the past have included discussions on mental wellness as well as on the trans/nonbinary experience.

Despite the fact that TranSIT is a fairly new organization, Arif believes “we have succeeded in creating a community of like-minded people who feel comfortable in each other’s presence. I am still figuring out the direction that TranSIT is going to take for the foreseeable future, but I can promise that we will continue our mission of providing a place where people will feel comfortable expressing themselves authentically.”

LGBTQ+ History Month is a time to celebrate the history and achievements of the LGBTQ+ community. It is imperative to acknowledge the hard work of organizations like TranSit, Torch, and oSTEM and everything they have done to support and uplift the queer community at Stevens. Arif summarized, “I am proud to contribute to the planning of LGBTQ+ History Month and encourage trans and nonbinary students and faculty to come to Gender & Donuts on Monday, October 30 at 3 p.m. in Peirce 216!” For more information about Gender & Donuts meeting times, check out this Instagram post from Torch!

5

Friday, October 20

PHOTO COURTESY OF STEVENSDUCKS.COM (SHOT BY DAVE JANOSZ)

Sports

Women’s volleyball grows to six game winning streak

BY RUTHIE MULLISKY, SPORTS WRITER The Stevens Women’s Volleyball team has been on a very successful run across their past few games, amassing a six-match winning streak along the way. Most recently, the team has won against Lebanon Valley College, and in the Brick City Invitational, Denison University, Ithaca College, and Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT).

On October 10, the Ducks traveled to Lebanon Valley College in Annville, PA, where they defeated Lebanon Valley 3-1, with set scores of 19-25, 25-19, 25-22, and 25-13. Additionally, the win came from the Ducks’ 0.274 hitting percentage against LVC’s 0.157 hitting percentage. Furthermore, this

game allowed for many strong performances to shine. Senior Meg Dion racked up a career-high 14 kills, and senior Liz Patterson added an impressive ten kills and ten digs. Additionally, junior Cleo Shannon totalled 12 kills and two blocks, while senior Madison Sappia added 17 digs, five assists, and two aces. Sophomores Gabbi Roberts and Vivian Lisboa added 13 assists and five kills, and nine kills and three blocks, respectively. Firstyear Molly Harris had 28 assists, establishing a new career-high.

The team played again in the Brick City Invitational hosted by RIT. On October 13, the team defeated Denison University 3-2, with set scores of 25-19, 23-25, 25-12, 16-25, and 15-10.

The Ducks won with a 0.119 hitting percentage, as compared to Denison’s

0.092 hitting percentage. Because the match went back and forth frequently, the Ducks tallied a lot of impressive stats. Shannon totalled 12 kills and two blocks, Patterson added an impressive nine kills and 17 digs, and Sappia tallied 28 digs. Additionally, senior Elle Maggio added six kills, two blocks, and two digs, while senior Bailey Axelrad added five aces and four digs. Harris continued this offensive momentum with 23 assists.

The next day of the invitational, Women’s Volleyball played against No. 23 ranked Ithaca College, where they won the match 3-2, with set scores of 24-26, 25-18, 19-25, 25-22, and 15-13. This win marks the program’s first win over a ranked team since September of 2018. In this match, the Ducks had a 0.277 hit-

ting percentage whereas Ithaca had a 0.240 hitting percentage. Following this match, the Ducks defeated RIT in a 3-0 sweep, with set scores of 26-24, 25-13, and 25-23. The Duck’s hitting percentage in this match was 0.184, compared to RIT’s hitting percentage of 0.061. Between the two games, many impressive plays were made.

Shannon amassed 26 kills and eight blocks, while Sappia tallied 48 digs.

Dion had 18 kills, establishing a new career-high, on top of seven aces and seven blocks. Additionally, Lisboa had 16 kills, Harris added 49 assists, and Patterson added five aces.

The Ducks will be returning to play on October 21 in Scranton, PA in the Scranton Tri-Match against No. 1 Juniata College and University of Scranton.

ON DECK IN SPORTS SAT, OCT 21 WOMEN’S SOCCER Arcadia University Hoboken, NJ 12 p.m.

WOMEN’S AND MEN’S SWIMMING Rowan University Glassboro, NJ 12 p.m.

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL No. 1 Juanita College Scranton, PA 3 p.m.

University of Scranton Scranton, PA 5 p.m.

MEN’S SOCCER Arcadia University Hoboken, NJ 3:30 p.m.

FIELD HOCKEY Delaware Valley University Doylestown, PA 6 p.m.

Women’s Soccer on three game win streak with recent victories

BY ABBY JACOBS, SPORTS WRITER Women’s Soccer took their third, fourth and fifth victories of the 2023 season on Wednesday, October 11, Saturday, October 14, and Tuesday, October 17 against the College of Mount Saint Vincent, DeSales University, and King’s College, respectively.

The Mount Saint Vincent non-conference match saw the first goal at just 11 minutes into the game when sophomore Lauren Alley scored her first career goal with an assist from senior Nina Burden. By half, the Ducks led 2-0, following graduate student Rachel Rouse’s goal 25 minutes after Alley’s. This was the second of her career, but she

soon bumped her collegiate career total up to three when during the second half, Rouse scored Stevens’ third goal of the game at 59 minutes.

Out of the 35 shots the team took, 18 landed on target, and with senior Dana Perry’s three saves throughout the game, the Ducks took a 3-0 victory.

Just three days later, the team secured a 5-0 all-time record against DeSales University. Following two missed shots by the team in the first three minutes of the game, sophomore Angela Dinh scored the first point for the Ducks 23 minutes later, which was the first of her career.

The game remained at 1-0 until half.

In the second half, Stevens largely maintained control of the ball until the 85th minute when DeSales

evened the score. Just under two minutes later, with just three minutes and eight seconds left on the clock, Rouse scored her fourth goal of the season, with an assist from senior Elsa Bley, her third assist of the season. With six of the 14 shots that landed on goal, and sophomore Kenny Donley’s save, Stevens once again walked away victorious with a final score of 2-1.

