[The Stute] December 1, 2023 (Issue 12, Volume CXXI)

WE GOT ON THE PODIUM FOR THE SANTA COMPETITION!!

We write Stevens history VOLUME CXXI No. 12

HOBOKEN, NJ | DECEMBER 1, 2023

NEW SGA LEADERSHIP

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Dr. Jeong Kim receives the National Medal of Technology and Innovation at the White House

BY EVAN PAPAGEORGE, OPINION EDITOR

Meet Nick Smith, Meet Olof, SGA Vice incoming SGA President President of Operations

BY SHANE MITCHELL, STAFF WRITER Following an unopposed election, Nick Smith has officially become the Student Government Association President-elect, where he is set to lead the organization for the upcoming Spring and Fall semesters. Smith’s long-time friend and running mate, Olof Persson, has won the election for Vice President of Operations, as SGA elections utilize a joint ticket for the roles of President and VPO.

To learn more about the incoming administration’s goals, The Stute spoke to Smith about his personal history and long-term vision for change.

Nick Smith is a thirdyear student studying business and technology. He has had multiple involvements outside of SGA, including his ongoing membership on the Men’s Fencing Team, his work as a Research Assistant, and his previous role as Peer Leader Coor-

SEE NICK PAGE 2

“DuckLink 2.0” gearing up for Spring launch

BY BEN KNOBLOCH, NEWS EDITOR The way that students discover and interact with campus organizations is about to change substantially, as the old DuckLink application is soon to be decommissioned and replaced with a new version. The new incarnation of DuckLink shares much of the same functionality as the app with which Stevens students are familiar. However, it features a larger suite of tools and services and an overhauled user interface developed by Campus Groups, a private campus engagement platform.

Campus leaders, in most cases the designated presidents and treasurers of registered organizations, have been extended pilot access to the service so that organization pages can be prepared ahead of the launch.

This process has included the migration of files from the old DuckLink and the granting of officer status to club eBoard members. Full access to the platform will be extended to all undergraduate students by January 1 of next year, according to the Office of Student Life.

The new DuckLink was built on Campus Groups, a platform by Ready Education that also serves other NEWS (2-3)

New SGA leadership elected Nick Smith and Olof Persson were elected as SGA President and Vice President of Operations, respectively. What are their plans for their term?

FEATURE (4-5)

Winter is here!

Read about all things winter including how to stay safe, warm, well-fed, and happy.

universities and colleges.

It places a much larger emphasis on peer-to-peer connections and networking than the old DuckLink, prompting new users to customize their profile and explore a directory of campus connections, from which users can directly launch chats with other users. Users can search this directory manually or by filtering for profiles that indicate shared interests and group memberships.

Organization pages have been dramatically enhanced and now aim to be the central digital hub for Stevens clubs, essentially creating web pages for each organization. The dashboard still allows for event creation and file sharing, forum and discussion pages, a customizable website menu view with a configurable URL, direct channels to send email announcements and surveys to all active members, and other widgets including custom badges and workflows.

Most campus organizations currently rely on separate platforms, like Slack or Discord, for intra-community communication and planning, but this overhaul aims to make DuckLink a centralized app for running groups and events.

SEE LINK PAGE 2 SCIENCE (6)

Brain implants?

New mosasaur species?

Biological nanobots?

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

PULSE (12)

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

BY RIYANA PHADKE, SCIENCE WRITER Olof Persson will be presiding over the Student Body as the Vice President of Operations (VPO) of the Student Government Association (SGA) for the upcoming 2024 term. He prevailed in recent student elections along with Nicholas Smith, who will be the President of the SGA. The Stute spoke with Persson to hear more about his goals and involvement on campus.

Olof Persson is a com-

puter science student in his third year of study from Houston, TX. He has been an active member of the Stevens community since he joined the Ducks in the fall of 2021.

Persson has certainly made a name for himself during his time here at Stevens. He has been a peer leader and tour guide for multiple semesters, and can often be seen giving tours to prospective students around the campus. He is also a

SEE OLOF PAGE 2

In a ceremony at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S. President Joe Biden presented the National Medal of Technology and Innovation to Dr. Jeong H. Kim, an honorary doctoral degree recipient, lecturer, and Commencement speaker from Stevens Institute of Technology. The event on October 24 marked a significant recognition of Dr. Kim’s groundbreaking contributions to engineering and technology, particularly in revolutionizing modern communication methods.

Standing in the East Room of the White House, President Biden lauded Dr. Kim for his pivotal role in advancing broadband optical systems, data communications, and wireless technologies. These advancements, the citation emphasized, have not only accelerated and clarified communication but have also bolstered battlefield communications, thereby enhancing national security. The ceremony underscored Dr. Kim’s embodiment of American entrepreneurship and innovation, values crucial for the nation’s progress.

Amidst applause from the audience, President Biden

draped the prestigious medal around Dr. Kim’s neck as photographers captured the moment. Reflecting on his journey, Dr. Kim shared sentiments about seizing opportunities and defying the odds, stating, “When you have lived a life … a tough life, then you feel like, you know, you’ve got nothing to lose, and everything’s an opportunity. Most people think the chance of success is less than 5%. But 5% is good enough for me.”

Dr. Kim expressed his gratitude for the honor, remarking, “Receiving the Presidential Medal of Science and Innovation from President Biden was the honor of a lifetime.” His acknowledgment reflected the culmination of a remarkable career marked by transformative contributions to the technology field.

President Nariman Farvardin commended Dr. Kim for exemplifying the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship that inspires the university’s faculty, students, and alums. Acknowledging Dr. Kim as a valued member of the Stevens community, Farvardin expressed pride in the accomplishments of the distinguished honoree.

This recognition is not the

SEE MEDAL PAGE 2

Troubles abound with Spring 2024 registration

BY TANYA AVADIA, BUSINESS MANAGER Every college student embarks on the semesterly challenge that is registering for classes; All each student really wants is to face minimal stress and craft an ideal schedule. Due to a number of unexpected hitches in the process, registration for Spring 2024 at Stevens was, unfortunately, an unecessarily stressful ordeal for many students.

Alongside the usual competition to get into certain courses or course sections, this year there were some unprecedented issues that students had to deal with.

The Stute had the opportunity to speak with Jared Donnelly, the current Vice President of Academic Affairs of the Student Government Association (SGA), and Nick Smith, the Chair of the Academic Affairs Committee of the SGA, who provided insight on what went wrong during the registration process and the actions being taken to prevent this from happening again.

One issue was that upperclassmen Pinnacle Scholars improperly received priority in registration. First-year Pinnacles are given priority registration, meaning that they register on the first day of registration at the same

Nocturnal exploration: students and administrators time as in-season varsity examine campus safety athletes and students who have senior standing in credit. This has been done in order to ensure all first-year Pinnacle students can enroll in the Pinnacle Seminars necessary for them to fulfill their requirements. Since the seminars are usually meant to be taken their first year, first-year Pinnacles need to tailor the rest of their schedule around it, and that requires getting into certain course sections, which can best be done through priority registration. However, past their first year, Pinnacles aren’t supposed to retain this priority status.

Donnelly spoke about this, stating, “From my current understanding, there was an issue when updating the registration information since moving to Workday.

However, after conversations with the Office of Undergraduate Academics and the Registrar earlier this month, the problem seems to be fixed and should be integrated into new workflows so it shouldn’t arise again.”

Another issue specifically affected School of Business students, causing many of them to be unable to register for their school and major specific classes when registration opened. This

SEE CLASS PAGE 3

BY EVAN PAPAGEORGE, OPINION EDITOR In a collaborative effort to prioritize safety on campus, a group of student leaders and administrators explored potential safety concerns, focusing on nighttime lighting. The initiative, which took place after sundown on November 9, brought together representatives from various student organizations, including The Stute, the Gear and Triangle Society, and the Student Government Association (SGA), alongside critical administrators such as the Dean of Students, Environmental Health and Safety officials, Facilities and Campus Operations personnel, and members of the Stevens Police Department.

The journey commenced in the Babbio Atrium, where the group examined the lighting systems, identifying areas for improvement to suit the space’s functionality better. Venturing beyond the indoor confines, the group navigated through critical areas of campus, including McLean, Edwin A. Stevens Hall, and Carnegie Laboratory, before reaching

Hudson Street. Along the way, student leaders raised concerns about insufficient lighting in specific locations, prompting the administration to take note.

Passing by the River Terrace dormitories, the ABS Engineering Center, and Nichols Laboratory, the group examined potential issues related to landscaping and space utilization that might impact lighting. They proceeded by the path along the athletic field before discussing the lighting of the Eighth Street Parking Lot. The exploration continued down Castle Point Terrace, towards the North Building, and concluded with a stroll through the upper campus, stopping at Castle Point Hall, Wittpenn Walk, and Davis.

Throughout the nocturnal expedition, students identified areas of potential concern stemming from inadequate or misdirected lighting. Administrators, in turn, contributed insights and examples, fostering a dynamic dialogue on plausible solutions and the appropriate channels for reporting concerns, such as malfunctioning timers or

SEE WALK PAGE 3

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News Masthead Volume CXXI No. 12 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 ‘25 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 Shane Mitchell Riyana Phadke Rocco Vaccone Arthur Serra Meghana Mamadapur Jiya Jaisinghani Advait Dantuluri Douglas Sousa Katelyn Chiurri Aditi Shilawat

Abby Jacobs Nicole Cheung Ethan Kleschinsky Tianna Spitz Hima Thummala Rachel Abraham Liz Sepulveda Stephen Pachucki Jack Scherban Shreya Roy

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Corrections “Profession” should be “Professor” in title of the 11/17 article about Hongbin Li

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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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All members of the Stevens community are able to submit a standalone opinion piece (otherwise known as an Op-Ed) to be published in The Stute. Op-Eds must be between 400 – 800 words, but longer submissions will be considered on a case-by-case basis. To submit an OpEd please email eboard@thestute.com with your name and title (when applicable) or using our Google form (tinyurl.com/submit-t0-stute). For writers who wish to write an Op-Ed anonymously, please see our policy on anonymity.

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Provided that the author approves the final version, The Stute reserves the right to edit Op-Eds according to our copy editing procedures, defined in our policies.

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NICK

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 dinator – where many first-year students may have seen him in action. Smith felt that his experience as Peer Leader Coordinator provided an alternative perspective and new insights, saying, “As someone who interned corporate before, this role was very unique because it gave me direct ownership of almost everything I was working on.” He carries this idea of ownership and mutual trust through to his work in SGA, where he expressed that one of his top priorities as President is to ensure that “the student body and the dedicated members of our SGA trust me and feel trusted. If we can establish this, everyone can feel free to advocate for the things that matter to them most and we as a student government can better the student experience.”

As for his motivations behind running for SGA President, Smith outlined three core objectives. His goals are “to continue the work of the people that came before [him], empower [his] peers, and get the most senior leaders of our institution to include a student at the table in all decision-making.”

For the first of these goals, Smith plans on analyzing the cumulative work of previous administrations

OLOF

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 course assistant for CS 442, Database Management Systems. He has spent much of his time with students and faculty, and notes that his passion for student engagement stems from his various encounters with the student body.

