[The Stute] March 11, 2022 (Issue 18, Volume CXIX)

The student newspaper of Stevens Institute of Technology, and creator of Attila the Duck.

Happy spring break!

Hopefully it doesn’t snow...

We write Stevens history VOLUME CXIX No. 18

HOBOKEN, NJ | MARCH 11, 2022

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COVID-19 PREVAILS

A look back at the past two years of the pandemic Hoboken ends COVID state of emergency

BY MATTHEW CUNNINGHAM, EDITOR EMERITUS Nearly two years after Hoboken entered a state of emergency due to COVID-19, the City said the state of emergency is over.

Following the decline of confirmed positive COVID-19 cases, city officials said in a March 7 Nixle alert, the state of emergency is “no longer necessary.” The City of Hoboken first declared a state of emergency on March 12, 2020.

“After two long, hard years, we are finally at a time where it is no longer necessary to remain under a State of Emergency,” said Ravi Bhalla, Mayor of Hoboken, in the Nixle alert. “This is a credit to everyone who has chosen to get vaccinated and boosted, which has helped get us through the hard times of the past year. We will continue to be guided by science as the pandemic becomes an endemic, utilizing the tools we know will protect our residents.”

At Hoboken’s state of the city address held this week,

Read more in this week’s COVID-19 two year anniversary feature (Pages 4-5)

SGA meets to discuss university center and residential towers

HOBOKEN: THEN VERSUS NOW From Hopoghan to Hoboken: a history of the city

BY BENJAMIN KNOBLOCH, STAFF WRITER

ELLE MAGGIO FOR THE STUTE

The Student Government Association (SGA) held a meeting on March 2 to discuss a variety of updates regarding student life. Sarah Klein, the Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs, presented new ideas during the meeting.

The main topic was the new University Center Complex (UCC) and residential towers. Klein showed renderings throughout the meeting and added personal insight based on the numerous times she has toured the buildings.

The UCC will have a multitude of spaces available for students regardless of whether they live in the residential towers. This includes a Tech Flex Auditorium, Grand Commons, and Grand Stairs as communal areas. Additionally, there will be a fitness center that

has a separate movement center with organized workout classes. The building will include the Dining Marketplace, the Mary Anne Cannon ‘86 Cafe, and food delivery pickup lockers as new dining options. There will also be a formal dining option that has wait staff and is equivalent to an upscale restaurant.

The UCC has a variety of sustainability features that will potentially result in the building achieving LEED Gold certification status. According to the U.S. Green Building Council, “To achieve LEED certification, a project earns points by adhering to prerequisites and credits that address carbon, energy, water, waste, transportation, materials, health and indoor environmental quality.”

Overall, the SGA had a positive reaction to learning more about the new University Center Complex.

NEWS (2-3)

SCIENCE (6)

Hoboken ends COVID state of emergency Learn about Mayor Bhalla’s revisions to mask mandates and other COVID-19 protocols.

The effects of climate change on mental health Read all you need to know about the less talked about effects of climate change.

FEATURES (4-5)

CAMPUS PULSE (10)

Countries responses to COVID around the world and how that set the course of the pandemic

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

BY KATIE BLOOMER, OUTREACH CHAIR

SEE COVID PAGE 2

On March 29, Hoboken will celebrate the 167th anniversary of its establishment as an independent municipality in 1855, but the city’s rich history stretches back even further.

Prior to European arrival, the area that now contains the city of Hoboken was seasonally inhabited by the Leni Lenape Indians, who referred to the area as “Hopoghan Hackingh.” Translating to “Land of the Tobacco Pipe,” the name referred to the green soapstone from which the Lenape furnished their smoking pipes. The Lenape hunted, farmed, and fished in the greater area extending from the Delaware River to the Hudson River, a region called Lenapehoking.

The first European to lay eyes on the bay surrounding Manhattan Island was likely Giovanni da Verrazzano, an Italian explorer who was searching for a route to Asia.

He was followed by Henry Hudson, whose navigator mentioned the area as they voyaged up the explorer’s namesake river in 1609.

The Dutch West India

Company first colonized Manhattan and some surrounding areas in the mid17th century. The subsequent inhabitants of New Netherland called the coast across the Hudson River “Hoebuck,” or “high bluff,” referring to the rocky heights that today include Castle Point. Peter Stuyvesant, director-general of New Netherland, made a famous purchase of land from the Lenape in 1658, extending the southern limit of New Netherland from Manhattan to the Hackensack River. Stuyvesant was the last director-general of the colony, which was subsequently ceded to the British in 1664 and partitioned into the English colonies of New Jersey and New York. Around this time, Europeans referred to the Hoboken area as “Hobuk,” which likely derives from the original Lenape “Hopoghan.”

Englishman Samuel Bayard purchased Hobuk in 1711. The property remained in his family until the time of his grandson, William Bayard. William’s strongly Loyalist disposition resulted in the raiding and burning of the estate multiple times

SEE HOBOKEN PAGE 2

Hoboken Cannabis Review Board approves first recreational marijuana shop

BY GRACE MIGUEL, OPINION COLUMNIST Since the legalization of marijuana in New Jersey in November 2020, the NJ commission established its first set of rules for the sale of marijuana in August 2021.

Hoboken has recently approved its first recreational cannabis shop and has two pending for review.

On February 24, 2022, The Cannabis Review Board approved the city’s first recreational cannabis retail shop that will be located on 51-53 14th Street. Story Dispensary of Hoboken, LLC will replace what was previously Hudson Tavern and will have a 6,000 square foot blueprint on the first floor and basement. According to the application brought before the board, the shop will be open 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily and staffed by 10-20 employees.

The CEO, Samantha Silva, is a Hoboken resident and bartender at City Bistro.

She has done extensive research on the cannabis business — she toured cannabis dispensaries in New Jersey, Delaware, and Colorado. Silva’s business partner, Aaron Epstein, will be providing

management services and has already overseen cannabis operations in five different states.

There has been misinformation spread about the kind of retailer Story will be.

In Mayor Bhalla’s Update on March 1, he informed the public that, “the current application for a cannabis dispensary is for retail only. No consumption/lounge license was requested by the applicant, and none will be permitted. If approved, only the retail sale of cannabis will be permitted, no cannabis will be consumed on site.”

Each cannabis applicant is required to submit a Neighborhood Impact Plan underlining its mission and other details like safety, traffic mitigation, noise and odor, and its general impact on Hoboken. After the Board meeting, Story agreed to several conditions to move forward with their planning; a deed restriction specifying that it will never become a consumption license holder, funding one Hoboken police officer’s salary each year, a $50,000 contribution to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, and covering the cost of a city-wide cannabis eduSEE CANNABIS PAGE 2

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News Masthead Volume CXIX No. 18 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.....................................TREVOR DAMEIKA ‘23 NEWS EDITOR................................STEPHANIE SEARING ‘24 SCIENCE EDITOR............................RAYNA INDELICATO ‘22 OPINION EDITOR............................ROSHNI REVANKAR ‘22 HEAD COPY EDITOR.....................GIANNA CALLEGARI ‘24

Operations Board HEAD PHOTOGRAPHER...........CAROLINE MONTANA ‘22 SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER............VANESSA HUERTA ‘23

Staff & Contributors Aleksander Dimoski Arianna Gehan Benjamin Knobloch Diem Trinh Elle Maggio Emma Tong Erin McGee Estefania DeCaires Grace Miguel

Kayden Cannilla Marisa Powers Matthew Brantl Matthew Cunningham Natalie Todaro Pooja Rajadurai Quentin Jimenez Rafael Lee Li Tasha Khosla

HOBOKEN

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 during the Revolution. He also fell out of favor with the Patriot government of New Jersey, which confiscated his property after the War and sold it at auction. Colonel John Stevens of the Continental Army purchased Hobuk in 1784 for 18,360 pounds of sterling, and he decided to rename the land “Hoboken.”

The long legacy of the Stevens family in Hoboken began with the Colonel’s development of the property, which was still largely wilderness. He built the River Walk along the water, a mineral water spa called Sybil’s Cave (the ruins of which remain a local point of interest for many locals today), a garden called the Elysian Fields, a tavern, and a hotel. The attractions caught the attention of contemporary Manhattan socialites, and Hoboken became a popular weekend destination. Stevens created the first regular steam ferry service in the United States to help shuttle thousands of visitors between Hoboken and Manhattan.

Stevens also established the Hoboken Land and Improvement Company, which managed the city through its primary period of development in the 19th century and is responsible for Hoboken’s grid layout and scattered parks. A true Renaissance man, Stevens also made a name for himself in horticulture and engineering, receiving one of the country’s first patents, which was for a steam engine.