Then, on Tuesday, October 17, the Ducks fought on foreign ground at King’s College where they took their third win in a row. At just under two minutes into the game, Rouse shot and scored the first point for Stevens. Almost exactly nine minutes later, graduate student Caitlin Carroll shot low right and earned the second goal of the game. By the end

of the first half, the Ducks were up 5-0. Rouse scored her second and the team’s third point of the game, with an assist by Carroll, followed by a goal by senior Amelia Rehrig.

Then, Rouse scored her third goal of the night, assisted by first-year Luciana Rodrigues. The second half saw another three goals from the Ducks, first from graduate Tia Saade, sophomore Sarah Wnorowski, and firstyear Diana Cavalieri, assisted by Wnorowski. The Ducks finished the game 8-0, securing their victory in three games.

The team’s 2023 season record currently stands at 5-6-2, and they will next be playing their Mental Health Awareness Game at home, against Arcadia University, on Saturday, October 21.

SUN, OCT 22 WOMEN’S FENCING LIU Sharktank Challenge Brooklyn, NY Time TBA

TUE, OCT 24 WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL Arcadia University Hoboken, NJ 7 p.m.

MEN’S SOCCER Delaware Valley University Doylestown, PA 7 p.m.

Cross Country takes on Border Battle meet

BY SEAN ANDERSON, STAFF WRITER On October 14, Stevens’ men’s and women’s cross country team traveled to compete at the Border Battle meet at Dream Park in Logan Township, NJ. The day was filled with several personal bests for many of the members of both teams as they made the most of the favorable conditions of the course.

The men’s team finished seventh overall and finished second out of 11 teams from the Mid-Atlantic Conference, behind DeSales.

Leading the way for the Ducks was fourth-year student Liam Concannon, who finished 14th out of 278 on the 8k course with a time of 25:24.0. The top five finishers placed within 1:39.7 of each other accruing a total of 241 points. All 14 runners on the men’s team set new season personal records, and 12 of them also set new lifetime personal records.

The women’s team finished 22nd overall and finished fifth out of ten teams from the Mid-Atlantic Conference. Fourth-year student Jacqueline Lulaj led the pack

for the Ducks finishing 80th out of 263 on the 6k course with a time of 23:55.0. The top five finishers placed within 1:24.0 of each other with a total of 579 points together. During this meet, seven runners achieved a personal best for the season, with six of them also reaching a new lifetime record.

John Kolibab, Head Coach of Stevens’ Men’s and Women’s Cross Country, commented on the fantastic day of cross-country running all around. He stated that the entire team had been looking forward to the meet and noted that

Dream Park would be “the quickest course we run all year.” With the great number of personal bests set during this meet, Kolibab stated that the teams “will be brimming with confidence heading into championship season starting in two weeks.”

The Border Battle marks the end of the regular season for the teams. The next meet, the Mid-Atlantic Conference meet hosted by Misericordia, will take place on October 28th in Dallas, Pennsylvania.

WED, OCT 25 FIELD HOCKEY FDU-Florham Hoboken, NJ 7 p.m.

WOMEN’S SOCCER Delaware Valley University Doylestown, PA 7 p.m.

STEVENS SCOREBOARD DATE

WED, OCT 11 WED, OCT 11 FRI, OCT 13 SAT, OCT 14

TEAM

WOMEN'S SOCCER FIELD HOCKEY WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL MEN'S SOCCER WOMEN'S SOCCER SUN, OCT 15 FIELD HOCKEY MEN'S GOLF TUE, OCT 17 WOMEN'S SOCCER

OPPONENT

MOUNT SAINT VINCENT MISERICORDIA UNIVERSITY DENISON UNIVERSITY ITHACA COLLEGE BORDER BATTLE BORDER BATTLE ROCHESTER INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY DESALES UNIVERSITY DESALES UNIVERSITY LEBANON VALLEY COLLEGE GEORGE CANGERO INVITATIONAL–DAY 1 KING'S COLLEGE (PA)

LOCATION

AWAY HOME AWAY AWAY AWAY AWAY AWAY HOME HOME AWAY AWAY AWAY

SCORE

W (3-0) W (7-1) W (3-2) W (3-2) 7TH OF 32 22ND OF 34 W (3-0) W (4-0) W (2-1) W (2-1) 3RD OF 8 W (8-0)

6

Friday, October 20

Science New galaxies have been discovered with James Webb Telescope

BY RIYANA PHADKE, SCIENCE WRITER The James Webb Space Telescope has surpassed the Hubble Space Telescope in power and precision, and has allowed astronomers to finally gain some insight into where and how the first galaxies were created.

It was a common theory that galaxies had a relation between how many stars and heavy elements were formed; the more massive a galaxy, the more heavy elements it possessed. However, researchers are now finding that the relation may not hold for the earliest galaxies in the universe.

Galaxies, a large collection of stars and gas, can be found throughout the universe. Scientists are able to use the placement of galaxies and light phenomena to essentially create a visual representation of the evolution of the universe. This is done by determining the time it takes for light to reach the Earth.

Previously, scientists were not able to look very far because the farther away light travels through space, the longer the wavelength it has. This means that one would have to look through infrared light in order to see this part of the universe.

The James Webb Telescope is the first telescope big enough and sensitive enough to see so far due to its usage of Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI).

The James Webb Telescope has proven successful: it has been able to see into distant galaxies, giving scientists a foundation to form theories regarding heavy elements and stars and their relationship to the birth of galaxies that are different from what has been previously thought.

In a new study published in the journal Nature Astronomy, a team of astronomers from the Cosmic Dawn Center at the Niels Bohr Institute and DTU Space in Copenhagen, have discovered some of the very first galaxies that are still in the formation process.

“Until recently it has been near-impossible to study how the first galaxies are formed in

the early universe, since we simply haven’t had the adequate instrumentation. This has now changed completely with the launch of James Webb,” said Kasper Elm Heintz, leader of the study and assistant professor at the Cosmic Dawn Center.

What does it mean that scientists can see galaxies forming? It means that they can see gravity gathering clumps of gas to form stars. If these “infant galaxies” are left undisturbed, the star can fuse helium to form heavier elements, such as carbon and oxygen, until iron and nickel are formed. In between its formation and the addition of heavy elements, there are large amounts of unpolluted gas that move faster than the stars themselves.

