[The Stute] February 10, 2023 (Issue 16, Volume CXX)

The student newspaper of Stevens Institute of Technology, and creator of Attila the Duck. www.thestute.com TikTok @the stute Instagram @thestute facebook.com/stevensthestute

Happy belated birthday to both Ava B. and Ava W. :D

We write Stevens history VOLUME CXX No. 16

HOBOKEN, NJ | FEBRUARY 10, 2023

NEW STUTE EVERY FRIDAY • EST. 1904

Debunking misconceptions about the Honor Board

SGA senators to represent schools, not classes

BY ANNA DABROWSKI, STAFF WRITER

PHOTO COURTESY OF SGA

BY EMMA SPOONAUER, CONTRIBUTOR Stevens’ Student Government Association (SGA) recently announced that it would be changing how it elects its representatives.

In a significant change from precedent, members will be elected to represent their schools instead of their classes. The SGA advocates

for student interests, concerns, and clubs, while also hosting activities that better student life as a whole.

The Stute conducted an interview with the Vice President of Operations of the SGA, Alexander Stanczak, to learn more about what this big shift means for the inner workings of the SGA as well as the average student.

Stanczak explained that in addition to the fact that

the idea to elect by school had been brought up in the past, it reemerged when the SGA attended the New Jersey Student Government Conference last spring.

There, SGA leaders were exposed to many different ways of structuring student governments, which led them to question if Stevens’ current structure was the best fit for its students.

Specifically, the SGA re-

Career Peer leader applications Center’s open: What is a Peer Resumania Leader?

BY ADVAIT DANTULURI, STAFF WRITER

BY BENJAMIN KNOBLOCH, NEWS EDITOR

On January 25, the Career Center hosted “Resumania”, an event where students could get their resumes checked for review by people from various companies.

This was a great opportunity for a student to get their resume checked by professionals who knew what they were talking about, as well as get ideas of what a good resume would look like. Many students came to Resumania, with resumes in hand, to get good advice regarding how to properly shape their resumes. Unlike the upcoming Job Fair or last week’s Co-op Program, formal attire was not required.

Outside the gate of Techflex, two people were sitting outside to help print out resumes for those who did not have the opportunity to print those resumes beforehand.

After check-in, they gave the person checking in a mask as masks were required for the event. After that, students moved forward to another desk where they were logged in and given a sticker with a number on it. They waited in line, waiting for their num-

SEE CAREER PAGE 2

Applications for current Stevens undergraduates to join next year’s cohort of Peer Leaders have opened, The Offices of Undergraduate Student Life and Undergraduate Academics have announced. The application, which was released on January 23, will be open through Sunday, February 19.

Peer Leaders are tasked with helping freshman students to adjust to college life, more difficult classes, and other academic, personal, and social challenges of the transition. A major component of this responsibility involves guiding a group of about 30 first year students through orientation. According to Stevens, becoming a Peer Leader is an opportunity to grow and develop as a leader, as well as to give back to and share pride in the Stevens community.

New applicants were required to attend one of several information sessions, which were held from January 25 to February 2. In these sessions, prospective Peer Leaders learned more about the role and listened to presentations by former Peer

NEWS (2-3)

SCIENCE (6)

The history of Valentine’s Day Why do we celebrate Valentine’s Day and what are the origins of this holiday celebrating love.

Learn more about a breast cancer vaccine that passed its first clinical trial and traffic polution’s effect on the brain

FEATURE (4-5)

PULSE (6)

Happy Valentine’s Day Duck! Read more about how to celebrate in Hoboken, and how to break up with your roommate!

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

Leaders about their experiences in the position.

To learn more about the application process and the Peer Leader program, The Stute spoke with sophomore Nicholas Smith, who has served as Peer Leader Coordinator since January 2023, via an email interview.

“The PL program has the goal of orienting new students and helping them become better acclimated with Stevens,” Smith said. “Peer Leaders host small group sessions with their groups and inform them about campus resources and activities.”

But more importantly, he said, is their role in helping to form the first relationships among peers at Stevens. Although conveying critical information to new students is an important part of the job, most of the work of a Peer Leader goes into running the activities and events that constitute freshman orientation. “Without them, the Play Fair and so many other great orientation activities wouldn’t be possible,” Smith noted.

Selections are made from the list of applied candidates

by Danielle, Shaya, and Julia of the Offices of Student Life

alized that it should have a better system in place for student candidates who graduate in more or less than four years. Stanczak cites an example: “...if a student on co-op enters their fifth year at Stevens, do they run for Senior Senator again? Or do we double count them as a junior?” After substantial research into

SEE SGA PAGE 2

Many students possess common misconceptions regarding how the Honor Board functions. Meghan Slate, Honor Board Chair, has detailed the Honor Board process and cleared up these misconceptions.

“Sometimes when a professor believes that a student violated the Stevens Honor System, they reach out to the student directly and try to complete what is called a “faculty adjudication.” This is where the professor themselves chooses the penalty based on the publicly posted Honor Board penalty matrix. The student can choose to sign it or instead opt to go through the Honor System.

If the student does sign it, it is sent to the Honor Board, which can approve or decline the penalty, but once a student signs it, they admit that they are responsible for the violation.”

If the student does not sign the adjudication, an “incident report” is sent to the Honor Board. The Investigative Committee Chair (ICC) then sets up a meeting with the professor to ask about the exam or assignment conditions to gain clarity on the expectations. Afterward, the ICC has a meeting with

Alpha Phi Omega takes on Spring 2023 semester

BY ADVAIT DANTULURI, STAFF WRITER Joining a fraternity provides an opportunity to meet new people and find a group you can fall back on.

If you are looking for a fraternity that’s all about service and community, then look no further. Alpha Phi Omega (APO) is a national co-ed service organization that’s founded on the cardinal principles of leadership, fellowship, and service.

According to the president of Alpha Phi Omega’s chapter on our campus, Julia Zatyko, the current events for the semester aren’t finalized, as the frater-

nity tends to come up with ideas for events as the semester progresses. There are a few events that are finalized, though: celebrating the Chapter’s Birthday in March, the National Youth Service Day, the chapter’s leadership retreat, and welcoming the newest member class.

With service as one of the three tenets, Alpha Phi Omega places a lot of importance on ensuring it runs an amazing service program that is beneficial to the members participating in the fraternity, Stevens, the local Hoboken community,

SEE APO PAGE 2

SEE PL PAGE 3

the accused, followed by a meeting with any witnesses. After these meetings, the Honor Board determines if there is enough evidence to continue with the case.

“Then, the Honor Board sends an investigation notice to the accused. Once this is sent, the Procedural Assistant (PA), also reaches out to the accused. The job of the PA is to help the accused with the procedures confidentially. The ICC sets up a meeting with the accused to get their side of the story.

After speaking with them, the Honor Board is updated and voters decide whether to proceed again. During the entire process, the accused is allowed to confess, ask for a stipulated confession, or plead not responsible. If the accused confesses, then the Honor Board votes on the penalty using the penalty matrix which can be found on our website.”

The accused can appeal the penalty as long as they do not ask for a stipulated confession. A stipulated confession means that the accused signs off on a punishment voted on by the Honor Board. If the accused pleads not responsible and the Honor Board has sufficient evidence, the case goes to a hearing. “Before the hear-

SEE HONOR PAGE 2

Holland Tunnel’s N.J.-bound lanes are closing overnight for 2 years

BY EVAN PAPAGEORGE, STAFF WRITER Hurricane Sandy is a distant memory for most students here at Stevens.

Because the storm was so long ago, it was surprising when it was announced that on February 5, for two years, the Holland Tunnel is to be closed six nights a week to conduct repairs and renovations to fix the damage done by the storm and update the existing infrastructure as well. When Hurricane Sandy hit, temporary repairs were made, but the tunnel never received long-term restorations.

Hurricane Sandy struck the New York City area on October 29, 2012. For the following 48 hours, the region was battered by severe wind, rain, and flooding.

The state of New York re-

SEE HOLLAND PAGE 3 PHOTO COURTESY OF CHRISTINE HUANG

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Friday, February 10

News Masthead Volume CXX No. 14 Executive Board EDITOR-IN-CHIEF..............................SANJANA MADHU ‘23 BUSINESS MANAGER.......................JORDYN RAMELLI ‘23 MANAGING EDITOR............................. KEENAN YATES ‘24 LAYOUT EDITOR.........................................ISABELLA ZIV ‘24 OUTREACH CHAIR...............................KATIE BLOOMER ‘25 DIGITAL MANAGER...............................BEMIN SHAKER ‘23 SECRETARY......................................ZANE THUMMBORST ‘23

Editorial Board NEWS EDITOR.............................................OZ AGUINAGA ‘23 NEWS EDITOR.........................................BEN KNOBLOCH ‘25 FEATURE EDITOR..................................TASHA KHOSLA ‘25 SCIENCE EDITOR.........................................ERIN MCGEE ‘25 OPINION EDITOR.................................CLAIRE HANNAN ‘24 SPORTS EDITOR........................................CHRISTA RUIZ ‘25 HEAD COPY EDITOR.....................GIANNA CALLEGARI ‘24 ASSIS. COPY EDITOR.........................ISABELLA HAMM ‘25 ASSIS. LAYOUT EDITOR................NICOLE GIARDINO ‘25

Operations Board HEAD PHOTOGRAPHER......................OLOF PERSSON ‘25 ASSISTANT BUS. MANAGER..........AVA BUONCUORE ‘25 SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER............VANESSA HUERTA ‘23

Staff & Contributors Advait Dantuluri Anna Dabroski Ava Wang Charles Beall Chloe Brenna Cole Gardelia Emma Spoonauer Ethan Kleschinsky Evan Papageorge Hima Thummala

Itai Geller John Horgan Kayden Cannilla Matthew Brantl Pooja Rajadurai Tanishka Kapoor Tanya Avadia Vitek Sabath Zoe Hack

SGA

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2 the efficacy of this new system, the SGA concluded that it was time to make the change.

One thing that will not change, though, is the total number of representatives elected for SGA. Stanczak breaks this down: “The total number of Senate seats will be determined by a ratio of one Senate seat for every 75 students.

From that number one Senate seat will be distributed for every 100 students per school. Any remaining seats will be designated as atlarge seats.”