Persson is also on the Stevens’ Men’s Tennis Team, where he plays doubles tennis and often side-line coaches singles matches. When asked about what he loves about the tennis team, he told me that he enjoys being able to stay active in college and be part of something bigger than himself. He enjoys the team atmosphere that the tennis team carries, and brings this value into his goals for the Student Government Association (SGA).

To really put Persson’s dedication to the Stevens community over the top, he is also part of the Stute, the very newspaper that you are reading now! As head photographer, he manages photo assignments and works to ensure all the photos used for the Stute website and physical newspaper are properly sourced and credited.

Persson’s role as VPO will not

MEDAL

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 first between Dr. Kim and Stevens.

In 2012, while serving as the president of the renowned Bell Labs and chief strategy officer for Alcatel-Lucent, Dr. Kim delivered the graduate Commencement address at the university. Dr. Kim also received an honorary Doctor of Engineering degree on that occasion.

The relationship between Dr. Kim and Stevens continued to flourish, with the entrepreneur delivering the annual Thomas H. Scholl Lecture by Visiting Entrepreneurs in 2014. During this lecture, Dr. Kim addressed a captivated audience in the DeBaun Auditorium, showcasing his insights and experiences.

Beyond his contributions to technology and entrepreneurship, Dr. Kim has maintained a longstanding role in civil service. Having served as a naval submarine

LINK

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tinyurl.com/stutesubmit

The original DuckLink, developed on the Engage platform, was launched in 2017 and replaced DuckSync, its predecessor, in an abrupt transition that was announced only a day before DuckLink came online. That happened because DuckSync’s platform,

to determine which unfinished objectives are viable and which aren’t. He then wants to proceed with any of the objectives that are still relevant and impactful to Stevens students today. Smith summarized his second goal, saying, “It is a priority of mine to make it known that my peers have the opportunity to advocate for themselves.” He emphasized the important role of the SGA in this process, describing the organization as a “vehicle for change.”

For his final goal, Smith wants to tackle the lack of communication between students and university administration, which he characterized as a national issue. “While I think we should be very thankful that at Stevens we are not having problems like some other institutions are having, there is certainly room for student opinion in the highest level of university leadership,” Smith explained. “Our staff are so willing and ready to help us, but general opinion sometimes feels like student voices only go so far.” While this is certainly a multifaceted objective, Smith plans to accomplish it bythrough a combination of leveraging existing administrative connections and establishing new connections between the SGA and campus administrators.

While the President and Vice President of Operations have both been selected by vote, multiple

cabinet positions are currently in the process of being filled by the incoming administration. This year’s selection process is unique, as it will no longer consider previous SGA involvement as a deciding factor. As Smith explained, this decision was made to eliminate many of the hindrances that applicants faced in previous years.

“Seniority and experience in whatever the involvement may be [are] typically given strong preference,” said Smith. “This drastically limits the pool of people interested in a leadership role when you consider someone’s background in the respective organization.” The result of this new policy has been an astounding increase in the diversity of applicants, with roughly half of the cabinet applicants having no previous experience in SGA. While the cabinet positions have not yet been formally filled, this year’s cabinet could have a drastically different makeup than those of past administrations.

As a final remark, Smith expressed his intent to reframe the SGA’s reputation on campus, saying, “Most recently, the SGA played the enforcer role of the student body and… student orgs.

I will work very hard to shift this rhetoric… more towards being problem solvers… and supporters [of] students needs, so we can get back to our mission of advocating for students.”

be his first major position in the Student Government Association, as he has served as a senator on the Academic Affairs Committee and Rules Committee, chairing both committees at different points of his career. He has also held a cabinet position before, as he was the Vice President of Academic Affairs as well. Persson was inspired to run for the position of Vice President of Operations (VPO) because of the activities that he took part in over the last couple of years at Stevens. He wanted a more personal role in the expansion of student representation and student voice on campus. He noted that he was encouraged to run by his partner Nicholas Smith, who has very ambitious plans for his term as president. Olof is looking forward to helping Smith achieve his goals, but is also driven to accomplish his own goals. He wants to help facilitate a more welcoming and community-based environment among SGA senators and the Cabinet.

During our interview, Olof noted that the members of the Senate are extremely motivated individuals and that oftentimes, business discussion overtakes friendly conversations. He hopes to foster a more dynamic community within the SGA, mainly by opening the or-

ganization to more students from Stevens by creating positions that will enable people to participate in the SGA without having the full responsibility that members of the Senate and Cabinet are given.

“I believe in bringing in new voices. We obviously want more senators, but it’s more important to get more people involved,” says Persson.

Olof and Nick’s 2024 term will focus around the theme of community engagement. The pair are pushing and encouraging students who are not currently involved in the SGA to apply for Cabinet positions. This will be the first year where SGA experience will not play a significant role in choosing whether a person will be selected for cabinet. The goal of this new method is to facilitate more Stevens engagement, and allow more people to understand how the SGA works.

“Join the SGA,” Olof said, over Peirce dining hall food. “No matter what role you’ve had on campus before or what you do on campus right now, the SGA plays a part in what you’re doing. We’d love to have new voices and opinions come in to make the most educated decision towards the betterment of the student body.”

officer for seven years, he has also lent his expertise to intelligence and advisory bodies, including the External Advisory Board of the CIA. In 2014, as the founder, chairman, and CEO of Kiswe Mobile, Dr. Kim received France’s highest award, the Legion of Honor. He has actively recruited and placed Stevens graduates in various ven-

tures throughout his career, solidifying his commitment to fostering the next generation of innovators.

As the nation recognizes Dr. Jeong H. Kim for his trailblazing work, his story stands as a testament to the indomitable spirit of American ingenuity and the enduring impact of those who dedicate their lives to advancing technology and innovation.

PHOTO COURTESY OF STEVENS.EDU

OrgSync, was purchased by CampusLabs, which owns Engage.

In contrast, the transition to the new DuckLink has been in progress throughout this semester, and the transfer of member information and files has been completed manually by individual club officers. It is also a true change to a separately owned platform; Stevens’ contract with CampusLabs will come to an end on December 31, when the switch to Campus

Groups and the new DuckLink will officially occur. Club information, such as constitutions and images, that haven’t yet been migrated by that date will be lost, according to Undergraduate Student Life. To student leaders: we advise you to get on it!

When granted access, students can access the new DuckLink through a new URL, ducklink.stevens.edu, or via the my.stevens. edu application page.

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News CLASS

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 was due to an error with some sort of safeguard put in place prohibiting students from registering for those classes. Lisa Cavanaugh of the School of Business Center for Student Success avidly communicated about this situation with students and provided guidance on what they can do to enroll in their necessary courses once the issue was resolved. Another School of Business-specific issue was that, for many of the core courses, there weren’t sufficient seats or sections to accommodate all students. Students registering after the priority date initially dealt with closed sections and waitlists and heavy competition for registration. While it is unclear why there weren’t enough spots compared to the number of

students, working with the Registrar, more sections were created and the number of seats per section was increased for certain classes.

Yet another compounding factor was that students were generally not able to get into certain classes, particularly humanities courses. Like every school, the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (HASS) reserves much of their offered courses for the students within their school.

This is done so that those students can have open access for getting into necessary courses in order to fulfill their requirements. While this is a very important step, it also meant that the competition for the unreserved spots was markedly higher. It also added the additional pressure for students scrambling to find another course to take when realizing the one they were initially interested in at HASS was

closed or only open by waitlist.

All of these situations go to show how the registration process needs to be refined. While there will always be conflicts, many of the problems faced by students this time around created unnecessary stress for students, academic advisors, and others in the process alike. Smith shares his views on this, stating, “Something needs to be done to ensure there is a clearer process going forward, or students need to be communicated to about all of these new safeguards that were put in place (reserved seats, waitlists, etc) so that we can plan better when we schedule next year.” He also explained that a top priority of the SGA is to work on this with the Office of Undergraduate Academics to ensure that registration for future semesters is easier and runs more smoothly, for the good of students and staff alike.

NATIONAL NEWS WWI convictions of Black soldiers overturned

BY ARTHUR SERRA, STAFF WRITER The largest murder trial and the largest court martial in US history has come to a new conclusion over 100 years after it first ended. The U.S. Army has overturned the conviction of an all-Black regiment for mutiny following a new review of the historic proceeding.

In April of 1917, the United States declared war on Germany and joined the quagmire that was the First World War. The U.S. army of the time was slow and more accustomed to chasing down bandits along the Mexican frontier. To aid in training and recruitment, military training camps were built all over the country. One such camp was Camp Logan, a seven acre base in Houston, Texas. Houston was still a deeply pro-Jim Crow city, and 1917 was just 54 years after the Emancipation Proclamation was announced. When an allBlack regiment was sent to guard the camp’s construction, a disaster was guaranteed to occur.

On July 27, 1917, the all-Black 24th infantry regiment was sent to Houston. Nearly a month later, on August 23 of the same year, the Houston Riot of 1917, also known as the Camp Logan Mutiny, occurred. Throughout the month in between, racial violence and discrimination against the “Buffalo Soldiers” occurred. However, on August 23, a serious altercation occurred between Houston police officer Lee Sparks, and Corporal (Cpl) Charles Baltimore of the 24th. Cpl Baltimore was pistol whipped and beaten by Sparks and his partner, when Baltimore attempted to secure the release of one of his soldiers.

The regiment heard rumors of Spark’s death, and set up defensive positions around the camp,

fearing an attack by the police and a racially motivated mob. Spark ended up returning to the camp bleeding, but in the interim the White battalion commander fled his command. It was then that a sergeant led a company of the regiment out of the camp and into Houston where a melee occurred.

The incident ended when members of the Illinois National Guard and police officers ended the march, but 17 people were killed and 21 wounded.

The entire company was soon after court martialed, and put under the charge of mutiny, which carries the punishment of death.

In the ensuing three different trials, 19 men were hanged, and many others were sentenced to life in prison.

This decision was recently overturned after over 100 years, when the NAACP and South Texas College of law joined forces with New Jersey lawyer Jason Holt, a descendant of one of those executed.

Together they proved that the trial was completely mis-managed. Major Harry Grier, the man representing the Buffalo Soldiers, was not even a lawyer. He was given 10 days to prepare for a

court martial involving dozens of soldiers, and even admitted that mutiny had already been proven, something that worked against his clients’ best interest.

In 2022, when the request for a review of the proceeding was submitted, it was reviewed by three different parole boards. In the end, they submitted to the Secretary of the Army that there was a lack of physical evidence regarding mutiny. Furthermore, that having only one man—who wasn’t even a lawyer—represent 110 men after 10 days was enough for a mistrial today. Finally, although many of the Black soldiers were convicted, not one White soldier, police officer, or citizen was charged with a crime.

This evidence convinced the Army Secretary to approve setting aside the convictions, announced publicly in a statement on November 13. This means that the soldier’s descendants can now receive benefits, and that formal documents of Honorable Discharges have been drawn up and placed in official records. We can’t change the past, but we can honor the memories of those who had to suffer under the hands of injustice.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THEGAURDIAN.COM

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CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 burnt-out light bulbs. The primary objective of the evening, however, was not only to discuss these issues but to experience the campus at night and shed light on concerns invisible during typical business hours.

Despite the acknowledged issues across the campus, Facilities and other administrative departments are committed to maintaining an open communication channel with students rather than solely identifying deficiencies.