“When we analyzed the light from 16 of these first galaxies, we saw that they had significantly less heavy elements, compared to what you’d expect from their stellar masses and the amount of new stars they produced,” said Kasper Elm Heintz.

This observation is the first insight into the earliest stages of galaxy formation and the idea that unpolluted gas is highly connected to galaxies rather than heavy elements — more so than what scientists originally hypothesized.

“This is one of the first James Webb observations on this topic, so we’re still waiting to see what the larger, more comprehensive observations that are currently being carried out can tell us.

There is no doubt that we will shortly have a much clearer understanding of how galaxies and the first structures began their formation during the first billion years after the Big Bang,” Heintz concludes.

The James Webb Space Telescope continues to be one of NASA’s greatest strengths with its ability to give astronomers a more complete picture of the universe. The latest example of its potential is from October 10, 2023, where it captured a new image of NGC 346, the brightest and largest star-forming region in the Small Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy near the Milky Way.

PHOTO COURTESY OF JAMES WEBB SPACE TELESCOPE OF NGC 346

Geothermal energy surges in Kenya

BY MEGHANA MAMADAPUR STAFF WRITER Kenya has recently found a new source of renewable geothermal energy: hydrothermal vents. With the African tectonic plate splitting in two under the town of Naivasha, a cleave bursting with geothermal energy was formed. The energy itself is created from hot water that bubbles from underground and turns into steam as it rises to the surface. The steam is then used to create electricity.

However, this is not the first time Kenya has discovered geothermal energy. Kenya has been harnessing energy since the 1950s, making it the seventh largest geothermal power in the world. Furthermore, their resources are enough to meet five times the peak energy demand.

The town of Naivasha has become the leader of Kenya’s geothermal industry. At full power, Naivasha’s Olkaria geothermal

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE BORGEN PROJECT

power project can generate 963 megawatts of electricity. This is a significant achievement, especially in Africa, as 43% of the continent is still without electricity. The only other geothermal energy producer in Africa is Ethiopia, but the nation’s capacity is only 7.5 megawatts.

Kenya is also contributing to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, which aims for universal energy access by 2030. Reports conducted by the U.N. have confirmed that there is enough renewable energy to power Africa into the future, but there are numerous up-front costs involved. The estimated cost is $1.5 trillion, according to James Mwangi, the founder of the group Climate Action Platform for Africa.

Harnessing renewable energy is ten times more expensive for Africa than utilizing fossil fuels, yet it will be beneficial to achieve energy independence in the future. Kenya has now taken the role of assisting neighboring

countries to develop geothermal energy. New geothermal wells are being drilled in Ethiopia and Djibouti. The estimated energy that Kenya and Ethiopia together can harness is 10,000 megawatts.

While the transition to geothermal energy will have lasting benefits for Kenya, the process is not cheap. Kenya borrowed 45 million euros as a loan from Germany to upgrade two geothermal power plants in Naivasha.

At the completion of this project, Kenya will be fourth on the list of geothermal users, following the U.S., Indonesia, and The Philippines. While the up-front costs are steep, the geothermal sector is expected to generate 34 jobs per installed megawatt created, compared to 19 by the wind sector. While there is much to be done to implement geothermal energy throughout Africa, there is no denying that Kenya is propelling the continent in a new direction.

Are there signs of life on other planets?

BY ADITI SHILAWAT CONTRIBUTOR While Earth is the only known planet to have any kind of life, other objects in and out of our solar system have potentially shown signs of habitability. For years, scientists have researched the possibility of there being life on other planets. Recently, they have found some evidence to support this by exploring the three celestial bodies that show the strongest evidence of life.

This includes Jupiter’s moon, Europa, Saturn’s moon, Enceladus, and K2-18 b, an exoplanet about 120 light years away.

Europa is one of the more widely known objects to have any signs of life. This moon revolves around Jupiter and is covered in a thick layer of ice.

However, the Galileo probe discovered that there is an ocean under the moon’s miles of thick ice. More recently, the James Webb Space Telescope also detected traces of carbon in the ocean, and conducted a further study that found proof of carbon dioxide on the planet. Carbon

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is a crucial element that, to our current knowledge, is necessary for life.

The second planet was an exoplanet (a planet orbiting a star outside of the solar system) 120 light years away and eight times bigger than Earth called K2-18 b. Although found recently, the planet was the earliest piece of evidence that scientists have found of life on other planets. It was discovered to have a large amount of methane and carbon dioxide, which are greenhouse gasses that keep the planet warm. However, the most promising thing about this planet possibly having life is the discovery of dimethyl sulfide. Dimethyl sulfide is only made by microbial life on Earth, so scientists believe that the planet itself could have (or we have a high chance of finding) small, biological life on the planet.

The third celestial object with potential for life is Enceladus.

This is Saturn’s sixth largest moon, and was caught by the James Webb Space Telescope in 2022 spraying plumes, or large columns, of water vapor miles away from the planet’s surface.

The distance that the water vapor was sprayed was larger than the width of the planet itself, leading scientists to believe that there are hydrothermal vents in the ocean below the surface that are using heated water to spray the water outwards. Scientists found five elements that strongly support evidence of life in the ice on Enceladus’ surface: carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfur. The only common life-evident element that wasn’t found was phosphorus, however, phosphorus is one of the elements that is least common among living beings on Earth. Additionally, the water vapor in the plume itself contained methane, carbon dioxide, and ammonia, which also helped create life.

The James Webb Space Telescope aided scientists immensely in their quest to find out information about father space objects. The telescope’s investigation of Europa, Enceladus, and K2-18 revealed signs of life, and signifies great advancement in our limited knowledge of the universe.

STUTE GBM 7 Writing Workshop!

Tuesday, October 24th Peirce 218 9:15pm See you there!

7

Friday, October 20

Opinion MIND OF A FRESHMAN

A halfway progress bar

BY JUSTIN LEMA ‘27 Have you ever played Geometry Dash and made it to the halfway checkpoint? Well, here we are at that point for this eventful fall semester.

It is crazy to think that time has ticked by so quickly that we are at the midpoint of our

first semester. From indecisive weather to free food, there was always something interesting to do and see on campus. This article is going to be more of a recap and reflection that I have had from this first half of the semester, and I hope that you enjoy my insight.