With this structural overhaul,

HONOR

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2 ing, there is an evidence exchange where the ICC shares evidence they have found, and the accused shares their evidence. During the evidence exchange, the ICC, ICA, accused, and Honor Board Chair are present. This is where an Honor Board advisor, the ICC, ICA, PA, any Honor Board members designated to roles for the hearing, sometimes witnesses and a randomly selected jury of Stevens students meet. The accused and ICC make opening statements, share evidence, and closing state-

the SGA hopes to be able to better represent each of the schools on campus. This is especially relevant to students who come in with transfer credits which places them in classes with upperclassmen since the connections they make often aren’t at their class level. To boot, the at-large senators will have the freedom to represent groups unrelated to their class or school. When asked if he foresees any challenges with the transition to elections by school, Stanczak recognized that a lot of the “internal structure” will need to be adjusted to accommodate for this change, but the SGA is well equipped to address these issues.

So, what does this all mean for

a student not involved in SGA? The SGA finds it very important to create a strong connection between college administrators and students, which is why when any change is made with the SGA all students should pay attention regardless of if they are involved in SGA or not. Stanczak believes that students will notice an increase in “...communication between individual senators and the student body,” which will hopefully, in turn, mean that the SGA will be able to better understand the student experience. This strengthened connection will help the SGA achieve its overall goal to “[represent] the student body more and more as time goes on.”

ments to the jury. The jury must make their decisions based strictly on the evidence of the cases and nothing else. Then the outcome is announced. If the student is found responsible, then they must follow through with their penalty. Penalties usually consist of a grade reduction and an ethics course.”

Meghan believes that there are many misconceptions about the Honor Board and has heard that students are too scared to choose to go to the Honor Board and would rather sign the faculty adjudication. The Honor Board’s goal is to protect students who are accused with little evidence and works to regulate how professors conduct

themselves as well. For example, professors are not allowed to excessively proctor students, and every student has the right to stand trial by the Honor Board if they are accused of a violation.

“The Honor Board is here to help both students and professors. A lot of people don’t know all the work that we do, and it can be frustrating when professors think we don’t do enough and then students think we do too much. The Honor Board is to ensure that students have a fair chance to explain themselves when a professor accuses them of a violation, and we also want to help professors too if a student is found responsible.”

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“Edwin A. Stevens Hall: An institute of learning”: Accompanying photo shuold be creditied to Samuel C.Williams Library -- Archives & Special Collections.

“Inaugural CAL Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies”: Anna Dabrowski is a staff writer, not an opinion columnist.

Disclaimer All opinions and editorials reflect the views of their respective author(s). No Part of The Stute may be reproduced in any form, in whole or in part, without the written consent of the Editor-in-Chief. Cited references of The Stute are permitted.

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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.

Policy on Op-Eds 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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PHOTO COURTESY OF BENJAMIN KNOBLOCH

CAREER

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2 ber to be called in order for them to go in. When they were finally called, they were able to be let in.

Inside Techflex, there were over 20 desks inside, each with a person

APO

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2 and the nation and world. To do so, the Service Committee works hard to run many high-quality events both within the fraternity and available to all of campus. Of the internally-run events, there are multiple recurring projects that run on a biweekly and monthly basis such as Knitting & Sandwich Making for the Homeless, Local Street Cleanups, Linus Blanket Making, and Paper Crane Making.

APO also works with organizations on campus and around Hoboken to help run events like StevensTHON, Rock the 21, The Hoboken Mac & Cheese Fest, Hoboken Family Alliance Easter Egg Hunt, Mutzfest, and Engineers Week at the Liberty Science Center, among many more. A staple in Alpha Phi Omega’s service program is the annual Spring Youth Service Day (SYSD) which is a large-scale event centered around doing service with and for local youth. This year, SYSD will take place on the weekend of April 15 and will be themed

from a different company, ready to review the riveting resumes.

At the desks, students were given advice regarding how to properly format the resume in order to attract potential employers, as well as additional information that could be added to the resume to make it more appealing to potential em-

ployers as well. In addition, they were given sample resumes to get an idea of how a resume should look like, as well as additional resources to go to for getting their resume checked, like the Writing and Communications Center. Resumania is a great place for a student to get their resume checked.

around Environmental Conservation & Sustainability. The aim is to reach out to local schools & youth groups and help them appreciate nature throughout Hoboken and learn how to keep our planet clean by offering events and activities such as gardening, tree planting, “Dirt Cups & Documentaries,” and many more.

Alpha Phi Omega is not just all about work, though: there are numerous fellowship activities to attend as well, such as Game Night, Dungeons and Dragons, Minecraft, Reverse Pictionary, and numerous other events where you can connect with members of the fraternity. In addition, it is a great place to gain leadership skills to learn more about becoming an effective leader.

If you are interested in joining Alpha Phi Omega, they run recruitment for the first two weeks of each semester as well as mid-semester recruitment events. In order to be eligible to join the organization, they ask that you attend at least one recruitment event and stay for an information session.

The recruitment period has unfortunately passed for the semester but stay on the lookout for their mid-semester recruitment.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF CHRISTINE HUANG

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Friday, February 10

News THE HISTORY OF VALENTINE’S DAY: LUPERCALIA TO HALLMARK

BY EVAN PAPAGEORGE, STAFF WRITER Within the next week, many students on Stevens campus will become engrossed in their love for their special someone — or lack thereof. February 14, more commonly known as Valentine’s Day, is a time of love, heats, fancy chocolate, and cute depictions of Cupid as a dawdling little baby with a heart bow and arrow. However, the history of Valentine’s Day goes back centuries, even millennia. From ancient festivals to modern Midwest America, Valentine’s Day has evolved. The true origins of Valentine’s may surprise you.

Although the birthplace of Valentine’s Day is questionable, an agreed point to start is with ancient Rome. Around the same time of year as Valentine’s Day, on February 13-15, the Romans

would celebrate the Feast of Lupercalia. The Feast of Lupercalia celebrated fertility rather than romantic love. The celebration of this feast was somewhat gruesome. The men would sacrifice a dog and a goat and then whip women with the hides of the sacrificed animals. In an interview with NPR, Yale religious studies professor Noel Lenski says, “The Roman romantics ‘were drunk.

They were naked.” In addition to the violent acts of the event, the men would choose a random woman’s name from a jar, then be gifted that woman as a lover for the festival — sometimes longer.

Past the disturbing and violent Feast of Lupercalia, the ancient Romans most likely are the source of the name “Valentine’s Day.” In the 3rd century C.E., Roman Emperor Claudius II ordered the execution of two men on February 14, of different years, but both were named Valentine. When the Cath-

olic Church gained power, these men’s martyrdom was immortalized with a celebration of them: St. Valentine’s Day. A few centuries later, Pope Gelasius I confusingly combined the Feast of Lupercalia and St. Valentine’s Day to quell pagans and peacefully force citizens into Christendom. This new festival was much tamer than that of the Romans: more of a drinking party than a sacrificial feast, though love and fertility nature remained.

Things became more confusing with the Norman holiday of Galatin’s Day, or “Love of woman” day, with Galatin’s pronounced the same way as Valentine’s.

Over the centuries since the Roman age, Valentine’s day has become more docile. Renaissance entertainment made it a sweeter holiday, with Shakespeare romanticizing it in some of his famous plays. Across England and Europe, handmade cards given

to one’s lover or romantic partner became a tradition of romantic love across the Middle and early modern eras. With the introduction of Europe to the New World, Valentine’s Day came as well. Everything was simple until a small company out of Kansas City, MO, began printing Valentine’s Day cards. The company: Hallmark.

Today, some say Valentine’s Day has become too commercialized. However, some sociologists say if people did not want Valentine’s Day to be about buying things, they would not. Whether true or not, Valentine’s Day is here. Whether celebrating gifting a loved one expensive flowers, jewelry, or chocolate or celebrating the lesser known SAD, Single Awareness Day. For more information, please see this article from NPR. However you celebrate, enjoy your Feast of Lupercalia, St. Valentine’s Day, or just Valentine’s Day.

Leader led to him forming many new friendships and other lasting relationships. He related a story about his friend Fay, who was his Peer Leader when Smith was an incoming freshman. Although they initially didn’t know each other well, going through Peer Leader training, which Smith called a highlight of the experience, resulting in them becoming close friends. “This is not a unique experience,” he said, explaining that by talking to Peer Leaders, one would quickly see that the program’s training is designed to forge a sense of unity and community that rubs off on the first

year students. “The most rewarding [outcome] for me was seeing the peers in my group make friends, and seeing them around campus with their friends doing fun things, laughing, and more.”

According to Smith, deciding to become a Peer Leader was one of the best choices he could have made. “I was so lucky to have an incredible orientation experience and first year here at Stevens, and I want nothing more but to make that possible for everyone that drives through the 9th street gate in August. It has become one of my top priorities here at Stevens.”

FEAST OF LUPERCALIA, PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIPEDIA

PL

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 and Undergraduate Academics.

The selection process mainly consists of identifying qualities in candidates like strong communication skills, adaptability, and inclusivity.

Communicating the various resources available on campus, how to go through the process of scheduling classes for the first time, and navigating the formidable orientation schedule are all things that Peer Leaders need to be able to

communicate to their groups. Additionally, adaptability is critical because the huge influx of an entire class—now about a thousand students—results in a frequent need to rework plans, and having people in charge who can think “in a more flexible and agile manner is critical to success,” according to Smith.

Finally, inclusivity is necessary because as Stevens grows more diverse, Peer Leaders must be able to run their activities and conduct their groups in a way that doesn’t result in the exclusion of any new students.

Smith said that becoming a Peer

HOLLAND

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 ports about $19 billion of damages occurred. During the storm, nearly 30 million gallons of water from the rain and storm surges flooded the Holland Tunnel. Saltwater, sewage, and debris caused severe structural damage to the tunnel’s infrastructure. The initial temporary repairs made the tunnel functional, yet it was always evident that major renovations would be required.

The Holland Tunnel Sandy Repairs and Resiliency Improvements project, currently planned by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the governing body of the Holland Tunnel, will encompass structural, electric, and other systems and cost upwards of $364 million. About 84% of the funding comes from federal aid and grants like the Community Development Block Grant - Disaster Recovery, a $4.2 billion grant given to New York to recover from the impacts of Sandy.

The tunnel will be closed for six nights per week. Sunday through Thursday, the tunnel will be closed from 11 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. Friday night into Saturday morning, the closure period will be 11:59 p.m. until 9 a.m.

