[The Stute] September 9, 2022 (Issue 1, Volume CXX)

NEWS (2-3) Stevens rebrands Learn more about changes to the logo, messaging, and promotion al FEATUREmaterial.(4-5)

PULSE (7) Read answers from the Stevens community to Roving Reporter, plus cross sudoku

Stevens updates branding guidelines

our weekly

Happy 120th anniversary to The Stute!

The President and VPO are the two elected positions by the student body. They will come together and con duct interviews to appoint the position. Once the Pres ident and VPO appoint a candidate, the Senate has to approve the appointments by a simple majority. What does the VPAA do, and what traits are essential for a new VPAA to display?

CONTRIBUTINGHEITZ,REPORTER

HOBOKEN, NJ | SEPTEMBER 9, 2022VOLUME CXX No. 1 NEW STUTE EVERY FRIDAY • EST. 1904 The student newspaper of Stevens Institute of Technology, and creator of Attila the facebook.com/stevensthestuteInstagramwww.thestute.comDuck.@thestute

BY CONTRIBUTINGMULLISKY,RUTHIEREPORTER SEE SPORTS PAGE 2 PHOTO COURTESY

The Vice President of Ac ademic Afairs is the bridge between the students and administration with any issues regarding academ ics. Any inquiries about academic policy, making a change on campus, or con cerns that students may have would go to the VPAA. They would function as a messenger between pro fessors and their students. Poska describes Luvishis as being well-versed in every thing related to academic afairs, as someone experi enced working with others. A model VPAA is an individ ual who is vocal about their beliefs and who would stand up for students. What changes are happening to the SGA, and how do you think these changes will afect student life at Stevens? With Luvishis stepping down from her position, having the current Aca demic Afairs Committee SEE SGA PAGE 2 Jean Zu

Stevens aspires to track quantitative and qualitative performance on a regular basis, acknowledging the interconnection and inter dependence between each of these goals, and will not sacrifce quality for quanti ty. Stevens’ committee also aspires to share the annual progress with the Stevens community on stevens.edu. This annual plan will be de veloped by the leadership team to execute smaller, an nual targets, which are sent and revised by the Provost and Vice Presidents. The plan states integrity, diversity, equity and inclu sion, and sustainability as core values that members of the community should follow in order for each of the goals to be achieved. Each dean is responsible for the proactive implementa tion of academic goals re lated to the 2032 Strategic Plan on a department level, whereas each student is en couraged to put forth their best knowledge and perfor mance which will inevitably lead to higher marks on a bigger scale at Stevens. As declared by the Stra tegic Plan, each goal and its stakeholder is interdepen dent and woven together, guiding Stevens’ eforts to make the vision of 2032 an actual reality. OF @STEVENSDUCKS ON INSTAGRAM

On May 20, Stevens re leased its new brand guide lines, updating the school’s message and imagery. In addition to this, Stevens also updated their logo, re placing it with a new, more minimalist version of the old one. Over the summer, all images of the old logo have been cleared from all digital and campus spac es, now replaced by the new image. Stevens chose to make this change qui etly, not releasing a cam pus-wide email or releasing an ofcial statement giving the reason for the change. This change seems to align with the goals of Ste vens’ new 10-year plan, which aims to modernize the university. The new logo depicts the top of the Edwin A. Stevens building, the frst building on cam pus, showing some simi larity to the old design but now in a modern, simplistic style. Below that is a small star, also borrowed from the old design, and block letters saying “Stevens In stitute of Technology 1870.” The redesign as well as new marketing material have an emphasis on bold, angular designs to give the school a more sleek, cutting-edge appeal.Along with changing the imagery used, Stevens also updated their brand mes saging, and what words and phrases staf is allowed to use when writing pub

Welcome to Stevens! Read the Stute’s guide to meal plans, athletics, clubs, greek life, and so much more.

WELCOME BACK!

As mentioned in the ar ticulated plan, four strategic priorities within a batch of nine goals include enhanc ing the student’s experience and success, amplifying Stevens’ impact through research and innovation, elevating the academic reputation of Stevens, and strengthening and connect ing the Stevens commu nity. Each of these goals, along with the fve others, are developed through a SMART-focused layout that comprises key initiatives and strategies that can di rectly be applied to a system of progression, like the dou bling of research funds from $40M to $80M per year tar get.The plan is bold but at tainable. Stevens’ position can be modeled by four modules: strengths, weak nesses, opportunities, and threats. Starting with its strengths, the academic datasets show an increase in research awards and gradu ation rate, but also entail the accomplishments, which provide a strong foundation for Stevens to build upon in the future. Weaknesses must be assumed, as Ste vens recognizes the limita tion of their 55-acre cam pus, and the past incapacity to reach student satisfaction at its highest levels. Oppor tunities are taken for grant ed and the committee made sure to state them as men tioned by the example of the increasing demand for a technology-savvy work force, and increasing accep tance of online education, both opening doors to a new virtual system of education.

Threats are also mentioned in the plan, leading factors to unplanned misfring if not taken seriously. These include the increased com petitive pressures from peer schools, and the esca lating cost of higher educa tion closely related to postCOVID infation rates.

Stevens Board of Trustees approved the university’s 10-year strategic plan BY ALIONA

The 2021-22 season for the Stevens Athletics De partment was truly one for the books. With an out standing 13 teams winning Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom Titles, 13 teams advancing to the NCAA Tournament, and a strong 309-135-7 record across all team sports, this past season proved to be extremely rewarding for the Stevens Ducks. All this success brought even more recognition — a 10th place fnish of 326 Division III institutions ranked in the fnal Learfeld Directors’ Cup. The Learfeld Directors’ Cup is a joint program be tween the National Associa tion of Collegiate Directors of Athletics and USA Today. The fnal DIII standings consider 18 sports, and four must be men’s and wom en’s soccer and men’s and women’s basketball. The following 14 highest sports from each institution are

solve our weekly

BY ETHAN GVILI AND EMILY RETINO SGA President, Gabriella Poska and Vice President of Operations, Paulina Geor goutsos, will be appointing Olof Persson and Carly Te itelbaum as Vice President of Academic Afairs (VPAA) and Secretary, respectively. Their appointments will be pending the approval of the Senate during the upcom ing Meeting of the Senate. This appointment follows the recent resignation of the previous VPAA, Eden Lu vishis. The Stute conducted an interview with Poska and Luvishis to inquire more about this recent leadership change and what it means for the Stevens community. Why did Luvishis de cide to step down from the position of VPAA? Luvishis is planning to study abroad at the Univer sity of Amsterdam in the fall semester and will not be able to perform all of her duties necessary for the role of VPAA while she is abroad. What is the process of reflling the position af ter a resignation?

SEE BRAND PAGE 2

word puzzle and

Find

Dr.

CONTRIBUTINGISAHAK,REPORTER

The School of Engineer ing and Science (SES) has been so fruitful in the past fve years because of the diligent eforts of its Dean, Dr. Jean Zu. Zu joined the Stevens community in 2017 and has over 30 years of ex perience in academia as she strives to evolve the world of engineering.Dr.Zu’s academic jour ney began in 1987 at Tsin ghua University in China, where she worked as both a teacher and an impassioned researcher. She then entered

reappointed as Dean of School of Engineering and Science nationallyexcelsportsStevens PHOTO COURTESY OF DR. JEAN ZU SEE DEAN PAGE 2 BY SERENA

BY CLAIRE HANNAN, OPINION COLUMNIST

and

SGA names new VPAA and Secretary

We write Stevens history

Stevens has declared an ambitious goal to become a national and global tech nology-centric educational magnet by 2023, according to the Stevens 2032 Strate gic Plan released earlier this June. The Strategic Plan ning Steering Committee has led a 17-month-long process of creating a set of goals and core values to fol low within the next decade to perform 10 years of great success. Following the 2032 plan, the goals have been engineered to follow the vi sion Inspired by Humanity, Powered by Technology.

SCIENCE (7) Bear sightings monkeypox! out what’s going on in the world of science.

All members of the Stevens community are able to submit a stand alone opinion piece (otherwise known as an Op-Ed) to be published in The Stute. Op-Eds must be between 400 – 800 words, but longer sub missions 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 onTheanonymity.Editorial Board reserves the right to choose whether or not to pub lish a submitted Op-Ed based on a majority rule vote, and additionally reserves the right to edit Op-Eds for clarity or request authors to revise. Provided that the author approves the fnal version, The Stute reserves the right to edit Op-Eds according to our copy editing procedures, de fned in our policies.

chair fll the position as VPAA is the most natural progression for the SGA cabinet. The new VPAA will be Olof Persson, an incoming sophomore. Poska explained, Lu vishis and those stepping down are leaving their “posts in a very strong position.” Although new additions are happening to the SGA cabinet, the Senate is flling positions with bright, articulate students who care about their school and its stu dents.

On May 20, Stevens released its new brand guidelines, updating the school’s message and imagery. In addition to this, Stevens also updat ed their logo, replacing it with a new, more minimalist version of the old one. Over the summer, all images of the old logo have been cleared from all digital and campus spaces, now replaced by the new image. Stevens chose to make this change quietly, not releasing a campus-wide email or releasing an ofcial statement giving the reason for the change. This change seems to align with the goals of Stevens’ new 10-year plan, which aims to modernize the university. The new logo depicts the top of the Edwin A. Stevens building, the frst building on campus, show ing some similarity to the old design but now in a modern, simplistic style. Below that is a small star, also bor rowed from the old design, and block letters saying “Stevens Institute of Technology 1870.” The redesign as well as new marketing material have an emphasis on bold, angular de signs to give the school a more sleek, cutting-edge appeal. Along with changing the imag ery used, Stevens also updated their brand messaging, and what words and phrases staf is allowed to use when writing public-facing content. These rules dictate how to write advertising material and external messages for prospective students, parents, and businesses. The chang es include an emphasis on succinct wording and changing vocabulary to be more future-focused by replacing words like “pioneer” with “innova tor” to avoid sounding dated. Notably, these changes were made seemingly without much stu dent input. In the section labeled “Our Message” Stevens outlines that the new values and beliefs are “informed by a series of stakeholder interviews,” which does not mention any student input involved in picking these new Previousguidelines.iterations of the Stevens logo have strongly relied on student input. In 2010, Stevens changed their logo using student input to choose the fnal design by launching a pro gram called “Let’s FACE it, it takes a campus to decide.” Four logo options were posted to the school’s Facebook fan page and anyone within the Ste vens community was encouraged to vote. The logos were created af ter dozens of interviews and focus groups with members of the Stevens community. This way the design in corporated important aspects of the university that students and faculty deemed important to represent.