First things first, we are hitting the midterm week where no matter how knowledgeable you are on the topic, your class exams will be one of your top priorities in your mind. Whether you went to drop-in tutoring like me or whether you clutched the exam, the truth is that we have all experienced our first exam.

If you are taking PEP 111, then

you might be aware of room mix-ups that happened for one of our quizzes. It really is not a good feeling walking into a packed room with “PEP 112 Exam” written on the main whiteboard, because it kind of plays into your head.

It is this concern over the exams that makes me hungry, and it is the free food on campus that blesses me. It never hurts to get a snack, especially when you have three classes back-to-back. If you were unable to get free food on campus, then there are always vending machines that offer snacks, though they don’t usually offer them at fair prices. Regardless, most

of my semester was buying food whether it be by Washington Street or on campus, and then taking that energy break before doing homework.

Also, be on the lookout for cool events that provide free food as it never hurts to stop by and learn more about a club while munching on snacks.

Next up is a topic that I like to talk about not because I do well in it, but because I am terrible at it. Lectures have their differences in rooms and professors, and if you are lucky to get a small lecture room with a decent whiteboard, then you have nothing to worry about. That being said, most of my lectures take place in

Burchard, and this one room offers a large area to sit. I have sat all around that room, and let me tell you that it can be hard to see what the professor is working on from a distance.

Not to mention multiple microphone issues have arisen, but no matter what I tried my best to take notes. I would not deny that I have been lost in multiple calculus lectures, but the one class that did save me was the workshop. There have been times when an assignment was due at midnight, which had me stressing at 11 p.m. because I underestimated the difficulty of the assignment. I know now that if I were to give myself advice from a

few months ago, I would tell him, do not snooze, or you will lose.

Some perks of reaching halfway through the level of this semester are seasonal changes that we are beginning to experience. It is officially that season, and if you don’t pack a sweater in the morning, then you will regret it in the afternoon. We have seen and experienced those heavy rainy days with incredible winds.

I cannot wait to see what the season will give us as we continue with the rest of our fall semester, which I promise will be much easier than walking up to Howe Center on a windy day.

SENIORITIS

The duty of free speech and Stevens’ culture of silence

BY KAYDEN CANNILLA ‘24 Last week, Stute News Editor Ben Knobloch reported on Stevens’ “average” free speech ranking, according to the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE).

The methodology docks universities with high controversy, leading to an abysmal rating for Harvard University.

A friend of mine, a Harvard sophomore, denied that Harvard has a free speech problem, and then told me to look

up “Harvard doxxing truck.”

Last weekend at Harvard, the Palestine Solidarity Committee issued a statement saying they “hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence,” cosigned by 34 student organizations. This was met with near-immediate rebuke from Harvard professors, national politicians, the Harvard Jewish community, student organizations, and co-signers started to rescind their signatures.

Within days, a billboard truck drove around Harvard campus displaying the names and faces of student cosigners with the heading “Harvard’s Leading Antisemites,” and websites appeared with full lists of the cosigners’ personal information, including social media profiles, hometown, and past employers.

Something like this could

never happen at Stevens. I don’t think we have some kind of moral high ground above Harvard; I think Stevens students simply don’t care enough about current events to mobilize like that. Free speech culture at Harvard is certainly not innocuous, though it’s hard to say that it’s unequivocally better here. Is it better to have a culture where the conversations are avoided altogether, or where speaking out on issues you are passionate about leads to retaliation? A good free speech culture seems to me to be where a student openly shares their beliefs and the opposition can respond, both without fear of retaliation. Few Stevens students talk openly about their political beliefs, and after four years, I still don’t know the political beliefs of many of my classmates because they never come up.

In the classroom at Stevens, students are rarely, if ever, asked about their opinion on the world around them.

Even though most students are here for a technical education, development and exposure to alternate worldviews are integral to a college education.

Too often, when I bring up any politician’s name, national or international news headline, someone will respond “I don’t really keep up with politics.”

Stevens’ students have such an aversion to the humanities that articulating their opinion can be a difficult conversation.

You don’t have to study political science, yet some people overuse “I’m not into politics” to dismiss talking about current events and humanitarian issues. The indictment of a former president is not just politics — it’s pivotal American history. Issues like war

COMIC CORNER

BY JOSIE STRANO

BY LIZ SEPULVEDA

in Ukraine and Israel are nuanced and deserve our attention, even if we aren’t studying international affairs. Thinking critically about the information we consume and staying informed on world issues is a basic requirement of being a well-rounded, educated adult, and it’s lacking in American culture.

Americans are more polarized than ever, and part of it has to do with our news consumption. In 2022, Pew Research Center reported that “half of U.S. adults get news at least sometimes from social media.” 33% of TikTok users, 37% of Reddit users, 44% of Facebook users, and 53% of Twitter users said they regularly get news from their respective sites. It’s very difficult to consume unbiased news in this way, because social media algorithms are not designed

to show you a balanced perspective. Your feed is designed to encourage engagement, either by showing you what you like and already agree with or something so stupid you have to leave a comment saying how wrong it is.

Even if you never plan to leave New Jersey, you have a humanistic duty to be informed about world events.

We get too caught up in our bubble and forget there are other important, life-or-death problems out there. To me, the purpose of engineering is problem-solving for the betterment of humanity. You will be a better engineer, and a better person, if you know about the issues that other cultures face and why people feel strongly about them. How can you consider yourself a highly educated individual if you’re ignorant of the world around you?

8

Friday, October 20

Opinion BOOK OF THE WEEK

UNMASKING: AN AUTISM STORY

Fairy Tale by Stephen King: the Chemical and the Cingulate adventures between two worlds Gyrus: an investigation Mr. Bowditch was the Mr. Bowditch refuses town’s mysterious legend. Charlie when asked any into the brain of autism

BY VICTORIA YASHCHUK ‘26 Stephen King is a master of horror and thriller, so I never expected that he would turn to the genre of fantasy in his new book Fairy Tale. The 607 page novel tells an enchanting story of 17-year-old Charlie Reade and his coincidental encounter with Mr. Bowditch and his German Shepherd, Radar, that changed the course of his life and all he has known.