The tunnel will, however, remain open on Saturday nights. This will continue until the end of 2025. However, there is a possibility that variances in the project could impact the scheduled resumption of normal operations.

Despite the closures, many other ways exist to cross the Hudson River. Pedestrian passengers can still use NJ Transit trains and PATH trains as usual. The NJ Transit bus system will continue running but will experience some issues from the tunnel closures.

The George Washington Bridge and the Lincoln Tunnel will remain open for drivers. However, both of these options experience delays during the overnight hours due to construction and maintenance, in addition to the extra volume due to the closure of the Holland Tunnel. Another way to get into the city for drivers is to park close to a PATH or NJ Transit station and take mass transit the rest of the way. For example, Journal Square, with a double-decker parking garage, access to the PATH and bus system, and easy access to the Pulaski Skyway via the Tonnelle Avenue or Routes 1 and 9 to get to I-78 or the Garden State Parkway are possibly the best options for those from farther than the immediate New Jersey-New York border.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF NICHOLAS SMITH

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Friday, February 10

Feature

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY Saving your relationship this Valentine’s Day TASHA KHOSLA, FEATURES EDITOR Taking your significant other on a romantic date to Pierce Dining Hall, Stevens’ premier eatery, to purchase a heart-shaped pizza is one of many ways you could celebrate Valentine’s Day this year. You could also stop by Pierce Cafe and try the new seasonal Red Velvet Latte. If you and your partner would rather celebrate off campus, there are many things you can do this Valentine’s Day in Hoboken.

Dining Options Hoboken is home to a variety of eateries. From cafes to bakeries to restaurants, Hoboken has it all. According to the Hoboken Girl, a unique food-related date idea for Valentine’s day is taking a cooking class at Hudson Table.

Be sure to check the class schedule in advance! Other places to dine include the famous Carlo’s

Bakery, Amanda’s Restaurant, and Sorellina.

If you and your date would rather stay in but don’t want to use your meal plan, consider heading to your preferred local grocery store and picking out items to have a picnic. A quick, easy idea is to make a charcuterie board. While charcuterie boards tend to have meat, cheese, and fruits you can put your own spin on it to appeal to your tastes. Just grab your favorite snacks and arrange them however you like!

Another option is leaning into the sweet theme of Valentine’s Day and buying or making your own sweet treats. Chocolate-covered strawberries are a simple staple of the holiday and are a breeze to make. As for baked goods, you could check out your favorite local bakery. Or, head to the grocery store and pick up some box mix and enjoy baking with your partner or challenging them to a

bake-off.

Gift Guide Gift exchanges can be an important part of Valentine’s Day but life can get in the way and you may find yourself in a race against the clock to try to find the perfect gift while also trying to stick to a budget. A good place to start is a local thrift store. Try to be thoughtful and really consider what your significant other enjoys. Valentine’s gifts can be more than just chocolate, flowers, and a heart necklace. Buy what you think your partner will enjoy, even if it doesn’t look like a typical Valentine’s Day gift.

An alternative to a storebought gift is one that is handmade. One idea is to write notes about your partner and put them in a jar so they can read one a day.

Or, you could buy some beads and string from a craft store and make jewelry for your valentine.

If you’re artsy you can even make

them a painting or a heartfelt poem. The possibilities are endless. As long as it comes from the heart, any gift will do.

Options for celebrating if you’re single Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to just be a couples-only affair.

There are plenty of activities you can do either with friends or alone to celebrate.

A great way to celebrate is with your friends. Galentines/ Palentines is known for being an alternative to Valentine’s Day where you can celebrate with your friends. With your friend group, you can get dinner together, watch movies, exchange gifts, and have a little get together. Activities you can do can include self-care (face masks, manicures, etc.), baking together (if you live on campus you can use the communal dorm kitchens or the kitchens in individual dorm rooms), going on a walk or hike,

taking a fun class together (like cooking or painting), and writing each other notes of appreciation.

There are so many options that you can tailor to fit you and your friend group.

If you’d rather celebrate alone, you can still do these activities and more. Splurge on a great gift for yourself. Spend the night watching countless movies and shows on your streaming platform of choice. Or, you can try out a new recipe or even a new restaurant. Take care of yourself this Valentine’s Day and spend some good quality time with yourself. Valentine’s Day is what you make of it and wanting to spend the day alone is completely valid.

Your Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to include the traditional activities. However, you choose to celebrate, be sure to have a good time, no matter who you celebrate with.

You don’t feel happy or comfortable around your partner: Obviously, you are not expected to be happy around your partner all the time, but if your relationship has a negative impact on your mood, that likely means something needs to change. If there is dissatisfaction in your relationship, it might mean it is time to either discuss it or move on.

Disagreements don’t go anywhere: In every relationship there are disagreements. The issue is if nothing is done or learned even after one takes place. This might be a sign that you are not compatible, which could indicate that the relationship doesn’t have much longevity.

If you feel as though your relationship matches these red flags, it might be time to have a talk with your partner. If you are still unsure about whether or not your relationship is unhealthy, ask your-

self these questions: - Does my partner allow me to grow?

- Do we have the same goals for the future?

- Can I be myself around them?

- Is my life better with them in it?

On the other hand, if you believe that your relationship is worth investing in, there are some steps you and your partner can take to ensure that it is healthy.

Some practices of a healthy relationship include: Keeping expectations realistic: Healthy relationships are all about accepting someone for who they are. It’s okay if sometimes you are disappointed in someone but a relationship won’t last if you have an all-or-nothing mentality when it comes to your relationship.

Talk to each other and be open with each other: Take the time to really be there for each other and genuinely lis-

ten. Also, be honest with each other and do not withhold anything important.

Live a balanced life: In a relationship, it can be very easy to make everything centered around the relationship. While it is important, spending time on yourself and building a life outside of the relationship is equally as important.

Consider their perspective: During times of conflict, it may be very hard to accept or even understand your partner’s perspective but nevertheless, it is important because it will give you a better view of the situation.

Just like preserving a healthy relationship takes time, it takes equal courage and time to leave an unhealthy one. If a relationship is no longer suitable for you, do not be afraid to leave, since a relationship is supposed to add value to your life, not take value from it.

Healthy relationships TANYA AVADIA, STAFF WRITER With love in the air and Valentine’s Day coming up, many people will likely be celebrating their relationships. However, not all relationships may truly feel like they are worth celebrating. If you feel like this, you may want to consider whether or not your relationship is a healthy one. Healthy relationships take certain skills and practice to maintain while on the flip side, in unhealthy relationships, it can take time to recognize that they are not good for us. In either case, there are factors that help us identify whether a relationship is healthy or not.

Certain patterns overlap in unhealthy relationships and many of them may not be clear at first. Examples of such red flags include: Controlling each other: In a relationship, it is normal to bring up something that you wish

your partner would do differently.

However, it isn’t acceptable to tell them what to do or to control their behavior.

Your partner does not respect your boundaries: If you set a boundary and your partner brushes it off, that is a serious red flag. This is because they are not respecting your needs.

Feeling afraid to express or feeling unheard when you want to state a disagreement: Not being able to communicate your needs and views to your partner is very problematic. Even more, if you feel afraid to speak up, that might be an indication that this relationship puts you under a lot of stress. Additionally, if you feel unheard every time you express an opinion, it shows that your partner is not willing to take into account your feelings which could be a sign that this relationship would not work in the long term.

How to breakup with your roomie in time for housing selection ANNA DABROWSKI, STAFF WRITER So you don’t like your roommate — or maybe you guys just ignore each other’s existence.

No matter what the situation is, housing selection is coming up soon and you want out! How should one approach this conversation, or does there even need to be a conversation?

If you just aren’t besties: This situation is relatively easy to navigate, and the likelihood that they also have plans of moving in with friends is pretty high. A simple outline could be “Hey you have been a great roommate but I just wanted to let you know that I’m planning on living with blank next year, I didn’t want to put off this discussion and leave you high and dry.” Honestly, this shouldn’t be too tricky because they didn’t do anything wrong to solicit this discussion, no one is at fault.

If they think you’re besties but you definitely aren’t: This is an awko-taco one.

Maybe your roomie’s habits don’t align with yours, or maybe they’re just excessively clingy. Either way, this conversation should be handled with grace and eloquence. Sit them down, talk about the differing lifestyles you two possess, and most importantly express how you think they would have a

better experience with someone more similar to them. This conversation is not accusatory, but more of a retrospective on your differing habits and a discussion.

If their boyfriend leaves his underwear on your desk: The classic freshman roommate from hell trope. They are completely out of touch, don’t understand boundaries, and you would feel lucky to never have to talk to them again.

My advice: don’t. You guys are clearly aware that you aren’t going to live together again, heck you don’t even bother to send passive-aggressive text messages with smiley faces any more.

Unless you get the good ole request to form a roommate group via email, I highly recommend no course of action. Or, if you want to implement a little Valentine’s Day spice, the next time they bring an uninvited guest over on a weeknight: Just scream at them in front of the guest about how you are breaking up with them! Maybe after a major confrontation, they’ll pull the good old move-outwith-out-telling-anyone, then everyone is happy!

Roommate relationships can be tricky but do your best to let them down gently and definitely have a conversation with them before it’s time to undergo the housing selection process.

5

Friday, February 10

Feature Valentine Grams Feel free to cut these out and share them with your valentine!

VALENTINE’S GRAMS BY CHLOE BRENNA AND ISABELLA ZIV

6

Friday, November 10

Science Breast cancer vaccine completes first clinical trial

BY AVA WANG, STAFF WRITER With 300,589 projected cases for 2023, breast cancer is anticipated to be the most frequently diagnosed cancer within the United States this year. In 2020 alone, 2.8 million individuals were diagnosed, 685,000 of which proved fatal. Despite incidence increasing, mortality rates have seen a historical decrease. This increase in survivability odds is largely attributed to extended efforts of cutting-edge medical research.

In November 2022, Mary L. Disis, MD and team published an original investigation announcing the success of an experimental vaccine in resisting breast cancer recurrence. The vaccine achieved a strong immune response against key tumor protein ERBB2, formerly known as HER2, in a single arm, phase I clinical trial.