2 Friday, September 9 News 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 NEWS EDITOR................................STEPHANIE SEARING ‘24 FEATURE EDITOR..................................TASHA KHOSLA ‘25 SCIENCE EDITOR............................RAYNA INDELICATO ‘22 OPINION EDITOR..............................LAUREN GARRETT ‘25 HEAD COPY EDITOR.....................GIANNA CALLEGARI ‘24 HEAD PHOTOGRAPHER......................OLOF PERSSON ‘25 SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER............VANESSA HUERTA ‘23 Masthead Volume CXX No. 1 Executive Board Editorial StaffOperationsBoardBoard&Contributors Contact PolicyDisclaimerCorrectionsUsonLetters to the Editor Policy on Op-Eds FULL LIST ON thestute.com/policies Joey ZoeVictoriaThomasTanyaTanishkaStephenSerenaRuthieRafaelMatthewKarenAmesGongBrantlLeeLiMulliskyIsahakPachuckiKapoorAvadiaBoccassiniYashchukHackAliona Heitz Anaïs Bouchatta Ava GiovannaEvanEthanEthanEthanEmilyColeClaireCharlesWangBeallHannanGardellaRetinoCheGviliKleschinskyPapageorgeNotaro GENERAL.........................................EBOARD@THESTUTE.COM EDITOR-IN-CHIEF.........................EDITOR@THESTUTE.COM ADVERTISING.............................BUSINESS@THESTUTE.COM OFFICE.................................UNIVERSITY CENTER ROOM 216B NOTICE A MISTAKE? Email us at eboard@thestute.com.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

SGA CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at the Uni versity of Toronto in 1994 and be came the frst woman in the Asian Department Chair in 2009. Dr. Zu’s eforts have been high ly regarded by the Stevens com munity. Thanks to her bounteous contributions to SES, Dr. Zu has recently been reappointed as the dean for another fve years. Zu has also done a tremendous job at nurturing SES during her time as dean; she has created a vast com munity of students and faculty at SES, having recruited 64 facul ty members during her previous term with more that are planning to hop aboard in the 2022-23 ac ademic year. Her adjustments to SES have also fostered an increase in enrollment in Stevens; the un dergraduate enrollment has risen by 25% in the 2021 school year. Thus, Dr. Zu will not slow down. When asked about her goals for the next fve years, she responded enthusiastically, “we will contin ue to innovate and modernize our curriculum, enhance teaching ef fectiveness, provide more research opportunities, and strengthen stu dent advising, career development and alumni engagement.” Dr. Zu plans to keep SES on track with the state of engineering and science in the world as it evolves. She strives to continue giving fuel to the fame of Stevens’ reputable programs, “In building a top-notch research enterprise, we will continue to re cruit top-notch faculty, provide a strong, supportive and collabo rative research environment and signifcantly increase our PhD en rollment and scholarly activities.” It’s safe to say that the future of SES is in good hands with Dr. Zu. Her passion for engineering is hard to miss as she explains her favorite part of being dean —“the satisfaction and joy gained from the positive changes and achieve ments of our students and facul ty.” With such optimism, the fu ture of the SES looks amazing. Dr. Zu plans to further innovate her program with the help of Lore E. Feiler Endowment, a campaign created to promote various skills among undergraduate women such as business, entrepreneur ship, and engineering. An empha sis on female participation in the world of technology is one of the many factors which drive Dr. Zu’s eforts. She stresses that “while many positive changes have taken place in the fve years, there are several areas for improvement in our efort to achieve our goals that I would like to pursue. Moreover, I have immensely enjoyed the Ste vens community with great people, spirit and momentum.”

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

The Editorial Board reserves the right to choose whether or not to pub lish 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 fnal version, The Stute reserves the right to edit letters according to our copy editing procedures, defned in our policies.

DEAN

BRAND CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 EVAN PAPAGEORGE FOR THE STUTE

SPORTS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

BY CONTRIBUTINGBOCCASSINI,THOMASREPORTER ETHAN CHE FOR THE STUTE KATIE NG FOR THE STUTE

Friday, September 9 3

After 15 years, plans for the Hoboken Terminal redevelop ment are finally put in motion. On the night of July 6, the Hobo ken City Council approved the long-awaited Hoboken Connect project thanks to NJ Transit, LCOR, and the Murphy Adminis tration. With this approval, many changes and improvements are expected to come for the Hobo ken Terminal’s surrounding area. The project aims to ben efit Hoboken residents and the vast amount of commuters from around the state. The characterizing changes of Hoboken Connect include a num ber of private and public changes to the terminal area. As specified by Hoboken Alert, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has con tributed $176 million to the bud get for public changes, the core of which being the addition of a new bus terminal to be located on Hudson Place as well as signifi cant improvements to the Ferry Terminal. These changes include improvements to the exterior as well as the first and second floors of this portion of the terminal. Additionally, an overhaul of War rington Plaza is expected along side renovations to Hudson Place to support bicycle and pedestrian accessibility.Asfarasthe expected private changes go, the most notable plans for addition include the construction of a multi-facet ed residential building located on Observer Highway, only one block off from the terminal it self as displayed on the official Hoboken Connect plans. With this building will come 5,000 square feet of retail space, public open space investments provid ing improvement for pedestri ans, vehicles and bicycles, and even a rooftop terrace. The main feature of this 20-story building, however, is no doubt the afford able housing that it provides. Al though its intent is to be an office building, a monumental 20% of the structure will be dedicated to much needed added housing in the immediate vicinity of Hobo kenWhenTerminal.complete, the project is expected to both directly and indirectly support an estimat ed 15,290 jobs in and around the Hoboken area and generate roughly $234 million in tax rev enue each year. For Hoboken exclusively, there are a project ed 4,433 jobs that will see $9.6 million in annual retail spending and an additional $4.5 million in annual revenue. Not to mention, considering how the terminal is the backbone of public transpor tation for students at Stevens, these changes are more than wel come here on campus. As the Hoboken community eagerly awaits these newfound developments, officials have been proclaiming the success that these changes will bring in the Governor’s Statement on the matter. NJ Transit President & CEO Kevin S. Corbett specifically emphasizes how these steps will benefit millions of commuters whose daily lives revolve heavily around Hoboken’s famed haven of public transportation. Fur thermore, the Hoboken Connect project will hopefully prove to be representative of what is to come of the Mile Square City. Accord ing to Acting Governor Sheila Oliver, “The Murphy Administra tion is focused on strengthening our state from the inside out. We look forward to all the benefits the redevelopment project will bring to the Hoboken community and broader region.” scored without regard to gender. Points are awarded based on the team’s fnish and success while in-season, such as conference championships and participation in the NCAA Tournament. The fall season provided the Ducks with a strong footing — a 35th place ranking in the fnal fall standings. Four fall sports teams made it to the NCAA Tourna ment. Men’s soccer, feld hockey, and women’s volleyball won their respective MAC Freedom titles and women’s soccer secured an at-large bid to the NCAA Tour nament from the NCAA selection committee as a result of their im pressiveDuringseason.the winter season, the Ducks rose to 29th in the f nal standings. Men’s basketball, men’s swimming, and wrestling each won a MAC Freedom ti tle. The women’s indoor track & feld team made many strides with various team and individual awards. The wrestling team had a tremendously successful season with a huge contribution to the standings. Graduate student Brett Kaliner won a national champion ship — the frst in Steven’s history — and three All-American wres tlers were honored. The wrestling team secured an amazing ffthplace fnish in the nation. The Ducks grew even more in the spring season and totaled 439 points, which was third in Divi sion III standings. Each of the seven spring sports reached the NCAA Tournament, with men’s volleyball even making it to the NCAA semifnals. Men’s and women’s tennis and men’s and women’s lacrosse each won an NCAA match. Golf and softball also each won MAC Freedom ti tles. Baseball received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. This successful athletic year not only comes from the athletes’ hard work and determination but also from support from every one on campus. Stevens Director of Athletics Russell Rogers says, “Our student-athletes, coaches, and staf played a tremendous role in making this happen, but the student body and our faculty and staf partners across campus, along with alumni and friends of Stevens, can feel great about be ing part of an institution that has proven you can excel in both aca demics and athletics at a very high level!” In addition, Rogers has hopes for the upcoming season: “When you consider all of this, it magnifes how much this type of honor means and I think we are all motivated to continue the mo mentum into 22-23 and beyond!”

Hoboken Terminal Area Renovations in the Works

News

THINGS TO KNOW

Alexander Stanczak Vice President of Student(VPSI)Interests

Stevens has many health and wellness groups to help students feel safe on cam pus. Members of the Stevens community can visit Stu dent Health Services, Stu dent Counseling and Psy chological Services (CAPS), Disability Services, Ofce of Wellness Education, and the Quiet Space within the Student Wellness Center. Student Health Services is located in the Student Wellness Center and their hours of operation are Mon day through Friday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.Counseling & Psycho logical Services (CAPS) is located in the Student Well ness Center and their hours of operation are Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and they are also available 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. by appointment. CAPS ofers teletherapy and extended evening hours to all stu dents living on campus or within the NJ/NY area. For Stevens students who cur rently reside outside of NJ/ NY we now ofer nationwide teletherapy access through Uwill. To get help, call CAPS at 201-216-5177 to set up a 30 minute screening ap pointment.Ifyouare worried about another student, submit a CARE report through the online portal to share your concern. The portal can be found on the CAPS website on stevens.edu, and after submitted the CARE Team who will follow up with the person in need. The Quiet Space recently opened on August 30, 2021, and it will stay open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This is a space for quiet prayer and meditation for all members of the Stevens community. All are welcome in this space. Important Contacts: Campus Police (general): 201-216-5105 Campus Police (emer gencies): 201-216-3911 Student Health (non-emergencies):Services 201-216-5678 Ofce of Disability Services: 201-216-3748 Stevens Counseling & Psychological Services: 201-216-5177 Stevens Main Contact: 201-216-5000 State of NJ COVID-19 Hotline (General COVID-19 Questions): 2-1-1 State of NJ COVID-19 Hotline (Medical COVID-19 Questions): 1-800-962-1253 National Suicide Preven tion Lifeline: 800-273-8255

Persson says his biggest goal for the semester is for professors to upload their syllabi onto Workday. Pers son believes this would ben eft students by letting them know more about the course before registration. Persson says, “It might only be pos sible to give the last year's syllabus as an example [...] An older syllabus would still give a greater overview than the small paragraph de scriptions that are currently in Workday.” These ofcers will serve to give a voice to the stu dent body and are no doubt committed to their roles and goals of improving the Stevens community.