The collaborative walkthrough highlighted areas for potential improvement and established student representatives as conduits for ongoing communication with faculty.

In acknowledging the imper-

fections discovered during the walkthrough, Facilities expressed confidence in their ability to address and resolve the identified issues. They emphasized a forward-looking approach, admitting that new challenges may emerge as time passes. The overarching emphasis remains on growth and continuous improvement to ensure that the Stevens campus remains a haven for students to live and learn.

As the findings are processed and the campus sees improvements, the collaborative effort between students and administration underscores a shared commitment to safety and well-being at Stevens Institute of Technology. The nighttime exploration is a testament to the university’s dedication to proactive measures, ensuring that the campus is secure for all, regardless of location or time of day.

Are legacy admissions over?

BY ARTHUR SERRA, STAFF WRITER College admissions is one of the nerve wracking events in many young people’s lives. Part of why college admissions is so scary is because how much is unknown in the process. The idea of holistic admissions, although good in theory, often leads to it being impossible to know what true metric determines who receives an offer of admission and who does not. Last summer, the Supreme Court handed down a decision banning affirmative action regarding admissions. In other words, colleges and universities are no longer allowed to consider race when considering admissions. This put considerable pressure on both Congress and the Supreme Court to either go back on the decision, or also go after legacy admissions.

Legacy admissions, where colleges take into account whether an applicant’s family has a connection to the university, either as an alumni or as a donor, has proven to be a significant factor in whether or not an applicant is offered admissions to universities, top universities in particular. Now, in response to this pressure, there is currently a bipartisan bill on the floor of Congress that may put an end to legacy admissions.

The effort by Senators Tim Kaine (D-Va) and Todd Young (R-Ind), has resulted in the “MERIT Act,” or Merit-Based Educational Reforms and Institutional Transparency Act, which seeks to end all non-meritocratic considerations in college admissions. Young describes the bill, saying “our bill will end legacy preferences in the admissions process and promote upward mobility for Americans of all backgrounds,” also commenting that “America is a land of opportunity, not a land of aristocracy.”

The bill amends the Higher Education Act to include that colleges and universities that use non-meritocratic criteria will no longer be

accredited. The language of the bill states that no “preferential treatment” is allowed, which can include more than just legacy admissions. For example, it could be argued that it codifies into law that affirmative action is also banned.

This means that it would take more than a new Supreme Court decision to bring back affirmative action. The bill does, however, include a caveat that allows religious schools to use an applicant’s faith as a metric.

Many universities have already moved away from using legacy admissions, and more follow their lead every year. The schools that would be particularly hurt by this bill are schools that receive a lot of donations, such as the Ivy League.

It is feared—and for good reason— that if schools cannot give preferential admissions to those students whose parents have given substantial funds to that university, alumni may donate less money.

Another concern with the bill is that although banning legacy admissions is a significant landmark towards a more fair and transparent system, it affects a tiny percent of applicants. According to a study where admissions data was collected by Duke University Professor Peter Arcidiacono, only 2% of all admits were admitted with the help of legacy. The energy applied to the creation of it, it has been argued, could be better spent on other things.

Overall, this bill’s hope is to make admissions more fair and easier to understand for average Americans. It also has significant odds of passing due to bipartisan public support and many prominent members of Congress on both sides of the aisle speaking in favor of it. This, together with the recent affirmative action decision, will make college admissions in the coming years far different than when it was when any current Stevens student was applying for school.

Hoboken receives national attention due to climate initiatives

BY ROCCO VACCONE, CONTRIBUTOR National newspaper outlets and nonprofits alike have praised Hoboken for its strong climate initiatives. Under the leadership of Mayor Ravi S. Bhalla, the city has developed a robust Climate Action Plan, held a climate stocktake, and built infrastructure designed to combat storm damages.

Bhalla established the Hoboken Climate Action Plan (CAP) in 2019, one year after taking office. It determined a baseline carbon footprint for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and identified clear goals for the city to work towards for reduction. The most ambitious targets set Hoboken to be net zero by 2030 and carbon neutral by 2050. Net zero refers to producing or purchasing at least as much renewable electricity as is consumed. Carbon neutral means that the city will reduce or offset all of its carbon footprint. To achieve each goal, CAP proposes many actions

to improve Hoboken’s collective carbon footprint, ranging from phasing in Compressed Natural Gas buses into the bus service fleet to using anaerobic digester technology to convert wastewater into biogas that could generate electricity.

Flash forward to November 2023: The New York Times recognizes and applauds Hoboken for its climate incentives. However, instead of focusing on the holistic efforts undertaken by the city, they concentrated on its resistance to storm damage, especially compared to our sister city across the Hudson — a pertinent conversation after the metro area observed the wettest day on record in 2023. The key to Hoboken’s preparedness lies in two often overlooked sections in the CPA. The first addresses the Rebuild by Design initiative.

After Hurricane Sandy, the Department of Housing and Urban Development created a Rebuild

by Design competition for locally contextual solutions to increase resilience in affected regions and

awarded grant money to implement winning ideas. New Jersey received compensation for their proposal for the Hudson River Project: Resist, Delay, Store, Discharge. The project was a flood risk reduction strategy that spanned Hoboken and some parts of Jersey City. The first phase, an upgrade for the sewer system, was already completed.

The second section expanded upon the Rebuild by Design project by reporting Hoboken’s plan to use resiliency parks to combat stormwater flooding. A resiliency park is a park designed to withstand and recover from natural disasters. The city invested in three parks fitted with underground collection ponds and pumps, allowing them to store water during a storm effectively.

One new park, ResilenCity Park, stands firm at 12th and Madison as the largest resiliency park in New Jersey, featuring a size larger than five acres and the ability to detain two million gallons of water. It employs a flood pump that can transport thirty mil-

lion gallons of water daily to the Hudson River.

Recently, Hoboken hosted its first Climate Stocktake & mini-COP to evaluate the city’s environmental initiatives. COP stands for Conference of the Parties, referring to the 197 nations that agreed to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 1992. Following their agreement, these nations meet annually to discuss how to address climate change.

Similarly, Bhalla convened almost fifty stakeholders to identify weaknesses in the Climate Action Plan and potential updates.

Attendees varied from representatives of academic institutions, volunteer organizations, and business leaders. City planners will analyze feedback to help guide future policies and local projects. The collaborative event will also help Hoboken representatives better prepare to participate in the Dubai-hosted COP28 United Nations climate talks, starting on November 30.

As a result of the city’s ex-

pansive climate efforts, the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) labeled Hoboken as an A List City, the top score offered to only 119 global cities in 2023.

To put into perspective, Hoboken has undertaken around four times as many climate initiatives as non-A List cities. The CDP is an international non-profit that collectively works with financial institutions with $136 trillion in assets, providing an environmental disclosure system for companies.

You do not have to be a massive multinational organization to appreciate the high environmental standards that Hoboken is holding itself to. The national attention is a testament to the skilled leadership of Mayor Bhalla, the dedication of city planners, and the supportive community that collectively strives to make Hoboken a beacon of climate action. Every small step we take towards sustainable living echoes Hoboken’s initiatives, helping us inch closer to combating climate change.

4

Friday, December 1

Feature

WINTER IS COMING!

Winter-proofing your commute

fully just cancel or hold the class on Zoom anyways.

Finally, for those that live in Hoboken or on campus. While campus is only a few blocks away and it’s a short, it’s important to stay alert to the potential dangers that can occur during a winter storm. The first tip is to get a good jacket! I’ve tried layering and, while it does work with five or six layers, it’s so much easier and more convenient to wear a warm, wind-resistant jacket and one or two layers with it. Yes, you’ll have to carry it around all day, but trust me — it’s a game changer. Along with a solid jacket, a good pair of boots goes a long way. Not only are they warmer than sneakers, they also have better traction on the soles and can help avoid a dangerous fall. Another good way to help keep your balance is to keep your hands as free as possible and use them to steady yourself when needed.

These were just a few quick tips on staying safe this winter.

I’m sure there are a ton I missed, but this should be a good starting point for preparing yourself for the bad weather that inevitably hits at the worst times (... finals). Above all though, use your best judgment and be as careful as possible. Happy holidays, good luck with closing out this semester, and stay safe out there!

PHOTO COURTESY OF TRAVELERS INSURANCE

Unfortunately, the weather is getting colder, the leaves have mostly all fallen, and winter is coming soon. This means freezing rain, snow, ice, and the gross slush that’s left all over Hoboken after our typical winter storms.

Being properly prepared for these conditions is the best way to stay safe! Here are a few tips for both commuters and those that live in Hoboken or on campus.

Commuters — this time of the year probably sucks. Needing to drive or take public transit to campus everyday when the road conditions are less than ideal and it’s freezing out can lead to a lot of dangerous situations.

However, there are a few things you can do to prepare yourself and your car for the winter.

First off, for commuters that drive to campus: Check your car’s fluids! There are winter-specific windshield washer fluids that can help de-ice your windshield when needed. Pair this with a good set of wiper blades, and you won’t need to worry about visibility when it rains or snows.

Making sure your car’s coolant level isn’t low is another good habit. The coolant circulates through your heating system, and if it’s low, then not only is your car at risk of overheating and breaking down, but your heating within the car won’t per-

form as well as it could. The next tip is to check your tires. All-season or Winter-specific tires should be fitted, as they will give you more traction in icy or wet conditions. Ensuring they are aired up to the manufacturer’s recommended specification is a good idea too. Finally, have an emergency kit ready in your car at all times. This kit can include water, snacks, first aid supplies, a blanket, and emergency flares/ flashlights. You hopefully will never need to utilize this kit, but in case you do break down during a winter storm, it will be a life saver.

Next up, commuters that take public transit: It’s important to leave your home early when traveling during a storm. Leaving ample time to walk more slowly and carefully is a great way to be safe and still get to class on time. Another good tip is to know another route to get to campus in case your normal train or bus isn’t running for any reason. Maybe a different form of public transit is your best bet, or maybe even just going from another station could work too.

If we’re being honest though, missing a class isn’t worth your safety. If the storm is too harsh or your train/bus line isn’t working, email your professor about the situation and they’re likely to work with you. Whether that’s sending you the lecture slides or recording the lecture, your professor will understand and hope-

PHOTO COURTESY OF NJ.COM

BY DOUGLAS SOUSA, STAFF WRITER

Winter depression Often, we think of the winter season as a time of enjoyment, just coming from the end of festivities like Diwali and Thanksgiving, and moving on to winter break and enjoying Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa, New Years Day, and many other fun celebrations. A time to enjoy the gentle descent of snowflakes as our landscape turns into a new shade of white. However, not everyone feels the same way whenever Old Man Winter approaches. In fact, some people feel a sense of lethargy and depression whenever this time of year comes. Why is this,

and what can we do about this?

According to an article by the New York Times, people who often suffer a sense of lethargy and depression during the wintertime might be affected by a condition known as seasonal affective disorder (SAD), a type of depression that simultaneously occurs with the continuous changes of the seasons. Depending on where people live, it can affect up to ten percent of people living in the United States. It is a form of clinical depression, with symptoms that can start and stop in different months. These symptoms include near-constant and daily feelings of depression, loss of interest in activities and hobbies

you typically enjoy, changes to your appetite or weight, sluggishness and fatigue, trouble falling asleep at night or oversleeping during the day, or even thoughts of death and suicide. These feelings typically start in late fall or early winter, with the most severe symptoms occurring in January and February, and typically end during the spring and summer times, although there is a summer variant of SAD. It is usually common among women living in northern regions in the United States like Alaska or New England, and sometimes also runs in families.