A phase I clinical trial marks the first step in testing a new treatment on humans. The primary goals of a phase I trial are to test the safety, side effects, best dose, and timing of a new treatment. Disis and team found their experimental treatment to be safe at a dosage of 10 to 500 micrograms and noted that the most common side effects associated with their novel injection were flu-like symptoms (33%), and fatigue (36%). Furthermore, the study found that participants who received higher doses demon-

strated a higher (better) immune response; however, there were diminishing returns of dosage increase past 100 micrograms.

The term ‘single arm’ for a vaccine study is not what one might expect it to entail. The term does not refer to a vaccine that was injected into one arm, rather, it is a named stage of clinical trial design. In a single arm study, a sample of individuals with a targeted medical condition, in this case, advanced stage ERBB2-positive breast cancer, are dosed with an experimental treatment and followed over a length of time to observe response. Disis’ study observed 66 participants from January 2012 to August 2022. As expected with a single arm study, specific statements regarding efficacy cannot be proven at this time, but results promise a preliminary answer of ‘yes’ on a binary ‘yes’ or ‘no’ scale.

Although not definite proof of efficacy, Disis’ study provides promise of a future where a breast cancer diagnosis is not a terminal one. Unlike preventative vaccines such as the hepatitis B, flu, and human papillomavirus (HPV) shots, which aim to circumvent a diagnosis altogether, Disis’ vaccine hopes to target breast cancer recurrence. Currently, 10.4% of breast cancer survivors will face recurrence in the first five years after remission, with the number peaking at 15.2% in the first two years. This statistic is an om-

Traffic pollution impairs brain function

BY EVAN PAPAGEORGE, OPINION COLUMNIST Most people, at some point in their lives, experience a traffic jam. Living in Hoboken and looking at the New York City skyline, Stevens students hear the horns and speeding cars of traffic jams daily. However, most cars and other vehicles in those traffic jams are not electric, meaning they expel greenhouse gasses from the exhaust pipes. Car exhaust contains varying gasses, water vapor, oxygen, nitrogen, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide. Although it is well-known exposure to gas from car exhaust can be damaging, a new study shows that damage can occur within hours, the time of a typical New York bumper-tobumper traffic jam.

Researchers at the University of British Columbia and the University of Victoria published the report of their study on January 14, 2023. The experiments took place in the University of British Columbia’s Air Pollution Exposure Laboratory, located at Vancouver General Hospital, equipped with an exposure booth where researchers can accurately mimic various pollutant types and diffusion levels to represent real-life environmental levels. 25 healthy adult volunteers were exposed to diesel exhaust and filtered air for control data. All exposure tests were carefully planned to ensure the safety of the volunteers. Throughout the study, the researchers conducted 100 MRI scans immediately before and after being exposed to the exhaust, which allowed the researchers to examine the effect of diesel gas on the brain. In particular, they studied the brain’s default mode network, a series of connected

segments of the brain that are the main functional areas of memory, rational decision-making, and internal thought.

The results and conclusions of the study concerned the researchers. The MRI scans following the diesel exposure show significantly reduced connectivity within the default node network. Dr. Jodie Gawryluk, a psychology professor at the University of Victoria and the study’s first author of the study says, “We know that altered functional connectivity [...] has been associated with reduced cognitive performance and symptoms of depression, so it’s concerning to see traffic pollution interrupting these same networks.”

In light of their study, the researchers addressed some possible ways to avoid traffic-related exhaust and its adverse effects.

The most straightforward tactic suggested was to be cognisant of the air you breathe. Senior study author Dr. Chris Carlsten, professor, head of respiratory medicine, and the Canada Research Chair in occupational and environmental lung disease at the University of British Columbia explains that “people may want to think twice the next time they’re stuck in traffic with the windows rolled down [...] It’s important to ensure that your car’s air filter is in good working order, and if you’re walking or biking down a busy street, consider diverting to a less busy route.”

The study only examines the effects of traffic-related exhaust.

However, researchers are worried about other types of air pollution. Dr. Carlsten explains, “Air pollution is now recognized as the largest environmental threat to human health and we are increasingly seeing the impacts across all major organ systems.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF DISCOVERMAGAZINE.COM

inous gray cloud that hangs over survivors’ heads, leaving many feeling powerless and questioning if/when their tumors will return. The phase II vaccine aims to eradicate the remaining, undetectable breast cancer cells of patients already in remission. Decreased odds of recurrence would provide breast cancer survivors, who already rightfully won their battle against cancer, with emotional relief and a higher quality

of life.

A complex disease such as breast cancer requires a cocktail of treatments, consisting of differing ratios depending on an individual cases’ speed of progression and stage. Disis and team’s work signifies one step closer to opening another door a breast cancer patient’s treatment may choose to open. In the upcoming phase II clinical trial, Disis aims to formally test her observations

PHOTO COURTESY OF NATIONALBREASTCANCER.ORG

from phase I with randomized administration of the vaccine or immune-stimulating agent, with the end goal of eliminating breast cancer recurrence.

Despite recent progress, the fight remains far from over. Research momentum continues its uphill trek as breast cancer (along with prostate and uterine corpus cancers) continues to bear the largest racial disparities in mortality amongst diagnoses.

7

Friday, February 10

Sports

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

ON DECK IN SPORTS

The MAC conference spring preseason coaches’ polls have indicated a promising season for a multitude of sports across campus.

Women’s softball was picked third overall, taking two of the nine first place votes, where three and four were given to Misericordia and Arcadia, respectively. The two-time defending conference champions went 19-19 last season, earning their first-ever NCAA victory as well, although not their first appearance at the tournament.

After their 18-3 season last year and appearance in the NCAA tournament, which was the fifth in team history, women’s lacrosse is the favorite coming into this season, raking in six of the nine total first place votes among coaches.

Men’s lacrosse received all eight first place votes, putting the two-time defending conference champions as the favorite coming into this season. Following their 13-8 season, going 8-0 in conference games, and with a record of winning their last 21 games against conference opponents, men’s lacrosse is projected to have yet another successful season.

Men’s volleyball was also

named the favorite, taking home six of 10 first-place votes with the other four going to Messiah. Following their NCAA semifinal appearance, and considering that no players graduated off the team, men’s volleyball is expected to have another strong season.

Men’s baseball was picked to be ranked second, receiving one first place vote after Arcadia, which came in the lead with seven first place votes. Last season, Men’s baseball went 29-16, including their first NCAA appearance since 2014.

Men’s Tennis preseason poll earned them all seven first place votes, putting them in first coming

WOMEN’S TRACK & FIELD David Hemery Valentine Invitational–Day 1 Boston, MA Time TBD

MEN’S TRACK & FIELD David Hemery Valentine Invitational–Day 1 Boston, MA Time TBD

MEN’S SWIMMING MAC Championships–Day Two York, PA 9 a.m.

WOMEN’S SWIMMING MAC Championships–Day Two York, PA 9 a.m.

MEN’S VOLLEYBALL vs Carthage College Kenosha, WI 8 p.m.

SAT, FEB 11 WOMEN’S TRACK & FIELD PLEX Shootout Reading, PA Time TBD

MEN’S TRACK & FIELD

Spring sports pre-season polls release

BY KEENAN YATES, MANAGING EDITOR

FRI, FEB 10

PLEX Shootout Reading, PA Time TBD

off their 14-5 season with a 6-0 record in in-conference play. Last season they also had their 14th ever NCAA appearance, making it past the first round.

Women’s tennis was also named the favorite in the rankings, taking in six of eight first-place votes as defending conference champions.

Last season, women’s tennis had a record of 12-5, going 7-0 during conference play.

Last season’s performances and coaches’ polls have projected a very successful season for spring sports. All teams have the talent and enthusiasm from players and coaches that assure that this season will be an exciting one.

WOMEN’S TRACK & FIELD David Hemery Valentine Invitational–Day 2 Boston, MA Time TBD

MEN’S TRACK & FIELD David Hemery Valentine Invitational–Day 2 Boston, MA Time TBD

MEN’S SWIMMING MAC Championships–Day Three York, PA 9:30 a.m.

WOMEN’S SWIMMING MAC Championships–Day Three York, PA 9:30 a.m.

WRESTLING vs York College of Pennsylvania Hoboken, NJ 1 p.m.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL vs King’s College (PA) Wilkes-Barre, PA 1 p.m.

MEN’S BASKETBALL vs King’s College (PA) Wilkes-Barre, PA 1 p.m.

Women’s and men’s T&F at the Conference Challenge Cup

BY KATIE BLOOMER, OUTREACH CHAIR On Saturday, January 28, the Conference Challenge Cup was hosted by Nazareth College at the Golisano Training Center in Rochester, New York.

Senior Laura Mathews won the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.79 seconds and the 400-meter dash in 57.93 seconds. She leads the conference in both of these events and is ranked 26th nationally in the 60-meter dash and 16th nationally in the 200-meter dash. Mathews also ran the fastest preliminary race, clocking in at 8.63 seconds.

When discussing Mathews’ performance, Men’s and Women’s Track and Field Head Coach John Kolibab stated, “Laura now sits in the top-30 in the country in four separate disciplines after an incredibly impressive 400 meter win. No one in the history of Stevens Track and Field has shown this kind of range at such a high level”.

Another top finisher, Kristen Williams, ran the 60-meter dash in 8.4 seconds, earning fourth place. Additionally, Williams ran a season best in the 200 with a time of 28.79 and finished sixth in the 60-meter hurdles. Sophomore Caroline Tighe earned second in the high jump and a season best with

a height of 1.57 meters. There were many other key performances from athletes such as Allie Canciani, Maggie Previglian, Rachel Pinho, Jacqueline Lulaj, Nina Burden, Rachel Rouse, Fionna Feerick, Alexis Merola, and Liana Meyer.

The Men’s Track and Field team also had a successful Conference Challenge Cup. Kolibab gave his insight on what this particular event means to him, stating, “The Conference Cup Challenge is always one of the highlights of our season. Pairing up with Misericordia

and going against some of the best teams from other conferences in the area is a perfect way to start the back half of our season. We told the team that this was the meet to really kick things into gear and they responded in a big way.”

Senior Ronnie Melao finished second in the mile with a time of 4:21.85, only in second by eighthundredths-of-a-second.

This moved Melao into first place on the conference leaderboard. He also earned 12th in the 800-meter race.