MEET THE STUDENT GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION: President, Vice President of Operations, and the Cabinet

This article was original ly published on thestute.com on February 21, 2020. Prices have been updated for the current semester in print

On February 14, a com pletely new set of meal plans was announced to current and future residents of Stevens Housing. There are four diferent plans. In order from most ex pansive to least, they are: Tera Bite [sic], Giga Bite, Mega Bite, and Kilo Bite. Meal swipes are now separated into three catego ries: premium, regular, and snack. Premium meal swipes will replace WSW and will be redeemable whenever the participating restaurants are open, rather than just on Wednesdays, but each plan only has a set amount of pre mium swipes. In the past, the number of WSW swipes was only limited by the number of Wednesdays in a semester, around 16 when including f nals, so the Terra Bite and Giga Bite plans will include more total Washington Street meals than the old plans. Regular swipes will essentially be what the existing swipes are now, getting students into Pierce for lunch or dinner, or redeeming for a meal at Colonel John’s or other retail dining outlets on campus. Snack swipes will be for smaller items such as pastries or drinks, and will also allow entry to Pierce, but only for breakfast. According to Trina Ballantyne, Dean of Residential & Dining Services, “snack swipes can include a pastry with a beverage, a yo gurt and a piece of fruit, and a variety of additional grab and go items.”Here is the break down of the diferent plans, their prices, and exactly how many swipes of each type they will include: TERA BITE: 230 Grub Hub dollars, 230 Regular Swipes, 105 Snack Swipes, 8 Guest Meals $3,700 per se mester GIGA BITE: 160 Grub Hub dollars, 160 Regular Swipes, 70 Snack Swipes, 5 Guest Meals $2,850 per se mester MEGA BITE: 70 Grub Hub dollars, 70 Regular Swipes, 45 Snack Swipes, 3 Guest Meals $1,750 per se mester KILO BITE: 120 Grub Hub dollars, 20 Regular Swipes, 10 Snack Swipes, 1 Guest Meal $580 per semester Continued thestute.comon

Meal plans explained

The Student Govern ment Association (SGA) is committed to being “a voice for the student body” by using its platform to com municate with the admin istration. In an interview with The Stute, SGA ofcers shared insight into their po sition and goals. The ofcers include President Gabriella Poska, Secretary Carly Te itelbaum, Vice President of Operations (VPO) Paulina Georgoutsos, Vice President of Student Interests (VPSI) Alexander Stanczak, Vice President of Finance (VPF) Charles Beall, and Vice President of Academic Af fairs (VPAA) Olof Persson. Biomedical Engineering major and president Gabri ella Poska held the VPSI and Secretary positions prior to being elected president in January 2022. Poska elabo rated on recent SGA accom plishments, including how she “worked hard with the Cabinet to increase crisis and mental health resourc es on campus by bringing mental health speakers to campus among other things. We have also add ed things like a bike rack, hooks on bathroom doors, and free menstrual prod ucts to bathrooms on cam pus.” Poska also mentioned her goal of changing the SGA’s mentality to become more goal-oriented and fo cused on problem-solving. In addition, she wants to work more with students and also increase on-cam pus resources for sexual as sault (SA) Secretarysurvivors.Carly Teitel baum is a Biomedical En gineering major who was appointed to her position on Monday, September 5. As Secretary, Teitelbaum hopes to be accessible to students to “aid in their comfortability coming to me with issues or improve ments they would like to see on campus.” Teitelbaum’s goals include communi cating efectively between students and the SGA. Furthermore, Teitelbaum would like to “lean into the mentor/mentee program so that new members can not only get acclimated initially but stay involved in the SGA as well.”VPO Paulina Georgout sos is a Chemical Biology major and has held her po sition since January 2022. She plans on using her po sition to foster a collabora tive environment for stu dents and the SGA senators, hoping to increase student involvement. Georgoutsos’ goals as VPO are to im prove SGA retention and get students, including up perclassmen, involved. She added, “I would like to con tinue helping senators, old and new, fnd initiatives to work on that they are truly passionateAlexanderabout.”Stanczak, a Mechanical Engineering major, has held his position as VPSI since January 2022. As VPSI, Stanczak’s job is to be involved with oversee ing all of the organizations. He described how he wants to be available to students and “will be hosting ofce hours weekly on Wednes days from 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. in the SGA ofce.” More over, Stanczak has meet ings with faculty and staf, acting as a liaison between students and the admin istration. As for his goals, Stanczak says he is “work ing on creating a stronger connection between student organizations, fostering a strong connection between student organizations and the SGA, and working with the Committee on Student Interests (CSI) to stay up to date on all new organization business, audits, and par ticipation in the committee itself.”VPF Charles Beall is a Math and Physics double major who has held this po sition since January 2022. Beall’s main role is to over see the student activity fees’ allocation to the student organizations on campus. His primary role is to work with the Budget Commit tee to divide SGA funds so every student organization can beneft. Additionally, the SGA has a Campus Im provements Fund “where any student at Stevens can apply for funds to fuel a project that will better campus life.” Beall hopes more students will utilize the fund and his assistance. Beall’s goals include helping students utilize the Campus Improvement Fund and raising more awareness of the SGA Financial Policy for Student Organizations. Last semester, the senate passed amendments to this policy that Beall believes will ben eft student organizations. Also, since Beall will be fn ishing his term this semes ter, he hopes to “lay a solid groundwork for the next VPF to jump of of.” Computer Science major Olof Persson recently start ed serving as VPAA. When discussing his position, Persson noted, “I want peo ple to know about what the SGA does so they know who to talk to about academic problems they see so that I and other SGA senators can better Stevens. I am always open to hearing from the student body. The SGA of fce on the 2nd foor of the UCC will be open as much as possible with people and we will hopefully be setting up a suggestion box as well for when it is not open.”

HEALTH & WELLNESS

THE QUIET SPACE OPENED ON AUGUST 30, 2021. PHOTO BY CAROLINE MONTANA FOR THE STUTEPHOTO COURTESY OF @STEVENSDINING ON INSTAGRAM Gabriella Poska President Olof Persson Vice President of Academic Afairs (VPAA) Charles Beall Vice President of Finance (VPF) thestute.comMOREREADonabouttheSGA thestute.com/category/news/sga/ BY TASHA FEATURESKHOSLA,EDITORBYANDREWKINNEY'21 BY THE STUTE Carly Teitelbaum Secretary GeorgoutsosPaulina Vice President of Operations (VPO)

4 Friday, September 9

Welcome to Stevens

GETTING INVOLVED CLUBS GETTING INVOLVED GREEK LIFE

Q: How can I develop good study habits? A: Get into a good study rou tine. This can be whatever works best for you. Maybe try reading the textbook right before class and reviewing notes immediately after class. Schedule in time for homework and studying so you aren’t waiting until late at night to get started. Being consistent is key and will help you get through busy periods like midterms and finals.Q:What do I do if I’m strug gling in my classes?

Q: How do exams work?

GETTING INVOLVED ATHLETICS

––––– OPINION –––––

A: Some classes utilize a Dean's period which is a specific time reserved for tests to be tak en outside of class. If this is used, it will already be clearly listed on your schedule. Otherwise, most tests are taken within the classroom during a typical class period. When the Dean’s period is not being used for a test, you can ignore it on your schedule. It is not a class or meeting. Before midterms and finals, a schedule will be released with the location and time of every exam.

There are two tiers of athlet ics ofered at Stevens: club sports and varsity sports. While many students are recruited to varsity teams, there is also an opportu nity for students to try out for the team once they arrive on campus.

Welcome to Stevens

A: All students have a facul ty advisor that specializes in the major and can assist with ca reer-related questions. Students also have an academic advisor who helps with schedule changes and creating an academic study plan. Try to meet with your facul ty advisor in the first two weeks of school so you can introduce yourself.

Q: What is the difference be tween meal swipes and snack swipes?A:Meal swipes can be used to enter Pierce dining hall for lunch or dinner. They also can get you a set meal (usually an entree, side, and drink) at on-campus dining places. A snack swipe can be used to enter Pierce dining hall for breakfast. They are also used for select items at on-campus din ing locations. The Grubhub app shows options for both types of swipes and clearly labels which one will be used for the item or meal. Many dining locations also clearly label which type of swipe will be used on the menu or have posters explaining your options.

A: Everyone is different, so there are no guarantees. Use your first year to build good study habits so if classes are more diffi cult in the future, you are already prepared with the tools to suc ceed.Q: Where can I study on cam pus?A: If you don’t want to be too far from your room, most res idence halls have lounges that vary in noise level and student usage. The University Center Complex (UCC) has numerous open spaces available for study ing. The library has three floors available for students. The first two are traditional study spac es and the third floor is a silent floor. There are numerous pic nic tables around the campus to enjoy the fresh air while do ing schoolwork. Most academic buildings also have open spaces that can be utilized by students.

To join a varsity team, students must frst contact the coach of the sport they are interested in. They will then be required to gain medical clearance and complete a National Collegiate Athletic Asso ciation (NCAA) clearance process. Varsity sports generally have a larger time commitment than club sports. All members of the team are required to attend prac tices and competitions, and ab sences normally require a coach’s approval. Many varsity sports also conduct strength and condition ing sessions throughout the year. Many varsity sports travel on a regular basis, which may also include overnight trips. While the time commitment for a varsity sport may be large, students who participate are exempt from some Stevens physical education re quirements. The following sports are the varsity sports ofered by Stevens: Men’s Sports: baseball, bas ketball, cross country, golf, fenc ing, lacrosse, soccer, swimming, tennis, track & feld, volleyball, wrestling Women’s Sports: basket ball, cross country, fencing, feld hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track & feld, volleyball Stevens also ofers many club sports and intramural sports, which all undergraduate students can join regardless of their skill level. These sports ofer oppor tunities for students to contin ue their athletic interests or try something new. Club and intra mural sports allow students to be exempt from some physical edu cationClubrequirements.andintramural sports re quire less of a time commitment than varsity sports. Students should still expect a decent level of commitment and attend prac tices and competitions as often as possible. Some sports also require travelling and overnight trips to compete.Formore information on how to get involved in a club sport, contact John Maurizi, Director of Campus Recreation, at jmaurizi@ stevens.edu. Students can also look for team representatives at recruitment events. The following are club and intramural sports of fered by Stevens: Club Sports: baseball, bowl ing, climbing, crew, ice hockey, men’s and women’s lacrosse, sail ing, ski and snowboard, men’s and women’s soccer, ultimate frisbee, men’s and women’s volleyball Intramural sports: fag football, dodgeball, 1v1 tennis, in door soccer, 3v3 basketball

Q: How do advisors work?

Stevens ofers over 160 stu dent-run extracurricular clubs, called Recognized Student Orga nizations (RSOs). These clubs al low students to explore diferent interests, meet new people, and leave an impact on the university.

Q: Will classes become more difficult during the year?