The talent seems to have run in the family. Colonel Stevens had 13 children in total. His son Edwin Augustus Stevens, an engineer and entrepreneur, left a bequest that was used to establish the Stevens Institute of Technology, which was the first college of mechanical engineering in the U.S. Another son, Robert Livingston Stevens, designed the T-shaped rail—a design which would spread all over the country—and established the nation’s first yacht club. He also designed a racing yacht for his brother John Cox Stevens, named America. America’s victory in a series of races near the Isle of Wight led to the creation of the America’s Cup sailing competition.

Hoboken became an incorporated municipality after an act of the New Jersey Legislature was approved in a referendum on March 29, 1855. Soon after its incorporation, the city’s population began to grow exponentially. A huge influx of German immigrants caused Hoboken to be primarily German-speaking by the early 20th century. After the outbreak of the First World War, fierce anti-German sentiment drove many Germans out of the area, and Hoboken, like nearby cities, instead became known for its large Italian-American population.

After the American entry into the War, Hoboken became the primary sendoff point for American soldiers sailing to Europe. They were told to hope for “Hell, heaven, or Hoboken,” by Christmas.

Hoboken’s location turned it into a major seaport and rail transportation center for a number of

decades, acquiring a vast manufacturing base and exploding economy. However, the city suffered from the dramatic industrial decline experienced by many cities in the 1960s and 70s. The waterfront, already infamous for its crime, fell into disrepair, and the city fell into despondency. Like other areas in New Jersey and New York, however, Hoboken diversified and reversed its decline by the late 20th and early 21st centuries, especially following a major waterfront renovation in the 1990s.

There are many more stories well-known to Hoboken locals.

The first modern game of baseball, America’s pastime, was played in 1846 between the New York Nine and the Knickerbockers (the Knickerbockers lost so badly that they left the game early to get drinks at a tavern). Frank Sinatra was born here, which at least one restaurant and park proudly reference in their names. The legendary 1954 film On the Waterfront, which is about the widespread corruption on the Hoboken waterfront that was detailed in a series of articles for The New York Sun, almost starred Sinatra in place of Marlon Brando.

In recent years, Hoboken’s historic 19th century structures, quaint size, local charm, and proximity to New York City have attracted numerous young workers, artists, and students, helping to transform the city into an upscale community. Given its fantastic history and vibrant present, it’s no wonder that so many residents are eager to see what this city will do in the future.

Contact Us GENERAL.........................................EBOARD@THESTUTE.COM EDITOR-IN-CHIEF.........................EDITOR@THESTUTE.COM ADVERTISING.............................BUSINESS@THESTUTE.COM OFFICE......................................STUDENT CENTER ROOM #303

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

LEFT: STEVENS ESTATE 1808, RIGHT: 1881 AERIAL DRAWING. PHOTOS COURTESY OF LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

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LEFT: 1900 STREET COURTESY OF RUTGERS, RIGHT: FIRST GAME OF BASEBALL COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA FOUNDATION

COVID

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Mayor Bhalla touched on how his last state of the city address was in January 2020, when “the world was a very different place.” “Social distancing, mask-up, and variant were not mainstays in my vocabulary, and I didn’t imagine that we would need to issue a State of Emergency because a deadly

CANNABIS

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 cation program.

In addition to the conditions mentioned above, all cannabis retailers will pay a local cannabis transfer tax and user tax that has been amended to the City of Hoboken’s chapter on taxation. The ordinance stated that there will be a two percent transfer tax on any medical cannabis dispensed by a medical cannabis dispensary, a one percent tax of the receipts from each cannabis wholesaler, and a two percent tax of the receipts from each sale by a cannabis retailer, including sales transacted by a cannabis delivery service. 75% of the annual cannabis tax will be used to support social justice initiatives, cannabis education programs, the special improvement district, community policing, and related social programs.

While Story had a unanimous vote to continue their planning phase, there have been mixed opinions on this new market. Tiffanie

virus had arrived.”

In the past month, the Hoboken city government has been rolling back mask mandates and other COVID-19 protocols as cases of the virus dwindle. On February 9, Mayor Bhalla repealed mask requirements because Hudson County’s positivity rate fell below 5%. “The numbers make it clear that cases are significantly falling in the region,” Bhalla said. “This data point, combined with Hoboken’s high vaccination rate, robust testing op-

tions, and low hospitalizations, make it possible for us to lift our indoor mask requirement.”

Although the city has lifted mask mandates and the state of emergency, Stevens continues to require masks in indoor, public spaces. In a March 8 email to students, faculty, and staff, university administrators said that they are having conversations “to determine whether the masking policy should be revised in the coming weeks.”

Fisher, Second Ward Councilperson, supports decriminalizing marijuana but does not believe it has a place in Hoboken. In a Hoboken Girl article, Fisher said “We have a complex community that blends commercial and residential uses on every block and most doorsteps.

How can we allow these types of businesses into an occupied, residential building?”

No notice of buying the space to residents is required prior to the Cannabis Review Board and Story did not feel that it had to at that time whereas the other two retailers did. After the Board meeting, Mayor Bhalla looked to amend the cannabis ordinances to require a notice to residents within 200 feet prior to any approval; disclosing that a cannabis shop is proposing to purchase and operate a storefront within or neighboring their building. Residents were upset and felt blindsided when they were not informed that a cannabis retailer would reside in their building prior to the hearing. Furthermore, there have been complaints about the transparency of the process.

The owner of the Hudson Tav-

ern, Tom Brennan, said the retail space was supposed to be a physical therapy location and he did not hear about the switch. “At the last moment, the first time we’ve heard about this as far as change of usage was Tuesday [February 22]. Is that fair?” said Brennan.

Many residents are also concerned about the effect these shops will have on youth. A Hoboken resident started a petition called “Protect Hoboken Families and Children from Cannabis Dispensary Dangers” directed toward the Hoboken Cannabis Review Board, the Hoboken City Council, the Hoboken Planning Board, and the Mayor’s office.

The ordinance states that the zones where cannabis establishments are permitted cannot be on the same block frontage as a primary or secondary school and there must be a minimum of 500 feet between cannabis retail and/or medical cannabis dispensary locations.

While the City Council planned to hear all three applicants on February 24, the first and second readings will now be March 9 and March 23.

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News STUDENTS SHOW OFF TALENTS AT DUCKS ON DISPLAY CAROLINE MONTANA FOR THE STUTE

PLANNING FOR THE 12TH FOUNDER’S DAY BALL

BY ARIANNA GEHAN, STAFF WRITER After a two-year break, Stevens’ Entertainment Committee (EC) is back to planning their 12th annual Founder’s Day Ball, taking place on March 11.

Located at Pier 60 in Manhattan for the first time, the semi-formal to formal event is promising a night of food, dancing, and entertainment. Pier 60 is located right on the Hudson River, complete with views of campus from the patio. The past few Founder’s Day Balls have taken place in New Jersey, so the new location is another way that the Entertainment Committee is stepping up their game this year.

Pre-departure refreshments will be served in Babio Atrium from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., and buses will depart from campus between 6:15 p.m. and 7 p.m., and the ball is set to start with a red carpet to capture photos and cocktail hour. A plated dinner will be served from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m., complete with a sparkling cider toast. Afterward, there is time for dancing, socializing, photos, and dessert. One new addition to the ball is a string quartet which will be performing. Buses will head back to campus between 10 p.m.to 11 p.m.

The EC, alongside the Office of Student Life, began planning for the event last summer. Entertainment Committee members Julia Dwight and Lizzy Houle stated that they understand many students missed out on their proms

and other large events, so the Entertainment Committee is working really hard to make Founder’s Day Ball a great celebration for the Stevens Community. When asked what they are looking forward to most about the ball, they stated they are “most looking forward to welcoming everyone back to this Stevens tradition. There are a lot of students that missed their proms or have never been to FDB, so [they] hope that everyone can relax and have fun with their friends!”

There are still precautions set in place due to COVID. Because New York City lifted their Vaccine Mandate on March 7, Pier 60 is no longer requiring all attendees to be fully vaccinated and show photo ID and proof of vaccination at the venue door. That being said, during the night the Stevens’ mask mandate will also be in place, where attendees are required to wear their masks on the dance floor and buses. Masks can be removed to eat and drink, take photos at the photo wall, and at the outdoor terrace, weather permitting.

The ball is a celebration of the founding of Stevens, which took place on February 15th, 1870.

When passing in 1868, Edwin A. Stevens left money in his will dedicated to Stevens Institute of Technology. The university was established two years later through the dedication of his widow, Martha Bayard Stevens. Over 150 years later, The Founder’s Day Ball serves as a celebration of the history of the university and all that is to come.

“Students: Do you have a new idea for an app, tool, or proofof-concept software that could make an impact on fintech industries? CRAFT, supported by the National Science Foundation, is looking for proposals from students at Stevens Institute of Technology and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute for its Fintech Sandbox. The deadline for proposals is March 15.” https://www.stevens.edu/school-business/craft-center

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Feature Countries responses to COVID around the world and how that set the course of the pandemic

BY DIEM TRINH, STAFF WRITER As the COVID-19 and its newest variant, Omicron, have spread globally since the beginning of 2020, the amount of cases and deaths do not show any signs of stopping as they continue to rise daily. The total number of cases is 444 million, with approximately 6 million deaths as of March 5, 2022. COVID-19 vaccines have been necessary in recent months in order to combat this virus.