Other top finishers included ju-

MEN’S VOLLEYBALL

nior Jake Aylmer, placing seventh in the mile, junior Liam Concannon, coming in 14th in the 3,000 meter, and junior Colin Keady with a personal best weight throw of 13.96 meters. Additionally, Federico Yacoubian, Kevin Finck, Andrew Anantharajah, and Frank Orlando all had key performances.

Concerning the next track meet, both the men’s and women’s teams will travel to Boston, MA to compete in the David Hemery Valentine Invitational on Friday, February 10.

vs Milwaukee School of Engineering

Aurora, IL 1 p.m.

MEN’S VOLLEYBALL vs Aurora University Aurora, IL 3 p.m.

SUN, FEB 12 WOMEN’S FENCING FDU Invitational Teaneck, NJ Time TBD

BASEBALL vs The City College of New York Hoboken, NJ 11 a.m.

MEN’S SWIMMING MAC Championships–Day Four York, PA 9:30 a.m.

WOMEN’S SWIMMING MAC Championships–Day Four York, PA 9:30 a.m.

TUE, FEB 14 MEN’S BASKETBALL vs Desales University Center Valley, PA 6 p.m.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL vs Desales University Center Valley, PA 8 p.m.

WED, FEB 15 MEN’S LACROSSE vs Drew University Madison, NJ 7 p.m.

MEN’S VOLLEYBALL vs New York University New York, NY 7 p.m.

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

STEVENS SCOREBOARD DATE

WED, FEB 1

SAT, FEB 4

SUN, FEB 5

TEAM

MEN'S BASKETBALL MEN'S VOLLEYBALL WOMEN'S BASKETBALL WRESTLING WRESTLING WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD MEN'S TRACK & FIELD MEN'S VOLLEYBALL MEN'S VOLLEYBALL MEN'S FENCING WOMEN'S FENCING WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD MEN'S TRACK & FIELD

OPPONENT

FDU-FLORHAM NEW JERSEY CITY UNIVERISTY FDU-FLORHAM AVERETT UNIVERSITY THE COLLEGE OF NEW JERSEY BOMBER INVITATIONAL–DAY 1 BOMBER INVITATIONAL–DAY 1 WENTWORTH INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY SUNY NEW PALTZ MACFA ROUND ROBIN GROUP "B" STEVENS INVITATIONAL BOMBER INVITATIONAL–DAY 2 BOMBER INVITATIONAL–DAY 2

LOCATION

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

SCORE

W (64-57) W (3-0) W (73-46) W (42-3) W (22-15) COMPLETED COMPLETED W (3-0) W (3-1) 3W, 1L 1W, 1L 6TH OF 17 8TH OF 16

8

Friday, February 10

Opinion THE STUTE EDITORIAL

The Stute through an artistic lens A few weeks ago, I, along with my most artistically talented friend, paid a visit to the Whitney Museum of American Art (which by the way, has Pay-

What-You-Wish admission on Friday nights!). The Whitney, which seemed to be a small building from the outside, is actually a multi-story establishment

with intriguing installations showcasing everything from Edward Hopper’s realistic depictions of human existence and life in New York City to exhibits featuring the impacts of a hurricane in Puerto Rico.

There’s no better way to spend a Friday evening.

I want to get more into the habit of taking notes while walking around museums. Any type of museum offers an insane amount of knowledge, which is often difficult to digest all at once. However, I was so completely enamored by the art that I totally forgot about this mission. At the end of the night, I opened my Notes app, seeing the only thing I wrote down was this: “How little it takes to upset the eye.”

This phrase stuck in the back of my head for a while; it’s so beautifully

elegant and short, and yet holds so much meaning.

“How little it takes to upset the eye.” What a wonderful thing to upset, especially when compared to the other options: (1) upsetting the stomach seems somewhat uncomfortable and painful, (2) upsetting the tongue appears regretful and distasteful (pun intended), and (3) upsetting the heart sounds sorrowful and even vexing. But upsetting the eye almost sounds like an exciting challenge or feat, especially from an artistic standpoint. And “how little it takes” shows the power artists have to change our perceptions to yield an intended emotion, which is just a long-winded way of saying artists are masters of artistic manipulation.

Upon further research, Edna Andrade is who I’ve quoted in this editorial, specifically referring to

her piece Cool Wave, 1974, which is pictured.

While I hardly consider myself an artist of any form, I do believe that there’s an art to creating a newspaper. Specifically, the design of the newspaper requires precision and an “artistic eye” by the staff members who put together the layout of the paper. So yes, you may consider the folks at The Stute, who create the layout of the paper to be master emotional manipulators. After all, we choose which articles are displayed on the front page, what kinds of artistic elements to add to features, and specific photos to accompany articles. And while the news we produce is ultimately unbiased, the directional components of the paper are a display combining our personal editorial and artistic decisions.

Sanjana Madhu ‘23

Editor-in-Chief

MIND OF A FRESHMAN

SENIORITIS

Individuality

Self-justifying hard work with breaks

BY TANISHKA KAPOOR ‘26 My high school friend came to visit this weekend with her two college friends. As we battled through the stinging Hoboken winds and settled in the heavenly warmth of a Thai restaurant, we somehow entered a conversation about “NPCs.” This word that seems to be popularized by TikTok trends has become a way to describe people. Who seemed to have a personality? Who didn’t? As judgemental as that conversation was, it made me think about what it really means to have an individual personality.

Who are we really? There are so many factors that influence us in life. So many people who really shape how we act and think. But what makes one person different from the next? What determines who is the influencer and who is the influenced?

I think the need for va-

lidity and acceptance in the first year of college really accentuates this ability to be influenced. Oftentimes we choose attractive aspects of a certain person and place them on ourselves. Maybe it’s just part of how we assimilate, but this could include the way someone acts or talks. Even social media has decided to pick and choose what is a socially acceptable personality by analyzing if it is “cringeworthy” or not (pick me girls and guys have officially been deemed as cringeworthy). We act how we think is supposed to be the “right way” while maybe changing our real selves in the process. After all, a person that everyone likes must be doing something right to attract so many people. With this way of thinking, we may start to analyze personalities to see what is attractive and proceed to behave that way. So, through the layers of other personalities, it’s hard to determine what makes an individual person unique.

What makes you you?

As much as I would like to say “just be yourself” or “embrace your uniqueness,” I won’t pretend that it is easy. Just look at how many memes there are about Debby Ryan. It can be hard to really realize who you are when there

are so many social expectations or standards that try to determine what an “attractive” personality is.

That also makes it difficult to open up when you just meet a person. While strong personalities are nice, too much of a strong personality is overbearing. A quiet person is seen as “cool” and “reserved,” but if you are too quiet then you are seen as “mean” or deemed as an “NPC” So when you are in a place and position where people’s opinions can seem to matter the most (like a first year at college), it isn’t easy to just be yourself.

Over time, those layers can seem to shed and you tend to find yourself, but what are you supposed to do until then?

A lot of people go on a journey to search for their true selves, and I think college can help with that at times. Soon enough we realize that the opinions of other people don’t matter as much as we think they do. It’s okay to not show everyone who you really are the first time you meet them, and being alone can be the best way to find out who you really are. The more time you spend with yourself, the more you will get to know your lifelong partner (which is you).

Thank you for coming to my TedTalk :).

This weekend, I ended up doing very little substantive work on class assignments or other tasks I had on my to-do list. Part of this was by circumstance, as my to-do list right now isn’t the longest it’s been for some time – although, don’t get me wrong, there’s still lots to do that I could’ve gotten a head start on. But I think the main part of it was by choice: I wanted to reward myself.

Earlier in the week, I submitted an interim report for my senior research—a major endeavor—finished applying for some additional summer research programs I was interested in (for those who liked the app sampler articles, don’t worry, another one is hopefully on its way in the next few months). I’m awaiting feedback on my report and will see if I hear back from the

research programs, but in any case, I was proud of my work and felt it fair to give myself some small rewards during the weekend.

These consisted of traveling to my aunt and uncle’s for a fun Saturday night dinner, playing dungeons and dragons with some of my friends from high school, trying my hand at the full New York Times Sunday crossword (I got about 10% of the clues – it’s a hard puzzle!), trying some muffins another friend home-made, and taking a walk around Hoboken with my girlfriend before SGA meetings Sunday evening.

I give many thanks to those people referenced above (especially Will Shortz) for providing me with a great weekend of breaks and rewards.

I always get a little concerned when taking breaks.

I love to be active, and sometimes feel guilty when I take a weekend off – I tell myself, “you could be getting so much more done right now!” This has been reinforced in some ways by the intense pace of work I witness in my own life and the lives of many around me balancing the many responsibilities they have at college and/or work with time to get at least some rest and

already and the temperature being the same inside as out, it wasn’t as exciting when it got dark because the light wasn’t on in the first place. We also learned that it is really hard to open a fridge from the inside, because why would you ever be opening a fridge from the inside?

We gave him $10 on the spot with a plan to work out a fancy financing agreement that involved APR and credit scores and CVV numbers to pay him the rest of the value later. The real trouble was getting it down the stairs. One of our writers wanted to try riding it down the stairs like a sled, but there were some corners that would have blocked it. The same idea was rejected 10 minutes

later when he offered to get in it and go down the stairs like a stuntman going over a waterfall in a barrel. Except of course in this case the barrel is an old fridge from the 60s.

We then decided to go with the barrel idea because there ended up being no other options. At each turn in the stairs, we went up to the fridge and twisted and rolled and cajoled it into turning a bit to get around the corners so it would keep sliding down.

Our writer who volunteered to go in told us that he did maintain the Superman flying punching fist pose the whole time, but there wasn’t much space so they looked more like a baby about to punch a spoonful of mashed sweet potatoes.

Of course, it was dark inside the fridge so no one could see for sure.

After we got the rectangular prism of thermoregulation out of the apartment, a long walk to our offices began. It was unfortunately very windy on the day, and the 12 square feet of one face of the fridge acted like a massive sail that kept pushing us around.

We finally got it into our office building and had to do a much more challenging barrel waterfall exercise because this time we were going up the waterfall. Six hours and 170 unnecessary extra pounds to carry later, we got it into the corner of our office where we found there was no outlet to plug it into, so now it’s a filing cabinet.

BY CHARLES BEALL ‘22

sustenance.