Charlie Reade had a troubled childhood: his mother was killed by an irresponsible driver, which caused his father to fall into the tumult of alcoholism. Charlie started hanging out with the wrong crowd, committing harmful acts and pulling pranks that he—now as a young adult—regrets. As a young kid, Charlie was forced to grow up and assume the role of the responsible adult, taking care of his father and trying to get him back up on his feet. After things took a turn for the worse: Charlie’s father was fired from his job, and on the brink of homelessness, Charlie (furtively) asked God to help his father, and in exchange, he would return the favor. Interestingly enough, Charlie’s bargain presented itself in the form of an elderly man, his dog, and another world.

Everyone knew it was best questions about the shed, to stay away from him, and Charlie is not fond of as he was anti-social and the idea of entering it afunpleasant to talk to. The ter hearing unusual noises only love Bowditch had coming from it. After Mr. was his dog, Radar, who Bowditch passes due to a was a legend herself; she heart attack, he leaves a was known as a large, ter- message for Charlie: to go rifying beast with red eyes. into the other world and The eldritch surrounding save Radar by placing her the house and those who on a sundial that will make lived there, standing on her young again. Relucthe corner of Pine and Syc- tant, Charlie nevertheless amore Street, is what lured sets out on the adventure Charlie into his fairy-tale- with Radar because of his like adventure. immense love for her.

Driving passed Mr. As Charlie and Radar Bowditch’s house on his pursue their quest, Charlie way back from school, discovers that this other Charlie hears the cries of world, Empis, is plagued a dog. The cries became and desolate. The royal persistent, long whines, family of Empis was overurging Charlie to inves- thrown and cursed, and tigate. His curiosity got their people were cursed the best of him as he saw with a painful disease Mr. Bowditch lying on the called the “gray.” Charlie ground in pain, with Ra- met the remaining memdar whining at his side. bers of the royal family Charlie calls an ambu- and noticed that they were lance (as it turns out, Mr. immune to the gray but Bowditch fell off his lad- had one cognitive sense der while cleaning his gut- taken away from them: ters and seriously broke taste, vision, or hearing. some bones). This incident Meeting them along with brings Mr. Bowditch and some other Empis citizens Charlie closer together as brought the responsibility Charlie begins taking care upon Charlie not just to of Radar while Bowditch save Radar but the kingis in the hospital. Charlie dom of Empis as well. realizes that Mr. Bowditch and Radar are nothing like the rumors claim, and he grows fond of his new-found friend and becomes obsessed with Radar; Radar is an old dog who is slowly dying due to severe arthritis. These events led to the discovery of an ominous shed in Mr. Bowditch’s backyard, which Bowditch later reveals is a portal to another world: one filled with magic and is a fairy-tale in of PHOTO COURTESY OF AMAZON.COM itself.

GIRL(ISH) TALK

Barbie (the brand): what it means to be taken advantage of

BY CLAIRE HANNAN ‘24 As promised in last week’s Girl(ish) Talk where I discussed my thoughts on the Barbie movie, I’m going to now talk about my thoughts on the Barbie brand. While the movie does its best to depict Mattel as an evil but ultimately harmless company and the Barbie doll as being genuinely pro-women, it also shows the frustration that many women feel towards the concept of Barbie dolls.

That frustration is the most accurate part of the movie to the real interaction that Barbie dolls have with society.

At first, the dolls were geared towards a specific view of femininity.

The earliest Barbies were models; they were thin with impossible proportions and were a product of the 1950s culture they came from. Eventually, those dolls started receiving pushback and stopped

selling, which caused Mattel to rebrand with more “feminist” dolls that came in different body types and showed women in different careers.

Mattel would like to be seen as a pro-women brand whose products are necessary to create empowered young women.

Critics would say, though, that the company is capitalizing off of female empowerment, while actually creating harmful expectations for women.

I tend to lean towards the more cynical option, at least when it comes to huge corporations. The leadership at Mattel is only 35% female and is almost entirely white, which detracts from their progressive front. I don’t believe that Mattel is evil, but they aren’t good either. The company might do something to help girls every now and then, but at the end of the day, to keep existing, their primary function has to be to make money. For Mattel, money takes precedence over helping women, over the environment, over social progress. Beyond the long-standing criticism that Barbie is too skinny and is bad for children’s body image, Mattel’s marketing and business model actively harm girls’ empowerment.

They can put smiling plastic dolls in construction costumes all they want, but that won’t do anything to tackle the actual sexism that exists in STEM fields. It’s so easy to dress up a f lawless doll in a costume and point to it saying “see, society is progressing, women can do anything these days!”

But in reality, girls aren’t avoiding construction sites because they have never seen a woman in a hard hat. The pay gap doesn’t exist because people forget that women can also wear lab coats and hold test tubes. But the real issues behind the manifestations of sexism are too huge and overwhelming. It’s easy to buy into the marketing campaigns telling us that if enough little girls are playing with a slightly curvier Barbie doll, they won’t grow up hating their bodies. But by putting the Band-Aid of plastic social progress over our real issues, we avoid the massive amount of hard work that needs to be done to actually change things for the better. We can’t mass produce social change and we can’t buy a better future for women, because women already know what we’re capable of. We don’t need inspiration, we need support.

BY EVAN PAPAGEORGE ‘26 As we have discussed the many mysteries of autism throughout this column, we have looked at many different observations of individuals with autism from the perspective of the individual themself or those around them.

However, we have not yet delved into what physically happens inside someone with autism. Are their brains different from those without autism? Is there a difference in chemical reactions or the structural materials that make up the brains of these individuals? Today, we unmask the mysteries of the brain of an individual with autism.

In this article, there will be many references to specific parts and phenomena of the brain — an excellent opportunity to use the great resources we explored in the last edition of this column!

For the most part, the makeup of the brain of an individual with autism is the same as that of someone without. The neurons fire in the same way, the chemical reactions that let our brains work are the same, and the size, shape, and look are the same (at

least, as far as we know — the brain is super unknown in the scientific community).

So, the question remains: what is the difference between individuals with and without autism?