It is theorized that SAD is caused by a shift in the biological

clock. The body normally produces melatonin at night to help the body to sleep. Melatonin decreases as the body prepares to wake up, ready for a fresh new day.

However, those with SAD struggle with the melatonin decrease, sleeping in the morning, creating a cycle of a lack of sleep and an increase in negative feelings. It is also theorized that SAD is caused by the negative anticipation of shorter days.

However, there are some suggestions that people have on how to deal with seasonal depressions.

Of course, first, consult a health professional before deciding to take action if you believe SAD applies to you. One solution that

people have is bright light therapy, where after you wake up, you sit in front of a light therapy box, which mimics sunlight, for about thirty minutes when you wake up, to stimulate your body and get the right hormones in order to go through your day. Another suggestion is cognitive behavior therapy, where you try to rethink negative thoughts in a more positive way. Taking antidepressant medication as well as walking outdoors is also a strategy that people take in order to reduce SAD. Taking these steps can help reduce the negative effects of SAD whenever the winter time comes and find the right energy to go through your day.

PHOTO COURTESY OF UNIVERSITY OF UTAH HEALTH

BY ADVAIT DANTULURI, OPINION COLUMNIST

5

Friday, December 1

Feature Winter fashion

BY MEGHANA MAMADAPUR, STAFF WRITER

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING WHEN TALKING ABOUT WINTER FASHION IS THAT YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE AND WARM.”

It’s official — happy December! With the season of hot cocoa, snowballs, light festivals, and cozying up to your loved ones, it’s important to discuss the most important thing: fashion. Here are some tips to help you decide how to look your best this season!

Let’s start with what is trending the most: oversized sweaters. Sweaters have always been fashionable, but the trend this year seems to be large, oversized sweaters. An oversized sweater has a longer look and provides the illusion of being more comfortable, almost like loungewear.

Other popular styles include cropped sweaters, cable knit sweaters, turtleneck sweaters, and even sweater vests. Sweater vests can be dressed up with a short or long-sleeved shirt underneath. Neutral colors also seem to be a popular trend, meaning colors such as white, cream, beige, brown, and gray.

Sweaters are also a sure way to stay warm, especially with the harsh winds of Hoboken.

Additionally, sherpas are seen

to be both cozy and sharp, fashionably speaking. Sherpas differ from fleece jackets in that they are woven differently without polyester, with fuzzy material on both sides. The lining feels extremely thick and is said to keep you warmer against the winter weather. Both fleece and sherpa jackets have the feel of a sweater but have a tougher exterior, allowing you to potentially wear one less layer when adventuring in the cold.

Another trend this season is leather: leather jackets, pants, bombers, and boots. Having an oversized leather jacket can keep you warm while looking fashionable. Leather pants are also a staple for going out as well as everyday wear. While most leather pants tend to be black or brown, green leather pants have started to manifest this season. Leather boots are also popular, as they can be worn to keep warm as well as to go out to a nice dinner or occasion. Dr. Martens’ leather boots have risen in popularity over the last few decades, continuing to stay fashionable.

If you aren’t into leather boots, many other brands have cozy footwear, such as UGGs. UGGs are popular for having different styles of fuzzy footwear, including slippers, ankle boots, and high-knee boots. For the more extreme sport athletes, many winter boots exist to help combat intense weather conditions. When skiing, snowboarding, or engaging in a similar sport, it is important to use the proper thick footwear to keep your feet warm and prevent blisters.

The last and arguably most popular trend is puffer jackets.

Puffer jackets have existed for many years but now serve as a fashion statement for people of all ages. The name “puffer jacket” comes from the puffed exterior that adds immense volume, but also adds a more protective layer against the cold.

Many styles including puffer vests, cropped puffer jackets, and drawstring jackets have become popular. Puffer jackets are generally warm enough to avoid having to wear additional layers,

season they have peppermint, sugar cookie, and cinnamon roll shakes which are all sponsored by the new Trolls movie, Trolls Band Together. I loved their peppermint shake and have to go back to try the rest!

bread and maple flavors. They even have the most delicious muffins that pair perfectly with their holiday specials. It is a little farther from campus but definitely worth the walk.

adding to the functionality of the jacket that makes it popular.

In order to elevate any outfit, accessories are a must. Winter accessories can help put together your look while keeping you warm. One popular accessory is an earmuff. Earmuffs cover your eyes, protecting you from the wind while preserving any type of hairstyle. There are also countless types of earmuffs, from large, fuzzy ones to knit.

Other accessories include hats and gloves, which also come in various styles. You can choose to sport a beanie or opt for a full monkey cap. Scarves are also popular during the winter, as they protect your neck while adding a pop of color or sophistication to any outfit.

The most important thing when talking about winter fashion is that you feel comfortable and warm. Adding layers and accessories during freezing temperatures can help prevent sickness while making you look as fashionable as ever. Make sure to stay bundled up and have a safe but fun holiday season!

Winter flavors of Hoboken Pumpkin is out, and peppermint is in! Thanksgiving is officially over, and it’s time to start preparing for the holidays. If you are anything like me, you are constantly searching for the best seasonal items on any menu, so definitely check out these places to not miss out on the holiday cheer: Merry Hot Cocoa Bar Merry Hot Cocoa Bar is back for the 2023 holiday season and is a must-try for cocoa lovers.

This place is a pop-up cocoa bar at the seasonal kiosk at Pier A Park in Hoboken and can only be tracked through their Instagram: @merryhotcocoa. They attract lines going down the block, and it is best to get there early.

Their menu ranges from original hot cocoa to s’mores flavored.

Even if you are not a cocoa lover, they serve different flavored ice cream, cookies, smoothies, and shakes to spread the holiday love.

Carlo’s Bakery It is no shock that Carlo’s Bakery made it onto this list!

They are already well-known for having been featured on TLC’s Cake Boss, and we have the original bakery right here on Washington Street. Every December, they come out with the bestthemed cakes and pastries! They

have creative snowman cupcakes and penguin cookies. They even have peppermint cannolis! Who doesn’t love cannolis?

Gong Cha I am a boba tea lover, and the minute I heard Gong Cha released a limited-edition gingerbread man bottle, I had to go get it myself. You can choose to have any kind of tea in the bottle and obviously have to Instagram it.

They even released Gingerbread Milk Tea which pairs perfectly with the gingerbread man. I personally love their Creme Brulee Brown Sugar Milk Tea, which never fails to get me into the holiday spirit.

Empire Coffee and Tea Co. If you prefer to make coffee yourself, Empire Coffee and Tea Co. gives you the best roasts to make holiday-flavored drinks.

They have Vanilla Macadamia Nut coffee beans, which I have been waiting to try, and Eggnog coffee beans, which are made especially for the winter season. If you don’t want the beans and want freshly brewed coffee instead, they have a little cafe where you can order “funky lattes” which include gingerbread and candy cane flavors!

Shake Shack Shake Shack is notorious for their seasonal shakes, and I was so excited to try Branch’s Chocolate Peppermint Shake. This

Joey No Nuts If you are afraid to go and explore holiday treats because of food allergies, this is the place for you! This is the cutest momand-pop shop that opened up in 2020 and is one of the best nutfree cafes in the area. I absolutely love their Oh Snap Espresso Latte, which includes ginger-

There are so many more places to explore in Hoboken, these are just some of my favorites.

As we get closer to the holidays, more places will release seasonal items and I am sure this list will get longer. Don’t be a grinch and go out and explore! Happy Holidays!

PUMPKIN IS OUT, AND PEPPERMINT IS IN!” PHOTO COURTESY OF GETTY IMAGES

BY JIYA JAISINGHANI, STAFF WRITER

6

Friday, December 1

Science Are biological nanobots a new treatment option?

BY ERIN MCGEE, SCIENCE EDITOR

APPLICATIONS OF THIS RESEARCH IN THE MEDICAL FIELD WOULD HAVE A TREMENDOUS IMPACT.”

It seems like an idea straight out of science fiction: sending a robot into someone in order to cure them of whatever disease they are facing. However, more and more research is being done in this field, and it is developing into a viable treatment. This concept has spawned a growing new area of research that connects the fields of medicine, engineering, chemistry, and physics, very well.

The idea that machines so small could impact the biomedical field is surprisingly nothing new. In the 1950s, famous physicist Richard Feynman commented in a university lecture that “[The fact that] enormous amounts of information can be carried in an exceedingly small space—is, of course, well known to the biologists, and resolves the mystery which existed before we understood all this clearly, of

how it could be that, in the tiniest cell, all of the information for the organization of a complex creature such as ourselves can be stored.”

Although it is not a treatment used on people yet, that’s not to say that huge developments have not been made in the field.

In 2009, scientists at Harvard developed a silicon nano-propeller, only 70 nanometers in diameter, that could be rotated by magnetic fields that were able to demonstrate the ability to move through real biological tissue. In 2016, another research group in Canada developed nano-machines that were proven to be capable of actually breaking into a tumor and delivering a drug designed to decrease the tumor’s size.

One of the largest challenges that come with designing a nanorobot that would go in the body is how to power it. Obviously, putting something electrical or chemically powered in the body

has its own challenges, so researchers have found other ways of making the robots move. One popular method so far has been using magnetism. As in the Harvard case, the robots worked by providing an electric field outside the body that would rotate the tiny propellers within, making them turn and move through tissue. Another group, researching tumors, provided motion by manipulating red blood cells, giving them a higher density and making them more receptive to ultrasonic energy. This allowed for certain red blood cells to be moved, while others remained, and thus the manipulated cells were again steered by an outside magnetic field. Furthermore, scientists in Barcelona who were researching bladder cancer treatments found a way to power their robots with chemical reactions, developing 300 to 400 nanometer robots that were fueled by the chemical reaction in the bladder that forms carbon

dioxide and ammonia.

The applications of this research in the medical field would have a tremendous impact. Precision treatment for cancers could be a huge alternative to invasive surgeries or dangerous chemotherapy. Researchers in the Barcelona study pointed out that “The clinicians tell us that … [the standard treatment] is one of the few things that has not changed over the past 60 years.” As such, nanotechnology could offer a solution that both saves lives and is better for patients.

Needless to say, the kind of technology that could help cure major diseases with robotics is a long way off, and so far there have been no instances of a successful “treatment by nanorobot.” However, as research in the field continues, it is inevitable that news of the latest progress in nanobiology will seem less like science fiction, and more like a possible reality.

Brain implant may named this species Jormungandr monitor lizards, which are large enable communication

BY KATELYN CHIURRI, Walhallaensis after a Norse sea lizards like komodo dragons.