Countries have been researching means to slow and, eventually, stop the virus’s spread in their own regions. Throughout these turbulent months, some countries have fared better than others in preventing the virus. However, how exactly did different countries handle the pandemic?

1. Australia As of March 5, 2022, Australia had had a number of 3.34 million people being infected and 5,402 deaths, with the daily average being 24,869 cases. In comparison to the rest of the world, the 5,403 deaths in Australia were still relatively low. Australia became an exemplar throughout the catastrophic months of dealing with COVID-19 due to its government’s willingness to promptly close borders, push immunizations, and enforce a protracted lockdown.

However, the Omicron’s emergence altered everything.

Australia had been facing the many problems that Omicron had caused, such as testing systems suddenly becoming overloaded, employers having to take time off due to illness or to maintain isolation requirements, and certain goods being in limited supply. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also classifies Australia as a country with a level four COVID-19 level, with the first being low (fewer than 50 cases per 100,000 population) and the fourth being very high (more than 500 cases per 100,000 population).

2. Brazil According to the CDC, Brazil’s COVID-19 had reached the

fourth level of the four levels.

Brazil was facing 29 million cases and 652,000 deaths as of March 5, 2022, with a daily average of 42,626 cases. Being the country with the second highest number of deaths, Brazil has taken little actions to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro had slammed the use of masks and governors who implement regional lockdowns.

According to Our World in Data, 70% of Brazilians had received both doses, compared to 63% in the United States. According to government figures, just 40 million people out of 214 million received booster shots. According to Alberto Chebabo, the Vice President of the Brazilian Society of Infectious Disease Specialists, hospital infirmaries were seeing the highest demand, rather than intensive-care units, as was the case last year. Brazil is not a safe place to visit, as cases have been on the rise in the country and not many Brazilians have received the vaccines. However, if traveling to Brazil is necessary, make sure you are fully vaccinated and up to date on your COVID-19 immunizations.

3. The United Kingdom (U.K.) On March 5, 2022, the U.K. had reported a number of 19.2 million cases, with 162,000 deaths and the daily average cases being approximately 60,000.

In the early days of COVID-19, the British government’s failure to enforce a lockdown had cost them the opportunity to halt the virus and avert many fatalities. However, with the new variant Omicron being milder, the government is under pressure not to impose any further limitations. “The way forward for the country as a whole is to continue with the path that we are on,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson told broadcasters. “Of course we will keep all measures under review, but the mixture of things that we are doing at the moment is I think the right one.”

Despite the fact that the number of cases is escalating, Johnson has generally avoided adopting additional measures and estab-

PHOTO COURTESY OF NYTIMES.COM

lishing rule changes in England, which makes up 80% of the U.K. population. On the other hand, Britain was the first to “roll out a clinically approved Covid vaccine roll out a clinically approved Covid vaccine.” As of March 5, 2022, the U.K. had seen a significant percentage of its population receive the vaccines as well as booster shots, with 91.6% receiving the first dose, 85.3% receiving the second, and 66.6% receiving the booster shots.The CDC, however, continues to classify the U.K. as a level four nation with a very high level of COVID-19.

4. South Africa South Africa had reported a number of 3.69 million cases and 99,265 deaths on March 9, 2022, with a daily average of 1,552 cases. Six months ago when South Africa was still confronted with the Delta variant, the hospitals in the country “were overwhelmed, with intensive care unit beds and oxygen running out.” However, the surge of the Omicron variant did not overflow the hospitals with infected patients, and few of

them needed oxygen. “The vaccines, combined with high rates of previous infection, have boosted South Africa’s collective immunity to the coronavirus,” the CBS News reported. “I’m highly optimistic that we have reached a turning point in this pandemic,” Professor Shabir Madhi, a vaccine expert at Johannesburg’s University of the Witwatersrand, said.

“I can’t see us revisiting what we experienced during the course of the first three waves in South Africa.” Although the appearance of Omicron had a small negative effect on South Africa, the CDC still classifies South Africa as a COVID-19 level three country.

5. New Zealand As of the end of 2021, despite facing its most difficult pandemic months, New Zealand emerged with some of the finest health results in the world. “We know too from the past two years that a good health response is also the best economic response – and that gives our country great reason to celebrate,” says Chris Hipkins, the COVID-19 response minister.

Nonetheless, the appearance of the Omicron variant prompted the number of cases in New Zealand to surge once more. According to the CDC’s website, the nation is classified as level three, indicating that it has a high level of COVID-19. As of March 5, 2022, New Zealand reported 223,000 cases and 65 deaths as well as 21,000 cases on daily average; the statistics are still modest in comparison to the rest of the world.

However, as Omicron surfaced, New Zealand saw an increase in the number of people who had been infected with Omicron arriving in the nation and being placed in obligatory quarantine. While the government of New Zealand was considering reopening the country’s borders, the mandated isolation had put a burden on the quarantine system, causing the government to prohibit entrance for returning citizens, infuriating many individuals who wished to return to New Zealand.

Overall each country handled the pandemic in a different way.

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Friday, March 11

Feature Effects of the pandemic on social media usage

CAROLINE MONTANA FOR THE STUTE

BY KATIE BLOOMER, OUTREACH CHAIR The COVID-19 pandemic influenced the ways in which social media is used both in terms of time spent as well as content viewed. According to an article in Penn Medicine by Nicole Fullerton, social media use increased by over 60% during the first wave of the pandemic. This is speculated to be due to increased free time, a desire to connect with others over the internet, and a desire to gain access to new information about

the pandemic over social media.

Based on a study explained in Penn Medicine News, “in the first experimental study of Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram use, psychologist Melissa G. Hunt, Ph.D., associate director of clinical training in Penn’s Psychology department, found that social media use actually increases depression and loneliness.” Those who have pre-existing problems with anxiety, depression, and sleep quality find the issues to be amplified with internet use. These results are not surprising as social media

use has repeatedly been shown to negatively impact mental health.

Much of the time spent on social media during the pandemic involved consuming information regarding COVID-19. A study

by Kathryn Buchanan et al. explained that “data from a large cross-sectional survey […] found that 45% of respondents spent more than half an hour consuming pandemic-related informational content each day.” This leads to mental distress as individuals are constantly exposed to anxiety inducing information. Ac-

cording to an article by Nan Zhao and Guangyu Zhou in the U.S. National Library of Medicine, “despite the importance of media in spreading urgent information during times of collective trauma events, numerous studies have suggested that disaster media exposure may evoke poor mental health outcomes.” Regardless of whether users are actively seeking out COVID-19 related information or simply stumbling upon it, they are at risk for disaster media exposure.

Despite the negative impacts of social media use during the pandemic, it also aided in facilitating connections between family, friends, and acquaintances who otherwise would have felt isolated. A survey by the Pew Research Center found that during the pandemic over 80% of individuals used video chat, 40% used digital devices in a new way, and 29% increased their use of technology so much that they upgraded their equipment. Although the majority of those surveyed stated that social media did not replace in-person interactions, 85% found it to be useful in connecting with others. These connections were especially valuable during a time when in-person interactions were either banned or frowned upon.

During the pandemic, a variety of trends and hashtags were created as a source of entertainment as well as motivation. Many of these involved fitness challenges since gyms were closed for safety concerns. For example, the #see10do10 challenge encouraged those tagged to take a video of themselves doing 10 pushups and then tag a bunch of friends to do the same. This trend encouraged

movement and also reminded those who were tagged that someone was thinking about them.

Fitness was not the only topic impacted by hashtags during the height of COVID-19. A variety of tags were created to encourage social distancing and enforce the stay-at-home order. These included #StayHomeStaySafe, #LockdownNow, and #FlattenTheCurve. Under these hashtags, posts can be found with information about the pandemic, pictures of people staying home to avoid contact with others, and some random posts that are only there because the tags were trending.

Unfortunately, as the use of social media increased, so did false information on prominent platforms. This false news ranged from conspiracy theories about the origin of COVID-19 to random combinations of household ingredients that were said to kill the virus. This misinformation was often dangerous. The false idea that drinking methanol would kill the virus inside of an infected person killed 800 people in Iran and hospitalized 5,876 due to methanol poisoning according to the US National Library of Medicine. Many popular social media platforms have attempted to discourage falsified information by adding features that easily allow users to flag potentially incorrect information which can later be reviewed by third-party fact checkers. More specifically, Instagram has added a feature that hides posts with incorrect information behind a wall so the user is aware that the post is false before reading it. Overall, social media was widely used and proved to be influential throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

remote work provides time to care for their children without compromising their income.