The answer comes from the study of the brain and behaviors. This area, known as neurophysiology, studies what the brain does and how it impacts decisions, personalities, and behaviors. In the brain of an individual without autism, the cingulate gyrus—located in the front of your head by the hairline and helps control emotions and some motor skills—works quite efficiently. It can send signals to the rest of the brain based on emotions and switch the brain from the logical thinking side to the empathetic “feeling” side.

However, for individuals with autism, the cingulate gyrus cannot alternate signals from different parts of the brain.

For most daily activities, the less-than-perfect performance of the cingulate gyrus in individuals with autism does just what it needs to. However, in social or emotional situations, the cingulate gyrus limits the individual’s ability to convey what the senses report to the brain from the logical to the empathetic side. Essentially, the brain is “stuck” thinking only logically without access to the full extent of their emotional and social knowledge, experiences, and instincts. Some traits of autism that exhibit this are autistic individuals’

difficulty understanding social cues, being receptive to other people’s emotions, or navigating the web of social interactions in everyday life.

The cingulate gyrus also could help explain hyperfocus, hyperactivity, and other traits of autism. Because of the cingulate gyrus’s vital role in helping the brain switch between thoughts by redirecting signals to different parts of the brain, hyper fixation may be autistic individuals’ brains being unable to shift focus to something else.

However, while the cingulate gyrus may limit social understanding and increase hyperfocus, it can also do the opposite: force autistic individuals to feel overwhelming amounts of emotion or make it difficult to focus on anything.

Or, like autism itself is, the cingulate gyrus may impact the brain in a spectrum of ways, limiting social interactions and focus or increasing both to the point that an individual with autism can only focus on one emotion for a portion of the day.

Autism is a complicated phenomenon, with varying aspects of life being impacted by a small part of the brain potentially controlling their entire life.

Perhaps a different part of the brain can help explain why autism presents itself in the ways it does. For next time, we explore even more of how autism impacts the brain as we delve further into unmasking the mystery of what autism truly is.

OFF THE PRESS

Recent reports from Captain Obvious

BY OFF CENTER -SatireRecently, new discoveries have been made all over the world by a team of adventurers and explorers seeking to uncover the secrets of life. The adventurers include Dr. Addie Venture, Dr. Des Cover, Dr. Ess Plorer, Dr. Idon Tavaname, and their leader, Captain Obvious. Together, this brave group treks uncharted territories and conducts investigations to discover the truth behind the realities of everyday life. Here are some of the various findings of the group that they wish to share with you, the general public.

Their most major discovery as of now was a new phenomenon that was discovered high in the sky. First, they rode in their signature hot air balloon developed

by Nike, which was able to cover all kinds of amazing altitudes, terrifying temperatures, and all kinds of challenges thrown at it

by Mother Nature. It was equipped with an electric engine to be environmentally friendly, a turbojet to help it boost to incredibly never-seen-before speeds, a force field to shield it from intense storms and the occasional rubber ducky, a 50 ft wide cannon to destroy any enemies that want to attack the ship, and most importantly, a bowling alley

and a taco bar! This journey helped them discover their most major, life-changing discovery yet!

Then, they trekked at an altitude in the clouds, where they discovered a place where fantastical creatures known as Nodsimlions controlled clouds and how they interacted with the everyday environment. The Nodsimlions, angry about the group discovering the secret behind the weather, started to attack them with rain bazookas, thunder bombs, hail cannons, tornado catapults, and all kinds of wild weather weapons. Captain Obvious and his group started to fight back with their cannon. The battle was intense, as everyone’s heart was pounding and everyone’s fingers were trembling as victory was unclear. It was a high-stakes battle.

Would Captain Obvious and his group be able to pass, or would they be doomed to stop their adventure?

After a rough battle, Captain Obvious and his group emerged victorious. Captain Obvious said, “After explaining to the Nodsimlions what we were planning to do through an empathetic, heart-to-heart discussion, they decided to let us pass through the clouds. We totally didn’t annihilate them through bloody means, which could result in catastrophic consequences regarding the weather, such as the whole world suffering

a drought through a lack of rain.”

Then, they trekked to the giant cloud castle located high in the sky. It was filled to the brim with the bones of eagles and the bones of explorers who suffered trying to explore the castle. As they traveled through the castle, they heard a loud, unnerving noise that gave everyone goosebumps…which was actually just Captain Obvious suffering indigestion from the hot air balloon’s taco stand. They went into the dungeon of the castle, where they faced all kinds of weapons such as swinging axes (that liked playing the trumpet, of course), spiked walls (that were spiked with a special kind of poison, you see), and a bottomless pit that was only 0 feet deep.

As they continued to go through the dungeon, they discovered a secret pathway that led them down a dark, deep corridor to a small floating head sitting on the table. The floating head introduced himself as John, who was able to tell people all kinds of secrets about life that people didn’t know about.

Captain Obvious, after trekking back to our world, decided to relay the secrets here: Pillows are a trap by scientists to read the thoughts in our brain, walking backward can help people levitate in the air, and the most important secret of all: the sky is blue.

9

Friday, October 20

Opinion FOR MATH’S SAKE

LIFESTYLE HACKS

BY CHARLES BEALL B.S. ‘23 & PHD STUDENT ‫ָָׁשלֹום עֲ לֵ יכֶ ם‬ ‫ٱلس َاَل ُم َع لَ يْ ُك ْم‬ َّ Peace be upon you One of the many poignant scenes in the Alan Turing biopic The Imitation Game occurs just after the famous mathematician and computer scientist cracks the Enigma Code. Another member on the Bletchley Park team has decoded a message ordering German U-Boats to attack a British warship, whose crew includes one of the member’s relatives.

Turing explains, rather emphatically, that the ship cannot be saved, or else the Nazis may suspect their code has been broken. As a result, the rest of World War II involved strategic, statistics-based choices on whether to use knowledge from intercepted enemy messages to save the lives of soldiers and civilians.

In light of the atrocities committed by Hamas a few weekends ago, the consequent war of Israel in Gaza, and the ongoing flaring of tensions globally—including just across the Hudson—this

movie scene, and its implications, are more salient, more harrowing than ever. Some of my recent columns have discussed a tendency to think of human beings in terms of statistics, to “stat-ify” them, if you will. The extreme of this instinct comes out in violence and war, where people are literally reduced to stats, namely death counts.