Friday, September 9 5

PHOTOS COURTESY OF @STEVENSDUCKS ON INSTAGRAM TOP: CHINESE STUDENT ASSOCIATION (CSA) | MIDDLE: ENTERTAINMENT COMMITTEE (EC) | BOTTOM: STEVENS DRAMATIC SOCIETY (SDS) BY KATIE BLOOMER AND LAUREN GARRETT BY THE STUTE BY THE STUTE BY THE STUTE TOP: SIGMA DELTA TAU | BOTTOM: OMEGA PHI BETA SORORITY

RSO meetings and events are free and open to all undergraduate stu dents. There are also non-RSOs, which are clubs still being put through an application process. A good way to fnd all of the clubs at Stevens is on DuckLink, a web page that lists almost all RSO and non-RSOs at Stevens. DuckLink allows students to see the executive board (e-board) of the organization, fnd an email ad dress contact, and fnd upcoming meetings and events that the RSO will be hosting. Stevens has clubs in diferent areas including culture, profes sional societies, media, special interests, club sports, arts and music, recreation, electronics and gaming, service, religious and faith-based, and more. Students that want to start their own club can do so after their frst semester with the New Organization Pro cess (NOP) Interest Period at the start of every semester, which is announced by the Student Gov ernment Association (SGA) Vice President of Student Interests (VPSI). After a meeting with the VPSI and a staf member from the Ofce of Undergraduate Student Life, a new organization may be approved. Students defne their own ex tracurricular experience at Ste vens. They can be as involved as they’d like to be; students can run to hold a leadership position on an e-board or just swing by occa sional meetings. Being involved in a club and running for an e-board position can provide students with great leadership experience out side of the classroom. Additional ly, it can improve communication skills, teamwork skills, leadership skills, ability to plan events, and ability to manage time. RSOs also give students the opportunity to leave an impact on something they are passionate about. There is no limit to how many club meetings and events students can attend, so students are given the freedom to explore all of their interests and be exposed to as many new opportu nities as possible.

With 37% of the total under graduate population participat ing in a fraternity or sorority, Greek life at Stevens has proven itself to be one of the most prev alent extracurricular activities on campus. With 10 fraternities, 5 sororities, and 6 cultural Greek organizations, there are a variety of organizations where prospec tive new members may be able to fnd their new brothers or sisters. While freshmen must wait until their spring semester before they can begin the process of joining a fraternity or sorority, members of Greek organizations may fnd the benefts of new friendships, net working connections, leadership opportunities, and the chance to get involved in philanthropy and service.Forwomen at Stevens, there is the option to join a sorority. So rority recruitment is a formal pro cess that takes place a few days before the spring semester begins. Potential new members (PNMs) are broken into groups and go through the recruitment events together. Recently, The Stute re ported on sororities pushing for inclusivity by including trans women and nonbinary students. For men at Stevens that would like to join a fraternity, there is a diferent process to join an orga nization. Throughout the fall se mester and the beginning of the spring semester, fraternities hold events that anybody may attend, such as dodgeball tournaments, wing eating contests, or backyard barbecues. Prospective members can go to events to get to know the brothers of fraternities they are interested in joining. After a pro spective fraternity member has gotten to know the brothers of the fraternity well enough, the broth ers of the organization will vote on who they would like to extend bidsExceptionsto. to these processes are Cultural Greek Organizations. These are organizations that cen ter their experiences on sharing a common culture. For freshmen who are considering joining a Greek organization this spring, it may be overwhelming to assess how joining an organization will afect your college experience. While joining a Greek organiza tion may provide a place to forge new friendships and develop con nections to upperclassmen, the signifcant increase in responsi bilities so soon into college may make some apprehensive. While joining a Greek organization is an added responsibility where your brothers or sisters will be count ing on you to follow through in order to help the organization run as smoothly as possible, the expe rience of being in a Greek organi zation is a unique chance to make lifelong friendships and connec tions you may have otherwise not have had. Interfraternity Confer ence (IFC) Organizations: Al pha Sigma Phi, Beta Theta Pi, Chi Phi, Chi Psi (The Lodge), Delta Tau Delta, Kappa Sigma, Phi Sig ma Kappa, Sigma Nu, Sigma Phi Epsilon, Theta Xi Panhellenic Council (Pan hel) Organizations: Alpha Phi, Delta Phi Epsilon, Phi Sigma Sig ma, Sigma Delta Tau, Theta Phi Alpha Cultural Greek Council (CGC) Organizations: Lambda Upsilon Lambda Fraternity, Nu Alpha Phi Fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Omega Phi Beta Sorority, Sigma Psi Zeta Sorority, Lambda Tau Omega Sorority

Advice from former freshmen

A: If you feel that studying on your own isn’t working, try working with other students in a group setting. Attending a pro fessor's office hours is a great way to review class material that was not clear and get additional help. If office hours are not enough, Stevens offers free tutoring for specific classes as well as writing help through the Stevens' Writ ing & Communications Center.

6 Friday, September 9 Welcome to Stevens NEW STUDENTS TAKE ON WITTPENN WALK The Stute is seeking a new comic strip artist! To apply, send a comic art sample to eboard@thestute.com AVA WANG FOR THE STUTE

PHOTOS COURTESY OF ISTOCKPHOTO.COM PHOTOS COURTESY OF ISTOCKPHOTO.COM

As the summer draws to an end, students are preparing for a Fall semester at Stevens. With so much preparation in the upcom ing weeks to a month, brain fog would be a considerable hazard to your progress. But what is brain fog? You know the feeling when it is hard to keep the focus on any task you are doing, or you have no motivation to open a notebook, or the days seem to blend? Yep, that’s brainBrainfog. fog is one of the most frustrating afictions a student can get; it makes working and study ing near impossible, an everlast ing sense of procrastination, and a dread of returning to the hustle and bustle of the semester. According to an article in a medical journal from the Harvard Medical School, brain fog is a “term used to describe slow or sluggish thinking, can occur un der many diferent circumstances.” The technical term for the level of thinking a student has is cognition: to read, write, think, remember, pay attention, and even advanced problem-solving. Brain fog inhibits the brain’s efciency of cognition. According to an interview with Dr. Emily Huang from Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose, California, and U.S. News, brain fog is more of the labeling of symp toms of other medical ailments: dementia, long COVID, high blood pressure, hormonal changes, anx iety, and lack of sleep. The latter two are particularly common in students. However, no need to worry because plenty of remedies and actions to cure and prevent brain fog are easy to accomplish. When you are in this state of discombobulated lethargy, it would be difcult for anyone to be productive. That is why you have to trick yourself– develop a way to remind yourself of upcoming tasks while having fun doing them. This is as simple as calling a friend to see how their summer went or fguring out what types of clubs to join this year. Any methods like these help transition your brain passively into a more energetic, productive mindset.Ifbrain fog seems like a signif icant issue for you, there are efec tive habits to incorporate into your life to stay on your A-game. One of the most efective strategies for maintaining a positive work-based attitude is setting up a routine. A routine is a repetitive, organized schedule that allows the planning of tasks that can help prevent brain fog. If you schedule your days out, you can limit distractions and aim to accomplish goals to prevent un expected large swaths of free time from being wasted. Once you are in a routine, one way to not fall back into bad hab its is consistency. The moment you say it is only one day is the moment you start to fall back to brain fog hell. Being accountable for your actions trains the responsibility needed when a project is due or a test is coming up. However, re covering from the freeing, disor ganized, loosey-goosey summer’s brain fog can be difcult. Yet again, do not fear! There are strategies to transition from the laziness of summer to the pro ductive furry of activity at Stevens. For one, as the frst day of classes approaches, do some mentally en gaging activities at least every day. They can be complex as solving Fermat’s Last Theorem or simple as doing the daily Wordle. Whatev er it may be, simply retraining your brain into an academic mindset will help with the transition into school and prevent brain fog. So as the Fall semester rapidly approaches, brain fog will inevita bly set it. However, with the knowl edge of what brain fog is and some ways to combat it, perhaps rather than brain fog, the semester will begin with reuniting with friends and enjoying the lovely Stevens campus again, rather than writ ing a single sentence for an entire week!

The Seriousness of the Monkeypox Outbreak

Increase in bear sightings in New Jersey

Have you ever been face-toface with a bear? In the past year, many people in New Jersey have been reporting an increased num ber of sightings and encounters with bears in their local areas. This number has more than dou bled since last year and it has lo cals wondering if this rise should be a cause for concern and if there are any actions they should take to stayThissafe.increase in bear sightings has to do with both reproduction rates and environmental factors. On average, a female bear will give birth to two cubs every other year and the ofspring have a high chance of survival. When the cubs are old enough to venture of on their own, they may travel up to 100 miles away from their moth ers, which largely expands the ar eas that these bears will make their homes. In addition to this, humans are also partly to blame as they are developing new homes and communities in areas that were previously forests. The more that humans encroach on the natural habitats of any species, there will be “a greater overlap between ter ritories and more possibilities for interactions.”Suchbear sightings range from spotting the mammals roam ing around streets, rummaging through garbage cans, cooling of in swimming pools, and, occasion ally, attacks on family pets. De spite this, bears have little-to-no interest in humans and are omni vores largely interested in looking for food they can get their paws on and easily digest. Possibly the only reason why a bear would come close to a person would be if it was a mother who felt threatened for her cubs’ safety or if someone got too close to them while eating, but bears are generally wary of coming in contact with people due to their own nature. If you do come across a black bear, slowly back away from it and never run or make eye contact with the animal. Addition ally, do not feed bears for your own safety and your wallets because feeding bears in New Jersey is ille gal and you could face a penalty of up to $1000 for each ofense. As predicted, the majority of encounters with bears have been in Northern NJ, also referred to as the Skylands region — consist ing of the northwestern counties of Morris, Somerset, Hunterdon, Warren, and Sussex — since bears live in mixed hardwood forests, dense swamps, forested wetlands, and other areas with dense cover. However, there have been sight ings in all twenty-one New Jersey counties, meaning it is not im possible for these hungry animals to venture out a little more than normal for a taste of the city. So, do “Hoboken-ers” have to wor ry about coming across a bear on Washington Street or here at Cas tle Point? Hopefully not, but, as Ducks, it might be a good idea to keep our eyes open.

Science

BY ETHAN GVIL AND EVAN PAPAGEORGE BY TANYA AVADIA AND KAREN GONG

Two years into the COVID-19 pandemic and many can agree that another worldwide health crisis is not something they want to experience. However, even with mask mandates being lifted and people returning to some de gree of normality, there is another public health situation that needs attention: monkeypox. A few months earlier, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the recent mon keypox outbreak to be a global health emergency. Curtailing this new virus can only be done if peo ple learn about and practice the correct health and safety proce dures as directed by organizations such as WHO or the Center for Disease Control (CDC). Firstly, it is important to un derstand what the monkeypox virus is. Monkeypox is not a new virus by any means; it has exist ed since the mid-1900s and is in the same family pool of viruses as the now eradicated smallpox virus. Unlike smallpox, monkey pox is not as fatal but the overall symptoms are similar. Symptoms of monkeypox include a severe rash with bumps, fever, chills, low energy, and swollen lymph nodes. This is very diferent from the symptoms of the coronavirus as monkeypox is primarily denot ed by frm bumps caused due to a severe rash. However, there are many similarities between what one should do if they contact ei ther virus. Self-isolating and con sulting a healthcare professional are things that should be exer cised in both cases. Additionally for monkeypox, it is important to cover blisters and skin lesions. The CDC states that there are no treatments explicitly for monkey pox but antiviral drugs can help.