STAFF WRITER serpent called Jormungandr and One question that has puzzled from your thoughts “Jurassic World” featured a a city in North Dakota close to scientists studying Mosasaurs is

Real life “Jurassic World” scene from an aquatic show similar to SeaWorld. Instead of a dolphin jumping out of the water though, a massive lizard-like creature sprung out of the water and ate a great white shark whole. Although exaggerated in the movie, this creature’s fossil was just discovered in North Dakota. When excavating a northeastern part of North Dakota, a fossil was found with a nearly complete skull, cervical spine, jaws, and many vertebrae. Analysis of this fossil was done by a Ph.D. student in comparative biology at the American Museum of Natural History’s Richard Gilder Graduate School, named Amelia Zietlow. Analysis and surface scanning of the fossil helped determine that this subject was a large aquatic lizard that lived during the late Cretaceous Period called a Mosasaur. Scientists

where the fossil was found called Walhalla. This species is a mix of the Mosasaurus, which grows to be about 50 feet long and lived with the Tyrannosaurus Rex, and the Clidastes, which is a smaller and less developed version of the Mosasaurus.

Based on the analysis of the fossil, this specific Jormungandr Walhallaensis was about 24 feet long, had flippers, had a shark-like tail that is shorter than its body, and had pointed eyebrows, which were shown by the raised bones on the front of the skull. They were fully aquatic, but scientists are not fully sure how many times Mosasaurs have evolved flippers, but they estimate that they evolved them at least three times. Because of their characteristics, scientists are not sure whether the Mosasaur is more closely related to snakes or

how all types are related to each other. This may seem incorrect because the first Mosasaur was discovered more than 200 years ago and the word Mosasaur predates the word dinosaur. Because of this, you may assume that we have found many different species of the Mosasaur but this is not true. The discovery of the Jormungandr Walhallaensis allows scientists to see a better connection between multiple species of Mosasaur. This is done through dating the fossils and determining how it evolved compared to other species before and after it was alive. Based on analysis, it is clear that this species lived before the Mosasaurus, about 80 million years ago. Thanks to the Jormungandr Walhallaensis, we now have a better understanding of the timeline of the evolution of the Mosasaur.

PHOTO COURTESY OF @STEVENSDUCKS ON INSTAGRAM

BY RIYANA PHADKE, SCIENCE WRITER This new technology was introduced in the journal Nature Communications on November 6, and may one day help people who are unable to talk regain their ability to communicate through “brain-computer interfaces.”

Gregory Cogan, Ph.D., a professor of neurology at Duke University’s School of Medicine noted that, “There are many patients who suffer from debilitating motor disorders, like ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) or locked-in syndrome, that can impair their ability to speak, but the current tools available to allow them to communicate are generally very slow and cumbersome.”

In the past, the best speech decoding rate available were devices that could decipher 78 words per minute. On average, people speak roughly 150 words per minute. Even with the best technology, the lag would cause a drag in conversation and prove relatively unuseful for patients with speech or motor disorders. This delay in information was largely due to the fact that few brain activity sensors could be fused onto the thin piece of material that lies on the surface of the brain. Fewer sensors available to track brain activity meant for less output received to decode.

The team from Duke University aimed to get past these limitations by making “high-density, ultra-thing, and flexible brain sensors.” Cogan worked with Jonathan Viventi, Ph.D. from Duke Institute for Brain Sciences in order to fit an impressive 256 microscopic brain sensors onto the postal-stamp sized piece of plastic. While 256 sensors may seem like a lot; the reality is that there should be even more — neurons that are right next to each other have varying activity patterns when coordinating speech, so it is necessary to to have sensors to

distinguish between signals of neighboring brain cells in order to make accurate predictions on the words that are going to be spoken.

Once the product was finalized, Cogan and Viventi worked with several neurosurgeons from Duke University Hospital, who recruited four patients to test the implants. The experiment involved temporarily placing the device in patients undergoing brain surgery for another disease, such as Parkinson’s disease. The experiment was relatively simple, however, time was of the essence.

“I like to compare it to a NASCAR pit crew,” Cogan said. “We don’t want to add any extra time to the operating procedure, so we had to be in and out within 15 minutes. As soon as the surgeon and the medical team said ‘Go!’ we rushed into action and the patient performed the task.”

Participants heard a series of skewed words, such as “kug” or “vip” and then spoke each one out loud. The implant recorded neural and speech data from the speech motor cortex, which was then fed into a machine learning algorithm to see how accurately sounds were predicted.

It was noted that the decoder got predictions right 84% of the time when the first sound of the skewed word was different from the rest of the word — like “g” in “gak.” However, accuracy dropped when two sounds were similar, like “p” and “b.” Overall, the decoder was accurate 40% of the time, which is actually quite impressive given that many decoders often require days of data and this decoder required a 15 minute test.

“We’re now developing the same kind of recording devices, but without any wires,” Cogan said. “You’d be able to move around, and you wouldn’t have to be tied to an electrical outlet, which is really exciting.”

The team has just received a 2.4 million dollar grant from the National Institute of Health to continue their project.

INTERESTED IN SCIENCE JOURNALISM?

Join our Science writing team!

Reach out to Erin McGee, Science Editor (emcgee@stevens.edu) for more information – No experience necessary to write – thestute.com/category/science

THE DEVICE IS NO BIGGER THAN A POSTAGE STAMP (THE DOTTED AREA OF THE WHITE STRIP) PHOTO COURTESY OF DUKE UNIVERSITY

7

Friday, December 1

PHOTO COURTESY OF STEVENSDUCKS.COM (SHOT BY ABIGAIL JACOBS)

Sports

ON DECK IN SPORTS FRI, DEC 1 WOMEN’S AND MEN’S TRACK & FIELD Mountain Hawk Opener–Day 1 Bethlehem, PA Time TBA WOMEN’S AND MEN’S SWIMMING The College of New Jersey Invitational–Day 1 Ewing, NJ 1 p.m.

Men’s Basketball hits a win streak

BY ABBY JACOBS, SPORTS WRITER Men’s Basketball hit a fourwin streak, following this 7263 win over Rutgers-Newark on Sunday, November 26.

In the season-opening game against No. 17 Catholic University, graduate student Stephen Braunstein managed 18 points, with junior Jack Spellman adding another 16. First-year Harmehar Chhabra and graduate student Conor Coffey followed close behind, dropping 10 and nine points respectively. Still, it wasn’t quite enough to secure their victory, as the Ducks faced a 74-79 loss on Saturday, November 11. This is the fourth year in a row that the Ducks have lost the season opener, and the second in

a row loss to Catholic University.

Wednesday, November 15 marked not only the beginning of the Ducks’ comeback but also Braunstein reaching 1,000 career points, 16 of which were during this game, 34 in total being as a Duck, and the remaining 971 occurring during his undergraduate years at the University of Scranton. He, along with first-year Xander Sinh, scored the first 10 points of the game for the Ducks, a boost towards their 33-22 lead at half. Spellman and first-year Kyle Maddison scored 14 and 12 points throughout the game respectively, eventually leading to the Ducks’ 70-44 victory.

Just three days later, on Saturday, November 18, the Ducks visited Braunstein’s former home

turf of the University of Scranton, bringing home an 85-62 win. Major contributions came from first-year Tommy Scholl who achieved a career-high of 14 points and five assists, alongside Spellman and Braunstein who both saw another 13 points added to each of their career tallies.

Braunstein reached a gamehigh of 18 points when the Ducks took on Baruch College on Tuesday, November 21. Spellman seized 19 rebounds, a career-high, as well as a team-high since alumnus Alec Dipietrantonio managed 20 in a win over Baruch in 2021. Faced with an administrative technical foul against them at the beginning, the Ducks accomplished a seven-point lead at the first half. The second half of the game saw few-

er points from both teams, but Stevens remained strong with a six-point margin, leading to their eventual win of 65-52.

This past Sunday, November 26, Braunstein saw a season-high of 21 points and went 9-10 in free throws. Coffey also reached a season-high of eight assists, and Spellman, along with 13 points, made a team-high of seven rebounds. The Ducks fell behind in the second half by a mere two points, but with an 11-point margin in favor of the Ducks at break, the team finished with a 72-63 victory.

After facing St. Joseph’s University Long Island this past Wednesday, November 29, the Ducks will take on Hood College tomorrow, Saturday, December 2, in Frederick, MD.

WRESTLING New Standard Corporation Invitational–Day 1 York, PA 2:30 p.m.

SAT, DEC 2 WOMEN’S AND MEN’S TRACK & FIELD Mountain Hawk Opener–Day 2 Bethlehem, PA Time TBA WRESTLING New Standard Corporation Invitational–Day 2 York, PA 9 a.m.

WOMEN’S AND MEN’S SWIMMING The College of New Jersey Invitational–Day 2 Ewing, NJ 11 a.m.

Fencing rounds out their 2023 campaign

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

BY RIYANA PHADKE, SCIENCE WRITER On Saturday, November 18, the men’s and women’s fencing teams attended the Columbia Invitational at Columbia University, where both teams faced tough challenges against their nationally ranked opponents.

The men’s team fell to Columbia 21-6 and to Johns Hopkins 225. Columbia is currently ranked second in the nation by the United States Fencing Coaches Association and Johns Hopkins is ranked second in Division III. The setbacks dropped Stevens’ record to 7-9 heading into the final event of the fall semester.

Despite the challenge, many fencers showed impressive skill on the strip. First-year epeeist Noah Tumibay, graduate student sabreur Dylan Woodward, and sophomore foilist Nick Reznick each posted two wins for the Ducks. Juniors Rocco Matthews, Nicholas Smith, Colin Mahoney, and graduate student Patrick Pan each won against Columbia Lions to finish out the meet. Against Hopkins, Reznick posted both of his wins, while Woodward, first-year Cyrus Erachshaw and junior John Morreale each won once.

“I was really happy with the way the guys fought today,” said head coach Jim Carpenter. “We fenced two of the tougher teams in the country and we got a number of solid, quality wins.”

The women’s team fought hard against Columbia and Johns Hopkins, falling 22-5 and 18-9 respectively on Saturday. The weekend leaves the Ducks with an 11-9 record as they enter their 2024 cam-

Trinity College (Conn.)

Hoboken, NJ 2 p.m.

MEN’S BASKETBALL Hood College Frederick, MD 2 p.m.

MEN’S FENCING Alumni Match Hoboken, NJ 2 p.m.

WOMEN’S AND MEN’S TRACK & FIELD TCNJ Winter Opener New York, NY 5 p.m.

SUN, DEC 3 WOMEN’S AND MEN’S SWIMMING

PHOTO COURTESY OF STEVENSDUCKS.COM (SHOT BY MIKE MCLAUGHLIN)

paign. First-year epeeists Grace Hicks and Zoya Duarte-Garcia each won three times to lead the team. Senior Alana Schmitt (sabre) and junior Arianna Daringa (sabre) each won twice for the Ducks.

Against Johns Hopkins, the Ducks fell 5-4 in epee, a narrow margin and an impressive feat against the ranked Division III team. Daringa and junior Alyssa Ip accounted for the Ducks’ victories across the two weapons. Junior Sofia Savchuk earned a win at foil to account for the Ducks’ victories on the day.

On Sunday, November 19, the men’s team rounded out their 2023 campaign with the first MACFA event of the year in New York City in an event hosted by Hunter College. The Ducks finished with a 3-2 record, with junior Mahoney finishing with eight wins and junior Morreale and graduate student

The College of New Jersey Invitational–Day 3 Ewing, NJ 9 a.m.