This calls for some serious reflection. Is this really the core of what mathematics has to offer to the world? While mathematics has saved many lives over the years (it’s not like Turing said no one can be saved, after all), the field still falls into this strategy-heavy, humanist-bankrupt pattern in dangerous times.

However, when all seems lost, as happens a lot in solving mathematical problems, a common approach is to return to the fundamentals.

The axioms or assumptions we make about a problem can strongly influence how we think about solving it. So let’s try to do that here.

For one, we have prayers — a set of beliefs laid down centuries ago from which we can find consistency, solace, and hope. Jews, Muslims, and people of all other faiths, pray at specific times of the day, every day; while these prayers alone will not end the violence or bring back lives lost, they provide a foundation of empowerment, love, and compassion around which to structure the day.

Also, math applied to the real world, and I would argue even the “purer” forms

Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, the just judge. - Jewish blessing of mourning

It’s no surprise that we have arrived at one of the most stressful parts of the semester — midterm season.

And while our schedules are packed and we are constantly studying (or cramming) for our exams, one of the most important things to remember is the importance of being mindful of our mental health! The two truly do go hand-in-hand because if you are not taking care of yourself, you may not do as well on exams, and in turn, doing poorly on exams can lead to a turn for the worse in your mental health if you don’t have a wellness routine already set in stone.

I’ve seen it said many times before that mental health is just as important and if not, more important, than physical health and well-being. If you feel sick or break a bone, there’s little to no hesitation about going to the doctor, but often, we do not prioritize our mental health in the same way. Just as you would not want to walk with a broken leg without treatment, taking care of our mind and emotional well-being is a crucial part of being able to function

successfully as a student and young adult.

Outside the context of upcoming and ongoing midterms, creating a wellness routine or familiarizing yourself with mindfulness and stress-reducing techniques and methods can be extremely beneficial for your day-to-day life as a student, and even beyond that when you enter the working world. Such techniques don’t need to be time-consuming or complex to make a large impact on your mental and emotional well-being. One of the easiest and most effective mindfulness techniques to learn is doing different guided breathing exercises that can take as little as five minutes to have a huge impact on your day.

When it comes down to it, mental health and physical health all connect through a feedback loop. If you have poor mental health, you may have a more difficult time taking care of yourself, and are as a result, more likely to get sick or have an ailment.

If you have some type of physical sickness that limits your ability to perform everyday task, that may have a negative bearing on your mental health and well-being — it’s really all a cycle.

Again, while most of us are diligent in caring for our physical health and well-being, an easy way to improve our overall quality of life and limit our time spent not at 100% can be to retroactively take care of our mental health.

While my exam season

Contemplation,” which is from his series The Times of Day. Although I feel that there are a lot of great examples of Mucha’s work that I could have used for this article, I specifically selected this one because not only is it an example of an allegorical piece, Mucha uses a unique style of printing to render it which I have not yet covered in Artist Spotlight.

Lithography is a traditional printing method that uses a unique chemical process that puts emphasis on an artist’s physical drawing rather than an engraving. Artists will first prepare a limestone block by creating a flat surface and then grinding it down to a specific grit factor. Artists then draw on the limestone surface using a special lithography pencil, which will interact with specific chemicals to create grease reservoirs in the lithography

stone. These reservoirs will attract the ink, storing it there until it is pressed onto a piece of poster paper using a rotary lithography press.

For a lithography print, “Evening of Contemplation” is an incredibly vibrant piece.

Although it is easy to achieve intricate linework using lithography, rendering pieces with a variety of colors is typically a lot more challenging. This makes Mucha’s print that much more impressive. My favorite aspects of Mucha’s piece are the floral pattern circling the outside of the poster, the texture of the fabric in the subject’s dress, and the warmth of the chosen color palette. For the floral pattern, I couldn’t help but notice a possible allusion to the archway bordering typically applied in Renaissance art. This adds an upward-facing perspective to the piece,

calling attention to the subject being “above” the viewer. As for the fabric in the female subject’s dress, I am almost always amazed at the rendering skill of Art Nouveau illustrators.

Mucha was known for his experimentation with fabric representation and drapery and often took on commissions for interior design, so he would do a lot of fabric silhouette studies.

The dress maintains a realistic volume, which I was unaware was possible with traditional printing. Finally, Mucha caps off this fantastic illustration with a unique set of vibrant colors that help the subject really pop in contrast to the foreground and background elements. The subject’s uncanny white dress and red hair clash perfectly with the warm orange background and the intense green of the foreground woodland elements.

PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIART.ORG

Mathematics in a dangerous time Mental health and midterms

assault allegations are false.

Here’s an analogy: imagine you walked up to me and said you were stung by a wasp because your house got infested, and then I immediately screamed at you, “NOT ALL WASPS STING PEOPLE,” and then made you feel bad for even saying you got stung by a wasp. That conversation would be unproductive, wouldn’t solve the infestation problem, and would make you feel bad for speaking your truth about how the wasp hurt you. Personally, all men who champion “not all men” are a red flag.

I struggle to understand why people support politicians and public figures who are openly misogynistic. I personally believe that the

definition of feminism is somewhere along the lines of “believing that women are entitled to the same rights and freedoms as men,” and this would include a woman’s right to their own body.

Time and time again I have interacted with men who idolize politicians who have stripped away abortion rights and other diversity-related measures. They hide behind their support of a candidate’s “strong economic policies’’ and “stances on international politics.” These are important, but plenty of candidates exist who have strong economic stances and also do not want to deprive women of their fundamental human rights. If you can’t find someone who can protect womens’

rights while uplifting your political agenda, you either aren’t trying hard enough, or you are a walking red flag.

All of this said, this is not meant to be a “hate on men” party. Plenty of women are internally sexist as well, and a lot of people are the product of their upbringing. All people have the capacity to learn, grow, and reform their views.

Everyone should have the opportunity to hear the opinions of those around them, and to potentially reformulate their internal biases as a result. Conversation is one of the beautiful things about humanity. We get to know the minds of those around us, and sometimes we are lucky enough to change the minds of those around us.

of math, are both an intricate balancing act between idealism and pragmatism. Mathematical models always have some error; elegant proof ideas may not hold in every case; axioms can be relaxed to allow a less rigid structure. This balance breeds an acceptance of failure among mathematicians — we may not always do the right thing, but we’re gonna keep trying if we’re wrong.