Fortunately, monkeypox itself is not very fatal and recovery usually takes about 2-4 weeks. Outside of just the health risks of monkeypox, there are many other implications of this disease. According to the CDC’s Monkey pox Tracker Global Map, there have been over 50,000 cases of monkeypox around the world. Many of the cases have occurred in countries where monkeypox has not been historically report ed. Since the virus was original ly found in Africa specifcally in regions with rainforests, and transmissible through animals, the monkeypox outbreak needs to be taken seriously as it was not as widespread in the past as it is now. Many early reports of mon keypox in countries where it nev er existed before had a hard time diagnosing those who were infect ed. “No one could imagine a case of monkeypox,” says João Paulo Gomes at Portugal’s National In stitute of Health for an article by ScienceAnotherMagazine.implication of the spread of this disease is in re gards to the demographic of people being afected by the vi rus the most: men who have sex with men (MSM). It is difcult to understand why monkeypox is mostly infecting MSM but it is crucial to point out that it can oc cur to anyone who has had close contact with the virus. The stigma surrounding this issue can lead to hesitancy on the part of peo ple reporting that they have been infected. This could worsen the conditions of those infected and prevent them from getting neces saryHealthhelp. complications of the ongoing monkeypox outbreak cannot be ignored by any means. Hence, why it is important to learn about ways to prevent an outbreak and should there be an outbreak, what to look for and how to pos sibly treat it. The risks of report ing a case of monkeypox could be faced with an unjust stigma. For all of these reasons and more, it is necessary that proper forms of communication and education occur between disease specialists and people so that everyone is well informed and welcomed into getting treated for monkeypox. BY GIOVANNA CONTRIBUTINGNOTARO,REPORTER

Friday, September 9 7

Ways to beat brain fog for the upcoming semester

“I think it’s probably a Bass Pro Shops. A lot of time they have really tall and weird-shaped stores, and with the river right here, I’m not sur prised they’re capitaliz ing on the market,” said one business major who was wearing a camou flage vest and carrying a Johnny Morris Carbon Lite 2.0 Baitcast Rod and Reel Combo. We weren’t quite sure how a whole Bass Pro Shops would be built on a college campus but his logic was impec cable. There certainly is a river right there.

8 Friday, September 9 Opinion THE STUTE EDITORIAL A new (school) year and a fresh start

OFF THE PRESS The Unveiling BY OFF CENTER

“We should take a minute to analyze the social convention of hiding our projects, our works of art from view until they’re completely finished. I think it takes away from the value of,” “Whatever dude,” said our reporter, cutting off a man in a top hat and spectacles who looked like he was from the 1800s. Soon, the moment ar rived. The hubbub died down on the lawn. An expectant hush fell over the crowd as some work ers climbed ladders to release the hooks hold ing the sheet up. Birds settled onto tree branch es, and one of our report ers took the chance to climb a tree and get a re ally cool selfie. He then made a note about how it would’ve been better to use something other than ladders to get to the top of the sheet due to the obvious fall hazards presented by their ex treme height. The canvas fell in slow motion to reveal… a big new building, with tall towers (necessitating the aforementioned ladders), a big light up red sign, and tennis courts on the side. Our reporter in the tree promptly fell off his perch and was quot ed as yelling, “How did they build all that with out anyone noticing?” We here at Off the Press were truly dumbfounded by the scale of the new University Center and can’t wait to explore and cause problems inside it. We went around to get some other students’ opinions on the surprise. “Why was it so secret? They could’ve done a re ally cool sign lighting at night or had a cool cele bration and tour in May to hype it up,” one student told us while munching on one of the University Center-shaped cookies that had mysteriously appeared on tables all over the lawn. “Well I still think there could be a Bass Pro Shops in there some where. Look at all that space,” said our first in terviewee who we caught up with a few hours later as he was fishing right out of the river.

Goal #1: Filling Positions The Stute is comprised of many students with diverse backgrounds and interests. Whether you’re in terested in improving your leader ship skills, bettering your writing skills, or showcasing your artistic talents, you can fnd a place to do so with the newspaper. With stu dent interest, we’re hoping to fll vacant positions like News Editor, Assistant Business Manager, So cial Media Manager, and Comic Strip Artist.

Sanjana Madhu ‘23 Editor-in-Chief BYKAPOORTANISHKA‘26 BEALLCHARLES‘22

YOUAREANRSO? Advertise in The Stute for

eboard@thestute.comEmailfree!forinquiries

—SATIRE— A crowd gathered this week around the abso lutely immense sheet that has been covering some type of enormous building-sized structure for years in the middle of campus, as it was finally time for it to be revealed. As new recipients of a Stevens Press Corps badge that we got in ex change for promising not to start any tomfoolery in our journalism, we had front row seats and early admission to this grand reveal of whatever was beneath the sheet. We had the chance to catch up with some audi ence members ahead of time to get their predic tions on what it was.

I peered into the 13.5” x 49.5” long mirror to notice my slightly-crooked red Target badge placed on the upper left side of my red shirt. Now, this wasn’t just any regular mirror. This was the last high in-demand framed door mirror that almost every college girl craved for. There were at least 10 people that came up to me searching for this that day. As I looked at my refec tion in this mirror, I thought about how I would feel if I was about to start college in the next two months. How it would feel to take such a big step toward a fresh start. Would I really be ready? I barely knew how to cook instant noodles (a story for another time). I carefully lifted the mir ror and delivered it to an ec static girl wearing a Rutgers sweatshirt and shorts. At that time a year ago, I didn’t completely understand her radiating happiness. I had still yet to complete the daunting process of col lege applications, but the image of starting this new stage of my life was a little nerve wracking. There were so many things I needed to come to terms with: letting go of my friends, parting from my family, and leaving the comfort of the little bub ble I had created around me. A couple weeks ago, I stood in front of the Howe building and stared at my mirror image in its refec tive black windows. I took a couple of steps around the corner of the building to fnd myself awed by the view of a number of skyscrapers lined up across the suspiciously brown Hudson River. Mes merized by the amount of crooked buildings, I walked toward the view to fnd my self standing next to an old, black cannon that pointed towards the other pier. I felt like I was in one of those aesthetic TikTok videos that romanticized the city and created the image of an inde pendent city girl (cue “Run ning Up That Hill” by Kate Bush). There was something entrancing and inspiring about staring at such a view while the cool wind that car ried a faint smell of fsh (or was it the PCB in the river) gently combed through my hair. My family and I de cided to take a random trip to campus during summer break so there was no one around me. Just me, the city, the campus, and what I’m sure was a very symbolic cannon. It was that moment when I truly understood the ex citement of the girl wear ing the Rutgers sweatshirt. Standing in front of a view that showed a world of op portunities felt surreal as there was a rush of mixed emotions ranging from grat itude to happiness to a sort of jittery exhilaration. There were so many thoughts and visions racing through my head: how I would spend my time at Stevens, hang out with new people while ex ploring the city, and overall start this new arc of my life story. I took a deep breath (mmm that smell) and re membered the refection I saw in that long mirror. At that time, actually moving into a dorm seemed so far away and a little scary, but now that I had graduated and learned to let go, that fear was swept away to re veal pure eagerness. When I think of Stevens, the images of that one ran dom trip to campus is what I think of. Soon, though, I know the word “Stevens” will bring up a load of cherished memories and events—and that is some thing I can’t help but feel excited for. When we frst hear of se nioritis, it’s intended to pro vide relief: “You’ve worked this hard for so long – you’ve earned a break!” Even when the more negative, slack er-type aspect is referenced, there’s a justifcation given: “Maybe you’ll be lazy, but you’re so close to graduating anyway, so who cares?” I never liked this concep tion of senioritis. For one, I enjoy keeping myself busy with a myriad of opportuni ties in and out of the class room. In both my academic studies and my involvement in extracurricular activities, I feel more motivated than ever to put in quality work for the communities that have provided me with so much, and support and wel come new members as they learn the ropes and take the reins.Furthermore, the time for me to enter the real world is closer than ever, and I want to do my best to prepare for this transi tion. I’ll be conducting a senior research project and applying for graduate pro grams, with the long-term goal of becoming a profes sor. This style of work and application process may look diferent from going into a company or industry after graduation, but I hope its essence – working extra hard, fguring out career goals, agonizing over news of an interview or letter –will resonate with you, re gardless of major. In short, I don’t intend to “slack of” my senior year, because senior year doesn’t allow for that. For many, it’s an incredibly stressful time with the sheer amount of work and fast-approaching deadline of graduation mak ing breaks near-impossible. Moreover, the world we are entering faces increasing economic, political, med ical, and environmental turmoil, and we deal with constant reminders that we must be the ones to fx it. Therefore, “-itis” seems an apt sufx. Referencing infammatory processes in the body captures how feel ings of anxiety, dread, and frustration tend to “fare up” for seniors. I think it’s fair to bring light to these difcul ties, and I intend to do so in writing for this column. I don’t want that to be the end of the story, though. Maybe the easy way out is to just detach from the daunting aspects of senior year, but I believe a better approach is to balance those aspects with fun, and per haps new, opportunities and experiences. For me, this in cludes trying out jazz band, trying to visit NYC or other cool nearby places more, trying to eat and learn to cook new foods – even try ing my hand at this column. Altogether, this still a lot, and I, like anyone else, will have limited time and ener gy in the coming year. This column will be flled with lots of ups and downs, as I likely won’t meet all these goals. With the future be ing an exhilarating, chaotic, ever-looming ball of uncer tainty, we always look for a state of relative equilibri um before the next fare-up arises. Even so, there’s a way to fnd balance in it all. In fammation is necessary to protect the body against disease, but too much is self-destructive. So perhaps my biggest goal for the com ing year is to balance my levels of senioritis. I don’t expect to get it right every day, but that’s part of the journey, and I hope you will join me in this journey over the next several months.

MIND OF A FRESHMAN A mirror flled with refections

BY

SENIORITIS Why Senior-“itis”?

Goal #2: Increase social media presence Our following on social media has signifcantly increased within the past few semesters. Now, we’re aiming to go one step further and expand our social media presence to other, increasingly-popular plat forms.