As the pandemic leveled off, many businesses considered maintaining the hybrid model. Dave Carvaja, CEO of Dave Partners, summed up, “The truth of the matter is CEOs acknowledge that productivity has gone up. People are working more and it’s more productive. People want that. People want the flexibility to work from home and work in their own way.”

2021 definitely saw the emphasis on virtual to hybrid work and caused many employers to keep this model to keep the workplace safe and the employees content.

The arrival of vaccines allowed the workplace situation to take a turn. The introduction of safe and effective COVID vaccines allowed more businesses to feel more comfortable with in-person work but also instigated the debate of mandating vaccination for employees. The Supreme Court blocked the Biden Administration from enforcing vaccine mandates on

large private companies. Although many workplaces already required proof of vaccination, the Supreme Court’s actions have also caused many businesses to shy away from imposing vaccination mandates.

The workplace has been a direct reflection of the polarization the pandemic has caused regarding public health and safety.

As the pandemic is monitored, adjustments are constantly made to the policies that have been put in place since the beginning of the pandemic. Increasingly, states are lifting mask mandates in schools and workplaces, with March 7 being the end of New Jersey’s school mask mandate. As Governor Murphy stated, easing these restrictions are “not a declaration of victory as much as an acknowledgment that we can responsibly live with this thing.”

We are still far from the “return to normalcy” we all crave, but the pandemic’s hybrid model—and all its merits—has nonetheless influenced workplace norms for decades to come.

COVID-19 and the workplace

BY TASHA KHOSLA, OPINION COLUMNIST The COVID-19 pandemic has no doubt changed the way we work. From our actual workload to our commute, the pandemic has influenced every facet of our work experience. As the world switched to a virtual format, employees grappled with both challenges and benefits as they adjusted to this new structure of employment. Yet, the challenges seemed to outweigh the perks of working through a pandemic, and these challenges differed among employees. Although society has changed how we worked over the past two years, the return to normalcy still is not yet upon us. These past two years were unprecedented and will set a new standard for the post-COVID workplace.

In 2020, employment took a hit. Essential workers bore the brunt of the pandemic’s difficulties. From cashiers to nurses, these individuals worked on the front-

lines of the pandemic and raised the question of how to keep these workers safe as COVID-19 ravaged the world. Many workers were forced to work without proper personal protective equipment (PPE), putting their own lives at risk.

Researchers found that access to proper equipment varied. For instance, in food service, availability of gloves ranged from 78% for Pizza Hut workers to just 36% for Chipotle workers.” As for requirements to wear masks, “Access to masks and requirements to wear masks was near zero through much of March [...] By early April, 40% of workers reported access to masks, but even then, just 20% reported requirements to wear masks.” Despite the extent of the pandemic’s health hazards, employees remained at risk due to their lack of access to PPE. As for unemployment rates, the Bureau of Labor Statistics noted, “After reaching a peak in February 2020, employment fell by a combined 22.4 million in March and April, a decline of 15 percent.

By contrast, in the previous four employment downturns since 1981, job losses averaged 3%, with the largest decline (6%) occurring during the Great Recession of 2007–09.” The Pew Research Center also found that “Overall, 25% of U.S. adults say they or someone in their household was laid off or lost their job because of the coronavirus outbreak, with 15% saying this happened to them personally.”

Yet, other employees thrived under the pandemic’s new work conditions, which included more flexible hours and the ability to work from home. A survey of over 2,100 people found that “51% report being more productive working from home, and 95% say productivity has been higher or the same while working remotely.”

Moreover, numerous companies have observed that employees prefer remote work because it helps improve mental health, accommodates the needs of the employees, and reduces commute time. For working parents, the flexibility of

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6

Friday, March 11

Science Stevens team to research water pollution and dead zones in the New York area

BY ERIN MCGEE, SCIENCE WRITER It comes back every summer: damaging coastlines, wildlife, and the economy that depends on them. There are thousands of miles of low oxygen “dead zones”, caused by pollution and accelerated by climate change.

It starts when nutrients, mostly from farm fertilizers, end up in stormwater runoff that flows into the Mississippi River. These nutrients then move downstream to the Gulf and promote the growth of algae in the water, far more than there should ordinarily be.

When this algae dies, it sinks to the bottom of the waterway and

begins to decompose, which depletes the oxygen supply in the water.

This creates a “dead zone” that lacks oxygen, known as hypoxia, which will either kill wildlife or drive it elsewhere. Some algae even produce toxins that can harm wildlife or people, creating the famous “red tide”. This not only hurts the work of those who fish, but it also hurts tourism and other important industries. The size of the dead zone fluctuates but on average spans an amazing 5,380 miles of coastline. Many scientists also believe that the issue of harmful algal blooms is accelerated by climate change, as a rising temperature results in

more rainfall, and therefore more runoff carrying fertilizer into waterways.

However, this issue is not unique to the Gulf, with the same problem being seen on a smaller scale in New Jersey as well.

Particularly in 2019, Lake Hopatcong, as well as several other New Jersey lakes, saw devastating harmful algal blooms in many of their swimming areas, affecting much of the summer. While studies and solutions have been developed in order to address the issue, the Gulf of Mexico dead zone is by no means unique, with the problem being seen in New York Harbor as well.

Recently, Stevens has been in-

volved with an effort to address this problem, a $1.3 million research project led by the New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium, and involving several other New Jersey universities as well. The team will address stormwater pollution as a whole in the New York and New Jersey area with the overall goal of improving green infrastructure and improving the health of the waterways. It is funded largely by the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration.

The project will go for three years, with the team first identifying any knowledge gap when it comes to stormwater runoff. Their next step is to fund projects and research to address those gaps

in order to develop water cleansing technologies. The team is also focusing on urban areas in particular, which they point out do not often get addressed in issues concerning stormwater pollution.

According to Stevens Professor Dibyendu Sarkar, “Our problem in the New York City region gets less attention, because it’s on a smaller scale…But it’s the same problem at its heart.”

Regardless of its location, the pollution of waterways and its effects is a problem that will only continue to get worse. However, with the addition of more green technology and research, we continue to take steps in the right direction of a solution.

“Worse Than We Thought”: UN Climate report details stark future for civilization

BY QUENTIN JIMENEZ, SCIENCE WRITER A new report from the UN International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) does not paint a pretty picture for the planet’s future. As many have warned, including previous reports from the IPCC, we are nearing the point of no return. They warn that we are just a few tenths of a degree of warming away from an Earth rife with exacerbated natural disasters, and with our current rate of warming, we will likely exceed this by 2100. Previous estimates have been overly optimistic, and the panel warns that if something is not done soon, we may lose our last chance to prevent an irreversible cascade of compounding climate effects.

The biggest fear is that increasing global temperatures will increase climate-related fatalities, due to “heat stress, heart and lung problems from heat and air pollution, infectious diseases, illnesses from mosquitoes and starvation.”

Not only will we have a mortality crisis on our hands, but the report details that more than 3 billion people are “highly vulnerable” to the effects of climate change on their daily life, which will create a

massive refugee crisis. People will be forced to leave their homes as they become too hot to live and others may have to move inland as rising sea levels make water-side cities uninhabitable.

As we face a global humanitarian refugee crisis, we will also be facing drought and food shortages, first as it becomes too hot for people to work outside, and then as an increasing amount of farmland becomes unfarmable.

As temperatures become more extreme, so too will our use of air conditioning, and in turn, energy consumption. As more and more people cool their homes, and as temperatures continue to rise, either we will be faced with more city-wide blackouts due to a lack of energy, or companies and governments will begin to control the temperature of our thermostats, preventing blackouts but causing heat-related illnesses to become more prevalent.

Climate scientists are saying “that climate change is impacting the world far faster than scientists had anticipated,” as we blow past the estimations of previous reports and the predictive models of our warming path.

But all hope is not lost. The IPCC scientists say there is still a

chance to prevent the worst of climate change and there are mitigation strategies we can use in the future if necessary. But these mitigation techniques will come at a cost. Not only will these strategies require an exorbitant amount of money, time, labor, and political capital (the reasons why almost nothing has been done), but they will also need to be done globally, especially in less wealthy African, Middle Eastern, and Asian countries which are likely both to be hit the hardest and be the least capable of dealing with the crisis.

While an international coopera-

tive solution does not seem likely anytime soon, many believe that it is the last chance the world has to prevent an unrepairable feedback loop.

While the future does seem grim, there is still some hope left to save the planet. Although those in power may not live long enough to see the effects of their decisions, our generation still has a chance to turn this crisis around.

Don’t allow companies like Exxon to control the narrative, make it known that they are the root cause of the problem, with just 100 companies causing 71% of global

emissions. Don’t allow them to blame you for their production of plastic cups and straws which are poisoning the planet. Make your voice heard, or else soon all of the voices in the world may not be enough.