But at the end of my break/reward periods, I feel as restored and invigorated as ever to tackle the things I let stay on my to-do list the past few days. Spending some time away from the work I do so often always reminds me of my deep love and enthusiasm for that work. Moreover, that time to rest gives me a new reserve of energy and a fresh perspective on the tasks at hand, which results in a huge boost of productivity and creativity.

So, if you are in need of a break, or a reward for the hard work you’re putting in, don’t hesitate! This month has some great opportunities to take some more time off on the weekend: it seems like everyone watches the Super Bowl, so there’s an excuse to chill this Sunday night whether you’re a football fan or not, and we have off on Presidents’ Day two Mondays from now.

It’s even fair to take a small break from work on a day when you may not have as many commitments—rewarding yourself every once in a while is a justifiable and sustainable practice. So enjoy the time off, and take advantage of the new energy and motivation you gain from it.

OFF THE PRESS

Who needs a fridge?

BY OFF CENTER A local student announced that after last week’s weather, he was selling his Philco C-887 refrigerator and freezer and just keeping any perishable food out on the counter due to the temperature in his apartment.

Wind chills as low as -108° F were recorded last week in Mount Washington, NH, but on the third floor of a Garden St. building, temperatures were low enough to keep the bag of frozen vegetables frozen. After wearing his coat around the apartment, the local student opened his fridge and realized it was the same temperature as the rest of his apartment.

After some time looking

up how much energy a refrigerator uses and learning that it’s one of the most energy-intensive devices in a typical apartment, it didn’t take long to empty the fridge (mainly because there wasn’t much in it) and unplug it. Off the Press first got this tip when we were on eBay looking for a new fridge for our office and came across his posting. We weren’t about to tell him how it’s going to be too warm again in like two weeks.

The first step was to go to his apartment. We were immediately impressed with the fridge which was a nice old magnetic model and looked super retro. Our editor took some time to get his body inside the fridge.

Due to it being unplugged

ARE YOU A RSO? Advertise in The Stute for free!

Email eboard@thestute.com for inquiries

9

Friday, February 10

Opinion SUSTAINABILITY

ADVICE TO BROKE COLLEGE STUDENTS

I am no longer a vegetarian

Do you really need it?

BY KATIE BLOOMER ‘25 Yesterday, I ate chicken.

Considering hundreds of people probably ate chicken yesterday on the Stevens campus alone, this does not seem super exciting. However, I have been a vegetarian for the past 13 months, so for me, this was quite the change.

For over a year, I avoided meat for both the environment and animals. I alternated between trying to cook healthy meals and selecting from the limited vegetarian options that Stevens offers. Over the summer my family struggled to adjust to this change and it was clear that they would have preferred if I wasn’t a vegetarian, but I stuck to my decision.

Towards the end of 2022, I started reconsidering my choice because I realized I had gotten tired of putting so much thought into eating enough protein and had slowly slipped into bad habits. I was not eating enough protein and instead ate too much unhealthy food. The protein that I was consuming came from less than ideal sourc-

es like protein shakes and bars. While these options are good occasionally or as a supplement, they should not make up the majority of anyone’s protein intake.

Since starting to eat plantbased, I always promised myself that I would go back if it wasn’t the healthiest option for me. It isn’t worth slightly reducing my carbon footprint in one area if it is going to make me run down and unable to function at my best in every other part of my life.

Part of the problem just comes down to being a student. I have a small meal plan because the options are limited, especially as a vegetarian. This means that I need to mostly get food other ways and just supplement with a meal or two from the dining hall or UCC when I really need to. I am an awful chef and don’t have time to teach myself because school and extracurriculars are time-consuming and things I am not willing to give up. Since I need to eat, the next option is buying stuff pre-made from stores or ordering from restaurants. These options are obviously incredibly expensive and not in the budget for most college students. Despite these excuses, I know there are plenty of happy and healthy college students who are also vegetarians, so I guess the problem really is just me.

When I am an adult with an income, home, and stability, maybe I will reconsider being a vegetarian and see

if I can do it in a healthier way.

Anyway, yesterday I ordered chicken from the UCC. I ate the french fries that accompanied the meal and then sat staring at the chicken for over 15 minutes.

It wasn’t until my roommate told me she wasn’t leaving until I ate the chicken that I took a small bite. It was not as shocking as I expected since it tastes pretty close to the chicken alternatives I have been consuming for the past year. The key difference is that this was once an animal. After eating a piece, I stopped and waited as if something would happen. Other than feeling a tiny bit nauseous and incredibly guilty, nothing really changed. I called my parents and told them that I guess I’m not a vegetarian anymore, although I don’t plan on eating any more meat for a while.

My next few weeks will be spent slowly informing people that I now eat chicken. For some, this news has been long awaited. My grandma is going to love cooking her signature dishes for me again sans vegetarian substitutions. My friends who don’t believe a plant-based diet is healthy will no longer be concerned about my wellbeing. Although I didn’t thrive as a vegetarian, that is not the case for everyone and I would still recommend giving it a try or at least reducing your consumption of meat for the planet and animals.

BY HIMA THUMMALA ‘26 The action of giving in to shopping temptations with disregard to its impact on bank statements is a characteristic that can be seen in the common college student. Although some may be able to get away with it, many students need to stick to a specific spending frame. This may seem like a complicated task to go upon, but it really just boils down to one simple question: Is it something you NEED or something you WANT? Needs and wants are two polarizing concepts that people often get mixed up even though they play important roles in a typical, everyday shopping spree.

Pretend you’re at the mall and you see a new phone case that you like. Should you buy it? This is where you determine if it is a need or a want. Stop and consider why you want to buy it.

Is it because your old one is starting to wear out, or maybe because it is better quality than your old one?

Or is it because you like the pattern and design better than your current one? Is it because it is on sale for

SCIENTIFIC CURMUDGEON

Physicists make wormhole! Not

BY JOHN HORGAN CAL PROFESSOR By now, you might have heard that physicists have created a wormhole, which heretofore has existed, as far as we know, only in the imaginations of physicists and science-fiction writers. The story begins with a paper, “Traversable wormhole dynamics on a quantum processor,” by physicists at Harvard and Google, among other institutions. It was published in the prestigious journal Nature, along with commentary by two Stanford physicists.

Two top-notch physics writers, Dennis Overbye of The New York Times and Natalie Wolchover of Quanta, reported that the Nature authors “created” an actual wormhole. A leader of the research, Maria Spiropulu of Caltech, makes this same claim in a 17-minute video, “Wormhole in the Lab.” Here’s the problem. According to qualified critics, Spiropulu’s group created only a crude simulation of a wormhole based on highly speculative, untested theories. Peter Woit, a physicist at Columbia, calls the claim that physicists created an actual wormhole “complete bullshit” and a “publicity stunt.”

Below is my attempt to make sense of the controversy.

The “traversable wormhole” work is the latest wrinkle in physicists’ quest to unify Ein-

stein’s theory of gravity, general relativity; and quantum theory, which accounts for electromagnetism and the nuclear forces. The two theories are mathematically and conceptually incompatible.

Physicists hope a unified theory—also called a quantum-gravity theory, final theory or theory of everything— will provide a compact and yet complete description of the cosmos. This quest for a unified theory has spawned fantastical conjectures involving infinitesimal strings and extra dimensions and parallel universes. Although these ideas are mathematically compelling (or so proponents assure us), they cannot be tested; the strings and extra dimensions and universes are experimentally inaccessible. The unification quest hasn’t lived up to its hype, not even close, but hope dies hard.

One recent stab at unification involves entanglement, a quantum effect whereby particles influence each other at faster-than-light speeds.

Some theorists have proposed that entanglement might be mediated by wormholes.

This conjecture is based on a speculative notion called the holographic principle, which postulates deep mathematical linkages between relativity and quantum theory.

Like black holes, wormholes are a hypothetical consequence of general relativity.

Science fiction writers love wormholes, just as they love multiverses; wormholes let you whisk a spaceship from one universe to another instantaneously. But whereas there is circumstantial evidence for black holes, there is none for wormholes.

Back to the claims of Spiropulu et al. What distinguishes their work from most quan-

tum-gravity speculation is their use of a quantum computer. Called Sycamore and built by Google, the computer carries out computations with particles nudged into superposition, meaning that the particles, like Schrodinger’s cat, occupy more than one state at the same time. Superposed particles serve as the basis of qubits, which encode more information—and hence can carry out more computations--than ordinary bits in ordinary computers.

The Nature group performed its experiment with a nine-qubit version of Sycamore, which can’t compute anything beyond the range of a conventional computer. The researchers constructed a cartoonishly simple mathematical model of a “wormhole” connecting “black holes” in a “spacetime” based on a simple version of the holographic principle. The researchers say they “teleported” information through the “wormhole” in a manner consistent with the Maldacena-Susskind conjecture. Teleportation is a term used to describe certain interactions between entangled particles.

I can see only one way in which Spiropulu et al. could claim they have created an actual as opposed to simulated wormhole. Quantum computing exploits entanglement as well as superposition.

If you assume the Maldacena-Susskind conjecture is true, you could claim that the entangled particles in your quantum computer are linked by actual wormholes.

The problem with this argument is that it assumes what it purports to prove; it is a spectacular example of begging the question, or circular reasoning. Also, by this logic, any physicists who produce

entangled particles, in a quantum computer or elsewhere, could claim they have “created a wormhole.” And physicists can make this claim without constructing a simulation of a wormhole based on an untested quantum-gravity theory.

The simulations are unnecessary—unless of course your intention is to obscure the line between what is simulated and what is real.

On his blog, Peter Woit notes that I warned in my 1996 book The End of Science that the quest for a unified theory was dragging physics into a “speculative post-empirical mode.” Woit suggests that the wormhole incident bears out my prediction. Yes, I suppose it does, and I appreciate Woit’s hat-tip. The irony is that I have recently become more optimistic about physics, and science as a whole, because of advances in quantum computing.

Two years ago, as part of my attempt to learn quantum mechanics, I read a book called Q Is for Quantum, which gave me a better understanding of quantum computing. I subsequently had email and zoom exchanges with the author, Terry Rudolph, a quantum theorist and co-founder of the quantum-computing company PsiQuantum. Rudolph’s optimism about quantum computing rubbed off on me.

I hope quantum computing leads to exciting advances, both practical and theoretical, that propel physics forward.