WOMEN’S FENCING Alumni Match Hoboken, NJ 2 p.m.

TUE, DEC 5 MEN’S BASKETBALL Brooklyn College Brooklyn, NY 7 p.m.

PHOTO COURTESY OF STEVENSDUCKS.COM (SHOT BY CARLISLE STOCKTON)

Woodward winning seven bouts.

Senior Erik Marran and first-years Tumibay and Kyle Stamis each one six times for Stevens. The team defeated Lafayette College, Rutgers University, and Rowan University, and fell to Cornell College and Drew University. Both losses

came down to a single point on the strips. Patrick Pan went 3-3 on Sunday, earning his 100th career win.

The women’s team will return to the strips in 2024, heading to the annual Eric Sollee Invitational, hosted by Massachusetts Institute

WED, DEC 6 WRESTLING United States Coast Guard Academy Hoboken, NJ 7 p.m.

STEVENS SCOREBOARD DATE

TEAM

SUN, NOV 26 MEN'S BASKETBALL MON, NOV 27 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

OPPONENT

RUTGERS-NEWARK UNIVERSITY OF SCRANTON

LOCATION

HOME AWAY

SCORE

W (72-63) L {54-89)

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Friday, December 1

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Friday, December 1

Opinion THE STUTE EDITORIAL

What I learned from football Over Thanksgiving break, I spent much of my time at my grandma’s house, where the prevailing entertainment was an endless broadcast of football matches. Though I fall into the category of individuals who suddenly discovered a fascination with the NFL coincidentally around the same time Taylor Swift began dating a football player, my tolerance for a continuous stream of touchdowns and tackles has limits. Amidst the football frenzy, I learned some insightful lessons that hold significance as we approach the final stretch of the semester.

Neon green is not for everyone: While I struggle to grasp the intricacies of most football games, one of the things I understand the least is the color choices of some team uniforms. Speaking of which, finals season in college is a lot like neon green — it doesn’t suit everyone.

Just as that bright hue clashes with certain complexions, certain study habits and methods might not suit everyone during this intense period. It’s important to recognize that each individual has their own unique approach to tackling exams. What works for one might not work for another, and that’s okay. The key to

success during finals is to embrace your own strengths, find what study methods suit you best, and not get discouraged if someone else’s strategies don’t fit your style. Similar to the bold choices of neon green in football uniforms, excelling in finals involves finding your own unique study strategy and recognizing your own shade of success.

Resilience and optimism: During the halftime break of the Seattle Seahawks versus San Francisco 49ers Thanksgiving game, the Seahawks found themselves trailing by a significant 21-point margin. Seeking to rally the team for the second half, their coach delivered a motivating pep talk. One key takeaway was the emphasis on leaving behind what had already happened and instead focusing on what’s ahead to finish on a strong note. They then proceeded to lose by a slightly reduced margin of 18 points, but that’s okay! The message of resilience still resonated, and this same mindset mirrors the upcoming three weeks. If you have encountered rough patches in the semester so far, it’s okay! You can’t change what happened in the past, but fostering a positive outlook for this last stretch can make a difference. Offer yourself a

pre-finals pep talk; perhaps you’ll finish stronger than the Seahawks did…

Time management: Understanding the value of time is crucial, especially as we approach the final weeks of the semester. Reflecting on moments spent watching football during Thanksgiving break, I’m not saying it was a waste of time, especially when I quite literally had nothing else to do. However, as academic demands intensify with pending assignments, final exams, and group projects, the significance of time management becomes increasingly evident. Football games can be lengthy, deviating from the standard notion of 15-minute quarters and often extending far beyond that timeframe for some reason.

It’s essential to strategically allocate time, which may include declining social invitations or skipping certain extracurricular events. At the same time, it’s equally important to prioritize personal relaxation and happiness. If football happens to be the thing that brings you joy, I’m happy for you. Be sure to strike a balance between responsibilities and self-care to navigate these demanding weeks effectively and spend your time wisely.

Interconnectedness through shared experiences: Football can

MIND OF A FRESHMAN

BY NICOLE CHEUNG ‘27 Let me set the stage. I just got back from a trip to Ohio (shoutout RHA!), and it was 8 p.m. in the airport when I had a realization: I have to register for my spring schedule the next morning at 7 a.m.

My brain teeters between the thought of “Oh, I’ll be fine. I’m scheduling three days earlier than the other first-years” and, “Oh my God, there’s still nothing left.” I work out the kinks in my preexisting schedule, checking if everything is open, and just start praying that it works because this is my only option.

Most business students have very packed Monday schedules in their second semester, having at least three and up to five classes. I have had relative success waking up for my 8 a.m. classes this semester, so I decided I would be okay starting early if it was my only option. My thought process is if I start early, I’ll end earlier, and then I’ll be free the rest of the day. So maybe it was rough to start at 8:35 a.m.

Isabella Ziv ‘25

Editor-in-Chief

SENIORITIS

Scheduling sadism on a Monday, but I’ll survive.

Especially since it’s Professor Virginia Conn teaching the course. I love her and I’d wake up just for her classes.

I also like having classes back to back, as my cluttered mind can’t take a one-hour break. I’ll either find a way to take a nap and miss class, get distracted with something and lose track of time, or spend my time in the UCC talking and being unproductive. So I scheduled most of my classes within 10-30 minutes of each other, thinking, “This is fine! I like it this way!” I lay my head on my pillow with my 6:30 a.m. alarm set, confident that things will work out. They have to work out. I kinda had no other options.

It’s reckoning time. I’m ready for war. I scheduled earlier than the other freshmen because I just really grinded in high school and have a bunch of credits. I was really depressed in high school, but at least I get to schedule early, y’know. Maybe the pain was worth it? 6:59 a.m. Refresh.

Refresh. Refresh. I’m in. Register.

I got all my classes except one. Okay, it’s okay, I just need to find another section. Wait, but that class section said it was open? It’s still open! Then I go into the details section, and they’re all reserved. Why couldn’t they just say it was closed for me? Don’t bait me like that, Stevens Workday.

So, I go through all the pos-

serve as a great excuse to bring relatives together, serving as a universal language that bridges generational gaps and provides a common ground for shared excitement. This unifying aspect of sports extends beyond the field, echoing the dynamics of the upcoming finals season. During this time, we’re all navigating the same academic challenges, juggling responsibilities, deadlines, and the weight of expectations. Our collective journey through this final stretch forms a bond between us, a silent understanding that we’re not alone in this academic struggle. The solidarity in our shared suffering can offer a sense of comfort and belonging. It’s in these moments of shared stress that we find a strange sense of unity, realizing that we connect on the struggle towards the common goal of academic success.

The Thanksgiving football marathon was more than touchdowns and tackles; it was a canvas for unexpected lessons. Just as each team finds its unique strategies, we also need to embrace our personalized approaches to conquering finals, embodying resilience, managing time, and finding unity in our shared academic journey towards success.

Thanksgiving thoughts sible electives, sciences, and higher-level humanities requirements (I already fulfilled all my lower ones with credits) available. I didn’t think this could happen, but not a single one was open, and it didn’t occur on a Monday. There was no way I was having an 8:35 a.m. that starts on a Monday and have five consecutive classes.

Also, my schedule was already so goofy because I had four classes on Monday and none on Friday. I sent my academic advisor an SOS email explaining my plight, and she responded back with two options. I either take an online science elective (Quantitative Biology) or a Business Law class that Business & Technology majors take in their last year. I’ve learned through Covid that online classes just don’t work for me, and a math-based science course such as Quantitative Biology, while I’m currently struggling in MA117 (business baby math), would drown me.

But my other option was barely even an option.

So, in the words of a good friend, “Just thug it out.” On the bright side, Quantitative Biology won’t take up any scheduled time, and I have one class on Tuesday. So yay? I just need to keep telling myself that this is character development and that scheduling will get progressively easier. I can’t even begin to imagine scheduling last. I am so sorry to my fellow first years.

BY ETHAN KLESCHINSKY ‘24 I have a lot of opinions on Thanksgiving and the decent-sized holiday break that we get because of it.

It is a rough break to navigate because there is so much to do, and you just do not have as much time as some of the longer breaks you get. Everyone is home, whether that is a good or bad depends on who you’re talking to. Personally, I like the occasional trip home to catch up on some sleep and just do nothing.

However, Thanksgiving break seems to prevent me from being able to take that time to myself, which can get irritating. It seems like I have to attend four different Thanksgivings due to relationships, family drama, and other strange sets of circumstances. It can be incredibly exhausting to have the same conversations with different people every day of the break up until I am

COMIC CORNER

BY LIZ SEPULVEDA

back in the car on the way to school. Coupled with the same food choices for a full week straight, come Saturday, I am at my wits’ end and just about boiling over.

The break isn’t all bad, though. Seeing family is fun, whether it is immediate or distant relatives. It can be fun at times to catch up with those you haven’t seen in a while. Sure, it’s awkward to navigate conversations with your one cousin who likes pirates a little bit too much, but it’s manageable and can even be nice to do once in a blue moon. The best part of the break in my opinion is seeing my friends from home, though we don’t talk much over the semester because everything gets overwhelming, and we can’t make time, but it is nice to get together and hang out like we used to before school was stressful. It’s weird going from very little communication right back to the way things used to be, but it’s comfortable. It’s nice to have those people in your life that you feel good enough around to be yourself even after a time away.

Whenever breaks happen, I feel like I am always scrambling to get things done and see the people I want to before having

to come back to school.

Thanksgiving break is so short, and I wish I had more time to see these people, but it is what it is.

I try to power through, realizing that it was my last Thanksgiving break here at Stevens is weird. I wonder if, in two years, I will feel the same way about Stevens that I do about home. I am always very excited to go home when given the chance, but maybe I am missing opportunities to cherish the moments I have now. Maybe I neglect some of the great friends I have made here because my mind is focused on seeing the people from back home. But who knows?

It’s all about finding a balance between the past and the present in order to set yourself up for the future, I guess. I hope I can maintain good relationships with everyone from home and here at school so that when the time comes, I won’t have regrets and can look back on all these years with content. Make the most of your time here, make the most of your time at home, and try to live a life that makes you feel good. I guess that’s all any of us can really do.

I hope you all had a good Thanksgiving and are recharged for the rest of the semester.

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Friday, December 1

Opinion BOOK OF THE WEEK

A POOLSIDE PERSPECTIVE

The Houseguest embraces Why do colleges the monstrosity of unseen figures invest in athletics?

BY TIANNA SPITZ ‘27 Amparo Dávila’s The Houseguest, published in 2018, provides a beginner’s handbook to feminist existential literature through short stories that embrace the uncanny and unseen.

Dávila’s storytelling style is compared to that of Kafka, Poe, and Shirley Jackson through the genre of magic realism reminiscent of Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s mark on Latin American literature. What is existential literature, how is it feminist, and why should Dávila’s published work matter?

The Houseguest introduces the reader to the question of individual will and determinism placed within the alienating restrictions of womanhood beyond Western standards. The intersection of feminist anxieties and violence within the household—a danger within—is neatly wrapped up in the genre of domestic noir in which The Houseguest depicts unseen monstrosity and madness brought on by a mysterious “he.”

The uncanniness lies within the gray area of affliction and madness, as the reader doesn’t know if the female protagonist is facing danger or simply losing their mind.