NJ Senators Cory Booker - booker.senate.gov/contact Bob Menendez -menendez.senate.gov/contact Climate Organizations 350.org NRDC.org sierraclub.org

PHOTO COURTESY OF KNOWYOURMEME.COM

The effects of climate change on mental health

BY ESTEFANIA DE CAIRES, SCIENCE WRITER The need to fight climate change is almost always talked about from an environmental point of view. For example, an environmental argument is that the warming of the Earth will lead to the increased melting of the ice caps, which will raise the sea level and damage coastal cities.

However, one aspect of climate change that is less talked about is the effect it has on mental health.

A primary consequence of climate change is the increased frequency of extreme weather events. Hurricanes, floods, and wildfires have all become more common in the U.S., and the aftermath of these natural disasters has a direct impact on people, such that after a disaster 54% of adults and 45% of children experience depression. An example of how a natural disaster affects the mental health of a community is Hurricane Katrina. Ever since the hurricane hit in 2005, survivors have experienced increased levels of anxiety and addiction. In the months that followed there was a 61% increase in the number of psychiatric helpline calls. As a result of the hurricane, many people lost their homes, and some lost loved ones. The event was traumatic for the people of New Or-

leans but, unfortunately, the hurricane also devastated the system in which people could seek help.

A study done by the New Orleans Health Department found that of the 208 psychiatrists that were in New Orleans prior to the hurricane, between 22 and 42 psychiatrists returned. Ultimately, these extreme weather events have an association with elevated levels of anxiety, depression, and PTSD. Furthermore, there are more long-term effects on mental health that are influenced by climate change. Research has shown that people behave more irritably and violently when exposed to extreme heat. It has also been found that a wide range of mental health outcomes, from distress symptoms to clinical disorders, can arise due to climate change. Therefore, as temperatures continue to rise, it can fuel anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, and vascular dementia, but it can also lead to more violent behavior.

With climate change leading to more extreme weather events and other problems, more people will be left to deal with the psychological effects. Recently, the use of the term “eco-anxiety” has been used to encapsulate the way people feel about climate change.

The American Psychology Association describes eco-anxiety as the “chronic fear of environmental

PHOTO COURTESY OF IBERDROLA.COM

cataclysm that comes from observing the seemingly irrevocable impact of climate change.” Thus, it is important to emphasize the negative consequences climate change can have on the mental health of people in order to better

prepare them. A key element in mitigating the effects of climate change on mental health is to foster resilience in a community.

Studies have found that encouraging optimism, boosting personal preparedness, and having

a social network increases the resilience in individuals and communities; and “resilient communities can create the physical and social infrastructure that makes them less susceptible to negative effects.”

INTERESTED IN SCIENCE JOURNALISM? Join our Science writing team!

Reach out to Rayna Indelicato, Science Editor (rindelic@stevens.edu) for more information – No experience necessary to write • thestute.com/category/science –

7

Friday, March 11

Opinion THE STUTE EDITORIAL

Anniversary Anniversaries are generally a reason for celebration. Birthdays, the start of a new relationship, and notable cultural events are among some of the anniversaries we celebrate each year (many of which involve cake, which I certainly am a fan of). But on the flip side, there are also anniversaries with more somber tones. Death anniversaries and the anniversary of tragedies are types of anniversaries that force us to pause, reflect, and take a moment to remember what was lost. But can an anniversary be both joyful and melancholy?

This past week marks two years since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. But the nature of this anniversary is different. From one angle, I view this anniversary with dismay as it marks the start of a long period of isolation, and it brought the loss of life, separation of families, mental health issues, and a slew of other global issues. But from another perspective, the two-year anniversary of the pandemic shows how greatly we have progressed as

a society since March of 2020. In this way, the second anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic shows the duality of an anniversary.

Of course, it’s easy to see the negative impacts of the pandemic.

Most obviously was the dramatic loss of human life to COVID-19.

Global data shows that there were nearly 450 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 and six million deaths, demonstrating how the international impact of the pandemic on human life was absolutely devastating. Additionally, with initial lockdowns during 2020 many were laid off, causing economic hardship on many families. Lockdowns also contributed to detriments in the mental health of many due to a forced rapid change in lifestyle and decreased social interactions. Moreover, the pandemic ignited political divides which were extremely prevalent in the U.S., often circulating around the requirement of masks. These are just a fraction of the issues induced by the pandemic.

It’s often difficult to see the

bright side of the pandemic, but there certainly are some benefits. For one, the rate at which the COVID-19 vaccine was developed was almost unheard of. Often it takes anywhere between 10 to 15 years to develop a vaccine, but the COVID vaccine was developed in under a year. Even with the short development time, the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines initially showed a 90 percent effectiveness for preventing COVID-19 symptoms in earlier strains of the disease. Other than scientific developments, the COVID-19 pandemic revealed more efficient uses of technologies. According to studies done on remote work, those who work from home are 47% more productive than those who work in person. This discovery has revolutionized how companies, schools, and other organizations operate. The Stute, for example, still makes use of Zoom meetings to help accommodate our staff’s busy schedules. And through the height of lockdown, The Stute continued to operate

virtually, publishing articles online and creating front page layouts.

The negative and positive generational impact of the pandemic will be prevalent for years to come.

While the pandemic tested us as a community, as students, and as people, many of us have overcome adversity. With mask mandates in Hoboken coming to an end, and talks of COVID-19 ceasing in the media and our conversations, it seems that we are transitioning to a sense of normalcy for this upcoming spring and summer.

At the end of the day, it’s hard to imagine what life was like before COVID-19. While the future is still uncertain, it’s important to look back at these two years and recognize how COVID-19 has changed us, for better or for worse. This week, The Stute has written a feature on the COVID-19 pandemic to show truly how much has changed since March 2020.

Happy anniversary, COVID-19.

Here’s to hoping this year is the last one.

MIND OF A FRESHMAN

SENIORITIS

Glimmer of happiness

AI in internet content

BY KATIE BLOOMER ‘25 Throughout high school, I was repeatedly told by adults that college would be the best years of my life. I always thought they were crazy. After all, high school was pretty good, and it didn’t seem like things could get drastically better. After about a semester and a half as a college student, I can confirm that these have already been some of the best months of my life.

Now, before I go on and on about why college is amazing, let me clarify a few things. I am not oblivious to all of the problems that are part of the college experience. Classes are hard, the adjustment can be tough, and everyone struggles with their own hardships.

When my parents come to visit, I try to give them the full experience of living a day in my life, well,

minus the classes, homework, and club meetings.

Basically, they get to see the campus and, occasionally, will eat at Pierce to try and relive the college dining experience.

Despite how hard I try, or what I plan, there is no way to share my favorite parts of everyday life. How can I show them my immense love for getting to Babbio absurdly early for class just to sit in the little outcoves and stare at my phone? Is it possible to replicate the joy of a cup of dining hall hot chocolate?

On a side note, if you haven’t tried the hot chocolate dispenser in Pierce, you totally should. The salted caramel is the best by far. To everyone else, it might just be a good cup of hot chocolate, but for my friends and me, it is a time to chat about our day and temporarily forget about the stresses of life.

The point is, I can’t drag my parents to sit in a cubicle in a random academic building and say “See! This is why I love college!”

They would definitely have some concerns if I were to do that.

As I sit here and stare at the people walking along the pier outside my window, it is impossible

to doubt that these little moments make up the magic of college. While events like concerts, parties, and trips into the city are memorable, the tiny glimmers of happiness in everyday life are really the parts that add up to make college so amazing. Sometimes I wonder if this sudden passion for finding joy all around me is only due to the fact that I was expecting college to be wonderful since everyone told me that leading up to it. Maybe if I had this attitude earlier in life, high school would have been equally incredible. Luckily, it is impossible to know whether a shift in thinking could have made my past self exponentially happier. All I can do is take this as a lesson for the future.

Try to find that glimmer of happiness wherever you go. Sometimes it is harder to see, but it is always there. I am aware that this entire article is full of quotes that sound like they belong on mugs at discount stores, but I promise these are the thoughts genuinely going through my mind right now. Maybe it’s the universe telling me to get a job as a corny quote writer.

BY ALEKSANDAR DIMOSKI ‘22 Recent developments in artificial intelligence (AI) and computer vision have resulted in the ability to create ‘fake people.’ These people are either generated entirely from scratch by an AI or are made by digitally altering the appearance of actors that appear similar to them.

A movement called RepresentUS recently tried to publish deep fake advertisements on several news outlets such as CNN and Fox News.

The advertisements depicted Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, both stating that Americans need to act in order to protect their democracy. The news station did not let these advertisements run and took them down shortly before being posted.

While it was intended to be for a good cause, the possibility of this technology being used for nefarious purposes remains. At the end of the advertisements, these leaders

Sanjana Madhu ‘23

stated that the video wasn’t real, but there’s no reason that this statement would be included if someone wanted to tarnish another person’s reputation. Without this information, it becomes difficult to identify what videos are real and which are not.