Goal #3: readershipIncreaseofpaper copies While many of us fnd it easiest to get our news online, a physical newspaper provides a unique read ing experience that online formats can’t replicate. As the new year be gins, The Stute has planned some strategies to increase readership of our print issues so that they reach a wider audience. With a strong focus on distribution to students and faculty in academic buildings coupled with more advertising on social media, The Stute believes we can get more people to pick up our physical throughout the next year. The Stute has other goals and objectives on our horizon, but a magician never reveals all of their secrets! Stay tuned to see what else we have planned for the upcoming semester. To our new students, I implore you to take some time to refect and make some goals, as silly as they may seem. Map out what you hope to accomplish throughout this next year, whether it be excelling in ath letics, making new friends, or just passing that difcult math class. As every other upperclassman might have told you, freshman year will be over before you know it. The same advice goes to our older Ducks, who now have the ex perience of at least one year behind them. Much has changed on cam pus since you started your fresh man year. Regardless of the time you have left at Stevens, refect on how you’ve grown and think about who you want to be before gradu ating.The last thing I want to leave you with is just a small spark of in spiration, and my own two cents. Call me sappy, but I’ve always be lieved that everything happens for a reason. And whether or not you agree with this phrase, there is some truth to it. Everything that happens — good and bad — is a learning experience. The good of ten teaches you how you use your given toolkit to succeed or how your connections with others have transformed you. The bad teaches you how you adapt, how you over come, and how you persevere. Ei ther way, there is always something to take away from every experience you have. And at the end of it all, both the good and bad will make you your strongest, wisest, and most powerful self. Enjoy the expe riences, whatever they may be, and allow them to inspire you to learn. That’s enough advice from me. Now, go do! I wish all students, fac ulty, and staf of the Stevens com munity a happy, healthy, and suc cessful year ahead.

To our newest Ducks on cam pus, it is my absolute pleasure to say: welcome to Stevens! This pa per is flled with tips, tricks, and perspectives that will answer all your questions about what it means to be a Duck. The start of a new school year is my favorite time of the year. It trumps all major holidays, anni versaries, birthdays because noth ing beats the feeling of a fresh start in the middle of the year. The new (school) year eliminates the facades of new year’s resolutions for folks who are chronic resolu tion-breakers, like myself. Instead, it opens up a window for refection and goal-setting; how far have we come throughout this calendar year, and what can we improve before it ends? And that’s exactly what The Stute did before the start of this fall semester.

In spite of rising in terest rates, global un certainty, and a faltering IPO market featuring 46% volume and 58% value de creases respectively yearover-year, Volkswagen AG is discussing the possibil ity of a late-September to early-October IPO of their iconic sports car manufac turer, Porsche UnderwritersAG.and in vestors alike are extremely optimistic about the move, as indicated by whispers of a potential $85 billion IPO valuation. For ref erence, Rivian’s massive $100 billion IPO valuation last year (2021) was able to net underwriters a cool $170 million in underwrit ing fees, led by Goldman Sachs (GS) and Morgan Stanley (MS) at $43 mil lionAseach.apart of the IPO, the Porsche Family will ac quire 25% plus one share of the common stock at a 7.5% premium to the IPO price.Breaking the deal down more, the IPO valuation of $85 billion would give Porsche a valuation of $280,000 per car sold in 2021, and while this may seem steep, Ferrari’s $37 billion market cap gives it a valuation of $3.3 million per car sold in 2021. If looking at the premi um the valuation provides, if Porsche were only to sell its least expensive car, the Macan Base ($54,900), or its most expensive car, the 911 Turbo Cabriolet Base ($187,100), that would give it a premium ranging from 1.5x to 5.1x. For Ferrari, if they were only to sell their least ex pensive car, the Romo ($218,670), or their most expensive car, the SF90 Stradale ($625,000), that would give them a premi um ranging from 4.8x to 13.7x. Important to note that base models only were taken into consider ation to preserve ceteris paribus.As the comparison shows, even with a steep $85 billion valuation, Porsche still could have some room to rise is that it is regarded as a luxury sports car a tier below that of the Ferrari-McLaren tier.This valuation also gives Porsche (almost) equal numerical standing with VW with an $86.86 billion market cap. As a whole, the move comes with a ton of in trigue from both sides of the Street, with VW tap ping some of the most no torious underwriters such as Goldman Sachs, Citi group, JP Morgan Chase, and Bank of America, as well as attracting buy-side interest from funds such as T Rowe Price Group and Qatar Investment Author ity.

NOT FINANCIAL TIMES (NFT) Porsche approachingIPO the starting line SCIENTIFIC CURMUDGEON Should machines replace mathematicians? SUSTAINABILITY My failed attempt at being a vegetarian BY BLOOMERKATIE‘25 WRITE A LETTER TO THE EDITOR Letters should be addressing a published piece in The Stute or to The Stute in general visit thestute.com/policies for the fullrequirements PHOTO COURTESY OF CARBUZZ.COM Continued thestute.comon

Around a year ago I de cided to be a vegetarian for a week. It seemed easy and would make good con tent for my sustainabili ty Instagram account (@ waste.free.katie). Need less to say, my reasons for this diet change were not exactly the best since I was doing it primarily for socialAnyway,media.I began the day with a rocky start and forgot to vlog breakfast, not that there was much to talk about. I think I had something minimal like a granola bar because I was running behind schedule. Then I completely ran out of time for a substantial lunch and resorted to the stash of ramen stacked atop my Stevens-issued wardrobe. Apparently, the majority of ramen is chicken or beef flavored using real meat, which, of course, I learned after eating it. Unfortunately, I had to post an apology on my Instagram story ex plaining that I was unable to go 24 hours without accidentally consuming meat, and being a vege tarian was probably not forAfterme. dealing with the unbelievable amounts of embarrassment following this incident, I decided to spend the next few months properly researching the environmental im pacts of food, particu larly meat. I learned that shifting to one vegetarian meal a week could save the equivalent of driving 1,160 miles! Imagine the positive impact of being a full-time vegetarian! All of a sudden this lifestyle change felt like something that could actually im prove the world, not just my social media. I have always been a fan of making New Year’s resolutions, even though I have literally never stuck to them, so the approach ing fresh start of 2022 seemed like the perfect time to aim for a new goal. On January 1st, I decided to become a pes catarian. I know, I know, not exactly the same as being a vegetarian like I wanted. Well, I had tried being a vegetarian and had failed almost imme diately, so it seemed like still eating seafood would give me more options and therefore a better chance at long term success. And guess what? That was the right decision because I have not eaten meat since thatAlthoughday. being a pes catarian can benefit the planet, I knew I had not reached my ultimate goal. I slowly limited the sea food I ate until one day I took the plunge and be came a full-fledged vege tarian.Ithas been months since this transition and I can safely say that I don’t plan on eating meat for a long time. Although it can be hard to eat enough pro tein, there is nothing that a few cans of chickpeas and cubes of tofu can’t fix! Jokes aside, Pierce Dining Hall offers options like crispy tofu nearly every day, so even as a freshman relying on the meal plan, I was able to consume more than enough protein and basically every other nutritional element that I need. As a sophomore living in a suite in the towers, I will be cooking for myself frequently this year. Hopefully, I will be able to continue eating healthy vegetarian meals that are not too hard to prepare, since I have very minimal cooking experi ence and no desire to ex pand my abilities. If you get anything out of this article, let it be that reducing the animal products you consume is possible, even if you can’t imagine going 24 hours without eating meat!

Friday, September 9 9

BY JOHN HORGAN CAL PROFESSOR

Opinion | Professional Topics BYAMESJOSEPH‘22

Pure mathematics fasci nates me, precisely because it is so inaccessible. I envi sion it as a remote, chilly, perilous realm, like Antarc tica’s Sentinel Mountains. The hardy souls who scale those heights seem super human.Perhaps because I ro manticize mathematicians, I’m troubled by the thought that machines might re place them. I broached this possibility in “The Death of Proof,” published in the October 1993 Scientifc American. In response to the growing complexity of mathematics, I reported, mathematicians were be coming increasingly reliant on computers. I asked, “Will the great mathematicians of the next century be made of silicon?”Mathematicians are still giving me grief about that article, even as the trends I described have intensifed. Anthony Bordg, a mathe matician at the University of Cambridge, worries that his feld could face a “replication crisis” like that plaguing sci ence. Mathematicians, Bor dg notes in The Mathemati cal Intelligencer, sometimes accept a proof not because they have checked it, step by step, but because they trust the proof’s methods and au thor.Given the “increasing difculty in checking the correctness of mathemati cal arguments,” Bordg says, old-fashioned peer review may no longer be sufcient. Bordg suggests that com puterized “proof assistants” will help validate proofs. Re searchers at Microsoft have already invented an “in teractive theorem prover” called Lean that can check proofs and even checkword-processingimprovements--muchproposeasprogramsourproseforerrors and fnish sentences for us. Souped up with artifcial intelligence, programs such as Lean could eventually “discover new mathematics and fnd new solutions to old problems,” according to a report in Quanta Magazine Some mathematicians welcome the “digitization” of mathematics, which would facilitate computer verifca tion and make mathematics more trustworthy. Others, such as Michael Harris, a mathematician at Columbia, are ambivalent. Advances in computer-aided mathemat ics, Harris says, raise a pro found question: what is the purpose of mathematics? Harris sees mathematics as “a free, creative activity” that, like art, is pursued for its own sake, for the sheer joy of discovery and insight. Harris isn’t opposed to the mechanization of math ematics per se; mathemati cians have used mechanical devices, such as the abacus, for millennia. But Har ris worries that tools such as Lean will encourage a “stunted vision” of mathe matics as an economic com modity rather than “a way of being human.” After all, funders of mathematical re search like Google and the National Security Agency value mathematics primar ily for its applications. As Harris puts it, mathematics is “indispensable for engi neering, technology, record keeping, and any activity that involves predicting the future.”Wevalue science for its applications, too. Senti mental science writing, in cluding mine, implies that science’s purpose is insight into nature. In the modern era, however, science’s pri mary goal is power. Science helps us manipulate nature for various ends: to extend our lives, to enrich and en tertain us, to boost the econ omy, to defeat our enemies. Modern physics, to most of us, is unintelligible, but who cares when physics gives us smart phones and hydrogen bombs?Physicists often adopt a utilitarian mindset, exem plifed by the slogan, “Shut up and calculate!” That is what professors supposed ly tell students bafed by quantum mechanics. The message is that students should apply quantum for mulas—for example, by building quantum com puters--without worrying about their meaning. Ste phen Hawking and Martin Reeshave predicted that artifcial intelligence will play an increasing role in physics. Wouldn’t it be fun