The Houseguest is a short read consisting of twelve short stories that can serve as a way to get out of a reading block or pro-

vide an unsettling bedtime story. The prose is concise and seemingly minimalistic, maybe an effect of translation, but the coldness and detachment offer a sense of malevolence in which the protagonist is desensitized. A taste of the plot is represented in the short story named after the title,“The Houseguest,” depicting the narrator’s cruelly controlling husband bringing home a mysterious and sinister guest to stay at their home and torment the narrator and her children.

The narrator’s solution to free her and her children from the unwelcome guest is brought on by madness, embracing the trope of “female hysteria” as rebellion, another mark of domestic noir.

To understand the existential work, it’s important to place The Houseguest within the Mexican origin of writing and highlight that Dávila’s work was originally written in Spanish and published with translations done by Audrey Harris and Matthew Gleeson. The initial layer of existentialism lies within the translators’ personalized choice of converting Spanish phrasing and sentence structure to English, in which the reader can only wonder what sentiment is salvaged and what is lost to Western language barriers. Further, Dávila is one of very few Latina women of the genre to have her work translated and made accessible to Western literature in which her existential narrative as a minority woman diversifies the male-dominated and whitewashed definition of existentialism, and more devastatingly, who gets to be considered an existentialist. While Western culture

assumes a narrative of individualistic pursuit against predetermination, Dávila is for the girls — or more so for the generation of women that silently adhere to expectations of womanhood that serve as an enemy to the male luxury of individuation and often manifest as the titles of wife or mother.

The Houseguest slowly contextualizes the terrifying entity from an undefined sense of calamity the female protagonist is trapped in the house to a focused archetype of an indifferent man inflicting madness through domesticity.

At its core, The Houseguest resembles violence within the household through a lurking presence or an emotionally absent “he” that the women, often wealthy housewives, must endure. Dávila’s depiction of existential dread reflects that of The Metamorphosis in combination with the absurdity of magic realism.

The feminist lens then provides a refreshing nuance of diversified voices in which Dávila brings her female protagonists to a call to arms to which I found myself searching for the unseen existential narratives within Western culture that silently endure.

PHOTO COURTESY OF NPR.ORG

Money adds up

BY HIMA THUMMALA ‘23 Money is a huge factor in everyone’s lives. We use it to pay for the groceries that we use to cook meals for ourselves and/or our families. We use it to pay for the clothing that keeps us warm in the wintertime. We use it to pay for the family and friend vacations that help us create memories that last a lifetime. However, something that we also use it for is reliance in a time of need and financial struggle. Money is a valuable resource that allows us to get back up after falling down, similar to a good friend supporting you when going through a tough time emotionally. If one loses a job, money is needed to fall back on to support themselves financially. If one has to pay for college extracurriculars, the extra money will help them not go through any financial damage. If someone loses something valuable and needs to make a purchase of a replacement, they should have money to help them do so.

All these examples describe

Michigan vs. Ohio State, Bama vs. Auburn, Army vs.

Navy — these are a few of the big college football rivalries played annually across the US. These matches, which are also streamed online and shown on live television, often feature sold-out stadiums of a massive magnitude. How big? Take Michigan’s football stadium, for example: it’s the biggest stadium in the Western Hemisphere and the third-largest stadium in the world, with an official capacity of 107,601. Calculate the number of seats by the average cost of a Michigan Wolverines football game ticket, $74, and you’re looking at nearly eight million dollars in revenue per home game. Of course, that’s only a rough estimate. So, how much do colleges actually earn from sports programs?

This past June, news outlet USA Today released a database of NCAA finances for college athletics programs. 22 programs surpassed a whopping $150 million in revenue for the 2022-2023 academic year. Leading the pack was Ohio State, with a total revenue of $251,615,345, but in total, the Big Ten league’s 13

lowing application cycle, and the Flutie Effect continues to be seen in public institutions, such as Alabama and Clemson, as well as private institutions, such as Notre Dame.

The result of colleges investing in their athletics programs is simple: They get both revenue and recognition for their athletic programs.

Do athletes benefit from this system? Not all of them, if the benefit is being measured by graduation rates. 52% of all NCAA Division 1 men’s basketball and 38% of Division 1 men’s football players who were on a full scholarship and required to be full-time students did not graduate, based on an estimation using the Federal Graduation Rate and the NCAA Division 1 Graduation Rates Database. Graduation rates seem much higher from the NCAA’s graduation rate statistics, but these statistics hide the truth by aggregating graduation rates across all NCAA sports, hiding the fact that the highest revenue generating sports have some of the lowest graduation rates.

A shifting landscape for college athletes accepting benefits and earning money for their name, image, and likeness has brought about a new generation of revenue-generating athletes. Even with a few athletes, like Louisiana State University—Baton Rouge’s Olivia Dunne, a junior gymnast, making seven figures, current earnings from college athletes are nowhere near that of their academic institutions. So, who is really winning in the high-revenue realm of college sports?

OFF THE PRESS

ADVICE FOR BROKE COLLEGE STUDENTS different potential circumstances that one may be in and that they need money to get out of, but what needs to be known is how to make sure that extra cash is there in the first place.

So, how much money should you save? The answer to this question typically varies from person to person, depending largely on their living situation and who else they may depend on financially, such as parents, guardians, etc. However, a good amount of money that will provide support for four to six months should be an adequate goal. It is important to remember that when one is putting together this money, it does not mean that one needs to take out a large chunk of six months’ worth of money and save it. Rather, small portions of money should be added to your savings each time. This sort of budgeting will add up in the long run, making a much smaller impact on your current money status for spending and a larger impact on your savings over time.

However, if one’s financial status increases, such as a job promotion leading to an increase in salary, one can make the choice of either changing the amount they put in their savings or they can spend more money and still only continue to save the same amount of money as prior to the increase in their salary.

It is also important to

BY KEENAN YATES ‘24

public schools had a combined revenue of $2.04 billion dollars. That profit is not strictly from tickets; ticket sales only make up a small portion of revenue. Other revenue streams include media rights, bowl revenues, royalties and licensing, donor contributions, and other sources. The majority of these revenues come from two sports, men’s football and men’s basketball, but less than 2% of college football and men’s basketball players will go on to play a single game in either the NFL or the NBA. In terms of monetary benefit, of the $15.8 billion in revenues generated in 2019, only 18.2% of that revenue was used as athletics scholarships, and a mere 1% was spent on medical treatments. Nearly double, 35%, was spent on compensation for coaches and administration, and 18% went towards new facilities and facilities updates.

In addition to being massive money-making enterprises, university athletics programs are also seen as a source of pride for students, alumni, and the local community of a given university.

And that’s not the only benefit — great college sports teams with high-profile games can even increase a school’s number of admissions, making for more competitive academic programs moving forward.

This phenomenon, known as the “Flutie Effect,” is named after Doug Flutie, a quarterback for Boston College who threw a Hail Mary to beat Miami in a nationally televised game in 1984. Applications to Boston College surged the fol-

know how valuable these savings can be, which means that they should not be used for situations for which it is not needed. Avoiding the temptation to use this money to purchase something that is not a real emergency should be maintained. If this sort of manner goes out of practice, it will not only result in a loss of money, but also an increase in potential future risk. It is not known what will happen to your current incoming salary, such as getting a lower salary due to your company’s possible financial issues or being fired and having no income. In this sort of situation, money will not be added to the savings, but rather taken away since it will be used for these kinds of emergency situations. This further shows why money should not be taken away from the savings as it is not known when you can no longer add to it.

Although money is a materialistic concept to many, it is also connected to our well-being as well. Similar to getting support from people, money allows us to prosper in times of need when emotional support is not enough. Many always think that they can start saving money tomorrow or another time down the road, but it is crucial to know that future money is not the only thing being lost here, but also the chance to help your future self in a time of need.

A Stevens Institute of Technology Christmas special (Part 1)

BY OFF CENTER -SatireOnce upon a time, on the brink of the freezing Hudson River, lived Atilla the Duck and his two alien friends, Spaghetti and Meatballs, who were planning on applying to Stevens in the near future in an interplanetary exchange student program. Spaghetti and Meatballs were watching Atilla the Duck engage in an ice skating competition with his archnemesis, Hailey Hawk, and exchanging witty insults and comebacks.

“Hey, Atilla, this is an ice-skating competition, not a showcase-you’re-an-idiot competition! Looking, I’m doing a figure 8!” says Hailey Hawk.

“Eight! That’s the score you got on the last math test!” laughed Attila the Duck. All of a sudden, they saw the breaking news on a New York City billboard. “Currently, Santa Claus won’t be coming for Christmas this year,” said the news reporter. “He left this note, reading: I’m so disappointed with how evil, selfish, and materialistic the world is becoming, so I decided to punish everybody by not coming and delivering presents.” Spaghetti and Meatballs looked at each other in terror.

“This is horrible! Now we will never get to experience the joys of Christmas! To unwrap presents, enjoy a big holiday feast, and enjoy a warm fire!” cried Spaghetti.

“But that’s what we did every day back on our home planet. It got so boring, we left and came back to Earth,” complained Meatballs.

“As much as I hate looking at that ugly face of yours, we need to work together in order to save Christmas,” said Hailey.

“I agree with you,” said Atilla. They decided to trek to the North Pole using Spaghetti and Meatballs old U.F.O. to travel. However, they discovered that it was infested with Pi-Rats, who decided to take over the ship.

“Argh!” said the Pi-Rat captain, Remile, “This is our ship now, so you landlubbers better scurry along now, oh we’ll make you walk the plank!”

“Not on our watch!” said Spaghetti and Meatballs. “Seriously, get off of our watch.

We can’t see the time if you’re standing on it.” However, the Pi-Rats quickly tied up Spaghetti and Meatballs, leaving only Hailey and Atilla. “I’ve got a plan,” whispered Atilla in Hailey’s ear before dashing off.

“Seems like your little friend got away!” laughed Remile.

“Well, he can be a bit of a coward sometimes, but he’s actually protecting our Golden Cheese located in Burchard!” said Hailey. “Uh oh, I said too much!”

The Pi-Rats went over to Burchard and saw a giant golden light! “That must be the Golden Cheese!” They crept in and saw what looked like cheese on a desk. They all jumped and started gnawing at it, only to realize that the cheese was actually glue!

With the Pi-Rats out of the way, everyone went away on the U.F.O. “That was a really clever

plan,” said Hailey.

“Thanks,” said Atilla.

When they finally got to the North Pole, they saw all kinds of people, like the Three Little Pigs, Red Riding Hood, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Hansel and Gretel, Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, Elmer Elevator, Boris the Dragon, Peter Rabbit, Anansi the Spider, Robin Hood, Momotaro, Zorro, and Frankenstein.

“What are you doing here?” asked Atilla.

“We’re here to see Santa too!” everyone said. “It’s the main plot of our Christmas special!”

“Christmas special? But it’s my Christmas special!”

“No, it’s mine!”

“Mine!”

“Mine!”

“Mine!”

“Mine!”

“Mine!”

“Mine!”

“Mine!”

“Mine!”

“Mine!”

“Mine!”

“Mine!”

“Mine!”

Spaghetti and Meatballs started to sing. “In a canyon, in a cavern, excavating for a…”

“Mine!”

“Mine!”