Artificially generated influencers are also gaining popularity on social media such as Instagram. The AI generated influencer ‘Rozy’ is an example of an Instagram influencer developed by a company that is able to represent various companies.

Unlike a real person, an influencer generated by an AI has no chance of being involved in a scandal that would negatively impact a company’s reputation, as well as never aging, meaning they could represent a company for decades to come. These Instagram accounts are less like people, and more like characters such as Mickey Mouse, with the only difference being the level of detail and photorealism that these accounts possess.

All of this points towards the need for transparency from users of this kind of artificial intelligence. Digital influencers usually indicate that they are artificially generated in their bio or elsewhere, but similarly to deep fakes, there are no laws or regulations regarding their use. We are still in the early stages of this

Editor-in-Chief

technology, but we are quickly approaching the point where it will become widely accessible and easy to use.

As AI generation of this content improves, similar techniques for detecting the work of an AI are also being developed. However, it is unclear whether these ‘detective’ AIs will be able to keep up with the rate at which their counterparts are being developed.

Further legislation will be needed in order to regulate these technologies. In the same way that a carton of orange juice has nutritional information on the back, perhaps Instagram accounts will have a required ‘artificially generated’ tag. The societal repercussions of this kind of technology are unclear, but there’s no doubt that it will have a huge impact on our lives.

For now, there’s not much that we can do in order to control the path that artificial intelligence development can take. Instead, we should focus on trying to identify sources of misinformation and prevent its spread. Sources such as Votesmart and Fact Check are great ways to stay informed and confirm (or deny) certain political facts.

Besides this, we can lobby our politicians and push for more regulation and research in the hopes of a brighter and more transparent future.

SCIENTIFIC CURMUDGEON

A radical account of our past leads to a hopeful vision of our future

BY JOHN HORGAN CAL PROFESSOR These are dark times, and I take solace where I can get it. Lately I’ve gotten it from The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity by anthropologist David Graeber, who died shortly after finishing the book, and archaeologist David Wengrow. Dawn is both a dense, 692-page scholarly inquiry into the origins of civilization and an exhilarating vision of human possibil-

ity. [Wengrow is speaking at Stevens April 20. Details below.]

Graeber and Wengrow, whom I’ll henceforth call the Davids, mount a rousing assault on determinism, the idea that biological and environmental factors make certain features of our existence inevitable. They show that humans have lived in wildly diverse ways, which cannot be captured by any simple scientific theories.

The Davids argue, based on their analysis of the past, that we need not accept the crushing inequities of the present. We can do better.

The Davids challenge several widely accepted models of humanity. One dates back to 17th-century philosopher Thomas Hobbes, who held that life for uncivilized people was a “war of all against all.” We need strong leaders,

Hobbes asserted, backed up by armed forces, to save us from our savage tendencies.

Hobbes, for obvious reasons, is popular with those who like the status quo. The Davids demolish the Hobbesian narrative by pointing to complex, agricultural societies—in Asia, the Middle East and the Americas--that governed themselves in non-hierarchical ways.

The Davids do not side, as Hobbes-haters often do, with 18th-century philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who imagined that early humans lived in blissful innocence and equality. Hobbes and Rousseau were both wrong, the Davids contend, in an important way. Both assumed that our ancestors—and “primitive” people living in the Americas and elsewhere-were “stupid,” incapable

of reflecting on their forms of social organization. Far from being simpletons, the Davids maintain, prehistoric people were often socially self-aware, creative, experimental.

As you read Dawn, you realize that its thesis is crushingly obvious. The Davids are merely saying that prehistoric people were as intelligent, complicated, playful and perverse as we are today. We humans share the urge to conform, to go along with the herd, but we can also be rebellious. If we see neighbors doing things in a certain way, we might reject that behavior and do things differently out of sheer contrariness.

The Davids want to shake up our conversation about who we are and what we can be, to open it up to new perspectives, and they

have succeeded. The Dawn of Everything has provoked strong reactions, adulatory and critical. Although I love the book, I think it leaves an extremely important question unanswered: How did we get “stuck” with our hierarchical, and largely patriarchal, social structures?

I proposed an answer in my book The End of War. War is an especially insidious, self-propagating meme, which spreads even to societies that want no part of it. If a peaceful society is threatened by a belligerent neighbor, its choices are limited. It can flee, surrender or fight back. Once war becomes entrenched, as the Davids show, it often leads to patriarchy, slavery and other forms of oppression.

Finally, Dawn raises the question, So what? What should we do to make the

world better? The Davids, although clearly hostile to big governments and big corporations, and to hierarchy in general, don’t offer specific prescriptions--wisely, perhaps. But I have a suggestion, which you can probably guess.

Just as war is the key to understanding how we got stuck, so it is the key to a better future. If we abolish war and militarism, the culture of war, many of our other social ills will become much more tractable.

That’s my guess, and hope.

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: We must start talking about how to end war once and for all.

David Wengrow, co-author of The Dawn of Civilization, will give a talk to Stevens via Zoom on April 20 at 1:30. You can find the link and passcode here.

8

Friday, March 11

Opinion THE CONVERSATION

BOOK OF THE WEEK

President Biden’s SOTU address and police funding

The book you read when you want to escape reality to an epic fantasy adventure

BY MARISA POWERS ‘23 & TASHA KHOSLA ‘25 Introduction The “defund the police” cause has been pushed more aggressively by activists and other liberal voters after the death of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter protests in the summer of 2020. A movement largely associated with the Democrat party is being criticized for the party’s lack of efforts to defund the police. This is largely a result of rising crime rates in cities across the United States, prompting many prominent Democratic leaders to back-pedal efforts to defund the police.

Campus Conservative, Marisa Powers In his first State of the Union address, President Biden denounced the “defund the police” movement, an unexpected sentiment due to his democratic political leaning. He said, “We should all agree: The answer is not to defund the police […] The answer is to fund the police with the re-

sources and training they need to protect our communities.” Democrats and Republicans in fact, do not all agree.

Fewer than 40% of Americans approve of how Biden has handled crime.

Democrat Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has stated that there is an “attitude of lawlessness in our country that springs from I don’t know where,” when in fact members of her party have cut police funding in major cities across the US, including Chicago, New York City, and Portland.

Policies like this may be why the US murder rate is the highest it’s been in 25 years. Now, these cities are refunding their police departments as the midterm elections are approaching, and their approval rates are lower than they expected.

Of course, this is with the exception of some unwavering Democrats such as Congresswoman Cori Bush.

I feel my opinion can be

summed up best by a Democrat Representative from Ohio, Tim Ryan. “It seems like the Democrats can’t get out of their own way. The Democrats have got to do a better job of being clear on what they’re trying to do.” Changing their position on this significant issue months before elections will not make up for the past two years of mistakes, and the countless lives lost because of their soft-oncrime policies and rhetoric.

Campus Liberal, Tasha Khosla A persistent problem for Democrats in the media is presenting a unified perspective when it comes to presenting their core beliefs. President Biden’s call to “fund the police” has generated backlash from fellow Democrats, including Representative Cori Bush.

Bush tweeted, “With all due respect, Mr. President. You didn’t mention saving Black lives once in this speech [...]

Defund the police. Invest in our communities.”

For President Biden, his aversion to the “defund the police” ideology is nothing new. In 2020, after arriving in Houston to meet the family of George Floyd a month after his murder, Biden stated, “No, I don’t support defunding the police […] I support conditioning federal aid to police based on whether or

not they meet certain basic standards of decency and honorableness.” His statements during his State of the Union speech serve to completely distance himself from that ideology but alienate himself from other Democrats, such as Bush.

Moreover, Biden’s address raises additional issues such as the need for police funding and police brutality. 2021 saw a record high of police shootings, with “the highest number recorded since 2015.” Additionally, despite promises to decrease funding, “26 of the 50 largest cities raised their police spending for 2021.” Given the number of police killings and the high police budgets, funding the police does not seem to be the solution.

Overall, Biden’s claims are an attempt at distancing Democrats from the “defund the police” doctrine but falls short in addressing the reasoning behind this doctrine.

Conclusion Both sides agree that President Biden’s State of the Union Speech highlights how disjointed the Democrats have been when taking a stance on social issues. The presence of the upcoming midterm elections seem to have influenced Biden’s remarks and have divided Democrats even further.

BY STEPHANIE SEARING ‘24 The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon follows four different narrators in the divided world of East and West. The House of Berethnet has ruled the queendom of Inys for a thousand years. However, as Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to ensure her bloodline and protect her queendom from ruin. Ead Duryan is still an outsider at court, even though she is a lady-in-waiting. However, she is loyal to a secret society of mages who has sent her to court to protect the Queen with forbidden magic.