Margarita sells her soul to Woland, for she is hopeless on Earth, and, in return, is blessed with the return of her beloved. Surrounded by the misery of materialistic Muscovites, which are the intended satirical element of the novel, and others who overcame spiritual awaken ings, Margarita and the Mas ter pursue their love in Hell, where Woland ended the suferings experienced on Earth: crisis, loneliness, and insanity. Unlike the rest of Moscow, Margarita and the Master live on emotional im pulse and love instead of self ishness and money. Woland’s assistants: Behemoth, Kor oviev, and Azazello, are the embodiments of the Devil’s helpers, and deliberately catalyze chaos throughout Moscow to show how ulti mately pathetic materialistic and greedy Muscovites are in the novel, and that higher powers punish those who de serve it. The notorious novel depicts a distorted yet quite chaotic image: boundaries and desire over anything else. Every boundary and extent as to how far an indi vidual will go difers. There is a menagerie of intriguing and mind-twisting charac ters that all represent san ity, insanity, sin, and love, all showing that greed and selfshness lead to self-loath ing and corruption. The one thing that every character has in common, however, is that they are visited by Woland, the Devil himself. This allows for every charac ter to have a spiritual awak ening that reaches upon the deepest desires of every indi vidual.Bulgakov uses satire and implements a mixture of Devil embodiments: Woland and Mephistopheles, to cre ate an entity that is eternal ly good yet strives for chaos. This exact entity drives each character to drown in spir itual and self-awakenings, awakening to the evilest version of self. What if those higher powers, whatever they may be, bestow lessons and consequences that are deserved by those who cor rupt and self-indulge? The controversy surrounding The Master and Margarita lies within its immorality... apparently it is considered to be immoral to blame hu mans for the end of humani ty and everything we know to be good. Ultimately, what if the secret within the concept of evil and power lies within the fear of facing the ugliness that sits within every one of us - the ugliness that is avoided, the one that furtive ly desires to do anything to reach power, whatever the cost may be? To prove that we are capable and power ful to do as we please. We, as humans, feel jealous, angry, and even merciless at times, which are the pseudonyms and elements that stir the part of ourselves that wants nothing more but superior ity and self-validation. In other words, what if evil is evil because of the lack of compassion and authenticity brought by humans? and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov,

the three getting their own time in the spotlight to show their distinct personalities. I said especially in refer ence to Catherine Keener because I feel that both she and Kaluuya share the best scene of the flm: the iconic scene in which Chris falls into the sunken place for the frst time, without even real izingTheit. last topic I wanted to discuss about Get Out before jumping into my conclusion is Peele’s screen play, and, more specifcally, his use of foreshadowing. Peele ingeniously lays hints throughout the movie about what twists and turns in the story will come next, so much so that you might be led to believe that he is a vet eran director. However, this is his directorial debut! Not many frst time directors can hit the ground running quite like Jordan Peele did with Get Out. Get Out is not only a fan tastic horror movie, but a fantastic movie regardless of genre, and the flm catapult ed the careers of many of its cast and crew. It deals with themes and ideas such as love, betrayal, trauma, and systemic racism, the latter of which unfortunately has only become more prevalent and more divisive since the flm’s release in early 2017. If you want a thought-provok ing, compelling, and all in all thrilling movie to watch, I would say Get Out should be near, if not at, the top of your watchlist.

When I frst saw the trail er for Get Out back in 2016, I thought it was a good prem ise, but I fgured I would likely wait until it was re leased on DVD to see it. One possible contributing factor to my initial hesitation was that I had noticed the flm’s production company was none other than Blumhouse Productions. Blumhouse undoubtedly had some good, even great flms up to that point, two that come to mind that had been released to that point were Whiplash and Hush, but more often than not, I felt that their projects released were of subpar quality, most notably with the latter Paranormal Activity sequels. Howev er, around the time of the flm’s release, it was getting critical acclaim across the board. At one point, the flm garnered a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, meaning every critic that saw it rec ommended it. So, on a cold opening night in February of 2017, I bought a ticket, and to say I was pleasantly surprised would be putting it lightly, to say the absolute least.To start, this is a horror movie, so it only seems ap propriate to go over the hor ror elements of the flm frst. The horror and suspense in this flm are both fawlessly executed. Whether it’s the psychological horror that builds suspense and curi osity throughout the frst two acts of the movie, or the more violent and gory horror during the flm’s f nal half hour, Jordan Peele showcases through his di rection, screenplay, and visuals that he defnitely wants you to be on the edge of your seat at all times. Speaking of Mr. Peele, his background as a sketch comedian comes through to provide some comedic relief between the more chilling parts of the movie. In par ticular, Lil Rel Howery has a standout performance as TSA agent Rod, stealing ev ery scene he’s featured in in his feature flm debut, and his line delivery makes it no surprise to see him in oth er similar roles in flms like Bird Box and Free Guy. As a matter of fact, the performances in Get Out as a whole are spectacu lar. British actor Daniel Kaluuya is fantastic as our protagonist Chris, and it’s evident Kaluuya meshed well with Peele on set, as he also starred in Peele’s 2022 flm Nope. Allison Williams, Bradley Whit ford, and, especially, Cath erine Keener all play great antagonists, with each of

a novel BY YASHCHUKVICTORIA‘26 ANIMUS-3, THUKRAL AND TAGRA, 2019 PHOTO COURTESY OF IMDB.COM

BY GELLERITAI‘26

10 Friday, September 9 Opinion | Arts and Culture

Analyzing Thukral and Tagra art has reminded me of why I enjoy authentic contemporary art so much. In recent years, the pro duction of insightful con temporary art has declined because of the dominance and profitability of pop ular culture and trends. It upsets me that contem porary art has taken this unexpected tangent, so I am glad that artists like Thukral and Tagra are keeping stimulating and meaningful contemporary art alive.

BOOK OF THE WEEK The Master

Jiten Thukral and Sum ir Tagra are an artist duo from New Delhi, India, best known for their unique contemporary art. The duo has been working together since 2004. Unlike most artists, Thukral and Tagra are unique for their use of mixed media to showcase their ideas. Most popular contemporary artists are known for their ability to express their ideas through sculpture and painting, but this duo takes it to the next level. They not only work with sculpture and paint ing, they also create instal lations, make video games, and experiment with de sign.Like many contempo rary artists, Thukral and Tagra tackle social issues through their artwork. Their main inspiration is to promote the creation of inclusive social envi ronments through art by prying away the bound aries of Indian (and uni versal) social status. This is most evident in one of their installments at York shire Sculpture Park called “Farmer is a Wrestler.” The installment is an interactive game in which visitors assume wrestling positions that are inspired by the hardships of Indian farmers. Indian farmers have been subject to the effects of climate change, lack of political protec tion, and limited access to a formal education in the rural communities they be long to. This has left many farmers in a vulnerable po sition, both physically and mentally.Theinstallment is very informed, with Thukral and Tagra both doing ex tensive research into the issue. In the state of Ma harashtra alone, 2,498 farmers ended their lives because of the immense debt they have accumulat ed from bank loans (The Times of India). Once they had come to understand the agony these farmers live in on a day-to-day ba sis, they decided to create an installation that would physically and mentally challenge its visitors so that they could better con nect to the farmers’ hard ship.The wrestling positions that visitors are instruct ed to assume are from the sport of Kushti, a tradition al Indian form of wrestling that is still practiced today. Thukral observed the sport being performed in his own hometown to decide on the maneuvers that would be implemented into the installation. My favorite features of the exhibit are the wall paintings and the design of the game. On the walls, paintings depict the farmers’ positions melting into each other, forming one distinct constant mo tion. The farmers are all painted white, but the area surrounding them is full of life and color. The game de sign is brilliant. There are numbers that correspond to different positions. By completing all of the posi tions on the game mat, you will be able to successfully connect with the farmers. What is really interesting is the shape of the mat. It is circular, indicative of the compounding nature of the farmers’ stresses. My favorite piece by Thukral and Tagra is “An imus-3” (pictured above). Similarly to popular con temporary artists like Takashi Murakami, the duo enjoys mixing media, experimenting with con sumer trends, juxtapos ing Eastern and Western culture, and most impor tantly, utilizing surrealism to provoke thought. Sur prisingly, what I love most about this piece is that it has no clear message. It is very reminiscent of Salva dor Dali, with nonsensi cal objects occupying the landscape. Paintings that are up to our interpretation are always compelling. I like how the artists painted in negative space around the interior landscape. It makes it feel like I am peering into a different di mension. The disturbance of the water also gives the landscape life, even though the objects around it seem inanimate.

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT Jiten Thukral and Sumir Tagra

SPOILER BY GARDELLACOLE‘24

ALERT Get Out

Literature will always hold the incredible power of making us question every thing we know, or what we have come to realize. Ac cording to the cyclical con cept we know as living, ev ery individual, disregarding how this lesson was learned, blesses us with the gift of self. However, what exactly is meant by “the gift of self?” Do we truly know what kind of beings we are? Complex ity, as we know it, makes us who we are: self-awareness, perspectives, beliefs, and ev erything that makes us dif ferent from anyone we have encountered. Societal divi sion is crucial, however, it can be assumed that we are all driven by the love and de sire to have power and con trol.Society is notorious for its division of what is believed to be good and evil. The perfect analogy for said societal divi sion is heaven and hell, in its extremity. The evilest entity known to man, from a reli gious standpoint, is the Dev il himself. Religion has the power of dividing not only personal beliefs and hope but socioeconomic classes. Now it is important to note that every individual has boundaries and their own considerations of what is good and evil. What if I told you, however, that true evil lies within humans instead of the most corrupt entity known to man? What if we are all punished by the Devil based on personal greed and selfshness...lack of morality and compassion? Each socio economic division results in an unspoken arrogance and assumed superiority, which separates all that makes us human from humanity. Ul timately, our perception of self and humanity is capable of destroying stability as we knowTheit.novel The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulga kov brings such dramatic as sumptions and places them in a world where humans are the root of evil and corrup tion; for it is known, to those who choose to face the truth, that instability is blamed on higher powers or something out of human control. The main characters, the Master and his beloved Margarita, live in an ultimately atheistic world, where materialistic Muscovites believe they rule the world, as opposed to the world fueling their existence. When writing his book about Pontius Pilate, the Master fnds himself in a creative and spiritual crisis, slowly driving himself insane, and losing what he once thought was his identity. Desperate to help her love, the once joyful

THE DOODLING DUCK Breaking Down: using music to help when breaking down LIFESTYLE HACKS Getting back into the swing of things

It’s raining tonight. Just the slightest sprinkles that started around 6:30 p.m. It’s forecasted that we are going to have some thunderstorms in the area for the next few days. With my desk centered perfectly in front of the focal point of my room — a nearly 8 foot window — which has one the best views of any room in the towers I may add, I can watch the storms roll in over the city. I was always that kid that would smell rain on the wind and get really excited, or I would run outside right before a storm started and simply stand there, much to my parents’ dismay, feeling the energy surging through the air from everything liv ing as electricity gathered in the sky. If you haven’t been able to infer it by now, I like storms, especially the rain that comes with them. I’ve al ways thought that rain is one of the most beautiful symbols of cleansing and restoration.