“Mine!”

“Mine!”

“Mine!”

“Mine!”

“Mine!”

“Mine!”

“Mine!”

“Mine!”

“Mine!”

“Mine!”

All of a sudden, they heard giant footsteps behind them.

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Friday, December 1

Opinion UNMASKING: AN AUTISM STORY

A compounded problem: The interaction between autism and mental health

BY EVAN PAPAGEORGE ‘26 In the vast landscape of neurological diversity, the intersection between autism and mental health is often overwhelmed by stereotypes and misconceptions. As society endeavors to foster inclusivity, there is a growing recognition of the need to address mental health concerns within the autism spectrum. Breaking free from the confines of outdated narratives, a wave of advocacy and awareness is sweeping through

communities, shining a much-needed spotlight on the mental well-being of those with autism.

In recent years, the conversation surrounding mental health within the autism community has gained momentum. It is a nuanced dialogue that goes beyond the traditional understanding of autism as solely a developmental disorder. Researchers, clinicians, and advocates are increasingly acknowledging that mental health challenges often coexist with autism spectrum disorders, demanding a holistic and empathetic approach.

One crucial aspect of this dialogue involves dispelling the myth that individuals with autism are not prone to other mental health issues. Contrary to outdated perceptions, people with autism may

grapple with anxiety, depression, and other mental health conditions. The unique experiences and communication styles of individuals on the spectrum can complicate the identification and expression of mental health concerns, making it imperative to foster an environment of understanding and support.

To address this gap, numerous organizations are spearheading initiatives to raise awareness about mental health within the autism community. Some initiatives include campaigns to destigmatize mental health discussions and provide resources for individuals on the spectrum. These efforts empower individuals, families, and communities to recognize, understand, and address possible mental health challenges.

One critical element of this awareness campaign involves equipping caregivers, educators, and support networks with the tools to identify signs of mental health struggles in individuals with autism.

Training programs focusing on recognizing nonverbal cues, understanding sensory sensitivities, and adapting therapeutic interventions have emerged as essential components in ensuring the mental well-being of those on the spectrum.

Moreover, the educational landscape is evolving to accommodate the unique needs of individuals with autism. Schools and institutions are increasingly implementing inclusive practices that consider the mental health aspects of neurodiversity.

Tailored support systems, counseling services, and

peer mentoring programs allow for the creation of environments that nurture academic and emotional growth.

One of the challenges faced by the autism community is the stigma surrounding mental health discussions.

Advocates emphasize fostering open, non-judgmental conversations to create a supportive culture. Personal narratives from individuals with autism who have navigated mental health challenges are proving instrumental in dismantling stereotypes and fostering understanding. These stories humanize the experiences of those on the spectrum and provide a platform for shared empathy and connection.

As mental health awareness within the autism community gains traction, there is a parallel push for increased research to bet-

ter understand the intricate relationship between autism and mental health.

Scientists are exploring the neurobiological underpinnings of co-occurring conditions and developing targeted interventions that address the unique needs of individuals on the spectrum.

In the pursuit of a more inclusive and compassionate society, mental health awareness within the autism community stands as a testament to the resilience and diversity of the human experience. The evolving conversation encourages us to embrace a more nuanced understanding of neurodiversity, challenging preconceptions and fostering a culture where every individual, regardless of their neurology, is supported in their journey towards holistic well-being.

STEVENS’ CHEFS RECIPE CARDS

It’s meat in a ball, do you really need a recipe?

BY KAYDEN CANNILLA ‘24 Homemade meatballs are fantastic, cheap, and easy comfort food. Frozen meatballs have always confused me; it’s meat in a ball.

You don’t have to be a professional to make a passable meatball. Though there’s not that much to it, there are a few important steps that can level up meatballs if you’re lost in the sauce.

When forming the meatballs, it’s important to not

overwork the meat. Before seasoning, try to touch the meat as little as possible.

You can pull it apart so it’s not a brick in your bowl as you sprinkle seasonings over it. Try to distribute the seasonings by moving the meat away from the sides of the bowl and folding it over.

Most of the seasonings will be distributed while forming, so don’t spend more than a few turns at this stage.

A good size for a meatball is small enough to mostly close your fingers around. I like to form them one-handed, to keep the other hand clean, but another good technique is to toss it between two hands. This technique creates a smooth, uniform shape without overworking.

Use 80/20 ground beef.

Leaner cuts will do the job, but this lean/fat ratio is really ideal for consistency. If

you’re set on leaner meat, I would recommend using a combination of ground beef and ground turkey. You can also play with flavors of ground pork or veal to level up the flavor. When thinking about what seasonings you want to add to your meatballs, consider what sauce you’ll be serving it with.

I’ve experimented with adding bacon to my recipe, and it did not play well into the sweet acidity of tomato sauce.

I like to bake my meatballs until they are mostly or entirely cooked through, and then fry them in olive oil to add a little crispiness on the outside. If I’m not sure, I slice into the largest meatball and see if there’s any pinkness. Honestly, as long as they aren’t raw, it’s gonna be a success, and way better than frozen.

GIRL(ISH) TALK

Girl boss: nature or nurture?

BY CLAIRE HANNAN ‘24 I come from a long line of girl bosses — that’s the best way to describe my family. My mom, her mom, and all the moms going back as far as memory goes have lived badass lives and raised their daughters to be the same.

Even though I’ve only learned a fraction about these people and I haven’t met most of them, I can appreciate the women who made me and all the awesome things they’ve done. Every woman behind me has lived a different life and has had different interests, but somehow, we’re all the same in many ways. We’ve all been hyper-independent, goal-driven people who can accomplish anything we set our minds to.

I think my grandmother is

the best example of this.

She lived a thoroughly crazy life, working in nearly every field imaginable and starting companies, including a short-lived garden center. I remember going to her house as a child and seeing her newest foster animals, beautiful gardens, and latest craft projects. I was too young to appreciate how much work had to go into everything she did, I just knew that I wanted to be like her one day.

All of my biggest strengths I credit my female ancestors with. I got a lot from my great-grandmother. I was probably around ten when I first heard the advice she had passed down to my mom: always keep a secret bank account that your husband doesn’t know about in case you ever need to run away. At the time, I thought it was pretty strange advice, but I think that growing up hearing the stories of these women and hearing their advice instilled some important fundamental beliefs about myself: I don’t have to rely on another person to survive. I can do anything and be anyone if I work

hard enough and stay practical.

My mom tells me that women in my family aren’t meant to be stay-athome wives, but not all of them lived in a time when that was acceptable, so they would find other ways to express their independence. My great-grandmother was a successful real estate agent while raising two kids even though they would have been fine if she hadn’t worked. I’m going to be the first female engineer in my family, but I sometimes wonder what the women who lived hundreds of years before me might have been if they had been given the same opportunities that I have.

Maybe there would have been more engineers and scientists in my family tree. Still, I’m just a continuation in a long line of girl bosses, and I know just how capable I am from all that they accomplished in their lives. Although we all have different last names, we’ve passed down values through the generations, and I hope that I end up just as badass as the rest of them.

FROM SOUQS TO SCHOOLS

Lebanese Christmas

BY RACHEL ABRAHAM ‘26 Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. I’ve never had Thanksgiving turkey before, told people why I’m thankful for them, or argued with my family members about Donald Trump over a drumstick (although I’d really like to engage in one of those debates). My Thanksgiving consists of mezza, kebab, and hookah, like every other dinner. Thanksgiving gives me an excuse to dress up all fancy and do 2016 makeup without being judged (I don’t care, I’m not getting into the dewy, natural makeup trend; full face till I die). The best part about Thanksgiving is that Christmas comes right after, and that’s my favorite day of the year.

I’ve spent the break putting Christmas decorations on every square inch of my home. We’re the most decorated house on the block (my father takes great pride in this). There are currently two f lying reindeer, two singing angels, two huge candy canes, three sets of sparkling trees, a North Pole mailbox (for letters to Santa, obviously), a nativity set, and well over 10,000 fairy lights in my front yard.

It’s quite the sight. Once again, Lebanese people, doing everything in their power to let people know they’re Christian (as they should).

I’ll be spending this Christmas with my boyfriend’s family, and to say I’m nervous is an understatement. Are they going to test my Arabic speaking skills? Are they going to quiz me with Bible trivia? What if I get nervous and don’t speak at all? Should I even be happy about Christmas, given everything that’s going on in the world?

I’m most definitely overthinking it, and it’ll probably go smoother than my attempts at untangling

those damn fairy lights after the holiday.

If there’s anything that will secure kudos for me, it’s my presents.

I wrapped those gifts like a pro, I am not exaggerating. I actually had so many dilemmas picking out wrapping paper that I rewrapped all my gifts twice. Also, why is it so hard to tie a bow? Never been so frustrated in my life. But beneath all the insane wrapping, I think the gifts I picked out are pretty nice (I may or may not have stalked a few Pinterest boards, totally worth it though).

Most Arabs aren’t Christian, so they’re probably not going to relate to this one. But one of my favorite parts of Christmas is when my Muslim friends wish me a happy holiday. It feels like they’re kissing me on the forehead. Like yes I love you so much, sending you a plate as we speak. You already know I’m going to f lood your comment sections on the Eid posts (Eid is like the Met Gala, but for Muslims, for anyone wondering).

12

Friday, December 1

Campus Pulse

Belal Eltemsah ‘26

Grace Panzarella ‘24

Joe Lake ‘25 “Her bed.”

“To the statue on the first floor of Babbio, I feel like he’d help me out.”

“Davis kitchen.”

ROVING REPORTER

By Rafael Lee Li and Mia Petrolino

“What is the best place to cry on campus?”

“In my bathroom at like 3am.”

Ryan Paradine ‘27

Maeryn Erdheim ‘26

Caleb Stephen ‘26

“Rocco Technology Center, no one knows where it is.”

“The sex corner in Jonas 5th floor.”

“The stairwell in the library.”

Rebecca Ganzekaufer ‘27 “On Babbio patio sitting on a bench as I look over the city dramatically.”

Hidden Links

Crossword by Jack Scherban ACROSS ͳǤ ͸Ǥ ͹Ǥ ǡ ͺǤ ͳȀͳͲͲ ͻǤ

Anagram Magic Square ͳ͸ Ǥ Ǥ ǡ Ǥ ǡ Ǥ ǡ ǡ 34. When you’re done, take the first letter ȋ Ȍ a quote from my roommate’s favorite movie.

Sudoku Puzzle Difficulty: Evil

DOWN ͳǤ ̵ ʹǤ ̶ ̶ ͵Ǥ ǫ ͶǤ ǡ

ͷǤ ±

Kaitlyn Adams ‘27

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

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̴​̴​̴

̴​̴​̴

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ͳǤ ʹǤ ǣ ̶̴​̴​̴ ̶ ͵Ǥ

ͶǤ ͷǤ ͸Ǥ ͹Ǥ ͺǤ ̶ ̴​̴​̴ ̶ǣ ͳͻͻͷ ͻǤ ̶̴​̴​̴ ̶ǣ ͳͲǤ

ͳͳǤ ͳʹǤ ͳ͵Ǥ ̴​̴​̴ǣ ͳͶǤ ̶ ̶ ʹͲͳͳ ͳͷǤ ͳ͸Ǥ