Across the sea, in the East, Tané has trained and dreamt of being a dragonrider since childhood, but is faced with a decision that could destroy her life. All

while this is happening, the East and West remain unequivocally divided as bad forces are awakening from the deep.

This 848-page epic fantasy is one of the most stunning books I have ever read.

It is the book that got me into fantasy novels. It contains dragons, magic, secrets, and everything you could ever want in a fantasy novel, and all are unexpectedly intertwined. I fell in love with the characters and felt so connected. The book is so descriptive and well-written and left me wanting more — even after 848 pages. Although it can be a daunting read, it is so worth it and rewarding. Even if fantasy is not your preferred genre, I really recommend this book — it will change you!

This piece was published online on February 18, 2022.

PHOTO COURTESY BLOOMSBURY PUBLISHING

OFF THE PRESS

What did they find?

BY OFF CENTER —SATIRE— We here at Off the Press were surprised to learn that one of the many parties we were not invited to is called the “Founders Day Ball,” and that it is going to be tonight.

While we love a good party — in fact, we have a ball at the ones we do go to — we wanted to find out exactly what was found to be so amazing to be cause enough for a school-wide nighttime field trip to celebrate.

The first and most obvious thing that could have been found is the day itself. Of course, March 11 is hardly the perfect day for anything though.

Too early to be Pi day, too close to the Ides of March to be carefree and

relaxed, too late to celebrate or lament both not having or having a significant other depending on your current relationship status and situation. It’s also not anyone’s birthday in Off the Press. So there’s no way they’re celebrating a very special day that they found.

Our editors went on a mission to find the mysterious organizers of the event to investigate further. Upon discovering all of them had dogs as pets and played with them often with balls (like good dog owners should), we were wondering if they had lost a ball, became unable to play with their dog as a result, found it, and were now throwing a massive party to celebrate. This would indeed be a very clever dual use

of the word “ball,” taking advantage of not only its meaning as a dance but also as a spherical object.

After establishing all of them had balls in abundance and, thus, the loss of a single ball would not be cause for concern, this was ruled out as well. At this point in our investigation, the Sherlock theme was playing in our office nonstop as we continued to make deductions.

After listening to that banger of a theme for a few hours however, we got tired of it and decided it would be much more interesting simply to induce the reason for the dance.

We gathered what we knew, which was pretty easy because it was only that something was found, there is a day, and there is a ball. Balls, of course,

bounce. Bouncy balls are the best toy. Days become night. Night starts at nightfall. Things that are found were once lost.

People that lose things are losers.

It took all the typewriters and mechanical calculators in our office to figure this one out, but at long last, we are pleased to report that the real reason for the Founders Day Ball is that it’s a celebration of the founding of Stevens and the creation of the password “stevens1870” which happened simultaneously in 1870. Off the Press was able to get some last minute tickets to the event and you’ll be able to find us for autographs and pictures at table 15.5. We were only able to get half a table for the entire team.

vorite things to bring up is how there is a place for everyone here. Make no mistake, putting out a weekly print publication is no small feat, especially on top of rigorous course loads. Yet, there are dozens of people who put in the work necessary to make it happen day after day, week after week.

We have photographers, writers, copyeditors, layout designers, people who run it all, and even a paper/pizza delivery guy. Top to bottom, left to right, we have it all covered. The result is a unique culture of people from all sorts of backgrounds with all sorts of interests uniting to make this

paper happen.

When I first joined The Stute I mostly wanted to be a part of an active organization on campus, and little did I know how much it would eventually mean to me. Now, as Managing Editor of The Stute, I really get a fuller understanding of the importance of things like sticking to the expected word count, humor, and how a little pizza and a little music go a long way to keep people in the office, hard at work. (I mean, we are college students after all. It doesn’t take much past free pizza.)

Talking to other columnists, there’s sometimes

PHOTO COURTESY AMAZON.COM

SECOND-YEAR FRESHMAN

MAKING HISTORY

BY KEENAN YATES ‘24 The Stute has been around since 1904. Don’t believe me? It’s on the cover of every issue! And being a part of such a long-standing organization is something that never ceases to amaze me. There have been hundreds of Stuters to come be-

fore me, and I’m sure there will be thousands afterward. But right now, at this very moment, it is awesome to see us both making history and documenting the present simultaneously, and in the most aesthetic way possible. Naturally, starting over a century ago, The Stute has seen different formats — paper, for starters.

And now there’s an online presence as well, both on different social media platforms and in website form.

It should come as no surprise that I’m writing about The Stute, it’s something I love talking about because I’m proud to be a part of this organization. One of my fa-

this mindset of “meh, why should I care what I write?

Who’s gonna read it anyway?” And I’ve definitely fallen into that at some points too. Recently, however, I’ve been looking at past editions of the Stute and now I realize that, though maybe it could be true and no one will read this article the week it comes out, it will always be there far down the line for another curious Stuter to someday look and see college through the eyes of two nineteen-year-old girls in 2022; myself and Gianna.

There are a lot of reasons I love looking at past editions of the Stute — though many years separate those

in the Stute now and those who have been a part of it within the past 118 years, the humor and affinity for inside jokes are still as strong as ever. That, plus it’s really intriguing to be able to see how such a long-standing institution has changed over the years. People get accepted and graduate every year, new buildings go up and old ones come down, and yet the comedy of a predominantly STEM school never gets old.

So cheers to all those who’ve been a part of The Stute before and all who will come after; make the most of it.

And oh? What was that? Another perfect 580 word article? Smooth :)

9

Friday, March 11

Opinion TECHNICALLY SPEAKING

Butterfly effects in tech

BY SANJANA MADHU ‘23 Two weeks ago, Russia invaded Ukraine, and the whole world wept. What’s happening across the sea is tragic and requires attention from all world leaders and countries. Russian President Vladimir Putin has remained relentless in his attack on Ukraine with no indication of stopping the war efforts. While some countries have sent aid to Ukraine during these difficult times, others have begun to place sanctions on Russia as they continue

to ravage Ukraine despite intervention from the United Nations. But countries are not the only entities who have taken notice of the happenings between Ukraine and Russia. Large technology firms have begun placing their own form of sanctions on Russia.

Apple announced on March 1 that they would suspend the sale of their products in Russia due to the invasion of Ukraine.

In addition to the physical hardware, Apple has also begun to limit the use of their digital services, such as Apple Pay and Apple Maps, as well as others restricting Russian media outlets from broadcasting outside of Russia, like RT News and Sputnik News.

The pressure for tech companies to stop the production and sale of their products in Russia is high.

After Apple announced the discontinuation of sales

in Russia, other technology companies followed suit, triggering a butterfly effect often seen in tech.

Both Facebook and YouTube began to crack “down on content shared by Russian media amid intensifying pressure from European officials to act against pro-Russian propaganda.”

Netflix has also since stated that it will not be airing Russian TV channels.

Despite the actions taken

by Apple, the Ukrainian government wants more from the Apple effort. The Ukrainian Minister of Digital Transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov, made a statement urging Apple to obstruct access to the App Store in Russia.

Other companies have also sanctioned Russia in their own manner. Microsoft has also buckled down in a similar fashion to Apple and has decided to stop selling products and

services in Russia. Google has suspended its advertising business in Russia and disabled Google Maps (although they do continue to provide information showing routes for escaping Ukrainian refugees).

Samsung, like Microsoft and Apple, has stopped shipments of their products to Russia. Other technology-related companies like TikTok, Snapchat, Airbnb, Disney, Sony, Warner Bros, Paramount, Universal, Nintendo, Intel, and large car manufacturers have also decided to change their relationship with Russia and decrease their interactions.

One thing to consider is how this butterfly effect will affect fleeing Ukrainians and those who are protesting the war effort in Russia. While most technology companies have been mindful to not completely halt their services in a way that would be a

detriment to refugees, it is still unclear how this techno-blackout will affect victims of the war.

It’s interesting to see how technology companies often act in unison, whether it be to support specific causes, promote their collective ideals, or instigate change where they see fit.

I am glad that technology companies see their large influence in hostile attacks and are responsible enough to make decisions that attempt to keep the peace and stop hostile powers. However, with the large influence that technology companies have, they should continue to use their platform and take actions that benefit victims of the war. The trajectory of the Ukraine War is still unclear, and hopefully, the recent actions taken by large tech firms help to relieve the burden placed on the Ukrainian people.

SPOILER ALERT

THE DOODLING DUCK

Beginning of the end: return of Amphibia and Owl House final seasons

What’s in a color?

BY EMMA TONG ‘25 So, if you have not heard the news, Owl House and Amphibia are returning on March 19. This was a sooner-than-expected but very exciting announcement for the fandom. Like any other fan of the shows, I am very excited about this because these are the two most anticipated and important seasons for the fandom to be involved in. These are the ending seasons for both series so these events are built up over the whole series. It is basically the payoff season, the one in which mysteries and conclusions will be given. Fans will be able to see if their theories prove true or if new information will be added.