But those advances might be hard to spot beneath all the “bullshit” and “publicity stunts” that quantum computing enables. And I no longer believe that physicists will ever find a true unified theory, which tells us how we came to be. That belief, I’ve decided, was always delusional.

a good price? All these different questions and their answers can be interpreted differently depending on who the buyer is.

If an item is classified as a need for you, it doesn’t mean that it cannot be a want for another person.

Take a look at it this way, if someone is buying a new phone case because theirs has broken, it would be a need for them. But if someone has a perfectly fine case, the purchase would be considered a want. As it can be inferred, the meaning of a product varies from individual to individual depending on their specific life circumstances.

Furthermore, be sure to not confuse the concept of needs and wants with budgeting, while they are related they do have their differences.

Categorizing products is essentially a stepping stone to creating a budget, but is still equally, if not more, important to manage your finances.

This step is what helps you organize what outlets you should allow to take your money and if it has worthwhile outcomes, hence, showing the importance of having a healthy financial balance.

A simple method to sort your expenses into these two groups is to start off by listing out everything you desire to buy, whether you have the need for it or not.

Next, make a mark of which ones you see as something you cannot see your life without. Whether it’s food,

clothing, school books, etc. these will be the ones that will be purchased. Then take a look at what is left on your list. If you could only choose one thing to buy out of them, which would it be? Move that item to the top of your remaining list.

Continue this process until you go through and rearrange all of what is leftover, from most wanted to least wanted. Now, look at your finances. Can you afford these products? Did their prices impact how you prioritize them? Should you save up for your favorite item or do you want to buy what you currently can afford? All these factors lead up to defining what is a need or a want for you.

When looked at from a broader perspective, this process is essentially choosing what is going to help you build the foundation of your future finances.

The money that you end up saving now will allow you to purchase higher-quality products later on with less damage done to your bank account, but this does not mean not spending on your wants at all; they could add positive value to your life at this current moment.

However, it should be kept in mind that your wants should not replace the spot of your needs on your shopping bills. Overall, it is imperative that, in order to ensure productivity while managing your finances, there is a responsibility of understanding the contrast between needs and wants.

10

Friday, February 10

Opinion MUSIC TO MY EARS

An irreverent social history of music

BY KAYDEN CANNILLA ‘24 As I study in the library, my favorite brain break is browsing the shelves on the second floor to see if anything jumps out at me while I take a stretch. Two weeks ago, An Irreverent and Thoroughly Incomplete Social History of Almost Everything caught my eye.

It’s a compilation of quotes from historical figures from Ancient Greek to the late twentieth century, teaching history through colloquial, bawdy, and flippant comments. My image of historical figures can be reduced to busts of Greek philosophers and Englishmen in white wigs, but it’s refreshing to remember that humans were not the formal pictures we always see of them, especially when something ticks them off.

It’s surprising to me today to come across people who have no ear for music; with such an extensive library and immediate access to genres, I have to believe that there’s music out there for everyone. Of course, be-

fore globalization and the invention of recorded music, access was limited to the instruments that had been invented in your culture. The earliest instruments created by humans are wind instruments, with evidence of a Neanderthalian flute from 60,000 years ago. Flutes were greatly respected by Greeks and Romans, though not by everyone. One Greek proverb states, “To flute players, nature gave them brains there’s no doubt, But alas! ‘tis in vain, for they will soon blow them out” (200 CE). Instruments nevertheless continued to advance, though there were still those unreceptive. A dictionary from the late 1800s

listed the following definition: “Clarionet, n. An instrument of torture operated by a person with cotton in his ears. There are two instruments worse than a clarionet—two clarionets.”

It further interests me to see people famous outside of the music world express their musical distaste. Sir Isaac Newton, inventor of calculus, was known to be the opposite of musically inclined; “[Newton] said he was never at more than one Opera. The first Act he heard with pleasure, the 2nd stretch’d his patience, at the 3rd he ran away” (1720 CE). Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria wrote to his mother asking for advice on whether to employ

an up-and-coming composer named Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, to which she replied, “you do not require a composer, or other useless people” (1771 CE). Aldous Huxley, writer of Brave New World amongst others, had an aversion to newly invented jazz, and after seeing a jazz band for the first time he remarked, “I felt like a man who, having asked for wine, is offered a brimming bowl of hog-wash. And not even fresh hog-wash. Rancid hog-wash, decaying hog-wash” (1929 CE).

Hearing the crass and informal way people of times past speak about music contextualizes a lot of modern music criticism for me.

It is by nature wonderfully

SPOILER ALERT

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT

M3GAN

Johan Christian Dahl

BY COLE GARDELLA ‘24 When I first saw the trailer for M3GAN, I thought it looked awful. The effects looked dodgy, the acting was unenthusiastic, and the jokes, if you can even call them that, were downright cringeworthy. However, the reviews for it have been extremely positive, so much so that a sequel has already been greenlit. So, a friend and I went to the movies to see M3GAN this past weekend with fairly high expectations. Nonetheless, as we walked out of the theater, not only were our expectations left unmet, all of the worries I had about the film when I initially saw the trailer was confirmed.

For those of you who have somehow avoided the viral marketing campaign for this film, M3GAN follows the story of a roboticist at a toy company who builds an artificially intelligent doll to help her recently orphaned niece cope with the loss of her parents. The eponymous doll eventually develops violent tendencies,

which she views as necessary actions in order to keep her human companion safe.

As you could imagine, the outlandish plot paves the way for a lot of humor or at least attempts at humor. For my theater especially, there wasn’t much more than a few chuckles here and there from the audience.

M3GAN is a horror comedy, so you’d hope that if the comedic aspects were subpar, then maybe the horror elements would make up for it in some capacity. Un-

PHOTO COURTESY OF IMDB.COM

fortunately, that is not the case for this film. The scares and violence are very tame, likely due in large part to the studio wanting to keep a PG-13 rating, which allows the film to reach a greater audience than it would have with an R rating.

It truly puzzles me what people are seeing about this film that I am not, and my opinion on it only worsens the more I think about it.

As far as horror movies go, I think M3GAN is one robot that’s best left deactivated.

BY ITAI GELLER ‘26 Some of the most outstanding vistas can be found in Norway, a mountainous Scandinavian country containing massive glaciers, coastal fjords, and inland mountains.

Thankfully for those of us who have not visited, we can still appreciate its geographical diversity through the eyes of Johan Christian Dahl, a Norwegian Romanticist Painter best known for his unique landscape paintings.

Dahl is a notable figure in Norway, as he is one of the few artists from the country to be recognized in greater Europe for his work. Dahl’s paintings have made appearances in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the National Gallery, owing to his unique realist approach to landscape paintings. His appreciation for his native country’s landscapes can be directly attributed to the influence of the Romanticism movement in Norway during his lifetime

Comic Corner

By Vitek Sabath

(1788-1857).

Although the Romanticism movement touched broadly on concepts such as emotion over reason, heroism, and individuality, it also rejected industrialization and supported the preservation of the natural world. The movement was born in Britain but eventually made its way to Norway after the country aspired to redefine its national and cultural identity as a result of aggressive urbanization.

In response, painters such as Dahl sought to remind their fellow Norwegians about the importance of preserving their country’s natural beauty.

My favorite landscape painting by Dahl is called View of Nærøy Valley, a landscape painting of stunning proportions which depicts a populated valley surrounded by magnificent mountain ranges. A

PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIART.ORG

subjective, and changes to the norm are inevitably met with both excitement and criticism. To some, hearing a piece test the limits of music, arranging rhythms in ways never heard before is a thrilling innovation, to others it’s tasteless. I think nostalgia plays a big role in people’s taste, I often hear modern people yearn for “real music” like in the 1970s and 80s. Of course, there was distaste for newfangled pop music then; according to iconic singer Bing Crosby “popular music in this country is one of the few things in the twentieth century that have made giant strides in reverse.” I wonder what he would say about mumble rap.

river snakes through the valley; wooden cottages pepper the plains. The river is incredibly lifelike, taking on a greenish tinge as it reflects the color of the surrounding area. Dahl makes a fantastic choice painting the perspective of the valley at eye level; this contributes to the colossal nature of the mountains.

They lurk over the town, casting a shadow on the areas surrounding the river. I enjoy his use of foreground elements to contribute to the realism of the landscape; travelers ride past the river on horseback and a sliver of mountain pokes out into the right side of the painting. Dahl also bathes the village in a setting sun, illuminating the village and its foliage with hints of bright green and yellow. These factors create an appealing composition to marvel at endlessly.

11

Friday, February 10

Opinion THE DOODLING DUCK

HISTORY OF THE DUCKS

Edward Hopper’s women

BY POOJA RAJADURAI ‘23 My recent visit to the Whitney Museum of American Art included a tour of the Edward Hopper exhibition, a showing of a painter whom we might be faintly familiar with, but who has truly shaped the landscape of American art in irrefutable ways. While making my way through the exhibit, I started to notice the way in which Hopper portrayed women: despite their varying degrees of nudity, it became increasingly apparent that this underrated American painter had portrayed them with respect and intrigue. Contrasted with Picasso’s dissection of women on the canvas, Hopper left his women whole, so much so that it can be argued that his women revealed the Sartrean concept of existential freedom.

The explanation of Sartre’s philosophy merits a

small digression which I hope you will allow me to do. Jean-Paul Sartre was a French philosopher who believed that all conceivable freedom lay in that which we could bring our minds to understand, specifically that our consciousness dictated our hope for meaning.

Existentialism argues that we always have a choice, which can be exemplified in the irony of a question postulated by historian Mary Beard; Beard argued that we shouldn’t judge the Oxfam relief workers in Haiti for using prostitutes because people usually make poor choices in difficult situations. She received backlash for this statement, but she doubled down by asking her students what they would have done in Nazi Germany, to which they all answered that they would have joined the Resistance. In response, she pointed out that statistically, most of them would have been collaborators or bystanders. The concept of answering questions of what we “would” have done with ideas of what we “should” have done is exactly where Sartre’s principles come into play. A true existentialist would argue with someone who claimed that they had no choice that they do in fact have a choice. As such,

existential freedom is very difficult and relies on the individual to retain their freedom to choose.

Sartrean notions give rise to the prisoner’s freedom philosophy: not that the prisoner can come and go as he or she pleases, but rather, they have the choice of how to deal with life in prison. The prisoner, or the human, can never lose his or her ontological (or metaphysical) freedom. Interestingly enough, Sartre was not well received in the Americas initially because American philosophers found his ideology depressing. This can be surprising given that in simple terms, Sartre says a person can always be free. At least personally, I thought this was motivating, hopeful, positive even.