There have been massive failures to humanity recently, and as long as the violence continues, the failures will too. But we must keep trying — to speak out against violence and oppression, to comfort our friends and fellow community members for whom the effects of the Israel-Hamas war are closer to home, to realize how mathematics in a dangerous time may have a more harmful impact than is comfortable.

All these efforts are the generators of positive, life-saving change. ِ ‫ال لَّ ُه َّم َر َّب ال َّن‬ ،‫ اشْ ِف ِه َوأَن َْت الشَّ ِايِف‬،‫اس‬ َ َ‫اس أَ ْذ ِه ِب الْ ب‬ ‫ ِش َف ا ًء الَ يُ َغ ا ِد ُر َس َق ًاًم‬،‫الَ ِش َف ا َء إِ َّال ِش َف اؤ َُك‬ Get rid of the hardship and heal, O Lord of the People, you are the Healer, and there is no healing of disease like Yours. Let it be healing that is not betrayed by sickness. - Prophet Muhammad ‫ ָדיַ ן‬,‫ֹלהינּוּ ֶמלֶ ְך ַהעֹולָ ם‬ ֵ ‫ָָּברּוְך ַא ָָּתה יהוה ֱא‬ ‫ַה ֱא ֶמת׃‬

BY ZOE HACK ‘24

looks different from semester to semester, what stays constant is my focus on building in time to care for my mental well-being into my schedule in between time spent studying or finishing up large assignments.

One thing that I find very helpful is using the Pomodoro technique to incentivize my work while also allowing myself a brain break.

This technique consists of working for a specified amount of time and then taking a short break equivalent to a fraction of the time spent working. In order to actually give myself a brain break, I do not spend it on my phone scrolling through Instagram but instead doing something that I enjoy, such as sewing or drawing something on my iPad then I will get back to work and be extra productive, eager to reach my next break.

While midterms can be stressful, there are many different ways to find support on campus. Collaborating with other students while studying for exams can be a great way to field your questions and become more confident in your knowledge of topics, hopefully leading to less worrying about how well you know the content of your exam. And always remember that we have mental health resources available to you for free! Visit Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) on the 2nd floor of the Student Wellness Center for more information regarding services offered.

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT

Alphonse Mucha

BY ITAI GELLER ‘26 In this week’s issue of Artist Spotlight, I will be covering the famous Czech illustrator and printmaker Alphonse Mucha, a profound member of the Art Nouveau movement who influenced some of the best Art Nouveau illustrators, including J.C. Leyendecker. The Art Nouveau movement primarily promoted the infusion of fine arts techniques into more contemporary methods of artistic expression, taking inspiration

from organic forms. It was born prior to the beginning of the First World War, a time of rapid commercialization, industrialization, and development of newfound social values. Art Nouveau pieces essentially documented this cultural shift, as illustrators at the time typically published their work in popular media commissioned by newspapers, magazines, and local businesses to promote products or events. However, unlike artists such as Leyendecker, who primarily focused on graphic design for commercial products, Mucha’s pieces have a whimsical undertone. This is due in part to his heavy involvement in the promotion of theatrical performances and occasional experimentation with allegorical media.

One of my favorite pieces

by Mucha is called “Evening

THAT’S A RED FLAG!

Casual misogyny and red flags

BY ANNA DABROWSKI ‘26 Red flags are easier to sense when people are overtly sexist. However, in this day and age, many people are not overtly sexist due to fear of being canceled. This makes it harder to determine what people in your circles may have harmful views towards women. I have compiled

some red flag tells that should make you pause and think about your interactions with a person.

Have you ever gotten dressed up after a long week of school to go out and have a fun night with your friends?

This is a pretty common practice, but oftentimes men will comment on a woman’s appearance in this scenario.

Tons of women like to go to bars or parties and dress up for fun, but some people will say that these women are sexualizing themselves for other men. This is an extremely sexist red flag, because women can wear clothes that are just for their own enjoyment.

The idea that women can’t just dress the way they want to, because they want to, is

very outdated. Additionally, claiming that women sexualize themselves with clothing for the purpose of attracting attention from men creates a victim-blaming mentality when incidents such as sexual assault occur.

Speaking of such incidents, let’s talk about the “not all men” conundrum. Sometimes when women bring up important topics such as sexual assault, they are immediately met with combative language. Men will immediately respond with “not all men” or “false allegations exist.” Both of these statements are true, but statistically speaking, the general consensus among academics and observational studies conclude that only between 2% and 4% of sexual

10

Friday, October 20

Campus Pulse

Bella Gargano ’25

James Barbi ‘26

Lily Stone ’26

“Crime.”

“Shoot, what wouldn’t I do for $15?”

“Do a little jig.”

ROVING REPORTER

By Rafael Lee Li and Mia Petrolino

Michael Cunningham ’24

“Eat campus food.”

“What would you do for $15?”

Aidan Clifford ’ 24

Tasha Khosla ’25

Audrey Lee ’27

“Do a single Routh table.”

“Climb up all 20 flights of stairs in the Harries Tower.”

“Do a push-up.”

Cleopatra Mozolewski ’26

Hidden Links

Crossword by Jack Scherban ACROSS ͳǤ ̵

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ͺǤ ͻǤ

ͳͲǤ ͳʹǤ Ǧ Ǧ ͳ͵Ǥ

Nonlinear Word Search ǡ ȋ ǡ ǡ Ȍ 13 Ȁ Ȁ mystery categoryǤ Ǥ ǡ ǡ Ǥ

DOWN ͳǤ

ʹǤ ͵Ǥ ǡ ͶǤ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ǡ Ǥ Ǥ ͷǤ ͸Ǥ ͹Ǥ ͳͳǤ

Only Connectǡ Ǥ ǡ ǡ ǡ Ǥ “nouns”. “places”, etc. What do the following have in common?

Ghostbusters ǣ ̴​̴​̴

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Sudoku

“Manual labor for roughly an hour.”

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