farmer and the old farmer went out the very next day and plowed their felds and sowed them with seed, yet only the old farmer watered it, as the young farmer did not want to waste what he had, saying it was too ear ly, and he should wait. Both farmers went to their homes that night, sat with their fam ilies, and hoped for rain. Af ter nearly a month of waiting and hoping, a raging squall moved in and drenched the earth. The experienced farm er’s land soaked the water deep into the ground, as it had been prepared for the rain. He had a plentiful har vest that season. The new farmer’s feld did not take the water, as the dry ground acted like a sheet of plastic over the earth, and it fooded his feld, washing away the only seeds he had. In order to survive, the new farmer and his family were forced to sell the land and move elsewhere. TheGreatEnd. job Lauren, you told a story about two farmers and some rain, I’m sure the readers will love that — it’s so entertaining. So really, what’s the point? Perhaps the story hinted at listening to a wise counsel, or perhaps it gives a nudge at taking calculated risks. Perhaps both. Wisdom comes from experience, and experience comes from time, life lived. So, sage advice giv en by elders may, at times, be a bit outdated, but it can be translated easily into the situations in our generation. So the advice given in regard to classes, jobs, friends, part ners, or even simply waking up on time, should be heeded. Just as the old farmer pre pared his feld for rain, know ing from experience what to do, your parents, your grandparents, and the trust ed adults in your life also may have just a bit of experience in the areas of life that you are navigating right now. I’ve learned to mark their advice and store it in the fle cabinets of my memory to reference when I need to. The topic of taking calculated risks is not as easily explained. But, in regard to the story, the young farmer could have taken the risk to use the little water he had and water his felds as the old farmer suggested. That risk would have yielded great reward. Yet, he chose the “safer” option, which only cost him in the end. Now, this does not mean to take the risk of one more pitcher of sangria on Sunday, in hopes you will wake up on time on Monday morning. But, it does encourage you to take calcu lated risks in your academ ics, in your social life, and in your career, as they are what will allow you to take great bounds towards your goals.

ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL Storms and rain and farmers oh my! BY KLESCHINSKYETHAN ‘24 Opinion | Lifestyle BY GARRETTLAUREN‘25 DEAR ETHAN... Q: How do I adjust during the frst few weeks of school? BY BOUCHATTAANAÏS ‘26 PHOTOS COURTESY OF WIKIPEDIA.ORG BY ZOE HACK ‘24 JOIN THE STUTE! GBMS EVERY TUESDAY @ 9:15 PM (WE HAVE PIZZA) PRODUCTION EVERY WEDNESDAY @ 3 PM

Friday, September 9 11

I had my frst internship over this past summer mak ing it very diferent from those prior. Which, in turn, made the transition moving back to Hoboken and get ting prepared for school also very diferent than in the past. I absolutely loved my position, so besides the lack of free time, it didn’t really feel like work all that much. So you can imagine my dis may when I came to the real ization that I had to stop be ing paid to work on projects for my team and learn about my industry, and instead go back to paying loads of mon ey to learn. And, because this is the most difcult back-to-school transition for me thus far, I have made a point to remember the fol lowing to help me prepare for the upcoming semester andWhileyear. the “in-season” of classes is generally the same from semester to semester, it is important to go into each semester with somewhat of a clean slate as far as expec tations go. Because diferent courses cover diferent top ics and material, it is unrea sonable to have a mentality of “well last semester was this way, so this semester should be the same.” Per sonally, last semester wasn’t my favorite because I didn’t really enjoy my major-spe cifc courses as they covered topics not relevant to my intended career outcome. However, for this semester, I am constantly reminding myself that last semester does not defne what this se mester will be like and that the classes I am taking now are not at all related to any classes that I’ve disliked in the past, so any previous semester doesn’t really have anything to do with my suc cess, happiness, or learning outcomes this semester. As always, I am stay ing mindful of my study ing techniques and making adjustments for diferent courses as needed. (Tons more about my diferent study techniques on note-takingreadyletanyofhavelifestyle-hacks).tute.com/category/opinion/thesSofar,IonlybeentoonedayclassessinceIdon’thaveFridayclassesandmetellyou—Ihavealrevisedmyin-classtechniquesto best ft my needs for this se mester. I always fnd that a more in-depth note-taking/ study tactic needs to be used for classes where the mate rial doesn’t come as easily to me as it does for others. Even though sometimes it feels discouraging to need to rework my methods, in the long run it allows me to bet ter retain learning material andWhileknowledge.school and class es are obviously important, I think it is equally, if not more, important to also focus on enjoying these 4 (or 5) years in college and really taking advantage of all the opportunities cam pus has to ofer. The main things I’m talking about here are investing in rela tionships, whether they be friendships or professional relationships. College is one of the easiest times to make friends since everyone is go ing through a similar shared experience as well as being a good time to network for the future with both students and professors. While focus ing on school is great, make sure to also have a strong focus on becoming involved on campus and meeting new people. Enjoying your time and investing in personal relationships in college can be just as important in the long run as academics.

A: The frst few weeks are always difcult, being away from home and trying to make new friends can be a challenge. It is very im portant to make an efort to meet new people and go to events when they are go ing on. Joining clubs and on campus organizations are a great way to meet people. At frst it can be very intim idating to approach people you have never met before, but you have to go out of your comfort zone in order to pursue friendships and hobbies on campus. There are lots of people to see and things to do on campus, so if some things are not your cup of tea it is crucial to not get down on yourself be cause there are always other options to look into. Making friends in your classes and organizing study groups is another great way to get people together. It is very important to do your best and not be intimidated by fear of being rejected by people, and to remember that everyone is also looking for new friends and things to do. Along with doing your best to be social around campus, you also have to remember about your aca demics, after the frst few weeks course work will be gin to pick up and you have to make sure that you don’t wind up with too much on your plate or you will end up missing assignments. Having friends in your class helps with this, but it is ulti mately on you to make sure that you stay ahead of your work so that you can enjoy your free time to the ebay of your ability. Finding a bal ance between your social and academic life can be dif fcult, but as long as you stay optimistic and try to stay on top of it, I am sure that you will have no problems once the semester picks up. There are fun things to do on and of campus, tak ing the PATH to New York City is a great way to spend a day trip with your friends. If you want to stay in Hobo ken and are sick of the din ing hall food there are many great options all across Hoboken for you to choose from. Visiting Bagels on the Hudson late at night is al ways a good option for when you are hungry. The New port mall is easily accessible via the light rail, with a ton of stores, restaurants, and a movie theater. If you play your cards right, you will never be bored at Stevens and these frst few weeks will be a piece of cake! I wish you luck in your endeavors and I am sure that you will powerEthanBest,through.

Alright, it’s story time. A new, young farmer buys his frst plot of land in hopes of growing fruits and vegetables to not only feed his family but also to sell at the market. He just so happened to purchase a plot that bordered the land of an experienced farmer, face and arms wrinkled and roughened from a lifetime of tending and working the land that had been in his family for generations. The land was fertile and had pro duced plentiful harvests in the years past. Yet, a drought struck, and both the new and the experienced farmer wait ed for rain. The new farmer was impatient, and right fully so. His entire life rest ed on the frst few seasons of harvest. If they couldn’t grow their crops, they would starve. The old farmer spoke to the new farmer at length in regard to how they should handle the drought. He told him to prepare his felds as if the rain would come the very next day. Plow the felds, sow them, water them with the little water they did have, and wait for the rain. The young farmer had never heard anything so ridiculous! Why should he put so much efort into plowing the felds, sowing them, and watering them if there wouldn’t be rain anyways? They were in a drought, of course! Even so, both the young

When coming back from visiting my family this sum mer, we had a 9 hour fight ahead of us. I was not too worried about anything as I had borrowed a pair of pret ty good headphones and did not care for any of the oth er factors. My sister was to my right and I had the aisle seat, making my placement fairly comfortable. I could even hear the fight atten dants gossip as we were in the last row on the plane. Those rose gold head phones in my ears made this experience survivable, and it eased the slight anxiety that I had felt during liftof and landing. It has been this way for all other events in my life as well. Even with experiences I had not expe rienced before, I knew that as it came I would feel bet ter if I prepared a playlist, named it specifcally, and encapsulated the feeling with songs that matched. With this repetitive trend, I notice myself often living life with a security cushion that revolves around music. The feelings themselves are not a serious problem, but whenever there is a feeling or a worry that is strong enough where I can picture music helping, it often is the case. New things happening is another reason I turn to music, as a song stays a con stantNovariable.matter what stage in life, growing up was always something that had enlight ened new feelings, and as I go back to being an incom ing freshman once again, I could not help but feel that this critical time needs a playlist of its own, so I made one. I made one for myself when I was excited to leave high school and another for Hoboken. I capture these moments through songs that match. I suppose this caused the state I am in now where specifc songs have specifc feelings, some are good while some are mildly heavy in diferent ways. The mix and match of genres that I listen to make it all the better. Even a song that seems oh-so-cheery can lead to a tear, which has, at times, been the case with a few of my friends. The songs I have saved never disappoint, as they’ve been chosen particularly for their way to encapsulate specifc feelings. As I lis tened to Matilda, a song by the great Harry Styles, for the frst time before leaving my friends for a long vaca tion. I cried. It was to the point where if I cried any more I would have to pull over. I was on my way to my friend’s house and reached the mark of seven minutes away, yet that wasn’t enough time to recover. When she opened the door to get into my car, she asked about the sad tunes and took my phone to see the labeled playlist. Maybe it was a bit too early for the tears as we still had the summer, but looking back I wonder why she was so surprised. I had to be prepared, and mak ing a playlist for leaving my friends behind and starting college was the only way.

12 Friday, September 9 Campus REPORTERROVINGPulse “What are your thoughts on the new Stevens branding?” Sudoku Math Puzzle Arianna Gehan ‘24 “I don’t like how the font is social distancing.” Samantha Villanueva ‘26 “OK slayyyyyy” Zeyad Eltemsah ‘24 “It’s tough.” Phillip Anerine ‘24 “Oh, is there a new Stevens logo?” Rachel Hwang ‘23 “It’s giving me MIT vibes. Clean.” Grace Fukazawa ‘24 “We have a new logo? *looks up logo* Ugh why does the ‘N’ look like that?” Danica Lacuesta ‘26 “I don’t really have an issue with the new logo, but the old one had a more unique vibe.” Stevensky Mertyl ‘25 “It’s decent. It reminds me of how other corporations got on the trend of simplifying their logos.” Hard Puzzle: 0.61 difculty