But it’s important to note that Sartre was truly a man hardened by life. He had faced the loss of many close family members early in his life, was bullied as a child, and lived in France during WWII. Pushed to the brink of existentialism by his own weaning hope of finding happiness in external materials, Sartre believed, in his own words, that “man is condemned to be free.” He believed that the world was a sphere of nothingness that gave way to nausea and the

only way to fight this nausea was to look inward and find agency. By the 1950s however, existentialism became a more popular philosophy, especially with the help of American philosopher William Barrett, who investigated the historical and sociological significance of existentialism. Thus we set the scene for Hopper’s renditions of New York, women, and architecture.

Edward Hopper can be described as a pensive, solitudinous man who believed that the core of art could be found in an artist’s personality, and this was the defining aspect of originality in a world inevitably run on recreation. Hopper explored the world around him through a lens of aloneness more so than loneliness and utilized the simplicity of space, such as light, perspective, and water, to represent himself on the canvas. The many women he painted are often found in front of windows, seated or posing in such a way as to reveal their contemplation of life. His use of horizontal and vertical lines and their interactions, be it in the form of light coming through a window at an angle, or the end of a room seating a well-dressed Continued on thestute.com

LIFESTYLE HACKS

My favorite college investment

BY ZOE HACK ‘24 Before I had actually given it some real thought, I thought that buying an iPad would mean spilling, like, $1,000 on a glorified Kindle. But when I actually decided to consider this investment, I realized that I couldn’t have been more wrong. If you want to get an iPad mainly for notetaking and streaming, there’s no need to get one of the fancy models, so the one that I got was only $300 (+$100 for the Apple Pencil) (on sale because I buy everything on sale but still very different from what I was expecting). And through all of the time, energy, and effort it has saved me thus far in my academic career, I think it was definitely worth the investment.

While I may not be orga-

nized in every aspect of my life, I am always on top of keeping my notes and study guides organized for all of my classes. That being said, I normally have a separate binder or notebook or folder for each class, which becomes a lot to carry around at once, especially if I am planning on getting different work done for different classes somewhere other than my apartment. Filling up my backpack past its tipping point is not always the most fun. With all of my notes on my iPad this semester and only one other notebook that I carry around, I frequently think that I’m forgetting to bring something because of how light my backpack is now due to all the space I’ve saved with the iPad. Something that is kind of small that I find really useful with my iPad is just having the Canvas Student app downloaded. When I’m doing assignments, it’s almost like having a second monitor because I can easily pull up assignment details, check Canvas announcements, and even submit assignments right from my iPad. If I am doing some kind of as-

signment on my laptop, it’s so much easier to view the assignment details on my iPad rather than on the Canvas app on my small phone screen or trying to splitscreen the tabs between my work and the assignment page.

One feature of my iPad that I cannot shut up about is GoodNotes. GoodNotes is an app for the iPad— which I’ve raved about in the past—that makes my life (and, I know, a lot of my friends’ lives) so much easier. For starters, you can create your documents with so many different choices of paper — ruled paper, graph paper, dotted paper, planner templates, or even music scores. It makes it easy for me to find a note-taking strategy that really works for each class that I’m in. As a bonus, it’s super easy to export documents as pdfs as well, and there’s even an option to share it via the Canvas app, making submitting work a breeze.

Another feature I am a really big fan of, albeit, one that a lot of different apps offer, is the ability to import documents or slideshows and then annotate directly

on them. As someone who, back in the day, would print out class slides and write on them during class, having an iPad saves me so much physical space, money in printer ink, as well as the planet by using so much less paper.

It’s also super easy to now able to access my notes from anywhere instead of having to lug around 20 pounds of papers everywhere.

My last selling points are for those who already have a MacBook or iPhone: with GoodNotes, you can also access all of your notes, all the time, from either your laptop or phone. Being able to quickly review my notes on my phone right before an exam without having to open my backpack to grab my iPad out of its case and waste time can be a lifesaver. In general, it’s super convenient because you have the option to review stuff on-the-go and not worry about always bringing all of your work with you.

For all the above and more, I truly believe that purchasing an iPad was one of my best financial decisions for school, and is definitely worth considering.

Carnegie Laboratory of Engineering: the gift of a Trustee

BY EVAN PAPAGEORGE ‘26 As explored in last week’s edition of this column, Stevens originated with a single building, Edwin A. Stevens Hall. However, around 30 years into the school’s history, it became evident that it needed more space. But, the then relatively new school did not have the funds to build the new state-of-the-art facility until a long-time supporter and Trustee came forward, saying it would give him “the very greatest pleasure” to fund the construction of the new building. The philanthropist, tycoon of steel, and Trustee of Stevens who was willing to donate tens of thousands of dollars, embodying the American Dream: Andrew Carnegie.

Andrew Carnegie was born in Fifeshire, Scotland, on November 25, 1837. He and his family immigrated to the United States in 1848 and settled in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Throughout the 1850s and ‘60s, Carnegie worked in telegraphy, rail, and steel. He focused on innovative processes and technologies. When elected to the Board of Trustees in 1891, he was one of the wealthiest men alive.

On June 20, 1899, then-President Henry Morton of Stevens received a letter from Mr. Carnegie in which he offered $50,000 for the new building, citing that he owed much to the school “for the many valuable men that have come to us from it.”

The Board of Trustees acted almost immediately upon the letter. Within two months, the Board presented Mr. Car-

negie with three possible designs for the building.

Stevens alumni William S. Ackerman, Class of 1891, designed the plans chosen.

The architectural style of the building includes a Roman arcade (a continuous series of columns) atop a cement basement with a Corinthian entablature. Structurally, a steel frame and cement make up the building, making it completely fireproof. With higher construction and material costs than expected, Mr. Carnegie increased his donation to $65,000. On June 7, 1900, construction began. Construction lasted about a year and a half.

On February 6, 1902, the school held the opening and dedication of the building.

The ceremony included Mr. Carnegie and his wife, the Stevens family, and members of the school community like Alexander C. Humphreys and President Morton. Mr. Carnegie gave a rousing address and presented the keys to Mr. Dod, President of Trustees and Stevens by marriage. Morton then presented Mr. Carnegie with a piece of the Stevens Rail from 1831, the first in America, in a box made by Tiffany and Co. The banquet that followed included elaborate contraptions to serve punch and rail pin molds as cake pans. The next day, Mr. Carnegie gave another check for $100,000 for the maintenance of the building. A few years later, following the death of President Morton, Mr. Carnegie gave another $125,000 as an endowment. Altogether, Mr. Carnegie donated $290,000, totaling over $10,000,000 today.

Today, the Carnegie Laboratory of Engineering includes the PROOF lab, MicroDevice Lab, as well as classrooms and offices. The first addition, continually used and a defining part of the school is all possible because of the generosity of one man — Andrew Carnegie.

COURTESY OF THE SAMUEL C. WILLIAM LIBRARY ARCHIVES AND SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

DEAR CLAIRE AND ETHAN...

What should I do if I’m alone on Valentine’s Day?

BY CLAIRE HANNAN ‘24 It can suck to be single on a day dedicated to romance. While the day itself isn’t that special, media and advertising ramp up to remind everyone of the sea-

son. It’s impossible to enter any store or walk down Washington Street without being faced with pink hearts and marketing targeted at couples. I think it’s important for our single readers to remember that those in a relationship also typically don’t care about Valentine’s Day, it’s just a silly holiday where you’re expected to exchange gifts and spend time with your partner, which is always great but would happen with or without the reminder. If you’re single and this time of year is bumming you out, that’s okay, but lingering on it will only make

you feel worse. Go out and have fun with your other single friends, maybe listen to your favorite non-romantic music, and practice some self-care.

At the end of the day, there’s no reason to feel bad if you’re not in a relationship. Whether you just recently got out of one or if you’re on a streak of romance-less Valentine’s Days, literally everyone experiences this at least once in their lives. It’s more important and more difficult to learn how to be content on your own than to find a partner.

BY ETHAN KLESCHINSKY ‘24 Now that it’s February, the question on everyone’s mind is what will you be doing for Valentine’s Day. To start, it is not too late to try to not be lonely; you have

about a week before the big day to figure it out. I recommend to stop moping and to try to be productive and find someone to love. Since Valentine’s Day is on a weekday, most of the romantic fun will linger on until the weekend, so you can spend an entire week being jealous of others’ situations. I have plans for the weekend after Valentine’s Day, so I don’t have any good ideas on how I would spend it if I was alone.

However, I will do my best to come up with some last-minute ideas in case you fail to find someone willing to spend time with you. My best

recommendation would be to stay inside, watch movies, order food, and accept the way life is. If you would rather spend your time around others that would make you more miserable, the internet suggests you could go to the movies, host a party for your other lonely friends, or maybe even take a trip out of town. I would think that it would be in your best interest to avoid as many couples as you could during this time so I would err on the side of caution when making plans.

Hopefully one day you find love and won’t need me to make your plans. Good luck!

12

Friday, February 10

Campus Pulse

Corey Batchelder ‘23 “I would say Beyonce again just because of her new album.”

Janani Rao ‘25

Connor Tierney ‘25

“It has to be A$AP Rocky.”

“Oh, that’s a good question. 100 gecs.”

ROVING REPORTER

By Rafael Lee Li

“I don’t watch football.”

“Who would you like to see perform at the Superbowl Halftime show?”

“Kanye! NO, I’M JOKING! I will be basic and say Beyonce.”

Benny Hernandez ‘26

Andrea Antropow ‘26

Cameron Caruso ‘25

“It should be San Holo or Wesley Willis.”

“I’m going to Spotify… I’m gonna say Tory Lanez.”

“Oh man, hopefully Rihanna. I hope she doesn’t die.”

Christina Alexandrov ‘26

LAST WEEK’S ANSWERS:

Sudoku Very Hard Puzzle: 0.78 difficulty

Anna Hauk ‘26

Hard Puzzle: 0.63 difficulty

MIGRATION FLIGHT SPARROW GRANNY ORCHARD SMITH FEATHER BRUISED PIGEON CIDER CARAMEL EAGLE STEVE JOBS DONALD DUCK WINGSPAN JUICE TWO FOR BREEDING TWENTY DEAL