But for those who haven’t watched the series in a few months, I want to catch you up to what was happening, and to what the new seasons will be left up to since the series will most likely go straight into the plot.

For Amphibia we left off with Anne and the Plantars entering the human world.

It focuses on the dynamic shift, and how much Anne has grown over the course of the series as she is now taking care of the Plantars.

It also introduces a whole new world with Anne’s parents and other characters being a big part of it as you explore how to get home and the aftereffects of “True Colors.” I love how they look into Anne’s community which gives her home a flavor of color that can only be seen in a Thai-American family. I also love how they acknowledge the reality of being a child that is Isekai’d (sent to another world) with the family’s tearful reunion scene, Thai community, or a room full of Annes. This all hints at her parent’s de-

spair at losing her and not being able to get her back.

There were also episodes that got to see some Earth fun like Sprig’s birthday episode or Frogman. Also, we got a view into what the final plans are of Andreas and the Core, in addition to Sasha’s character development as she learns what she did was wrong and grows regretful of what happened in “True Colors” — though we don’t know if it is a true change as there are many instances where it didn’t stick.

Now, for Owl House. As you may or may not have heard, this (season 2b) will be the last season of the show, and the third “season” will be composed of three 75-minute “episodes” (support of the series at this critical point may produce more content from the series or other similar projects!). But due to this, there are a lot of plots revealed in season 2a, like the gang learning more about using glyph magic. Or the Emperor’s coven ramping up for the Day of Unity, which also lets us have more of a look at

this coven, its leaders, and coven heads. Like Kikimora and the Golden Guard’s attempts to get on Belos’ good side, such as finding Titan’s blood for the door, or the coven heads like Raine who has a past with Ida. Like exploring Lilith as she leaves the coven and tries to amend for her mistakes in the past, or Lumity taking off finally. Finally, we just left off at an emotional moment in which Camila, Luz’s mom found out about where Luz was and about the doppelganger, Vee, a basilisk who is being hunted in the Boiling Isles by Belos. This is another take on what happens after the Isekai with a family and relationships that are a bit more complicated. How would this event change the dynamic of this relationship?

Nevertheless, I am so excited for the reintroduction of these two series and all the episodes that finally build up to the final climax of these series. I encourage all of you to watch these series and support them as they come out.

PHOTO COURTESY OF DANA TERRACE ON TWITTER

BY POOJA RAJADURAI ‘23 I recently participated in Hoboken’s St. Patrick’s Day festivities, and rarely have I seen such commitment to theme and style as my peers exhibited on Saturday. Growing up, I was fortunate that my schools had an abundance of school pride so Red Ribbon Weeks, Spirit Days, and football games revealed a similar commitment to being part of the “group,” so to speak, and there was no shortage of “black-outs,” “grey-outs,” and every other color-out you could think of. However, I was not prepared for the enthusiasm college students and young adults have for the days leading up to St. Patrick’s day. It didn’t matter your age, your friend group, your style of dress, your affinity for going out or staying in, your hobbies, talents, gender, or star sign. What mattered was how much green was in your (or your friends’) closets, and how much glitter and stickers you could fit on your face.

As I sat on my couch in my living room thinking about the green bonanza I had experienced, I had a random shower thought.

Or rather,staring-into -space- on-the- couch thought. What if St. Patrick’s day wasn’t green?

What would it feel like to experience the pride and heritage of Irish-Americans in a completely different color? Well, it turns out that for many years, Irish people were better represented by the color blue than green.

King George III established blue as the color of Irish people throughout the 18th century by declaring a new order of chivalry for the Kingdom

of Ireland, called the Order of St. Patrick. The official color of this order was a sky blue known as “St. Patrick’s Blue.”

As discordance grew between English royalty and the Irish people, the color blue assigned to them by King George in years prior became tainted, and they assumed the color green as a symbol of identity, as well as a reminder of rebellion and independence.

Personally, I love how the color green goes hand in hand with the fact that Ireland is often referred to as the “Emerald Isle,” due to its rolling hills and plentiful greenness of scenery. Very satisfying.

What would St. Patrick’s day look like if instead of seas of green we saw seas of sky blue? It’s very hard to imagine a day full of blue Luck of the Irish graphic tees, blue top hats, blue banners, and maybe even a sky blue shake from McDonald’s!

Try as I might, it’s very difficult to imagine a St. Patrick’s day where imagery is not inundated by multiple shades of green, clovers, and pictures of leprechauns. Much in the same way, I realized, it’s very difficult to envision American patriotism without our standard Red, White, and Blue.

And I imagine it must be very difficult for Ukraine to imagine its representation without their Yellow and Blue.

Most of what we associate with a culture is through what we see.

As an Indian-American woman, thinking of India brings back multiple sensory recollections, from the specific spices used in certain dishes, the smell of incense during religious holidays, and the feel of silk and embroidery so reminiscent of formal events and gatherings.

However, all these are punctuated in my mind with the vibrant reds, yellows, greens of fabrics, the multiple shades of brown in food that bring back such a sense of comfort, the golds and silvers

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of religious symbols, and so much more. The red white and blue used to signify American pride, the green of the Irish, the rainbows signifying LGBTQ+ pride and their historical struggle as well as love everlasting, and finally the red and white of our own Stevens campus are just a few of the intentional reminders of freedom, culture, struggle, and victory. Let no one replace the colors we hold dear in our hearts without our permission.

What is going on in Ukraine is a foreign idea to many of us because we have not grown up in periods of prolonged war.

Humanity has come very far from the eras of war indefinite and implodable tensions. Recently, as I was listening to a podcast interviewing Noah Yuval Harari, one of my favorite authors, he mentioned that the only thing Putin has achieved by his invasion into Ukraine is planting the seed of hatred. The years to follow will be a testament to the strength of humanity and our ability to move past the evolutionary tendency of war. It will be a testament to our capacity for love and understanding as well as our ability to avoid conf lating nationality and patriotism with greed and superiority. It will also, importantly, be a testament to keep hatred out of our conversations. To not allow people’s colors and cultures to be symbols of hatred. And to allow people to choose the colors they so choose to align with.

I’m sure I have strayed much farther away from a staring-into-space-onthe-couch thought than you may have expected, but truly let us try to see the world as it is and fight for the people who cannot stand up for themselves.

It’s a dog-eat-dog world, but unlike dogs, we are not color blind and I hope that in the end, respect, love, and bravery can prevail.

10

Friday, March 11

Campus Pulse

Ben Stoll ‘24

Lynda Farinella ‘23

Megan Sanford ‘24

“I am. But I have no idea who is in my table.”

“Ah... yeah?”

“Yee. See, I’m excited but right now I’m dead.”

ROVING REPORTER “Are you going to the Founder’s Day Ball?”

Trevor Mastorio ‘23

Thomas Fallon ‘24 “Unfortunately not, but it sounds like a lot of fun.”

“When is it?”

Masha Yepishkina ‘23

Janet Hamrani ‘24

“No. I was gonna go, but then I needed to save money for spring break.”

“No, it looks like high school prom.”

Delia Setola ‘23 “No. Because I’m going on spring break with Masha”

Gaming the Grid This word search has a special twist. It’s nonlinear! Every letter in a word can connect horizontally, vertically, or diagonally (like in BOGGLE, which happens to be one of the hidden words). If you need extra help, take a look at the clues below. The numbers in parentheses tell you how many letters are in the word.

Stephen Pachucki and Off Center FIND 19 CLASSIC BOARD GAMES • •

• • • • •

• • • •

Sudoku

Sixteen lettered dice (6) The robber moves if you roll a 7 (5) “King me!” (8) En passant (5) “___ in the ___ with the ___” (4 but in the UK, it’s spelled with two extra letters) Played on a 19x19 grid (2) Only one hand may touch the tower (5) Roll-and-move race (4) Its suits are Bamboo, Characters, and Dots (7) Two-player game played with stones (7) Some of its spaces take inspiration from Atlantic City, NJ (8)

• • • •

• •

• •

Perform surgery on Cavity Sam (9) E is worth 1, Z is worth 10 (8) Ancient Egyptian game from before 3000 BCE (5) Land on other player’s pawns to send them back to the start (5) Only miners can destroy bombs (8) Don’t say any of the six words on each card (5) Draw 4 (3) Five of the same dice result score the titular category (7)

LAST WEEK’S CROSSWORD ANSWERS:

Puzzle 1 (Very hard, difficulty rating 0.83)

Very Hard Puzzle! 0.83 difficulty

3

4

8

1

6

9 7

5

3

2

4

5

8

8

3 LAST WEEK’S SUDOKU ANSWERS:

7

3

1

4

9

8

4

2 5

9 2

1

3

6

1

Generated by http://www.opensky.ca/sudoku on Wed Mar 9 20:51:41 2022 GMT. Enjoy!